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Review and Herald, Vol. 20, No. 25.

Evidences of Christianity

Review and Herald

Nov 18, 1862

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Nov 18, 1862

Evidences of Christianity.

By Moses Hull

CHAPTER VI.

(Concluded.)
Rabbah.—The prophecies concerning the chief city of the Ammonites are not numerous; but some of them are very definite. One prophet says: "Therefore behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the Lord." Jer. xlix, 2.
Another says: "And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couching place for flocks; and ye shall know that I am the Lord." Eze. xxv, 5.
In Babylon the Arabian was not to pitch his tent, nor the shepherd to make his fold—it was to be a menagerie of wild beasts, but not so with Rabbah. The same God that ordered the lion and bittern to Babylon, ordered camels and sheep to Rabbah. Lord Lindsey says that he could not sleep in the ruins of Rabbah for the bleating of sheep; that the dung of camels covers the ruins of its palaces, and that the only building left entire in its acropolis is used for a sheepfold.”—Lindsey's Travels, vol. ii, pp. 78, 117.
Tyre.—An entirely different doom awaited the city of Tyrus. The Lord ordered Ezekiel to go and say to it, "Behold I am against thee, O Tyrus, and I will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God; and it shall become a spoil to the nations. And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the Lord." Eze. xxvi, 3-6.
Again in verses 11 and 12 he says, "With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets; he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong garrisons shall go down to the ground. And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise; and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses; and they shall lay thy stones, and thy timber, and thy dust, in the midst of the water."
Tyre was the London of Asia, and at the time Ezekiel uttered these predictions, it was the commercial metropolis of the world. Its glory and splendor are described in Eze. xxvi, xxviii.
It was not to become as Babylon—"desolate, without inhabitant;" nor as Rabbah, "a couching place for flocks;" nor yet as Damascus, "a ruinous heap." But its dust was to be "scraped off," its "timbers and stones thrown into the sea." It was to become a scraped rock whereon "fishers" were to dry their nets.
The prophecy of Ezekiel has been so literally fulfilled that even the infidel Volney quotes it as a "venerable fragment of antiquity," and applies it to Tyre. He says the vicissitudes of time, or rather, the barbarism of the Greeks of the lower empire, and the Mahometans, have accomplished the prediction.—Travels, vol. ii. pp. 210-212.
Passing over the destruction of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar, prophesied of in Isa. xxiii, and also its destruction by Alexander, when its stones, timbers, and dust were thrown into the sea, to make a bridge to New Tyre, let us notice its present situation. The whole village of Tyre, says Volney, "contained only fifty or sixty poor families who live obscurely, on a trifling fishery." "The port of Tyre," says Dr. Shaw, "small as it is, is choked up to that degree with sand and rubbish, that the boats of those fishermen who now and then visit this once renowned emporium, and dry their nets upon its rocks and ruins, can with great difficulty only be admitted."
Bruce describes Tyre as a "rock whereon fishers dry their nets." For further testimony, see M'Ilvaine's Evidences, p. 258.
Were it at all necessary, we might now enter into the prophetic description of Nineveh, Damascus, Jerusalem, and other cities, but if the cases already presented do not convince the infidel that something more than human wisdom characterized the prophets, we despair of reaching his case. We will bring the argument under this head to a conclusion by giving a synopsis of the

Prophecies concerning Christ.—We present them as arranged by Dr. Berg, in his Debate with Joseph Barker, pp. 185-192.

"Messiah was to come among men before the destruction of the first temple. Jesus Christ preached in that temple; and it was totally destroyed within forty years afterward. Compare Haggai ii, 7: "And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come; and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts;" with Matt. xxi, 23: "And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?" See Josephus!
"Messiah was to come into the world before the dominion of the Jews was taken away. Christ was born that very year when Augustus Cæsar imposed a tax upon the Jewish nation, as a token of their subjection to the Roman government. Compare Gen. xlix, 10, with Luke ii, 1-7.
"When Messiah should make his appearance among men, it was to be a time of general peace, after dreadful wars and convulsions. When Jesus Christ came into the world, the Roman wars were just terminated, the temple of Janus was shut, and universal peace reigned throughout the empire. Compare Haggai ii, 6, 7, 9, with the Roman history of this period.
"Messiah was to make his appearance among men at a time when there should be a general expectation of him. When Jesus Christ came into the world, all nations were looking for the advent of some extraordinary person. Compare Haggai ii, 7-9, with Matt. ii, 1-10, and John i, 19-45.
"Messiah was to be born according to the ordinary course of nature, but to descend from a pure virgin. Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary. Compare Gen. iii, 15; Isa. vii, 14; Jer. xxxi, 22, with Matt. i, 22, 23.
"Messiah was to be the son of Abraham, the father of the faithful, and the friend of God. Jesus Christ was sprung from that illustrious Patriarch. Compare Gen. xxi, 1-12, with Matt. i, 1-16.
"Messiah was to be the Son of Isaac, and not of Ishmael. Jesus Christ was sprung from Isaac, and not from Ishmael. Compare Gen. xvii, 16-21, with Matt. i, 1-16.
"Messiah was to be the Son of Jacob and not of Esau. Jesus Christ did descend from Jacob, and not from his brother Esau. Compare Gen. xxv, 24-34; xxvii, 27-29; xxviii, 13, 14, with Matt. i, 1-16.
"Jacob had twelve sons. Messiah was not to spring from any other of the twelve, but from Judah. Jesus Christ claimed Judah as his ancestor in a direct line. Compare Gen. xlix, 8-12, with Matt. i, 1-16.
"Messiah was to be sprung from Jesse, the father of David, king of Israel. Jesus Christ was his descendant. Compare Isa. xi, 1, with Matt. i, 1-16.
"Jesse had eight sons. David was the youngest. From none of the seven elder, but from David alone, was Messiah to derive his origin. Jesus Christ was the son of David. Compare 1 Sam. xvi, 1-13; 2 Sam. vii, 12-15; Ps. lxxxix, 19-37, with Matt. i, 1-6.
"Messiah was to be born in a poor and mean condition, when the family should be reduced to a very low estate. Jesus Christ, both on his father's and his mother's side, was of very low and mean appearance, though descended from such illustrious ancestors. Compare Isa. liii, 2; Luke i, 48, 52; ii, 7, 24.
"Messiah was to have a messenger going before him, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Christ had a messenger going before him, who fully bore witness to his pretensions. Compare Mal. iii, 1, with John i, 19-34, and iii, 26-36.
"The forerunner of Messiah was either to be Elijah himself, or one in the spirit of Elijah. John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, was altogether in the spiritof that great prophet. Compare Mal. iv, with Mark i, 1-8.
"The forerunner of Messiah was to preach in the wilderness, and to prepare the minds of the people for his coming. John the Baptist did preach in the wilderness of Judea, and professed himself to be sent to prepare the Jews for the advent of Christ. Compare Isa. xl, 3-5, with Matt. iii, 1-16.
"The forerunner of Messiah was to be considerably successful in his office. John the Baptist was treated with great respect by his countrymen, and made large numbers of disciples. Compare Isa. xl, 3-5, with Luke iii, 21.
"Messiah was not to be born at Jerusalem, the capital of his kingdom, but at Bethlehem, an obscure country village. Jesus Christ was born at Bethlehem, by a very peculiar providence. Compare Micah v, 2: 'But thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be Ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting,' with Matt. ii, 2: 'Saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.'
"Messiah was to go down into Egypt, and to be called out from thence. Jesus Christ went down into Egypt soon after his birth, and was called out from thence by an angel of the Lord. Compare Hosea xi, 1, with Matt. ii, 13-23.
"Messiah was to converse and preach the gospel in the region of Galilee. Jesus Christ lived and conversed so long in that obscure and despicable part of the land of Israel, that he was, by way of contempt, denominated the Galilean. Compare Isa. ix, 1, 2: 'Nevertheless, the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined;' with Matt. iv, 22, 23: 'But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea, in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither; notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee; and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene;' and Matt. iv, 23, 25: 'And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease, among the people. And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan.'
"Messiah was to sustain the office of a prophet, when he came to redeem mankind. Jesus Christ sustained that office in all its extent. Compare Deut. xviii, 15, 18; Acts iii, 22, with Luke xxiv, 19; Matt. xxiv.
"Messiah, though a Priest, was not to be of the tribe of Levi, and after the order of Aaron, but after the order of Melchizedec. Jesus Christ was of the tribe of Judah, and had an everlasting priesthood, after the order of Melchizedec. Compare Gen. xiv, 18, Ps. cx, 4; Heb. vi, 20; vii, 1-28.
"Messiah was to be a righteous King and emphatically the Prince of peace. Jesus Christ was eminently distinguished as a righteous person, and the great peace-maker, both on earth and in heaven. Compare Isa. xxxii, 1; Ps. xlv, 1-17; lxxii, 1-19; Jer. xxiii, 5; Zech. ix, 9; Isa. ix, 6; Luke ii, 14; Eph. ii, 4-22.
"Messiah was to be emphatically the Just One. Jesus Christ not only answered the description, but is repeatedly called by that name. Compare 2 Sam. xxiii, 3; Isa. xi, 5; Acts iii, 14; vii, 52; xxii, 14.
"Messiah, to whom belonged the land of Judea, was to be denominated Emanuel. Jesus Christ was the proprietor of that holy land, and was expressly called by the name of Emanuel. Compare Isa. vii, 14; viii, 8; Matt. i, 23; and John i, 11.
"Messiah was to be endowed with a peculiar degree of wisdom and understanding. Jesus Christ, his enemies being judges, spake as never man spake, and taught a more pure and excellent doctrine than ever had been received by mankind before. Compare Isa. xi, 1-5; John vii, 46; Matt. xiii, 54-58; Matt. v, vi, vii, chaps.
"The doctrine of Messiah was to be of the most healing, and encouraging, and consolatory kind. The doctrine of Jesus Christ was singularly adapted to the healing of wounded minds. Compare Isa. lxi, 1-3; Matt. xi, 28-30; John xiv, 1-3.
"Messiah was to be peculiarly kind and affectionate to young, distressed, and tender-spirited persons. Jesus Christ was singularly attentive to all such characters. Compare Isa. xl, 11; lv, 1-3; lxi, 1-3; Matt. xii, 20; and Mark x, 13-16.
"In confirmation of his divine mission, Messiah was to display many wonderful works among the people. Jesus Christ wrought abundance of miracles in confirmation of his pretensions, and the doctrines he taught. Compare Isa. xxxv, 5, 6, with Matt. viii, ix; John xxi, 25.
"Messiah was to have but little success in preaching the gospel among his own countrymen, the Jews. Jesus Christ was almost universally rejected by them. Compare Isa. liii, 1; xlix, 4; Rom. x, 1, 8, 21.
"The minds of the Jews were to be so veiled that they should not know their Messiah when he came among them. The minds of the Jews were so sealed up, and enveloped in prejudice against Jesus Christ when he appeared, that he was treated by them as an impostor and deceiver. Compare Isa. vi, 9-13. xxix, 9-14; 2 Cor. iii, 5-18.
"Messiah was to be despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Jesus Christ was despised and rejected of men; and a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Compare Isa. liii, with Matt. xxvi, xxvii; Phil. ii, 6, 9.
"Messiah was to be seen riding into Jerusalem upon a young ass, as a token of the humility of his mind. Jesus Christ answered this prediction, as well as every other that went before concerning him, in the most minute circumstance. Compare Zech. ix, 9, with Matt. xxi, 1-11.
"When Messiah should enter Jerusalem in this meek and humble manner, great crowds of the common people should welcome him with shouts and rejoicing. When Jesus Christ rode into that proud metropolis in low disguise, the general cry of the mob was, Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! Compare Zech. ix, 9, with Matt. xxi, 1-11.
"Messiah was to be actuated with such a burning zeal for the house of God, as even to be endangered by it. Jesus Christ displayed that zeal upon various occasions. Compare Ps. lxix, 9, with John ii, 17.
"Messiah was to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies by the treachery of an intimate friend. Christ was betrayed by one of the disciples whom he had chosen. Compare Ps. xli, 9; lv, 12, 13; Matt. xxvi, 47-50.
"Messiah was to be sold for thirty pieces of silver. Jesus Christ was sold for the sum predicted. Compare Zech. xi, 12; Matt. xxiv, 14-16.
"Messiah's price, the thirty pieces of silver, was to be cast to the potter in the house of the Lord. All this was done when Judas betrayed his Master. Compare Zech. xi, 13; Matt. xxvii, 3-10.
"Messiah was to be condemned in judgment, and suffer death under the color of public justice. Jesus Christ underwent a mock trial, was declared innocent by his very judge, and yet delivered over to be crucified. Compare Isaiah liii. 8, 9; Matthew xxvii. chapter.
"The followers of Messiah were all to forsake him in the time of his greatest need. When Jesus Christ was apprehended, and put upon his trial, all his disciples forsook him and fled. Compare Zechariah xiii. 7; Isaiah lxiii. 5; Matthew xxvi. 56.
"Messiah was to finish his public employment, in confirming the covenant, in about three years and a half. Jesus Christ began his public office at thirty years of age, and was put to death at thirty-three and a half. Compare Daniel ix, 27, with the period of our Lord's ministry in the four gospels.
"Messiah was to be ignominiously scourged by his persecutors. Jesus Christ was treated in this manner. Compare Isaiah l, 6; with Matthew xxvii, 26.
"Messiah was to be oppressed and afflicted, and yet not open his mouth in complaint. He was to be brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before his shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world, before Pilate held his peace. 'And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.' Compare Isaiah liii, 7; with Matthew xxvi, 63, xxvii, 12-14.
"Messiah was to be taken up with wicked men in his death. Christ was suspended on a cross between two thieves. Compare Isaiah liii, 9; with Matthew xxvii, 38, 60.
"Messiah was to be buried in the sepulchre of a rich man. Christ was buried in the tomb of a rich counsellor. Compare Isaiah liii, 9; with Matthew xxvii, 38, 60.
"Messiah was to be manifested at the end of the 483 years, from a time when a commandment should go forth to restore and to build Jerusalem. Now it is remarkable, that from the seventh year of Artaxerxes Longimanus, king of Persia, from whom Ezra received his commission, ch. vii, 8; to the baptism of Jesus Christ, there are just 483 years. Daniel ix, 24.
"Messiah was to be presented by his enemies with vinegar and gall during his sufferings. In this manner was Jesus Christ treated, as he hung upon the cross. Compare Ps. lxix, 21; with Matt. xxvii, 34; and John xix, 28-30.
"The persecutors of Messiah were to pierce his hands and his feet. So did the bloody Jews and Romans treat the Redeemer of mankind. Compare Ps. xxii, 16; with Matt. xxvii, 35.
"When Messiah was put to death, his enemies were to part his garments among them, and for his vesture they were to cast lots. When Christ was crucified, these actions took place. Compare Ps. xxii, 18; with Matt. xxvii, 32.
"When the Messiah should suffer death, not a bone of his body was to be broken. When Christ was crucified, not a bone of him was injured. Ex. xii, 45; and Num. ix, 12; with John xix, 28-30.
"When Messiah should be put to death, his side was, by some means not declared, to be pierced. When Jesus Christ was crucified, his side was pierced with a spear. Compare Zech. xii, 10; with John xix, 34-37.
"When Messiah should come, there was to be a fountain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness. When Christ came, he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, and by the shedding of his blood once for all. Compare Zech. xiii, 1; and Heb. chap. ix, and x.
"Messiah was to make atonement for the iniquities, transgressions, and sins of the world. Jesus Christ was a propitiation for the sins of the whole world. Isa. liii, 5; Dan. ix, 24; 1 John ii, 1, 2.
"Messiah was to make this sacrifice in the last of Daniel's seventy weeks. Jesus Christ was crucified that very week. Dan. ix, 27.
"Messiah was to abolish the old and establish a new dispensation. Jesus Christ abolished the ceremonies of the Law of Moses, and brought in a more perfect economy. Compare Jer. xxxi, 31-34; with Heb. viii, 6-13.
"Messiah was not to lie in the grave and be turned to corruption like other men. Jesus Christ did not continue in the grave, nor did he see corruption like the rest of mankind. Compare Ps. xvi, 10; with Matt. xxviii, 6.
"Messiah was to be raised from the grave on the third day after his interment. Jesus Christ was buried on Friday, and rose from the dead on the Sunday morning following. Compare Hos. vi, 2; Matt. xx, 19; Matt. xxvii, 1-7; 1 Cor. xv, 4.
"Messiah was to ascend up into heaven, and reign there at his Father's right hand, invested with universal dominion. Jesus Christ did ascend up into heaven in the sight of many witnesses, and took his place at the right hand of power, invested with universal dominion. Compare Ps. xvi, 11; lxviii, 18; Isa. ix, 6, 7; Luke xxiv, 50, 51; Acts i, 9; and Matt. xxviii, 19.
"Messiah was to send down from heaven the gift of the Holy Ghost, as a token and pledge that he was exalted, and that his Father was pleased with whathe had done upon earth for the redemption of his people. Jesus Christ sent down the gift of the Holy Ghost, in the most conspicuous and miraculous manner. Compare Ps. lxviii, 18; Joel ii, 28-32; with Acts ii, 1-4; and Eph. iv, 8-12.
"Though Messiah was generally to be rejected and despised in his life-time; after his death the pleasure of the Lord, in the conversion and salvation of mankind, was to prosper in his hand. How exactly these circumstances agree with the history of Jesus Christ, is well known to every Christian. Isa. liii, 10-12.
"The followers of Messiah should meet with great and severe trials and persecutions for their adherence to his cause. The followers of Jesus Christ had the whole world in arms against them for several ages. Compare Isa. lxv, 5; and Mal. iii, 1-3; with Matt. x, 16-18; and 1 Cor. iv, 9.
"The rejecters of Messiah should be rejected of God, and his followers called by another name. The Jews, who would not have Christ to rule over them were rejected by him, and his followers were called by another name, through divine appointment, as it should seem, to accomplish this prophecy. Compare Isa. lxii, 2; lxv, 15; with Acts xi, 26.
"This is a concise view of some of the predictions contained in the Old Testament, concerning the nature, birth, life, doctrine, sufferings, death, resurrection, ascension, and kingdom of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. There can be no doubt respecting the priority of the predictions to the birth of Christ, because it is well known by every person, who is at all conversant in these matters, that the Old Testament was translated out of Hebrew into the Greek language, and dispersed over the world, many years before Christ came; and that the latest of the predictions was upwards of three centuries before the birth of the Redeemer of mankind. Such a variety of circumstances, therefore, predicted concerning one man, so many years before he was born, of so extraordinary a nature, and under such convulsions, and revolutions of civil governments, all accomplished in Christ, and in no other person that ever appeared in the world, point him out with irresistible evidence, as the Saviour of mankind. I call upon, and challenge, the most hardened infidel in Christendom to refute the conclusion."
Now reader, my task is done. Not that I have presented all the evidence of Christianity, or all the outlines of the great chains which have been examined. But I trust that at least enough has been said to convince you that there is evidence that the book which we call the Bible,
"Is divine and unalterably sure."
If I have succeeded in awakening a spirit of investigation so that you will examine other and more able writings upon this subject I shall be satisfied.
Before taking my leave of you I would remind you that it is not enough for you to assent to the truth of the Bible. Thousands who sincerely believe the Bible to be given by inspiration of God will land in destruction. "O taste and see that the Lord is good." "Ho every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat. Yea come, buy, wine and milk without money and without price." "If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink." "And the Spirit and the bride say come; and let him that heareth say come; and let him that is athirst come; and whosoever will let him take the water of life freely."
Reader will you come?

Trust in Christ.

WhEN life's afflictions me surround, And trials press me here below, When I with grief am sorely bound, To whom for succor can I go?
I'll fly to Jesus! on his breast I'll lean my head with pious care; He knows my wants, he'll give me rest, And make me all his joys to share!
Oh, blessed Saviour, be my friend, Help me to trust in thee alone; And when life's conflicts here shall end, Receive me safe in heaven, my home!
There may I dwell in endless bliss, And feed upon thy matchless love; Oh! what is earth compared with this, Compared with joys in heaven above!
Here shall I sing redeeming grace, And my dear Saviour's glory see; Oh, may I there behold thy face, And dwell forever, Lord, with thee!

Avenging of the Elect.

By D. D. Buck

(Concluded.)

We find prophecies that relate to two different advents, at different times, in different circumstances, and for different purposes, just as the Hebrews found it in their own Scriptures. And by confounding the two, just as they seem to have done, we become hopelessly embarrassed, and have to resort, as they did, to every imaginable method of reconciliation. It suited their preconceptions to consider one part as literal and personal, and another part as impersonal and figurative, without any established laws of interpretation to guide them. It agrees with our preconceptions to do the same thing, and in the same manner. There is, however, this remarkable difference between our Christian preferences and their Jewish practices in reference to Scripture exegesis: what they regarded as the personal and the literal, we prefer to consider as impersonal and figurative. What was all figurative and impersonal to them, we expound as being personal and literal. And thus—if the figure be not considered too undignified—the revealed truth of God, balanced equally between Jewish and Gentile extremes, has been subject to a perpetual see-sawing between the two opposite, instead of being held in a steady equipoise by both parties.
But the dire calamity of the fatal mistake is this: they clung tenaciously to what they considered to be literal, and spiritualized away what they were pleased to consider as figurative, at the very time when—if we may thus express it—it was more important for them to understand, and to be ready for, the fulfillment of the prophecies which they explained as being figurative and impersonal; and, for this reason, those events came upon them unawares, and found them unprepared for those eventful times.
We just as tenaciously cling to what we believe to be literal, and to have been already fulfilled by Christ in his own proper person; and we theorize and spiritualize away these prophecies which we please to consider impersonal and figurative; being those that relate to the millennial coming and reign, at the very time when it behooves us to be most careful in examining and understanding them, inasmuch as, according to the general conviction, the foretold events, whatever they may prove to be, must be very near. And as the Scriptures declared how it would be in the case of the Jews, at the first advent of Christ, so they just as distinctly declare what will be the result to us at the second advent. At the very time that the first coming took place, through general misapprehension, the people were generally unprepared, and were in expectation of another class of events. Even so, as the Scriptures do always teach, when the second coming shall occur, the world will be unprepared and surprised, and will be looking for events of quite another kind; and so that day will take men unawares.
If the ancient Jews who rejected Christ, and brought upon themselves and their posterity such infinite woe, had fallen into the error that now prevails, it would doubtless have proved far less fatal to them. And if modern Christians should now generally adopt the error of the Jews, it might result far less disastrously than the now general misimpression. But the author of all evil and error, to whom we must ultimately trace all misconception and disbelief, who perhaps as frequently appears as an angel of light, as like a roaring lion, knows how to contrive his far reaching schemes, and how to modify, adapt, and re-modify his plans, so as to work the greatest evil to the greatest number.
The summary and sequel of this portion of our argument may be stated thus:
  1. The Jews expected Messiah would come at the first. We look for his coming again.
  2. The Scriptures showed that they would be unprepared for his first coming; and so it proved. And the same Scriptures declare that people generally will be unprepared for his second coming; and so it will be.
  3. Their source of misapprehension was a radical error in exegesis, where, not the language of the prophecies, but their own imaginations, misled them. Ours is the same.
  4. Their error was in departing from the literal, and substituting the figurative, in order to suit their preconceived opinions. Ours is the same.
  5. Christ came in his spiritual dominion, at the very time he was expected to come, to establish his visible kingdom. He will come in his visible kingdom, it is probable, just when there is a general expectation of his universal spiritual reign. The misapprehension will be less in respect to season and time, than in respect to nature and results.
  6. Their error was generally fatal to them. Ours, as the Scriptures sufficiently teach, will be generally fatal to the world.1
  7. Their learned rabbis then ignorantly misled the people. Ours, unintentionally, are misleading us, in respect to these things.
  8. There were then a few among the many who had the true faith, and were ready for those eventful times. When the Son of man cometh there will be some in the earth—a few among the many—who will have the true faith, and who will be found in readiness to meet the Lord.
  9. Unto them that waited for redemption in Israel, like Simeon and Anna, the Lord appeared for the first time, with his sin-offering to redeem. And unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time, without sin, unto salvation.
Lord, have mercy upon us, unbelieving, unwatchful, insensible people that we are, and wake us that we sleep no more!
We remark, in conclusion, that God will in due time arise to vindicate his elect. He has covenanted to do it, and his word shall never fail. We may live to behold the set time for interposing in behalf of his people; but if we shall fall asleep in Jesus, and slumber with the innumerable hosts who have died in the Lord, even our flesh shall rest in hope; and, with Daniel, at the end of the days, we shall stand in our lot; and, with Job, at the latter day, shall behold with our own eyes our great Redeemer standing upon the earth.
When the Son of man came at first, he did indeed find faith in the earth—the true faith—the faith founded upon the words of the divine promises, which are so blended with the prophetical Scriptures. The specimens of the true faith at that period, were as the few visible stars of the firmament, compared with the innumerable multitudes that common vision can not reach.
When the Son of man comes again, he will doubtless find faith in the earth—the true faith once delivered to the saints—the faith that takes God at his word, whether human wisdom coincides with it or not. But the living specimens, probably compared with others, will be as the isolated granite peaks that recent convulsions have thrust out from the deep, primitive foundations through all the disordered accumulations of more recent times. But the melancholy conviction is this: that, as on the morning of the Christian dispensation, the true faith, like the granite hills on the morning of the world, formed the conspicuous Alpine, bathed in the beams of the rising day; so now the isolated summits that have pierced their way up through and above the modern strata of theologic speculation and unbelieving creeds, find themselves the attracting targets of every reckless thunderbolt of ecclesiastic censure and skeptical jeer; and up in the dark, cold heavens are gleaming in the lingering light of our setting sun.
But the night that closes the present aionos shall be immediately followed by the dawn of another. And the evening and the morning will be the Sabbath day. Jesus, the bright and the morning star of the present dispensation, shall then come so near as to be the ever-present sun of that glorious day. The predicted consummation of the gospel aionos will not be the end of the material kosmos. The whole creation that groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now, shall then be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. While we are waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our bodies, the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. When the Lord Jesus shall come in his own, and in the Father's glory, to be glorified also in his saints, and admired in all them that believe in that day, he will receive his faithful ones into his everlasting kingdom, to enjoy the presence of his Person, and the glory of his power forevermore.
In the palingenesia, [regeneration, or renovation,] when the Son of man shall sit upon his glorious throne, those who have forsaken all and followed him, shall be made kings and priests unto God, to reign and rejoice with Prince Messiah.
In that day—that dispensation of the fullness of times—when he shall gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth in him; when all are purified and glorified, and their vile bodies, even, are changed, and fashioned like our Lord's most glorious body—in that day it will cease to be surprising that the Lord has loved his Church with such unchangeable love, and espoused her unto himself in a covenant in all things well orderedand sure. For she shall be presented unto him without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, blooming in all the loveliness of heavenly healthfulness and fadeless beauty. Her wornout and soiled apparel of earthly servitude and suffering laid aside; her heavenly raiment put on; her bridal diadem upon her head; her immortal jewelry as the glittering stars; she shall look forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, majestic as an army with banners. She will be acknowledged as a divine princess. She will be all glorious within. Her clothing shall be of wrought gold. She shall be brought to the king in raiment of needle-work, with gladness and rejoicing shall she be presented. The king shall see and greatly desire her beauty. She shall be praised and admired as one worthy of all the solicitude and love that she had awakened in the heart of the Holy One.
Then shall be heard the voice of a great multitude that no man can number—as the sound of many waters—as the reverberations of many thunders—saying, “Alleluia! for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor unto him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his bride hath made herself ready!”
Thus, after long forbearing, shall God speedily vindicate his elect.
Blessed are they who are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. Respected reader, these are the true sayings of God. May you be of that blessed number who shall be found with the wedding garment on, and with their lamps duly trimmed and furnished. May you not be among the improvident ones, who shall stand without and knock, saying, “Lord, Lord, open to us,” when once the Master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, never to be opened again. For there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when they shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and they themselves thrust out. May you, dear reader, be among those who come from the east, and from the west, from the north and from the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God!

A FEW WORDS AT PARTING.

  1. Do you believe that “Whatsoever things were written aforetime, were written for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope?”
  2. Do you believe that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness?”
  3. Do you believe that, “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein, for the time is at hand?”
  4. Do you believe that God gave and adapted the Scriptures to mankind—to you, and to me, as well as to others—and that these Revelations are a part of those given and divinely-adapted Scriptures that were intended for our learning and spiritual improvement?
  5. Have you—your own self being judge—devoted the time and attention to these momentous and thrilling subjects which they ought to receive, as God's revelations to us of things pertaining to our own and the world’s ultimate destiny?
  6. Yourself being judge in this matter, have you felt and taken as much interest in these divine communications, by which your everlasting destiny will be determined, as you have in the unreliable fictions, and in the unprofitable political controversies of the day?
  7. Will you, intelligent reader, for your own soul’s sake, and out of respect to what the Almighty One has spoken to us—will you, from this moment, awake to these momentous subjects, and study the Scriptures of truth with perseverance and prayer?
God bless you. Amen.—D. D. Buck.
Continue reading: Thoughts on the Revelation