IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) A /^Av. zL^^ By C. H, M. /" "^ ■■■-.A' AutTior of Notes on Genesis, Exodtis, Levitictu, Numbers , and Deuteronomy. ^HI!N ■^"i % ■■■ m I wi^n^-^^^w TOBONTOj A. W. Otto, Printer and PublishbK) 580 YoNOE Street, 1891. r'^tmrnmrnmrnm^i sfimmmw^ 1 CONTENTS. Introductory 1 The Fact Itself H The Double Bearing of the Fact . . .20 ** The Coming" AND "The Day" . . . .29 The Two Resurrections 47 The Judgment 54 The Jewish Remnant 63 Christendom 73 The Ten Virgins . 82 The Talents . . 91 Concluding Remarks 101 Mn%i 1 """«■■«■ "Bf" Papers on the Lord's Coming. INTRODUCTORY. THE attentive reader of the New Testament will find, in its pages, three solemn and weighty facts presented to his view ; namely, first. That the Son of God has come into this world and gone away ; second- ly. That the Holy Ghost has come down to this earth, and is here still ; and, thirdly. That the Lord Jesus is coming again. These are the three great subjects unfolded in the New Testament scriptures ; and we shall find that each of them has a double bearing : it has a bearing upon the world, and a bearing upon the church ; upon the world, as a whole, and upon each unconverted man, woman, and child in particular ; upon the church, as a whole, and upon each individual member thereof, in Particular. It is impossible for anyone to avoid the earing of these three grand facts upon his own perso- nal condition and future destiny. And,be it noted, we are not speaking of doctrines — though, no doubt, there are doctrines — but of facts, facts presented in the simplest possible manner, by the various inspired writers employed to set them forth. There is no attempt at garnishing or setting off. The facts speak for themselves ; they are recorded and left to produce their ov. n powerful effect upon the soul. I. And, first of all, let us look at the fact that the Son of God has been in this world of ours. **God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." "The Son of God has come." He came in perfect love, as the very expression of the heart and mind, the nature and character of God. He was the brightness ■•H* 7 . PAPERS ON THE LORD's COMING. of God's glory, and the express image of His person, and yet alowfy, humble, gracious, social man ; one who was to be seen, from day to day, about the streets ; going from house to house ; kind and affable to all ; easily approached by the very poorest ; taking up little children in His arms, in the most tender, gentle, win- ning way ; drying the widow's tears ; soothing the stricken and sorrowing heart; feeding the hungry, healing the sick ; cleansing the poor leper ; meeting every Torm of human need and misery ; at the bid- ding of all who stood in need of succour and sympathy. " He went about doing good." He was the unwearied servant of man's necessities. He never thought of Himself, or sought His own interest in any one thing. He lived for others. It was His meat and drink to do the will of God, and gladden the sad and weary hearts of the sons and daughters of men. His loving heart was ever flowing out in streams of blessing to all who felt the pressure of this sin-stricken, sorrowful world. Here, then, we have a marvellous fact before our eyes. This world has been visited — this earth has been trodden by that blessed One of v/hom we have spoken — the Son of God — the Creator and sustainer of the universe — the lowly, self-emptied, and loving, gracious Son of man — Jesus of Nazareth — God over all,blessed for ever, and yet a spotless, holy, absolutely perfect man. He came in love to men — came into this world as the expression of perfect love to those who had sinned against God, and deserved nothing but eternal perdition because of their sins. He came not to crush but to heal — not to judge but to save and to bless. What has become of this blessed One? How has the World treated Him? It has cast Him out! It would not have Him ! It preferred a robber and a murderer to this holy, gracious, perfect man. The world got its choice. Jesus and a robber were placed before the world, and the question was put, "Which will you have?" What was the answer? "Not this man, but j^ INTRODUCTORY. .5 Barabbas." "The chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas and de- stroy Jesus. The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas." (Matt, xxvii, 20, 21.) The religious leaders and guides of the people — the men who ought to have led them in the right way — persuaded the poor ignorant multitude to reject the SonofGod,andacceptarobberandamurdererinstead! Reader, remember, you are in a world that has been guilty of this terrible act. And not only so, but, unless you have truly repented and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, you are part and parcel of that world, and you lie under the full guilt of that act. This is most solemn. The whole world stands charged with the deliberate rejection and murder of the Son of God. We have the testimony of no less than four inspired witnesses to this fact. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, all bear record that the whole world — the Jew and theOentile — kings and governors, priests and people — all classes, sects, and parties agreed to crucify the Son of God—all agreed to murder the only perfect man that ever lived onthis earth— theperfect expression of God— God over all,blessed for ever. We must either pronounce the four evangeliststobefalse witnesses, or admit thatthe world as a whole and each constituent partthereof,is stained with the awful crime of crucifying the Lord of glory. This is the true standard by which to measure the world, and by which to measure the condition of every unconverted man, woman, and child in the world. If I want to know what the world is, Miave only to re- flect that the world is that which stands charged be- fore God with the deliberate murder of His Son. Tre- mendous fact! A fact which stamps the world, in the most solemn manner, and places it before us in characters of appalling blackness. God has a contro- versy with this world. He has a question to settle with it — an awful question — the mere mention of which should make men's ears to tingle and their hearts to I H-l 4 PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. quake. A righteous God has to avenge the death of His Son. It is not merely that the world accepted a vile robber and murdered an innocent man ; this, in itself, would have been a dreadful act. But no; that innocent man was none other than the Son of God, the beloved of the Father's heart. What a thought ! The world will have to account to God for the death of His Son — for having nailed Him to a cross between two thieves! What a reckon- ing it will be ! How red will be the day of vengeance ! How awfully crushing the moment in the which God will draw the sword of judgment to avenge the death of His Son I How utterly vain the notion that the world is improving! Improving! — though stained with the blood of Jesus. Improving! — though under the judgment of God for that act. Improving ! — though having to account to a righteous God for its treatment of the beloved of His soul, sent in love to bless and save. What blind fatuity ! What wild folly! Ah, no! reader, improvement there can be none till the besom of destruction and the sword of judgment have done their terrible work in avenging the mur- der — the deliberately planned and determinedly exe- cuted murder of the blessed Son of God. We cannot conceive any delusion more fatally false than to im- agine that the world can ever be improved while it lies beneath the awful curse of the death of Jesus. That world which preferred Barabbas to Christ can know no improvement. There is naught before it save the overwhelming judgment of God. Thus much m to the weighty fact of the absence of Jesus, in its bearing upon the present condition and future destiny of the world. But this fact has another bearing. It bears upon the church of God as a whole, and upon the individual believer. If the world has cast Christ out, the heavens have received Him. I f man has rejected Him, God has exalted Him. If man has crucified Him, God has crowned Him. We must care- fully distinguish these two things. The death of Christ, ■■■MMHi INTR ^DUCTORY. s viewed as the act of the world — the act of man — in- volves nought but unmitigated wrath and judgment. Gp the other hand the death of Christ, viewed as the act of God, involves nought bat full and everlasting blessedness to all who repent and believe. A passage or two from the divine word will prove this. Let us turn, for a moment, to Psalm Ixix. which so vividly presents our blessed and adorable Lord suffer- ing from the hand of man, and appealing to God for vengeance. "Hear, me, O Lord ; for thy loving-kind- ness is good ; turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. And hide not thy face from thy servant ; for I am in trouble : hear me speedily : draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it : deliver me, because of mine enemies. Thou hast known my re- proach, and my shame, and my dishonour : mwe ad- versaries are all before thee. Reproach hath broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none ; and for comforters, but I found none. They gave me also gall for my meat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Let their table become a snare before them : and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not ; and make their loins continually to shake. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them>'' &c. (Verse 16-28.) All this is deeply and impressively solemn. Every word of this appeal will have its answer. Not a syl- lable of it shall fall to the ground. God will assured- ly avenge the death of His Son. He will reckon with the world — with man for the treatment which His only begotten Son has received at their hands. We deem it right to press this home upon the heart and conscience of the reader. How awful the thought of Christ making intercession against v^^g^X^ ! How appalling to hear Him calling upon God for venge- ance upon His enemies! How terrible will be PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. the divine response to the cry of the injured Son! But let us look on the other side of the picture. Turn to Psalm xxii. which presents the blessed One suffering under the hand of God. Here the result is wholly different. Instead of judgment and vengeance, it is universal and everlasting blessedness and glory. " I will declare thy name unto my brethren ; m the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. Ye that fear the Lord, praise Him ; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify Him ; and fear Him, all ye the seed of Israel .... My praise shall be of thee in the great con- gregation ; I will pay my vows before them that fear H im. The meek shall eat and be satisfied ; they shall praise the Lord that seek Him : your heart shall live for ever. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord ; and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the Lord's ; and He is the Governor among the na- tions. . . A seed shall serve Him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come, and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be bom, that He hath done this." (Verse 22-3 1 .) These two quotations present, with great distinct- ness, the two aspects of the death of Christ. He died, as a martyr, for righteousness, under the hand of man. For this man will have to account to God. But He died, as a victim, for sin, under the hand of God. This is the foundation of all blessing to those that believe in His name. His martyr-sufferings bring down wrath and judgment upon a godless world : His atoning sufferings open up the everlasting well- springs of life and salvation to the church, to Israel, and to the whole creation. The death of Jesus con- summates the world's guilt, but secures the church's acceptance. The world is stained^ and the church purged^ by the blood of the cross. Such is the double bearing of the first of ourthre^ g^eat New Testament facts. Jesus has come and gone — come, because God loved the world — gone, because INTRODUCTORY. 7 the world hated God. If God were to ask the question — and He will ask it — "What have you done with my Son?" What Is the answer? "We hated Him, cast Him out, and crucified Him. We preferred a robber to Him." But, blessed for ever be the God of all grace, the Christian, the true believer, can look up to heaven and say, " My absent Lord is there, and there for me. He is gone from this wretched world, and His absence makes the entire scene around me a moral wilder- ness — a desolate waste." He is not here. This stamps the world with a cha- racter unmistakable in the judgment of every loyal heart. The world would not have Jesus. This is enough. We need not marvel at any tale of horror now. Police reports, grand jurv calendars, the statis- tics of our cities and towns need not surprise us. The world that could reject thedlvine personification of all human goodness, and accept a robber and a murderer instead,has proved its moral turpitude to a degree not to be exceeded. Do we wonder when we discover the hollowness and heartlessness of the world ? Are we surprised when we find out that it is not to be trusted ? If so, it is plain we have not interpreted aright the ab- sence of our beloved Lord. What does the cross of Christ prove? That God is love? No doubt. That Christ gave Hisprecious life to save us from the flames of an everlasting hell? Blessedly true, all praise to His peerless name! But what does the cross prove as regards the world? That its guilt is consummated,and its judgment sealed. The world, in nailing to the cross the One who was perfectly good, proved, in the most unanswerable manner, that it was perfectly bad. ** If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin : but now they have no cloke for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works v/hich none other man did, they had not had sin; but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled nmmmnmamm^mBmBma aaim s PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. 1 • ] i ill' that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause." (John xv, 22-26.) II. But we must now glance, for a moment, at our second weighty fact God the Holy Ghost has come down to this earth. It is now ov er eighteen long cen- turies since the blessed Spirit descended from heaven ; and He has been here ever since. This is a stupendous fact. There is a divine Person on this earth, and His presence — like the absence of Jesus — has a double bearing: it has a bearing upon the world, and a bearing upon the church — upon the world as a whole, and upon every man, woman, and child therein ; upon the church as a whole, and upon every individual member thereof in particular. As regards the world, this august wit- ness descended from heaven to convict it of the terri- ble crime of rejecting and crucifying the Son of God. As regards the church, He came as the blessed Com- forter, to take the place ofthe absent Jesus, and com- fort by His presence and ministry the hearts of His people. Thus, to the world, the Holy Ghost is a power- ful Convictor; to the church He is a precious Comforter, A passage or two of holy scripture will establish these points in the heart and mind of the pious read- er who bows in lowly reverence to the authority of the divine word. Let us turn to chapter xvi. of John's Gospel. *' But now I go my way to Him that sent me; and none of you asketh me. Whither goest thou? But because I have said these things unto you, sor- row hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth ; it is expedient for you that I go away : for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will convict (cAcy^ct) the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. Of sin, because they believe not on me ; of righteous- ness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged." (Verse 5-1 1.) Again in John xiv. we read, "If ye love me, keep INTRODUCTORY. 9 my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever ; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him : but ye know Him for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."(Verse 15-19.) These quotations prove the double bearing of the presence of the Holy Ghost. We cannot attempt to dwell upon this subject in this brief introduction ; but we trust the reader may be led to study it for himself, in the light of holy scripture; and we are persuaded that the more he thus studies it, the more deeply he will feel its interest and immense practical import- ance. Alas ! that it should be so little understood ; that Christians should so little see what is involved in the personal presence of the eternal Spirit, God the Holy Ghost, on this earth — its solemn consequences as re- gards the world, and its precious results as regards the assembly as a whole, and each individual mem- ber in particular I Oh! that God's people everywhere may be led into a deeper understanding of these things; that they may consider what is due to that divine Person who dwells in them and with them ; that they may have a jealous care not to "grieve" Him in their private walk, or "quench" Him in their public assemblies!. We <^hall, if God permit, enter, in our next paper, upon the third fact, which is the immediate subject of the series of papers which we propose to write, namely. The coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. May God the Spirit open this most glorious subject in living power and freshness to our souls, so that we may, in truth and reality, be wafting for God's Son from heaven! t w ! : I t f if i ilii II i! 1 !| lO PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. THE FACT ITSELF. IN approaching this most glorious subject, we feel that we cannot do better than to lay before tlie reader the distinct testimony of holy scripture to the broad fact itself, that our Lord Jesus Christ will come again — that He will leave the place He now occupies on His Father's throne, and come in the clouds of heaven, to receive His people to Himself; to execute judgment upon the wicked ; and set up His own everlasting and universal kingdom. This fact is as clearly and fully set forth in the New Testament as either of the other two facts to which we have already referred. It is as true that the Son of God is coming from heaven, as that He is gone to heaven, or that the Holy Ghost is still on this earth. If we admit one fact, we must admit all : and if we deny one, we must deny all ; inasmuch as all rest upon precisely the same authority. They stand or fall together. Is it true that the Son of God was refused, cast out, crucified ? Is it true that He has gone away into heaven ? Is it true that He is now seated at the right hand of God, crowned with glory and honour ? Is it true that God the Holy Ghost came down to this earth, fifty days after the resurrection of our Lord ; and that He is still here ? Are these things true ? As true as scripture can make them. Then just as true is it that our blessed Lord will come again, and set up His kingdom upon this earth — that He will literally, and actually and personally come from heaven, take to Himself His great power and reign from pole to pole, and from the river to t'le ends of the earth. It may per' apsseem strange to some of our readers that we should deem it needful to undertake the proof of such a plain truth as this ; but be it remembered that we are writing on this subject as though it were perfectly new to the reader ; as if he had never heard y-: THE FACT ITSELF. II of such a thing as the Lord's second coming ; or as if, having heard of it, he still calls it in question. This must be ourapology for handling this precious theme in so elementary a manner, Now for our proofs. When our adorable Lord was about to take leave of His disciples, He sought, in His infinite grace, to comfort their sorrowing hearts by words of sweetest tenderness, " Let not your heart be troubled ; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions ; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, / will co7ne again^ and receive you unto myself ; that where I am, there ye may be also." (John xiv, 1-3.) Here we have something most definite. Indeed it is as definite as it is cheering and consolatory. '*I ^ill come M^ain." He does not say, I will send for you. Still less does He say, "You will come to me when you die.'* He says nothing of the kind. To send an angel, or a iegion of angels, would not be the •same thing as coming Himself, No doubt it would be very gracious of Him, and very glorious for us, if a multitude of the heavenly host were sent, with horses of fire and chariotsof fire, to co n vey us triumph- antly to heaven. But it would not be the fulfilment of His own sweet promise, and most surely He will do what He promised to do. He will not say one thing and do another. He cannot lie or alter His word. And not only this, but it would not satisfy the love of His heart to send an angel or a host of angels to fetch us. He will come Himself. What touching grace shines in all this 1 If I am expecting a very dear and valued friend by train, I shall not be satisfied with sending a servant or an empty cab to meet him ; I shall go myself. This is precisely what our loving Lord means to do. He is gone to heaven, and his entrance there prepares and 'defines His people's place. Amid the many mansions 12 PAPERS ON THE LORD S COMING. H i M of the Father's house, there would be no place for us if our Jesus had not gone before ; and then, lest there should be in the heart any feeling of strangeness at the thought of our entrance into that place, He says, with such sweetness, "I will come again, and receive you unto myself ; that where I am, there ye maybe also." Nothing short of this can fulfil the gracious promise of our Lord, or satisfy the love of His heart. And be it carefully noted that this promise has no reference whatever to the death of the individual believer. Who can imagine that, when our Lord said, "I will come again," He really meant that we should go to Him through death? How can we presume to take such liberties with the plain and precious words of our Lord ? Surely if He meant to speak of our going to Him, through death. He could and would have said so ; but He has not said so, because He did not mean so ; nor is it possible that He could say one thing and mean another. His coming for us, and our going to Him, are totally different things ; and being different ideas, they would have been clothed in different language. Thus, for example, in the case of the penitent thief on the cross, our Lord does not speak of coming to fetch him ; but He says, "To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise." We really must remember that scripture is as divinely definite as it is divinely in- spired, and hence it never could and it never does confound two things so totally different as the Lord's coming and the Christian's falling asleep. It may be well, at this point, to remark that there are but four passages in the entire New Testament in which allusion is made to the subject of the Chris- tian passing through the article of death. The first is that passage in Luke xxiii. already referred to : 'To- day shalt thou be with me in paradise.'* The second occurs in Acts vii., "Lord Jesu3, receive my spirit." The third is that most familiar and lovely utterance in 2 Corinthians v,, "Absent fromdie body, present THE FACT ITSELF. 13 for us there less at with the Lord." The fourth occurs in that charming first of Philippians, "Having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ ; which is far better.'* These most precious passages make up the sum of scripture testimony on the interesting question of the disembodied state. There is a passage in Revela- tion xiv. often misapplied to this subject : "Blessed are the dead which die in the hord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours ; and their works do follow them." But this has no application to Christians now, though no doubt all such who die in the Lord are blessed, and their works do follow them. The reference, however, is to a time yet future, when the church shall have left this scene altogether, and other witnesses make their appearance. In a word, Revelation xiv, 13 bears upon apocalyptic times, and must be so viewed if we would avoid confusion. We must now resume our subject, and proceed with our proofs, and in so doing, we shall ask the reader to turn to the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. The blessed Lord had just gone up from this earth, in the presence of His holy apostles. "And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven, as He went up,be- hold,two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said. Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven ? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven ?" (Verses 10, 11.) This is intensely interesting, and furnishes a most striking proof of our present thesis. Indeed it is impossible to avoid its force. Alas! that any should seek or desire to avoid it ! From the manner in which the angelic witnesses speak to the men of Galilee, it would seem likie tautology ; but, as we well know, there is — there can be— no such thing in the volume of God. It is therefore lovely fulness, divine completeness, that we see in this testimony. From it we learn that the selfsame Jesus who left this earth, and ascended into 14 PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. I I. - • it '■•' heaven, in the presence of a number of witnesses, shall so come in /tke manner as they had seen Him go into heaven. HowdidHego? He went up personally, literally, actually, the very same person who had just been conversing familiarly with them — whom they had seen with their eyes, heard with their ears, han- dled with their hands — who had eaten in their presence, and "shewed Himself alive after His pas- sion, by many infallible proofs." Well then, " He shall so come in like manner." *' He who with hands uplifted, Went from this earth below, Shall come again all gifted, His blessing to bestow.'' And here we may ask — though it be rather antici- pating what may come before us in a future paper — Who saw the blessed Lord as He went up ? Did the world? Nay; not one unconverted, unbelieving per- son ever laid his eyes upon our precious Lord, from the moment that He was laid in the tomb. The last sight the world got of Jesus was as He hung on the cross, a spectacle to angels, men, and devils. The next sight they will get of Him will be when, like the light- ning flash. He shall come forth to execute judgment, and tread, in terrible vengeance, the winepress of the wrath of Almighty God. Tremendous thought ! None, thereK>re, but His own saw the ascending Saviour, as none but they had seen Him from the moment of His resurrection. He shewed Himself, blessed be His holy Name ! to those who were dear to His heart. He assured and comforted, strengthen- ed and encouraged their souls by these "many in- fallible proofs" of which the inspired narrator speaks to us. He led them to the very confines of the un- seen world, just so far as men could go while still in the body ; and there He allowed them to see Him ascending into heaven ; and while they gazed upon this glorious sight, He sent the precious testimony home to their very hearts. '^This same Jesus" — no THE FACT ITSELF. 15 Other, no stranger, but the same loving, sympathiz- ing, gracious, unchanging friend — " whom ye have seen go into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." Is it possible for testimony to be more distinct or satisfactory? Could proof be more clear or conclu- sive ? How can any counter argument stand for a moment, or any objection be raised ? Either those two men in white apparel were false witnesses, or our Jesus shall come again in the exact manner in which He went away. There is no middle ground between those two conclusions. We read in scripture that, " in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established ;" and therefore in the mouth of two heavenly messengers — two heralds from the regions of light and truth, we have the word estab- lished that our Lord Jesus Christ shall come again in actual bodily form, to be seen by His own first of all, apart from all others, in the holy intimacy and profound retirement which characterized His depart- ure from this world. All this, blessed be God, is wrapped up in the two little words "^5" and "j^." We cannot attempt, in a brief paper like the pres- ent, to adduce, all the proofs which are to be found in the pages of the New Testament. We have given one from the Gospels and one from the Acts, and we shall now ask the reader to turn with us to the Epistles. Let us take, for example, the First Epistle to the Thessalonians. We select this Epistle because it is acknowledged to have been the earliest of Paul's writings; and further, because it was written to a company of very young converts. This latter point is valuable, inasmuch as we sometimes hear it stated that the truth of the Lord's coming is not suitable to bring before the minds of young believers. That the Apostle Paul did not think it unsuitable is evident from the fact that of all the Epistles which he wrote not one contains so much about the Lord's coming as that which he penned for the newly converted -1? 1 i i. ' l-i i t' I ! I :?. 1? 5T8r i6 PAPERS ON THE LORlVs COMING. Thessalonians. The fact is, when a soul is converted and brought into the full light and liberty of the gospel of Christ, it becomes oi vinely natural for such a one to look for the Lord's coming. That most pre- cious truth is an integral part of the gospel. The first coming and the second coming are most blessedly bound up together by the divine link of the personal presence of the Holy Ghost in the church. On the other hand, where the soul is not establish- ed in grace ; where peace and liberty are not enjoyed ; where a defective gospel has been received, there it will be found that the hope of the Lord's coming will not be cherished, for the simple reason that the soul is, of necessity, occupied with the question of its own state and prospects. If I am not certain of my salvation — if I do not know that I have eternal life — that I am a child of God, I cannot be looking out for the Lord's return. It is only when we know what Jesus has done for us at His first coming, that we can, with bright and holy intelligence, look out for His second coming. But let us turn to our Epistle. Take the following sentences from the first chapter : "For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holv Ghost, and in much assurance. . . . So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Mace- donia and Achaia. For from you sounded out the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad ; so that we need not to speak any- thing. For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God ; and to wait /or His Son pom heaven^ whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us froni the wrath to come." (Verses 5-10.) Here we have a fine illustration of the effect of a fullclear gospel, received in simple earnest faith."They turned from idols, to serve the living and true God, and THE FACT ITSELF. 17 /erted of the >rsuch St pic- le first ssedly rsonal ablish- joyed ; [lere it :oming lat the n of its of my lal life ng out : know ig, that ►ok out lowing gospel power, v^» • • ■ I Mace- out the \chaia, yard is k any- tnanner turned e God; e raised us from ect of a i."They iod,and to wait for His Son. They were actually converted to the blesed hope of the Lord's coming. It was an integral part of the gospel which Paul preached ; and an integral part of their faith. Was it a reality to turn from idols ? Doubtless. Was it a reality to serve the living God ? Unquestionably. Well then it was just asrealjust as positive, just as simple, their waiting for God's Son from heaven. If we question the reality of one, we must question the reality of all, inasmuch as allare bound up together,andformdbeauteouscluster of practical christian truth. If you had asked aThessa- lonian Christian what he was waiting for, what would have been his reply ? Would he have said, "I am waiting for the world to improve by means of the gos- pel which I myself have received?" or, "I am waiting for the moment of my death when I shall go to be with Jesus?" No. Hisreply would have been simply this, "I am waiting for the Son of God from heaven." This, and nothing else, is the proper hope of the Christian, the proper hope of the church. To wait for the im- provement of the world is not Christian hope at all. You might as well wait for the improvement of the flesh, for there is just as much hope of the one as the other. And as to the article of death — though no doubt it may intervene — it is never once presented as the true and proper hope of the Christian. It may, with the fullest confidence, be asserted that there is not so much as a single passage in the entire New Testament in which death is spoken of as the hope of the believer ; whereas, on the other hand, the hope of the Lord's coming is bound up, in the most intimate manner, with all the concerns and associations and relationships of life, as we may see in the Epistle before us. Thus, if the apostle would refer to the interesting question of his own personal connection with the beloved saints at Thessalonica, he says, ''For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing ? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming ? For ye are our glory and joy." I8 PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. 1 1 1 i ■ 1 1 1 1 ' ll 1 ' i H 1 i : il I (1 m !.l'^ irl A^fiin, if he thinks of their progress in hoh'ness and love, he adds, "And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you ; to the end he may stablish your hearts unblamable in holiness be- fore God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ Wx'&i all his saints." (Chap, iii, I2, 13.) Finally, if the apostle would seek to comfort the hearts of his brethren in reference to those who had fallen asleep, how does he do it ? Docs he tell them that they should soon follow them ? Nay ; this would have been in full keeping with Old Testament times, as David says of his departed child, "I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." (2 Sam. xii, 23.) But it is not thus that the Holy Ghost instructs us in I Thessalonians — quite the reverse. "I would not," He says, *'have you to be ignorant, brethren, con- cerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if wc believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that (not they which shall be, but] zt'^ which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent [come before or take precedence of] them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God : and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." (Chap, iv, 13-18.) It is impossible for any proof to be more simple, direct, and conclusive than this. The Thessalonian Christians, as we have already remarked, were con- verted to the hope of the Lord's return. They were taught to look out for it daily. It was as much a part ,of their Christianity to believe that He would covne^ as ; i TIIK FACT nsKLF. 19 to believe that He lufd coxwii and ^onc. Hence it came to pass that when some of their number were called to pass through death, they were taken aback ; they had not anticipated this ; and they feared lest the departed should miss the joy of that blissful and longed-for moment of the Lord's return. The apostle therefore Writes to correct their mistake ; and, in so doing, he pours a fresh flood of light upon the v\ hole subject, and assures them that the dead in Christ — which in- cludes all who had or shall have fallen asleep ; in short, those of Old Testament times as well as those of , the New — should rise first, that is, before the li\ ing are changed, and all shall ascend together to meet their decending Lord. We shall have occasion to refer to this remarkable passage again, when handling other branches of this glorious subject. We merely quote it here as one of the alm.ost innumerable proofs oi the fact that our Lord will come again, personally, really, and actually ; and that this His personal coming is the true and proper hops of the church of God collectively, and of the believer individually. We shall close this paper by reminding the christian reader that he can never sit down to the table of his Lord without being reminded of this glorious hope, so long as those words shine on the page of inspiration "For as aften as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till" — when ? Till ye die? Nay; but — ''till He co?ne'' (i Cor. xi,26.) How precious is this! The table of the Lord stands between those two marvellous epochs, the cross and the ad- vent—the death and the glory. The believer can look up from the table and seethe beams of the glory gild- ing the horizon. It is our privilege, as we gather, on each Lord's day, round the Lord's table, to shew forth the Lord's death, to be able to say, "This may be the last occasion of celebrating this precious feast. Ere another Lord's day dawn upon us. He Himself may come." Again we sa>% How precious is this ! wm > 111" 1 ' I 1 Bl ' : \ PAPKUS ON TIIK LORD'S COMING THE DOUBLE BEARING OF THE FACT. HAVING, as we trust, fully established, in our last paper, the fact of the Lord's coming, we have now to place before the reader the double bearing of that fact— its bearing upon the Lord's people, and its bearing U[)on the world. The former is presented, ill the New Testament, as the coming of Christ to receive His people to Himself; the latter is spoken of as **The day of the Lord" — a term of frequent use also in Old Testament scriptures. These things are never confounded in scripture, as We shall see when we come to look at the various passages. Christians do confound them, and hence it is that we often find "that blessed hope" overcast with heavy clouds, and associated in the mind with circumstances of terror, wrath, and judgment, which have nothing whatever to do with the coming oi Christ for His people, but are intimately bound up with "The day of the Lord." Let the christian reader, then, have it settled in his heart, on the clear authority of holy scripture, that the grand and specific hope for him ever to cherish is the coming of Christ for His people. This hope maybe realized this very night. There is nothing whatever to Wait for— *no events to transpire amongst the nations —nothing to occur in the history of Israel — nothing in God's government of the world — nothing, in Short, in any shape or form whatsoever, to intervene between the heart of the true believer and his heavenly hope. Christ may come for His people to-night. There is actually nothing to hinder. No one can tell when He will come ; but we can joyfully say that, at any mo- ment. He may come. And, blessed be His Name when He does come for us, it will not be with the accom- pany ing circu mstances of terror, wrath, and judgment. It will not be with blackness and darkness and tem- pest These things will accompany "the day of the THE nOUBLE BEARING OF THE FACT 91 I^rd,"as the Aposle Peter plainly tells the Jews in hin first great sermon, on the day of Pentecost, in which he quotes the following words from the solemn proph- ecy of Joel, "iind 1 will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath ; blood and fire and vapour of smoke : the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before" — what ? the coming of the Lord for His people? Nay : hut before '''that great and noUible day of the Lord come." When our Lord shall come to receive His people to Himself, no eye shall see Him, no ear shall near His voice, save His own redeemed and beloved people* Let us remember the words of the angelic witnesses in the first of Acts. Who saw the blessed One ascending into the heaven ? None but His own. Well, "He shall so come in like manner, as ye have seen Him ^o into heaven." As was the going, so shall be the com- ing, if we are to bow to scripture. To confound the day of the Lord with His coming for His church is to overlook the plainest teachings of scripture, and to rob the believer of his own true and proper hope. And here perhaps we cannot do better than to call the attention of the reader to a very important and in- teresting passage in the second Epistle of Peter: "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount We have also the word of prophecy more sure [or confirmed], whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts." (Chap, i, 16-19.) This passage demands the reader^s most attentive consideration. It sets forth, in the clearest possible 1 WB * t I \ 22 PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. 1 j. i I r.ii|i| * , > ,1 U ti> Hi ;< manner, the distinction between "the word of pro phecy" and the proper hope of the Christian, namely, "the morning star.' We must remember that the great subject of prophecy is God's government of the world in connection with the seed of Abraham. "When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord sportion in his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance." (Deut. xxxii, 8, 9.) Here then is the scope and theme of prophecy — Israel and. the nations. Achildcan understand this. If we range through the prophets, from the opening of Isaiah to the close of Malachi, we shall not find so much as a single line about the church of God — its position, its portion, or its prospects. No doubt the word of prophecy is deeply interesting, and most pro- fitable for the Christian to study ; but it will be all this just in proportion as he understands its proper scope and object, and sees how it stands in contrast with his own special hope. We may fearlessly assert that it is utterly impossible for anyone to study the Old Testament prophecies aright who does not clearly see the true place of the church. We cannot attempt to enter upon the subject of the Church, in this brief paper. It has been repeatedly referred to and unfolded elsewhere, and we can now merely ask the reader to weigh and examine the statement which we here deliberately make, namely, that there is not so much as a single syllable about the church of God, the body of Christ, from cover to cover of the Old Testament. Types, shadows, illustrations, there are, which, now that vve have the full-orbed light of the New Testament, we can see, understand, and appreciate. But it was not possible for any Old Testa- ment believer to see the great mystery of Christ and the church, inasmuch as it was not revealed. The inspired apostle expressly tells us that it was *7«'^," not in the Old Testament scriptures, but * 'in God,'* as THE DOUBLE BEARING OF THE FACT. 23 we read, in Ephesians iii., "And to make all men see what is the fellowship [or rather the administration] of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in G^>;orcTai) the second time, without [that is, apart from all question of] sin. unto salvation." (Heb. ix.)* He will come as a Bride- groom to receive the bride ; and when He thus comes, * The clause, "Them that look for Him" refcsrs to all believers. It does not mean, as somo sui)posi3, those only who hold the truth of the Lord's second cominf?. This would make our place with Christ at His coming THE DOUBLE BEARING OF THE FACT. 25 none but His own shall hear His voice or see His face. If He were to come this very night for His people — and He may, for aught we know — if the voice of the archangel and the trump of God were to be heard to-night, then all the dead m Christ — all who have been laid to sleep by Jesus — all the saints of God, both those of Old Testament and New Testa- ment times, who lie sleeping in our cemeteries and graveyards, or in the ocean's depths — all these would rise from their temporary sleep. All the living saints would be changed, in a moment, and all would be caught up to meet their descending Lord, and return with Him to the Father's house. John xiv, 3 ; I Thess. iv, 16, 17 ; I Cor. xv 51, 52. This is what is meant by the rapture or catching up of the saints, and has nothing to do directly with Israel or the nations. It is the distinct and only proper hope of the church ; and there is not so much as a single hint of it in the entire Old Testament. If any one asserts that there is, let him produce it. If there be such a thing, nothing is easier than to furnish it. We solemnly and deliberately declare there is no such thing. For all that respects the church — its standing, its calling, its portion, its prospects — we must turn to the pages of the New Testament, and, of those pages, mainly to the Epistles of Paul. To confound "the word of prophecy" with the hope of the church is to damage the truth of God, and mislead the souls of His people. That the enemy has succeeded in doing all this, throughout the length and bredth of the profess- ing church, is, alas ! too true. And hence it is that so S'; It does Lard's comine dependent upon knowledge, instead of ai)on our union with Him i>y tiie presence and power of tiie Holy Gliost. Tlie Spirit of God, in tlio alxjve passage, most graciously takes for granted tliat all God's people are look- ing, in some way or another, for the prwious Saviour ; and verily so they are. They may not see eye to eye as to all the details. They may not enjoy equal clearness of view or depth and fulness of apprehension ; hut, most surely, they would all be glad, at any moment, to see the One who loved them and gave Himself for thenu 26 PAPERS ON THK LOKD's COMING, vciy few Christians have really scriptural thoughts about the comini^ of their Lord. They arc looking; into prophecy for the church's hope — they confound "the Sun of righteousness" with "the Morning Star" — they mix up the coming of Christ y^r His people, and His coming ivitJi them — they make His "com- ing" or "state of presence" to be identical with His "appearing" or "manifestation." All this is a most serious mistake, agtJnst which we desire to warn our readers. When Christ comes with His people, "every eye shall see Him." When He is manifested, His people will be manifested also^ "When Christ our life shall appear [or be manifestedjy then shall ye also appear with Plim in glory." (Col. iiiy 4.) When Christ comes to execute judgment, His saints come with Him. "Behold, the Lord Cometh W///^ ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all." (Jude 14, 15.) So also in Revelation xix.^the rider on the white horse is followed by the armies in heaven upon white horses, clothed in fine Hnen, white and clean. These armies are not arrgels, but saints ; for we do not read of angels being clothed in fine linen, which is expressly declared, in this very chapter, to* be "the righteousness of saints." (Ver. 8.) Now, it is most evident that, if the saints accom- pany their Lord when He comes in judgment, they must be with Him previously. The fact of their go- ing to Him is not presented in the book of Revela- tion, unless it be involved— as we doubt n^ot it is — in the catcliing up of the man child^in chapter xii. The man child is, most surely, Christ ; and inasmuch asi Christ and His people are indissolubly joined in one^ they are, most completely, identified with Himy blessed for ever be His holy and precious name J But, clearly, it does not at all lie within the scope of the book of Revelation to giveus the coming of Christ for His people, or their being caught up to meet Himi in the air, or their return to the Father's house. For these blessed extents or facts, we must look elsewhere, 'I i THE DOUBLE BEARING OF THE FACT. 27 as, for example, in John xiv, 3 ; i Corinthians xv, 23, 51, 52 ; I Thessalonians iv, 14-17. Let the reader ponder those three passages. Let him drink into his very soul their clear and precious teaching. There is nothing difficult about them, no obscurity, no mist or vagueness whatever. A babe in Christ can understand them. They set forth in the clearest and simplest possible manner, the true christian hope, which — we repeat it emphatically, and urge it upon the reader as the direct and positive teaching of holy scripture — is the coming of Christ to receive His people, all His people, to Himself, to take them back with Him to His leather's house, thereto remain with Him, while God deals governmentally with Israel and the na- tions, and prepares the way, by His judicial actings, for bringing in the First-begotten into the world. Now, if it be asked, "Why have we not the com- ing of Christ for His people in the book of Revela- tion ?" Because that book is pre-eminently a book of judgment — a governmental, judicial book, at least from chapter i,-xx. Hence even the church is pre- sented as under judgment. We do not see the church in chapter ii.and iii. as the body or the bride of Christ; butasa responsible witness on the earth, whose condi- tion is being carefully examined and rigidly judged by Him who walks amongst the candlesticks. It would not, therefore, comport with the character or object of this book to introduce, directly, the rap- ture of the saints. It shews us the church on the earth, in the place of responsibility. This at gives us, in chapters ii. and iii., under the head of "the things that are." But from that to chapter xix. there is not a single syllable about the church on earth. The plain fact is, the church will not be on earth during that solemn period. She will be with her Head and Lord, in the divine retirement of the Father's house. The redeemed are seen in heaven, under the title of the twenty-four crow ncd elders, in chapters iv., v. There, blessed be God, they will be, while the seals are bein^ 1 r 28 PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. 1''. 1 , '1', j (■.\ ■p 1 1 i'. I opened, the trumpets sounded, and the vials poured out. To think of the church as being on the earth, from Revelation vi. — xviii. — to place her amid the apocalyptic judgments — to pass her through "the great tribulation" — to subject her to "the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth" — would be to falsify her position, to rob her of her chat tered privi- leges, and to contradict the clear and positive promise of her Lord * No, no, beloved Christian reader ; let no man deceive you, by any means. The church is seen on earth in Revelation ii., iii. She is seen in heaven, together with the Old Testament saints, in chapter iv., v. We are not told, in the Revelation, how she gets there ; but we see her there, in high communion and holy worship ; and then, in chapter xix. the rider on the white horse comes forth, with His saints, to execute judgment upon the beast ana the false prophet — to put down every enemy and every evil, and to reign over the whole earth for the blissful period of a thousand years. Such is the plain teaching of the New Testament to which we earnestly invite the attention of our readers. And let no one suppose that our object is to find an easy path for ChrisHans in thus teaching, as we do most emphatically, that the church will not be in "the great tribulation" — will not come into *'the hour of temptation." Nothing of the kind. The fact is, the true and normal condition of the church, and therefore of the individual Christian, in this world, is tribula- tion. So says our Lord : "In the world ye shall have tribulation." And again, "We glory in tribulation." It cannot, therefore, be a question of avoiding that which is our appointed portion in this world, if only ■f. •I * We ahali have occasion, in a future paper, to shew that, after tho church has been removed to heaven, theSiiirit of God will act both amonj^ the Jews and also among the Gen tiles. Hee Revelation vii "THE coming" and "THE DAY. 29 we are true to Christ. But the fact is, that the entire truth of the church's position and prospect is involved in this question, and this is our reason for urging it so upon the prayerful attention of our readers. The great object of the enemy is to drag down the church of God to an earthly level — to set Christians entirely astray as to their divinely appointed hope — to lead them to confound things which God has made to differ, to occupy them with earthly things — to cause them so to mix up the co/m//go( Christ for His people, with H xsappcaringm j udgmentupon the world, that they may not be able to cultivate those bridal affections and heavenly aspirations which become them as members of the body of Christ. He would fain have them looking out for various earthly events to come between them and their ov/n proper hope, in order that they may not be — as God would have them — ever on the very tip-toe of expectation, look- ing out, with ardent desire, for the appearing o^ **the bright and morning Star." Well doth the enemy know what he is about ; and surely we ought not to be ignorant of his devices, but rather give ourselves to the study of the word of God, and thus learn, as we most surely shall, **the double bearing'* of the glorious fact of the Lord's coming. "THE COMING" AND "THE DAY, »» WE must now ask the reader to turn with us, for a little, to the two Epistles to the Thessalon- ians. As we have already remarked, these Christians were converted to the blessed hope of the Lord's re- turn. They were taught to look for Him day by day. It was not merely the doctrine of the advent received and held in the mind, but a divine Person constantly expected by hearts that had learnt to love Him and long for His coming. But, as we can easily imagine, the Thessalonian 11 w 30 papf:rs on the lord s comlvg. ] i ■ 1 11 1' , ' ' ■i 1 li:' M 11 hlHiil m i«': i.'l. !{-:: :- .M Christians v/crc i<^norant of many things connected with this blessed hope. The apostle has beer\ '''taken from them for a short time, in presence, not in heart." He had not been allowed to remain lon^^ enough amonir.st them to instruct them in the details of the subject of their hope. They knew that Jesus was to return — that self-same blessed One v\'ho had gracious- ly delivered them from the wrath to come. But as to any distinction between His coming /t^r His people, and coming iiith them — between His "state of pres- ence" and His "appearing" — His**coming" and His "day," they were, at the first, wholly ignorant. Hence, as might be expected, they fell into various errors and mistakes. It is wonderful how speedily the human mind wanders away into the wildest and grossest confusion and error. We need to be guard- ed on all sides by the pure, solid, all-adjusting truth of God. We must have our souls evenly balanced by dix'ine revelation, else we are sure to plunge into all manner of false and foolish notions. Thus some of the Thcssalonians conceived the idea of giving up their honest callings. They ceased to labour with their hands, and went about idle. This was a great mistake. Even though we were perfectly certain that our Lord would come this very night, it would be no reason why we should not, most diligently and faithfully, attend to our daily round of duty, and do all that devolved upon us in that par- ticular sphere in which His good hand has placed us. So far from this, the very fact of expecting the blessed Master would strengthen our desire to have every- thing done as it oi'ghttobe,up to the very moment of His return, so that not so much as a single righteous claim should be left neglected. In point of fact, the hope of the Lord's speedy return, when held in power in the soul, is most sanctifying, purifying, and adjust- ing in its influence upon christian life, conduct, and character. We know, alas! that even this most glori- ous truth may be held in the region of the understand- "THE coming" and "THE DAY.' 31 ing, and flippantly professed with the lips, while the heai t and the life, the course, conduct and character, remains wholly unaffected by it. But we are expressly taught by the inspired Apostle John, that "Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." (i John iii, 3.) And, most surely, this "purifying" embraces all that which goes to make up our whole practical life, from day to day. But there was another grave mistake into which those dear Thessalonians fell, and out of which the blessed apostle, like a true and faithful pastor, sought to recover them. They imagined that their departed christian friends would not have part in the joy of the Lord's return. They feared that they would fail to participate in th:it blissful and longed-for moment. Now while it is quite true that this very mistake proves how vividly these Christians realized their blessed hope, still it was a mistake, and needed to be corrected. But let us carefully note the correction : "I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, con- cerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus [or are laid to sleep by Jesus] will God bring with him." Mark this. He does not seek to comfort these sorrowing friends by the assurance that they should, ere long, follow the departed. Quite the reverse. He assures them that Jesus would bring the departed back with Him. I'his is plain and distinct, and founded upon the great fact that "Jesus died for us and rose again." But the apostle does not stop here, but goes on to pour a flood of fresh light upon the understanding of His dear children in the faith. "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent [or precede] them which are asleep. For the Lord Jiimself shall descend from heaven with a w 32 PAPERS ON THE LOKD's COMING. ^n:> ^ivt shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God : and the dead in Christ shall rise first [that is, before the living are changed]. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up to- gether with them in [the] clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words." Here, then, we have presented to us what is com- monly spoken of amongst us as the rapture of the saints — a most glorious, soul-stirring, and enrapturing theme surely — the brightest hope of the church of God, and of the individual believer. The Lord Nim- sei/shaW descend from heaven with a summons de- signed only for the ears and the hearts of His own. Not one uncircumcised ear shall hear — not one un- renewed heart be moved by, that heavenly voice, that divine trumpet call. The dead in Christ, including, as we believe the Old Testament saints, as well as those of the New, who shall have departed in the faith of Christ — all those shall hear the blessed sound, and come forth from their sleeping places. All the living saints shall hear it, and be changed in a moment. And oh ! what a change ! The poor crumbling taber- nacle of clay exchanged for a glorified body, like unto the body of Jesus. Lookatyonderbent andwithered frame— that body racked with pain, and worn out with years of acute suffering. It is the body of a saint. How humiliating to see it like that ! Yes ; but wait a little. Let but the, trumpet sound, and in one moment that poor crushed and withered frame shall be changed, and made like to the glorified body of the descending Lord. And there, in yonder lunatic asylum, is a poor lunatic. He has been there for years. He is a saint of God. How mysterious I True ; we cannot fathom the mystery ; it lies beyond our present narrow range. But so it is ; that poor lunatic is a saint of God, an heir of glory. He to shall hear the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, and leave his lupaQr V ' . -... th the t sc first || en we 4 up to- ^ 2 Lord »i Lord. € ^ords." 1 s com- ■ of the W )turing 9 jrcli of m d Ntm- m )ns de- 1 s own. 1 ne un- 1 :e,that m luding, m vgW as M \G faith m id, and S 5 living m Dment. m taber- m r, like B tbody m f acute 1 Hating M .et but 9 t poor ■ d, and m : Lord. M I poor ■ a saint 9 athom I range. S :)d, an ■ of the ■ uoaey ■ **THE coming" and "THE DAY." 33 behind h im for ever, while he mounts into the heavens, in his glorified body, to meet his descending Lord. Oh I reader, what a brilliant moment ! How marty sick chambers and beds of languishing shall be vacant then ! Wliat marvellous changes shall then take place! How the heart bounds at the thought, and longs to sing, in full chorus, that lovely hymn, •. * "Christ, the Lord, will come again, None shall wait for Him in vain ; I shall then His ^lory see : Christ will come and call for me. m* "Thojn, when the archangel's voice •- Calls the sleeping saints to rise, Rising millions shall proclaim Blessings on the Saviour's name. 'I.' 'This is our redeeming God !' Ransomed hosts will shout aloud : Praise, eternal praise, be given, To the Lord of earth and neaven I " ■■-•'■ Amen and amen ! How glorious the thought of those ''rising mil- lions!" How truly delightful to be amongst them ! How precious the hope of seeing that blessed One who loveth us and who gave Himself for us ! Such is the hope of the Christian — a hope concerning which there is not a single line from cover to cover of the Old Testament " The word of prophecy" is of all im- portance. We do well to take heed to it. It is an unspeakable mercy for those who find themselves in a dark place to have a bright lamp to cast its light athwart the gloom. But, let the Christian bearin mind, that what he wants is to have "the day star arising in his heart ;" in other words, to have his whole heart governed by the hope of seeing Jesus as the bright and morning star. When the heart is thus filled and ruled by the proper Christian hope, then the eye can intelli- gently scan the prophetic chart : it can take in the whole field of prophecy as our God has graciously "■.'■I [: ;, -.I « ■ , 'li 1 <> ill' w 34 PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. if'^lr opened it before us, and find interest and profit in every page and in every line. But, on the other hand, we may rest assured, that the man who looks into prophecy in order to find the church or its hope there, nas his face turned the wrong way. He will find "the Jew" there ; and "Gentile ' there ; but not "the Church of God." We earnestly trust that not one of our readers will fail to lay hold of this fact — a fact, we m^y safely say, of the very deepest moment. But it will perhaps be asked, "Of what use, then, IS prophecy ? If indeed it be true that we cannot find aught about thechurch on the prophetic page, of what possible use can it be to Christians ? Why should we be told to take heed to it, if it does not immediately concern us ?" We reply. Is nothing of any value to us save what immediately concerns ourselves ? Shall we take no interest in anything unless we ourselves form the immediate subject thereof? Is it nothing to us to have the counsels and purposes and plans of God laid open before us? Do we lightly esteem the high favour of having the thoughts of God communicated to us in His holy word of prophecy ? Surely it was not thus that Abraham treated the divine communi- cations made to him in Genesis xviii.: "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" And what wasthatthing? Did itimmediateiy concern Abraham? Not at all. It concerned Sodom and the neighbouring cities ; and Abraham had no stake in them. But did that prevent his interest in the divine communication? Did it hinder his appreciation of the mark of special favour in his being made the honoured and, trusted depository of the thoughts of God ? Surely tiot.. We may safely assert that the faithful patriarch highly esteemed the privilege conferred upon him. And so should we. We should study prophecy with all the interest arising from the fact that therein we have unfolded to us, with divine precision, what Godf is about to do on this earth, with Israel and with the nations. Prophecy is God's h istory of the future ; and f "THE coming" and "tHE DAY." 35 )fit in hand, :s into there, d ''the : *'the one of a fact, ent. , then, ot find f what uldwe liately ilue to • Shall rselves [ling to of God e high licated it was imuni- Ihide i what aham? During utdid ation? pecial rusted We lighly ywith iin we t Godf th the e;and i I I just in i)roportion as we love Him, shall wc delight to study His history ; not indeed, as some have said, that we may know its truth by its fulfilment, but that we may possess all that absolute, that divine certainty as to the future, which God's word is capable of impart- ing. Nothing can be more absured, in the judgment of faith, than to suppose that we must wait until the accomplishment of a prophecy to know that it is true. What an insult offered — unwittingly no doubt — to the peerless revelation of our God. But we must now turn, for a moment, to the solemn subject of "The Day of the Lord." This is a term of frequent occurrence in Old Testament scriptures. We cannot attempt to quote all the passages ; but we shall refer to one or two, and then the reader can follow up the subject for himself. In Isaiah ii. we read, **Forthe day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up, and he shall be brought low .... And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low : and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols he shall utterly abolish. And they shall go Into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth." So also, in Joel ii. **Blow ye the trumpet in Zion. and sound an alarm in my holy mountain : let all the inhabitants of the land tremble ; for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand. A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the moun- tains; a great people and a strong; there has not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations .... the earth shall quake before them ; the heavens shall tremble ; the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining .... for che day • i mmmm: ■Mf. I 36 PAPERS ON THE LORU's COMING. ; I ill ' II' , J IH Mi! 3:;;.,-: ^ ! ■ ■ 11 j'iH of the Lord is great and very terrible ; and who can abi^e it ?" From these and simllarpassaores, we learn that "The day of the Lord" stands associated with the deeply solemn thought of judgment upon the world — upon apostate Israel — upon man and his ways — upon all that which the human heart prizes and longs after. In short the day of the Lord stands in striking contrast with man's' day. Man has the upper hand now, the Lord will have the upper hand then. Now, while it is perfectly true that all the Lord's people can rejoice in the prospect of that day, which, though it will open in judgment upon the world, shall, nevertheless, be marked by the universal reign of righteousness; yet we must remember that the peculiar hope of the Christian is not the day with its awful accompanimentsof judgment, wrath, andterror; but the coming or presence of Jesus, with its precious accompaniments of peace and joy, love and glory. The church shall have met her Lord, and returned with Him to the Father's house, before that terrible day bursts upon the world. It will be her blissful por- tion to taste the ineffable communion of that heavenly home for an indefinite period previous to the opening of the day of the Lord. Her eyes shall be gladdened by the sight of "The bright and morning Star," long before even "The Sun of righteousness" shall arise, in healing virtue upon the pious portion of the nation of Israel— the God-fearing remnant of the seed of Abraham. We are intensely anxious that the christian reader should thoroughly enter into this grand and important distinction. We feel persuaded that it will have an immense effect upon all his thoughts and views and hopes of the future. It will enable him to see, without a single intervening cloud, his true prospect, as a Christian. 1 1 will deliver him from all mist, vagueness, and confusion; and further, it will divest his mind of all j.hat feeling of dread with which so many even of ;*■ 1 it. THE coming" and "THE DAY.'' 37 i Lord's , which, [d, shall, reign of hat the with its dterror; )recious I glory, eturned terrible ;ful por- iavenly )pening ddened r," long II arise, ) nation seed of reader Dortant lave an ws and i^ithout ct, as a ueness, nind of iven of the Lord'sdear people contemplate the future. It will teach him to look for the Saviour — the blessed Bride- groom — the everlasting lover of his soul, and not for judgments and terror, eclipses and earthquakes, con- vulsions, and revolutions, it will keep hisspirit tranquil and happy, in the sure and certain hope of being with Jesus, ere that great and terrible day of the Lord come. See how the faithful apostle laboured to lead his dearThessalonian converts into the clear understand- ing of the difference of "the coming" and "the day." "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as athiefinthenight. For when ///^jK[not ye] shall say, Peace and safety ; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child ; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you asa thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day : v»'e are not of the night, nor of darkness" — The Lord be praised ! — "Therefore let us not sleep, as do others ; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night ; and they that are drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep [that is, are dead or alive] we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together and edify one another,' even as also ye do." (i Thessalonians v, i-ii.) Here we have the distinction set forth with unmis* takable clearness. The Lord Himself shall come for us as the Bridegroom. The day of the Lord shall come upon the worlo ai- a thief. Is it possible for con- trast to be more striking ? How can anyone confound these two things ? They are as distinct as any two things can be. A bridegroom and a thief are surely .i ) >; TiTfT \\'i i ;':.■•! i )|.i 38 PAPERS ON THE LORD's COMING. two different things ; and just as different are the coming of the Lord for His waiting people and the coming of His day upon a slumbering or intoxicated world. Some perhaps may find a difficulty in the fact that the church in Sardis is addressed in such solemn words as these, "If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." (Rev. iii, 3.) The diffi- culty will vanish when we reflect that, in the case of Sardis, the professing body is looked upon as having a mere name to live while dead. It has sunk to the level of the world, and can only see things from the World's standpoint. The church has failed utterly ; it has fallen from its high and holy position ; it is under judgment ; it cannot therefore be cheered by the church's propcrhope; but is threatenedby the world's terrible doom. We do not see the church here as the body or bride of Christ, but as the responsible witness for God on the earth — the golden candlestick which oughttohave held forth the divine light of testimony in this dark world, in the absence of her Lord. But alas ! the professing church has sunk lower and become darker than even the world itself. Hence the solemn threatening. The exception confirms the rule. We shall proceed with this subject as presented in second Thessalonians. It is a fact full of the richest comfort and consolation to the heart of a true believer, that our God, in His marvellous grace, ever makes the eater to yield meat, and the strong sweetness. He brings light out of darkness, life out of death, and causes the bright beams of His glory to shine amid the most disastrous ruin caused by the enemy's hand. The truth of this is illustrated on every page of the inspired volume, and it should fill our hearts with peace and our mouths with praise. • Hence it is that the varied doctrinal errors and practical evils, into which the early Christians were ! "THE coming'* and "tHE DAY. » 39 are the and the ►xicated act that n words I will )W what he diffi- case of } having k to the rom the terly ; it is under i by the world's e as the witness k which 5timony rd. But become solemn jle. ^nted in jolation , in His d meat, t out of t beams •us ruin f this is ne, and mouths )rs and is were permitted to fall, have been overruled of God, and used for the instruction, guidance, and solid profit of the church to the close of her earthly history. Thus, for example, the error of the Thessalonian Christians in reference to their departed brethren was made the occasion of pouring such a flood of divine light upon the Lord's coming, and upon the rapture of the saints, that it is impossible for any simple mind, that bows to scripture, ever to fall into a similar mis- take. They looked for the Lord to come ; and in that they were right. They expected Him to set up His kingdom on the earth ; and in that they were right, as to the broad fact. But they made a great mistake in leaving out the heavenly side of this glorious hope. Their intelligence was defective — their faith lacking. They did not see the two parts — the double bearing of the advent of Christ — His descent into the air to receive His people to Himself, and His appearing in glory to set up His kingdom in manifested power. Hence they feared that their departed brethren would necessarily be absent from the sphere of blessing — the circle of glory. This mistake is divinely corrected, as wl* have seen, in the first epistle, chapter iv. The heavenly side of the hope — the'Christian's proper portion — is placed be- f^ire the heart as the true corrective for the error in reference to the sleeping saint--. Christ will gather all \/u:i^ aot merely part of) His people to Himself ; and if tiiCrc is to be any advantage — a shade of difference in the matter, it will be on the side of those very people about whom they were mourning. "The dead in Christ shall rise first." But, from the second Epistle to the Thessalonians, we learn that those dear young converts had been led into another grave error — an error, not as to the dead, but as to the living — a mistake, not respecting *'the coming," but respecting "the day of the Lord." In the one case, they feared that the dead would not par- ticipate in the blissful triumph of the coming ; and, in T j'l 1 il 1 ' \ >iii •I 1 \ ■■1 ■J . 1 ^M iii! ; U; ;i»>;;,:;t'i i I 40 PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. the other case, they feared thatthelivingu ere actually at the very moment, involved in the terrors of the day. Such is the mistake with which the inspired apostle deals inhis second letterto the Thessalonian believers; and nothing can exceed the tenderness and delicacy, and yet withal the wisdom and faithfulness of his dealing. The Christiansat Thessalonica were passing through intense persecution and tribulation ; and it is very evi- dent that the enemy, by means of false teachers, sought to upset their minds, by leading them to think that "the great and terrible day of the Lord" had actually arrived, and that the troubles through which they were passing were the accompaniments of that day. ; If this were so, the,entire teaching of the apostle was proved false ; for if there was one truth that shone fortK more brightly and prominently in his teaching than,another,itwas the association and identification of believers with Christ — an association so intimate, an identification so close, that it was impossible for Christ to appear in glory without His people. "When Christ who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." But He must appear in order to introduce "the day." Furthermore, when the day of the Lord doesactually arrive, it will not be to trouble His people, but, on the contrary, to trouble their persecutors. Of this the apostle reminds them, in themostsimple, forcible man- ner, in his very opening lines : "We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth ; so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure : which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the king- dom of God, for which ye also suffer : seeing it is a ■ ^ •If": f :% i "the coming" and "the day." 41 actually the day. I apostle ilicvers; lelicacy, } of his through ^ery evi- eachers, to think •d" had h which 5 of that : apostle at shone caching" [fication itimate, jible for "When ye also jpear in ictually on the his the le man- und to meet, md the 1 other in the in all ndure : Igment e king- it is a f ighteous thing zvithGod to recompe?ise tribulation to them that trouble yon ; and to yon who are troubled rest with //^, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven withhismightyangelsjinflamingfiretakingvengeance on them that know not God [Gentiles], and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ* [Jews]." (Chapter i, 3-8.) Thus, not only was the christian position involved in this matter, but the very glory of God — His actual righteousness. If, indeed, the day of the Lord brought tribulation to Christians, then was there no truth in the doctrine — the grand prominent doctrine of Paul's teaching — that Christ and His people are one; and moreover it would impugn the righteousness of God. In short, then, if Christians were in tribulation, it was morally impossible that the day of the Lord could have set in, for when that day comes, it will be rest for believers, as their public recompense, in the kingdom — not merely in the Father's house ; which is not the point here. The tables will be completely turned. The church will be in rest, the church s troublersin tribulation. Duringman's day, the church is called to tribulation ; but in the day of the Lord all will be reversed. Let the reader note this carefully. It is not the question of Christians suffering tribulation. They are actuallycalledtoitinthis world, so long as wickedness has the upper hand. Christ suffered and so must they. But the point we want to fasten upon the mind and heart of the Chrisfian is, that when Christ comes to set up Hiskingdom, itis utterly impossible that Hispcople can be in trouble. Thus the entire teaching of the enemy, by which he sought to upset the Thessalonian believers was proved to be utterly fallacious. The apostle sweeps away the very foundation of the whole fabric by the simple statement of the precious truth of God. This is the divine way of delivering people from falso notions and vain fears. Give them the truth, and error must flee before it. Let in the sunshine of God's 1W. ■ 1 1 ' ' I '<] V } ' 42 PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. eternal word, and all the mists and clouds of false doc- trine must be rolled away. But let us, for a moment, examine the further teach- ing of our apostle, in this remarkable writing. In so doing, we shall see how thoroughly he establishes the distinction between "the coming ' and "the day" — a distinction which the reader will do well to ponder. "Nowwebeseechyou,brethren,by[orontheground of]thecomingofourI.ordJesusChrist,andourgather- ing together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as from us, as that the day of the Lord is present."* Now, apart altogether from the question of various readings a moment's reflection will suffice to shew the simple minded Christian that the apostle could not possibly mean to teach the Thessalonians that the day of the Lord was not, even then, at hand. Scripture can never contradict itself No one sentence of aivine revelation can possibly collide with another. But if the reading given in our excellent Authorized Version were correct, it wouL* stand in direct opposition to Romans xiii, 12, where we are plainly and expressly told that "the day is at hand." What "day ?" The day of the Lord, most surely, which is always the term used in connection with our individual fesponsibilty in walk and service. This, we may remark in passing, is a point of much interest and practical value. If the reader will take the * We have no pretenafons whatefver to schofarsMp5 we are merely gleaners in the deeply interesting field of crftieism in which others have reaped a golden harvest. We do not mean to" occHpy our readers wit' i arguments in the defence of readings given in the text : hat we fedf that there is no use in giving then* what we consider to be erroneous We believe there is nodouM; whateverthat the true reading of 2* Thessalonians' ii. is as we have given it abover "as that the day of the Lord is present. " The word e vcanjKev c^n only be thus rendered. It occurs in Romans viii^ 88, where it is translated "things present. " So also in 1 Corinthians iii, 22, "things present ; " chapter vii, 25, ''^present distress ; " Galatians i, 4, ^^present evil world ; " Hebrews ix, 9, "time thenpresent." ■^ ■i C( THE COMING AND "THE DAY. >} alse doc- lerteach- j. In so ishes the ! day"— > ponder* e ground irg'ather- haken in by word, the Lord if various shew the ould not it the day scripture of divine But if Version sition ta xpressly The day :he term onsibilty 43 % S'' 4^ trouble to examine the various passages in which "the day" is spoken of, he will find that they have reference, more or less, to the question of work, service, or respon- sibility. For instance, "That ye may be blameless [not at the co7ning^ but] in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" (i Cor. i, 8.) Again, "every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it." (i Cor. iii, 13.) "Without offence till the day of Christ." (Phil, i, 10.) "Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day** (2 Tim- othy iv, 8.) From all these passages, and many more which might be adduced, we learn that "the day of the Lord" will be the grand time for reckoningwith the workers ; for the divine appraisal of service ; for the settling of all questions of personal responsibility ; for the distribu- tion of rewards-^the "ten cities" and the "five cities." Thus wherever we turn, in whatever way we look at the subject, 'we are more and more confirmed in the truth of the clear distinction between our Lord's "coming" or "state of presence, "and His"appearing" or "day." The former is ever held up before the heart as the bright and blessed hope of the believer, which may be realized at any moment. The latter is pressed rather upon the conscience, in deep solemnity, as bear- ing upon the entire practical career of those who are set in this world to work and witness for an absent Lord. Scripture never confounds these things, how- ever much we may do it ; nor is there a single sentence, from cover to cover of the holy volume, which teaches that believers are not always to be looking out for the coming of the Lord, and ever to bear in mind that the day is at hand." It is only "that evil servant" — re- ferred to in our Lord's discourse in Matthew xxiv. — that "says in his heart, My lord delayefth his cormng ;" and there we see the terrible results which must ever flow from the harbouring of such a thought in the heart. 44 PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. I .; ■' I'l I < 1 ^'lil We shall now return for a moment, to 2 Thessalon- ians ii. — a passage of scripture which has given rise to much discussion amongst prophetic expositors, and presented considerable difficulty to the students of prophecy. ^ It is very evident that the false teachers had been seeking to disturb the minds of the Thessalonians by leading them to thinkthat they were, even then, sur- rounded by the terrors of the day of the Lord. Not so, says the apostle; that cannot be. Before ever that day opens, we must all be gathered to meet the Lord in the air. He beseeches them on the ground' (wep) of the Lord's coming, andour gathering togetherunto Him, not to be troubled about the day. He had al- ready opened to thcmtheheavenlysideof the Lord's coming. He had taught them that they, as Christians belonged to the day ; that their home and their por- tion and their hope were all in that very region from which the day was to shine out. It was wholly im- possible, therefore, that the day of the Lord could involve any terror or trouble to those who were, actually, through grace, the sons of the day. ' But, further, even looking at the subject from the^ earthly side of it, the false teachers were all wrong. "Let no man deceive you by any means : for [that day shall not come] except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition ; who opposeth and exc^lteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped ; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was with you I told you these things. And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in His time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work : only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming [or the appearing of his presence]. Even Him "THE coming" and "THE DAY." 45 whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivablencss of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." (Verse 3-10.) Here, then, we are taught that ere the day of the Lord arrives, the lawless one, the man of sin, the son of perdition must be revealed. The mystery of iniquity must rise to a head. Man shall set himself up in open opposition to God, nay, shall even assume to himself the name and the worship of God. All this has to be developed on the earth before that great and terrible day of the Lord shall burst in judgment upon the scene. For the present, there is a barrier, a hindrance to the manifestation of this awful parsonage. We are not told here what this barrier or hindrance is. God may vary it at different times. But we learn, most distinctly, from the book of Revelation, that ere the mystery of iniquity culminates in the person of the man of sin, the church shall have been'rettioved from this scene altogether. It is impossible tOi read, with an enlightened eye, Revelation iv,, v. ai\d not see that the church shall be in the veiy innermost circle of heavenly glory, ere a single seal is opened,' a single trumpet sounded, a single vial poured out. ' We do not believe that any one can understand the book of Apocalypse who does not see this. ' We may have occasion to go more frebly into this profoundly interesting point, by-and-by. We can only nowentreatthe readerto study the subject for himself. Let him ponder Revelation iv., v. and ask God to in- t' * Some have considered that thehinderer or hindrance was the Roman empire : others that it is the Hoiy Ghost in the church. To this latter we have inclined for many years ; though it may be there is a measure of truth in the former. This, at least, we knoAv, from other parts of acripture, that ere the lawless one appears on the scene, the church >7ill have been safely and blessedly housed in her own eternal home above— her prepared platre. How precious the thought of this ! » I r f Ml 46 PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. i J ' '. terpret their preciouscontents tohissoul. In this way , we feel persuaded he will learn that the twenty-four crownea elders set forth the heavenlysaints,whoshalI be gathered round the Lamb, in glory, before a single line of the prophetic portion of the book is fulfilled. And here we must close this paper ; but ere doing so we should like to put a very plain 'question to the reader — aquestion which canonlybeanswered rightly in the imrqediate presence of God. It is this, What is it thou art looking for? What is thy hope? Art thou looking forward to certain events which are to transpire on this earth, such as the revival of the Roman empire,the development of the ten kingdoms; the gathering b^ck of the Jews to their own land of Palestine ; the .rebuilding of Jerusalem ; the appear- ance of Antichrij^t; the great tribulation ; and finally the appalling judgments which shall, most surely, usher in th$ day/of the Lord ? Say, beloved friend, are these the things which fill the vision of thy soul ? Is it for these thou art looking and waiting ? . If so, be assured of it, thou art not governed by the church's proper hope. It is quitetrue that all these things which we have named shall come to pass in their appointed time ; but not one of them should be allowed to come between thee and thy proper hope. They all stand on the prophetic page ; they are all recorded in God's history of the future ; but they were never intended to cast a shadow athwart the Christian's bright and blessed hope. That hope stands forth in glorious relief from the background of prophecy. What is it ? Yes, we say again. What is it ? It is the appearing of the bright and morning Star — the coming of the Lord Jesus — the blessed Bridegroom of the church. This and nought else, is the true and proper hope of the church of God. "I will give him the morning star." (Rev. ii, 23.) *'Behold the bridegroom cometh." (Matt. XXV.) When, we may ask, does the morning star appear in the natural world ? Just before the ^ .5* 'it? if-i •f: ■% V <<•* THE TWO RKSURRECTIONS. 47 his way, nty-four ^ho shall a single fulfilled, re doing 3n to the d rightly What is e? Art :h are to il of the ngdoms ; 1 land of appear- id finally t surely, which fill t looking i art not ^uitetrue lall come of them and thy tic page; e future ; shadow- ed hope, rom the I M dawning of the day. Who sees it ? The one who has been watching during the dark and dreary hours of the night. How plain, how practical, how telling the application ! Thcchurch is supposed to be watching — to be lovingly wakeful — to be looking out to be put- ting forth that inquiry of the intensely longing heart, "Why tarry the wheels of his chariot ?" Alas 1 the church has failed in this. But that is no reason why the individual believer should not be in the full present power of the blessed hope. "Let htm that heareth say, Come." This is deeply personal. Oh ! that the writer and the reader of these lines may realize habi- tually the purifying, sanctifying, elevating power of this heavenly hope! May we understand and exhibit the practical power of those words of theapostle John, "Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." THE TWO RESURRECTIONS. ^ It may be that some of our readers will feel startled by the title of this paper. Accustomed, from their earliest days,tolook at this great question through the medium of Christendom's standards of doctrine and confessions of faith, the idea of two resurrections has never once entered their minds. Nevertheless scrip- ture docs speak, in the most distinct and unequivocal terms, of a "resurrection of life," and a "resurrection of judgment" — two resurrections, distinct in character, and distinct in time. And not only so, but it informs us that there will be, '' at lca.st, a thousand years between the two. If men teach otherwise — if they build up systems of divinity, • and set forth creeds and confessions of faith contrary to the direct and positive teaching of holy scripture, they must settle that with their Lord, as must all who committhemselves to theirguidance. Butremember, 48 PAPERS ON TIIK LORD's COMING. 1 reader it is your bounden duty and ours to hearken only to the authority of the word of God, and to bow down, in unqualified submission, to its holy teaching. Let us, then, reverently inquire, what saith the scripture on the subject indicated at the head of this article ? May God the Spirit guide and instruct ! We shall nrst quote that remarkable passage in chapter v. of John's Gospf^l : "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment ; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you. The hour is com- ing, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God ; and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in himself ; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also because He i? the Son of man. Marvel not at this ; for the hour ] coming,inthewhichallthatareinthegravesshallhear His voice, and shall come forth : they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life : and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection ot judgment."* Here, then, we have, indicated in the most unmis- takable terms, the two resurrections. True, they are not distinguished as to time, in this passage ; but they are as to character. We have a life resurrection ; and ay«^^7«^«/ resurrection, and nothing can be more dis- '\[\ i; I. {'. * The English reader should be Infomied that, in the entire imssage, John V, 22—26, the words '"judgment,'* "condemnation," "damnation," are all expressed by the same word in the original, and that word is simply "judgment, " Kpi^is, the process^ not the result. It is much to be deplored that our Athorized Version should not have so rendered the Word throughout. It would have made the teaching of the passage clearer. It is with extreme reluctance that we ever venture to touch our unrivalled English Bible, but it is, at times, absolutely necessary for the truth's sake, and for the sake of our readers. As to the rendering of verse 24, it really comes to the same thing whether we say, "condemnation" or "judgment, "i;iasmuch as if there be judgment at all, ite issue must be condemnation. But wh.^ not be accurate? • ~ THE TWO RKSUkRECTIONS. 49 earken to bow aching, ith the 1 of this cruet I sage in ', I say veth on hall not Lth unto • is corn- voice of . For as given to ^en him e He i? t hour ! hall hear ve done \ey that :ment."* ;t unmis- they are but they on ; and nore dis- re imssage, amnation," mt word is much to be sndered the the passage :o touch our sary for the Iniar of verse nnation"or ue must be tinct than these. There is no possible ground here on which to build the theory of a promiscuous resur- rection. The resurrection of believers will beeclectic; it w ill be on the same principle, and partake of the same character as the resurrection of our blessed and ador- able Lord; it will b^ a resurrection from among the dead. It will be an act of divine power, founded upon accomplished redemption, whereby God will inter- pose on behalf of His sleeping saints, and raise them up from among the dead, leaving the rest of the dead in their gravesfor a thousand years. (Revelation xx, 5.) There is an interesting passage in Mark ix. which throwsgreat light on this subject. The opening verses contain the record of the transfiguration ; and then we read, '*As they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead. And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from[eK^ from among] the dead should mean." The disciples felt that there was something special, something entirely beyond the ordinary orthodox idea of the resurrection of the dead, and verily so there was, though they understood it not then. It lay beyond their range of vision at that moment. But let us turn to Philippians iii., and hearken to the breathings of one who thoroughly entered into and appreciated this grand christian doctrine, and fondly cherished this glorious and heavenly hope. "That I may know him, and the power of his resur- rection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death : if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection from among the dead." [i^avdaracnv] (Verses 10, 11.) A moment's just reflection will suffice to convince the reader that the apostle is not speaking here of [the great broad truth of "the resurrection of the lead," inasmuch as everyone must rise again. But there was something specific before the heart of this ^im m 50 PAPERS ON THE LORD*S COMING. \J: 1 ■ I Em dear servant of Christ, namely, " a resurrection from among the dead" — an eclectic resurrection — a re- surrection formed on the model of Christ's resurrec- tion. It was for this he longed continually. This was the bright and blessed hope that shone upon his soul and cheered him amid the sorrows and trials, the toils and the difficulties, the buffetings and the conflicts of his extraordinary career. But, it may be asked, " Does the apostle always use this distinguishing little word (ex) when speaking of resurrection ^'* Not always. Turn, for example, to Acts xxiv. 1.5: "And have hope toward God, v/hich they therriselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust." Here, there is no word to indicate the christian or heavenly side of the subject, for the simplest possible reason that the apostle was speak- ing to those who were utterly incapable of entering into the Christian's proper hope — far more incapable than even the disciples in Mark ix. How could he possibly unbosom himself in the presence of such men as Tertullus, Ananias, and Felix ? How could he speak to them of his own specific and fondly cherished hope ? No ; he could only take his stand on the great broad truth of resurrection, common to orthodox Jews. Had he spoken of "a resurrection from among the dead," he could not have added the words, ** which they themselves also allow," for they did not "allow" anything of the kind. But oh ! what a contrast between this precious servant of Christ, defending himself from his accus- ers, in Acts xxiv., and unbosoming himself to his beloved brethren in Philippians iii. ! To the latter he can speak of the true christian hope in the full orbed light which the glory of Christ pours upon it, He can give utterance to the inmost thoughts, feel- ings, and aspirations of that great, large, loving heart, with its earnest throbbings after the life- resurrection in the which hie shall be satisfied THE TWO RESURRECTIONS. 51 ction from ion — a re- s resurrec- illy. This lone upon rrows and etings and :le always I speaking ■ example, ^ard God, here shall e just and licate the ct, for the ^as speak- r entering incapable could he :e of such ow could d fondly his stand )mmon to ;urrection ve added low," for precious lis accus- elf to his le latter the full upon it, hts, feel- j, loving the life- satisfiied as he wakes up in the likeness of his blessed Lord. But we must return, for a moment, to our first quotation, from John v. It may perhaps present a difficulty to some of our readers in laying hold of the truth of the Christian's hope of resurrection, that our Lord makes use of the word "hour" in speaking of the two classes. ** How," it is argued, " can there be a thousand years between the two resurrections, when our Lord expressly tells us that all shall occur within the limits of an hour ?" To this question we have a double reply. In the first place, we find our Lord making use of the self- .same word " hour," at verse 25, where He is speaking of the great and glorious work of quickening dead souls, " Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is commg, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live." Now, here, we have a work which has been going on for nearly nineteen long centuries. During all that time, here spoken of as an "hour," the voice of Jesus, the Son of God, has been heard calling precious souls from death to life. If, therefore, in the very same dis- course, our Lord used the word "hour" wb^n speak- ing of a period which has already extended to well- nigh two thousand years, what difficulty can there be in apply ing the word to a period of one thousand years ? Surely, none whatever, as we judge. But even if any little difficulty yet remained, it must be thorough- ly met by the airect testimony of the Holy Ghost, in Revelation xx. where we read, " But the rest of the dead lived not again till the thousand years were finished. This is the first fcsurrectio?u Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection : on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God, and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." (Verses 5,6.) This settles the question absolutely and for ever, for all those who are willing to be taught exclusively by holy scripture, as every true Christian ought to 52 PAPERS ON THE LORD S COMING. t ii '111 be. There will be two resurrections, the first and the second : and there \v ill be a thousand years be- tween the two. To the former belong all the Old Testament saints — referred to in Hebrews xii. under the title of the spirits of just men made perfect — then the church of the first-born ones — and finally all those who shall be put to death during **the great tribula- tion," and throughout the entire period between the raptureofthesaintsandtheappearingofChristin judg- ment upon the beast and'his armies, in Revelation xix. To the latter, on the other hand, belong all those who shall have died in their sins, from the days of Cain, in Genesis iv. down to the last apostate from millennial glory, in Revelation xx. How solemn is all this! How real! How soul- subduing. If our Lord were to come to-night, what a scene would be enacted in all our cemeteries and graveyards ! What tongue, what pen can portray — what heart can conceive — the grand realitiesof such a moment? There are thousands of tombs in which lie mingled the ashes of the dead in Christ, and the ashes of the dead ^/// of Christ. In many a family vault may be foimd the ashes of both. Well, then, when the voice of the archangel is heard, all the sleeping saints shall rise from their graves, leaving behind them those who have died in their sins, to remain in the darkness and silence of the tomb for a thousand years. Yes, reader, such is the direct and simple testimony of the word of God. True, it does not enter into any curious details. It does not furnish any food for a morbid imagination or idle curiosity. But it sets forth the solemn and weighty fact of a first and second res- urrection — aresurrection of life and everlasting glory, and a resurrection of judgment and everlasting mis- ery. There is positively no such thing in scripture as a promiscuous resurrection — a common rising of all at the same time. We must abandon this idea alto- gether, like many others which we have received to hold, in which we have been trained from our earliest THE TWO RESURRECTIONS. 53 days, which have grown with our growth and strength- ened with our strength, until they have become actu- ally ingrained as part of our very mental, moral, and religious constitution, so that to part with them is like the sundering of limb from limb, or rending the flesh from our bones. Nevertheless, it must be done, if we really desire to grow in the knowledge of divine revelation. There is no greater hindrance to our getting into the thoughts of God than having our minds filled with our own thoughts or the thoughts of men. Thus, for example, in reference to the subject of this paper, almost all of us have, at onetime, held the opinion that all will rise together, both believers and unbelievers, and all stand together to be judged. Whereas when we come to scripture, like a little child, nothing can be simpler, nothing clearer, nothing more explicit than its teach- ing, as to this question. Revelation xx. 5, teaches us that there will be an interval of a thousand years be- tween the resurrection of the saints and the resurrec- tion of the wicked. It is of no use to speak of a resurrection of spirits. Indeed it is a manifest piece of absurdity ; for inas- much as spirits cannot die, they cannot be raised from the dead. Equally absurd is it to speak of a resurrec- tion of principles. There is no such thing in scrip- ture. The language is as plain as plainness itself. "The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection." Why should anyone seek to set aside the plain force of such a passage? Why not bow to it? Why not get rid, at once, of all our old and fondly cherished notions, and receive with meekness the engrafted word. Reader, does it not seem plain to thee that if scrip- ture speaks oi^ first resurrection, then it must follow that all will not rise together? Why should it be said, "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection/' if all are to rise at the same time? In fact it seems to us impossible for any unpreju- irnBi 54 PAPERS ON THE LORD's COMING. diced itiind to study the New Testament and yet hold to the theory of a promiscuous resurrection. It is due to the glory of Christ, the Head, that His members should have aspecific resurrection — a resurrection like His own — a resurrection from among the dead. And verily, so they shall. " Behold I shew you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twmkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this cor- ruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.'* (i Corinthians xv.) THE JUDGMENT. There is something peculiarly painful In the thought of having so frequently to come in collision with the generally received opinions of the professing church. It looks presumptuous to contradict, on so many sub- jects, all the great standards and creeds of Christen- dom. But what is one to do? Were it indeed a mere question of human opinion, it might seem a piece of bold and unwarrantable temerity for any one individu- al to set himself in direct opposition to the established faith of the whole professing church — afaith which has held sway for centuries, over the minds of millions. But we would ever impress upon our readers the fact that it is not at all a question of human opinion, > THE JUDGMENT. 55 or of a difference of judgment amongst even the very best of men. It is entirely a question as to the teaching and authority of holy scripture. There have been, and there are, and there will be, schools of doctrine, varietiesof opinion and shades of thought; but it is the obvious duty of every child of God, and every servant of Christ to bow down, in holy rever- ence, and hearken to the voice of God in scripture. If it be merely a matter of human authority, it must simply go for what it is worth ; but on the other hand, if it be a matter of divine authority, then all discussion is closed, and our place — the place of all — is to bow and bcHeve. Thus, in our last paper, we were led to see that there is no such thing in scripture as a general resur- rection—a common rising of all at the same time. We trust our readers have, like the Bereans of old, searched the scriptures as to this, and that they are now prepared to accompany us in our examination of the word of God as to the subject of the judgment. The great question, at the outset, is this. Does scrip- ture teach the doctrine of a general judgment? Chris- tendom holds it; but does scripture teach it? Let us see. In the first place, as to the Christian individually, and the church of God collectively, the New Testa- ment sets forth the precious truth that there is no judgment at all. So far as the believer is concerned, judgment is past and gone. The heavy cloud of judgment has burst upon the head of our divine Sin-bearer. He has exhausted, on our behalf, the cup of wrath and judgment, and planted us on the new ground of resurrection to which judgment can never by any possibility, apply. It is just as impos- sible that a member of the body of Christ can come into judgment as that the divine Head Himself can do so. This seems a very strong statement to make ; but is it true ? If so, its strength is part of its moral value and glory. I): I), 56 PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. ■%i • n 'H. b I:; \V~ M: ii'arp For what, let us ask, was Jesus judged on the cross ? For his people. He was made sin for us. He represented us there. He stood in our stead. He bore all that was due to us. Our entire condi- tion with all its belongings was dealt with in the death of Christ ; and so dealt with that it is utterly impossible that any question can ever be raised. Has God any question to settle with Christ, the Head? Clearly not. Well, then, neither has He any question to settle with the members. Every question is divinely and definitively settled, and, in proof of the settlement, the Head is crowned with glory and honour, and seated at the right hand of the majesty in the heavens. Hence, to suppose that Christians are to come into judgment, at any time, or on any ground, or for any object whatsoever, is to deny the very founda- tion truth of Christianity, and to contradict the plain words of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has expressly declared, in reference to all who believe in Him, that they " shall not come into judgment.'* (John v. 24.) In point of fact, the idea of Christians being ar- raigned at the bar of judgment to try the question of their title and fitness for heaven, is as absurd as it is unscriptural. For example, how can we think of Paul or the penitent thief standing to be judged as to their title to heaven, after having been there al- ready for nearly two thousand years ? But thus it must be, if there be any truth in the theory of a general judgment. If the gi;jeat question of our title to heaven has to be settled at the day of judg- ment, then clearly it was no-t settled on the cross ; and if it was not settled on the cross, then most surely we shall be damned ; for if we are to be judged at all, it must be according to our works, and the only possible issue of such a judgment is the lake of fire. If, however, it be maintained that Christians shall only stand in the judgment in order to make it mani- fest that they are clear through the death of Christ, THE JUDGMENT. 57 then would the day of judgment be turned into a mere formality, the bare thought of which is most revolting to every pious and well regulated mind. But, in truth, there is no need of reasoning on the point. One sentence of holy scripture is better far than ten thousand of man's most cogent arguments. Our Lord Christ hath declared, in the clearest and most emphatic terms, that believers "shall not come into judgment." This is enough. The believer was judged over eighteen hundred years ago in the Person of his Head ; and to bring him into judgment again would be to ignore completely the cross of Christ in its atoning efficacy ; and, most assuredly, God will not, cannot allow this. The very feeblest believer may say in thankfulness and triumph, "So far as I am concerned, all that had to be judged is judged already. Every question that had to be settled is settled. Judgment is past and gone for ever. I know my work must be tried, my service appraised ; but as to myself, my person, my standing, mv title, all is di- vinely settled. The man who answered for me on the tree, is now crowned on the throne ; and the crown which He wears is the proof that there remains no judgment for me. I am waiting for a life-resurrection." This, and nothing short of this, is the proper lan- guage of the Christian, It is simply due to the work of the cross that the believer should thus feel, and thus express himself. For such a one to be looking forward to the day of judgment, for a settlement of the question of his eternal destiny, is to dishonour his Lord, and deny the efficacy of His atoning sacri- fice. It may sound like humility, and savor of piety to hover in doubt. But we may rest assured that all who harbour doubts, ail who live in a state of uncer- tainty, all who are looking forward to the day of judgment for a final settlement of their affairs — all such are more occupied with themselves than with Christ. They have not yet understood the applica- tion of the cross to their sins and to their nature. 58 PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. * 1 1 ,11, They are doubting the word of God and the work of Christ, and this is not Christianity. There is — there can be — no judgment for those who, sheltered by the cross, have planted a firm foot on the new and everlasting ground of resurrection. For such, all judgment is over for ever, and nothing remains but a prospect of cloudless glory and everlasting blessed- ness, in the presence of God and of the Lamb. However, it is not at all improbable that, all this while, the mind of the reader has been recurring to Matthew XXV, 31-46 as a scripture which directly establishes the theory of a general judgment; and we feel it to be our sacred duty to turn with him for a moment, to that very solemn and important pr-s- sage ; at the same time, reminding him of the fact that no one scripture can possibly clash with ano- ther, and hence if we read in John v, 24, that believ- ers shall not come into judgment, we cannot read in Matthew xxv, that they shall. This is a fixed and invaluable principle — a general rule to which there is, and can be no exception. Nevertheless, let us turn to Matthew xxv. "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. And before him shall be gathered all nations ; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats." . *< ' i Now it is most necessary to pay strict attention to the precise terms made use of in this scripture. We must avoid all looseness of thought, all that haste, carelessness, and inaccuracy which have caused such serious damage to the teaching of this weighty scripture, and thrown so many of the Lord's; people into the utmost confusion respecting it. And, first of all, let us see who are the parties ar- raigned. "Before him shall be gathered idlnaUons'* This is very definite. It is the living nations. It is not a question of individuals, but of nations— all the THE JUDGMENT. 59 Gentiles. Israel is not here, for we read in num- bers xxiii, 9, that ** the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations." If Israel were to be included in this scene of judgment, then would Matthevv xxv stand in palpable contradiction to Numbers xxiii, which is wholly out of the ques- tion. Israel is never reckoned amongst the Gentiles, on any ground or for any object whatever. Looked at from a divine point of view, Israel stands alone. They may, because of their sins, and under the gov- ernmental dealings of God, be scattered among the nations; but God's word declares that they shall not be reckoned among them; and this should suffice for us. If then it be true that Israel is not included in the judgment of Matthew xxv^ then without proceed- ing one step further; the idea of its being a general judgment must be abandoned. It cannot be gen- eral, if all are not included; but Israel is never included under the term "Gentiles." Scripture speaks of three distinct classes, namely, "The Jew, and the Gentile, and the church of God," and these three are never confounded. But, further, we have to remark that the church of God is not included in the judgment of Matthew xxv. Nor is this state- ment based merely upon the fact which has been already gone into of the church's necessary exemp- tion from juc^ment; but also upon the grand truth that the church is taken from among the r itions, as Peter declared in the council at Jerusalem. "God did visit the Gentiles to take out oftli^m a people for His name." If then the church be taken out of the nations, it cannot be reckoned among them; and thus we have additional evidence against the theory of a general judgment in Matthew xxv. The Jew is not there; the church is not there; and there- fore the idea of a general judgment must be aban- doned as something wholly untenable. Who then are included in this judgment? The 60 PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. 'M ■t ;. ill 111: passage itself supplies the answer to any simple mind. It says, "Before him shall be gathered all natiom." This is distinct and definite. It is not a judgment of individuals, but of nations, as such. And further, we may add that not orie of those here indicated shall have passed through the article of death. In this it stands in vivid contrast with the scene in Revelation xx. I1-15, in the which there will not be one who has not died. In short, in Matthew xxv, we have the judgment of "the quick;'* and in Rev. xx, the judgment of "the dead." Both these are referred to in 2 Timothy, iv. " I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom." Our Lord Christ shall judge the living nations at His appearing; and He shall "judge the dead small and great" at the close of His mil- lennial reign. But let us glance, for a moment, at the mode in which the parties are arranged in the judgment, in Matthew xxv: " He shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left." Now, the almost universal belief of the professing church is that "the sheep" represent all the people of God, from the beginning to the end of time; and that "the goats," on the other hand, set forth all the wicked, from first to last. But, if this be so, what are we to make of the third party referred to here, under the title of "these my brethren?" The king addresses both the sheep and the goats in respect to this third class. Indeed the very ground of judgment is the treat- ment of the king's brethren. It would involve a manifest absurdity to say that the .sheep were them- selves the parties referred to. If that were so, the language would be wholly different, and m place of saying, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,'* we should hear the King saying, "Inasmuch as ye have done it to one ano- ther,' or amongst yourselves." THE JUUGMKNT. 6l We would beg the reader's special attention to this point. We consider that were there no other argument, and no other scripture on the subject, this one point would prove fatal to the theory of a general judgment. It is impossible not to see three parties in the scene, namely, **the sheep" and *'the goats" and "these my brethren;" and, if there are three parties, it cannot possibly be a general judg- ment, inasmuch as "these my brethren" are not included either in the sheep or the goats. No, dear reader, it is not a general judgment at all, but a very partial and specific one. It is a juclg- ment of living nations, previous to the opening of the millennial kingdom. Scripture teaches us that after the church has left the earth, a testimony will go forth to the nations ; the gospel of the kingdom shall be borne, by Jewish messengers, far and wide, over the earth, into those regions which are wrapped in heathen darkness. These nations which shall receive the messengers and treat them kindly will be found on the King's right hand. Those, on the contrary, who shall reject them and treat them un- kindly will be found on His left. "These my brethren" are Jews — the brethren of the Messiah. The treatment of the Jews is the ground on which the nations will be judged by-and-by; and this is another argument against a general judgment. We know full well that all those who have lived and died in the rejection of the Gospel of Christ will have something more to answer for than unkindness to the King's brethren. And, on the other hand, those who shall surround the Lamb in heavenly glory will do so on a very different title from aught that their works can furnish. In short, there is not a single feature in the scene, not a single fact in the history, not a single point in the narrative which does not make against the notion of a general judgment. And not only so, but the more we study scripture, the more we know of the t 68 PAPERS ON Till-: LORD'S COMING. It ,1 I :ilS r ways of God ; the more we know of 1 ii.s nature. His character, His purposes, His counsels. His thoughts; tlic more we know of Christ, His person, His work, His glory ; the more we know of the church, its standing before God in Christ, its completeness, its perfect acceptance in Christ ; the more closely we study scripture ; the more profoundly we meditate therein — the more thoroughly convinced we must be that there can be no such thing as a general judgment. Who, that knows aught of God, could suppose that He would justify His people to-day, and arraign them in judgment to-morrow — that He would blot out their transgressions to-day, and judge them according to their works to-morrow? Who that knows aught of our adorable Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, could suppose that He would ever arraign His church. His body, His bride, before the judg- ment-seat in company with all those who have died in their sins? Could it be possible that He would enter into judgment with His f)eople for sins and iniquities of which He has said, " I will remember no more 1 " But enough. We fondly trust that the reader is now most fully persuaded in his own mind, that there is and can be no such thing as a promiscuous resur- rection — no such thing as a general judgment. We cannot now enter upon the judgment in Rev- elation xx, I i-i 5, further than to say that it is a post-millennial scene ; and that it includes all the wicked dead, from the da}'s of Cain down to the last apostate from millennial glory. There will not be one there who has not passed through the article of death — not one there whose name has been set down in life's fair book — not one there who shall not be judged according to his own very deeds — not one there who shall not pass from the dread realities of the great white throne into the everlasting horrors^ and ineffable torments of the lake that burnetii with 1 THE JEWISH REMNANT. 63 fire and brimstone. How awful ! How terrible I How perfectly dreadful ! O! reader, what say est thou to these things? Art thou a true believer in Jesus? Art thou washed in His precious blood? Art thou sheltered in Him from coming judgment ? If not, let me entreat thee now, with all tenderness and earnestness, to flee, this very hour from the wrath to come! Flee to Jesus, who now waits to receive thee to His loving bosom, and to present you to God in the full value of His atoning work, and in the full credit of His peerless name. Rev- one es of )rrorS' with THE JEWISH REMNANT. We must ask the reader to open his Bible and read Matthew xxiv, 1-44. It forms a part of one of the most profound and comprehensive discourses that ever fell on human ears — a discourse which takes in, in its marvellous sweep, the destiny of the Jewish remnant ; the history of Christendom ; and the judgment of the nations. At the last-named subject we have already glanced. It remains for us now to consider the subject of the remnant of Israel, and the history of professing Christianity whether genuine or spurious. And, first, let us look at the Jewish remnant. In order to understand Matthew xxiv, 1-44, it will be needful for us to place ourselves at the stand- point of those whom our Lord was addressing at the moment If we attempt to import into this dis- course the light which shines ii\ the Epistle to the Ephesians, we shall only involve our minds in con- fusion, and miss the solemn teaching of the passage which now lies o'^en before us. We shall find noth- ing about the church of God> the body of Christ, here. The teaching of our Lord is divinely perfect, and hence we cannot, for a moment, imagine any- i^j'i- 64 PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. thing premature therein. But it would be premature to have introduced a subject which, as yet, was hid in God. The great truth of the church could not be unfolded until Christ, being cut off as the Messiah, had taken His place at the right hand of God, and sent down the Holy Ghost to form by His presence the one body, composed of Jew and Gentile. Of this we hear nothing in Matthew xxiv. We are entirely on Jewish ground, surrounded by Jewish circumstances and influences. The scenery and the allusions are all purely Jewish. To attempt to apply the passage to the church would be to miss com- pletely our Lord's object, and to falsify the real position of the church* ot God. The more closely M-e examine the scripture, the more clearly we shall see that the persons addressed occupy a Jewish standpoint, and are on Jewish ground, whether we think of those very persons whom our Lord was then addressing, or those who shall occupy the self- same ground at the close, when the church shall have left the scene altogether. Let us examine the passage. At the close of Matthew xxiii, our Lord sums up His appeal to the leaders of the Jewish nation with the following words of awful solemnity: "Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents 1 ye generation of vipers ! how can ye escape the dam- nation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city. That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zecharias, son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come 2/pon tJiis gciieratio7i. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, tbou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how THE JEWISH REMNANT. 6S remature was hid ould not Messiah, jod, and presence e. civ. We )y Jewish { and the to apply niss com- the real e closely ' we shall a Jewish ether we Lord was the self- shall have sums up :ion with mU ye up ents 1 ye he dam- unto you some of of them )ersecute ay come th, from )lood of between nto you, rtioii. O )rophets, lee, bow often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth till \'e shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." (Verse 32-39-) Thus closes Messiah's testimony to the apostate nation of Israel. Every effort that love, even divine love, could put forth had been tried, and tried in vain. Prophets had been sent, and stoned ; messenger after messenger had gone and pleaded, and rea.- soned, and warned, and entreated ; but to no pur- pose. Their mighty words had fallen upon deaf cars and hardened hearts. The only return made to all these messengers was shameful handling, stoning, and death. At length, the Son Himself was sent, and sent with this touching utterance: "It may be they will reverence my Son, when they see him." Did they? Alas! no. When they saw Him, there was no beauty that they should desire Him. The daughter of Zion had no heart for her King. The vineyard was under the control of wicked husbandmen who wanted to keep it for themselves. *' The husband- men said among themselves, This is the heir, come let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours." Thus much as to the moral condition of Israel, in view of which our Lord spoke those unusually awful words quoted above; and, then, "He went out and departed from the temple." How reluctant He was to do this we know; for, bhssed be His name, whenever He leaves a place of mercy, or enters a place of judgment, He moves with a slow and measured pace. Witness the departure of the glory, in the opening chapters of Ezekiel. "Tfien the glory of the Lord departed from off the thresh- old of the house, and stood over the chcrubims. And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and es PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. I' n |i! li ■ill mounted up from the earth in my sight : when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord's house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above." (Chap, x, 18-19.) *'Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them ; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city." (Chapter xi, 22-23.) Thus, with slow and measured pace did the glory of the God of Israel take its departure from the house at Jerusalem. Jehovah lingered near the spot, reluctant to depart.* He had come, with loving alacrity, with His whole heart and with His whole soul, to dwell in the midst of His people, to find a home in the very bosom of His assembly ; but He wasyy?r^<^ away by their sins and iniquities. He would fain have remained ; but it was impossible ; and yet He proved, by the very mode of His de- parture, how unwilling He was»to go. Nor was it otherwise with Jehovah Messiah, in Matthew xxiii. Witness His touching words, "How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathered her chickens under her wing.s, and ye would not!" Here lay the deep secret. "I would!' This was the heart of God. "F i f 68 PAPERS ON THE LORD's COMING. Mill t. Christianity is, and the ignoringof a company whose existence is recognized throughout the psalms, the prophets, and various parts of the New Testament. There was, and there ahvays is, "a remnant accord- ing to the election of grace.'' To quote the passages v/hich present the history, the sorrows, the exper- iences, and the exercises of that remnant, would demand a volume, and hence we shall not attempt it; but we are extremely desirous that the reader should seize the thought that this godly remnant is represented by the handful of disciples which gath- ered round our Lord on the mount of Olives, We feel persuaded that, if this be not seen, the true scope, bearing, and application of this remarkable discourse must be lost. "And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple; and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 'And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things ? Verily I say unto yoUj There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying. Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" (or age, aiwi/os.) The disciples were, naturally, occupied with earthly and Jewish objects and expectations — the temple and its surroundings. This must be borne in mind, if we woiuld understand their ruestion and our Lord's reply As yet, they had no thought beyond the earthly side of things. They looked for the setting up of the kingdom, the glory of the Mes.siah, the accomplishment of the promises made to the fathers. They had not yet fully taken in the solemn and momentous fact that the Messiah was to be "cut off and have nothing." (Dan. ix, 26.) True, the blessed Master had, from time to time, sought to prepare their minds for that solemn event, lie had faithfully warned them in reference to p^.:^! THE JEWISH REMNANT. ^ whose ns, the ament. iccord- issages exper- would ttempt reader nant is ii gath- ;. We le true irkable m the ) shew js said ^rily I J stone And sciples n shall of thy atwi/os.) with 5— the borne n and ought ooked 3f the made in the 1 was c, 26.) time, event. ce to the dark shadows that were to gather round His path. He had told them that the Son of man should be delivered to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified. But they understood Him not. Such sayings seemed dark, hard, and incomprehensible; and their hearts still fondly clung to the hope of national restoration and blessing. They longed to see the star of Jacob in the ascendant. Their minds were full of expectancy as to the restoration of the king- dom to Israel. As yet, they knew nothing- -how could they ? — of that which was to spring out of the rejection and death of the Messiah. The Lord had no doubt spoken of building an assembly ; but as to the position and privileges of that assembly, its calling, its standing, its hopes, they knew absolutely nothing. The thought of a body composed of Jew and Gentile, united by the Holy Ghost to a living and glorified Head in the heavens, had never en- tered — how could it have entered? — their minds. The middle wall of partition was still standing; and one of their number — the very foremost amongst them — had, long after, to be taught, with much difficulty, to take in the idea of even admitting the Gentiles into the kingdom. All this, we repeat, must be taken into account, if we would read aright our Lord's reply to the inquiry as to His coming and the end of the age. There is not a single syllable about the church, as such, from beginning to end of that reply. Up to verse 14, He passes on to the end, giving a rapid survey of the events which should transpire amongst the nations. "Take heed," He says, "that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars, and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled : for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom ; and there ■f^^ ;o PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. .1 * I 1 jUl, shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you : and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false pro- phets shall rise and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations: and then shall the end come." Here then we have a most comprehensive sketch of the entire period from the moment in which our Lord was speaking, down to the time of the end. But the reader will need to bear in mind that there is an unnoticed interval — a parenthesis, a break — in this period, during which the great mystery of the church is unfolded. This interval or break is entirely passed over in this discourse, inasmuch as the time had not ar- rived for its development. It was as yet "hid in God," and could not be unfolded until the Messiah Was finally rejected and cut off from the earth and received up into glory. The entire of this discourse would have its full and perfect accomplishment, although such a thing as the church had never been heard of. For, let it never be forgotten, the church forms no part of the ways of God with Israel and the earth. And as to the allusion, in verse 14, to the preaching of the gospel, we are not to suppose that it is at all the same thing as "The glorious gos- pel of the grace of God," as preached by Paul. It IS styled, "This gospel of the kingdom ;" and more- over, it is to be preached, not for the purpose of gathering the church, but "as a witness to all na- tions." We must not confound things which God, in His infinite wisdom, has made to differ. The !;■•' . THE JEWISH REMNANT. 71 church must not be confounded with the kingdom ; nor yet the gospel oi the grace of God with the gos- pel of the kingdom. The two things are perfectly- distinct ; and, if we confound them, we shall under- stand neither the one nor the other. And, further, we would desire to press upon the reader the abso- lute necessity of seeing the break, parenthesis, or unnoticed interval in which the great mystery of the church is inserted. If this be not clearly seen, Matthew xxiv cannot be understood. But we must proceed with our Lord's discourse. At verse 15, He seems to call His hearers back a little, as it were, to something very specific — some- thing with which a Jewish believer would be familiar from the fact of Daniel's allusion to it. "When ye, therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel, the prophet, stand in the holy place (whoso readeth let him understand): then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains. Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. .... But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the begin- ning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." All this is most definite. The quotation from Daniel xii fixes the application beyond all question. It proves that the reference is not to the siege of Jerusalem, under Titus; for we read in Daniel xii that, "At that time thy people shall be delivered;" and, most clearly, they were not delivered in the days of Titus. No ; the reference is to the time of the end. The scene is laid at Jerusalem. The per- sons addressed and contemplated are Jewish believ- ers — the pious remnant of Israel, in the great tribu- lation, after the church has left the scene. How can any imagine that the persons here instructed arc viewed as on church ground? What force would II, f i"(.'JV^f-J-. -W^flf^- 72 PAPERS ON THE LORD's COMING. ■ ii :!:",'p II i, 1 1 '%. V^ ' ('•kllf' 'HV m 1 1 T " 111 ii there be to such in the allusion to the winter or the sabbath day ? Then, again, "If any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not If they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the detert, go not forth: Behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not." What possible application couUl such words have to persons who are instructed ta wait for God's Son from heaven, and who know that, ere He returns to this earth, they shall have met Him in clouds and returned with Him to the Father's house ? Could any Christian, instructed in his proper hope, be deceived by persons saying that Christ is here or there, in the desert or in the secret chambers ? Impossible. Such a one is looking out for the Bridegroom to come from heaven; and he knows that it is wholly out of the question that Christ can appear on this earth without bringing rJl His people with Him. Thus, the simple truth settles everything ; and all we want is to be simple in taking it in. The simp- lest Christian knows full well that his Lord will not appear to him like a flash of lightning, but as the bright and morning star, and hence he understands that Matthew xxiv cannot apply to the church, though most surely the church can study it with in- terest and profit, as it can all the other prophetic scriptures; and, we may add, the interest will be all the more intense, and the profit all the deeper, in proportion as we see the true application of such scriptures. Limited space forbids our entering as fully as we could wish into the remaining portion of this mar- vellous discourse ; but the more closely each sentence is examined, the more fully each circumstance is weighed, the more clearly we must see that the per- sons addressed are not on proper christian ground. The entire scene is earthly and Jewish, not heaven- ly and christian. There is ample instruction supplied CHRISTENDOM. 73 the for those who shall find themselves, by-and-by , in the position here contemplated ; and nothingcan be clear- er than that the entire paragraph, from verse 1 5-42, re- fers to the period which shall elapse between the rap- tureof thesaints,andtheappearingof the Son of Man. Some may perhaps feel a difficulty in understand- ing verse 34: "This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled." But we must remem- ber that the word "generation" is constantly used in scripture in a moral sense. It is not to be con- fined to a certain number of persons actually living at the time, but takes in the race. In the passage before us, it simply applies to the Jewish race ; but the wording is such as to leave the question of time entirely open, so that the heart might ever be kept in readiness for the Lord's coming. There is noth- ing in scripture to interfere with the constant ex- pectation of that grand event. On the contrary, every parable, every figure, every allusion is so word- ed as to warrant each one to look for the Lord's return in his own lifetime, and yet to leave ample margin for the elongation of the time according to the longsuffering grace of a Saviour God. CHRISTENDOM. r J jH AT varied thoughts and feelings are awakened ^^ in the soul by the very sound of the word "Chris- tendom!" It is a terrible word. It brings before us, at once, that vast mass of baptized profession which calls itself the Church of God, but is not; which calls itself Christianity, but is not. Christendom is dark and a dreadful anomaly. It is neither one thing nor the other. It is not "the Jew or the Gen- tile, or the church of God." It is a corrupt myster- ious mixture, a spiritual malformation, the master- piece of Satan, the corrupter of the truth of God, If 74 PAPERS ON THE LORP's COMING. Hi Ill W: I 'II ] :\:h ■Iff l>.K and the destroyer of the souls of men, a trap, a snare, a stumbling-block, the darkest moral blot in the universe of God. It is the corruption of the very best thing, and therefore the very worst of corruptions. It is that thing which Satan has made of professing Christianity. It is worse, by far, than Judaism ; worse by far than all the darkest forms of Paganism, because it has higher light and richer privileges, makes the very highest profession, and occupies the very loftiest platform. Finally, it is that awful apostacy for which is reserved the very hftaviest judgments of God- the most bitter dregs in the cup of Mis righteous wrath. True it is, blessed be God, there are a few names even in Christendom who, through gracf\ have not defiled their garments. There are so..ie brilliant embers amid the smouldering ashes — precious stones amid the terrible debris, liut as to the mass of christian profession to which the term Christen- dom applies, nothing can be more appalling, whether we think of its present condition, or its future des- tiny. We doubt if Christians generally have any- thing like an adequate sense of the true character and inevitable doom of that which surrounds them. If they had, it would solemnize their minds, and cause them to feel the urgent need of standing apart, in holy separation, from Christendom's ways, and distinct testimony against its spirit and principles. But let us tuni again to our Lord's profound dis- course on the mount of Olives, in which, as we have already observed, He deals with the subject of the Christian profession. This He does in three distinct parables, namely, the household servant; the ten virgins ; and the talents. In each and all we have the two things noticed above, the genuine and the spurious; the true and the false ; the bright and the dark ; that which is of Christ, and that v hich is of Satan ; that which belongs to heaven and ihat which emanates from hell. CHRISTENDOM. 75 We shall glance at the three parables which em- body, in their brief compass, a vast mine of most solemn and practical instruction. Turn to Matthew xxiv 45-47. "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them me.it in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. Verily 1 say unto you, that he shall make him ruler over all his goods." Here, then, we have at once the source and object of all ministry in the house of God. "Whom his lord \i<\'&\. made ruler." This is the source. "To give them meat in due season." This is the object. These things are of the very highest possible mo- ment, and they are worthy of the reader's most pro- found thought. All ministry in the house of God, whether in Old or New Testament times, is of divine appointment There is no such thing recognized in Scripture as human authority in appointing to the ministry. Neither is there such a thing as a self-con- stituted ministry. None but God can make or ap- point a minister of any sort or description. Thus, in Old Testament *' .es, Jehovah appointed Aaron and his sons to ' c. r.iesthood; and if a stranger pre- sumed to meddle with the functions of the holy office, he was to be put to death. Even the king himself dared not touch the priestly censer, for we are told of Uzziah, king of Judah, that, " When he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction ; for he trans- gressed against the Lord his God, and went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense. And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the Lord, that were valiant men. And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense; go out of the sanctuary; for thou m i I' K t. I 76 PAPERS ON THE LORiVs COMING. hast trespassed : neither shall it be for thine honor froin the Lord God. . . . A?td Uzziah the king was a leper unto the dayofhts deaths (2 Chron. xxvi.) Such was the solemn result — the awful conse- quence of man's daring intrusion upon that which was wholly of divine appointment. Has this no voice for Christendom? Assuredly it has. It sounds a warning note in our ears. It tells the pro- fessing church, in accents not to be mistaken, to beware of human intrusion upon a domain which belongs only to God. "Every high priest taken from among men is ordained for [not by\ men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins A7td no 7nan taketh this lionour unto himself but he that is called [not of men but] of God, as was Aaron." Nor was this principle of divine appointment con- fined to the high and holy office of the tabernacle. No man dare put his hand to the most insignificant part of that sacred structure unless by Jehovah's direct authority. "The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, See I have called hy name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah." Nor could Bezaleel choose his companions in labour, or appoint whom he would to the work, any more than he could choose or appoint himself. No; this, ♦^00, was divine. "And I,' says lehovah, "behold I have given with him Aholiab. Thus, Aholiab, as well as Bezaleel, held his commission immediately from Jehovah Himself, the only true source of all ministerial authority. Nor was it otherwise in the case of the prophetic oflfice and ministry. God alone could make, and fit, and send a prophet. Alas! there were those of whom Jehovah had to say, "I have not sent them, yet they ran." They were unhallowed intruders upon the domain of prophecy, just as there were upon the office of the priesthood ; but all such brought down upon themselves the judgment of God, CHRISTENDOM. 77 And, may wc not ask, Is this jrrcat principle changed now? Has ministry been shifted from its ancient base? Mas the Hving stream been diverted from its divine source? Is it true that this most precious and glorious institution has been shorn of its lofty dignities? Can it be possible that, under the times of the New Testament, ministry has been cast down from its divine excellency? Has it be- come a mere human appointment? Can man ap- point his fellow, or appoint himself to any one branch of ministry in the house of God? What answer is to be returned to these questions? No doubtful one, thank God; but a distinct and emphatic No ! Ministry was, is, and ever shall be, divine; divine in its source; divine in its nature; divine in its every feature and principle. *' There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God that worketh all in all." (i Cor., xii, 4-6.) " But now hath 6W set the mem- bers every one pf them in the body as it hath pleased hiniy **And God hath set some \\\ the church; first, apostles; secondarily, prophets; thirdly, teach- ers; after that, miracles; then gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities of tongues." (Ver. 18, 2'^?) " But unto every one of us is given grace according . to the measure of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captiv- ity captive, and gave gifts unto men. . . . , And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Chri.st: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." (Ephesians iv, 7-13.) Here lies thp grand source of all ministry in the 78 PAPERS ON THE LORD*S COMING. I i .til i" Mi iff church of God, from first to last — from the founda- tion laid in grace, to the topstone, in glory. It is di- vine and heavenly, not human or earthly. It is not of man or by man, but of Jesus Christ, and God the Father who raised Him from the dead, and in the power of the Holy Ghost. (See Gal. i.) There is no such thing recognized in Scripture as human authority in any one branch of ministry in the church. Ii it be a question of gift, it is emphatically stated to be "the gift of Christ." if it be a question of as- signed position, we are, with equal clearness and em- phasis, told that "God hath set the members." If it be a question of local charge, whether elder or deacon, it was entirely of divine appointment, by apostolic hands or apostolic delegates. All this is so clear, so distinct, so palpable, on the veiy surface of Scripture, that it is only necessary to say, "How readest thou?" And the more we penetrate beneath the surface — the more we are conducted by the Eternal Spirit into the profound and precious depths of inspiration — the more thor- oughly convinced we s^'\\\ be that ministry, in its every department and every branch, is divine in its source, nature, and principles. The truth of this shines out in full-orbed brightness, in the Epistles; but we have the germ of it in the words of our Lord in Matt, xxv, 45, ** Whom biS lord hath made ruler over his household." The household belongs to the Lord, and He alone can appoint the servants, and this He does according to His own sovereign will. Eqally plain is the object of ministry, as stated in this parable, and elaborated in the Epistles. " To give them meat in due season."' "For the eiiifying of the body of Christ" — "that ti^ church may re- ceive edifying." It is this that lies near the loving heart of Jesus. He would have His household per- fected — His church edified — His body nourished and cherished. For this end, He bestows gifts, and maintains them in the church, and will main- fying re- )ving per- shed and CHRISTENDOM. 79 tain them until they shall be no lonfrer needed. ^ But alas! alas! there is a dark side of the picture. For this we must be prepared since we have the picture of Crnristendom before us. If there is "a faithful, wise, and blessed servant," there is also "an evil servant" who "says in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming." Mark this. It is in tJi'e heart of the wicked servant that the thought originates as to the delay of the coming. And what is the result ? " He .shall begin to smite his fellow servant.s, and to eat and drink w ith the drunken." How awfully this has been exemplified in the history of Christendom, we need not say. Instead of true ministry flowiiig from the risen and glorified Head in the hca\ens, and promoting the edification of the body, the blessing of souls, and the prosperity of the household, we have a fal.se clerical authority, arbitrary rule, a lording it o\ er God's heritage, a grasping after this world's w calth and powder, fleshly ease, self-indulgence, aid personal aggrandisement, priestly domination in its nameless and numberless forms and practical consequer.ces. The reader will do well to apply his heart to the understanding of these things. He will need to sei::e, with clearness and power, the distinction between clericalism and ministry. The one is a thoroughly human assumption; the other, a purel\' ci\ ine ir.sti- tution. The former has its source in n.an's e\ il heart; the latter has its source in a risen and exalted Saviour, who, being raised from the dead, receixxd gifts for men, and sheds them forth upon His church, according to His own will That is a positi\e scourge and curse; this, a dixine blessing to men. In fine, this in its root-principle, flows from hea\en and leads back thither; that in its root-principle flows from hell and leads thither again. All this is most solemn, and it should exert a mighty influence upvin our souls. There is a dwy coming when the Lord Christ will deal, in sumniary m 80 PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. justice, with that which man has dared to set up in His house. We speak not of individuals — though surely it is a most serious and terrible thing for any one to put his hand unto, or have ought to do with, that on which such awful judgment is about to be executed — but we speak of a positive system — a great principle wL'ch runs in a deep and dark cur- rent, through the length and breadth of the professing church — we speak of clericalism and priestcraft, in all its forms and in all its ramifications. Against this dreadful thing we solemnly warn our readers. No human language can possibly depict the evil of it, nor can human language adequately set forth the deep blessedness of all true ministry in the church of God. The Lord Jesus not only bestows ministerial gifts, but, in His marvellous grace, He will abundantly reward the faithful and diligent exercise of those gifts. But as to that which man has set up, we read its destiny in these burning words, "The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of and shall cut him asun- der and appoint him his portion with the hypo- crites ; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." May the gracious Lord deliv r His servants and His people from all participation in this great wicked- ness which is perpetrated in the very bosom of that which calls itself the church of God. And, on the other hand, may He lead them to understand, to appreciate, and to exercise that true, that precious, that divine ministry which emanates from Himself, and is designed, in His infinite love, for the true blessing and growth of that church which is so dear to His heart. We are in danger, very great danger, while seeking (as we most surely should) to keep clear of the evil of clericalism — of rushing into the opposite extreme of despising ministry. This must be carefully guarded against. We have ever to bear in mind that ministry in the THE TEN VIRGINS. 8l Church IS of God. Its source is divine. Its nature is heavenly and spiritual. Its object is the calling out, the building up of the Church of God. Our Lord Christ imparts the varied gifts, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. He holds the great reservoir of spiritual gifts. He has never given it up, and He never will. Spite of all that Satan has wrought in the professing church ; spite of all the actings of "that evil servant;" spite of all man's daring as- sumption of authority which, in no wise, belongs to him; spite of all these things, our risen and glorified Lord "hath the seven stars." He possesses all min- isterial gift, power, and authority. It is He alone who can make anyone a minister. Unless He im- part a gift, there can be no true ministry. There may be hollow assumption — guilty usurpation — empty affection — worthless talking; but not one atom of true, loving, divine ministry can there be unless where our sovereign Lord is pleased to bestow the gift. And even where He does bestow the gift, that gift must be "stirred up," and diligently culti- vated, else "the profiting" will not "appear unto all." The gift must be exercised, in the power of the Holy Ghost, else it will not promote the divinely appointed end. But we are rather anticipating what is yet to come, before us in the parable of the talents, so vv^e shall close here by simply reminding the reader that the weighty subject on which we have been dwelling has direct reference to the coming of our Lord, in- asmuch as all true ministry is carried on in view of that great and glorious event. And not only so, but the counterfeit, the corrupt, the evil thing will be judicially dealt with when the Lord Christ shall ap- pear in His glory. 8: PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. I it)' ia»ij ■II ' , THE TEN VIRGINS. WE now approach that solemn section of our Lord's discourse in which He presents the king- dom of heaven under the simiHtude of "Ten Virgins." The instruction contained in this most weighty and interesting parable is of wider application than that of the servant to which we have already referred, inasmuch as it takes in the whole range of Christian profession, and is not confined to ministry either within the house or outside. It bears directly and pointedly upon Christian profession, whether true or false. "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom." Some have considered that this parable refers to the Jewish remnant ; but it docs not seem that this idea is born out, either by the context in which this parable occurs or by the terms in which it is couched. As to the entire context, the more closely we examine it the more clearly we shall see that the Jewish portion of the discourse ends with chapter xxiv, 44. This is so distinct as not to admit of a question. Equally distinct is the Christian portion, extending, as we have seen, from chapter xxiv, 45 to chapter xxv, 30; while from xxv, 31, to the end, we have the Gentiles. Thus the order and fullness of this marvellous discourse must strike any thought- ful reader. It presents the Jew, the Christian, and the Gentile, each on his own distinct ground, and according to his own distinctive principles. There is no merging of one thing in another, no confound- ing of things that differ. In a word, the order, the fullness, and the coinprchensixenessofthis profovuid discourse are divine, and fill the soul 'Svith wonder, love, and praise." We rise from the study of it, as THE IKN VIk(;lXS. ^3 a whole, with those words of the apostle upon our lips, "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out." And then when we examine the precise terms made use of by our Lord, in the parable of the ten virgins, we must see that it applies not to Jews but to christian professors-- it applies to us— ^it utters a voice, and teaches a solemn lesson to the writer and the reader of these lines. Let us apply our hearts thereto. "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and w ent forth to meet the bridegroom." Primitive Christianity was especially characterized by the fact here indicated, namely, a going forth to meet a returning and an expected bridegroom. The early Christians were led to detach themselves from present things, and go forth, in the spirit of their minds, and in the affections of their hearts, to meet the Saviour whom they loved and for whom they waited. It was not, of course, a question of going forth from one place to another ; it w as not local, but moral, and spiritual. It was the outgoing of the heart after a beloved Saviour whose return was eagerly looked for, day by day. It is impossible to read the epistles to the various churches and not see that the hope of the Lord's sure and speedy return governed the hearts of the Lord's dear people in early days. ''They waited for the Son from heaven." They knew He was to come and take them away, to be with Himself for- ever ; and the knowledge and power of this hope had the effecL of detaching their hearts from present things. Their bright, heavenly hope c ;sed them T.O sit loose to the things of earth. ''They looked for the Saviour." They believed that He might come at any moment, and hence the concerns of this life were just to be taken up and attended to for the "X 84 PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. i; ' (I m moment — properly, thoroughly attended tc no doubt — but only, as it were, on the very tip-toc of expectation. AH this is conveyed to our hearts, briefly but clearly, by the expression, "They went forth to meet the bridegroom.'* This could not be intelli- gently applied to the Jewish remnant, inasmuch as they will not go forth to meet their Messiah, but, on the contrary, they will remain in their position and amid their circumstances, until He come and plant His foot on the mount of Olives. They will not look for the Lord to come and take them away from this earth to be with Him in heaven; but He will come to bring deliverance to them in their own land, and make them happy there under His own peaceful and blessed reign during the millennial age. But the call to Christians was to "go forth." They are supposed to be always on the move ; not settling down on earth, but going out in earnest and holy aspi- rations after that heavenly glory to which they are called, and after the heavenly Bridegroom to whom they are espoused, and for whose speedy advent they are taught to wait. Such is the true, the divine, the ncmal idea of the Christian's attitude and state. And this lovely idea was marvellously realized and practically car- ried out by the primitive Christians. But alas ! alas ! we are reminded of the fact that we have to do with the spurious as well as the true in Christendom. There are "tares" as well as "wheat" in the king- dom of heaven ; and thus we read of these ten vir- gins, that *'five of them were wise, and five were foolish." There are the true and the false, the gen- uine and the counterfeit, the real and the hollow, in professing Christianity. Yes, and this is to continue unto the time of the end, until the Bridegroom come. The tares are not converted into wheat, nor are the foolish virgins converted into wise ones. No, never. The tares THE TKN VIRGINS. 85 will be burnt and the foolish virgins shut out. So far from a gradual improvement by the means now in operation — the preaching of the gospel and the various beneficent agencies which are brought to bear upon the world — we find, from all the parables, and from the teaching of the entire New Testament, that the kingdom of heaven presents a most de- plorable admixture of evil; a corrupting process; a grievous tampering with the work of God, on the part of the enemy ; a positive progress of evil in principle, in profession, and in practice. And all this goes on to the end. There are foolish virgins found when the Bridegroom appears. Whence come they if all are to be converted before the Lord comes ? If all are to be brought to the knowledge of the Lord by the means now in opera- tion, then how comes it to pass that when the Bride- groom comes, there are quite as many foolish as wise. But it will perhaps be said that this is but a para- ble, a figure. Granted ; but a figure of what ? Not surely of a whole world converted. To assert this would be to offer a grievous insult to the holy volume, and to treat our Lord's solemn teaching in a manner in which we would not dare to treat the teaching of a fellow mortal. No, reader, the parable of the ten virgins teaches, beyond all question, that when the Bridegroom comes, there will be foolish virgins on the scene, and, clearly, if there are foolish virgins, all cannot have been previously converted. A child can un- derstand this. We cannot see how it is possible, in the face of even this one parable, to maintain the theory of a world converted before the coming of the Bridegroom. But let us look a little closely at these foolish vir- gins. Their histor}- is full of admonition for all christian professors. It is very brief, but awfully comprehensive. *'They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them." There is the ^«-ife£^i^M^&S^!a« Hit. ' U : I*' |> I' 86 PAPERS ON THE LORD's COMING. ^i outward profession, but no inward reality — no spir- itual life — no unction — no vital link with the source of eternal life — no union with Christ. There is nothing but the lamp of profession, and the dry wick of a nominal, notional, head-belief. This is peculiarly solemn. It bears down with tremendous weight upon that vast mass of baptized profession which surrounds us, at the present mo- ment, in which there is so much of out\\ ard sem- blance, but so little of inA\ard reality. All profess to be Christians. The lamp of profession may be seen in every hand ; but ah ! how few have the oil in their vessels, the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, the Holy Ghost dwelling in their hearts. Without this, all is utterly worthless and vain. There may be the very highest profession ; there may be a most ortho- dox creed; one may be baptized; he may receive the Lord's supper ; be a regularly enrolled and duly recognized member of a Christian community ; be a Sunday-school teacher ; an ordained minister of religion ; one may be all this, and not have one spark of divine life, not one ray of heavenly light, not one link with the Christ of God. Now there is something peculiarly awful in the thought of having just enough religion to deceive the heart, deaden the conscience, at id ruin the soul — just enough religion to give a name to live while dead — enough to leave one without Christ, without God, and without hope in the world — enough to prop the soul up with a false confidence, and fill it with a false peace, until the Bridegroom come, and then the eyes are opened when it is too late. Thus it is with the foolish virgins. They seem, to be Very like the wise ones. An ordinary observer miglit not be able to see any difference, for the time being. They all set out together. All have lamps. A fi/C moreover, all turn aside to slumber and sleep, the wise as well as the foolish. All rouse up at the midnight cry, m}4 trim their lamps. Thus far there THE TEN VIRGINS. 8/ is no apparent difTcrcnce. The foolish vii-f^ins h"^dit their lamps — the lamp of pnjfession li<^hted up with the dry wick of a lifeless, notional, nominal faith ; alas! alas! a worthless — worse than worthless — thing, a fatal soul-destroying delusion. But here the grand distinction — the broad line of demarcation — comes out with awful, >ea, with ap- palling clearness. "The foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps i , io6 PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. years, shall be accomplished. "And he [the prince] shall confirm the covenant with many [of the Jews] for one week [seven years] ; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consumma- tion, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolator." Margin. Here then we reach the end of the four hundred and ninety years which were determined or portion- ed out upon Daniel's people. To attempt to inter- ' pret this period without seeing the break and the long unnoticed interval, must of necessity plunge the mind in utter confusion. It cannot possibly be done. Numberless theories have been started ; end- less calculations and speculations have been attemp- ted ; but in vain. The four hundred and ninety years are not accomplished yet ; nor will they have their accomplishment until the church has left this scene altogether, and gone to be with her Lord in her bright heavenly home. Revelation iv, v, show us the place which the heavenly saints shall occupy during the last of Daniel's seventy weeks ; while from chapter vi-xviii we have the various actings of God in government, preparing Israel and the earth for the bringing in of the First-begotten in the world.* We are very anxious to make these matters clear to the reader. It has greatly helped us in the un- derstanding of prophecy, and cleared away many difficulties. We feel thoroughly persuaded that no one can understand the Book of Daniel, or indeed the general scope of prophecy, who does not see * It is, we are aware, a question amongst expositors whether the events detailed in Revelation vi — xviii will occupy a wliole week or only a half. We do I ot here attemut to offer an opinion. Some consider that the pub* licministry of John the Bai)ti stand that of our Lord occupied a week, or seven years, and that in consequence of Israors rejection of both, the week is cancelled, and renmains yet to be fulfilled. It is an interesting' question; but it in no wise affects the preat principles which have been before us, or the interpretation of the book of Revelation. We may add that the exnressions *' forty and two month'? "—" twelve hundred and .sixty days " " time, times, and the dividing of time " Indicate the period of half a week, or three years and a half. CONCLUDING REMARKS. 107 that the last of the seventy weeks remains to be fulfilled. Not one jot or tittle of God's word can ever pass away, and seeing He has declared that "seventy weeks were portioned out upon Daniel's people,' and that at the close of that period they should be brought into blessing, it is plain that this period is not yet expired. But unless we see the break, and the dropping of time, consequent upon the rejection of the Messiah, we cannot possibly make out the fulfilment of Daniel's seventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety years. Another important fact for the reader to seize is this, the church forms no part of the ways of God with Israel and the earth. The church does not belong to time, but to eternity. She is not earthly, but heaven- ly. She is called into existence during an unnoticed interval — a break or parenthesis consequent upon the cutting off of the Messiah. To speak after the man- ner of men, if Israel had received the Messiah, then the seventy weeks or four hundred and ninety years would have been fulfilled ; but Israel rejected her King, and God has retired to His place until they acknowledge their iniquity. He has suspended His public dealings with Israel and the earth, though most surely controlling all things by His providence, and keeping His eye upon the seed of Abraham, ever beloved for the fathers' sake. Meanwhile He is calling out from Jews and Gen- tiles that body called the church, to be the com- panion of His Son in heavenly glory — to be thor- oughly identified with Him in His present rejection from this earth, and to wait in holy patience for His glorious advent. All this marks off the Christian's position in the most definite manner possible. His portion and his prospects, too, are thus defined with equal clear- ness. It is vain to look into the prophetic page in order to find the church's position, her calling, or her hope. They are not there. It is entirely out io8 PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. of place for the Christian to be occupied with dates and historic events, as though he were in anywise involved therein. No doubt, all these things have their proper place and their value, and their interest, as connected with God's dealings with Israel and with the earth. But the Christian must never lose sight of the fact that he belongs to heaven, that he is inseparably linked with an earth-rejected, heaven- accepted Christ — that his life is hid with Christ in God — that it is his holy privilege to be looking out, daily and hourly, for the coming of his Lord. There is nothing to hinder the realization of that blissful hope at any moment. There is but the one thing that causes the delay, and that is, "the long-suffering of our Lord, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" — precious words these for a lost and guilty world ! The sal- vation is ready to be revealed ; and God is ready to judge. There is nothing now to wait for but the gathering in of the last elect one, and then — oh ! most blessed thought — our own dear and loving Saviour will come and receive us to Himself to be with Him where He is, and to go no more out for ever. Then when the church has gone to be with her Lord in the heavenly home, God will resume His public actings with Israel. They will be brought into great tribulation, during the week already re- ferred to. But at the close of that period of unex- ampled pressure and trial, their long-rejected Messi- ah will appear for their relief and deliverance. He will come forth as the rider on the white horse, ac- companied by the heavenly saints. He will execute summary judgm.ent upon His enemies, and take to Himself His great power and reign. The kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. Satan shall be bound for a thousand years ; and the whole universe shall repose beneath the blissful and benignant rule of the Prince of peace. ■.--f ■ CONCLUDING REMARKS. 109 ' i Finally, at the close of the thousand ycfirs, Satan shall be loosed, and permitted to make one more desperate effort — an effort issuing in his eternal de- feat and consignment to the lake of fire, there to be tormented with the beast and the false prophet throughout the everlasting ages. Then follows the resurrection and judgment of the wicked dead, and their consignment to the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone — tremendous and appalling thought ! No heart can conceive — no tongue can tell — the horrors of that lake of fire. But hardly is there a moment to dwell upon the dark and awful picture, ere the unutterable glories of the new heavens and new earth burst upon the vision of the soul ; the holy city is seen descending from heaven, and these seraphic sounds fall upon the ear, " Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and thc>' shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain ; for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne, said, Be- hold I make all things new." O beloved christian reader, what scenes are before us! What grand realities! What brilliant moral glories! May v/e live in the light and power of these things ! May we cherish that blessed hope of seeing the One who loved us and gave Himself for us — who would not enjoy His glory alone, but endured the wrath of God in order that He might link us with Himself, and share with us all His love and glory forever. Oh ! to live for Christ and wait for His appearing ! , High in the Father's house above My mansion is prepared ; There is the home, the rest I love, And there my bright reward. no PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING. With Him I love, in^potless white, In glory I shall shine ; His blissful presence my delight, His love and glory mine. All taint of sin shall be removed, All evil done away ; And I shall dwell with God's Beloved, Through God's eternal day. I » I h. -••■it.jrr»,%^,.-r -\ • • '^