{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_51888/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_51888","id":"gutenberg_51888","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51888","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Eschatology","Judgment Day"],"text":"Transcriber's Note.\n\nApparent typographical errors have been corrected.\n\nItalics are indicated by _underscores_. Small capitals have been\nconverted to full capitals.\n\nIn the list of the publisher's other books, at the end of the work, the\nfirst line of each entry sometimes comprises only part of the title and\nsometimes extends beyond the title. The entire first line has been\nitalicised in the original. In this version only the title has been\nitalicised.\n\n\n\n\n THE\n\n NEW ESCHATOLOGY.\n\n SHOWING\n\n THE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF THE EARTH\n\n AND\n\n THE WIDE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE LETTER AND\n SPIRIT OF HOLY SCRIPTURE.\n\n BY J. G. BROUGHTON PEGG.\n\n [Illustration: Behold He Cometh with Clouds; The Word]\n\n PHILADELPHIA\n J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.\n 1872.\n\n\n Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by\n J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.,\n In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.\n\n LIPPINCOTT'S PRESS,\n PHILADELPHIA.\n\n\n\n\nNOTE.\n\n\nThis little work was published in England several years ago; but has\nnever before been republished in this country. It deals with those texts\nof Scripture which have generally been supposed to foretell the\ndestruction of the material universe; and shows conclusively that these\npassages have been entirely misunderstood by commentators; and that,\nrightly interpreted, they have no reference whatever to the outer realm\nof matter, but to the inner realm of mind; to the internal condition of\nthe church, the loss or destruction of heavenly charity, and the eclipse\nof genuine faith, which it was foreseen and foretold would occur at the\nclose of the first Christian Dispensation.\n\nIt is proper to add, also, that, although the name of Swedenborg nowhere\noccurs in the book, it is evident that the author was familiar with his\nteachings, and viewed and treated his subject from the Swedenborgian\nstand-point. But with the lovers of spiritual truth and the seekers\nafter a Spiritual Christianity, this fact--now that so many earnest\ninquirers are beginning to read the writings of the Swedish seer--will\nrather add to than detract from the interest and value of the work.\n\n AMERICAN EDITOR.\n PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 30, 1871.\n\n\n\n\n\n THE\n NEW ESCHATOLOGY.\n\n\n_For the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there\nwas no more sea_.--REV. xxi. 1.\n\nWhile we blame the conduct of the Jews in adhering only to the literal\nsense of the Scriptures, and by such adherence rejecting their Messiah,\nwe possibly forget that the Christian church has followed precisely the\nsame line of conduct; and that to this we are indebted for the greater\npart of those absurd dogmas, which have so long exposed the Gospel to\nthe derision of its enemies. Had men properly discriminated between\nthose parts of the Sacred Volume which are _literally_ true, and those\nwhich are only _apparently_ so, we should never have heard of the\ndoctrines of transubstantiation and Roman supremacy; nor of many other\nequally absurd beliefs which the generality of Christians entertain. We\nshould not have seen a fallible and weak mortal exalted as Head over the\nchurch of God; we should not have heard of a morsel of bread being\nchanged into the Lord's body; we should not have seen the Divine Nature\ndivided among three separate and distinct Persons; nor should we have\nheard of the doctrine which we are about to bring under consideration.\n\nBut do not mistake me. When I assert that the Scriptures in the literal\nsense sometimes speak only apparent truth, I by no means deny the divine\nauthority of the Sacred Record. The church whose doctrines I advocate,\nmost explicitly declares that the _whole_ of the Scriptures,--every\nchapter,--every verse,--every word, nay, sometimes every _letter_--is\nfilled with the inbreathed wisdom of God. But when I say that apparent\nand not _real_ truths are often laid down in the letter of the Word, I\naffirm what every man who possesses any share of discernment will\nreadily admit. The fact itself is too plain even to require proof. Thus\nwe read that the sun rises, moves, and sets; which is certainly true in\n_appearance_, but not in reality. Again we are told that the LORD\nrepents,--that He is weary, and that He turns away His face from man;\nwhich, though correct as regards appearance, has no foundation in\nliteral fact; for though the Sun of Righteousness is said to rise upon\nthe soul, and to set when the mind is given up to evil, yet it is here\nas in the case of the _material_ sun. In God \"there is no variableness\nnor shadow of turning;\"--\"He fainteth not, neither is _weary_;\"--\"He is\nnot a man that He should lie, nor the son of man that He should repent;\"\nbut as the earth, by turning to or from the sun, causes the appearance\nof motion in that body; so the mind of man, by turning to the Lord, or\nby departing from Him, causes an appearance of change in God; yet it is\nnot He that changes, but the mind itself.\n\nAnd we may go still further. There are numerous passages in the Word of\nGod, which in the literal sense only, do not convey even _apparent_\ntruth. Among others the following, \"Thou ridest through them with thine\nhorses.\" \"He rode upon a cherub and did fly; He came flying upon the\nwings of the wind.\" \"He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood,\ndwelleth in me and I in him;\" \"for my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood\nis drink indeed.\" \"This (bread) is my body; this cup is the New\nTestament in my blood.\" \"If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off and\ncast it from thee.\" \"I am the Door of the sheep.\" \"I am the true vine,\nand my Father is the Husbandman.\" In all these passages, and others\nwhich will occur to every reader of the Scripture, the literal sense\nconveys neither real nor apparent truth. The Lord does not really ride\nthrough the sea, nor does he even _appear_ to do so. The flesh of the\nSaviour was not to be _literally_ eaten. The bread which He held was not\nreally his body, nor did it even _seem_ to be so. And as in these and\nsimilar instances, the outward letter of the Word conveys not its true\nmeaning, it is to be sought for in the law of correspondence; or in that\neternal connection which subsists between natural things and spiritual.\n\nAnd upon this law of correspondence or analogy I must make a few\npreliminary remarks. It is what the world in general terms _figure_, or\n_metaphor_; but the New Church makes a distinction, and I will add,\na very just one, betwixt _figure_ (properly so called) and\n_correspondence_. Figurative language is that in which a comparison is\ndrawn between one natural object and another; the analogy between which\nexists only in the imagination, and has, therefore, no _real_ existence:\nbut correspondence is the representation of spiritual things by natural;\nand the resemblance is not merely imaginary but real, consisting in the\nproper dependence of the latter upon the former, as an effect upon its\ncause. If we compare a mighty empire in its rise, glory, and decline, to\nan oak springing up, flourishing for centuries, and then decaying, we\nuse _figurative_ language; since both the empire and the oak are\n_natural_ objects, which have no _real_ connection with each other, and\nbetween which the resemblance is only imaginary. But when the Creator is\nlikened to the sun, the language is no longer _figurative_ but\n_correspondent_. It is not the comparison of earthly things with\nearthly, but of spiritual things with natural. And the objects compared\nhave a real connection with each other, since the material sun depends\non its Creator as an effect upon its cause. Again, when the church is\ndescribed as the Lord's body, the language is correspondent and the\nconnection real; for the rise and prosperity of the church depended upon\nthe assumption of humanity by the Saviour; and it still hangs upon it as\nthe cause of its existence.\n\nWe further notice that all passages of the Word, the historical as well\nas the poetical, bear within them such a correspondent or internal\nsense. This will be placed beyond a reasonable doubt if we consider,\nfirst, that \"all Scripture,\" whether historical or prophetic, is,\naccording to the Apostle, inspired or _God-breathed_. And as the breath\nof God is the infinitude of his love and wisdom, every portion of the\nsacred Volume must be filled with it. Not only every book in general,\nbut every verse and every sentence;--for if we can find a single\nsentence which does not contain within itself the infinite wisdom of\nGod, such sentence must either form no part of the Scripture, or the\nassertion of Paul must be untrue. And secondly, the Word of God from the\nbeginning to the end is intended to \"make us wise unto salvation.\" This\nis the design with which every part of it was written. But we can only\nbecome truly wise by being acquainted with our own state, and with the\nnature of the Divine Redeemer. Whatever part, therefore, does not relate\nboth to God and to ourselves, cannot communicate saving wisdom; and\nconsequently, (if the Apostle be correct,) cannot form any portion of\nthe Sacred Volume. Now, independently of the passages which we have\nbefore quoted, the greater part of what is called \"the historical Word,\"\nconsists, in its mere _outward form_, of the records of the Jewish\nnation, their wars, and their policy. The prophecies themselves in their\nliteral and obvious meaning, refer to the rise and decline of earthly\nstates, and to the mutation of earthly empires. Either, then, such\nrecords and prophecies must have an internal and correspondent meaning,\nrelating to spiritual and divine things, or if they have not, they\ncannot be fitted to communicate saving wisdom, and so cannot be\naccounted part of the Scriptures; seeing that the _Scriptures_ in every\npart, are, according to Paul, filled with this wisdom.[1]\n\nIf, then, there _are_ parts of the Word of God, the true meaning of\nwhich is not to be found in the literal sense; if that Word contains,\nwithin the outward letter, a spiritual and internal meaning; and if we\nare to resort to such meaning where the letter gives not the true one;\nthe next inquiry which arises is, How are we to determine when a passage\nis true in the literal sense, or when it is only true in the\ncorresponding one? The answer is easy. When the outward meaning of any\npassage asserts something at variance with reason,--or when it appears\nopposed to the known character of God, then such meaning must be\nabandoned, and the truth sought in the internal sense. This answer has\nbeen admitted as correct by the Protestant churches, in their contest\nwith their Catholic neighbors. The latter argue that the words of our\nLord, \"This is my body,\" are to be literally understood; while the\nformer very justly answer that, since such an interpretation is opposed\nto reason and at variance with the nature of God as a God of truth, it\nought to be and must be rejected; and the words considered as\n_figurative_, or as I have already termed it, _correspondent_.\n\nI have now proved a few preliminary points: _First_, that there are some\nportions of the Word of God, the true meaning of which is not to be\nfound in the letter. _Second_, that when the literal sense of a passage\nis opposed to fact and reason, such literal sense is to be rejected. And\n_third_, that in such cases the interpretation must be sought in the\ncorrespondent or figurative meaning.\n\nWe turn now to what is commonly denominated \"the End of the World;\" and\non stating the generally received doctrine on this subject, we shall\nquote the words of the celebrated John Wesley, both on account of his\npiety and learning, and because the views which he maintains may be\nfairly taken as those of the generality of Christians. First he observes:\n\n\"There shall be earthquakes, not in divers places only, but in _all\nplaces_; not in one part only, but in every part of the habitable world.\nIn one of these every island shall flee away, and the mountains will not\nbe found. Meanwhile all the waters of the terraqueous globe will feel\nthe violence of these concussions. The sea and the waves roaring, with\nsuch an agitation as had never been known before since the hour that\n`the fountains of the great deep were broken up' to destroy the earth,\nwhich then stood 'out of the water and in the water!' The air will be\nall storm and tempest, full of dark vapors, and pillars of smoke\nresounding with thunder from pole to pole, and torn with ten thousand\nlightnings. But the commotion will not stop in the region of the air:\nthe powers of heaven also shall be shaken. 'There shall be signs in the\nsun and in the moon, and in the stars;' those fixed as well as those\nthat move round them. 'The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the\nmoon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.'\n'The stars shall withdraw their shining,' yea, and 'fall from heaven,'\nbeing thrown out of their orbits. And then shall be heard the universal\n_shout_ from all the companies of heaven, followed by the _voice of the\narchangel_, proclaiming the approach of the Son of God and man; and the\n_trumpet of God_ sounding an alarm to all that sleep in the dust of the\nearth. In consequence of this, all the graves shall open and the bodies\nof men arise.\"\n\nAfter the following judgment, (which Mr. Wesley thinks must last several\nthousand years, considering \"the number of persons who are to be judged,\nand of actions which are to be inquired into,\") he proceeds:\n\n\"Then the heavens will be shriveled up as a parchment scroll, and pass\naway with a great noise. The very manner of their passing away is\ndisclosed to us by the apostle Peter, 'In the day of God, the heavens\nbeing on fire shall be dissolved.' The whole beautiful fabric will be\noverthrown by that raging element, the connexion of all its parts\ndestroyed, and every atom torn asunder from the others. 'By the same the\nearth also and the works that are therein, shall be burnt up;' the\nenormous work of nature, the everlasting hills, mountains that have\ndefied the rage of time, and stood unmoved so many thousand years, will\nsink down in fiery ruin. How much less will the works of art, though of\nthe most durable kind, the utmost efforts of human industry, tombs,\npillars, triumphal arches, castles, pyramids, be able to withstand the\nflaming Conqueror! All, all will die, perish, vanish away, like a dream\nwhen one awaketh.\"[2]\n\nSuch, in substance, is the doctrine of the Christian world; and\ncertainly if _fear_ and _terror_ were sufficient to drive men into a\nstate of righteousness, here are horrors enough to excite the fears even\nof the most courageous. But not the eloquence of man any more than his\nwrath, worketh the righteousness of God. It is not sufficient that a\ndoctrine be eloquently set forth; it must also have truth for its\nfoundation. It is not enough that Scripture be quoted to support it;\nthat Scripture must also stand in its proper connexion, and retain its\nproper meaning; for if this be not the case, however eloquent the\npreacher and however numerous the apparent proofs, the tenet can only\nrank with that \"wood, hay, and stubble,\"--those unsubstantial and airy\ndoctrines, which, when tried by the fire of Divine Wisdom, are consumed\nand pass away. And if we can prove, _First_, That the passages which are\nquoted to support the doctrine before us, are _literally_ understood,\nwhile nevertheless such literal sense leads to absurdity; _Second_, If\nwe can further make it appear that such a _literal_ application of them\nmakes them inconsistent with each other as well as with many plain\nportions of the Bible; and again, that, even if we admit such outward\nmeaning to be correct, it gives no countenance to the doctrine in\ndispute; while at the same time that doctrine is opposed to the end of\ncreation and the character of God;--if these propositions can be made\ngood, I trust it will appear, that the tenet itself has no countenance\nfrom the Scriptures; and that the true meaning of the passages adduced,\nmust be sought for in the internal or spiritual sense of the Word.\n\nThe portions of Scripture on which the supposed destruction of the\nuniverse is founded, are far from numerous. Some of them are already\nquoted in the extract from Mr. Wesley; and previous to entering upon the\nconsideration of our first proposition, we shall point out a few of the\nremainder. \"Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun\nshall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, the stars\nshall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken; and\nthen shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall\nall the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man\ncoming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall\nsend his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather\ntogether his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the\nother.\" Matt. xxiv. 29, 30, 31. \"Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or\none tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, until all be fulfilled.\"\nMatt. v. 18. \"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?\nThis same Jesus who is taken from you, shall so come as ye have seen Him\ngo into heaven.\" Acts i. 11. \"Then cometh the end, when he shall have\ndelivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father.\" 1 Cor. xv. 24. \"The\nLord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in\nflaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God.\" 2 Thess. i.\n7, 8. \"The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which\nthe heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall\nmelt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are therein\nshall be burned up.\" 2 Peter iii. 10.\n\nBut it is from the book of Revelation, that the principal part of the\nproofs are drawn. A book _confessedly_ figurative in its language, and\nwhich the wisest and most learned men have in vain striven to interpret.\nOne could hardly commit or imagine a greater outrage upon the common\nsense of mankind, than that which the defenders of this doctrine have\ncommitted, by first confessing the Book itself to be figurative and\ninexplicable, and then adducing its language _literally_, in their\nsupport, as if they had all at once found out that it was no longer\nfigurative but _literal_. If the visions of the Apostle are not literal,\nbut grand and representative images, then ought they not to be\nunderstood in a literal manner, or if they are to be so understood, then\nas plain and literal narrative they may be easily explained; and the\ncomplaint which the receivers of this doctrine have so often made, that\nit cannot be understood, is to the last degree frivolous and foolish.\n\nAnd what makes the matter still worse is, that the passages they have\nadduced are among the most highly figurative in the Apostle's\ndescriptions. The following are among them: \"Behold He cometh with\nclouds, and every eye shall see Him; and they that pierced Him; and all\nthe tribes of the earth shall wail because of Him.\" i. 7. \"And I beheld\nwhen he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake;\nand the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as\nblood, and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth; even as a fig-tree\ncasteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind; and the\nheaven departed as a scroll, when it is rolled together, and every\nmountain and island were moved out of their places.\" vi. 12, 13, 14.\n\"And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face\nthe earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for\nthem: and I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God.\" xx. 11,\n12. \"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and\nthe first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea.\" xxi. 1.\n\nSuch are the texts of Scripture by which the doctrine before us is\nsupported; the greater part of which have clearly no reference to the\nsubject, and the remainder being not the literal language of narrative,\nbut the _correspondent_ and mysterious words of prophecy. Yet, even\nviewing them in their outward meaning, we can scarcely fail to be struck\nwith the wide difference which exists between them and the description\nof Mr. Wesley. There is nothing in them of an earthquake, amidst some\ngeneral concussion in which every island shall flee away:--nothing of\n\"the air resounding with thunder from pole to pole, and being torn with\nten thousand lightnings:\"--nothing of the connexion of every part being\ndestroyed, and every atom torn asunder from the others. We may therefore\nfairly set these down as additional horrors, supplied by the imagination\nof the writer, and unsupported by anything like Scripture proof. And\nwith regard to what remains, we will now see how far that _literal_\nsense upon which it rests, will stand the criterion by which we are to\ndetermine the meaning of Scripture. If the outward meaning is reasonable\nand consistent, then it must be adhered to, and the doctrine is\nestablished: but if, on the other hand, such interpretation leads to\nabsurdity, then, by the consent of every Protestant church, that meaning\nmust be laid aside; and with it, too, must be cast off the tenet of this\nworld's destruction.\n\nBut one cautionary remark must here be made. We are by no means\nauthorized to mingle together literal and figurative language. That is,\nwe have no right to interpret one part of a sentence literally, and\nanother as figure. The passages before us are either _literal_, or they\nare _not_. If they _are_, then every part of them must be literally\nunderstood; if they are _not_, then no part of them can be literally\ninterpreted. If, then, we adhere to the outward meaning, we must carry\nthat adherence to every portion of the text; for if we reject such\nmeaning in any part, we reject it in the whole; and the doctrine which\ndepends for support upon it, must fall to the ground.\n\nKeeping this in view our first proposition is, that, to affix a literal\nsense to the passages before us, is to give them a meaning at once\nabsurd and unreasonable. We might in proof of this, go through every\nword in every text. It is declared in the letter that \"the Lord shall\n_descend_ from heaven;\" but heaven is not a place connected either by\nheight or distance with the material world. Could we rise far into the\nregions of space, and ascend for ever in the oceans of worlds, still, as\nregards _distance_, we should be no nearer heaven than before. Where God\nmanifests Himself in the fullness of his love, there is heaven; but God\nbeing a Spirit, can only manifest Himself thus in a spiritual region;\nand such a region has no relation of space or distance with a world of\nmatter. Hence, therefore, a descent from heaven is not a literal going\ndown from a higher place to one beneath, and consequently must not be\n_literally_ understood. Here the literal meaning fails at the very\nthreshold. At the first step we are obliged to seek for a figurative or\nspiritual sense.\n\nIf we overcome _this_ difficulty, we have yet to encounter others. It is\nfurther said that He shall descend with \"a trumpet.\" Now modern\nChristians ridicule the idea of visible habitations and outward objects\nin the spiritual world. What then are we to make of the description\nbefore us,--of this _trumpet_ with which the Lord is to descend? Is it\n_material_, or is it _not_? If it is material, then heaven, in which\nthere are material objects, must be a material _place_; and the Being\nwho uses this material trumpet, must be a material Being; consequently,\nwe must materialize both heaven and its inhabitants. But if this trumpet\nis not a _material_ one, then let the defenders of the literal meaning\ntell us what is a spiritual trumpet? Whatever may be the answer, one\nthing is certain,--that which is spiritual is _internal_; and if by the\nwords before us we are not to understand a literal trumpet, but\nsomething spiritual signified by it, then the literal meaning of the\npassage is not and cannot be the true one.\n\nIt is further declared that \"The Lord shall come in the clouds of\nheaven.\" The question again arises: What are we to understand by these?\nThe clouds literally mean those masses of vapor, which, arising from the\nearth, are condensed and become visible in the atmosphere; and which\nsurround the earth at the distance of a few miles. If we keep to the\nliteral sense of the passage, these must be understood. But is it in\nthese that the Lord is to descend? Is six or eight miles above the\nsurface of the globe, heaven? Or can bodies which seldom rise beyond\nthis elevation, be properly called the clouds of heaven? Or is this the\nglory with which the Lord is to be invested--the vapors which rise from\nthe material globe?\n\nBut this is not all. With Him the angels are also to descend. Now the\nnature of angels is not material; they exist not in space, nor are they\nincluded in its boundaries. How, then, we again ask, are spiritual\nbeings to descend in a _material_ vapor? It would degrade the subject to\ncarry these questions further; but every person's discernment will\nenable him to perceive that by no means can the _literal_ clouds be\nunderstood; and that these words must, like the former, be acknowledged\nas _figurative_. Here, therefore, at the very commencement we are\nobliged to _spiritualize_ both the _descent_, the _trumpet_, and the\n_clouds_. Do what we will, the literal sense is absurd. And if we are\nforced to allow that _part_ of the description cannot be literally\nunderstood, it is fair to conclude that the remainder has also an\n_internal_ meaning.\n\nWe shall soon perceive further proof of this. After it is declared that\nthe Lord shall come \"in the clouds of heaven,\" it is added, as a\nnecessary consequence, \"and then shall _all the tribes of the earth_\nmourn, when they _see_ the Son of Man coming in the clouds.\" In\nagreement with this are the words of John, \"Behold, He cometh _with\nclouds_; and _every eye_ shall see Him.\" If this be understood of an\nevent which is literally to take place, we must again believe an\nimpossibility. This world is a _round_ body; and that which is visible\nto the inhabitants of one hemisphere, must be invisible to the dwellers\non the other. Those who live upon one part of its surface cannot, by any\npossibility, see what is above the opposite part. This is a circumstance\nof daily experience:--at twelve o'clock at midnight the sun is visible\nto the inhabitants of the other side of this earth, and with them it is\nnoon-day; but at that hour it is invisible to us; nor can we, by any\npossible means, obtain a sight of it. If, then, it be true that an\nobject visible on one side of a globe, is invisible on the opposite, we\ninquire, In what situation must the Lord appear, that He may be seen at\none and the same moment from _every part_ of a round body? Where, or in\nwhat part of the atmosphere must He be placed that _all the tribes of\nthe earth_, (those on its _opposite sides_,) may behold Him at the same\ntime? Such a position is not only difficult, but absolutely impossible,\nunless the figure of the globe were changed; and to believe that such\nwill be the manner of our Lord's coming, is to involve ourselves in a\nlabyrinth of absurdities.\n\nAware of this difficulty, the writer whom I have already quoted supposes\nthat the inhabitants of this earth will be caught up in the air, and\n_thus_ be enabled to behold our Lord's descent. \"Perhaps,\" says he, \"it\nis more agreeable to our Lord's own account of his coming in the clouds,\nto suppose it will be above the earth, if not 'twice a planetary\nheight;' and this supposition is not a little favored by what St. Paul\nwrites to the Thessalonians, 'The dead in Christ shall rise first.' Then\nwe who remain alive shall be caught up together with them in the clouds\nto meet the Lord in the air. So that it seems most probable, the 'great\nwhite throne' will be exalted high above the earth.\" Such a method of\nexplanation only shows the difficulties into which the mere literal\nsense has thrown its followers. Independent of the total absence of all\nScripture proof of these ideas, it may be remarked that, \"twice a\nplanetary height,\" that is, twice the distance of the farthest planet\nfrom the earth, is not the place of clouds; in such case, therefore, the\nLord would not come _in_ the clouds, but far _above_ them. Nor could He\nbe said to descend _from_ heaven; for as heaven, in the literal sense,\nis the starry region, if He remained stationary in that region, it would\nnot be a descent _from_ heaven, but a descent _in_ heaven. And besides,\nas the clouds, literally, are the vapors surrounding the earth, by\ninterpreting them to mean \"twice a planetary height,\" the literal sense\nis given up; and if this be rejected, the doctrine before us is\noverthrown.\n\nOnce more we turn to the texts. Another event which is said to accompany\nthe coming of the Lord, is the falling of the stars from heaven to the\nearth. \"The stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall\nbe shaken.\" \"The stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree\ncasteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.\" When,\nin disputing with the Romish church, we contend that the Lord's words\nare not to be understood _literally_, we think it sufficient to prove,\nthat so understood they involve an absurdity. But fully as great an\nabsurdity is involved in the literal interpretation of the words before\nus. The stars, though to us they appear but as shining atoms, are proved\nbeyond the possibility of doubt, to be equal to our sun both in size and\nsplendor. Each one of them is, in fact, a _sun_, as large and as\nbrilliant as that which enlightens our day. Now the sun exceeds our\nearth nearly ten hundred thousand times in magnitude; _each_ star,\ntherefore, may be reasonably supposed to exceed the size of this globe\nnearly a million times. As well, then, may we talk of ten thousand\nworlds falling upon an atom, as of ten thousand suns, each of them a\nmillion times larger than the globe, falling upon this grain of earth:\nit is in itself as impossible as for a piece of bread to become the body\nof the Lord.\n\nBut further; the _number_ of these bodies is beyond the power of human\ncalculation. Millions sink into nothing in computing it,--_thousands_ of\nmillions are nothing. Every part of the vault of heaven contains\nmyriads; and clusters of them have been observed which contain, within\nthemselves, myriads more. Could we penetrate into the depths of space,\nas far as the eye could see--as far as thought could penetrate, we\nshould find suns and worlds till the mind was lost in the idea of their\nmultitude: and though we continued to move onward for ages, we should\nstill find ourselves but on the threshold of creation. These are not the\nvisions of speculation, but the facts of philosophy;--truths which\nactual observation has placed beyond a doubt. Such are, literally, the\nstars of heaven: myriads of myriads of suns, surrounded by ten thousand\ntimes ten thousand worlds. And let the common sense of mankind decide,\nwhether all these can fall upon the surface of a globe not equal to the\nsmallest of them in magnitude.\n\nBut we have not yet done with this subject. Let us imagine it possible\nthat these innumerable and enormous bodies _were_ thrown out of their\nstations, and by the hand of God launched towards our little world. What\nwould result if they only came within a short distance of it? (to say\nnothing of their falling upon its surface.) It is well known to all who\nare acquainted with philosophy, that each of the heavenly bodies\npossesses a power called attraction, by which it draws towards itself\nany smaller body that comes within its sphere. So powerful is this\nattractive force that the sun alone draws all the worlds which move\naround it, and keeps them from flying off, though some are at the\ndistance of eighteen hundred millions of miles! Each of the stars being\nof the same nature with our sun, possesses equally this attracting\npower. And were only a few of these bodies to be brought within a\ncertain distance of the earth, the force of their combined attraction\nacting in contrary directions, would explode and scatter abroad, not\nonly this earth but every earth in the system: and long before they\ncould fall upon its surface, there would be no world for them to fall\nupon; it would be dissolved, and its atoms scattered through the\nuniverse.\n\nAgain, the Apostle Peter declares that \"The heavens shall pass away with\na great noise, and _the elements_ shall _melt_ with fervent heat.\" A\nquestion, therefore, once more arises, what is meant by \"the elements?\"\nLiterally, they signify the most simple forms of matter, fire, air,\nearth, and water. But how can these melt, or be melted?--Can _fire_ melt\nwith fervent heat? It may be dispersed in its pure form, that of heat or\ncaloric; but it is incapable of being melted. Can air, then, melt? It\nmay be expanded, but it will not _melt_, in the literal meaning of the\nword. Can water melt? It may be raised in steam, and made to fly off in\nvapor: it may, by the application of heat, be resolved into air, its\nfirst principle; but it will not melt. There is, therefore, only one\nelement out of the four which is capable of being literally melted;\n_earth may_, indeed, be vitrified, and rendered fluid. But how can _one\nelement_ be denominated _the elements_? And besides, the apostle seems\nto exclude the _earth_ from the elements which are thus to melt; for he\nmentions _its_ destruction, as subsequent to that of the elements. \"The\nelements shall melt with fervent heat, the _earth also_\", that is, in\naddition to these, the earth and the works that are therein, shall be\nburned up.[3] Here again, the literal sense fails. We must either allow\nwhat is not true, namely, that _fire_, _air_, and _water_, can be melted\nby fire, or seek for an internal and figurative meaning.\n\nI might pass thus through the whole of the language on which this tenet\nis founded; and it would be easy to show that the circumstances are as\nimpossible in their literal meaning, as that a man should eat \"the flesh\nof his own arm,\" or that our Lord should literally be a _vine_ and a\n_door_.\n\nThe very advocates of the doctrine are convinced of this. Hence they\nhave framed various and contradictory systems to explain the above\ndescriptions. One has asserted that the earth will at that period _be\nrolled out_ of her orbit, and that this motion will cause an appearance\nas if the heavens passed away. Another has enveloped the world in a\nthick mist, by which the light of the moon, being changed, will appear\nof a red color. A third has appointed a comet, which in its passage to\nor from the sun, will approach this earth and involve it in flames. All\nhave seen the difficulties, and all have attempted to overcome them by\nexplanations; yet, after all, the task remains as arduous as ever. If we\nwill, in despite of reason, found a doctrine on the literal meaning of\nthe texts, we must adhere to that meaning; for to depart from it, is to\nconfess its insufficiency: and if, on the other hand, we resolve to\nreject the literal sense in _one part_, we then acknowledge that it is\nnot the true one, and that another must be sought for. If we are obliged\nto give up a literal falling of stars to the earth, and a literal\nappearance in the clouds of the air, then we must give up also, a\nliteral burning and destruction of the universe; for if one part of the\nsentence is to be understood figuratively, so is the other.\n\nAnd that such destruction is a spiritual event, and not a natural one,\nwill appear still further from the following observation. When two\nprophecies are found, couched in the same language, and nearly in the\nsame words, one of which prophecies has been fulfilled, while the other\nyet remains to be accomplished; the manner in which the latter will be\nfulfilled must be determined by the previous fulfillment of the former.\n\nNow it is a fact, although very seldom noticed, that the prophecies\nrelating to the _first_ coming of the Lord, are expressed in the very\nsame language with those which relate to his second appearance. We need\nonly turn to the writings of the prophets to be convinced of this.\n\"Behold,\" says Malachi, \"the day cometh that shall _burn as an oven_,\nand all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be as stubble,\nand the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith JEHOVAH OF HOSTS. And,\nbehold, I send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the _great\nand terrible day_ of the Lord.\" iv. 1, 5. Again, Isaiah: \"All the host\nof heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together\nas a scroll, and all their host shall fall down as a falling fig from\nthe fig-tree.[4] Every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and\ngarments rolled in blood; but this shall be with _burning_ and _fuel of\nfire_. For unto us a child is born.\" ix. 5. \"Upon the servants and upon\nthe handmaids in those days I will pour out my spirit; and I will show\nwonders in the heavens and in the earth, _blood_, and _fire_, and vapor\nof smoke. _The sun shall be turned into_ _darkness_ and _the moon into\nblood_ before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.\" Joel ii.\n29-31.\n\nThis latter prophecy is expressly applied by Peter to the commencement\nof Christianity. In defending his brethren from the charge of imposture\nbrought against them by the Jews on the day of Pentecost, he declares,\n\"This (the extraordinary inspiration of the spirit) is that which was\nspoken by the prophet Joel; I will show wonders in the heaven above, and\nsigns in the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun\nshall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood.\" Acts ii. 16-20.\n\nOnce more, the prophet Haggai, speaking of the same period declares,\n\"Thus saith Jehovah of hosts. Yet once it is a little while and I will\nshake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land, and I will\nshake all nations and the desire of all nations shall come, and I will\nfill this house (the latter temple) with glory, saith Jehovah of hosts.\"\nAgain, the prophet Joel before quoted, says, \"Multitudes, multitudes in\nthe valley of decision; for the _day of the_ Lord is near in the valley\nof decision. _The sun_ and _the moon shall be darkened_, and the stars\nshall withdraw their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and\nutter his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall\nshake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people. So shall ye know\nthat I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. Then\nshall Jerusalem be holy.\" iii. 14-17. \"But who (says Malachi,) may abide\nthe day of His coming, or who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is\nlike a refiner's _fire_ and like fullers' soap.\" And to conclude this\nmagnificent imagery, Isaiah declares, \"Behold, I create new heavens and\na new earth; and the former shall not be remembered nor come to\nmind;--they shall not hunger, nor thirst, neither shall the heat of the\nsun smite them; but He that hath mercy upon them shall lead them, even\nby the springs of water shall He guide them.\"\n\nWith such descriptions of the first Advent of the Messiah do the\nprophets abound. Let any one peruse with attention the writings of\nIsaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, Joel, Haggai, and Malachi, and he will be\nconvinced of the truth of this remark. We will now notice the agreement\nwhich exists between these prophecies relating to his first appearance,\nand those which refer to his second coming. Both periods are called\n\"_the day of the Lord_;\" and both are ushered in by \"darkness and\ngloominess.\" In both it is said that \"the sun shall be turned into\ndarkness, and the moon into blood;\" and in both \"the heavens and the\nearth\" are said to \"pass away.\" In both of them the Lord is declared to\ncome \"_in fire_,\" and the conclusion of both is \"a new heaven and a new\nearth.\"\n\nNow _one_ of these periods is past. The first Advent of the Saviour to\nwhich the above prophecies refer, is accomplished. And how were these\npredictions fulfilled? Did the events _literally_ take place? Let\nhistory answer. Though the heavens and the earth were to be shaken and\npass away, yet no commotion took place in the visible parts of nature.\nThe seasons ran their wonted course; the sun gave forth his usual light;\nand the earth pursued without intermission her annual journey. Though\nthe moon was to be \"turned into blood,\" yet no such disaster befell the\nvisible planet; her light shone as bright as ever. One solitary meteor\nalone over the plains of Judea, announced to the Eastern sages the\ncoming of the Saviour. Though his approach was to be _in fire_, yet no\nmaterial flames accompanied his Advent. The fire of Divine Love alone\ndistinguished Him. Not one of all these predictions had anything\nresembling a literal accomplishment. And now let us look to the\nconclusion. If, when two prophecies are given, couched in the same\nlanguage, one of which is fulfilled while the other remains to be\naccomplished, the interpretation of the second is to be judged of by the\nfulfillment of the first, the following argument at once arises: Since\nthe prophecies relating to the first Advent of the Saviour are expressed\nby the very same terms, and represented by the very same images as those\nwhich refer to his _second_ coming, the meaning of these latter must be\nsimilar to that of the others. And since not one of _those_ prophecies\never received a literal fulfillment, so neither are we to expect a\nliteral fulfillment of those before us. In a word, since the events\npredicted at the Lord's _first_ coming were not natural, but\nrepresentative images of spiritual things--of states of the world and of\nthe church; so those foreshadowing his second coming are representative\nof similar things, belonging to the minds of men, and will never receive\na _literal_ accomplishment.\n\nIf, however, it be still maintained in opposition to this remark, that\nthey _must_ be understood literally, I will ask one question. Since the\nwords of the _Old_ Testament which describe the first appearance of the\nRedeemer, are exactly similar to those of the _New_ which predict his\nsecond coming; how is it that the former never received a literal\nfulfillment? If it be replied, that this was figurative language, while\nthe latter is literal description; I again inquire, By what authority or\naccording to what rule is this distinction made? Why is the first to be\nresolved into figure, while the latter is considered as literally true?\nSuch distinction between the two cannot arise from the _language_; this\nis almost word for word the same. It cannot be made because the literal\nsense is in one case _reasonable_, while in the other it is not; for in\nboth cases it involves numerous absurdities. It cannot be because the\none is prophecy and the other narrative; for both are the language of\nprophetic declaration. On what authority, then, is the literal meaning\nof the first _rejected_, while in the other it is retained and believed?\nWhy are not both to be understood alike, since in both the descriptions\nare similar? There is no rule by which a distinction can be drawn.\n\nI have now gone over the first proposition, and have proved that a\nliteral interpretation of the passages adduced involves absurdities as\ngreat as that of transubstantiation; and that the absence of all literal\nfulfillment in the case of other prophecies exactly similar, affords the\nstrongest reason to expect that in _this_ instance no literal\naccomplishment will take place. That the language itself is that of\n_correspondence_,--the representation of spiritual things by natural;\nand as such it will receive a spiritual and not a natural fulfillment.\n\n2. We now pass to the second point, namely that the texts supposed to\nrefer to the destruction of the material world are inconsistent with\neach other; and are opposed to other clear and express declarations of\nScripture. In this case as in the former, we shall note the words in the\ndebated texts. In the passages brought forward to support the doctrine,\nthere are four ways mentioned in which the destruction of the heavens\n(or visible starry firmament) is hereafter to take place. First, in one\npassage of the Revelation, they are described as being \"rolled away as a\nscroll;\" in another the stars are said to \"fall from heaven to the\nearth.\" In Peter's Epistle it is declared that they shall \"pass away\nwith a great noise;\" and in another place the same apostle says that\n\"the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved.\" Now these four\ndescriptions considered literally, contradict and destroy each other. To\ndissolve is to separate into particles, and to return to their first\nelements. But if the starry heavens are _thus_ to be destroyed, then\nthey can neither fall to the earth nor be rolled together as a scroll;\nfor that which is dissolved and reduced to its first elements, can be\ndestroyed no further except by annihilation. And if the heavenly bodies\nare to be _thus_ dissolved, then no other kind of dissolution can affect\nthem. Again, if we take the other passage, \"they were rolled away as a\nscroll,\" we are placed in precisely the same dilemma. By their being\nrolled away as a scroll, we must then understand that they will be\ndriven from their stations, thrown into confusion, and hurried afar into\nthe depths of space. But if they are thus rolled away they cannot\npossibly \"fall to the earth,\" for the two events stand in direct\nopposition; in the first instance they must be hurled into space, far\nbeyond the earth's orbit; in the latter they must absolutely fall upon\nher surface. And now we ask, Are the stars to be rolled away, or are\nthey to fall upon the earth? The literal sense of the Scripture mentions\nboth events; but if one occurs, the other (consistently with the text)\ncan never take place.\n\nSuppose, however, we admit for the sake of argument, that the rolling\naway of the heavens is an event separate from the destruction of the\nstars. We again inquire whether this event will take place _before_ such\ndestruction, or _after_ it. If _before_ it, we come to the former\nconclusion; for then the stars must fly off with the heaven in which\nthey are fixed. If _after_ it, then, as there will be nothing but _empty\nspace_ remaining, we ask how such empty space can be called _the\nheavens_; and how empty _space_ without a single visible object, can be\n\"rolled away as a scroll!\" In this instance, therefore, if we abide by\nthe literal sense of one passage, we must of necessity reject that of\nthe others.\n\nBut it is further said that all these events are to take place\n_previous_ to the appearance of the Son of Man. \"The sun shall be\ndarkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall\nfall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And\nthen (immediately following these events) shall appear the sign of the\nSon of Man in heaven.\" Now this prior commotion includes the dissolution\nof all the elements, \"The heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and\nthe elements shall melt with fervent heat.\" Among the number of the\nelements, _the air_ will of course be destroyed, for it is included\namong them; and with the air those _clouds_ which depend upon it for\ntheir existence and visibility. Yet, after this, when the clouds have\nceased to be, and when the heavens are no more, the Son of Man is to\nappear in these very clouds and in the midst of this heaven! Here,\nagain, is an inconsistency in the literal sense of the passage. If the\nheavens, and with them the clouds are dissolved, then it is impossible\nthat anything can appear _in_ what has ceased to have an existence. Or\nif the Son of Man _is_ to appear in the clouds, then the heavens cannot\nbe destroyed previous to that appearance. Which way soever we turn we\nare met by a difficulty. If we receive one of the passages in the\nliteral sense, we must either reject or spiritualize the other.\n\nAgain: at the time of our Lord's ascension, the two angels who appeared\nto the disciples declared, \"this same Jesus which is taken up from you\ninto heaven, shall _so come in like manner_, as ye have seen him go into\nheaven.\" Acts i. 11. It would therefore appear that, if these angelic\nmessengers are worthy of credit, the _descent_ of our Lord is to be\nexactly similar in circumstance to his ascent. Now, in his ascension\ninto heaven, there are several things which require notice. 1st: It was\n_private_. He led his disciples from the city to the Mount of Olives.\n2d: It was seen by none but his followers. The generality of the Jewish\nnations did not even know that such an event had taken place; they\nconsidered our Lord as a dead man; and hence when they accused Paul\nbefore Festus, one part of that accusation was that he affirmed one\nJesus to be alive, who was (in their opinion) dead. Acts xxv. 19. 3d:\nHis ascension was a _solitary_ one. There is no account whatever that\nany persons were _seen_ ascending with Him:--\"_He_ was taken up; and a\ncloud received _Him_ out of their sight.\" And, 4th: It was _unattended\nby any outward pomp_. The Jews knew nothing of it;--there was no\nalteration in the visible world; and even those who witnessed the event,\nbeheld nothing save a bright cloud into which he passed and disappeared.\nThe ascension of the Saviour was therefore to the world a _private_\noccurrence, so far as privacy consists in general ignorance respecting\nit. It was seen by none but his disciples; it was without pomp or show.\nOf those who afterwards heard of it, numbers gave no credit to the\nstory. And the only visible proof that it had taken place, was the\neffect which followed--the extraordinary out-pouring of the divine\ninfluence.\n\nAnd if we keep to the literal sense of the words, _this_ is to be his\ndescent from heaven: He is to come _in like manner_ as He went up. If,\nthen, this be the case, then such descent will be an occurrence unknown\nto the generality of mankind, or only known by its following effects. It\nwill be unaccompanied by any destruction, and even by any commotion in\nthe realm of material nature. And many of those who hear of it may be\nexpected to deny it, according to his own words: \"When the Son of Man\ncometh shall He find faith on the earth?\"\n\nSuch, according to the passage before us must be the manner of his\nSecond Coming: but let us, if we can, reconcile this with the former\ndescriptions. In the one case all nature is to be _destroyed_; in the\nother it is to remain unshaken. In the former instance He is said to\ndescend with thousands of angels; in the latter, to come unattended. By\nthe first description, He is to be seen visibly by all; in the second,\nHe will be invisible to all except his followers. The two accounts thus\nstand in direct contradiction to each other. If He comes again in the\nsame \"manner\" that He ascended, then the former passages cannot be\nliterally understood: or if He comes literally in the manner they\ndescribe, the passage before us cannot be true.\n\nI might here, as in the former case, go through every passage, and show\nthat each of them contains within itself accounts which are inconsistent\nwith those of the others: in one it is said that the Lord shall descend\nfrom heaven in flaming fire: in another, in the clouds: in a third, on a\ngreat white throne. In one it is declared that, before his face the\nearth and the heaven shall flee away, and their place be no more found:\nin a second, that _after_ His coming the departed shall rise from the\nearth, and the grave and the sea give up their dead; consequently, if\nthe latter part be true, the earth will not pass away at the time of His\ndescent. In the whole there are inconsistencies which science, according\nto the literal meaning, may disguise, but can never reconcile.\n\nWe now turn to the consideration of other passages which, taken even in\ntheir literal sense, militate strongly against the doctrine in dispute.\nAfter the destruction of the antediluvian earth by the flood, Jehovah\naffirmed, \"I will not _again curse the ground any more_, though the\nimagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again\nsmite any more every living thing as I have done.\" This _curse_ which\nthe Lord is here inferred to have pronounced upon the former world, in\nwhatever sense the terms be taken, was accomplished in its destruction;\nand the end of that world by a flood of waters, completed its\nfulfillment. The curse of the Lord, therefore, when pronounced upon the\nearth, leads to its dissolution. But God Himself affirms that He will\nnot thus curse the ground any more,--that He will not again suffer it to\nbe destroyed, neither will He again smite everything living. The\ndeclaration is absolute. It is not said that He will refrain from it\nduring a _limited period_, but that He will not do it _any more_--to all\neternity. Yet if the commonly received doctrine be correct, this\ndeclaration of Jehovah must be untrue. If _again_ everything living _is_\nto be smitten,--if again the earth is to be cursed with destruction as\ncomplete, if not more so than the former one; then it cannot be true\nthat every living thing is _not_ again to be smitten, nor the earth\nagain to be cursed. In this instance the literal proofs clash with the\nsolemn declaration of God.\n\nIf, however, it be objected that these words refer not so much to the\n_destruction_ of the globe, as to the _mode_ of that event, I reply that\nno such qualifying language is found in the text. The words are general;\nthey are not \"I will not again curse the earth _with water_,\" but I will\nnot curse the ground,--I will not destroy the earth \"_any more_,\" either\nin this way or in any other. \"I will not smite any more everything\nliving as I have now done,\" by an universal destruction. And, in fact,\nthe promise that _a flood_ should no more destroy the world, would have\nafforded little consolation to Noah, had he understood that another\ndestruction more awful than the former, was approaching, in which not\nthis world only, but the whole universe would perish; and when not the\ngreater part, but _all_ things living, would be destroyed, without the\npreservation even of a remnant. The flood is certainly in the following\nchapter referred to particularly as the more recent danger, and a\nrepetition of which would be most dreaded by the survivors; but the very\nsame declaration of Jehovah, which interdicts a flood of waters, equally\ninterdicts any other entire destruction:--\"I will not in any way curse\nthe ground any more.\"\n\nThere is another subject upon which I must touch, but very briefly,\nsince the arguments arising out of it might be carried to a length far\nexceeding my prescribed limits. The prophetic writings abound with\ndescriptions of what is called \"the kingdom of David:\"--a kingdom which\nwas to arise in the latter day, and upon which every blessing of heaven\nwas to descend. \"In those days,\" says the prophet Amos, \"I will raise up\nthe tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches\nthereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the\ndays of old.\" ix. \"And in the days of these kings (that is, literally,\nin the latter times of the Roman power,) shall the God of heaven set up\na kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be\nleft to other people; but it shall break in pieces, and consume all\nthese kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.\" Dan. ii. 44. Again, the\nsame prophet: \"I saw in the night visions, and behold one like unto the\nSon of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the ancient of\ndays, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him\ndominion and glory and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and\nlanguages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion,\nwhich shall not pass away; and his kingdom, that which shall not be\ndestroyed.\" That these descriptions refer to the Redeemer, is evident.\nIsaiah when predicting his approach, and the establishment of his\nkingdom, says, \"Of the increase of his government and peace there shall\nbe no end upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom to order it and\nto establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for\never.\" ix. 7.\n\nNow the question is, to what authority or kingdom do these predictions\nrefer? That it is not to the general government of God, is clear,--this\nhad existed from eternity; but the dominion spoken of, was to commence\nat a definite period of time,--\"at that time,\" and \"in the days of those\nkings.\" The general subjection of all things to the Divine Being, is\nalso something arising out of his very nature, and is neither given nor\nacquired; but this was something to be acquired. \"The Lord God shall\n_give_ unto him the throne of his father David:\"--\"The saints of the\nMost High shall take the kingdom.\" Nor can it refer to the kingdom of\nthe just in glory, for the descriptions are such as can only apply to\nthe state of men on earth. \"He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; He\nshall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom.\" Isa.\nxl. 11. \"I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them,\neven my servant David.\" If, therefore, this kingdom be neither the\ngeneral dominion over all, nor the state of the righteous in eternity,\nit can only relate to the kingdom of the church on earth. And that it\ndoes so, is plain from the very terms used. David is, by almost all\nprofessed Christians, acknowledged to have been a type and\nrepresentative of the Messiah; and the Jewish nation over whom he\nreigned, most certainly prefigured the Christian church: the throne of\nDavid is therefore the authority of the Lord in his church on earth, and\nhis kingdom is that church itself. Now this kingdom and this\nthrone,--this church and authority _are everlasting_; they shall \"never\nbe destroyed;\" they shall \"not pass away;\" they shall \"stand for ever.\"\nBut if _the earth_ on which this church exists, is hereafter to dissolve\nand pass away, the kingdom must pass away with it. For though it is true\nthat the just in heaven would still constitute a kingdom of the Lord,\nyet that kingdom would no longer be \"_the kingdom of David_.\" The very\ndeclaration that the kingdom of the Lord _on earth_ will _never be\ndestroyed_, supposes as a necessary consequence, that the earth on which\nit is erected will also continue to exist.\n\nIn agreement with this are the words heard by John; \"There were great\nvoices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms _of this world_ are become the\nkingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and He shall reign for _ever\nand ever_.\" Rev. xi. 15. And over what is He thus to reign? Most\ncertainly over the kingdoms which He is here said to have obtained--the\nkingdoms of _this world_; and over these He is to reign \"for ever and\never.\" But how is He to reign for ever over the kingdoms of the world,\nif the world and its kingdoms are to be destroyed? Whenever the earth is\ndissolved, the kingdoms of the world will be no more; and he cannot\nreign over that which has no existence! If, then, the world and its\nkingdoms are to be destroyed, He can never reign _for ever_ over them:\nor if He will thus reign for ever over the kingdoms of the world, then\nthose kingdoms must exist for ever; and if the _kingdoms_ exist for\never, _the world_ on which they are founded must exist for ever with\nthem.\n\nAnd exactly in accordance with this assertion are the words of the\nPsalmist: \"He (the Lord) built his sanctuary in high places, like _the\nearth_ which He hath established _for ever_.\" And those of\nSolomon:--\"One generation passeth away, and another cometh, _but the\nearth abideth for ever_.\" The same is declared of the heavens: \"His name\nshall endure _for ever_; His name shall be continued _as long as the\nsun_.\" Psalm lxxii. 17. \"His seed shall endure _for ever_, and his\nthrone _as the sun_ before me; it shall be _established for ever as the\nmoon_, and as a faithful witness in heaven.\" lxxxix. 36.\n\nNothing can be more directly opposed to the common opinion than these\nexplicit declarations of the Bible. It is certain that these passages\nrefer to the visible earth and to the material heaven; and these it is\nexpressly declared are to continue not for a limited time, but for ever:\nwhile in the passages adduced to prove the opposite, we are left to\nstruggle among difficulties, without any certainty that the visible\nearth is at all intended, since even those commentators who believe the\ntenet are compelled, in most instances, to abandon the proofs of it.\n\nI have now established, as far as is necessary, my second proposition. I\nhave shown that the literal sense of the passages brought forward to\nconfirm the doctrine of the earth's destruction, are inconsistent with\neach other, as well as with other parts of the Sacred Volume; and\ntherefore, that such literal meaning cannot be the true one. I have\nshown that the words of Jehovah assert that the world shall not be\nsmitten any more. I have further shown that the duration of the kingdom\nof God, runs parallel with that of the visible world, and that therefore\nboth must endure for ever. And lastly, that the sacred writers declare\nin explicit language the endless duration both of the earth and the\nheavens.\n\n3. I now proceed to consider the third part of the subject: that the\npassages brought forward, when taken in their proper connexion, give no\ncountenance to the popular doctrine, but on the contrary, afford evident\nproofs that they have no reference to it. In doing this, I shall adduce\nthem one by one in the order they are laid down. And first, the passage\nin the Gospel of Matthew: \"Immediately after the tribulation of those\ndays the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,\nand the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens\nshall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man coming\nin the clouds of heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth\nmourn when they see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with\npower and great glory.\"\n\nI have already noticed the inconsistencies which arise from adopting the\nliteral meaning of the passage; and I now remark further, that in their\nliteral and obvious application, the words refer not to any destruction\nof the world in general, but to the approaching overthrow of the Jewish\nnation and polity. I admit that they have a spiritual reference to the\nstate of the Christian church of which the Jews were a type; but of this\nwe shall speak hereafter. It is with the literal meaning we have now to\ndo, since on the literal meaning the doctrine is founded.[5]\n\nOur Lord had been addressing the multitude in the temple; and in that\naddress He had solemnly warned them of their approaching danger. On his\ndeparture, his followers pointed to its stately and magnificent\nbuildings; and He again seized the opportunity to repeat to them the\nprediction of its final destruction. Naturally anxious to learn the fate\nof their country, and, perhaps, too uneasy on their own account, they\ncame to Him privately and asked, \"When shall these things be?\" and \"what\nshall be the sign of thy coming, and of the consummation of the\nage?\"[6]--that is, the period of the Jewish government and religion. In\nreply, He delivered the splendid prophecy before us; first warning them\nagainst those pretenders to Messiahship, who, soon after His ascension,\noverrun the land of Judea; and then going on to describe the miseries\nwhich were coming upon the Jews, and the final overthrow of their temple\nand city;--He delivers to them this prediction, not in the common\nlanguage of narrative, but, in the magnificent figures of the ancient\nprophecy. A method of speaking which, while it pointed out the mutation\nof earthly things, had a further reference to things spiritual. And thus\nwhile He pointed out the overthrow of the Jewish power, He referred\nlikewise to the degraded state and corruption of the Christian\nchurch,--the spiritual Jerusalem,--when, having lost its love or\ncharity, it sunk down into a state of formal observance as lifeless as\nthe departed spirit of Judaism.\n\nIn neither of these senses, however, does the passage point to any\ndestruction of the visible universe. If we take it in its outward\nreference to the Jewish nation, then the darkening of the sun and the\nwithdrawing of the moon, together with the other parts of the\ndescription, can only be representative images of their multiplied\ndistresses. This view of the subject is taken by most of those who have\ncommented on the words. \"The sun shall be darkened,\" \"that is, (says\none,) all their glory and excellency shall be eclipsed; all their wealth\nand prosperity shall be laid waste;--the whole government, civil and\necclesiastical, shall be destroyed; and such marks of misery found upon\nthem, as never were seen upon a people.\"[7] But among the believers of\nthe tenet in dispute, we presume there is not one more highly celebrated\nfor learning than Dr. Adam Clarke; yet he, in commenting upon this\npassage, gives up all idea of a literal destruction. The following is\nthe doctor's explanation:\n\n\"'Immediately after the tribulation.'--Commentators generally understand\nthis and what follows, of the end of the world and Christ's coming to\njudgment. But the word _immediately_ shows that our Lord is not speaking\nof any distant event, but of something immediately consequent on\ncalamities already predicted; and that must be the destruction of\nJerusalem. The _Jewish heaven_ shall perish and _the sun_ and _moon_ of\nits glory and happiness shall be darkened,--brought to nothing. _The sun\nis the religion of the church; the moon the government of the state_;\nand _the stars_ are the _judges and doctors of both_. In the prophetic\nlanguage, great commotions upon earth are often represented under the\nnotion of commotions and changes in the heavens. The fall of Babylon is\nthus represented by the constellations of heaven withdrawing their\nlight, and the sun and the moon being darkened:--the destruction of\nEgypt by the heaven being covered, the sun enveloped with a cloud, and\nthe moon withholding her light: the destruction of the Jews by Antiochus\nEpiphanes, is represented by _casting down some of the host of heaven_\nand _the stars_ to the ground. And this very destruction of Jerusalem is\nrepresented by the prophet Joel, by showing wonders in heaven and in\nearth,--_darkening the sun, and turning the moon into blood_. This\ngeneral mode of describing these judgments, leaves no room to doubt the\npropriety of its application in the present case.\" (_Commentary on\nMatthew._)\n\nThus, in the hands of one of the most learned advocates of the doctrine,\ndoes one of its principal proofs vanish into air. According to his\nshowing, there is nothing in the whole passage referring at all either\nto the material earth, or the visible heavens; and the whole is a\nfigurative account of the overthrow of the religion and government of\nthe Jews,--\"the _sun_ and _moon_ of the _Jewish heaven_.\" We might\nfollow the doctor through the whole chapter, and show that in almost\nevery point he confirms what has been formerly advanced. \"The sign of\nthe Son of Man was, (he says,) the signal manifestation of Christ's\npower and glory,\" in the destruction of Jerusalem. The \"angels sent\nforth to gather the elect, the apostles and their successors in the\nChristian ministry.\" The sound of a trumpet, \"the earnest affectionate\ncall of the Gospel:\" and \"_the elect_,\" \"the Gentiles who were now\nchosen or elected, in place of the rebellious obstinate Jews.\" In the\nsame manner he explains the whole of this and the following chapter; and\nin the latter declares that the whole of the accounts up to the\nthirty-first verse, may be properly applied to the destruction of\nJerusalem. And here we may leave him; for if there is nothing from the\nfirst verse of the twenty-fourth chapter, to the thirty-first verse of\nthe twenty-fifth, which relates to the destruction of the world, surely\nnothing respecting it will be found in the remainder.\n\nThus does this passage, so often brought forward to add to the terror of\nthe world's dissolution, which has been sounded forth from pulpits and\nre-echoed from the press, when calmly examined, prove to have no\nconnexion with the subject: but to refer to an event as different from\nthe general conflagration, as light from darkness.\n\nBut some may be ready to say, \"Although it has not this reference in its\noutward meaning, yet you have already confessed that it relates to\nChristianity and the church; and is not the doctrine contained in this\ninternal application?\" I answer, no! The doctrine only stands upon the\nsupposition that the heavens and the earth referred to in the passage,\nare the literal and visible portions of nature. We have seen that in its\nrelation to the Jews, no such things are intended; still less,\ntherefore, can it point to these in its _internal_ meaning. As the sun\nand moon in the literal application are, (to use the words of Dr.\nClarke,) \"the sun and moon of the _Jewish_ heaven\" or state, so in\nspiritual reference, they are the sun and moon of the _Christian_\nheaven, or state of the church; and, as pointing to spiritual principles\nand spiritual states, have nothing to do with the outward machinery of\nnature. As no destruction of the world, then, can be found in the\n_internal_ sense of the prophecy, it is confessed, even by the advocates\nof the doctrine, that there is nothing respecting it in the _outward_\nsense. And if nothing is found relating to it either in the _spiritual_\nor _literal_ meaning of the words, then it is not there _at all_; and\nthe passage as a proof of the dissolution of all things, must be\nabandoned for ever.[8]\n\nThe next passage which claims attention, is that in the sixth chapter of\nthe Revelation; for the words in the first chapter being those of the\napostle previous to his prophetic visions, may be classed among the\napostolic passages of which we shall speak hereafter. The text before us\nreads: \"And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there\nwas a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair,\nand the moon became as blood, and the stars of heaven fell unto the\nearth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken\nof a mighty wind: and the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled\ntogether, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.\"\nIn this part of the subject I say nothing of the evidently figurative\nnature of the passage, nor of the absurdities before alluded to, as\nexisting in the sense of the letter; but I shall make one remark obvious\nto the minds of all, and borne out by the connexion of the words\nthemselves. The vision of the _seals_ (as well as that of the vials,) is\none continued prophecy, which is not concluded until the breaking of the\nseventh seal in the eighth chapter. Now the events above described,\nwhether representative or literal, happen under the _sixth_ seal; yet\nthe descriptions of the _seventh_ as well as those of the others, refer\nto events which were to occur in the church and on this visible earth.\nThe sealing of the hundred and forty-four thousand,--the prohibition of\nthe wind to blow on the earth,--the seven trumpets and their\nconsequences, evidently relate to states of the church in this world;\nyet all these things which were to be transacted in the visible world,\nhappen _after_ the description above quoted.\n\nIf, then, various and multiplied events are described as occurring _on\nthe earth, after_ the heavens had departed like a scroll, and the\nislands were moved out of their places, nothing can be more clear than\nthat the destruction of the earth is not here alluded to; for if the\nworld is to be destroyed under the _sixth_ seal, then no events can\nhappen _upon it_ under the _seventh_, since it will then have no\nexistence; but as such events _are_ described as passing _in the world_\nunder the _seventh_ seal, then that world cannot previously be destroyed\nunder the _sixth_ seal.\n\nAnd in this opinion we are, as before, supported by the advocates of the\ndoctrine themselves. The sealing of the tribes is almost universally\nacknowledged to signify the preservation of the church, under those\nheavy and forthcoming calamities represented by the effects of the seven\ntrumpets. And as this preservation, and these calamities, occur _after_\nthe darkening of the sun, and the falling of the stars, the latter event\nis generally supposed to prefigure (not the destruction of visible\nnature, but) some great change in the political or religious\nconstitution of the world. The precise period to which this change is to\nbe referred, has, however, divided the opinions of the learned. Some\napply it altogether to the Jews, and suppose that their destruction in\nJudea and at Jerusalem was so dismal that it was represented to John as\nthe darkening of the sun, and the moon looking like blood, and the stars\nfalling. Others apply it to the overthrow of Paganism and the\ndestruction of the heathen emperors; and accordingly by the earth\nquaking,--the sun becoming black,--the moon becoming blood, and the\nstars falling from heaven to earth, is to be understood the great\nchanges that were made in the Roman empire by the overturning of the\nPagan state. Others again apply it to \"the great and horrible confusion\nof the Christian world under Antichrist, when Christ the Sun of\nRighteousness began to be obscured; that is, his doctrine darkened,--the\nmoon or church turned into blood,--the stars or pastors fallen from\nheavenly offices, the Scriptures, like the heavens rolled up, forbidden\nto be read, the mountains, (king and princes) in jeopardy,--and the\nislands brought under Antichrist's yoke and tyranny.\" Very few venture\nto apply it to what is commonly called the \"end of the world;\" and none\ncan do it without charging the apostle with inconsistency, by affirming\nthat it shall take place at a definite period of time; and then speaking\nof events that are to occur in the world _after_ that time, that is,\nafter the world shall have been destroyed!\n\nOn this passage the commentator whom we have already quoted observes,\n\n\"A great earthquake,\" that is, \"a most stupendous change in the civil\nand religious constitution of the world.\" \"The _sun_\"--the ancient Pagan\ngovernment of the Roman empire, \"_was totally darkened_; and like a\nblack hair sackcloth, was degraded and humbled to the dust. The\n_moon_--the ecclesiastical state of the same empire, _become as blood_,\nwas totally ruined; their sacred rites abrogated; their priests and\nreligious institutions desecrated; their altars cast down; their temples\ndestroyed, or turned into places of Christian worship. The _stars of\nheaven_--the gods and goddesses, demi-gods and deified heroes, of their\npoetical and _mythological heaven_, prostrated indiscriminately, and lay\nas useless as the figs or fruit of a tree shaken down before ripe by a\ntempestuous wind. _And the heaven departed as a scroll._ The whole\nsystem of Pagan and idolatrous worship, with all its spiritual, secular,\nand superstitious influence, blasted, shriveled up, and rendered null\nand void as a parchment scroll when exposed to the action of a strong\nfire. And every mountain--all the props, supports, and dependencies of\nthe empire; whether regal allies, tributary kings, dependent colonies,\nor mercenary troops, were all moved out of their places, so as to stand\nno longer in the same relation to that empire and its worship, support,\nand maintenance, as they formerly did. And _island_:--The heathen\ntemples, with their precincts and inclosures, cut off from the common\npeople, may be here represented by _islands_.\"[9]\n\nLike the former passage, therefore, this is rendered nugatory as a proof\nof the dissolution of the universe; and rendered so, too, by the\nadmission of its friends. As that referred to the _Jewish heaven_ which\npassed away at the destruction of the city of Jerusalem, so this is\naffirmed to apply to the _mythological heaven_ of the Pagans, which was\ndissolved at the conversion of Constantine to Christianity; and to have\nno allusion to the system of material nature. Here are two of the\nstrongest passages thrown aside as useless in the controversy; and we\nshall quickly perceive that, when closely examined, the advocates of the\ndoctrine equally cast off, if not the whole, at least the greater part,\nof the remainder.\n\nIndeed, as I have already remarked, the connexion of the passage is such\nas will by no means admit of any literal burning of the earth; so that,\neven though its inapplicability to the subject had _not_ been allowed,\nyet would the inconsistency attendant on such a meaning, have pleaded\nloudly for its rejection.\n\nWe pass now to consider the next proof, which occurs in the twentieth\nchapter of the same book: \"And I saw a great white throne and Him that\nsat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there\nwas found no place for them. And I saw the dead small and great stand\nbefore God; and the books were opened,\" etc. In connection with this\nstands the first verse of the twenty-first chapter: \"And I saw a new\nheaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were\npassed away, and there was no more sea.\"\n\nUpon this passage we may repeat the remark which we applied to the\nforegoing: that the events which follow this descent of the Saviour, and\nwhich are stated as its consequences, are such as apply only to the\nchurch of God on earth; and that, therefore, the words before us cannot\npoint to any dissolution of the universe. The immediate effects of the\npassing away of the heaven and the earth, are the formation of a new\nheaven and a new earth, and the descent of \"the holy city New\nJerusalem.\" This latter event the celebrated Dr. Hammond declares cannot\nrefer to the state of glorified saints in heaven, but must signify some\npeculiar benefit bestowed upon the church on earth. The expression\n\"descending out of heaven from God,\" at once determines its reference to\na state of things below; and it no doubt relates to the restoration of\nChristianity to its primitive purity. In the very same manner does Dr.\nClarke explain the passage, though he evidently betrays a wish to find\nwithin it a proof of the dissolution of all things. \"The New Jerusalem,\"\nsays he, \"doubtless means the Christian church in a state of great\nprosperity and purity:\" and alluding to the description given of her, he\nobserves, that \"it has been _most injudiciously_ applied to _heaven_.\"\nIf, then, the consequence of the passing away of the first heaven is to\nusher in (not eternal glory, but) a prosperous state of the church on\nearth, it must follow in course that such a passing away of the heavens\nmust refer to a change and alteration in the church, and not in the\nnatural world;--to the conclusion and departure of a state of darkness,\nand the commencement of a new state of light and affection. As the\nformer _Jewish heaven_ of types and shadows departed at the first coming\nof the SON OF GOD, and as the _mythological heaven of Paganism_ was\n\"shriveled up\" at the triumph of the Gospel, so must the _modern\nChristian heaven_ of ignorance and evil pass away at the Second Coming\nof the SON OF MAN; and to it will succeed a _new heaven_ of purity and\npeace.\n\nIn this application of the passage, we are supported by the explanation\nof the above commentators. They agree in defining heaven and earth\nfiguratively, to mean the state of the world and of the church;--of the\nJewish world, when applied to the Jews;--of the Pagan world, when\napplied to the Heathen: and by the self-same mode of interpretation, we\nare justified in applying it to the _Christian world_ in its reference\nto Christians. In no case can it be explained of the visible world of\nmatter; for the passages being acknowledged to be figurative, it must,\nas in the other instances, bear the figurative meaning.\n\nHaving thus noticed the only two texts in the Revelations, which seem,\nin the least, to bear upon the subject, I may be allowed again to repeat\nmy surprise, that persons should be found attempting to support a\ndoctrine by the literal sense of this book. Those among the advocates of\nthe popular belief, who have most carefully studied the prophecy,\nprotest their ignorance of its meaning and application. \"I cannot\npretend to explain the book,\" says the writer above quoted; \"I do not\nunderstand it. I repeat it, I do not understand the book; and I am\nsatisfied, that not one who has written on the subject, knows anything\nmore of it than myself.\"--\"What the prophecies mean, and when and _how_\nthey are to be fulfilled, God in heaven alone knows.\" It \"is termed a\n_Revelation_; but it is a revelation of _symbols_;--an exhibition of\n_enigmas_, to which no particular solution is given; and to which God\nalone can give the solution.\" \"To pretend to say, (observes Calmet,)\nwhat this new heaven and new earth mean, and what are their ornaments\nand qualities, is, in my opinion, the greatest of all presumptions.\"\nYet, into this presumption do the generality of Christians fall, who,\namidst this candid confession of learned ignorance, bring forth with the\ngreatest confidence the literal sense of the book, to support a doctrine\nwhich length of time has seemed to render sacred.\n\nThe words of the apostles now demand our attention; and with respect to\nthese we notice a fact which is necessary to the proper understanding of\ntheir ideas; that is, that the apostles were themselves ignorant both of\nthe time when, and the manner how, the second coming of the Lord would\nbe accomplished; and that they have, therefore, when speaking upon this\nsubject, carefully abstained from giving any opinion of their own,\nconfining themselves entirely to the words of the Saviour, or\nparaphrasing them without altering the symbolic images.\n\nThis circumstance in no degree detracts from that extraordinary\nillumination with which the apostles were endowed. They were men raised\nup by God, and filled with the Divine influence, in order that they\nmight propagate in the world, and among all nations, the religion of\nChrist; but it does not appear that among the supernatural gifts which\nthey received, the gift of _prophecy_ was included, except in the case\nof the apostle John. Yet, even if we allow, for the sake of argument,\nthat they did _possess_ this gift, it would by no means follow that they\nperfectly understood their own predictions. It is the peculiar nature of\nprophecy, that its proper meaning is not known until the time of its\nfulfillment; and this was especially the case with the Jewish writers\nwho foretold the first advent of the Saviour. Although their predictions\nseem now so clear and strong, yet both the prophets themselves and their\nfollowers, were at the time ignorant of their precise meaning; and hence\narose the absurd notions which the Jews entertained of a temporal\nsalvation and an earthly Saviour. The gift of prophecy was, therefore,\nexcept in very rare instances, accompanied by entire ignorance of the\nmanner of its fulfillment. It does not, however, appear that this gift\nwas bestowed in general upon the apostles; their knowledge of the second\ncoming of the Saviour was derived entirely from the words of the\nSaviour; and of the express meaning of these words, as referring to a\nfuture event, they were completely ignorant. In quoting his prediction\nthey, therefore, seem to have held a persuasion that this second coming\nwas very speedily to be accomplished. Thus they speak of the \"day of the\nLord\" as \"at hand,\"--of \"the Judge standing at the door:\" and Paul, in\nparticular, seems to have believed that some of the Christians of that\nday, if not himself among them, would live to see its approach.\n\nWhether this latter opinion be true or not, certain it is that the words\nof the apostles had such an effect upon the first Christians, that they\nwere in momentary expectation of the appearance of the Lord. During the\nfirst nine centuries after his ascension, a general idea prevailed that\nhis second coming would speedily take place; and when, after waiting\nnine hundred years, they found their expectations disappointed, they\nstill looked to the one thousandth year to usher in this great event;\nand so powerfully did this opinion operate upon the world, that rich and\npoor flocked in great numbers to the Holy Land, there to await his\nappearance. The wealthy sold their possessions, or gave them away to\ncharitable institutions; kings quitted their thrones, and subjects their\nemployment, under the impression that \"the end of all things was at\nhand,\" and that the world was of no further value. Such, then, was the\neffect of a misapplication of prophetic language; and though nearly\nnineteen hundred years have gone by, yet are the Christian churches\nstill following in the steps of their predecessors, holding the literal\nsense of the Word in defiance of reason, and looking for the Lord's\npersonal appearance in the clouds of heaven, though common sense\nproclaims its improbability.\n\nBut to return. From a comparison of the descriptions of the apostles\nwith the predictions of the Lord, it is easy to perceive whence they\nquoted. In many instances the two accounts are almost word for word the\nsame; in others they are enlarged; but in none is the connexion of\nevents, or the prophetic symbols, disturbed. \"The day of the Lord (says\nPeter,) shall come as a _thief in the night_, in which the heavens shall\n_pass away_ with a great noise.\" Here it is easy to perceive whence the\nwords of the apostle were drawn; for we have only to compare them with\nthose of our Lord, to be convinced that it was from these the\ndescription is taken. \"Heaven and earth (says the Saviour) shall _pass\naway_, but my words shall not pass away.\" \"Know this, that if the good\nman of the house had known at what hour _the thief_ would come, he would\nhave watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.\"\nAgain, Paul declares, \"The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a\nshout, with the voice of the _archangel_ and _the trump_ of God; and the\ndead in Christ shall rise first.\" Here, too, the prophecy is quoted from\nthe Saviour's declaration: \"He shall send his angels with a _great\nsound_ of a _trumpet_, and they shall gather together his elect from the\nfour winds, from one end of heaven to the other.\" Once more the Apostle\nJohn says: \"Behold, he cometh _with clouds_; and every eye shall _see_\nhim, even they that pierced Him; and all _the tribes of the earth_ shall\nwail because of Him:\" where the allusion is to these words: \"Then shall\nappear the sign of the coming of the Son of Man in _heaven_; and then\nshall all the _tribes of the earth mourn_, when they _see_ the Son of\nMan _coming in the clouds_ of heaven, with power and great glory.\"\n\"Behold, (says the Lord) I _stand at the door_ and knock;\" \"Behold,\"\nsays the apostle, echoing the Saviour's words, \"the Judge _standeth at\nthe door_.\"\n\nIt would exceed my present limits to enter fully into this subject.\nSuffice to say, that in most passages the reference to our Lord's\npredictions may be plainly discerned; and in all the prophetic\nrepresentatives are retained: The sun,--the moon,--the stars,--the\nearth,--the heavens, darkness, dissolution, and fire--the very images\nwhich are used by the Saviour, are likewise used by the apostles, and\nused, too, with a reference to the _same period_--the last days of the\nChristian church. If these images, when used by the prophets and by the\nRedeemer, are figurative, then, as the same _images_ applied to the\n_same period_, they are figurative when employed by the apostles. Or, if\nthe dissolution and burning of the earth described by the latter are\nliteral facts, then the burning of the earth and its dissolution\ndescribed by the former, are literal facts likewise; for the _same\nimages_ applied to the _same period_, must have the _same meaning_.\n\nIf, then, these observations be correct, and I see not how they can be\nfairly controverted;--if the apostles did not, except in one instance,\npossess the power of foretelling future events, and if their\ndescriptions of the second coming of the Lord are gathered from his own\nwords, or from the prophetic writings, then we must judge of their\nmeaning by that of the prophecies whence they are derived. This is a\nplain and self-evident conclusion. If I quote the words of any writer,\nthe meaning of the quotation must be gathered from the works of that\nwriter; and more especially if I quote for a similar purpose, and\nprofess myself one of his disciples and admirers. The passages,\ntherefore, which occur in the apostolic writings, are by no means\ndecisive proofs of the doctrine in debate. As quotations and paraphrases\nof the Lord's words and those of the prophets, they must, by every rule\nof fair criticism, have a similar meaning. We have seen that the former\nare, by the acknowledgment of the most learned writers, figurative and\ncorrespondent; the just inference therefore is, that the latter, as\nquotations and paraphrases of them, must be figurative also.\n\n4. The last part of our proposition comes now before us, namely: that\nthe doctrine of the destruction of the universe is opposed to the end of\ncreation, and to the character of God as a Being of unbounded love and\ninfinite wisdom. I may here be told of the tendency of matter to\ndissolution; of its mutability and constant change; of the elements of\ndestruction which nature herself engenders; and of all those by which\nreason and science have sought to gloss over the popular tenet. But the\n_mutability_ of nature is no proof of final dissolution. _Mutability_ is\nliability to change, or a continual tendency to remove from one state to\nanother. Whatever is changeable, or whatever can experience alteration,\nis, therefore, mutable. But this mutability attaches not to material\nnature alone, but to all creation; the highest archangel in the highest\nheaven, as well as every spirit embodied on earth, is a mutable\ncreature. The state of glory in the eternal world, as well as the state\nof man below, is a state of _mutability_,--a state in which there are\ncontinual changes either for the better or the worse. This will appear\nplain if we consider that, whatever is immutable cannot be acted upon by\nany higher power; for the action of such a superior cause supposes a\ncorresponding _effect_ and that effect supposes a _change_ in the object\nacted upon, in one way or another; and, consequently, any object upon\nwhich an effect can be produced, must be a mutable or changeable object.\nNow, in the case of angelic beings, God, the First Cause of their\nexistence, is continually acting upon them by his love and wisdom, and\nthus raising them eternally in the scale of blessedness: such alteration\nof their state from glory to glory is a change,--an effect produced upon\nthem by an Almighty Cause; and this effect is at once a proof that\nangels themselves are _mutable_ creatures, or liable to change. The same\nmay be said of the state of blessedness; it is continually receiving\nfresh supplies of glory from the Fountain of life, and is thus\n_changing_--becoming more and more blessed: and it equally applies to\nthe spirit of man. This, like the mind, is never \"at one stay;\" nor,\nperhaps, does the state of the mind remain precisely the same for two\nhours together. The angels of heaven, the state of the blessed, the\nspirit of man, are all changeable. God is the _only immutable Being_;\nfor He alone cannot be acted upon or changed by any higher power; and\nhence it is one of his exclusive prerogatives to be \"without\nvariableness or shadow of turning.\" If, then, the angelic hosts, as well\nas heaven itself, are mutable, while yet they endure for ever, the\nmutability of nature is no proof at all that she, any more than the\nformer, is approaching dissolution.\n\n\"Nature herself,\" as one well observes, \"effects her renovation from her\ndecay.\" Matter, though decomposed and subjected to ten thousand changes,\nloses none of its essential properties; but continually assuming new\nforms, gives variety to the world, without being at all altered from its\noriginal nature. Indeed, it has been strongly asserted that there has\nnot been a particle of matter lost from the creation to the present\nmoment; changed every particle may have been, but still there is not one\nwanting; and if this be the case, such continual change is no proof of\napproaching destruction.\n\nWe are accustomed to look upon God as a Being of infinite Love; and,\nperhaps, at this stage of the subject it may be well to inquire, what\nmotive induced the Lord first to create the visible universe; and what\nwas the end proposed in its creation. In the breast of the Divine Being\nthere could exist but one motive from which creation could spring; and\nthis was Love. But the Love of God being infinite, could only have\nrespect to an eternal work; hence the end of creation was to make as\nmany beings as possible happy, and this to all eternity. In order to\naccomplish this, infinite _Love_ clothing or embodying itself in\n_wisdom_, made the worlds. According to the words of the apostle, \"By\nthe Word (or the wisdom of God,) were the heavens made;\" intending these\nas the habitations of rational beings, who after having passed through a\nshort state of probation, might finally enter upon a spiritual state and\nenjoy perfect happiness. The wisdom of God, being the manifestation of\nhis love, in completing this work, arranged everything in the most\nperfect order; and accordingly every part of the universe is formed in\nthe manner best fitted to promote the end of its existence,--the\neverlasting happiness of man. In our own world, where evil has produced\na corresponding change in outward things, even that change itself is\ngood, since, while it reminds man of his corruption, it leads him to\nseek a better habitation.\n\nThus far our assertions are easy of proof. GOD IS LOVE;--not merely\n_loving_, but LOVE, the Spring and Fountain of all derived existence.\nAnd love, even in its derivative form in the bosom of man, is an active\npassion, continually seeking for objects on whom to bestow its\naffection. As is the stream, then, so is the fountain: God being Love in\nits Infinite Essence, must ever have sought to form creatures capable of\nbeing rendered eternally happy; and hence the motive that led to\ncreation. But _love_ always manifests itself in the understanding or\nthought; and by the thought is brought into outward action. It is the\nthought or wisdom of man in which his love first takes a definite form;\nthis serves it for a guide, and directs its operations: and so again is\nit with the Being in whose \"image\" we are formed. The manifestation of\ninfinite Love, is infinite Wisdom; and this brings the power into\noutward act: by infinite Wisdom, therefore, as the acting form of\ninfinite Love, were rational beings and their varied habitations\ncreated. But this perfect wisdom can never produce anything unlike\nitself; for, as is the _cause_, so is the _effect_; hence the frame of\nnature which that wisdom calls into being, must be like itself, the most\nperfect and complete that could possibly exist. The _motive_, therefore,\nwhich led to creation was _Love_; its _cause_, Wisdom; its _end_,\ncontinued and eternal happiness.\n\nAnd further, as the love and wisdom of God once operated in bringing the\nuniverse into existence, so from that period have they been unceasingly\nemployed in preserving the creatures which they formed; for, as the\n_end_ of creation was the \"bringing of many souls into glory,\" so, to\nthe present, has that end been answered by the constant exercise of the\nDivine protection over the universe of matter and its rational\ninhabitants; that the one might continue a fit habitation for the\ncreatures of God; and that by the constant procreation of the human\nrace, a succession of men might be brought into being as candidates for\neverlasting glory. But the expected dissolution of the universe, and the\nend of human succession, will at once put a stop to this infinite\ndesign. If, after a certain number of persons have been born into the\nworld, the procreation of man must end, then the purpose of creation\ncannot be _infinite_; for that which has reference to a certain number\nand a definite period of time, is not an _infinite_ purpose; and that\nwhich is not an infinite purpose, is not the off-spring of _infinite\nlove_. Or, if the purpose of God in creation _did_ spring from infinite\nlove, then it must be an infinite purpose; and if the purpose of\ncreation be infinite, then it is not bounded by a few thousand years,\nnor will it end with a few generations.\n\nNor is the popular doctrine more consistent with the character of God\nthan with the infinity of his designs. We have seen that _love_ was the\ncause of the world's creation; but what motive, I ask, can lead to its\ndestruction? There is nothing in the Almighty contrary to love;\ntherefore, if it is destroyed at all, _love_ must be still the motive.\nBut love never works except for the good of its creatures; therefore, if\nthe universe is dissolved, it must be because such dissolution will\nconfer a benefit upon mankind. And the question then arises: What\nbenefit can mankind derive from the destruction of this material world?\nThe answer of some will be ready. \"The world\" they tell us, \"has been\nchanged by sin, and it will be dissolved in order that it may be\nrestored to its pristine glory and beauty;--that a new heaven and a new\nearth may spring from its ashes.\" But does the change here supposed in\nthe constitution of the world, require its dissolution? When sin entered\ninto the universe, and the mind of man was contaminated, an immediate\nand corresponding effect was produced upon the world of matter; but the\nproduction of that effect was not accompanied by a _dissolution_ of the\nmaterial system; it operated surely indeed, but slowly, and without any\noutward destruction. Why, then, should not the change from evil to good,\nbe effected in like manner as the change from good to evil? When the\nearth is \"filled with the knowledge of the Lord,\"--when all shall\nexperimentally \"know Him from the least even unto the greatest,\"--when\nman is again restored to his former state of peace and purity, a\ncorresponding change must once more take place in his material\nhabitation; but that change requires no destruction of the world to\neffect it. Similar causes produce similar effects; and as a change in\nman from good to evil, produced an alteration in the system of the\nworld, but without any dissolution, so a change in the souls of men from\nevil to good, must likewise produce an alteration in the earth, but\nwithout dissolution.\n\nBut this destruction, it is said, is to usher in \"a new heaven and new\nearth.\" We are, therefore, justified in asking, for what purpose is this\nnew material system created? Since it is believed that the succession of\nman will cease with _this_ earth, why should _another_ earth be formed?\nIs another race of men to be created? This, the strongest advocates of\nthe doctrine do not even suppose. Is it, then, to be the habitation of\nthe righteous of the present earth? This, it cannot be, for the bodies\nof the departed will no longer be material, but _spiritual_; and to\nassert that a _spiritual_ substance can dwell and walk on a material\nearth, however pure that earth may be, is to assert what every one sees\nto be preposterous. Since, then, it will not suit the departed\nrighteous, and another race is not to be formed, why, we continue to\nask, will this new earth be created? Here we are left completely in the\ndark; nor amidst all the reasoning of the advocates of the popular\ndoctrine, can we find a single clue to direct us to an answer.\n\nAnd here the former inquiry properly comes in. Since there is nothing in\nthe nature of God contrary to _love_, and since that love only works for\nthe temporal or everlasting benefit of man, what motive can induce the\nAlmighty to destroy this visible universe? We have seen that the state\nof mankind in time will not be improved by it; for a change in the\nconstitution of the earth has been already, and may again be, effected\nwithout it: and, besides, whenever such an event takes place, time and\nthe temporal existence of man will be no more: and the eternal happiness\nof the blessed can in no degree be increased by an overthrow of material\nnature; for when the spirit has left this sphere, it has done with\nmatter, and no longer depends upon it for its feelings or its pleasures.\nIf, then, such a dissolution of the earth as Christians in general look\nfor, will neither benefit mankind in time nor in eternity, then it is\ncontrary to the character of God that He should bring such an event to\npass; for He never operates unless to effect some benevolent purpose;\nand this will effect none, either here or hereafter.\n\nThe same reasons which induced the Almighty to call the universe into\nexistence, will therefore induce Him to continue its existence. The\ndesire which He felt to make as many rational beings as possible happy,\nled to creation. The same feeling has preserved the world in existence\nto the present moment. And as God is unchangeable, that desire must\noperate as powerfully ten thousand ages hence, as it does now; and the\noperation of that desire must, as a necessary consequence, lead to the\npreservation of this earth, from which a succession of rational\ncreatures is to spring. If, then, at a future period the world is\ndestroyed, and the multiplication of the human race ceases, it must be\neither because the Lord is unable to save more, or is unwilling to do\nit. The first supposition is impious, and the other supposes a change in\nthe Almighty; for then that desire which led to creation must have\nceased to exist in the Divine bosom; the infinite love of God must have\nceased to operate; and of consequence, the Lord Himself must have\nchanged both his desires and his operations. The destruction of the\nworld is, therefore, opposed to the character of God, as a Being of\ninfinite Love and unbounded power.\n\nWe may now sum up the arguments which have been adduced.\n\n1. When the literal sense of a passage of Scripture is opposed to common\nsense and reason, such literal sense must be laid aside, as not\ncontaining the true meaning. But the literal sense of those passages\nwhich speak of a destruction of the earth, is both absurd and\nunreasonable. Therefore the literal sense of these passages must be\nabandoned, and does not contain the proper interpretation. Again: when\ntwo prophecies are found couched in the same language, and referring to\na similar event, one of which is fulfilled while the other remains\nunaccomplished; the manner in which the latter will be fulfilled, must\nbe judged of by the previous fulfillment of the former. But the first\nprophecies relating to the first coming of the Lord, are exactly similar\nto those which refer to His second coming; yet they never were\n_literally_ fulfilled: therefore we have no just reason to look for a\nliteral fulfillment of the latter. 2. When any text of Scripture is, in\nthe letter, inconsistent with itself, or with other plain and express\npassages of the Word, the interpretation must be sought for in the\nspiritual meaning of the words. But the proofs of this earth's\ndestruction are inconsistent with themselves, and are opposed to other\nplain and direct portions of the Word of God; therefore the meaning of\nthose alleged proofs must be found, not in the literal sense, but in\ntheir spirit. 3. In the explanation of every part of the Sacred\nScriptures, a due regard must be had to the connexion in which it\nstands; and any mode of explanation which tends to break such connexion,\nor is at variance with it, may be beautiful but cannot be _true_. But\nthe connexion in which the passages referred to are found, is completely\nat variance with the doctrine derived from them; nor can they in any way\nsupport that doctrine until severed from this connexion. Therefore that\nexplanation which the generality of Christians gives them, cannot be\ncorrect. 4. And, lastly, whatever doctrine is opposed to the character\nof God, as a God of unbounded love and infinite wisdom, is not a\ndoctrine of the Bible. But the doctrine before us is thus opposed both\nto his nature and perfections; therefore it cannot be true.\n\nThe arguments arising out of these propositions might be carried to a\ngreat extent. If, however, they have been supported by reason as well as\nScripture,--if we have no right to expect a literal fulfillment of the\nprophecy relating to the Lord's second coming; and if the literal sense\nof the passages must be abandoned; then we have no reason to look for an\noverthrow of the universe, and the improbability of such a destruction\nhas been fairly established.\n\nHaving thus gone through the principal part of the subject, and having\nshown that the common interpretation, against which so many and serious\nobjections lie, cannot be the true meaning; I proceed, as a necessary\nconclusion, to notice briefly the spiritual meaning of the prophetic\nsymbols used in the passages that we have noticed, and their connexion\nwith each other. That the whole of these passages relate to the\nChristian church, we have already stated; and that they are of\nimportance to us, may be fairly inferred from their being found in the\nSacred Volume. It is, therefore, scarcely possible to conceive that even\nlearned and pious men have been able to perceive nothing within them but\nearthly concerns,--mere temporal events; the destruction of Jerusalem;\nthe conversion (whether real or pretended) of Constantine; wars in\nItaly; the irruption of the Goths; and the famine of the Antonines; as\nif these events were either able, or likely, to give that saving wisdom\nwhich it is the object of God by his Word to bestow. Everything in the\nSacred Volume is intended to contribute to our salvation; but\ntransactions like these do not tend to make us wiser or better. It is to\nthe Christian church, and to its principles and practice, therefore,\nthat these descriptions refer; and as they relate to the general body,\nthey apply to every individual of which that body is composed, and thus\ndemand our most serious attention.\n\nThe principal symbol used in these prophecies is, \"the sun;\" and this is\nsaid to \"become black,\" and to be \"turned into darkness.\" Our first\ninquiry, therefore, is, what principle in the spiritual world of\nChristianity, corresponds with this luminary in the world of matter. And\nin this inquiry we shall be aided, if we consider the functions it\nperforms. The sun is the source of all natural heat and splendor; and\nwithout his influence, the worlds in the solar system, now glowing in\nlight and beauty, would be dead and unattractive masses of matter. He is\nthe cause of all vegetable and animal life: deprived of his beams,\nvegetation would decay, and the animal kingdom sink in death. He is the\nprincipal agent in the production of sight; the eye without him, would\nbe a useless organ. In a word, if we were called upon to name the most\nimportant agent in the material world, our thoughts would turn at once\nto the sun. Now, in the spiritual world, including both the church of\nGod and the individual spirit of man, what is that which produces the\nsame effects as the natural sun does in the system of matter? What is\nthe source of love and wisdom, spiritual heat and spiritual light?--What\nis it that produces in the mind those fruits of righteousness which are\nthe characteristics of true religion? What gives to reason (the eye of\nthe mind) its power of discerning spiritual things? and invests the\nsoul, naturally dark and lifeless, with spiritual life and glory? It is\nDivine Love that does this. This is the Sun of the spiritual\nuniverse,--the Fountain of all heavenly light and life,--the Cause of\nevery good word and work. And in giving this meaning to the natural\nimage, we are supported throughout by the Sacred Scripture. The Lord is\ncalled \"the Sun,\" and, \"the Sun of Righteousness.\" He is said to _rise_\nupon the mind, when the spirit turns itself toward Him; and to _turn\naway_ from man, when he departs from his Maker. In the same manner,\nwhenever the prophets or apostles were favored with a visible\nrepresentation of the Divine Majesty, they describe the face of God as\nshining like _the sun_. Now the face of God is his Love. Hence the\nPsalmist says, \"Lift upon us _the light of thy countenance_, and cause\nthy face to shine upon us.\" And this love of God is described as the\nsun, rising, shining, and giving light. Thus, too, in the visions of\nJohn, when the apostle beheld an image of the pure church of Christ, he\ndescribes her as \"a woman _clothed with the sun_;\" or encompassed on\nevery side by the Divine Love. By the sun, then, in the internal sense\nof prophecy, we understand the infinite and unbounded love of the\nAlmighty, which alone is the cause of life and light; and which gives\nstrength, support, and beauty, to the spiritual system of man.\n\nHaving obtained the meaning of this principal symbol, we shall be at no\nloss to determine that of the other. \"_The moon_,\" as regards apparent\nsplendor, is the second great luminary in the visible heavens. In\nherself, however, she is a dark body, and possesses no power of\ncommunicating light except by the reflection of the sun's beams. In this\ncase, therefore, we have to seek a second principle in the heaven of the\nchurch, corresponding with this second light in the heaven of matter; a\nprinciple which, though it enlightens and cheers the soul, has no\nbrightness in itself; but derives all its usefulness and beauty from a\nconjunction with LOVE. And this principle we find in FAITH; that faith\nwhich springs from charity. As the moon derives all her light from the\nsun, so does true faith draw all its glory from love. As the moon\nseparated from the sun's influence, is dark and lifeless, so is faith\nwithout love, dead and useless. And as the light proceeding from the\nmoon is but the rays of the sun reflected from her surface, so is the\nfaith that springs from a modification of the love of God, a reflection\nof his infinite benevolence.\n\nAnd here, again, the apostle confirms this idea. While he represents the\nchurch of God as being _clothed with the Sun_, he also describes her as\nstanding upon the moon, or having \"the moon under her feet:\"--pointing\nout the love with which she is continually encompassed, and the faith\nupon which she is securely founded. Thus Paul, speaking of the universal\nchurch of Christ, declares that it is \"built upon the _foundation_ of\nthe apostles and prophets:\"--that is, upon their doctrines, and upon the\ntruth which they made known; \"Jesus Christ Himself,\" as THE TRUTH\nItself, being \"the chief corner stone.\" Eph. ii. 20. With this, too,\nagrees the sublime prophecy of Isaiah. When speaking of the church\nrestored to its full perfection and glory, he says, \"_Thy sun_ shall no\nmore go down, neither shall thy _moon_ withdraw herself; for JEHOVAH\nshall be thine EVERLASTING LIGHT and the days of thy mourning shall be\nended.\" ix. 20. That is: Thy love shall no more depart, neither shall\nthy faith and charity decay; for God shall dwell in every soul by his\nlove, and his beams shall be reflected from every bosom.\n\nWe might go through the whole of those predictions which relate to this\nsubject; and in all cases we should find that this interpretation of the\nfigures not only makes a complete and consistent sense, but that the\npassages so interpreted would stand in the most complete agreement with\nthe general tenor of the Scriptures, and with the hopes of the best and\nwisest among men.\n\nThe third symbolic figure is, \"the stars:\" and these, as regards the\nquantity of light transmitted to the earth, are secondary luminaries in\nthe visible system. They shine not with any borrowed radiance, but with\ntheir own native splendor. And here, again, we must repeat the inquiry,\nwhat are those luminaries in the _mental heaven_, which hold a secondary\nplace in the concern of salvation, to love and faith; yet shine, not\nwith reflected light, but with the real brightness of the Divine Glory?\nThe answer is easy: They are the doctrines of religion or the\n_knowledges_ of truth;--those portions of the eternal reason, which THE\nMANIFESTED TRUTH has Himself revealed. But some may be ready to observe,\nthat these are already included in the Faith of which I have just\nspoken. A single remark, however, will obviate this objection. That\nFAITH and the _knowledge of truth_ generally go together, is certainly\ntrue,--even as the moon and stars shine at the same time. But to _know_\nthe truth is one thing, and to have faith in God is another and widely\ndifferent thing; as different as the light of the stars is from that of\nthe moon. And as the stars frequently shine when the moon is not seen,\nso does the knowledge of truth frequently exist in the mind when true\nfaith has no existence. I am, therefore, consistent in declaring that\nthe _light_ of the stars,--the knowledge of doctrines, though a valuable\nacquisition, is secondary in importance both to Christian _faith_ and to\nDivine _Love_. Yet the doctrines or truths which are the objects of this\nknowledge, are not derived from any source lower than divinity itself;\nthey are, as just observed, portions of eternal wisdom designed for the\nguidance of the church of God; and derived from the \"Father of lights,\"\nfrom whom proceeds \"every good and every perfect gift.\"\n\nIn thus mentioning _doctrines_, (or the term which I have used as\nsynonymous, _truths_, for pure doctrines are but truths embodied) I by\nno means refer to the tenets of a sect or party, but to the eternal\nwisdom of the Almighty, as revealed in his word: and with respect to\nthis, the parallel between it and the natural image may be carried\nthrough all its parts. As the stars are of the same nature with the sun,\nand like him shine with their native and proper light, so is the wisdom\nof God of the same nature with his love; both being essential attributes\nof Divinity. As the stars, however, though in themselves splendid\nbodies, communicate no heat to the earth, and are but of secondary\nimportance in comparison with the sun and moon, so does the mere\nknowledge of truths, (although the truths in themselves possess the\nnature of divinity,) leave the soul as cold and lifeless as before; and\nis of far less importance in the spiritual system than the love of God,\nor faith, its reflection on the soul. Carry the comparison as far as we\nmay, still the stars of the natural heaven correspond exactly to the\n_truths_ of the church; and the light which they emit, to the\n_knowledge_ of that truth.\n\nAnd this interpretation of the symbol agrees, too, with the vision of\nthe apostle. The church clothed with the Sun of love, and standing upon\nfaith; the symbolic _moon_ had upon her head (the seat of intelligence\nand wisdom) a crown of twelve _stars_;--denoting the knowledges of pure\ntruth which should ornament that church in her last state of peace and\nholiness. So the great red dragon, who is described as fighting with\nMichael and his angels, is said to have drawn the third part of the\nstars from heaven;--pointing out the almost total extinction of real\ntruth in the corrupted Christian churches. We might again trace this\nmeaning in every passage where the natural image occurs, and we should\nstill find that the sense it gives to each of them is consistent both\nwith the Word of God, as referring to the great concern of salvation,\nand with the connexion in which the passages are found.\n\nIn these symbolic representations we, therefore, perceive the three\nsources of light in the Christian heaven, love, faith, and knowledge.\nThe first being the diffused affection of the Father of spirits; the\nsecond, its reflection in the soul of man; the third, the truths of\ndoctrine which enliven and ornament the church, proceeding immediately\nfrom the Source of all Wisdom. The glory of each is the same in\nsubstance, as the light of the sun, moon, and stars, is the same in\nnature; but it differs in degree, as the luminary whence it springs is\nof more or less importance to the eternal happiness of man. Knowledge is\nthe least important; of itself merely, it produces nothing. Faith rises\nabove knowledge; yet even faith by itself is useless. Love is the chief;\nthis quickens, animates, and renders fruitful, the church of God, and\nthe soul of each individual member.\n\nI press this interpretation on no one; yet I may say, without breaking\nthe bounds of Christian liberty, that it carries probability on its very\nface. The parallel between the natural image and its spiritual\ncorrespondent, is complete throughout; but this can by no means be said\nof the various constructions which have generally been put upon them.\nThe sun, it is said, is the civil government of a state; and the moon,\nits ecclesiastical policy. But in vain shall we attempt to draw a\ncomparison here between the natural figure and the object said to be\nsignified by it. The civil government of an empire is not the source of\nall wisdom, love, and prosperity, as the sun is of heat, light, and\nfruitfulness. It does not give to the ecclesiastical all its power,\nglory, and beauty, as the sun does to the moon; nor would the church\nbecome dead and lifeless if separated from the state, as the moon would\nif severed from the sun. The pastors of the church, which it is affirmed\nare the stars, do not, like the stars, shine with their own native\nsplendor. The comparison, therefore, does not in any degree hold good:\nwhile in the meaning we have given above, consistency both with\nScripture and reason, as well as with the best interests of man, is\npreserved throughout.\n\nNow if this signification of the sun, moon, and stars, be correct, we\nneed not employ much time in fixing the meaning of the terms \"heaven,\"\nand \"earth,\" when applied to the church of God. _Heaven_, or the\natmosphere, is that in which the sun, moon, and stars appear; and by\nmeans of which they produce their effects. It is the grand reservoir of\nthose particles, which, acted upon by the sun, and thus set in motion,\ncause heat; and preserve on the earth, life and vegetation. And the\nearth is that body, on the surface of which vegetation flourishes and\nlife appears. This at once points out the figures as applying to the\n_inward feelings_ and _outward life_ of an _individual_; or, to the\ninternal state of the church and its outward forms and ceremonies. It is\nin what the apostle calls \"the inward man,\" that _love_, _faith_, and\n_knowledge_ produce their first effects; and by operating upon the\nfeelings and affections of the mind, cause spiritual light and\nheat--true wisdom and divine love. And these produce a corresponding\neffect in the outward conduct, bringing forth \"fruits meet for\nrepentance,\"--the living forms and witnesses of religion. As the sun\nshines in the atmosphere and produces fruit on the earth, so love shines\nin the soul and brings forth effects in the conduct, either in the case\nof an individual, or of the church as an assembly of individuals. By the\nsame rule of analogy we may perceive what is meant by _the clouds_.\nThese in the natural world, are vapors exhaled from the earth by the\nheat of the sun; and which condensed into form in the atmosphere, serve\nto perform their important functions. They temper and lessen in some\ndegree the heat of the sun; they serve to beautify the appearance of the\nheavens; they are the great depository of rain, and the principal agents\nin the production of tempests. That which corresponds to them must,\ntherefore, be something springing from the outward state of man, which\nis the grand depository of truth (spiritual water), behind which the\nglory of the Divine Love and Wisdom is seen, and which accommodates this\nwisdom to the capacity of mankind. And this we find in the outward\nletter of the Word of God. The historical narratives, the figures of\nprophecy, the parables of the Saviour, are all images rising from the\nworld and the temporal state of mankind; and thus, like the _clouds_,\nthey have their origin from the earth. Within this outward body of image\nand narrative are contained the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; it is\nthe grand source from which truth must be drawn. And the glory of God\nshines through the whole, imparting to every natural form the splendor\nof divinity. And as the material images of the Bible serve to\naccommodate the wisdom of God to the capacity of his creatures, so have\nthey often been the cause of those convulsions in the church, which\nseemed even to threaten her existence. \"The _letter_\" has often killed,\nwhen unaccompanied in the mind with the \"_spirit_ which giveth life.\" We\ncannot, therefore, find in the figure before us anything which so\ncompletely accords with its origin and design, as the outward letter of\nthe Word of God--the clouds of the Christian heaven.\n\nThe meaning of the principal symbols being thus stated, we pass to the\nconnexion which they bear to each other in the predictions of the\nSaviour. We have already noted that the prophecy contained in Matthew,\nand recorded by the other Evangelists, refers in its primary application\nto the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies; but in its more\nextensive meaning it points to the state of the Christian church in her\nperiod of decline and corruption, of which Jerusalem in her last days\nwas a fitting type. With respect to this it is declared \"_the sun_ shall\nbe darkened\"--the Divine Love obscured and lost; \"and the moon shall not\ngive her light\"--faith and charity shall sink in darkness; \"and the\nstars\"--the knowledge of truth \"shall fall from heaven,\"--no longer\nexist in the minds of her members; \"and the powers of heaven\"--the whole\ninternal state of the church \"shall be shaken\"--shall be thrown into\ncomplete disorder and confusion. This meaning, to which we are led by\nthe connexion and correspondence of the natural symbols, points to a\ntime (not when the universe shall be destroyed, but) when true religion\nshall have ceased to exist in the church:--\"when the love of many shall\nwax cold:\" when true faith will no longer be found; and when\nknowledge--the knowledge of genuine spiritual truth--shall have passed\naway. The same things are described in the vision of the apostle. \"There\nwas a great earthquake\"--a shaking and disorder in the state of the\nchurch; \"and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon\nbecame as blood, and the stars of heaven fell to the earth,\"--the\nknowledge of truth which once shone in the _mind_, sunk into mere\noutward _creeds_ and confessions of faith; \"and the heaven departed as a\nscroll when it is rolled together\"--the whole internal state of the\nchurch was thrown into confusion, and every inward feeling of religion\nperished.\n\nThe event immediately following is the appearance of the Son of Man in\nthe clouds, with a trumpet; and since it is confessed that a trumpet\nsignifies \"the call of the Gospel,\" or as I would express it, the\nmanifestation of truth; and as the _clouds_ correspond to the _outward\nform_ of the Word, the appearance of the Lord in the clouds and attended\nby trumpets, must signify the manifestation of spiritual love and truth\nin the letter of Scripture: and this is supported by what is afterwards\nsaid to be the consequence; \"a new heaven and a new earth,\"--a new state\nof the church both internal and external, both as regards inward\nfeelings and outward conduct.\n\nThat this interpretation is true, I call upon no one to believe; but\nthat it is probable will, I think, be confessed by all; and that it is\nin perfect harmony with the infinite designs of God toward his rational\ncreatures, as well as with his character as a Being of infinite Love,\nwill be equally acknowledged. Whether there has been a period in the\nChristian church (as there certainly was in the Jewish) when the above\ndescription was applicable to her; when religion had sunk into mere\nformality; when bigotry and intolerance both in priests and people, cut\nup charity by the roots; when faith was a mere body from which the\nspirit had departed; when the clergy were mere formalists, and the\npeople were sensualized; when sacred knowledge was neglected by the one\nand unknown to the other: whether, I say, such a period _has_ yet\narrived, and if so, whether it was _eighty_ years ago, or eight hundred,\nit is not my province now to inquire. My object is to show that the\nimages used by the sacred penmen have reference to such a state, and to\na subsequent restoration; and this I have shown by the rule or law of\nanalogy existing between spiritual and natural things, as well as by the\ngrand design of the Word of God in which those images occur.\n\nAnd if it be probable that such is really the fact, then the design with\nwhich I commenced my task is completed. If the natural sense of the\nwords of Scripture is absurd--if the best commentators themselves admit\nthat in their outward application the words have no reference to the\ndestruction of the natural world--and if, considered in their internal\nmeaning, they relate to the church, its decline, and restoration; then\nthere is no proof in the Scriptures of the dissolution of the visible\nuniverse; but strong evidence that it will never take place.\n\nLet us, however, before leaving the subject, take a hasty glance at the\ntwo doctrines which have been presented. The first declares that after\ncreating the universe, and endowing it with life and beauty; after\nforming man as a candidate for eternal glory, and after raising up a\nchurch which it is said was to endure \"for ever,\" God will at a future\ntime (for what reason, or to answer what purpose, is unknown,) destroy\nthe fabric he has created; throw the whole universe into confusion and\nreduce it to ashes. That He will, for some reason equally unknown, put\nan end to the human race, and no more bring rational creatures to\neternal happiness; that heaven will be closed, and not another candidate\nadmitted; and that the church will then cease on earth, and never again\nbe restored. And this supposition is founded on vague and mysterious\ntexts of Scripture, and on a literal interpretation of figures which the\nmost learned confess they cannot comprehend.\n\nThe other doctrine maintains that God, having created the world and\npeopled it with inhabitants, will continue it in existence; and that\nthough religion will in the \"latter ages\" decline, yet at length \"the\nLord will appear in the brightness of his glory,\" will destroy evil and\nfalse-hood among men,--restore the world to its first state of purity;\nand that it shall then for ever become one vast temple, from which a\nceaseless song of praise shall continually arise; while its inhabitants,\nprepared and preparing for a higher state, shall pass in succession into\nthe eternal rest of God; and that the earth shall therefore be a nursery\nfor glory,--a place of trial for a continual race of candidates for\nheaven.\n\nThis is a consummation worthy of the Creator,--worthy of the infinity of\nhis nature and perfections,--worthy of the plan of redemption which He\nbecame incarnate to effect. It is agreeable to the dictates of the\nsoundest reason, and in accordance with the hopes and wishes of every\nman who has not bowed down his reason to the idol of popular opinion.\nWhile the opposite tenet sets reason at defiance, makes the Bible teach\nwhat is practically absurd, and stands in opposition to the opinion of\nsome of the most learned among its own advocates.\n\nWe cannot conclude this little treatise more appropriately than in the\nwords of a writer often quoted in these pages.\n\n\"The doctrines or principles which I have stated and defended in this\nwork, I believe to be the truths of God. Those against which I have\nargued, I believe to be either false or unproved. The doctrine which\ncannot stand the test of rational investigation, cannot be true. We have\ngone too far when we have said 'such and such doctrines should not be\nsubjected to rational investigation, being doctrines of pure\nrevelation.' I know no such doctrine in the Bible. The doctrines of the\nScripture are doctrines of _eternal reason_; and they are revealed\nbecause they _are such_. Human reason could not have found them out; but\nwhen revealed, reason can both apprehend and comprehend them. It sees\ntheir perfect harmony among themselves, their agreement with the\nperfections of the Divine Nature, and their sovereign suitableness to\nthe nature and state of man: thus reason approves and applauds. Some men\ncannot reason, and therefore they declaim against reason, and proscribe\nit in the examination of religious truth.\"\n\nMen may incorporate their doctrines in _creeds_, or articles of faith,\nand sing them in _hymns_; and this may be both useful and edifying if\nthe doctrines be _true_. But in every question which involves the\neternal interests of man, the _Holy Scriptures_ must be appealed to in\nunion with _reason_ their great commentator. He who forms his _creed_ or\n_confession of faith_ without these, may believe anything or nothing, as\nthe cunning of others or his own caprice may dictate. Human creeds and\nconfessions have been often put in the place of the Bible, to the\ndishonor both of revelation and reason. Let _those_ go away, let these\nbe retained, whatever be the consequence.\n\n[1] See on this subject, \"The Plenary Inspiration of the Scriptures\nasserted,\" by Rev. S. Noble:--a work well worthy the perusal of\nevery Christian, and which deserves a place in every library.\n\n[2] See Wesley's Sermons. Sermon xv. \"preached before the Hon.\nSir Edward Clive, one of the judges of his Majesty's court of common\npleas, in St. Paul's Church, Bedford, on Friday, March 10, 1758.\"\n\n[3] Dr. Clarke has a very curious note on this passage. He supposes\nthat the \"noise\" will be occasioned by the action of electric fire, on\nthe watery particles of the atmosphere. These, being divided into\ntheir two component _gases_, the one will ascend into the higher regions,\nand the other float on the earth's surface. Thus, he says, the\naccount of the apostle is \"philosophically correct.\" Whether this\nbe the _apostle_, or whether such account is correct in any degree, let\ncommon sense judge.\n\n[4] This passage in its mere outward application, refers to a\ntemporal overthrow in the land of Idumea; it has also, however, an\nacknowledged relation to the triumphs of the Gospel, and the overthrow\nof its enemies. Still, it makes little difference in the strength\nof the argument, to which event it is referred. Such descriptions have\nbeen given, they have been fulfilled, yet in no case literally. This is\nall that need be proved.\n\n[5] See Sir Isaac Newton,--Locke,--Dr. A. Clarke,--Burkitt, etc.\n\n[6] See Dr. Adam Clarke's remark upon this passage.\n\n[7] Birkitt's Notes on the New Testament.\n\n[8] For further remarks on this text, see \"Noble's Plenary Inspiration\nof the Scriptures.\"\n\n[9] Dr. A. Clarke, in loc.\n\nTHE END.\n\n\n\n\n LIST OF PUBLICATIONS\n OF\n J B. LIPPINCOTT & CO.\n _PHILADELPHIA._\n\n_Will be sent by mail, post paid, on receipt of the price._\n\n\n_The Albert N'Yanza. Great Basin of the Nile, and Explorations of the\nNile Sources._ By SIR SAMUEL WHITE BAKER, M. A., F. R. G. S., &c. With\nMaps and numerous Illustrations, from sketches by Mr. Baker. New\nedition. Crown 8vo. 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Extra cloth,\n$2.50.\n\n\"Perhaps no book has appeared from the scholars of the New Church that\nhas promised more light to the inquirer or bestowed more satisfaction\nupon the reader.\"--_Historical Magazine._\n\n\n_Emanuel Swedenborg as a Philosopher and a Man of Science._ By R. L.\nTAFEL. Crown 8vo. Extra cloth, $2.25.\n\n\"We invite our readers to peruse Prof. Tafel's book. Its reading will\nacquaint them with one of the greatest thinkers and one of the purest\ncharacters that ever lived.\"--_St. Louis Paper._\n\n\n_Elements of Character._ By Mary G. Ware, author of \"Death and Life,\"\netc. 16mo. Cloth, $1.25.\n\n\"This work is entitled to a place among the higher productions of\nAmerican female literature.\"--_Harper's Magazine._\n\n\n_Observations on the Growth of the Mind._ By SAMSON REED. Seventh\nedition. 16mo. Extra cloth, $1.\n\n\"The title of the work expresses its character. It is an attempt to show\n_how the mind grows_, and after defining the essential character of the\nmind the author points out, in a most interesting and original manner,\nthe actual development required.\"--_Boston Transcript._\n\n\n_Observations on the Authenticity of the Gospels_. By a Layman. Second\nedition. 16mo. Extra cloth, $1.\n\n\"A work that should be in everybody's library, and especially ought\nsteps to be immediately taken to place it in the hands of every\ntheological student in our land.\"--_Religious Magazine_.\n\n\"The author writes with vigor and clearness.\"--_North American Review._\n\n\n_Sermons on the Lord's Prayer._ By Henry A. WORCESTER. 12mo. Cloth, $1.25.","title":"The New Eschatology: Showing the Indestructibility of the Earth and the Wide Difference Between the Letter and Spirit of Holy Scripture.","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":25911}