“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?” Matt. xxiv; Mark xiii; Luke xxi.
SEEING that the Saviour himself does not denounce the question of the apostles, “What shall be the sign of thy coming?” as improper, nor refused an answer as inexpedient, let me proceed to adduce some of those signs about which they inquired, and which the Redeemer said would indicate the approaching advent of the Prince of Peace, and the end, not of the earth, for the earth is made everlasting as the heavens, but of this present economy or dispensation.
The great sign our Lord specially states is, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” What must fair and impartial criticism infer from these words? Just this, that as soon as Christianity has been fully addressed to every nation, not individual, the end will arrive. The words are very definite and exact; as soon as Christianity has been addressed to every nation over the whole world; not after converting every nation, for that is not said, but as a message or “witness,” then shall the end come. Up to April, 1859, 35,690,000 copies of the word of God, in 152 languages, had been prudently sown over the whole world. If I include the American Society, 160,000,000 of Bibles, in 200 languages and dialects, have been disseminated in various ways, and in recent years, over the length and breadth of the world. I do not think there is a nation or a segment of a nation, with any sort of social organization, or speaking the dialect of a language, which has not the word of God, or, at least, a portion of it, in its own tongue; so that the witness has been given though the conversion of the people has not followed from it. India, with its 130,000,000, has had the gospel preached to it as a witness; Africa, through the labors of Livingstone, and Dr. Barth, and others, has been traversed. It can be said truly that Christianity has been preached there, at least, as a witness. The gospel has penetrated even Japan. There is not a nation upon the earth, amid polar snows or under equatorial suns, that has not heard the gospel preached, and in its own tongue the word of God freely circulated; so that we may expect the blessed day soon to arrive, when, in the language of the great missionary Bishop,
“—O'er our ransomed nature,
The Lamb for sinners slain,
Redeemer, King, Creator,
In bliss returns to reign.”267
America there are a million of what are called Spiritualists, who have organized a national church, which they call the church of the Spiritualists; and that they disbelieve the Bible, deny Christianity, and profess to have immediate communion with spirits in Heaven and in hell. Doesn’t this look something like the fulfillment of the words in the 16th of Revelation; “I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet; for they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the war of that great day of Almighty God?”
It is added to the twelfth chapter of Daniel, “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people, and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time; and at that time thy people,” that is, the true Israel “shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” And then he adds, “Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” It is also added that “many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”
This last sign is striking. No mark more distinguishes the age in which we live than locomotion. If one were asked what is the passion of the nations of the earth at this moment, it would be answered, Literally running to and fro. It is not many years since men made their wills before they took a journey from London to Edinburgh, so distant was the one capital from the other, and so perilous the enterprise. Now one can leave London in the morning at ten o’clock, and partake of a not very late dinner in Edinburgh in the evening. For tens that traveled fifty years ago, literally thousands travel now. The fact is that facilities for traveling have created and multiplied travelers; till more people rush from London, on every great holiday, than rushed, probably, from all Europe a half century ago. To the iron rail are added the electric telegraph, and the ocean steamer. But while this age is distinguished from all preceding ones as the age of locomotion, the addition, “Knowledge shall be increased,” is scarcely less remarkable. Never were books so multiplied. It may be, as Solomon says, that “Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh,” but certainly never were books in such demand, and never was such a supply. One can get as much for a penny now as would have cost a pound a hundred years ago. Where the few once deliciously sipped of the stream of knowledge, the millions of the people slake their thirst, and are refreshed. The assiduity, running to and fro, and increase of knowledge, is made more remarkable by the mysterious whispering wire. We can now send a message to India in three days; and from Jerusalem to London in 20 hours. Very soon we shall be able to carry messages across the Atlantic. In fact, the whole world seems by this network of wire to be rapidly becoming linked together. What is the real design? Men may intend to have ten per cent for their money; God is overruling it to promote his own grand and splendid issues, the triumphs of his kingdom, and the universal glory of the Redeemer’s name. It is of Sir Isaac Newton that the incident is recorded that in one of his works upon Daniel he predicted that for the fulfillment of the prophecies it was necessary that the means of intercourse between nations should be extremely extended, and that he had not the least doubt, that some day, through the discoveries of science, men would be able to travel at the rate of forty miles an hour. Voltaire, the sceptic, referring to this idea, said, “What do you think does Sir Isaac Newton say? He actually predicts that a day will come when people will travel at the rate of forty miles an hour. Just see,” says Voltaire, “into what absurdities the study of the Bible can drive a great and gifted mind.” Who was the fool? Ask the North Western, or the Great Western, and you will see that what Voltaire denounced as a dream of a fanatic is the sober reality of our day.
Some of the best and weightiest commentators upon prophecy think that “knowledge shall be increased,” is specially applied by Daniel to the knowledge of prophecy, for to this Daniel strictly refers. Dr. Adam Clarke, an extremely able commentator, says it means, “Many shall endeavor, as the end draws near, to search out the signs, and knowledge of the prophecies shall be increased.” Again, Dr. Gill, the ablest commentator, certainly the most learned, and one in whose commentary one may have very great confidence, says it means, “Many shall be stirred up to inquire into these things; the knowledge of this book of prophecy will be greatly increased, and things in it will appear plainer the nearer that the end comes. Sir Isaac Newton, one of the great master spirits of the world, who wrote upon the book of Daniel, said, “It is a part of the prophecy that it should not be understood before the last age of the world; but toward the end of the world the prophecy shall be so far interpreted as to convince many.”
A great number of wise, talented, and pious men are investigating this subject, and daily coming nearer to a unanimous judgment as to the position that we now occupy than ever heretofore.
One very able and highly accomplished commentator upon the word of God, writing at the close of last century, that is, upward of 60 years ago, said, “A mark of the last age will be, more books will be written upon the prophecies; and indeed,” he says, “more have already been written than at any previous time.” It is clear, if this be the application of it, that toward the end of this economy we shall hear rising from thousands of pulpits, “Behold the bridegroom cometh,” and a voice will be heard in the depths of the church, in the hearts of His people, “Behold I come speedily,” and the prayer again will rise, “Come, Lord Jesus, yea, come speedily.”—Cumming.