Unbelief of Pretended Science in Reference to the Lord’s Coming.
By Prof. Birks
“There shall come in the last days scoffers, saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” 2 Peter 3:3, 4. In modern times there has arisen a school of thought which turns the reasoning of the scoffer into an axiom of pretended science, and makes the constancy of the laws of nature its plea for setting aside the great hope of the Christian church, and denying the solemn certainties of the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. The creed of the scoffer implies that the laws of nature exist of themselves, without the fact of a supreme Lawgiver, and that all things continue and must continue as they have been from the creation, because there is no power capable of suspending or reversing the firm and settled course of things. Ungodly science will clothe its icy creed with the flowers of fancy and speak elegantly of a power which “Warms in the sun; refreshes in the breeze;
Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees;
Lives through all life; extends through all extent;
Spreads undivided; operates unspent.”
But belief in a living God is rejected. Now, it is plain that the scientific theory, that the course of nature admits of no disturbance, is fatal to the reception of those great doctrines which Scripture prophecy proclaims. The maxims of pretended science, and the lively hope of the Lord’s coming, cannot dwell together in the same heart. But since perverted science will dare to set itself up against the revealed warning of Jehovah, the apostle ventures boldly into her domain, wrests her own weapons from her puny grasp, and turns them into arrows to pierce the conscience, and alarm the stout-hearted sinner into repentance and godly fear. The heavens and earth which now are, as he tells us “against the day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” The agencies do not require to be created, which the Almighty will employ to clear the earth from the dominion of evil, and introduce the promised kingdom of righteousness and peace. From Adam to Noah the waters were already in existence, by which the flood was brought on the world of the ungodly, and when once the signal was given, and the windows of heaven were opened, and the fountains of the great deep broken up, they came forth spontaneously to do the bidding of Him who had treasured them against the time of judgment. And so also, from Noah until now, the heavens and earth are already stored with treasures of fire, which are ready to execute the threatenings, and to fulfil the counsel of the Almighty. “What is creation else
But a capacious reservoir of means,
Wrought by His will, and ready for his use?”
What is the secret of the two main discoveries which have stamped their character on the present age of advanced science and eager enterprise? LATENT HEAT AND LATENT ELECTRICITY.
But these watchwords of science, the talisman of her power, by which she has wrought wonders, suggest a deeper meaning to thoughtful ears. All creation, yes, every drop of water, as science in her triumphs is compelled to bear witness, is stored with treasures of secret fire, and one of her latest conclusions, after full research, is that the hidden electricity of each single drop of rain is equal to the production of a thunder-storm. All creation, then, down to each dewdrop and blade of grass, is stored with the hidden fire of electricity; and it needs but one touch from the finger of the Almighty, one secret, imperceptible change of its laws, or even perhaps without a change of law, some foreseen and foreappointed accumulation of its hidden powers, TO PRODUCE A TEMPEST OF FIRE
that would consume the whole human race, and completely change all the physical features of the planet on which we live. It is a childish science which treats such a catastrophe as impossible and incredible. It is a proud and stout-hearted folly which, having merely wetted its feet in the spray of the great ocean of natural laws, pretends to have sounded their unfathomable depths, and dares, in the confidence of its own foresight, to reject the solemn warnings of a Judgment to come. But perhaps some may urge that the long period which has elapsed since these warnings were given, and given as of an event near at hand, may well abate our confidence in their truth, and justify their doubting inquiry—“Where is the promise of his coming?” Have not sixty generations passed away with no trace of Messiah’s return, though the first generation of believers were taught to expect it in their own lifetime? Here, too, the apostle supplies us with an answer. The length of the delay confirms, instead of weakening, the certainty of the Judgment. This is the time of God’s long-suffering. And just as, in the history of Joseph, seven years of plenty were purposely given, because the famine that would follow would be intense and severe, so also it is a part of the wisdom of God, that a judgment, solemn beyond all example, should be introduced by the richest, fullest, and most enduring display of grace and forbearance toward sinners. This is the true secret of the calm constancy of the laws of nature, and the silent course of sixty generations of mankind since the Son of God returned to the bosom of the Father from which he came. This long-suffering of God is our salvation. It is by this long delay that his elect are gathered in, and the message of his gospel sent to the utmost bounds of the human family. But the time will come when the voice will go forth from the throne in Heaven, saying, “It is done,” and the mysterious delays of grace be followed by the hour of open Judgment. Rev. 16. We have many signs around us which may well lead us to the conclusion that THIS JUDGMENT, SO LONG DELAYED, IS
The gospel once more is being preached in all the world, for a witness to all nations. * The moral conflict which has been carried on for ages, first between Christianity and heathen idolatry, popery and Mohammedanism—enmities without, and secret corruptions within—is passing over into the East again. And if the evil passions of mankind come to be once more173 UNCHAINED AFTER A LONG PEACE, BY THE
who can tell what bitter fruits of a rejected gospel may reveal themselves in these last days of Gentile dominion? In our own favored nation we hear almost daily the sorrowful report of hateful crimes that should make us blush with shame and tremble with fear, lest Sodom itself should rise against us in judgment, to condemn our more aggravated abuse of mercy. And if once the hateful infection of infidelity should spread more widely through all Christian lands, so that the gospel be rejected with scorn by sensual profligates and covetous oppressors, or philosophical unbelievers, and Christianity itself be considered as a worn-out and worthless thing, a secret voice will then be addressed by the God of holiness to his waiting people, “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” Isa. 26:20, 21. How solemn is this certainty of a Judgment to come, when once we realize the true force of the divine warning! The laws of nature, though sure and constant, are not so sure and unchangeable as that perfection of the Almighty Lord of providence which involves the moral necessity of a coming day of retribution. The stars in their silent course are measuring out, one by one, the appointed hours of merciful delay. The heavens and earth which are now, are stored with treasures of fire, against the season when the Lord shall come out of his secret hiding-place, and call to the heavens and to the earth, that he may judge his people. Beyond it there is a vista of eternal bliss and glory to all the children of God, and ages of recovered beauty and holiness to our fallen world. But before that glory can dawn there is a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, and A STRANGE AND FEARFUL JUDGMENT
to the workers of iniquity. Oh! how needful to be sheltered in that hour, and to have the blood of the true Passover sprinkled upon the lintels of our hearts, that the destroying angel may pass by! Prophets, long ago, have trembled in themselves, that they might rest in the day of trouble. But an ark of mercy is now open before us. In Christ there is safety and full deliverance. Whoever believeth in him shall not be confounded. Whoever builds on this foundation is securely sheltered, and safe for eternity. The rain may descend, the winds may blow, the floods may rise and beat on that house, but it cannot fall, for it is founded on the rock. May we build on this Rock of Ages, instead of relying on the vain, delusive promises of science falsely so called, the presumptuous ignorance of the scorner, which sets itself in array against the truth of God, and tells us that all things must continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. May we listen for the approach of the true King and Judge, and catch the distant sound of his returning chariot wheels. AMIDST WARS AND RUMORS OF WARS,
and the fermenting changes of a sinful world that is never at rest, but wearies itself for very vanity, may we catch the dawning beams of the day-spring that will soon visit the earth once more, and when these things begin to come to pass, look up and lift up our heads, because our redemption is drawing nigh.—PROF. BIRKS, of Trinity College, Cambridge, England.