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THE SECOND ADVENT,

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Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jan 3, 1856

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 7, No. 14.

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THE SECOND ADVENT,

By James White

Its Manner and Objects Considered.

(Continued)
In our last we presented scripture testimony as proof that Christ will come, personally and visibly, and that at his second coming he will raise the sleeping saints, and change the righteous living, and take them away from the earth up to the "Father's house." We also presented a small portion of the testimony, found in the Old and New Testaments, which conclusively proves that the living wicked (who remain of the seven last plagues) will be destroyed at the second advent.
In the further investigation of this subject we prefer to let the plain scripture testimony speak forth our faith.
But we will first notice the error of some who do not have the earth desolated at all. They refer to Dan. ii, 44, as proof that the kingdom of God will be set up in Palestine "in the days of these kings" represented by the ten toes of the image. That is, "these kings," or earthly kingdoms, and the kingdom of God will all occupy a place on the earth at the same time. Then, instead of having the earth desolated at the coming of the Lord, they have a portion of its inhabitants, at least, remain on it in their mortal state, and have all the righteous dead raised to stand upon it. John beheld them, and called them "a great multitude, which NO MAN COULD NUMBER, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues." This view gives no time, however short, for the earth to be desolated. In fact, it makes the second advent an event that greatly increases the population of the earth.
Let us now compare this view with the plain declarations of Holy Scripture. We will notice, first, the utter desolation of the earth, and, second, the time when it will be desolated.
1. The desolation of the earth. "I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. "Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment. "How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet? "For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. "I behold the earth, and lo, it was WITHOUT FORM, and VOID; and the heavens, and they had no light. "I behold the mountains, and lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. "I behold, and, lo, there was NO MAN, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. "I behold, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger. "For thus hath the Lord said, The WHOLE LAND SHALL BE DESOLATE; yet will I not make a full end." Jer. iv, 19-27.
Let the reader turn to the chapter, and it will be seen by reading verse 23, that the earth is to be "WITHOUT FORM, and VOID," as it was when first created, [Gen. i, 2,] "yet," saith the Lord, (when speaking of the earth,) "will I not make a full end." Though it be void, or empty, for a season, it will finally be restored to its Eden glory, for the inheritance of the saints.
Says Isaiah, "I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said, I, Here am I; send me. "And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. "Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. "Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the LAND BE UTTERLY DESOLATE." Chap. vi, 8-11.
"Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. "Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: "And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth; they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. "Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger to lay the land DESOLATE; and he shall DESTROY THE SINNERS THEREOF OUT OF IT." Chap. xiii, 6-9.
"Behold, the Lord maketh the earth EMPTY; and maketh it WASTE, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. "And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. "The land shall be UTTERLY EMPTIED, and utterlyspoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word." Chap. xxiv, 1-3.
No language can be employed to express the utter desolation of the earth more emphatically than the above. The expression in verse 6, "few men left," and the figure in verse 13, must be understood so as to harmonize with the expressions of the chapter above quoted. God's word is not yea, and nay: Yea the earth will be "utterly emptied," and made "waste," and nay, it will not be emptied and desolated. His word is "yea and amen" God means what he says. We therefore understand the "few men left," to apply to the righteous who are not burned with the wicked. That is, the inhabitants of the earth will be burned, with the exception of the few righteous. They, compared with the wicked in numbers, will be "as the gleaning of grapes when the vintage is done." That this applies to the saints is evident from the fact that they "lift up the voice" and "sing for the majesty of the Lord."
"For the Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange act." "Now, therefore, be ye not mockers, lest your bands be made strong: for I have heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth." Chap. xxviii, 21, 22.
"I will UTTERLY CONSUME ALL [things supplied] FROM OFF THE LAND, saith the Lord. "I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked; and I will CUT OFF MAN [all mankind] FROM OFF THE LAND, saith the Lord. ". . . . . . "Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God: for the day of the Lord is at hand: for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests. ". . . . . . "The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. "That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness. "A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers." "And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung." "Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the WHOLE LAND shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a SPEEDY RIDDANCE OF ALL THEM THAT DWELL IN THE LAND." Zeph. i, 2-18.
"I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by: their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant." "Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger; for ALL THE EARTH shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy." Chap. iii, 6-8.
If these declarations from the mouth of Jehovah which we have above quoted do not prove the utter desolation of the earth, then all language fails to describe such a state. The wrath of God, in the seven last plagues, will doubtless destroy a large portion of the inhabitants of the earth just prior to the second advent, and those that remain after the plagues, or, the "remnant" of the wicked [Rev. xix, 21,] will be destroyed, as we shall prove from the New Testament, at Christ's coming. Here we will repeat a sentiment we expressed in last week's Review.
In an important sense is the New Testament an expositor of the Old. Christ was an expounder of the Law and the Prophets; so were the apostles. It is ever safe to bring the prophecies of the Old Testament and compare them with the plain declarations of the New; but to overlook the testimony of Christ and the apostles while forming our views of future events, is dangerous. Such may be left to follow the wildest fancies, and come to conclusions subversive of the gospel plan. But let the prophets of the Old Testament be compared with the expositions and declarations of the New, and a harmony will be seen throughout the divine whole.
Governed by this sentiment we shall easily and certainly ascertain the truth of this question. 2. The time when the earth will be fully desolated. This will be accomplished at the second coming of Christ.
As proof of this we quoted in last week's Review the words of Christ in Matt. xiii, 30, 40, 41; iii, 12; Luke xvii, 26, 30.
But the testimony of the Apostle is very definite, and positively settles the question. Paul says, "And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall DESTROY with the BRIGHTNESS OF HIS COMING." 2 Thess. ii, 8. The destruction of the Man of Sin, and the time when he will be destroyed are definitely stated.
But if it be said that the Man of Sin embraces only Papists, and that the heathen, and many others, will remain after the second advent and enjoy the blessings of the gospel, then we will hear Paul again.
"And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power: when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe." 2 Thess. i, 7-12.
The heathen are certainly embraced in the words, "them that know not God;" and all others who are not prepared for the change to immortality, of whatever nation under heaven, are embraced in the words, "and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." What is their portion? Is it a period of favor and probation in the presence of the Lord? No, no. It is destruction from his presence. When? "WHEN the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance," and "WHEN he shall come to be glorified in his saints."
The testimony of Paul to the Thessalonians is most definite, and must settle the question in every candid mind that is called to consider it. But, before closing this article, we will briefly notice
REVELATION XIX.
Chapter xviii is an account of the plagues on Babylon, and their desolating effects. Chap. xix opens with shouts of triumph over her destruction.
"And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God: "For true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. "And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. "And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshiped God that sat on the throne saying, Amen; Alleluia. "And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready." Verses 1-7.
The marriage of the Lamb, mentioned in verse 7, takes place before the return of our Lord from heaven, from the fact that when he comes, it is on his "return from the wedding." Luke xii, 36. This shows the chronology of this portion of the chapter.
The Bride, then, is not the church; for the marriage takes place in heaven, before the Bridegroom comes to redeem his church, who are his children—not his Bride. To learn what the Bride is, see Chap. xxi, 9, 10. The phrase, "his wife hath made herself ready," is in harmony with other scripture where action is applied to inanimate objects.
"And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. "And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. Verses 8, 9.
When will the Holy City be arrayed with the righteousness of saints? Answer. When the saints, who are to be raised and changed to immortality, at the second advent, and are to follow their Lord up to heaven, shall inherit those mansions in the "Father's house," the New Jerusalem, [John xiv,] which Christ ascended to prepare for them. Then follows "the marriage supper of the Lamb," when the children, who are also the guests, (instead of the Bride,) are all gathered home. A most perfect confusion of terms and ideas do those make who call Christ's children his Bride and their own mother, and the guests the Bride. But this point may be noticed at length another time.
"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 with 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 wine press 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." Verses 11-16.
Here is a view of the second coming of Christ. "In righteousness he doth judge and make war," therefore the symbol of a "white horse" is most appropriate for himself, or his attending angels.
The "sharp sword" which "proceeded out of his mouth," which is to consume the wicked, is mentioned in 2 Thess. ii.
The winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God, which Christ will tread, represents the slaughter of the ungodly at his coming. Compare with Chap. xiv. After all the angels of that chapter had accomplished their work, "the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horses' bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs."
He comes with the title of KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS, therefore he is acknowledged King, and receives the title prior to his coming. See Dan. vii, 13, 14; Ps. ii, 7-9; Rev. xi, 15.
"And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; "That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. "And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." Verses 17-20.
From verses 17, 18, we conclude there will be a universal slaughter. The "beast" and "false prophet" of verse 20 are the same as the "first beast," and the two-horned beast of Chap. xiii. But mark their fate. Both "cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." This is a strong figure to represent their being "consumed with the spirit of his [Christ's] mouth, and destroyed with the brightness of his coming."
To those who present Chap. xx, 10, as an objection to this view, we would say that "are" in that verse is supplied. The words, "were cast," can as properly be supplied.
But after all, may there not be a remnant of the wicked preserved to enjoy the blessings of the gospel in the future age? Notwithstanding the Beast and False Prophet are destroyed at Christ's coming, will there not be a remnant of some division of mankind saved from immediate destruction? Let the next, and last verse of the chapter answer:
"And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse; which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." Verse 21.
Dear reader, as we have turned our attention to the subject of the desolation of the earth, and the time of its desolation, we have been disappointed in finding the testimony so definite; and we are indeed astonished that any one should receive the idea that any of the living wicked will survive the dreadful scenes connected with the coming of the Son of God. We have hastily presented but a small portion of the testimony. Search the Scriptures for the whole truth on this subject, and may the Holy Spirit aid you. J. W.