Bishop Bickersteth upon the Second Advent.
By Bishop Bickersteth
Outline of a sermon delivered by the Bishop of Ripon, Dr. Bickersteth, in Doncaster Parish Church, England, November, 1873, to a congregation of 2000 persons. “The burden of Dumah. He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: return, come.” Isa. 21:11, 12. There is some degree of obscurity in this passage which attracts curiosity to ascertain its true meaning. The literal interpretation appears to be this: Dumah was the same country as that of the Edomites, and Seir was one of the principal towns of the land of Dumah. One of the inhabitants of Seir is represented as asking of the watchman, who is the Lord’s messenger, “Watchman, what of the night?” The question may have been asked in a tone of derision, and in a spirit of unbelief, as if to inquire, Watchman, what of this tribulation, this judgment, of which you have so often spoken? We see no sign, no appearance: tell us, watchman, what of the night? Or it may have been asked in a spirit of honest inquiry, by one desiring to know whether the predicted tribulation or judgment was nigh. But whatever was the mind of the inquirer, the answer of the prophet is the same—“The morning cometh, and also the night; if ye will inquire, inquire ye: return, come.” Now, the literal kingdoms or countries, or peoples in Scripture that were notorious for their wickedness, or hostility to the Lord’s chosen people of Israel, were typical of those who in every age are actively opposed to God and the truth. For example, the names of Assyria, Babylon, Egypt, and Edom were all names of literal kingdoms or countries, the inhabitants of which were opposed to the children of Israel and were the enemies of God’s chosen people. Hence it follows that the judgments which overtook these literal kingdoms may be regarded as symbolical of the judgments which will overtake the unbelieving and impenitent in the present age. That being so, the language of the text may be accommodated to the case as it now stands between God and his church on the one hand, and the unbelieving world on the other. Taking this as the interpretation of the text, let us consider the truth it unfolds and the lessons it suggests. The purport, or, in prophetic language, the burden of Dumah was the message to the earth which has been delivered and heralded down from the earliest times. Again and again has it been reiterated; even our blessed Lord himself, through the messenger of mercy, declared the wrath which must overtake those rejecting the offer of the gospel. In the meantime, however, the question is asked, “Watchman, what of the night?” There are many who affect altogether to disbelieve the warnings of coming tribulation. They ask, “What of the night?” What of this tribulation so often spoken of, these coming judgments by which you so often try to persuade men? We see, as yet, no indication of the approaching consummation. The sun still shines in the heavens; the moon and stars still cross the vault of the mighty sky; where is the sign then of this coming tribulation? Where is the evidence that these judgments will overtake a slumbering world? Here is the reply, “The morning cometh.” What is the morning? The advent of the Son of man in his glory—the coming of the once crucified Saviour, now the glorified Immanuel—the coming of the same Jesus, who once trod this earth, who was rejected, crucified, and slain by ungodly men. He will appear in his glory, and will reign in his majesty over a regenerated world! “The morning cometh,” but the scoffer replies, Where are the signs of His coming? All things continue as they were from the foundation of the world. But do all things continue as they were? Does not science itself—the chosen vantage ground from which the unbeliever hurls his fiery darts against Christianity—does not science teach that changes have occurred, and are, up to this very day, in progress, which refute the idea that all things continue as they were at the creation of the world? As by the word of the Lord, the old earth perished by the overflowing of the waters—and no one dare dispute that one world had perished by the deluge—so by the same word is the present earth now kept in store, reserved unto the fire and judgment of that great day. “Watchman, what of the night?” may, however, be asked, not only by the scoffer and skeptic, but by the true believer in Christ. It is now the world’s long night. The personal presence of Him who is the light of man, and the Sun of Righteousness is withdrawn. The ark of the church is tossed to and fro by the storms of the sea. The waves of infidelity and of heresy dash against her sides in all their fury. As yet we cannot hear the sound of Christ’s chariot wheels. Is the Lord slack concerning his promise? Will yon heavens ever open and disclose the Son of man returning in his glory—the Messiah who once came as the world’s great Redeemer? Yes, “the morning cometh.” The promise will be fulfilled. Wait, for it will surely come. “Surely, I come quickly.” There are prophecies which render it essential that the Redeemer should return in his glory. In many prophecies the sufferings and triumphs of the Messiah are linked together; and as the sufferings have been literally fulfilled, is it not necessary that the triumphs should be accomplished also? And the anxious inquirer naturally asks of the watchman, “Is the night far spent? Is the day soon to dawn? Is there any streak of light in the sky which indicates that the day is about to break, and that the Sun of Righteousness shall be revealed in his majesty?” The word of God states that it will break on the world suddenly, as a thief in the night. Suddenly the sound will be heard of the archangel’s trump, and the Son of man will be seen in the heavens, and Jesus will return in his glory. There are signs given by our blessed Lord himself, from the appearance of which his believing people may gather when the end is near. And surely these signs would not have been given if it were not intended that we should carefully mark and look for their occurrence. It is our duty to study these signs; so let us look at some of them to which our Lord has pointed our attention. 1. When our Lord was speaking of the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem, the apostles asked him what should be the signs of his coming, and of the end of the present age or dispensation. One of our Lord’s replies was, “that the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.” Our Lord did not say that the gospel must first everywhere prevail, so as to cover the whole world with a knowledge of the Lord, but that the Lord should be everywhere preached for a witness. And how does it stand with respect to this at the present day? No period since the time of the apostles has been more remarkable than the present century for the extension of the Redeemer’s cause. For a long time previously, the church was culpably indifferent to the duty of striving to evangelize the world; but with the commencement of the present century, she seems to have awakened from her slumbers, and marvellously put forth, and more marvellously succeeded in her efforts to preach the gospel throughout the globe. There is hardly a kingdom on the earth where the message of the everlasting gospel has not been proclaimed, and there is hardly a language on the face of the globe into which the word of God has not been translated. Through the labors of one society alone—the British and Foreign Bible Society—the word of God has been translated into nearly two hundred different spoken dialects; and is not this something like hastening the fulfilment of this sign, “that the gospel shall be preached in all the world for a witness”? Matt. 24:14. 2. Again, in the book of Daniel we are told that many shall run to and fro, and that knowledge shall be increased at the time of the end. Is not one of the characteristics of the present age a remarkable facility for running to and fro, as evidenced by the extraordinary power for locomotion? Probably it would be true to say that in this empire, in twenty-four hours millions run to and fro. We have girded the earth with our iron highways, and if there is one marvel more than another, it is the way in which multitudes from the very ends of the earth are availing themselves of this rapid locomotion. Then, knowledge shall be increased; and is not this a characteristic of our own time? What prodigious strides have been made in the march of science! Nature seems to have unfolded her secrets to the research and diligence of those who have applied their energies to scientific knowledge. Science has pierced the planetary world, has cast a measured line round the circumference of the earth, taught men to paint with the sunbeam, and to use the lightning of heaven as a means of conveying messages with the speed of thought. Surely, the characteristics of the present age are a running to and fro and an increase of knowledge. Dan. 12:1–4. 3. Another sign of the time of the end is predicted in Luke 21:25, 26, “Distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.” And what is passing at the present day? Public commotion and tumult, perplexity and distress, men’s hearts failing from fear—the overthrowing of dynasties, open rebellion against constituted authority, and indifference to all lawful governments. Some men say we are on the eve of a great crisis: that we are approaching some great consummation; and Scripture informs us that this consummation is the coming of Christ in his triumph and glory. The apostle Paul, when writing his first epistle to the Thessalonian Christians, insisted at length (in every chapter) on the Lord’s second coming. The prominence then given to this doctrine led to a mistake and misapprehension. The Thessalonians thought that Christ was about to reappear. To correct this mistake, the apostle wrote his second epistle, and in the second chapter he gave a remarkable prophecy of the great mystery of iniquity which has already begun, but which he declares must be fully developed ere the Son of man would return in his glory. Consequently the remarkable development of the papal apostasy is a very notable sign of the times, for it might be concluded that it had been greatly developed when they found the head of the Roman Catholic church assuming to himself one of the inherent qualities of Jehovah, and blasphemously laying hold of the attribute of infallibility. It seemed almost the culmination of the mystery of iniquity which the apostle declared must first come to an end before the Son of man should come in his glory. In the meantime God was accomplishing the number of his elect from different parts, and from many parishes in our own dear land they are being gathered, and soon the day will come when the Son of man shall reappear. “Behold, the morning cometh!” The numbers who have thus been awakened in recent mission services might be taken as an indication of the gathering together of God’s elect, which was to be the harbinger of the return of the Saviour in his glory. Let the anxious believer, therefore, take courage. “The morning cometh,” and Him “whom not having seen, we love” will ere long return in his majesty. “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we appear with him in glory.” But the night also cometh. Ah! what of the night? the dark, black, and horrible night! Listen to the message that sounds in your ears, “If ye will inquire, inquire ye: return, come.” Inquire of the Book which says, “Come, now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin. He that heareth my word and believeth on Him that sent me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life; and him that cometh unto me, saith the Saviour, I will in nowise cast out. John 3:18; 4:37.—Signs of Times (London).