Another False Christ by John Nevins Andrews

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 12, 1871

Another False Christ.

By John Nevins Andrews

BY ELD. J. N. ANDREWS.

Some weeks since, an account was given of the remarkable pretensions of an individual who lives near Boston. It seemed to me at that time that the mere recital of his arrogant assumptions would be enough to open the eyes of every person who really fears God; and this more especially when the character of his claims had already been tested by his own publicly announced test, and shown by the event to be wholly without foundation in truth. Thus he called upon the world to take notice that on the 24th of February, 1870, Louis Napoleon would invade the United States; and the fulfillment of this sign was to give the proof to the people of God that this man was the Elijah of the prophecy of Malachi. It does not appear, however, that the signal failure of his appointed sign has had any effect to open the eyes of those who have fallen into the strange delusions which he teaches.

On further reflection it has seemed to me duty to show what are some of the consequences of this person's wicked assumptions. It is but just to say that he is no doubt insane; for it cannot be believed that any human being in his sober senses could ever claim such offices and titles as are claimed by this man. Were no one in danger of being deceived (and some have been deceived already), I would not refer to this case at all. But duty demands that plainness of speech be used.

Let us notice, then, several of the pretensions of Joseph T. Curry; and we shall see that on his own showing he is the true Christ come the second time, or—he is one of the predicted false Christs. He declares himself to be the one described in Rev. 19:11–16:

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed in a vesture dipped in blood; and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in Heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Now let us observe the fact that these several titles and offices are specially applied to Christ. John wrote his gospel after his vision on the isle of Patmos. And the first sentence of that gospel takes up this very title, “The Word,” and applies it to the Saviour as he existed with the Father before the world was. Thus we read (John 1:1–3), “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.”

J. T. C. should demand divine worship, or should repent of such fearful arrogance as to claim to be “The Word of God.” But this rider on the white horse is expressly called (Rev. 19:16) “King of kings and Lord of lords.” Now John tells us in Rev. 17:14 that this is the Lamb. Thus we read: “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings.” And the Lamb himself is the one slain for us, in whose blood we can wash our raiment and make it white. This is the testimony of Rev. 5:6; 7:14. If, therefore, J. T. C. is the King of kings, he is the one who gave his life for the sins of men. He should therefore claim that his is the only “name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved” (Acts. 4:12.); or he should retract his treasonable pretensions to that throne which belongs of right to Him only who tasted death for every man.

But this King of kings is expressly called by name, or rather the one to whom this title belongs gives us his own name and connects with it this title. Thus we read in the salutation which opens the book of Revelation: “And from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness, and the first-begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth! Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” Rev. 1:5–7.

Observe here that this prince of the kings of the earth gives us his own name. It is that worthy name by which we are called, viz., Jesus Christ. He is the one who died for us upon the cross. He is, according to this text, to come again, and every eye is to see him. And his dominion he holds forever and ever. When, therefore, J. T. C. informs us that he is the King of kings, it is the same as declaring that he is the same as the personage here brought to view as Jesus Christ. He is, therefore, the one who died for men, and as he is already here, the revelation of Christ in the clouds of heaven must have taken place when J. T. C. was born. He must therefore claim to be the true Christ returned again to our earth, or he must acknowledge that he is one of the predicted false Christs. We shall find that he claims to fulfill prophecies that relate to the ascension of the Lord

Jesus, and of course his presence here on earth must be the second advent of our Lord.

Thus he quotes the second Psalm, and applies it to himself. Yet verses 1 and 2 are expressly applied to Christ in Acts 4:24–28. And verses 7 and 12 are addressed expressly to the Son of God. And verse 7 is applied to Christ in Acts 13:33, where it is said: “God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again, as it is also written in the second Psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.” And verse 9, which reads, “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel,” is in Rev. 19:15 applied to the King of kings, as we have seen. But Rev. 12:5 applies this Psalm as follows: “And she brought forth a man child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.” These words were true in the case of the Lord Jesus. Mark 16:19; Heb. 8:1. They are not true in the case of J. T. C. unless he is the same as the only begotten Son of God, and unless, also, the Saviour has come to our earth the second time in the person of this man. But if that be so, the trumpet has sounded, and the resurrection of the just and the translation of the living saints have already taken place. And so the kingdom of God has come, but it has sin and death and the devil in it, but no Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Luke 13:28.

The great prince Michael that is to stand up for the children of God (Dan. 12:1), is also this same J. T. C. But Jude tells us that Michael is the archangel. Jude 9. The office of archangel is that of prince or ruler of angels. And this office belongs to the Son of God. Heb. 1:1–9. J. T. C., if we can concede his claims, is prince of the angels and identical with Christ. But this is not all. Michael, as we have learned from Jude, is the archangel. Now let us read Paul’s description of the second advent:

“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.” 1 Thess. 4:16, 17.

Only think of this: the voice of the archangel is the voice of this mortal man. The voice that is heard when the trump of God is sounded, and that wakes the righteous dead is that of J. T. C. And as he is now here on earth it is fair to conclude that this sublime event, the descent of Michael from Heaven, ruling angels and men, and resurrecting the just, is now an event of the past.

Again, this personage who is to rule the nations with a rod of iron, and who has occupied a seat on the Father’s throne (Rev. 12:5), is not only the Christ that was slain for us, but he is the priest that intercedes for the people of God. Thus David says: “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. . . . The Lord hath sworn and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Ps. 110:1, 4.

There is but one who has thus set down with the Father, namely Jesus Christ. When he took this position he was exalted above every name, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. Eph. 1:20, 21. No other name has such honor. It was given to Christ because of his great humiliation to save sinful men. Phil. 2:5–11. The One who sits with the Father upon his throne sits there as a priest. Zech. 6:12, 13. This exaltation to the throne of God is ascribed to him who shall in the end rule the nations with a rod of iron. But before he does this, he must minister there as a great High Priest. Now J. T. C. claims this office of King of kings; but as has been shown, it stands connected with the office of High Priest, which is first filled, and then that of king comes next. If, therefore, Mr. C. is this Mighty Potentate who rides forth for the destruction of sinners, he is of necessity the one who has served as High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. And thus if his assumptions are correct, he is the identical Christ that died for men, that rose again, that ascended to Heaven, that sat down upon the Father’s throne far above every name that is named, that served there as a High Priest, while there was one, that finished his work and descended with a mighty shout uttered by himself, and that has resurrected the just, and changed the living saints, and that is now the King of kings, sitting upon his own throne as once he sat upon the Father’s as a priest.

Either the second advent is a past event, and all its wonderful scenes have already met their fulfillment, or the conclusion is unavoidable that we have now in our land another false Christ.

Can any candid man deny the justice of this conclusion, or set aside the force of this reasoning? What has become of our dear Redeemer? Has he been taken away, and no information given us concerning his fate? Or has his second advent occurred in the person of a poor mortal like ourselves? Is this the fulfillment of the blessed hope? Where are the sleeping saints? Where are the martyrs? Where is the Man of Calvary? Where is the head that was crowned with thorns, the face that was spit upon, the hands and the feet that were nailed to the cross, and the side that received the spear, as it was thrust into the heart of the Son of God? Where is the Man of Sorrows? Where, rather, is the King in his beauty, coming to be admired in all them that believe in that day.

In place of Him who is our joy, our life, our Heaven, we have a poor mortal, weak, erring and sinful, like the rest of mankind. He cannot claim the offices which he claims only by maintaining that he is the Christ. Perhaps he has never done this in so many words. But the titles which he claims pertain alone to the Man of Calvary, as has been already shown. But one thing Mr. C. certainly does do: He lets the Saviour have all the suffering and he takes to himself all the glory. But the suffering and the glory go together. Luke 17:24, 25; Heb. 12:2. The one who suffers is the one who shall reign. If Mr. C. was slain for us, then Christ has come indeed the second time, much in the same way as he is said to have come a hundred years ago in the person of Ann Lee. But if Mr. C. is not the Saviour come again, then his claim to the glory that was promised to the dying Lamb of God is a blasphemous claim, and he himself adds one more to the long list of false Christs.

One thing more is worthy of notice in this article. Mr. C. says that he is the Elijah of the prophecy of Malachi. In the New Testament we do read of one who came in the spirit and power of Elias to do the very work predicted by Malachi. Compare Mal. 4:5, 6; Luke 1:17. The contrast between his words and those of Mr. C. is strongly marked. Thus John the Baptist said: “He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear.” Matt. 3:11. But our friend Curry has stepped into the shoes of Christ, and claims that they belong to him.

For extracts from the writings of Mr. Curry, on which this article is based, see ADVENT REVIEW of May 16, 1871.