WHEN the proof of a fact rests upon a single isolated item of evidence, that item must be a very strong one if it produces conviction. But when we have line upon line of evidence to prove any fact or event, doubt is smothered beneath the array of proofs, and the proven fact stands out in the strong light of day.
The soul-rejoicing doctrine of the second coming of Christ is not left for its proofs to isolated bits of evidence which might keep the mind in doubt; but great lines of evidence, each one strong and clear in itself, unite with each other in testifying to the truth of the approaching climax of Christian hope. The diagram presented herewith calls attention to the leading lines of prophecy that all center with one common accord in the generation that is to see the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven. It must be taken for granted that the reader has been made more or less familiar with these lines of prophecy, and hence only brief mention of them can be made here.
The second chapter of Daniel is the history of a dream that the king of Babylon had, which dream made a very deep impression on his mind. The prophet Daniel was brought before the king to make known to him what the dream was and also to interpret it. The interpretation of the dream showed that the king had been permitted by the divine Father in heaven to have an outline view of all the leading nations that were to arise on the earth clear down to the very close of time; and following these kingdoms of earth, the God of heaven is to establish His kingdom of eternity. The prophecy shows that the universal empire of Babylon that then existed would be followed by three universal kingdoms that would bear rule over all the world, and the fourth one of these kingdoms was to be divided, and never again was the earth to be under the dominion of one government until the heavenly kingdom is established.
The seventh chapter of Daniel is the record of a vision that was given to the prophet, in which he was permitted to have a view of the history of the world from his time on to the end. In this vision he saw the same four universal empires that had been viewed by the king of Babylon, and to the prophet was explained more in detail the breaking up of the fourth empire. He was shown that it would be divided into ten lesser kingdoms, and that these kingdoms, with certain changes that he mentions, would remain till the Lord of glory would break them all in pieces at the establishing of His kingdom; the beginning of the reign of God's heavenly kingdom being at the second coming of Christ. (See issue of May 8.)
The eighth and ninth chapters of Daniel present another view that the prophet had of the future history of the world. The kingdom of Babylon, the first of the four universal empires, was destined to be overthrown in Daniel's day, and so in this vision only the three remaining universal kingdoms are brought to view, the principal burden of this line of prophecy being the sanctuary and its cleansing. The cleansing of the sanctuary covers a period of the solemn scenes of the great day of the atonement and judgment. And thus this line of prophecy, also, as stated by the angel in giving the interpretation of the vision to the prophet, "belongeth to the appointed time of the end."
The eleventh chapter of Daniel commences with the time in the history of Persia, when it is said, "There shall stand up yet three kings" in that empire; then the prophecy brings us down thru the history of the world in the terms of literal language until we face, as expressed in the beginning of the twelfth chapter, the time when Michael, who is Christ, stands up for the deliverance of His people. And having been permitted to view all these scenes of earth's history, thousands of years before many of them took place, the prophet is told to "shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end." And at that "time of the end" he is told that "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."
Matthew, chapter twenty-four, gives the account of the questions that were asked the Master as to what should be the sign of His coming and of the end of the world. In reply to these questions, He emphasizes the importance of the prophecy of Daniel by referring us to its study if we would understand the signs that He gives as the evidence of the approaching end. The Lord tells of signs that shall be seen in the heavens and in the earth; signs in the social, the political, and the religious world. And we have only to look at the facts to find that these signs have ranged themselves alongside of the outlines of prophecy presented by Daniel, and with united voice are bidding the world behold the generation of men that is to see the second coming of the Christ of God.
Revelation, chapters two and three, present in seven successive periods the outline of the spiritual tendencies of the true church until the end.
Revelation, chapters eight to eleven, gives some of the details of the kingdoms into which the fourth of the universal empires was divided, tells of the plague of Mohammedanism, and with the indescribably grand flights of prophecy, bears us up to the gates of eternity.
Revelation, chapter twelve, gives the sublime presentation of the church of Christ as it appeared after the victories that followed His resurrection. It takes us thru the persecutions of the Dark Ages, and lays the foundation for our understanding of the prophecy that gives the view of the culmination of apostasy which combines both Catholicism and degenerated Protestantism.
Revelation, chapter thirteen, describes the apostasy mentioned in the foregoing paragraph, and leads up to the great warning of divine wrath against this apostasy that is given in the fourteenth chapter. The apostasy here described is the master stroke of Satan's efforts to lead men into sin, and calls forth the fulfilment of the Lord's promise to come in person, attended by all the host of angels, to put an end eternally to the cruel, destructive, and despotic reign of sin.
Events in the Time of the End
The foregoing lines of prophecy stand out before the world in clear, unmistakable, indestructible outline. They are the imperishable monuments of divine foreknowledge that have such a deep foundation and such a lofty superstructure in the incontestable history of this world that no efforts of ungodly men, inspired by all the jealous rage of demons, have been able to batter them down. The outstretched index finger of each has been pointing for two thousand years into this generation in which we now live, and designating it as the "time of the end."
A perfect photograph of the condition of things in this world at the "time of the end," has been made by the prophets of old. Other prophecies, in addition to the lines of prophecy mentioned in the foregoing, add their evidence by describing in detail the7very things that men would be doing in the generation on which these prophecies are focused. They tell of the "increase of knowledge" among the men of this generation; they tell of the preparations for war that are to make the stoutest hearts tremble; they tell of the cry of "peace and safety" that will be heard right in the midst of the awful marshaling to arms; they tell of spiritism and other deceptions that arise to lead men into darkness; they tell of the "heaping together of riches," and of the consequent violence of "class strife and hatred;" they tell of the cold, backslidden state of the church right in the face of the difficulties and disasters of the time, and of the great threefold message of power that God will cause to shine out thru His word as a beacon of warning against all the evil, which message is also a star of hope to all who will accept of the Lord's salvation.
With the powerful array of evidence that the Lord has given by which we are to know when the last generation of men is reached, is it any wonder that the Master gave the word, "When ye see all these things, know ye that He is near, even at the doors"? Yes, praise the Lord, we may "know;" we need not speculate.
