{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_54914/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_54914","id":"gutenberg_54914","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54914","summary":null,"tags":["Bible. Matthew, XXIV -- Commentaries","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Second Advent"],"text":"His Glorious Appearing\n\n                   An Exposition of Matthew Twenty\u2010Four\n\n                                    By\n\n                           James Springer White\n\n                         Revised and Illustrated\n\n       \u201cWhat shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the\n                            world?\u201d\u2014DISCIPLES.\n\n  \u201cWhen ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the\n                              doors.\u201d\u2014JESUS.\n\n                            Eleventh Edition.\n\n                     Review and Herald Publishing Co.\n\n                           Battle Creek, Mich.\n\n                                   1895\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nIntroductory.\nChrist\u2019s Prophecy.\n   Persecution And False Prophets.\n   Iniquity Abounds.\n   The End.\nWhen Shall These Things Be?\nWhat Shall Be The Sign Of Thy Coming?\n   Shortened For The Elect\u2019s Sake.\n   Lo, Here, And Lo, There.\n   The Signs Of Christ\u2019s Coming.\n   \u201cAnd The Stars Shall Fall.\u201d\n   \u201cThe Powers Of Heaven Shall Be Shaken.\u201d\n   \u201cSign Of The Son Of Man.\u201d\n   Parable Of The Fig\u2010Tree.\n   \u201cThe Day And Hour.\u201d\n   Noah\u2019s Time And Ours.\n   Peace And Safety.\n   The Final Separation.\n   Those Who Watch Will Know The Time.\n   The Faithful And Wise Servant.\n   The Evil Servant.\nConclusion.\nChoice Religious Books.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                               [Book Cover]\n\n\n\n\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\n                          The Light of the World\n\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY.\n\n\n\u201cSurely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his\nservants the prophets.\u201d Amos 3:7.\n\nNo truth of inspiration can be more clearly demonstrated than that God\nreveals his designs to his prophets, that men and nations may be prepared\nfor their accomplishment. Before visiting with judgments, God has\nuniformly sent forth warnings sufficient to enable the believing to escape\nhis wrath, and to condemn those who have not heeded the warning. This was\nthe case before the flood. The wickedness of the world had become very\ngreat. Every imagination of the thoughts of the hearts of men was only\nevil. It would seem that they had forfeited all claims for consideration.\nViolence and corruption filled the earth, and the only way to eradicate\nevil was to destroy it with its workers. But before doing so, the world\nmust be warned of the impending doom; and there was found one man who\nwould engage in the work. Noah had faith in God, and preached for one\nhundred and twenty years the message of warning and salvation. His work\nalso testified with his words.\n\n\n    \u201cBy faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet,\n    moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by\n    the which he condemned the world.\u201d Heb. 11:7.\n\n\nAt a later period, when the nations had again become sunken in idolatry\nand crime, and the destruction of wicked Sodom and Gomorrah was\ndetermined, the Lord said,\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cShall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing that\n    Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the\n    nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?\u201d Gen. 18:17, 18.\n\n\nAnd due notice was given to righteous Lot, who, with his daughters, was\npreserved; and none, even in that guilty city, perished without due\nwarning. Lot evidently warned the people; and in thus communing with them,\nwas \u201cvexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked.\u201d 2 Peter 2:7, 8.\nHis righteous life had been a rebuke to them; and we have every reason to\nbelieve that the holy example of Abraham in his worship of the true God\nwas known to them. He had at one time been their saviour, and rescued\ntheir captives and spoil from the victorious enemy who was carrying them\naway. But when Lot warned his friends of the approaching doom, \u201che seemed\nas one that mocked.\u201d Gen. 19:14. They, like the antediluvians, persisted\nin sin, and drank of the wrath of God.\n\nAt a subsequent time the sins of Nineveh rose to heaven, and Jonah was\nsent to bear to that proud capital the startling message, \u201cYet forty days\nand Nineveh shall be destroyed.\u201d The consciences of those sinners told\nthem the message was true; and from the least of them to the greatest they\nhumbled themselves, and the overhanging judgment was averted.\n\nBefore Christ commenced his earthly mission, John the Baptist was sent as\nthe voice of one crying in the wilderness, \u201cPrepare ye the way of the\nLord.\u201d By this means the expectation of the people was raised, and\ndoubtless many were through it led to accept of salvation, while the\ngeneration at large was condemned for rejecting the light.\n\nOur Saviour in his time saw the destruction of Jerusalem just in the\nfuture of that generation, and faithfully warned the people, foretelling\nsigns by which it might be known when the desolation thereof was nigh.\nLuke 21:21. Such is the testimony of inspiration respecting the dealings\nof God with his people in past ages.\n\nAll who accept the Bible as the inspired word of God acknowledge that he\nhas been very faithful in warning people in past ages of impending\njudgments and other events which affected their eternal welfare. Such\nhaving been the divine plan in relation to past events, we would certainly\nbe justified in anticipating such warnings of Christ\u2019s second coming as\nwould comport with the importance of the event. But when we come to regard\nthe future, and especially our own immediate future, the incredulity of\nvery many is at once aroused.\n\nBut what are the facts in the case? Can anything be learned from the Bible\nrelative to the time of the second advent? This is a grave inquiry; and,\nfrom the very nature of the subject, is worthy of close investigation, and\na candid answer. It is a matter of painful regret that many, under the\ninfluence of popular prejudice, have decided that the period of the second\nadvent is a secret, hidden with the Lord. While these can scarcely be\nreached with this subject, as long as they remain under the influence of\nthose who denounce all investigation of it as prying into the secrets of\nthe Almighty, there is still, we believe, a larger class who wait for\nevidence before deciding.\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\n                      Christ Weeping Over Jerusalem\n\n\nWe accept the Bible as a revelation from heaven. What God has revealed in\nthat book, let no man call a mystery, or a secret of the Almighty. \u201cThe\nsecret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are\nrevealed belong unto us and to our children forever.\u201d Deut. 29:29. If the\nsacred Scriptures, in a most clear and harmonious manner, point out the\nsigns of the approach of that great event, and if there is evidence that\n\u201cit is near, even at the doors,\u201d the subject at once assumes great\nimportance.\n\nWhen the disciples inquired, \u201cWhat shall be the sign of thy coming, and of\nthe end of the world?\u201d Jesus did not reprove them for inquiring into this\nmatter, nor tell them that it was purposely hidden from all men; but he\nanswered their question in the most definite manner.\n\nThe simple fact that the Lord mentions signs of his second advent, is the\nbest proof possible that his people were not to remain ignorant of the\nrelative nearness of the event. Add to this his injunctions to\nwatchfulness, and the blessings which he pronounces upon those who are\nawake and watching at his coming, and it becomes a certainty that he would\nnot leave his people ignorant of the proximity of that event. Paul also\nsays that \u201cunto _them that look for him_ shall he appear the second time\nwithout sin unto salvation.\u201d Heb. 9:28. And that a crown of righteousness\nwill be given \u201cunto all them also that love his appearing.\u201d 2 Tim. 4:8.\n\nWith these assurances we may look for plain and emphatic tokens of the\nSaviour\u2019s second coming.\n\n\n\n\n\nCHRIST\u2019S PROPHECY.\n\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\n                       Jesus on the Mount of Olives\n\n\nProbably no other chapter of the Bible speaks more fully, and more\ndefinitely, upon the subject of the second advent, than Matthew 24, in\nChrist\u2019s own words. We invite the attention of the candid reader to a\nbrief explanation of the entire chapter.\n\n\n    VERSE 1: \u201cAnd Jesus went out, and departed from the temple; and\n    his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the\n    temple.\u201d\n\n\nJesus had been addressing the multitude, in the presence of his disciples.\nHe had reproved the scribes and the Pharisees for their sins, and had\ndeclared, in the previous chapter, the doom of the Jews, their city, and\ntheir temple. The disciples supposed that the temple would stand forever,\nand they called the attention of Christ to its magnificence and strength,\nand to the great stones that entered into the structure. On this point the\nhistorian of those times, Josephus, says: \u201cNow the temple was built of\nstones that were white and strong, and each of their lengths was twenty\u2010\nfive cubits, their height was eight, and their breadth about\ntwelve.\u201d\u2014_\u201c__Antiquities,__\u201d__ book xv, chap. xi._ If we compute a cubit\nat twenty inches, we shall be able to gain some idea of the size and\n\u201cmanner\u201d of these stones.\n\n\n    VERSE 2: \u201cAnd Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things?\n    Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon\n    another, that shall not be thrown down.\u201d\n\n    VERSE 3: \u201cAnd as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples\n    came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things\n    be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of\n    the world?\u201d\n\n\nThis statement from the Master could not but deeply interest the\ndisciples. And it matters not whether they supposed that the destruction\nof the temple, the coming of Christ, and the end of the age, would all\noccur at the same time, or at different periods, since Christ, in his\nanswer in this chapter, has distinctly spoken of each separately, and has\ngiven each its place in the prophetic history of events. If it were their\nimpression that the overthrow of the temple and the end of the world would\noccur at the same time, it by no means proves that this would be the case.\nAs the Scriptures show, up to the time of the out\u2010pouring of the Holy\nSpirit on the day of Pentecost, their ideas upon many points were crude\nand inaccurate. Take as proof of this the parable which the Lord spake\nwhen he was going into Jerusalem. Luke 19. They thought that the kingdom\nof God should immediately appear. To correct this impression, the parable\nof the nobleman was spoken. If they understood the parable at the time\nwhen it was spoken, it did not fully eradicate the impression from their\nminds, as is proved by what they did when they entered Jerusalem. We\ncannot believe that they would have hailed him as the Son of David, and\nrejoiced before him as a King in his triumph, if they had realized that he\nwas going into the city to be condemned and crucified as a malefactor.\nPalm branches and shouts of triumph did not attend the steps of the lowly\nand the condemned.\n\nJohn admits for himself and Peter, after they had seen the empty\nsepulcher, that \u201cthey knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from\nthe dead.\u201d John 20:9.\n\nAgain, after his resurrection, Jesus reproved two of his disciples, who,\nthough they had trusted that he would redeem Israel, were then sad and\ndisheartened. They did not then understand that Christ ought \u201cto have\nsuffered these things, and to enter into his glory.\u201d The suffering part\nwas still a mystery to them. And some of the apostles were so slow to\nrealize that which he had spoken to them, that they could hardly be\npersuaded that he was indeed risen from the dead. And after he had been\nwith them full forty days, speaking to them of the things pertaining to\nthe kingdom, they did not yet understand \u201cthe times and the seasons,\u201d and\ntherefore asked him, \u201cLord, wilt thou at this time restore again the\nkingdom to Israel?\u201d\n\nHowever the matter may have been entertained in the minds of the\ndisciples, it is evident that their query consisted of two distinct\nquestions in the mind of the Saviour. These questions relate, first, to\nthe destruction of Jerusalem; and, second, to Christ\u2019s second coming at\nthe end of the world or age. They were distinctly answered by our Lord;\nnot, however, before the promiscuous multitude; but on the occasion of a\nprivate interview with his disciples. Christ here speaks to his disciples;\nhence his words in this prophetic discourse are addressed especially to\nthe church.\n\n\n    VERSES 4, 5: \u201cAnd Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed\n    that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I\n    am Christ, and shall deceive many.\u201d\n\n\nJesus knew the hearts of men, and that many impostors would arise, and\ndeceive multitudes. He here warns his disciples, and guards them against\nthe deceptions of corrupt and ambitious men. Such was the general\nexpectation of the appearance of the Messiah among the Jews, that many\nwould set up the claim that they were the Christ, to carry out selfish\npurposes, or to gain notoriety, and the credulous people would be easily\nled into the deception, and then be destroyed for sedition. We are\ninformed that in the days succeeding those of Christ, impostors arose in\ngreat numbers. Josephus tells us of an Egyptian false prophet who led\n30,000 men into the desert to show them signs, and then brought them to\nJerusalem as if to attack the city. He caused great pillage and\ndestruction in Judea, but in the time of battle, ran away, leaving his\nfollowers to the exasperated Romans.\u2014_\u201c__Wars of the Jews,__\u201d__ book ii,\nchap. xiii._\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\n                            Ancient Jerusalem\n\n\nIn the former part of the second century Cazibee set himself at the head\nof the Jewish nation and proclaimed himself their long\u2010expected Messiah.\nTo facilitate the success of his bold enterprise he changed his name to\nthat of Barchocheba, alluding to the Star foretold by Balaam. Adrian\nraised an army, and sent it against him. He retired into a town called\nBither, where he was besieged. Barchocheba was killed in the siege, the\ncity was taken, and a dreadful havoc succeeded. The Jews themselves allow\nthat, during this short war against the Romans in defense of this false\nMessiah, they lost five or six hundred thousand souls.\u2014_Buck\u2019s\nDictionary._\n\nDr. A. Clarke says, on the authority of Josephus, that \u201ca few years\nafterward, under the reign of Nero, while Felix was procurator of Judea,\nimpostors of this stamp were so frequent that some were taken and killed\nalmost every day.\u201d And at intervals since then the Jews who are all the\ntime expecting the appearance of the Messiah have been repeatedly the\nvictims of cruel deception.\n\n\n    VERSE 6: \u201cAnd ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that\n    ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but\n    the end is not yet.\u201d\n\n\nIt is proper that we should consider what is meant by the term \u201cthe end,\u201d\nused in this verse; in verse 14, \u201cthen shall the end come;\u201d and in verse\n3, \u201cthe sign of thy coming, and the end of the world.\u201d In the first place,\nit may be unhesitatingly claimed that the term does not refer to the end\nof the Jewish dispensation, which terminated at the crucifixion, nor to\nthe destruction of Jerusalem, which occurred about forty years later.\nBecause, first, Jesus treated the question concerning the destruction of\nthe temple and that referring to his coming and the end of the world as\nrelating to two distinct events, widely separated in time. Second, the\nsigns which were to be premonitory of the end did not transpire before the\ndestruction of the temple. Third, the second coming of Christ, the close\nof probation, the judgment, the resurrection, and the end of sin, death,\nand mortality, are frequently and prominently associated together in the\nBible as constituting the most important epoch in human history. To limit\nthis thrilling discourse to the local and long past destruction of\nJerusalem would be to rob it of its force and grandeur. Not only would the\ntwenty\u2010fourth of Matthew which we are now studying be stultified, but very\nmuch of the life and power of the Scriptures would be sacrificed by such a\ncourse.\n\nAs to the meaning of the phrase, \u201cthe end of the world,\u201d it may\nconsistently be translated \u201cthe end of the age,\u201d and in the margin of the\nRevised Bible it is rendered \u201cthe consummation of the age.\u201d For an\ninspired definition of the term, let the reader turn to Matt. 13:38\u201040 and\nits context, where the same words are used and repeated in the original:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cThe tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that\n    sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and\n    the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered\n    and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.\n    The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather\n    out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them that do\n    iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall\n    be weeping and gnashing of teeth.\u201d\n\n\nFrom Rev. 14:14\u201016 we learn that the harvest of the earth and the second\ncoming of Christ are identical. So that by no possible means could it be\nestablished that the \u201cend of the world\u201d means the destruction of\nJerusalem. Further evidence is found in Matt. 28:20 where the same\nexpression, both in the original and in the translation, is used: \u201cLo I am\nwith you alway, even unto the end of the world.\u201d But no one would have the\naudacity to claim that this promise expired in A. D. 70, as it must have\ndone if those questions of the disciples and the subsequent discourse of\nChrist related only to the impending doom of the temple and city.\n\n\n    VERSES 7, 8: \u201cFor nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom\n    against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and\n    earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of\n    sorrows.\u201d\n\n\nWars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes have occurred all along since\nthese words were spoken. Therefore, these, as they have ever existed,\ncannot be regarded as the especial signs of the end. It may be claimed,\nhowever, with a good degree of consistency, that the Scriptures teach that\nthese calamities would abound in the last days to such an extent as to\nconstitute a sign of the approaching Judgment. We wish to keep the\nimportant fact distinctly before the mind, that the sacred Scriptures do\nteach when men may not, and when they may, look for the second appearing\nof Christ.\n\nThe sacred writers have so uniformly associated such judgments as war,\nfamine, pestilence, and earthquake, with the last Judgment, that the\ndisciples would be in danger of concluding that the end would immediately\nfollow the first appearance of these calamities; hence the caution given:\n\u201cThese things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.\u201d Here the\ndisciples were clearly taught that they should not expect the end in their\nday. This fact is worthy of the candid attention of those who object to\nthe proclamation of the second advent of Christ in the form of an especial\nmessage. These sometimes assert that it was right for the disciples to\nlook for Christ in their day, and that it has been scriptural and right\nfor all Christians to look for the second appearing of Christ in their\ntime, from the days of the chosen twelve to the present time. And they\ndecide that no more can be learned and believed upon this subject in our\ntime than by the Christians of past generations, and that the public mind\nshould not now be moved upon this great question, any more than in all\npast time since the first advent of Christ.\n\nWe have seen that this position is incorrect so far as the early disciples\nwere concerned. They are directed to the distant future as the time when\ntheir Lord should come. They are assured that they need not be troubled at\nhearing of wars and rumors of wars; \u201cfor all these things must come to\npass, but the end is not yet.\u201d Our Lord then guides the minds of his\ndisciples, as we shall see in the examination of this chapter, down over\nthe time of the great apostasy, and the long period of the rule of papal\nRome, before mentioning a sign of his second advent. He does not intimate\nthat his people during these long periods may expect the end. No, not\nonce. But when he comes to a later time, the Lord names signs in the sun,\nin the moon, and in the stars, and adds: \u201cWhen ye shall see all these\nthings, know that it is near, even at the doors.\u201d\n\nMark this: Our Lord does not mention wars, famines, pestilences, and\nearthquakes as signs of his second advent; but rather as events of common\noccurrence all the way through the Christian age, which must exist before\nthe end. And history attests the fact that these calamities have covered\nat least seventeen centuries. The following is from a work of Noah\nWebster, LL. D., published in 1799:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cBy famine and sword, 580,000 Jews were destroyed between A. D. 96\n    and A. D. 180.\n\n    \u201cIn Antioch, from A. D. 96 to A. D. 180, earthquakes destroyed 13\n    cities and over 100,000 lives.\n\n    \u201cIn Rome, A. D. 169, pestilence destroyed 10,000 daily.\n\n    \u201cIn Rome, A. D. 187, pestilence appeared and continued three\n    years.\n\n    \u201cIn London, A. D. 310, by famine, 40,000 died.\n\n    \u201cIn A. D. 446, September 17, an earthquake shook down the walls of\n    Constantinople, and 57 towers fell.\n\n    \u201cIn Rome, A. D. 539, in one district 50,000 died.\n\n    \u201cIn Antioch, A. D. 588, an earthquake killed 60,000.\n\n    \u201cIn A. D. 542, the plague killed 10,000 in one day in Turkey.\n\n    \u201cIn A. D. 679, a severe famine in England, three years.\n\n    \u201cIn A. D. 717, in Constantinople, 300,000 died of plague.\n\n    \u201cIn A. D. 1005, earthquakes three months, followed by pestilence,\n    by which it is said one third of the human race died.\n\n    \u201cIn A. D. 1077, in Constantinople, so many died by plague and\n    famine the living could not bury them.\n\n    \u201cIn A. D. 1124, in Italy, there was such famine that the dead lay\n    in the streets not buried; and in England one third of the people\n    died of plague.\n\n    \u201cIn A. D. 1294, in England thousands died of famine.\n\n    \u201cIn A. D. 1346, in London, 50,000 died of plague and famine, and\n    were buried in one grave\u2010yard; in Norwich, 50,000; in Venice,\n    100,000; in Florence, 100,000; in Eastern nations, 20,000,000. It\n    was called the black death.\n\n    \u201cIn A. D. 1352, in China, 900,000 died of famine.\n\n    \u201cIn A. D. 1427 in Dantzic, 80,000 died of plague.\n\n    \u201cIn A. D. 1570, in Moscow, 200,000 died of plague.\n\n    \u201cIn A. D. 1572, in Lyons, 50,000 died of plague.\n\n    \u201cIn A. D. 1625, in London, 35,000 died of plague.\n\n    \u201cIn A. D. 1656, in Naples, 300,000 died of plague.\n\n    \u201cIn A. D. 1665, in London, 68,000 died of plague.\n\n    \u201cIn A. D. 1755, an earthquake destroyed the city of Lisbon,\n    killing 50,000. In Mitylene, and the Archipelago, it shook down\n    2000 houses. It shook all the Spanish coast. The plague followed,\n    which destroyed 150,000 persons in Constantinople.\u201d\n\n\nDoubtless the figures in the above list should in some instances be\ncorrected to correspond with facts. But, taken as a whole, they do not\nnearly represent the ravages of death in their enormity. For instance, the\nEncyclopedia Britannica states that Hecker estimates the celebrated \u201cblack\ndeath\u201d of the fourteenth century in the different epidemics, to have swept\naway one fourth of the inhabitants of Europe, or 25,000,000 people!\n\n\n\n\nPersecution And False Prophets.\n\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\n                            Martyrdom of Huss\n\n\n    VERSES 9, 10: \u201cThen shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and\n    shall kill you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name\u2019s\n    sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one\n    another, and shall hate one another.\u201d\n\n\nHere is a brief description of the afflictions and martyrdom of the church\nof Christ. Thousands of the faithful followers of Jesus were most cruelly\nput to death by pagan Rome; yet the prophecy doubtless applies more\nparticularly to the long period of papal persecutions, in which not less\nthan fifty millions of Christians were put to death in the most cruel\nmanner that wicked men and demons could devise. In these verses we are\nbrought down over the long period of the martyrdom of the church of Jesus\nChrist, to near the present generation. These verses being parallel with\nverses 21 and 22, this subject will be noticed again.\n\n\n    VERSE 11: \u201cAnd many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive\n    many.\u201d\n\n\nA true prophet is one who speaks for God. The spirit of prophecy is the\ntestimony of Jesus. Rev. 19:10. It is Jesus Christ speaking through human\nlips or pen to his people. _Pseudo_, or false prophets, speak through the\nagency of wicked spirits and the power of Satan. Their work is to deceive.\nAnd while this is true of those who are under the direct inspiration of\nsuperior beings, good or evil, it is true in a more restricted sense that\nconsecrated teachers of divine truth may be regarded as God\u2019s prophets;\nand teachers of error may properly be called false prophets. True and\nfalse prophets may be known.\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\n                             The Crucifixion\n\n\nThe prophets of God are teachers of purity, reprovers of sin, and faithful\nin warning the people of coming dangers. The duties of those whom God\ncalls to speak in his great name are clearly expressed by the sacred\nwriters. We here quote from three of them:\u2014\n\n\n    ISA. 58:1: \u201cCry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a\n    trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of\n    Jacob their sins.\u201d\n\n    JOEL 2:1: \u201cBlow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my\n    holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for\n    the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.\u201d\n\n    2 TIM. 4:1, 2: \u201cI charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord\n    Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his\n    appearing and his kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season,\n    out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long\u2010suffering and\n    doctrine.\u201d\n\n\nFalse prophets do not reprove the people for their sins, and do not warn\nthem of coming danger; but they proclaim peace to the sinner. Their\nteachings lead from God and his word, and are such as please the\nunconverted mind. The inspired writers have also spoken definitely of the\ntestimony and work of false prophets. We here give several for example:\u2014\n\n\n    EZE. 13:9, 10: \u201cAnd mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see\n    vanity, and that divine lies. They shall not be in the assembly of\n    my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the\n    house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel;\n    and ye shall know that I am the Lord God. Because, even because\n    they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no\n    peace; and one built up a wall, and lo, others daubed it with\n    untempered mortar.\u201d\n\n    JER. 6:13, 14: \u201cFor from the least of them even unto the greatest\n    of them, every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet\n    even unto the priest, every one dealeth falsely. They have healed\n    also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying,\n    Peace, peace, when there is no peace.\u201d\n\n    JER. 14:13, 14: \u201cThen said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, the prophets\n    say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have\n    famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place. Then the\n    Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name. I sent\n    them not, neither spake unto them.\u201d\n\n\nAfter stating the duty of the faithful servant of God to preach the word,\nto reprove, to rebuke, and exhort with all long\u2010suffering and doctrine,\nthe apostle says:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cFor the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;\n    but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers,\n    having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the\n    truth, and shall be turned unto fables.\u201d 2 Tim. 4:3, 4.\n\n\nThat time has now fully come. The people choose pleasing fables, which do\nnot disturb them in their sins, rather than the reproving, searching\ndeclarations of the word of God. They love to be deceived by the teachings\nof false prophets, and \u201csay to the seers, See not; and to the prophets,\nProphesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy\ndeceits.\u201d Isa. 30:10.\n\n\n    \u201cShall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord. Shall not my\n    soul be avenged on such a nation as this? A wonderful and horrible\n    thing is committed in the land; the prophets prophesy falsely, and\n    the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have\n    it so; and what will ye do in the end thereof?\u201d Jer. 5:29\u201031.\n\n\nThe ears of the people are filled with the pleasing fables of the world\u2019s\nconversion, a good time coming, and that we are just entering the golden\nage. The threatenings of God\u2019s word on the proud, the haughty, the vain,\nthe rich, the sinners in Zion, and those out of Zion, are kept back by the\nfalse teachers of these times. Many of them even dare to teach that the\nmoral code of the ten commandments is abrogated. And as the result of such\na course, and of such teaching, we see in the professed church of Jesus\nChrist, that\n\n\n\n\nIniquity Abounds.\n\n\n    VERSE 12: \u201cAnd because iniquity shall abound, the love of many\n    shall wax cold.\u201d\n\n\nIt is evident that both the abounding of iniquity and the waxing cold of\nthe love of many, are fulfilled in the professed church of Jesus Christ.\nMen must first experience the love of God and of heavenly things before\nthat love can grow cold. Hence, common, unconverted sinners are not here\nreferred to as apostatizing. And, again, the prevalence of iniquity in the\nunconverted world alone, would stimulate the church to greater diligence,\nand more godliness, instead of being a cause of apostasy. Hence, the\niniquity here mentioned is in the very heart of the professed church,\ndiffusing its chilling influence through the whole body. As the result,\nthe love of many has grown cold. With this, agree the words of the\napostle:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cThis know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.\n    For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters,\n    proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,\n    without natural affection, truce\u2010breakers, false accusers,\n    incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors,\n    heady, high\u2010minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;\n    having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof; from\n    such turn away.\u201d 2 Tim. 3:1\u20105.\n\n\nHere is a catalogue of eighteen sins, all resting upon those having a form\nof godliness. These are not infidels and common worldly sinners, for they\nhave not a form of godliness; but they are men and women professing to be\nfollowers of Jesus Christ. And although they make a profession of piety as\nhigh as heaven, these very sins lie at their doors. And by reason of their\nexample, and their chilling influence, many are led from the humble path\nto heaven, and their love waxes cold.\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\n                              The Ascension\n\n\n\n\nThe End.\n\n\n    VERSE 13: \u201cBut he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall\n    be saved.\u201d\n\n\nAs before noted, the word _end_, whenever used in this chapter, refers to\nthe end of the age, and to nothing else. It is the end associated in the\nNew Testament with the second appearing of Jesus Christ. If it be urged\nthat the word \u201cend\u201d has reference to the close of mortal life, then we\nreply that the disciples did not ask their Lord (see verse 3) when they\nshould die; but \u201cwhat shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of\nthe world?\u201d Neither does the Lord speak of death, when he says (see verse\n6), \u201cBut the end is not yet.\u201d And it would be strange indeed to suppose\nthat the word \u201cend\u201d (verse 14) meant death. If any think such a position\nadmissible, let them read it into the text, as follows: And this gospel of\nthe kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all\nnations, and then shall death come. Absurdity!\n\n\n    VERSE 14: \u201cAnd this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached In all\n    the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end\n    come.\u201d\n\n\nThis is the first sign of the end given by our Lord in answer to the\nquestion, \u201cWhat shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the\nworld?\u201d\n\nBut it is robbed of its distinct power by that interpretation, sometimes\ngiven, by which it is assumed that all men will receive the gospel and be\nconverted, and that then instead of the end, there will ensue a thousand\nyears in which all shall know the Lord. After this long period of peace\nand safety, the end will come. How much is assumed on this text will\nappear when we consider that the text does not say that every individual\nwill even hear this gospel of the kingdom. It does not state that any one\nwill be converted and made holy by it. And we find it far from intimating\nthat the world will be converted and remain so one thousand years. We have\nno reason to conclude that greater measure of success is implied in this\ntext than that which has always attended the preaching of the gospel.\nWhile a few have believed and received it, the great mass of men have\npassed it by unheedingly. The text simply states: First, \u201cAnd this gospel\nof the kingdom shall be preached in all the world;\u201d second, \u201cFor a witness\nunto all nations;\u201d third, \u201cAnd _then_ [not one thousand years later, but\nTHEN] shall the end come.\u201d\n\nBut to what does the term \u201cgospel of the kingdom\u201d refer? The query\nsometimes rises as to whether the gospel in the common acceptation of the\nword, or a gospel peculiarly related to the second coming of Christ is\nhere meant. No such distinction is to be drawn. There neither is, has\nbeen, nor will be more than one gospel. \u201cBut though we, or an angel from\nheaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached\nunto you, let him be accursed.\u201d Gal. 1:8.\n\nThe gospel, then, in this instance, is the same as Paul preached, which\nwas the \u201cpower of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.\u201d But in\nRev. 14:6 and 7 we read:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cAnd I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the\n    everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth,\n    and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying\n    with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour\n    of his judgment is come; and worship him that made heaven, and\n    earth, and the sea, and the fountain of waters.\u201d\n\n\nThe gospel is here called the \u201ceverlasting gospel,\u201d and must necessarily\nbe referred to the gospel of Christ. In connection with the preaching of\nthat gospel, was the proclamation that the judgment hour had come. Not\nthat this message was appended to the gospel, but the angel who had the\neverlasting gospel to preach said, \u201cFear God ... for the hour of his\njudgment is come.\u201d\n\nThe gospel of Jesus Christ embraces all truth relating to salvation. The\nwarnings, counsel, invitations, promises, precepts, prophecies, or\nwhatever the Lord would have the people hear,\u2014the gospel embraces them\nall. In the days of Noah, the gospel included repentance, faith,\nobedience, with the promises of grace and mercy; it also included the\nwarning of the impending judgment. And the only way to escape that\njudgment was through the gospel. So here in Revelation we have the gospel\nwith all it implies, including the message of Christ\u2019s second coming and\nkingdom and the judgment. Closely associated with this message are two\nothers as given in Rev. 14:8\u201012. The first is merged into these. Then\nimmediately following their proclamation we have the following scene:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cAnd I looked and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat\n    like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and\n    in his hand a sharp sickle.... And he that sat on the cloud thrust\n    in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.\u201d Rev.\n    14:14\u201016.\n\n\nIn Rev. 14:6\u201016, then, we learn what is the meaning of the term \u201cgospel of\nthe kingdom.\u201d It is _the_ gospel, and it embraces the admonitions and\ninstructions relative to the second coming of Christ. And now that we have\nreached that time, the complete gospel embraces the good news of the\ncoming kingdom with appropriate warnings and teachings. Our Saviour says\nit \u201cshall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations.\u201d\nThe Revelator says the message is to be preached \u201cto every nation,\nkindred, tongue, and people.\u201d When this shall be done, the end will come.\n\nThe world\u2010wide proclamation of the soon coming of Christ was inaugurated\nabout 1832. Since that time, the work of extending its warning voice has\ngone on. A most remarkable feature of this movement is the fact that in\ndifferent countries individuals were moved upon, almost simultaneously, to\nstudy the prophecies and proclaim the nearness of the end, although they\nknew nothing of what was being done by others. In the United States and\nCanada, in Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, Germany, and in Asia, a profound\ninterest in this subject was created, and people were led to expect the\nearly appearance of Jesus. Since that time clearer light has appeared in\nconnection with the other messages of Revelation 14, and still the work is\nonward. Wherever the light of the Bible has penetrated, the good news of\nthe coming Saviour is now going. Not only so, but messengers bearing this\ngracious warning are rapidly finding their way into the dark portions of\nthe earth. Evidence of its extent and progress might be expressed in facts\nand figures, but the rapid development of the work would soon leave these\nin the rear. Let it suffice to say that at present the everlasting gospel\nis being preached and published in all the leading languages and countries\nof the world. The work has encircled the globe. It is rapidly reaching\nevery nation. We now wait for the approaching end; for when the purpose of\nGod in the proclamation of the coming reign of Christ shall be fully\naccomplished, then the end will come.\n\nThus far in this discourse Jesus has passed over the entire Christian\ndispensation. Beginning with a warning against the deceptions that were to\nsucceed his own times, he next describes wars and disasters, persecutions,\napostasy, the perils of the last days, and closes with a distinct sign of\nthe end.\n\n\n\n\n\nWHEN SHALL THESE THINGS BE?\n\n\n    VERSES 15\u201020: \u201cWhen ye, therefore, shall see the abomination of\n    desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy\n    place (whoso readeth, let him understand); then let them which be\n    in Judea flee into the mountains; let him which is on the housetop\n    not come down to take anything out of his house; neither let him\n    which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe\n    unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those\n    days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither\n    on the Sabbath day.\u201d\n\n\nOur Lord having in verses 5\u201014, passed over the important events in the\nChristian age down to the end, goes back and introduces in verse 15 the\ndestruction of Jerusalem, in answer to the inquiry, \u201cWhen shall these\nthings be?\u201d Luke\u2019s version of this language is, \u201cWhen ye shall see\nJerusalem encompassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof\nis nigh.\u201d Luke 21:20. By this we know that the term \u201cabomination of\ndesolation\u201d refers to the Roman army. This desolating power is spoken of\nby Daniel as follows:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cAnd the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the\n    city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood,\n    and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.... And for\n    the over\u2010spreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even\n    until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon\n    the desolate.\u201d Margin, \u201cdesolator.\u201d Dan. 9:26, 27.\n\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\n                    Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus\n\n\nHere is a clear prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman\narmies. Our Lord referred to the book of Daniel, and taught his disciples\nto read and understand it; and when they should see take place what was\nthere predicted, they must make their escape.\n\nIt would seem to be impracticable to flee from a city after it was\nencompassed with armies; but our Saviour did not speak at random. Josephus\ntells us that Cestius, the Roman general who first led the attack upon\nJerusalem, became dismayed at the apparent forces and strength of the\ncity, and after having surrounded the city raised the siege. The historian\nsays: \u201cHe retired from the city, without any reason in the\nworld.\u201d\u2014_\u201c__Wars,__\u201d__ book ii, chap. xix._ And in the first words of the\nsucceeding chapter he further states: \u201cAfter this calamity had befallen\nCestius, many of the most eminent Jews swam away from the city, as from a\nship when it was going to sink.\u201d\n\nDr. A. Clarke, commenting on verse 16, says:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cThis counsel was remembered and wisely followed by the Christians\n    afterwards. Eusebius and Epiphanius say, that at this juncture,\n    after Cestius Gallus had raised the siege, all who believed in\n    Christ left Jerusalem and fled to Pella, and other places beyond\n    Jordan.\u201d\n\n\nThe flight of the Christians of Judea to the mountains would be attended\nwith difficulties. And their subsequent condition would be that of\nhardship and suffering. The Lord knew this, and gave them the instructions\nand warnings necessary. The statement of verse 19 was given to save them\nfrom the sorrows of unnecessary woe. That was a time of trouble.\n\nJesus recognizes the existence of the Sabbath, in verse 20, as late as the\ndestruction of Jerusalem, as verily as he does the seasons of the year.\n_The Sabbath_, is the uniform term of both Testaments to designate the\nvery day on which Jehovah rested after the creation, the day upon which he\nput his blessing, and which he set apart for man. Not only in this\ninstance does our Saviour show his regard for the sacred day of rest, but\nin his life he kept it (see Luke 4:16); in his teaching he upheld it, and\ntaught its true character (Matt. 12:12); and when he lay in the tomb, the\ndevout women reverently rested \u201caccording to the commandment.\u201d He himself\nis Lord of the Sabbath, and he declares that it was made for man. Mark\n2:27, 28. Jesus does not speak of the Sabbath as being only a seventh part\nof time, or one day in seven, and no day in particular. The Sabbath is the\nterm used, referring to the last day of the first week of time, and to the\nlast day of each subsequent week.\n\nIt is thus that Jesus answered the question, \u201cWhen shall these things be?\u201d\nHe now proceeds to answer the second great question.\n\n\n\n\n\nWHAT SHALL BE THE SIGN OF THY COMING?\n\n\n    VERSE 21: \u201cFor then shall be great tribulation, such as was not\n    since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall\n    be.\u201d\n\n\nIt is not surprising, perhaps, that upon a casual reading some should\nconclude that this verse had its fulfillment at the siege of Jerusalem by\nTitus. It was a time of great suffering, and the verse follows so closely\nthose which relate to the destruction of the city, that this explanation\nsuggests itself readily enough. But for good reasons we cannot accept that\napplication of this verse. Jesus is giving a continuous prophecy. The\nnarrative proceeds from verse to verse along the line of the entire\ndispensation.\n\nThe \u201cgreat tribulation\u201d mentioned in verse 21 is that of the church of\nChrist, and not the tribulation of the Jews at the destruction of\nJerusalem. We offer the following reasons for so deciding:\u2014\n\n1. It is a fact that the tribulation of the Christian church, especially\nunder the reign of the papacy, was greater than God\u2019s people had suffered\nbefore \u201csince the beginning of the world.\u201d The tribulation of the\nChristian church has been greater than it will ever be again. True, a time\nof trouble \u201csuch as never was,\u201d spoken of in Dan. 12:1, is coming _upon\nthe wicked_; but we find in the same verse this blessed promise, \u201cAnd at\nthat time thy people shall be delivered.\u201d The tribulation of the Jews at\nthe destruction of Jerusalem was not greater than the world will ever\nwitness. The vials of Jehovah\u2019s unmingled wrath are yet to be poured out,\nnot upon the people of one nation only, but upon the guilty people of all\nnations.\n\n\n    \u201cThe slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the\n    earth even unto the other end of the earth; they shall not be\n    lamented, neither gathered, nor buried.\u201d Jer. 25:33.\n\n\n2. If the tribulation be applied to the Jews, or to any other class of\nunbelieving men, it cannot be harmonized with Dan. 12:1, which speaks of\nthe time of trouble such as never was, when Michael shall stand up.\nCertainly there cannot be two times of trouble at different periods,\ngreater than ever was or ever would be. Therefore the \u201ctribulation\u201d spoken\nof in Matt. 24:21, 29, applies not to the Jews, but to the church of\nChrist, extending through the 1260 years of papal persecution; and the\n\u201ctrouble\u201d mentioned in Dan. 12:1, to the unbelieving world, to be\nexperienced by them in the future.\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\n                        St. Bartholomew Massacre.\n\n\n3. The period of tribulation was shortened for the elect\u2019s sake. This\ncannot refer to the Jews, for their house had been pronounced desolate.\nThey were left of God in their hardness of heart and blindness of mind.\nSays Paul, \u201cLo, we turn to the Gentiles.\u201d The elect were the followers of\nour Lord Jesus Christ. And where were they when tribulation was upon the\nJews?\u2014They had fled to the mountains. It is absurd, then, to say that the\ndays of tribulation of the Jews in the city of Jerusalem, were shortened\nfor the sake of the elect, who had fled from the place of tribulation.\nMoreover the tribulation that came upon Jerusalem was not restrained or\nmodified, but continued until the city was destroyed and its people were\ngiven to the sword and to captivity.\n\n4. The connection between verses 20 and 21 shows that the tribulation was\nto commence with those Christians who were to flee out of the city. \u201cBut\npray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath\u2010day;\nfor then shall be great tribulation.\u201d Our Lord here speaks of the\ntribulation which his people would suffer from the time of their flight\nonward. We follow them in their flight to the mountains, and then pass\nalong down through the noted persecutions of the church of God under pagan\nRome, and we see, indeed, _tribulation_. And when we come to the period of\npapal persecutions, we see them suffering the most cruel tortures, and\ndying the most dreadful deaths that wicked men and demons could inflict.\nThis last period is especially noted in prophecy.\n\nThe prophet Daniel saw the papacy, its blasphemy, its ignorance, its work\nof death on the saints, and its duration as a persecuting power, under the\nsymbol of the little horn.\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\n                     Taking the Pope Prisoner. 1798.\n\n\n    \u201cAnd he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall\n    wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times\n    and laws; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and\n    times and the dividing of time.\u201d Dan. 7:25.\n\n\nIt is generally admitted that \u201ca time and times and the dividing of time\u201d\nis 1260 years. The proof of it may readily be seen by comparing Rev.\n12:14, 6; 13:5, with the scripture just quoted. In these passages we learn\nthat \u201ctime, times, and the dividing of time\u201d is equivalent to a thousand\ntwo hundred and threescore days, which equals three and one half Biblical\nyears, or \u201cforty and two months.\u201d Applying the scriptural rule of\ninterpretation, a day for a year (Eze. 4:6), we have 1260 years.\n\nThis period is to cover the supremacy of the papacy. The beginning of it\nwill be the point of the establishment of the power of the papacy. This\nwas the year 538 A. D. Justinian, emperor of Rome, with his capital at\nConstantinople, espoused the cause of the bishop of Rome; and in 533 A. D.\nissued a decree which constituted that prelate head of all the churches.\nBut the Arian Ostrogoths had possession of Rome, and it was not until they\nhad been rooted up that the city was accessible to the bishop. This was\naccomplished in 538, by Belisarius, Justinian\u2019s celebrated general. For a\nconcise and clear account of this occurrence we refer the reader to the\n\u201cTwo Republics,\u201d by A. T. Jones, pp. 551\u2010553.\n\nCommencing the 1260 years A. D. 538, they reach to A. D. 1798, when\nBerthier, a French general, took possession of Rome. The pope was made a\nprisoner and carried with violence away from his palace and out of Italy.\nThe papacy was stripped of its civil power. Here ended the days of\ntribulation spoken of by our Lord, which were\u2014\n\n\n\n\nShortened For The Elect\u2019s Sake.\n\n\n    VERSE 22: \u201cAnd except those days should be shortened, there should\n    no flesh be saved; but for the elect\u2019s sake those days shall be\n    shortened.\u201d\n\n\nThe papacy was clothed with civil power to punish heretics, which it held\nfor 1260 years; and had not the period of tribulation of the elect in the\nprovidence of God been shortened, the martyrdom of the church would have\ncontinued to 1798, in which event, no flesh of the elect would have been\nsaved. But the Reformation under Martin Luther, and those associated with\nthis great reformer, modified this tribulation, and continued to restrain\nthe rage and power of the papacy until the suppression of the Jesuits in\n1773, since which time, there has been no general persecution waged\nagainst the church. Thus we are brought in this prophetic discourse of our\nLord, down into the eighteenth century, very near the present time. We\nwould naturally expect, then, that the instructions and warnings which\nfollow would be applicable to this generation.\n\n\n\n\nLo, Here, And Lo, There.\n\n\n    VERSES 23\u201027: \u201cThen if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is\n    Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false\n    christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and\n    wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive\n    the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they\n    shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth:\n    behold: he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the\n    lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west;\n    so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.\u201d\n\n\nIn these verses the great theme of Christ\u2019s second coming is again vividly\nbrought forth. Satan is ever on the alert to contravene by some device or\nart, the work of God. His most successful plan is to deceive. By this\nmeans he gains ready access to all such as desire to evade the force of\ntruth. And having deceived an individual, he not only prevents his\nsalvation, but gains to himself an adherent if not an active agent. So, as\nthe time for the second advent draws near, the enemy becomes particularly\nactive, knowing that he hath but a short time. In the words last quoted\nour Lord seeks to prepare the minds of his people for the deceptions that\nare to be practiced upon those who live near the time of his second\ncoming. There will be those who will cry, \u201cLo, here; or Lo, there,\u201d some\nwill even claim to be Christ. They will purport to represent the truth in\nregard to Christ\u2019s coming in various plausible or fanatical ways. Others,\nin order to reach other minds, will present theories of human device\naccounting for the advent of Christ in various so\u2010called rational schemes.\nMany sincere people will be led to expect the conversion of the world\nthrough a millennium of peace. Others will be persuaded that the coming of\nChrist means death. And even false prophets, showing great signs and\nwonders, will appear. All these form an atmosphere of deception, the\nmiasma of which will stupefy, if it were possible, the elect of God.\n\nIn this fearful work will be engaged the notorious deceiver, the trained\nagents of Satan, the worldly philosopher, worldly preachers, popular\nministers, critics of the Bible, and many whose eyes do not discern the\nsigns of the times. The Mormons call the people to the desert;\nSpiritualism invites us to the secret chamber, where Satanic signs and\nwonders are wrought to captivate the mind and divert it from the truth. Of\nthese \u201cfalse prophets\u201d Paul speaks in 1 Tim. 4:1:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cNow the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some\n    shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and\n    doctrines of devils.\u201d\n\n\nIn another scripture the apostle places the coming of Christ in connection\nwith\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cThe working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,\n    and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that\n    perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they\n    might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong\n    delusions, that they should believe a lie.\u201d 2 Thess. 2:9\u201011.\n\n\nThese are some of the deceptions of which Christ is speaking in the text.\nIt is undoubtedly the work of modern Spiritualism. This work, in its\npresent form, originated in the year 1848, and constitutes and is to\nconstitute one of the most prominent signs of the end.\n\nLet no one be deceived by any means. For these are but subterfuges. They\nare not the coming of Christ. He has said, \u201cI will come again, and receive\nyou unto myself.\u201d John 14:3.\n\nThe angels said at his ascension,\u2014\n\n\n    \u201c_This same Jesus_, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall\n    _so come in like manner_ as ye have seen him go into heaven.\u201d Acts\n    1:11.\n\n\nPaul tells us,\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cThe Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the\n    voice of the archangel and with the trump of God.\u201d 1 Thess. 4:16.\n\n\nAnd here our Saviour says:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cAs the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth, unto the\n    west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.\u201d\n\n\nHe will come literally, personally, the same Jesus who was here upon the\nearth. Not in lowly form as an offering for sin, to be set at naught,\nabused, and crucified, but in \u201call his glory\u201d attended with \u201call the holy\nangels.\u201d Matt. 25:31. We shall know when he comes for \u201cevery eye shall see\nhim.\u201d Rev. 1:7.\n\nNone of these evasions of the truth will ever be able to counterfeit the\nreal event. The Roman army did not come to Jerusalem in this way. Death\ndoes not come in this way. The deceptive wonders of Spiritualism cannot\nimitate the glory of Christ\u2019s second coming. He will come in power and\ngreat glory (verse 30); he will come in the glory of his Father (chapter\n16:27); and in the glory of the holy angels (Luke 9:26); all the holy\nangels shall come with him. Matt. 25:31. His coming will be as glorious\nand resplendent as the lightning. When Jesus revealed himself to Saul of\nTarsus, there was a light above the brightness of the sun (Acts 26:13); of\nthe angel who appeared at the tomb after the resurrection of Jesus it is\nsaid, \u201cHis countenance was like lightning\u201d (Matt. 28:3); and Ezekiel says\nof the messengers of the Most High, they \u201cran and returned as the\nappearance of a flash of lightning.\u201d Eze. 1:14.\n\nWhen Jesus comes in the glory of his Father, with so glorious a train\nattendant, his coming will indeed be as the lightning coming out of the\neast and shining to the west, and no one will have any more occasion or\nopportunity to say to his fellow, \u201cSee here,\u201d than one would have to call\nanother to behold a gleam of lightning flashing through the heavens. The\nvivid lightning flashing out of the distant east, and shining even to the\nwest, lights up the whole heavens. What, then, when the Lord comes in\nflaming glory, and all the holy angels with him? The presence of only one\nholy angel at the sepulcher where Christ lay dead, caused the Roman guard\nto shake, and become as dead men. The light and glory of one angel\ncompletely overpowered those strong sentinels. The Son of man is coming in\nhis own kingly glory, and in the glory of his Father, attended by all the\nholy angels. Then the whole heavens will blaze with glory, and the whole\nearth will tremble before him.\n\n\n\n\nThe Signs Of Christ\u2019s Coming.\n\n\n    VERSES 29\u201031: \u201cImmediately after the tribulation of those days\n    shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,\n    and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the\n    heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son\n    of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth\n    mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of\n    heaven, with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels\n    with a great sound of a trumpet; and they shall gather together\n    his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the\n    other.\u201d\n\n\nWe have before seen that our Lord speaks in this chapter of the long\nperiod of tribulation that was to come upon his followers, and we have\nalso seen how those days of tribulation were shortened for the elect\u2019s\nsake. Christ says that the sun should be darkened immediately after the\ntribulation of those days. Mark in his gospel, gives it as follows:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cIn those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened,\n    and the moon shall not give her light.\u201d Mark 13:24.\n\n\nThis makes the time in which the sun was to be darkened more distinct and\ndefinite. The days of tribulation were the 1260 years of papal supremacy,\nbeginning in 538 A. D. and ending with the capture of Rome and the pope by\nthe French in 1798. But we have already seen that the \u201ctribulation\u201d or\npersecution of those days was \u201cshortened\u201d for the elect\u2019s sake. That is,\nthe active persecution of the church by papal power ceased in 1773. Then,\naccording to Mark\u2019s statement, the sun should be darkened between that\ndate and 1798. It was fulfilled. May 19, 1780, has passed into history as\n\u201cthe dark day.\u201d\n\nThis is a fact of so general knowledge that we need not consume space in\nelucidating it. A few references to undoubted authorities will suffice.\n\nNoah Webster\u2019s dictionary, in the edition for 1869, under the head of\nExplanatory and Pronouncing Vocabulary of Noted Names, says:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201c_The dark day_, May 19, 1780\u2014so called on account of a remarkable\n    darkness on that day extending over all New England. In some\n    places, persons could not see to read common print in the open air\n    for several hours together. Birds sang their evening songs,\n    disappeared, and became silent; fowls went to roost; cattle sought\n    the barn\u2010yard; and candles were lighted in the houses. The\n    obscuration began about ten o\u2019clock in the morning, and continued\n    till the middle of the next night, but with differences of degree\n    and duration in different places. For several days previous, the\n    wind had been variable, but chiefly from the south\u2010west and the\n    north\u2010east. The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not\n    known.\u201d\n\n\nFrom another good authority we quote:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cA solemn gloom of unusual darkness before ten o\u2019clock,\u2014a still\n    darker cloud rolling under the sable curtain from the north and\n    west before eleven o\u2019clock,\u2014excluded the light so that none could\n    see to read or write in the House, even at either window, or\n    distinguish persons at a small distance, or perceive any\n    distinction of dress in the circle of attendants; wherefore, at\n    eleven o\u2019clock adjourned the House till two in the\n    afternoon.\u201d\u2014_Journal of the Connecticut House of Representatives,\n    Friday, May 19, 1780._\n\n\nHerschel, the great astronomer, says:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cThe dark day in Northern America was one of those wonderful\n    phenomena of nature which will always be read with interest, but\n    which philosophy is at a loss to explain.\u201d\n\n\nA contemporary paper contained the following:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cDuring the whole time a sickly, melancholy gloom overcast the\n    face of nature. Nor was the darkness of the night less uncommon\n    and terrifying than that of the day, for notwithstanding there was\n    almost a full moon, no object was discernible but by the help of\n    some artificial light, which seen from the neighboring houses and\n    other places at a distance appeared through a kind of Egyptian\n    darkness which seemed almost impervious to its rays. This unusual\n    phenomenon excited the fears and apprehensions of many\n    people.\u201d\u2014_Mass. Spy, Correspondence, 1780._\n\n\nFrom another good authority we take the following:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cAlmost, if not altogether alone as the most mysterious and as yet\n    unexplained phenomenon of its kind in nature\u2019s diversified range\n    of events during the last century, stands the dark day of May 19,\n    1780, a most unaccountable darkening of the whole visible heavens\n    and atmosphere in New England, which brought intense alarm and\n    distress to multitudes of minds, as well as dismay to the brute\n    creation, the fowls fleeing, bewildered, to their roosts, and the\n    birds to their nests, and the cattle returning to their stalls.\n    Indeed thousands of the good people of that day became fully\n    convinced that the end of all things terrestrial had come; many\n    gave up, for the time, their secular pursuits, and betook\n    themselves to religious devotions.\u201d\u2014\u201c_Our First Century._\u201d\n\n\nAn extract from a sermon preached at that time will be of interest:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cBut especially I mention that _wonderful darkness_ on the 19th of\n    May inst. [1780]. Then, as in our text, the sun was darkened; such\n    a darkness as probably was never known before since the\n    crucifixion of our Lord. People left their work in the house and\n    in the field. Travelers stopped; schools broke up at eleven\n    o\u2019clock; people lighted candles at noonday; and the fire shone as\n    at night. Some people, I have been told, were in dismay, and\n    thought whether the day of Judgment was not drawing on. A great\n    part of the following night also was singularly dark. The _moon,\n    though in the full, gave no light_, as in our text.\u201d\u2014_From a\n    manuscript sermon by Rev. Elam Potter, delivered May 28, 1780._\n\n\nBy the remarkable obscuration of the moon on the following night, the next\nsign, \u201cAnd the moon shall not give her light,\u201d was fulfilled. Concerning\nthis it is only necessary to insert a few words:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cThe night succeeding that day (May 19, 1780) was of such pitchy\n    darkness that, in some instances, horses could not be compelled to\n    leave the stable when wanted for service. About midnight, the\n    clouds were dispersed, and the moon and stars appeared with\n    unimpaired brilliancy.\u201d\u2014\u201c_Stone\u2019s History of Beverly._\u201d\n\n\nMr. Tenny, of Exeter, N. H., quoted by Mr. Gage, to the Historical\nSociety, speaking of the dark day and dark night of May 19, 1780, says:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cThe darkness of the following evening was probably as gross as\n    has ever been observed since the Almighty first gave birth to\n    light. I could not help conceiving at the time, that if every\n    luminous body in the universe had been shrouded in impenetrable\n    darkness, or struck out of existence, the darkness could not have\n    been more complete. A sheet of white paper held within a few\n    inches of the eye was equally invisible with the blackest velvet.\u201d\n\n\nConcerning a similar phenomenon in the Old World a reliable work says:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cThree years later, and Europe with its teeming millions went\n    under as mysterious a cloud, which, though not so dense, yet\n    continued longer and awoke a wonder and fear that was widely felt.\n    A haze, for which no known cause was then assigned (though in\n    subsequent years it has been supposed by some to have been\n    volcanic dust), spread through the entire breadth of the\n    atmosphere over all the continent far into Asia. It appeared in\n    Denmark, May 29, reached France, June 14; Italy, June 16; Norway,\n    June 22; Austria and Switzerland, June 23; Sweden, June 24; and\n    Russia, June 25. By the close of the month it had overspread like\n    a pall all Syria, and on July 18, had penetrated the heart of Asia\n    to the Altai Mountains. The obscurity prevailed a greater portion\n    of the summer, imparting to the sun an unnatural color of a dull,\n    rusty red, and causing both the days and nights to wear a weird\n    and gloomy aspect. The atmosphere was highly electric, and nature\n    was greatly convulsed.\n\n    \u201cDr. N. Webster in his valuable \u2018History of Pestilences,\u2019 vol. ii.\n    p. 274, testifies to the general fear. As it was in America on the\n    occurrence of the \u2018dark day,\u2019 so the churches in Europe were\n    crowded with alarmed multitudes supplicating mercy of Heaven.\n    Professor Lalande, the astronomer of France, attempted to quiet\n    the popular fear by ascribing the darkened heavens to exhalations\n    arising out of the earth; but both Webster and Humboldt (Cosmos\n    IV., p. 75) rejected this solution of the mysterious obscurity.\n    Protestant England shared in the alarm it occasioned; and the poet\n    Cowper sang that all the elements \u2018preached the general doom.\u2019 It\n    was to this unaccountable obscuration of light that he refers in\n    his \u2018Task:\u2019\u2014\n\n    \u201c \u2018Nature seems with dim and sickly eye\n    To wait the close of all.\u2019 \u201d\n\n    \u2014\u201c_Great Consummation._\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\u201cAnd The Stars Shall Fall.\u201d\n\n\nHow this sign can be fulfilled is a query with some people, who, perhaps\ncaptiously, remark that it would be impossible, since the earth itself is\nbut a small body compared with many of the vast worlds of space. But all\nsuch queries are out of date now since the sign itself has already been\nwitnessed. On the night of November 13, 1833, the grandest display of\ncelestial fireworks ever beheld took place. From works of accepted\nauthority we take the following descriptions of this remarkable event:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cBut the most sublime phenomenon of shooting stars, of which the\n    world has furnished any record, was witnessed throughout the\n    United States on the morning of the 13th of November, 1833. The\n    entire extent of this astonishing exhibition has not been\n    precisely ascertained; but it covered no inconsiderable portion of\n    the earth\u2019s surface.... The first appearance was that of fireworks\n    of the most imposing grandeur, covering the entire vault of heaven\n    with myriads of fire\u2010balls, resembling sky\u2010rockets. Their\n    coruscations were bright, gleaming, and incessant, and they fell\n    thick as the flakes in the early snows of December. To the\n    splendors of this celestial exhibition the most brilliant sky\u2010\n    rockets and fire\u2010works of art bear less relation than the\n    twinkling of the most tiny star to the broad glare of the sun. The\n    whole heavens seemed in motion, and suggested to some the awful\n    grandeur of the image employed in the Apocalypse, upon the opening\n    of the sixth seal, when \u2018the stars of heaven fell unto the earth,\n    even as a fig\u2010tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken\n    of a mighty wind.\u2019 \u201d\u2014_Burritt\u2019s __\u201c__Geography of the\n    Heavens,__\u201d__ p. 163, ed. 1854._\n\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\n                            The Falling Stars.\n\n\nA celebrated astronomer and meteorologist, says:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cThose who were so fortunate as to witness the exhibition of\n    shooting stars on the morning of Nov. 13, 1833, probably saw the\n    greatest display of celestial fire\u2010works that has ever been since\n    the creation of the world, or at least within the annals covered\n    by the pages of history.\n\n    \u201cIn nearly all places the meteors began to attract notice by their\n    unusual frequency as early as eleven o\u2019clock, and increased in\n    numbers and splendor until about four o\u2019clock, from which time\n    they gradually declined, but were visible until lost in the light\n    of day. The meteors did not fly at random over all parts of the\n    sky, but appeared to emanate from a point in the constellation\n    Leo, near a star called Gamma Leonis, in the bend of the\n    Sickle....\n\n    \u201cThe extent of the shower of 1833 was such as to cover no\n    inconsiderable part of the earth\u2019s surface, from the middle of the\n    Atlantic on the east to the Pacific on the west; and from the\n    northern coast of South America to undefined regions among the\n    British possessions on the north, the exhibition was visible, and\n    everywhere presented nearly the same appearance. This is no longer\n    to be regarded as a terrestrial but a celestial phenomenon, and\n    shooting stars are now to be no more viewed as casual productions\n    of the upper regions of the atmosphere, but as _visitants from\n    other worlds_, or from the planetary voids.\u201d\u2014_Prof. Olmstead, of\n    Yale College._\n\n    \u201cNo philosopher or scholar has told or recorded an event, I\n    suppose, like that of yesterday morning. A prophet 1800 years ago\n    foretold it exactly, if we will be at the trouble of understanding\n    stars falling to mean falling stars; or \u2018_hoi asteres tou ouranou\n    epesan eis teen geen_,\u2019 in the only sense in which it is possible\n    to be literally true.\u201d\u2014_Henry Dana Ward, in Journal of Commerce,\n    Nov. 14, 1833._\n\n\nNot only here in Matthew 24 is attention directed to these signs as\npremonitory of the coming of Christ. The Lord through the prophet Joel\nsays:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cThe sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,\n    before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.\u201d\n\n\nUnder the sixth seal, as given in Rev. 6:12\u201017, we have the following\nlanguage:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cAnd I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there\n    was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of\n    hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell\n    unto the earth even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when\n    she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a\n    scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island\n    were moved out of their places.\u201d\n\n\nThat the fourth and fifth seals apply to the papal persecution there can\nbe no reasonable doubt. If so, then the great earthquake with which the\nsixth seal opens would be that of Lisbon, in 1755, which agitated the\ngreater part of the earth and destroyed many thousands of lives, 60,000 in\nLisbon alone.\n\nThe darkening of the sun and moon follows in 1780, and the falling of the\nstars in 1833. Consequently the next event which we are to expect under\nthis seal is the departing of the heavens as a scroll. This being future,\nwe may say that we are living between the thirteenth and fourteenth verses\nof Revelation 6.\n\nIn the gospel as written by Luke, however, we have at this point some\nadditional specifications given, which are of such interest at the present\njuncture. And they rightfully belong to this exposition, since both\nMatthew and Luke are giving versions of the same discourse. The passage\nfrom Luke to which reference is made is the following:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cAnd there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the\n    stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;\n    the sea and the waves roaring; men\u2019s hearts failing them for fear,\n    and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:\n    for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.\u201d Luke 21:25\u201027.\n\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\n                             Modern Cyclone.\n\n\nThe signs in the sun, moon, and stars are here spoken of less specifically\nthan by Matthew, while other features of the times, which Matthew does not\nnotice, are introduced between those signs and the shaking of the powers\nof heaven. These are of peculiar interest to us because we are living in\nthe very days when the things that Luke speaks of are coming to pass. The\nsigns here predicted consist of violent commotions upon earth which cause\nanxiety, perplexity, and distress among nations and in the hearts of men.\nWe may refer the expression, \u201cthe sea and the waves roaring,\u201d to unusual\ndisturbances of the natural elements, and we have the most abundant\nevidences of its fulfillment in the storms and convulsions of nature that\nare occurring by sea and land, filling the heart with dread at the sight\nof every dark cloud that arises. The tidal waves and volcanic upheavals at\nsea have, in the last two or three decades, been marked with extraordinary\nviolence. On land, cyclones and earthquakes have carried on a fearful work\nof destruction. Many instances might be cited to substantiate this\nstatement, but the events are too familiar to require it. Hardly a week\npasses but some great calamity of this kind is recorded.\n\nBut the expression referred to is probably susceptible of another\napplication in which it will be found to be as forcible and pertinent to\nthe present state of affairs as in the one just noticed. This would be to\ngive the term \u201csea and waves\u201d its symbolic meaning. The prophet of old\nsaid: \u201cAnd behold the four winds of heaven strove upon the great sea.\u201d\nDan. 7:2. We are told that the sea represents \u201cpeoples, and multitudes,\nand nations, and tongues.\u201d Rev. 17:15. Taking the words in this sense, the\nmeaning and fulfillment are still as apparent as before; and the\nexpression joins its force to that of the remainder of the passage\u2014\u201cupon\nthe earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves\nroaring; men\u2019s hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those\nthings which are coming on the earth.\u201d In this sense the expression in\nquestion would indicate commotion and violent disturbance in the social\nand political world. In this meaning all will at once see the vivid force\nof the text as applied to our times.\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\n                         Assassination of Carnot.\n\n\nThe times we live in are anomalous to any that have ever preceded us. For\nsome years there have been universal and active preparations for war, and\nalmost universal peace. To secure the greatest efficiency of armed forces\nfor defensive and offensive purposes, has been the prime consideration of\ngovernment, especially so, as far as the Old World nations are concerned.\nEurope echoes to the tread of vast hosts of war while the nations are\ndriven to their wits\u2019 end to provide for their support. It is well known\nthat these costly preparations are not for show; and the hearts of men\nquail in view of the culmination which, though delayed, must soon be\nreached.\n\nBut while the temple of Janus is closed as far as international strife is\nconcerned, and angel hands are holding the winds of war (see Rev. 7:1\u20103),\ninternal strife and dissension are rending the vitals of the great nations\nof earth. Within the confines of its own border, each of these nations is\ncherishing elements of the deadliest nature. Trouble is brewing that has\nfor the people far more terror than foreign complications. For some time\nthe ominous mutterings of an oncoming storm have been heard in every land,\nand it requires no remarkable acumen to discern the rapid approach of the\ncrisis.\n\nThe apostle James strikes directly at the matter in a prophetic glance and\nexhortation in the following language:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cGo to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that\n    shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments\n    are moth\u2010eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of\n    them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as\n    it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.\n    Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields,\n    which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth; and the cries of them\n    which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of\n    Sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton;\n    ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have\n    condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.\u201d James\n    5:1\u20106.\n\n\nThe apostle locates the circumstances he here refers to in the last days.\nHe denounces the rich men who have heaped together treasures, the rust and\ncanker of which will be a witness against them. They live in pleasure and\nwantonness while the cries of those whose wages they have kept back enter\ninto the ears of the Lord of Hosts.\n\nThere is a universal cry of hard times in all the world. It is hard to\nobtain money; and yet, there never was so much money as at present. But it\nis being collected\u2014gathered in heaps\u2014by the powerful few, while the\nlimited means of the masses are dwindling lower and lower. The poorer\nclasses witness the absorption of wealth by the money\u2010kings, with feelings\nthat are being aroused to the point of desperation by the sense of their\ninability to secure what seems to them a more equitable distribution of\nthe things of this world. The laborers cry, and God hears their cry.\n\nThat these things are taking place to\u2010day as the most prominent feature of\nour social life no one will for a moment deny. Such colossal fortunes the\nworld has heretofore at most but dreamed of. There are men living to\u2010day\nwho have risen in wealth from obscure stations to become lords of untold\nmillions. Their wealth passes the bounds of just computation, for it\nincludes the power of oppression by which it may be indefinitely\nincreased. The lavish expenditure of these means for selfish pleasure\noften amounts to wantonness.\n\nWell then, what is to be done? It is a difficult and delicate matter to\nframe and secure legislation by which this or any other class of men shall\nbe deprived of the management of their own business as long as that\nbusiness is legitimate and is legitimately conducted. Shall anarchy and\nviolence be resorted to? Shall the laborer seize the torch and the weapons\nof death? Shall the country be devastated by strikes, strife, and civil\nwar? Shall our communities be rent with murder, arson, treason, and\nintense personal hatred and enmity? No one possessing the natural\ninstincts of humanity could contemplate such a condition of affairs except\nwith horror. There are ghouls of society who gloat in blood; but such are\nnot true citizens, they are not neighbors, they certainly are not\nChristians.\n\nBut what shall we do as citizens, neighbors, and Christians? This is a\nquestion of great importance just now. Inspiration long ago foresaw our\nsituation. The pitying Saviour long since anticipated the sufferings that\nare to come upon this generation; and having, through his servant,\noutlined the present condition of affairs so closely, he certainly would\nnot leave his followers uninformed as to the course he would have them\npursue. We have to read only two verses farther in James\u2019s letter to find\nthe counsel we need.\n\n\n    \u201c_Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord._\n    Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the\n    earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early\n    and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; _for\n    the coming of the Lord draweth nigh_.\u201d James 5:7, 8.\n\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\n                              Chicago Riot.\n\n\nOppression and revolt, combination and intrigue, strife and bloodshed,\nnever will cease until the supreme selfishness, which in the absence of\ndivine grace controls all men, gives place to true philanthropy, and a\nbrotherhood that is not outlined by class or sectional interests. This\nhappy time is coming. When Jesus comes, he will take to himself his power\nand reign in righteousness. Then will the hills be brought low, the\nvalleys exalted, the crooked be made straight, and the rough places\nsmooth.\n\nThose who are weary of strife, those who through misfortune or oppression\nhave been made to feel their need of relief will find rest to their souls\nin looking for the coming of the Lord. It is vain to match evil with evil\nor to try to cure wrong with wrong. The gospel of Christ is the only\nremedy for these ills. And all that we can really do to counteract the\nannoyances of this life must be done through the gospel of peace. In this\ntime of perplexity, distress, and fear, let every Christian hold up\nChrist. Let his patient suffering be exemplified in whatever circumstances\nmay come. Just a little beyond, there is relief.\n\nStrikes, boycotts, lock\u2010outs, trusts, unions, or any other human device or\ndemonstration only augments the trouble, as the experience of the past few\nyears shows. For there never was so much of these things as now, and never\nwas capital so insecure, business so uncertain, and labor in such distress\nas at present. The employment of arbitrary force provokes greater efforts\non the opposite side, and thus the breach is widened and the strife\nbecomes more bitter. We do not argue the merits or demerits of the case.\nThat there is deep wrong involved, the fruits plainly show. It is our task\nonly to point out the one remedy available alike to either and all. That\nremedy is the gospel of Christ, which is soon to close in a glorious\ntriumph for those who have patiently and faithfully wrought his will.\n\n\n\n\n\u201cThe Powers Of Heaven Shall Be Shaken.\u201d\n\n\nWe do not apprehend that this circumstance will occur as a sign of\nChrist\u2019s coming, but rather that it will constitute one of the events of\nhis coming, the same as the features mentioned in the next verse. An\nevident distinction may be drawn between the _signs_ of the advent and the\ncircumstances of it. With the falling of the stars, the former cease; and\nwith the next event the latter commence. This event, the shaking of the\npowers of heaven, we must regard as being future. It holds the same place\nin the events of this chapter, that the departing of the heavens as a\nscroll does in the events of the sixth seal of Revelation 6. Both follow\nthe falling stars. The Scriptures plainly teach that, prior to the\nresurrection of the just by the voice of the Son of God, the voice of God\nthe Father will shake the heavens and the earth, when will be fulfilled\nthe shaking of the powers of the heaven. This is not the voice of the Son\nof God as he descends to raise the dead. It comes from the throne of God\nin the temple of heaven.\n\n\n    \u201cThe Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from\n    Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the Lord\n    will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children\n    of Israel.\u201d Joel 3:16.\n\n    \u201cTherefore will I shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove\n    out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the\n    day of his fierce anger.\u201d Isa. 13:13.\n\n\nPaul quotes from the words of the Lord by Haggai and comments as follows:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cYet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And\n    this word, yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things\n    that are shaken.\u201d Heb. 12:26, 27.\n\n\n\n\n\u201cSign Of The Son Of Man.\u201d\n\n\nNeither is this one of the signs showing that the coming of the Son of man\nis near, but \u201cthe sign of the Son of man in heaven.\u201d It is that which\nindicates his position. When Christ ascended from the mount of Olivet, \u201ca\ncloud received him\u201d from the sight of his disciples. They still gazed at\nthe cloud as it rolled upward, bearing the Saviour toward the Father\u2019s\nthrone but they could not see his person. When he comes \u201cin like manner\u201d\nas he was taken up to heaven, the cloud will appear, small in the\ndistance, but as it draws near, it will signify to those who are looking\nfor his return, that he is there, and soon his presence will fill the\nearth with matchless glory. In Rev. 14:14, the holy seer records his view\nof the coming Saviour in the following words: \u201cAnd I looked, and behold a\nwhite cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man.\u201d\n\nThis is not a mass of vapor but a cloud of resplendent glory. He comes\n\u201cwith power and great glory.\u201d He will \u201ccome in the glory of his Father\u201d\n(Matt. 16:27); in his own glory, \u201cand all the holy angels with him.\u201d Matt.\n25:31. The glory of the Father, of the Son, and of all the holy\nangels\u2014this glory will comprise the cloud which attends him on the way. Of\nits intensity we can form no just conception. In the presence of one angel\nthe Roman guard \u201cdid quake and became as dead men.\u201d There are ten thousand\ntimes ten thousand and thousands of thousands of them in this throng.\nAbove the brightness of their glory is that of the Father and the Son.\n\nAt first the cloud is only perceptible, but as it approaches, it attracts\nattention, and at length every eye is fastened intently upon the wonderful\nspectacle. The trumpet resounds, the voice of the Archangel awakens the\ndead, and they come forth to share in the glorious revelation of their\nRedeemer. All nature is convulsed with her coming dissolution. Each moment\nthe glory draws nearer, and soon the wicked can no longer endure the\nsight.\n\n\n    \u201cAnd then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall\n    see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and\n    great glory.\u201d Verse 30.\n\n\nAgain attention is directed to the parallel language of Rev. 6:15\u201047:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cAnd the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men,\n    and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bond man,\n    and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of\n    the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us,\n    and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and\n    from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath is\n    come; and who shall be able to stand?\u201d\n\n\nThe prophet Isaiah describes the same thrilling event from the other\nstandpoint\u2014that of the waiting people of God:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cHe will swallow up death in victory, and the Lord God will wipe\n    away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall\n    he take away from off all the earth; for the Lord hath spoken it.\n    And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have\n    waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have\n    waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.\u201d\n    Isa. 25:8, 9.\n\n\nThe apostle Paul gives a vivid description of the event with its attendant\ncircumstances as follows:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cBut I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning\n    them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which\n    have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,\n    even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.\n    For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which\n    are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent\n    them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from\n    heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the\n    trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we\n    which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them\n    in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever\n    be with the Lord.\u201d 1 Thess. 4:13\u201017.\n\n\nThe once slighted, insulted, and crucified Saviour, now King of kings and\nLord of lords, is coming near the earth! His glory blazes everywhere! The\nsaints hope and rejoice with trembling. But what an hour for the wicked!\nThe tribes of the earth mourn. Amid the ruins of shivered creation they\nhold one general prayer\u2010meeting. Kings and great men, rich men, chief\ncaptains and mighty men, free and bond, all, yes, all unite in the general\nwail. As the Son of man in the glory of his Father, attended by all the\nholy angels, draws still nearer, consternation fills every breast. They\nhide in dens and in the rocks of the mountains. Their only hope is to be\nconcealed from the glory of that scene. They know it is too late to pray\nfor mercy, that probation for the human family has ended forever.\n\nBut rocks cannot shelter them from the burning glory manifested by the\nKing of kings, attended by the whole heavenly host. When \u201cthe Son of man\nshall come in the glory of the Father,\u201d \u201cand all the holy angels with\nhim,\u201d no sinner can endure the scene and live. The exceeding brightness of\nthat vast multitude of angels, brighter than a thousand suns at noonday,\nwill pierce the sinner\u2019s lowest hiding place, and will \u201cmake even a speedy\nriddance of all them that dwell in the land.\u201d Zeph. 1:18. The Son of man\nwill be seen \u201ccoming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.\u201d\nBut before his coming a great work will be done for his people. Should he\nsuddenly burst upon them now, they could not endure \u201cthe power and great\nglory\u201d of the scene. This subject is well illustrated by the following\nwords of the prophet:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cThen shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord; his going\n    forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the\n    rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.\u201d Hosea 6:3.\n\n\nThe morning is a beautiful figure of the opening glory of the day of God.\nThe day\u2010star first appears, then the dawn of day. And as the light of day\nincreases, the eyes are enabled to endure it, and view the sun shining in\nhis strength. But should the light of the sun burst upon the world\nsuddenly at midnight, no human eye could endure it.\n\nSo will the people of God be prepared to meet their coming King. They must\nfirst break away from the love and cares of this world, and consecrate all\nto the Lord. Then will they, in due time, share the outpouring of the Holy\nSpirit \u201cas the rain, as the latter and former rain upon the earth.\u201d The\nday\u2010star will arise in their hearts. 2 Peter 1:19. Those who have taken\nheed to the sure word of prophecy through the dark, watching night, then\nraise their heads in triumph. They are filled with faith and with the Holy\nSpirit. Glory is poured upon them till they can gaze on Christ and angels.\nThe trumpet sounds. The angels are dispatched to the graves of the\nrighteous. The voice of the Son of God awakes the sleeping saints of all\nages. They come forth in immortal perfection and, as they leave the earth,\nthe living saints are changed. The \u201celect from one end of heaven to the\nother,\u201d each with an angel bright and strong to lead the way, are caught\nup to meet the Lord, who waits in mid\u2010heaven to receive the purchase of\nhis blood. As language would fail to describe what follows, we leave the\nreader to contemplate it, praying that we may be prepared to participate\nin the meeting scene.\n\n\n\n\nParable Of The Fig\u2010Tree.\n\n\n    VERSES 32, 33: \u201cNow learn a parable of the fig\u2010tree; when his\n    branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer\n    is nigh. So likewise ye when ye shall see all these things, know\n    that it [\u2018he,\u2019 R. V.] is near, even at the doors.\u201d\n\n\nThis parable is probably the most forcible figure that could be used with\nwhich to illustrate this subject. When the trees of the field begin to put\nforth their leaves, and the tender grass springs up, and the ground is\nbeing covered with its green velvet carpet, we know that summer is nigh.\nIt is a certainty with us that summer is coming when we see these signs in\nnature. We know that summer is nigh \u201c_So, likewise_,\u201d or, with the same\ncertainty, we may _know_ that Christ\u2019s coming is near when the signs in\nthe sun, moon, and stars are fulfilled. How near?\u2014Even at the doors. How\nnear may that be?\n\n\n    VERSE 34: \u201cVerily I say unto you. This generation shall not pass,\n    till all these things be fulfilled.\u201d\n\n\nIt is sometimes claimed that the generation spoken of was the one then\nliving. If so, it could have been to no greater extent than referring to\nthe answer of the question relating to the destruction of Jerusalem. But\nit would be wholly illogical to limit the application of the statement to\nthat generation or to place its principal significance there. \u201cAll these\nthings\u201d must include the signs and circumstances of which Christ has been\nspeaking. In the preceding verses he gives the parable of the fig\u2010tree,\nand addresses those who are to be living at that time directly. \u201cSo\nlikewise _ye_, when _ye_ shall see all these things, _know_ that it is\nnear.\u201d And then, \u201c_This_ generation shall not pass.\u201d What generation?\nEvidently the one which he was addressing, and which saw \u201cthese things\ncome to pass.\u201d Not only does such an interpretation do no violence to the\nSaviour\u2019s meaning, but it is obviously the only one that can be reasonably\nentertained in regard to it.\n\nPaul speaks in the first person of those who will be living when Jesus\ncomes, for he says, \u201cWe shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,\nin a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump.\u201d 1 Cor. 15:51,\n52. Or, \u201cThen we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together\nwith them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.\u201d 1 Thess. 4:17. The\nthings here mentioned by the apostle did not take place in his day. They\nhave not yet taken place. Notwithstanding, he speaks of them as though\nthey would take place in his day, and as if he were to have a part in\nthem.\n\nThe proclamation of the coming and kingdom of Christ is given to the last\ngeneration. God sent Noah to preach to the last generation before the\nflood, not to any preceding one. The very generation which was destroyed\nby the waters of the flood saw Noah build the ark, and heard his warning\nvoice. So God has raised up men to give the solemn warning to the world at\nthe right time to give force to the warning. And the very generation of\nmen that live after the three great signs are fulfilled, and who hear and\nreject the warning message of Heaven, will drink the cup of the unmingled\nwrath of God. And those of this very generation who receive the message,\nsuffer disappointments, and endure the trials of the waiting position,\nwill witness the coming of Christ, and exclaim, \u201cLo, this is our God; we\nhave _waited_ for him, and he will save us.\u201d Isa. 25:9.\n\nWith what emphasis our Lord gave utterance to this sentiment! It is a\nrebuke upon our unbelief. As we read it, God help us to believe it:\n\u201cVerily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these\nthings be fulfilled.\u201d And as though this were not enough to lead us to\nunwavering faith, he adds these forcible words: \u201cHeaven and earth shall\npass away but my words shall not pass away.\u201d\n\nThe word and promises of men may fail; but Christ has given assurance that\nhis word, and his word in reference to this solemn truth, will stand\nthough heaven and earth fail.\n\n\n\n\n\u201cThe Day And Hour.\u201d\n\n\n    VERSES 36, 37: \u201cBut of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not\n    the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noe\n    were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.\u201d\n\n\nThis has become a very familiar passage of scripture because of the\nfrequent use that is made of it to prove that nothing can be known of the\nproximity of the second coming of Christ. But if we pause a moment and lay\nbeside this verse those we have just studied, we shall be able to discover\nthe exact truth at once. \u201cWhen ye shall see these things, know that it is\nnear even at the doors;\u201d and, \u201cThis generation shall not pass, till all\nthese things be fulfilled;\u201d \u201cBut of that day and hour knoweth no man.\u201d The\nline of knowledge, then, lies between the former expressions and the\nlatter\u2014between \u201ceven at the doors\u201d and the definite day and hour. The\nformer we may know, and every Christian is commanded to know. The latter\nno man knoweth. One may consistently say that he knows an event is near,\nand yet say that he does not know the hour nor the day when it will take\nplace. That this is the scriptural teaching upon this point may be readily\nproved by a reference to 1 Thess. 5:1\u20104:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cBut of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that\n    I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of\n    the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall\n    say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them,\n    as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But\n    ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake\n    you as a thief.\u201d\n\n\nAn evident distinction is here drawn between two classes. Upon one class\nthe day of the Lord will come as a thief. Those of the other are not in\ndarkness that that day should come as a thief upon them. The children of\nGod are children of light. Their heavenly Father knows the end from the\nbeginning, and he has promised to reveal his secret to his people through\nhis servants the prophets. Amos 3:7.\n\nThe apostle Peter also bears testimony to the same truth.\n\n\n    \u201cWe have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well\n    that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place,\n    until the day dawn and the day\u2010star arise in your hearts.\u201d 2 Peter\n    1:19.\n\n\nThe dark place here spoken of is the future. The past is lighted up by\nhistory, the present is brought to our knowledge by press and telegraph;\nbut the future no human art or wisdom can penetrate. Prophecy throws its\ngleam into those dark regions, yet unexplored, and marks out the path of\nhuman history centuries and ages before it has echoed to the footsteps of\nmankind. When at last we pass along the pathway, we may, if we will,\nrecognize the waymarks set up here and there, every one of which is a\nmonument to the wisdom and knowledge of God, and the faithfulness of his\nword. Those who have no eyes to discern these things, no ears to hear, nor\nhearts to understand their significance, will pass on, and the final event\nwill come upon them unawares. Not so with those who take heed to the\nthings God has spoken.\n\nWe would not detract an iota from the force of the verse under\nconsideration. It means all it says. No man knows the definite time of\nChrist\u2019s coming. The day and hour, and even the year of the second advent\nare purposely hidden. Some of the prophetic periods reach to the time of\nthe end, while others extend still farther down, very near to the end\nitself; yet none of them reach to the coming of the Son of man. The\nprophecies clearly point to the period of the second advent, but do not\ngive the definite time of that event.\n\nBut with this passage before us we may claim that it would be transcending\nits meaning to claim upon its authority that nothing should or could be\nknown of the approach of Christ\u2019s coming. More than that, it is not\ninconsistent with the text nor improbable that prior to that event the\nLord will in his own way reveal that which has hitherto been withheld.\nThose who claim that the text proves that nothing may be known of the\nperiod of the second advent, make it prove too much for their own\nunbelief. As recorded by Mark, the declaration reads: \u201cBut of that day and\nthat hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in Heaven, neither\nthe Son, but the Father.\u201d If the text proves that men will know nothing of\nthe period of the second advent, it also proves that angels will know\nnothing of it, and also that the Son will know nothing of it, till the\nevent takes place! This position proves too much, therefore proves nothing\nto the point. Christ will know of the period of his second advent to this\nworld. The holy angels who wait around the throne of heaven to receive\nmessages relative to the part they act in the salvation of men, will know\nof the time of this closing event of salvation. And so will the waiting,\nwatching people of God understand. An old English version of the passage\nreads, \u201cBut that day and hour no man maketh known, neither the angels\nwhich are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.\u201d This is the correct\nreading, according to several of the ablest critics of the age. The word\n_know_ is used in the same sense here that it is by Paul in 1 Cor. 2:2:\n\u201cFor I determined not to know [make known] anything among you, save Jesus\nChrist and him crucified.\u201d Men will not make known the day and hour,\nangels will not make it known, neither will the Son; but the Father will\nmake it known. Says Campbell:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cMacknight argues that the term _known_ is here used as a\n    causative, in the Hebrew sense of the conjugation _hiphil_, that\n    is, _to make known_.... His [Christ\u2019s] answer is just equivalent\n    to saying, The Father will make it known when it pleases him; but\n    he has not authorized man, angel, or the Son to make it known.\n    Just in this sense, Paul uses the term _know_, 1 Cor. 2:2: \u2018I came\n    to you _making known_ the testimony of God; for I determined to\n    _make known_ nothing among you but a crucified Christ.\u2019 \u201d\n\n\nAlbert Barnes, in his \u201cNotes on the Gospels,\u201d says:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cOthers have said that the verb rendered _knoweth_ means sometimes\n    to _make_ known, or to reveal, and that the passage means, \u2018that\n    day and hour none maketh known, neither the angels, nor the Son,\n    but the Father.\u2019 It is true the word has sometimes that meaning,\n    as 1 Cor. 2:2.\u201d\n\n\nWhen the patriarch\u2019s work of warning and building was finished, God said\nto him, \u201cCome thou and all thy house into the ark.\u201d \u201cFor yet seven days\nand I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights.\u201d\nSo when the waiting, watching, weeping, toiling time shall be finished,\nand the saints shall all be sealed, and shut in with God, then, we\nconclude, will the voice of the Father from heaven make known the definite\ntime. See Rev. 16:17; Joel 3:16; Jer. 25:30.\n\nThe present is emphatically the waiting, watching time. It is the especial\nperiod of the patience of the saints. The Lord appeals to us thus:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cWatch ye, therefore; for ye know not when the Master of the house\n    cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the\n    morning; lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say\n    unto you I say unto all, Watch.\u201d Mark 13:35\u201037.\n\n\nOne of the fatal consequences of not watching is distinctly stated in Rev.\n3:3:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cIf therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a\n    thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.\u201d\n\n\nIn consequence of not watching, the people will remain in ignorance of the\napproach of that hour. And the unavoidable inference is that by watching\nthey will be aware of and prepared for its coming. In answer to the\nagonizing prayer of the Son of God, \u201cFather, glorify thy name,\u201d there came\na voice from heaven, saying, \u201cI have both glorified it, and will glorify\nit again.\u201d The disciples understood these words from heaven, while the\npeople that stood by said it thundered. John 12:27\u201029. So will the waiting\ndisciples of Christ understand the voice of God when he shall speak from\non high. But the unbelieving world will not understand it. In comparing\nNoah\u2019s days and ours, the Lord continues:\u2014\n\n\n\n\nNoah\u2019s Time And Ours.\n\n\n    VERSES 38, 39: \u201cFor as in the days that were before the flood,\n    they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,\n    until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until\n    the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming\n    of the Son of man be.\u201d\n\n\nA picture of the present condition of the mass of mankind is here drawn.\nThe people of the last generation will be like those before the flood,\nwhile the ark was preparing. While Noah preached, and warned them of the\ncoming flood, they mocked. He built the ark; and they scoffed and jeered.\nHe was a preacher of righteousness. His works were calculated to give edge\nto, and send home to the heart, what he preached. Every righteous sermon,\nand every blow struck in building the ark, condemned a careless, scoffing\nworld. As the time drew nearer, the people grew more careless, more\nhardened, more bold and impudent, and their condemnation surer. Noah and\nhis family stood alone. And could one family know more than all the world?\nThe ark was a matter of ridicule, and Noah was regarded as a willful\nbigot.\n\nBut the Lord calls Noah into the ark. And by the hand of Providence the\nbeasts are led into the ark; and the Lord shuts Noah in. This is regarded\nat first by the scoffing multitude as something wonderful; but it is soon\nexplained away by the wiser ones, so as to calm their fears, and they\nbreathe easier.\n\nThe day of expectation finally arrives. The sun rises as usual, and the\nheavens are clear. \u201cNow where is old Noah\u2019s flood?\u201d is heard from a\nthousand impious lips. The farmer is caring for his herds and lands, and\nthe mechanic is pursuing his work of building. On this very day, some are\nbeing joined in marriage. With many it is a day of unusual feasting and\nsports. And while all are looking to long years of future prosperity and\nhappiness, suddenly the heavens gather blackness. Fear fills every heart.\nThe windows of heaven open, and the rain descends in torrents. \u201cThe\nfountains of the great deep are broken up,\u201d and here and there come\ngushing up rivers of water. The valleys are fast filling up, and thousands\nare swept away in death. Awful death! made still more horrible by being in\nconsequence of slighted mercy! But where is Noah? Ah! safe in the ark,\nborne upon the billows. Safe from the flood, for God \u201cshut him in.\u201d\n\nBy some people, the evidences of the soon coming of Christ are considered\ninsufficient to base faith upon. But the testimony and acts of one man in\nthe case of Noah, condemned the people destroyed by the flood. The\nevidences then were sufficient, otherwise the world would not have been\ncondemned. But a hundred times more convincing evidences come pouring in\nupon us that the day of the Lord is near, and hasteth greatly. We follow\ndown the several prophetic chains of Daniel and of the Revelation, and we\nfind ourselves in every instance standing just before the day of wrath. We\nsee the signs spoken of by prophets, by Christ, and by the apostles,\nfulfilling or fulfilled. And at the right time, and in the right manner,\nto fulfill certain prophecies, a solemn message arises in different parts\nof the world: \u201cBlow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy\nmountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the\nLord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.\u201d Joel 2:1. Wherever we look, we see\nprophecy fulfilling. While the knowledge of God and the spirit of holiness\nare departing, spiritual wickedness, like a flood, covers the land.\n\nBut these evidences are considered insufficient to rest faith upon. Well,\nwhat kind of evidence would the unbelieving have? \u201cWhen the signs of the\nend,\u201d says the skeptic, \u201care fulfilled, they will be so plain that no one\ncan doubt.\u201d But if the signs are of such a nature, and are fulfilled in\nsuch a manner, as to compel all to believe in the coming of Christ, how\ncan it be as it was in the days of Noah? Men were not then compelled to\nbelieve. But eight believing souls were saved, while all the world besides\nsank in their unbelief beneath the waters of the flood. God has never\nrevealed his truth to man in a manner to compel him to believe. Those who\nhave wished to doubt his word, have found a wide field in which to doubt,\nand a broad road to perdition; while those who have wished to believe,\nhave ever found an everlasting rock upon which to rest their faith.\n\nJust before the end, the world will be hardened in sin, and indifferent to\nthe claims of God. Men will be careless in regard to the warnings of\ndanger, and blinded by cares, pleasures, and riches. An unbelieving\ngeneration will be eating, drinking, marrying, building, planting, and\nsowing. It is right to eat and drink to sustain nature, but the sin is in\nexcess and gluttony. The marriage covenant is holy, but God\u2019s glory is\nseldom thought of. Building, planting, and sowing, necessary for\nconvenient shelter, food, and clothing, are right; but the world has gone\nwholly after these things, so that men have no time nor disposition to\nthink of God, heaven, Christ\u2019s coming, and the Judgment. This world is\ntheir god, and all their energies of body and mind are made to serve it.\nAnd the evil day is put far away.\n\nThe faithful watchman who sounds the alarm as he sees destruction coming,\nis held up before the people from the pulpits of our land, and by the\nreligious press, as a fanatic, a teacher of dangerous heresies; while in\ncontrast is set forth a long period of peace and prosperity to the church.\nSo the churches are quieted to sleep. The scoffer continues to scoff, and\nthe mocker mocks on. But that day is coming. Thus saith the prophet of\nGod:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cHowl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a\n    destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint,\n    and every man\u2019s heart shall melt. And they shall be afraid; pangs\n    and sorrows shall take hold of them.... Behold, the day of the\n    Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the\n    land desolate; and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of\n    it.\u201d Isa. 13:6\u20109.\n\n\n                              [Illustration]\n\n                            The Day of Wrath.\n\n\nMost dreadful day! and is it near?\u2014Yes; it hasteth! It hasteth greatly!\nWhat a description given by the prophet! Read it; and as you read, try to\nrealize how dreadful will be that day:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cThe great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth\n    greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man\n    shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of\n    trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of\n    darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day\n    of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against\n    the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they\n    shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the\n    Lord; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh\n    as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to\n    deliver them in the day of the Lord\u2019s wrath; but the whole land\n    shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy; for he shall make\n    even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.\u201d Zeph.\n    1:14\u201018.\n\n\n\n\nPeace And Safety.\n\n\nThe attitude of the religious world toward this most important subject is\nworthy of more than passing notice both because of its effect upon the\ncause of truth and also because it of itself is a sign of the times. While\nit is true that many individuals in the different Christian denominations\nrecognize with more or less distinctness the fact that we are living in\nthe last days, with many of these it does not become a practical truth.\nOutside of these there are many who ridicule the idea as preposterous and\noutlandish; and in opposition to the message that Christ is soon coming,\nraise the cry of, \u201cPeace, peace, when there is no peace.\u201d Such teaching is\nalluded to by the prophet in Eze. 13:10, 11.\n\nThe groundwork of the peace and safety cry is the doctrine of the temporal\nmillennium. This teaches that the world is now entering, or about to enter\nupon a period of universal peace and good will, that the moral tone of the\nworld is improving, men and nations are learning righteousness; and the\ngospel of Christ is about to become the controlling principle in public\nand private life. And, further, this happy state will continue for one\nthousand years, which period of time the word millennium literally\nsignifies. At the end of that time, perhaps, the Lord will come. However,\nif this doctrine be true, it will make but little difference to this\ngeneration or to the one living at the close of the period whether he does\nor not. The verses we have just considered which liken the last days to\nthose of Noah wholly disprove this position. In addition to what Matthew\nstates, Luke gives a still more forcible version of our Saviour\u2019s words:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cAnd as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days\n    of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives,\n    they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into\n    the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also\n    as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they\n    bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day\n    that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from\n    heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day\n    when the Son of man is revealed.\u201d Luke 17:26\u201030.\n\n\nPaul writes in his epistles to Timothy as follows:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cNow the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some\n    shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and\n    doctrines of devils.\u201d 1 Tim. 4:1.\n\n    \u201cThis know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.\n    For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters,\n    proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,\n    without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers,\n    incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors,\n    heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;\n    having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from\n    such turn away.\u201d 2 Tim. 3:1\u20105.\n\n    \u201cBut evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving,\n    and being deceived.\u201d Verse 13.\n\n\nIn very many scriptures it is plainly declared that when Christ comes, he\ncomes not only to reward and save his people but also to punish his\nenemies. Looking upon the last days he exclaims, \u201cNevertheless when the\nSon of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?\u201d Luke 18:8. The idea\nof a thousand years of peace and righteousness before Christ comes might\nbe dismissed as utterly out of the question. But space will be given to\none or two passages supposed to teach it, which will represent the whole\nclass. The first and chief is found in Isa. 2:2\u20104:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cAnd it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of\n    the Lord\u2019s house shall be established in the top of the mountains,\n    and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow\n    unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go\n    up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob;\n    and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths:\n    for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord\n    from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall\n    rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into\n    ploughshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not\n    lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any\n    more.\u201d\n\n\nAlmost the same language is used in Micah 4:1\u20103. It is enough to call\nattention to the authorship of the propositions contained in the text.\nThey come from the people. \u201cMany people shall go and say, Come ye,\u201d etc.\nInspiration asserts that in the last days the mountain or power of the\nLord\u2019s house or church shall be established in the tops of the mountains,\nor civil power. Undoubtedly it will. Everything is tending to the union of\nChurch and State and the professed church of Christ is riding on a high\ntide to civil power in all lands. But farewell to godliness and spiritual\npower. When this is accomplished, in a general chorus all will proclaim\nthe dawning millennium.\n\nHow the Lord regards the people who are saying these things is shown in\nthe succeeding verses:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cTherefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob,\n    because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers\n    like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children\n    of strangers. Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither\n    is there any end of their treasures; their land also is full of\n    horses, neither is there any end of their chariots: their land\n    also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands,\n    that which their own fingers have made.\u201d Isa. 2:6\u20108.\n\n\nNow let us see what God says on the same point and concerning the same\ntime:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cProclaim ye this among the Gentiles; prepare war, wake up the\n    mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:\n    beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into\n    spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and\n    come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about:\n    thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the\n    heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for\n    there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in\n    the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the\n    press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.\n    Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of\n    the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon\n    shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The\n    Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from\n    Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord\n    will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children\n    of Israel.\u201d Joel 3:9\u201016.\n\n\nMark, this is not what the people say, but what the Lord says of the very\nsame time when the people are preaching a good time coming.\n\nAnother verse referred to, and representing quite a numerous class of\nsimilar ones, is found in Num. 14:21.\n\n\n    \u201cBut as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the\n    glory of the Lord.\u201d\n\n\nThere is no occasion to modify or limit the meaning of those words; for\ntheir utmost significance will be realized. But when?\u2014When sin and the\ncurse are wiped away. After the purifying fires of the day of the Lord\nhave burned up the last work and relic of rebellion, and the earth made\nnew in Edenic glory comes again from the hand of its Maker, as beautiful,\nyea, more beautiful, if possible, than at first. It would not be within\nthe limits of this pamphlet to follow out this subject, but the reader is\nreferred to the following scriptures: Isa. 65:17\u201022; 2 Peter 3:13;\nRevelation 21 and 22, and to published works.\n\nIn that state this and all kindred scriptures will meet a fulfillment that\nis ample and complete. But for such a condition of things this side of the\ncoming of Christ neither the Bible nor the trend of events give any\npromise whatever.\n\nJudging of the probability of the conversion of the world from the facts,\nit would seem to be far from striking. The following table gives a\ncomparatively accurate showing of the present religious status of the\nworld:\u2014\n\nJews and Parsees         15,470,000\nGreek Catholics          84,136,000\nProtestants             114,815,500\nBrahminical Hindoos     120,000,000\nMohammedans             122,400,000\nRoman Catholics         255,000,000\nPagans                  227,000,000\nBuddhists               482,000,000\nUnclassified             51,050,000\n\nConcerning the very small proportion of this number classed in the list of\nChristians, Bishop Foster has very aptly said:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cThere are some who too fondly anticipate a millennium. There is a\n    lack of information on the progress of Christianity. The facts are\n    misstated daily in pulpits all over the country. Ministers\n    hesitate to present the worst side for fear of causing\n    discouragement, and they create hopes that are never realized. We\n    are not at the dawn of a millennium. Compared with the work to be\n    done, the past is nothing. Our children\u2019s children for ten\n    generations to come must labor harder than we are doing, to\n    accomplish the conversion of the world. The world\u2019s population is\n    1,500,000,000. Of these, Christians number less than a third; and\n    half of that third belongs to the Roman Catholic Church. The\n    Protestants number 114,000,000. They are divided into 500 sects.\n    And this number of their strength includes, also, all the thieves,\n    ex\u2010convicts, the debased, besotted, and the speckled and streaked\n    in Christendom.\u201d\u2014_Northwestern Christian Advocate of Dec. 2,\n    1885._\n\n\nFarther on in the same article the Bishop said:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cBefore us we have the great problem\u2014the 1,100,000,000 of pagans\n    to convert to Christianity. That is the solid rock that looms up\n    in our path. Look at it; see what work has been done in 1800\n    years, and how much is yet to be accomplished. In India, after\n    more than a hundred years of mission work, we have 600,000 native\n    converts and 2,000,000 Christians among 260,000,000 heathen. Can\n    we remove that solid boulder that is as old as the hills?... Our\n    Methodist Church we think the most divine and ineffable. We boast\n    that we are going to conquer the world, and come from our palaces\n    and princely farms to subscribe fifty cents a head for the\n    undertaking! It is a burning disgrace that excites pity and\n    disgust.\u201d\n\n\nAnd as to the prospects for universal peace, the following recent\nstatement of the armament of Europe does not indicate that the nations are\nreally contemplating such a happy consummation:\u2014\n\nRussia: 1,519,810 men, 181,000 horses, 2,084 cannon\nGermany: 835,000 men, 96,000 horses, 2,022 cannon\nAustria: 856,980 men, 58,125 horses, 1,600 cannon\nEngland: 478,800 men\nFrance: 1,850,000 men\n\nThe remaining states of Europe make up with the above a total of about\n6,000,000 men.\n\n\n\n\nThe Final Separation.\n\n\n    VERSES 40, 41: \u201cThen shall two be in the field; the one shall be\n    taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the\n    mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.\u201d\n\n\nThis language shows the final separation between the righteous and the\nwicked. There is no elaborate explanation as to how the circumstances will\nmeet their fulfillment, but that is not the essential force of the text.\nThe line will in some cases be drawn between those who are intimately\nrelated. Some members of the same family will be taken away by the\njudgments of God, while others will be left to receive their coming Lord.\n\n\n\n\nThose Who Watch Will Know The Time.\n\n\n    VERSES 42\u201044: \u201cWatch therefore, for ye know not what hour your\n    Lord doth come. But know this, that if the good man of the house\n    had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have\n    watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.\n    Therefore be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not\n    the Son of man cometh.\u201d\n\n\nThe injunction to watchfulness is repeatedly given by our Saviour in\nconnection with his teaching in reference to his second advent. These\ninjunctions must apply especially to those who live in proximity to that\nevent. This fact is convincing evidence that the Lord is not displeased\nwith those who anticipate his coming, and study the word in reference to\nit. No one watches for that which he does not expect, and indifference or\naversion toward the coming of Christ is sure evidence of coldness toward\nChrist himself. If we love Jesus, we shall love his appearing and if we\nlove his appearing, we shall be eagerly watching and waiting for it. But\nif we knew the hour when he would come, we should not watch for his\ncoming, nor could we with eagerness expect his coming if we had no\nknowledge of its approach. The course of time has been measured off in\ndefinite periods down to the beginning of the present generation. The time\nfrom the end of the prophetic periods to the coming of Christ is\nemphatically the waiting, watching time. Those who watch, as our Lord\ncommands, will eventually know the time. No man will make it known, for it\nis not revealed to man in the Scriptures. Angels will not make it known,\nthough they may minister to, and communicate with, the children of men.\nNeither will the Son. But the Father will make it known when he speaks\nagain from heaven.\n\nIt is undoubtedly true that the unscriptural and irrational course pursued\nby many so\u2010called Adventists in repeatedly setting a time of their own for\nthe Lord to come has had the effect to disgust many with the whole matter.\nThis is the enemy\u2019s work. He will seek thus to obscure each truth by\nbringing it into the shadow of reproach. But it is unwise to be thus\nmisled. Probably there is no prophecy that better describes the present\nstate of unbelief in the world in regard to the second advent, caused\npartly by fanatical time\u2010movements, than the following:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cSon of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of\n    Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?\n    Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord God: I will make this\n    proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in\n    Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of\n    every vision. For there shall be no more any vain vision nor\n    flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am the\n    Lord: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to\n    pass; it shall be no more prolonged, for in your days, O\n    rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith\n    the Lord God.\u201d Eze. 12:22\u201025.\n\n\nThe burden of this prophecy is time; therefore the word here mentioned\nthat the Lord will speak, will be the time. Rev. 3:3, is also to the\npoint:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cRemember, therefore, how thou hast received and heard, and hold\n    fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come\n    on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come\n    upon thee.\u201d\n\n\nThose who do not watch, will not know the hour. Those who watch will know\nthe hour.\n\nThe present watching, waiting position requires much faith and patience.\nSays Paul:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cCast not away, therefore, your confidence, which hath great\n    recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye\n    have done the will of God [in proclaiming the coming of Christ],\n    ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that\n    shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live\n    by faith; but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure\n    in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but\n    of them that believe to the saving of the soul.\u201d Heb. 10:35\u201039.\n\n\nSays James: \u201cBe patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.\nBehold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and\nhath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be\nye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth\nnigh.\u201d James 5:7, 8.\n\nJesus says: \u201cBecause thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will\nkeep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world\nto try them that dwell upon the earth.\u201d Rev. 3:10.\n\nThe present position and present duty of God\u2019s people are defined in Rev.\n14:12: \u201cHere is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the\ncommandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nThe Faithful And Wise Servant.\n\n\n    VERSES 45\u201047: \u201cWho then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his\n    lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due\n    season? Blessed is that servant whom his lord when he cometh shall\n    find so doing. Verily I say unto you, that he shall make him ruler\n    over all his goods.\u201d\n\n\nIn this figure, Christ is represented as the Lord of the household of\nfaith (see Mark 13:35; Heb. 3:6), leaving his house, and committing the\nwork of caring for his church to his servants. A blessing is promised\nthose servants who are found faithfully discharging this duty when their\nLord comes. They are to feed the flock of God, over whom the Holy Ghost\nhath made them overseers. Acts 20:28. They must preach the word. 2 Tim.\n4:2. They should watch for souls as they that must give account. Heb.\n13:17. They will not only give meat to the household, but they will give\nit in due season. They will preach the _present_ truth.\n\nAnd meat in due season when Christ\u2019s coming draws near, will be the gospel\nof the kingdom. Verse 14. It will embrace warnings, instructions, and\nencouragements pertaining to a message that is designed and adapted to\nprepare the world for so solemn an event. Suppose, for a moment, that when\nNoah had received his message of the coming flood to give to the world, he\nhad reasoned with worldly wisdom that as such a thing never had occurred,\nand from all appearances seemed very unlikely to occur, and hence to\npreach it would subject him to reproach, it would be better to avoid any\nparticular allusion to such an unwelcome subject. His preaching seemed to\nexcite only ridicule. He could retain his own private convictions and\npreach the ordinary principles of righteousness, saying, \u201cDo not so, my\nbrethren.\u201d And if the people were only prepared for the flood, that would\nbe all that would be necessary. Of such a course we can say two things. He\nwould thus have proved very unfaithful to his trust, and the blood of his\nfellow\u2010men would have been upon him; and he would have done just as\nthousands are doing now. He certainly would not have represented the\nfaithful and wise servant. So it is now. A solemn responsibility is placed\nupon the watchmen:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cSon of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto\n    them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the\n    land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:\n    if when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the\n    trumpet, and warn the people; then whosoever heareth the sound of\n    the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take\n    him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. He heard the sound\n    of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him.\n    But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the\n    watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the\n    people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from\n    among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I\n    require at the watchman\u2019s hand. So thou, O son of man, I have set\n    thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt\n    hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.\u201d Eze. 33:2\u20107.\n\n\nWhen Jesus comes, the faithful servants will be found proclaiming his\ncoming and teaching the necessary preparation. The Saviour speaks of such\nas \u201cfaithful and wise.\u201d\n\n1. He is faithful. As a faithful watchman, he will give timely warning\nwhen he sees the sword coming. His work just before the end, is seen in\nthe following scriptures:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201cBlow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy\n    mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day\n    of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.\u201d Joel 2:1.\n\n    \u201cCry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show\n    my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.\u201d\n    Isa. 58:1.\n\n    \u201cI charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ,\n    who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his\n    kingdom, Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season;\n    reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long\u2010suffering and doctrine. For\n    the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but\n    after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers,\n    having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the\n    truth, and shall be turned into fables. But watch thou in all\n    things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make\n    full proof of thy ministry.\u201d 2. Tim. 4:1\u20105.\n\n\n2. He is wise. \u201cHe that winneth souls is wise.\u201d He must be wise. He will\nhold forth the truth in its harmony and beauty, and thus expose error and\nwin men to the truth. When it becomes his duty to \u201creprove and rebuke,\u201d it\nwill be at a proper time and place, and then with all \u201clong\u2010suffering and\ndoctrine.\u201d He will study to show himself \u201capproved unto God, a workman\nthat needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.\u201d 2\nTim. 2:15.\n\n\n\n\nThe Evil Servant.\n\n\n    VERSES 48\u201051: \u201cBut and if that evil servant shall say in his\n    heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite his\n    fellow\u2010servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; the lord\n    of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him,\n    and in an hour that he is not aware of; and shall cut him asunder,\n    and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be\n    weeping and gnashing of teeth.\u201d\n\n\nWhat the evil servant says and does, shows most clearly the position and\nwork of the faithful and wise servant. The evil servant says, \u201cMy lord\ndelayeth his coming,\u201d because the faithful servant is proclaiming the\ncoming of his lord. The evil servant smites the faithful servant, because\nhe teaches the soon coming of his Lord. The faithful servant, true to his\ncommission to preach the \u201cgospel of the kingdom\u201d to a fallen church and a\nscoffing world, toils on, and for this the evil servant smites him. Not\nwith the fist, perhaps, but with the tongue of obloquy and reproach. That\nthere should be professed servants of Christ engaged in smiting those who\nare faithfully warning the world, need not cause surprise in view of the\npast, but must cause sorrow in the heart of every lover of truth. The\nwicked servant says in heart, and some are saying with their lips, The\nLord is not coming. The world is now just starting out upon its career of\nknowledge and enjoyment. Where is the promise or indication of his coming?\nSome say, He may come to\u2010night, he may not come in a million years, thus\nneutralizing the truth. Such men will be found criticising and discounting\nthe Scriptures and subjecting them to the tests of human philosophy and\nscience. The only safety for the people is to look beyond such watchmen.\nLet them take the Bible for themselves, and there discerning the truth,\nembrace it, and live according to it.\n\n\n\n\n\nCONCLUSION.\n\n\nThe impression prevails to some extent that he who teaches that Christ is\nsoon coming is acting the _r\u00f4le_ of an alarmist. If so, we have seen that\nthe great Teacher has placed himself at the head of the class. No one has\nspoken more positively upon this point than he has done. He said, \u201cIn my\nFather\u2019s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told\nyou. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for\nyou, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am,\nthere ye may be also.\u201d John 14:2, 3. There is nothing ambiguous about that\nlanguage. A child can understand it. It means that Jesus will come again.\nIn the remarkable chapter we have here reviewed, the Saviour takes up the\nsubject specifically, and not only affirms the fact of his coming, but\nforetells in explicit language the events which he would have us recognize\nas signs of the near approach of his coming and the end of the world.\n\nBut the message of Christ\u2019s second coming is not sensational in its\nessential character. It is a solemn, practical truth. It is full of\nwarning and admonition to sinners and worldly professors, and full of\ncomfort to the faithful followers of Christ. It is spoken of in the\nScriptures as a fact, established upon the word which never fails. When\nspeaking of his second advent, the Saviour said, \u201cHeaven and earth shall\npass away, but my word shall not pass away.\u201d Matt. 24:35. To disbelieve in\nhis coming would be to doubt one of the two great features of the gospel\nplan. What the harvest is to seed\u2010time, Christ\u2019s second advent will be to\nhis first. To doubt that he ever came to earth would be to subvert the\ngospel. To disbelieve his second coming would nullify in the mind his\nfirst coming, and rob the sacrifice of its glorious reward.\n\nThe apostle Paul speaks of the second advent as \u201cthat blessed hope.\u201d Titus\n2:13. Jesus says: \u201cAnd when these things [the signs of his coming] begin\nto come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption\ndraweth nigh.\u201d The prophet Isaiah anticipates the feelings of God\u2019s people\nwho will witness the event, and expresses them in the following manner:\n\u201cAnd it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for\nhim, and he will save us: This is the Lord; we have waited for him, we\nwill be glad and rejoice in his salvation.\u201d Isa. 25:9.\n\nAt his coming, the dead in Christ will be raised to everlasting life. The\nrighteous living will be changed to immortality. The hand of our Saviour\nwill wipe away all tears; \u201cthere shall be no more death, neither sorrow,\nnor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things\nare passed away.\u201d\n\nWhy should we not rejoice in such a prospect? Who would not welcome such a\nfriend? Who would not rejoice in the prospect of such a consummation?\n\nBut it is true that the grand event will not be attended with joy alone.\nThere will be dismay and anguish. For while one prophet records the\nexclamations of joyful anticipation, another has foreseen and recorded the\ncry of despair. \u201cAnd the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the\nrich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman,\nand every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the\nmountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us\nfrom the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the\nLamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to\nstand?\u201d Rev. 6:15\u201017. A vast number will thus lament. All who cannot join\nthe shout of welcome will unite in the wail of despair. There will be but\ntwo classes in that day. And to one of those classes each one living will\nbelong. To which shall I belong? Solemn question. To which party will you\nbelong, reader? No one can _wait_ for Christ who is not prepared for his\ncoming. Only the precious blood of Jesus that cleanses from sin can\nprepare us to receive him and fit us to dwell in his presence. Have you an\ninterest in his forgiving love? Is your peace made with God? If so, his\ncoming will have no terror to you, for he comes to save his waiting\npeople.\n\n\n\n\n\nCHOICE RELIGIOUS BOOKS.\n\n\nAny publication in the following list will be sent post\u2010paid to any\naddress in the United States and Canada. See directions on the last page.\n\n*PROPHETIC LIGHTS* treats of some of the leading prophecies both of the\nOld and New Testaments, showing the exact fulfillment of the predictions\nof the Bible concerning Egypt, Tyre, Babylon, Medo\u2010Persia, Greece, and\nRome, also of the prophecies concerning the first advent of Christ, which\nprove the inspiration of the Bible, and give assurance that other\nprophecies which are noted will as surely and exactly be fulfilled. Nearly\nall the illustrations of this book were designed and engraved especially\nfor this work, at great expense, and are a study in themselves. The book\ncontains nearly 200 large octavo pages, and is printed on an extra quality\nof heavy calendared paper. It is bound in fine English cloth, with\nbeautiful symbolical side stamp in brown and gold, and has gilt edges.\n*$1.00*.\n\n*MARVEL OF NATIONS*, embracing the past, present, and future of the UNITED\nSTATES, from a historical, political, and religious standpoint; what great\nmen have predicted; what the Scriptures have foretold. This book gives a\nbrief but comprehensive historical review of our country, comparing the\npast with the present state of religion, education, and science, and\ncalling special attention to the advancement that is being made by\nSpiritualism, Catholicism, and the National Reform movement, which is\nrapidly bringing about a union of Church and State in America. These\nquestions are coming to the front; and he who prizes current thought on\nliving issues should give them an examination. The book contains 300\npages, and over 40 illustrations; and has reached its 200th thousand. It\nneeds no other indorsement than a careful reading.\n\nIn plain edges      *$1.00*\nGilt edges           *1.25*\n\n*FROM EDEN TO EDEN.*\u2014This book is a most interesting study of the more\nimportant historic and prophetic portions of the Scriptures. The author\ntraces the world in its career front the time when \u201cGod saw everything\nthat he had made and behold it was very good,\u201d on through the period while\n\u201cthe earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof,\u201d to the future\nglorious time when Christ says to his followers, \u201cCome, ye blessed of my\nFather, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the\nworld.\u201d \u201cFROM EDEN TO EDEN\u201d is printed from new electrotype plates, on\nheavy calendared paper made especially for this book, and contains 264\npages. It is illustrated with numerous full\u2010page engravings, and furnished\nin two very attractive styles of binding, at the following prices:\u2014\n\nIn a highly ornamental binding        *$1.50*\nPlain binding, with marbled edges      *1.00*\n\n*GREAT CONTROVERSY* between Christ and Satan during the Christian\nDispensation. A companion volume to \u201cPatriarchs and Prophets.\u201d By the same\nauthor. This volume presents the most wonderful and intensely interesting\nhistory that has ever been written of the great conflict between\nChristianity and the powers of darkness, as illustrated in the lives of\nChristian martyrs and reformers on the one hand, and wicked men and\npersecuting powers on the other. Beginning with our Lord\u2019s great prophecy\ngiven while viewing Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, this book outlines\nthe history of the whole dispensation down to the time when \u201csin and\nsinners are no more; God\u2019s entire universe is clean: and the great\ncontroversy is forever ended.\u201d This remarkable book contains over 700 pp.,\nand 26 illustrations. The work is handsomely printed and bound.\n\nBound in five styles, varying in price from      *$4.50 to 2.25*\n\n*PATRIARCHS AND PROPHETS*; or the Great Conflict between Good and Evil as\nillustrated in the Lives of Holy Men of Old. By Mrs. E. G. White, author\nof \u201cGreat Controversy,\u201d \u201cLife of Christ,\u201d and numerous other works on\nreligious subjects. This book treats upon the themes of Bible\nhistory\u2014themes not in themselves new, but so presented here as to give\nthem a new significance. Beginning with the rebellion in heaven, the\nauthor shows why sin was permitted, why Satan was not destroyed, and why\nman was tested; gives a thrilling description of man\u2019s temptation and\nfall; and rehearses the plan of redemption devised for his salvation. This\nvolume traces the great conflict between good and evil from its inception\ndown through the centuries to the time of David\u2019s death, and shows God\u2019s\nwonderful love for mankind by his dealings with the \u201choly men of old.\u201d The\nbook contains over 760 octavo pages. It is printed from clear, new\nelectrotypes on a fine quality of tinted paper. Its pages are adorned with\nmore than 50 engravings, over 30 of which are full\u2010page, and many were\ndesigned and engraved especially for this book by an artist in Paris,\nFrance.\n\nFurnished in four styles of binding, ranging from      *$4.50 to 2.25*\nIn plain binding, with 13 illustrations                *1.75*\n\n*HERE AND HEREAFTER*, or Man\u2019s Nature and Destiny, The State of the Dead,\nthe Reward of the Righteous, and the End of the Wicked. By U. Smith. A\nthorough canvass of the great question of a future existence, and the\nnature of man in the present life. Every text in the Bible which has any\nbearing upon these points, is taken up and carefully explained, thus\ngiving the most comprehensive view of the subject that has yet been\npresented. The work contains 444 pages. In cloth covers      *$1.00*\n\n*CHRISTIAN EDUCATION.*\u2014The most complete and comprehensive work on the\nsubject of Christian Education that has ever been published. Starting from\nthe period of infancy, it points out the most successful way of preparing\nthe mind of the child for the work of succeeding years. The importance of\nproceeding upon Christian principles in the work of education, the nature\nand kind of studies which are best for children, and the moulding\ninfluences of home and associates, are dwelt upon in the most practical\nand explicit way. Many of the problems that perplex parents are cleared up\nin this book, and every one who has to deal with children should procure\nand study it.\n\n256 pages nicely bound in cloth      *50 cts.*\n\n*STEPS TO CHRIST.*\u2014This little work by Mrs. E. G. White presents in a\nsimple and attractive manner the steps by which the sinner may be made\ncomplete in Christ. While the book is an excellent guide for inquirers and\nyoung converts, it also contains a wealth of counsel and encouragement for\nthose who are laboring with the difficulties that beset a growing\nexperience. 157 pages. In neat cloth binding      *75. cts.*\n\n*HELPS TO BIBLE STUDY.*\u2014A series of Bible readings, simple and easy,\ndesigned as an aid to the personal study of the Scriptures, and adapted to\nthe use of individuals or families; also a valuable assistant to Bible\nworkers. The book contains about forty readings, prepared by practical\nBible workers and teachers, and covering the most important subjects that\npertain to the spiritual welfare of mankind at the present time. 125\npages.\n\nIn cloth binding      *50 cts.*\nIn paper covers       *25 cts.*\n\n*GOSPEL WORKERS* is a very interesting volume of 480 pages. It outlines\nthe qualifications that should be possessed by ministers and all others\nwho would win souls to Christ. It should be in the hands of all Christian\nworkers. This book can be read and studied by all classes with edification\nand profit.\n\nIn plain substantial binding     *$1.00*\n\n*MINISTRATION OF ANGELS*, and the Origin, History, and Destiny of Satan. A\nwork of great interest upon a subject seldom written upon, yet of great\nimportance to the Christian. Bound in paper covers      *20 cts.*\n\n*FACTS FOR THE TIMES.*\u2014Containing historical extracts, candid admissions\nfrom authors, ancient and modern, on the live questions of the present\nhour, political and religious. A book for these times. Revised to 1893. A\ncompilation of facts that are astounding, by students of Biblical and\nhistorical research. 340 pages. In fine cloth covers      *75 cts.*\n\n*THE SAINTS\u2019 INHERITANCE.*\u2014The reader will here find a very interesting\npamphlet of 82 pages showing that the future kingdom of Christ, with the\nfamily of the redeemed, will be in this earth, renewed, restored, and\nregenerated, according to numerous scriptures in the Old and New\nTestaments.\n\nIn paper covers      *10 cts.*\n\n*THE GOSPEL IN CREATION.*\u2014A nicely illustrated work setting forth clearly\nand simply the relation between God\u2019s work in creation and redemption. The\nsigns of power and greatness that mark the handiwork of God in the visible\nuniverse are shown to be but indications of the unfailing strength with\nwhich he works in the lives of those who submit to his will. The\nconfirmation of the truths of the gospel drawn from the study of the\ncreation will make this book a valuable one to all who are watching with\ninterest the attacks that are now made on the authority of the Bible.\n\nIn cloth covers      *50 cts.*\n\n*SACRED CHRONOLOGY.*\u2014A new and revised edition of a little work published\nby the late Sylvester Bliss about forty years ago, giving the chronology\nfrom creation to the death of the apostle John. Also \u201cThe Peopling of the\nEarth; or, Historical Notes on the Tenth Chapter of Genesis.\u201d By A. T.\nJones. A valuable reference book. 298 pp. Cloth covers       *$1.00*\n\n*LIFE OF CHRIST AND HIS APOSTLES.*\u2014A series of eight pamphlets, under the\ngeneral title of \u201cRedemption,\u201d portraying the first advent of Christ, his\ntemptation, his miracles, his teachings, his sufferings, and his\nresurrection, and the teachings and labors of Peter and Paul. Here are 788\npages of most excellent reading.\n\nIn paper covers      *90 cts.*\n\n*SATAN\u2019S FIRST LIE*; or Man in Death. A very fascinating poem of 36 pages\nby a well\u2010known poet of Michigan. The \u201cLie\u201d referred to is the one\nmentioned in the third chapter of Genesis; and though, as the Scriptures\ntell, the devil is a liar and the father of it, none of his lies have\nwrought such disastrous consequences to the race as the one here pointed\nout. The reader will hardly fail of being alike interested in both the\npoetry and theology of this unique poem. In paper covers      *15 cts.*\n\n*THE CHRISTIAN\u2019S SECRET OF A HAPPY LIFE.*\u2014By Hannah Whitall Smith. \u201cTo\ncommend this work would seem almost superfluous; and yet to young\nChristians who may not know it, we cannot refrain from saying, Buy this\nbook, and keep it with your Bible for constant study, until you have\nthoroughly mastered, in your experience, the secret of which it tells. It\nwill transform the dark days of your life, as it has transformed those of\nthousands before you into days of heavenly light.\u201d\u2014_The Evangelist (N.\nY.)._\n\nIn cloth covers      *75 cts.*\n\n*HIS GLORIOUS APPEARING.*\u2014An exposition of Matthew XXIV. This is a verse\u2010\nby\u2010verse explanation of the Redeemer\u2019s great prophecy concerning the\nGospel Dispensation and his second appearing in glory. 96 pages, with 20\nfull\u2010page illustrations.\n\nIn paper covers, *20 cts.*\nBoard covers, *25 cts.*\nCloth covers      *40 cts.*\n\n*THE CHARIOTS OF FIRE AND IRON*; or, The Modern Railroad System, treated\nin the light of sacred prophecy. A very interesting pamphlet of 168 pages.\nBy D. T. Taylor, the well\u2010known author.\n\nIn paper covers      *25 cts.*\n\n*THE REJECTED ORDINANCE.*\u2014A convincing argument to show that our Saviour\u2019s\nremarkable act of humility recorded in the thirteenth chapter of John,\nshould be literally perpetuated among Christians      *10 cts.*\n\n*SCRIPTURE REFERENCES.*\u2014A careful compilation of proof\u2010texts on twenty\u2010\nfive different subjects of great importance at the present time.      *4\ncts.*\n\n*SPIRITUALISM A SATANIC DELUSION.*\u2014This is a scathing arraignment of the\nsystem of necromancy known under the name of \u201cModern Spiritualism.\u201d\n*4 cts.*\n\n*IS THE END NEAR?*\u2014An 8\u2010page tract of great interest, giving numerous\nreasons for believing that the Second Coming of Christ is at hand.      *1\nct.*\n\n*CAN WE KNOW?*\u2014A tract of 8 pages which proves most conclusively that the\nnumerous predictions concerning the signs of the times and the second\nadvent may be understood.      *1 ct.*\n\n*THE TWO LAWS.*\u2014A clear and scriptural argument showing the difference\nbetween the Ten Commandments and the ceremonial law or the Hebrews.\n*2 cts.*\n\n*THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST.*\u2014This tract dwells with great force on the\nagonies of our Redeemer in the garden and on the cross, in order to make\nthe salvation of sinners possible.      *4 cts.*\n\n*THE SECOND ADVENT*, showing the nature of the Second Coming, and reasons\nfor believing it near.      *4 cts.*\n\n*BIBLE CONVERSION.*\u2014A tract of 16 pages which sets forth very clearly what\nit is to be born again, and that without a change of heart no one can be\nsaved.      *2 cts.*\n\n\n\n\n\n[Transcriber\u2019s Note: Obvious printer\u2019s errors have been corrected.]","title":"His Glorious Appearing: An Exposition of Matthew Twenty-Four","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":25990}