Continued from yesterday's study….
This study is on an
article written 147 years ago. So much
has happened in our world since then. Some of the things in here will sound
strange to us, and some may not seem relevant now. Time and place truly are
necessary in all things. May God forever and always guide us ONLY to HIS truth
in all we read, in all we study, all through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!
*******
The Second Coming of
Christ BY ELD. JAMES WHITE.
"What shall be
the sign of Thy coming and of the end of the world?" - DISCIPLES.
"When ye shall
see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." - JESUS.
*******
FALSE PROPHETS
Verse 11. "And many false prophets shall rise, and shall
deceive many."
In the common use of the word, a prophet is one that foretells;
but the word sometimes means simply a teacher. Prophets of God declare the
future, being instructed by good angels and the Spirit of God. False
Prophets make predictions by the agency
of wicked spirits and the power of Satan. And while this is true of those who
are under the direct inspiration of superior beings, good or evil, consecrated
teachers of divine truth may be regarded as God's prophets; and teachers of
error may be properly called false prophets. True and false prophets may be
known.
The prophets of God are teachers of purity, reprovers of sin, and
faithful in warning the people of coming dangers. The duties of those whom God
calls to speak in his great name, are clearly expressed by the sacred writers.
We here quote from three of them.
Isa.58:1. "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a
trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their
sins."
Joel 2:1. "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in
my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of
the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand."
2Tim.4:1,2. "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord
Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his
kingdom preach the word; be instant is season and out of season; reprove,
rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and doctrine."
False prophets do not reprove the people for their sins, they do
not warn them of coming danger; but they proclaim peace to the sinner. Their
teachings lead from God and his word, and are such as to please the unconverted
mind. The inspired writers have also spoken definitely of the testimony and
work of false prophets. We here give several for example.
Eze.13:9,10. "And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that
see vanity, and that divine lies. They shall not be in the assembly of my
people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel,
neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am
the Lord God. Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace;
and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and lo, others daubed it with
untempered mortar."
Jer.6:13,14. "For from the least of them even unto the
greatest of them, every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even
unto the priest, every one dealeth falsely. They have healed, also, the hurt of
the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no
peace."
Jer.14:13,14. "Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, the
prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have
famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place. Then the Lord said
unto me. The prophets prophesy lies in my name. I sent them not, neither have I
commanded them, neither spake unto them."
After stating the duty of the faithful servant of God to preach
the word, to reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine,
the apostle says: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers
having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and
shall be turned unto fables." 2Tim. 4:3,4.
That time has now fully come. The people choose pleasing fables,
which do not disturb them in their sins, rather than the reproving, searching
declarations of the word of God. They love to be deceived by the teachings of
false prophets, and "say to the seers, See not, and to the prophets,
Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy
deceits." Isa.30:10.
"Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord. Shall
not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? A wonderful and horrible thing
is committed in the land; the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear
rule by their means; and my people love to have it so; and what will ye do in
the end thereof? Jer.5:29-31.
The ears of the people are filled with the pleasing fables of the
world's conversion, a good time coming, and that we are just entering the
golden age. The threatening's of God's word on the proud, the haughty, the
vain, the rich, the sinners in Zion, and those out of Zion, are kept back by
the false teachers of these times. Many of them even dare to teach that the
moral code of the ten commandments is abrogated. And as the result of such a
course, and of such teaching, we see, in the professed church of Jesus Christ,
that
INIQUITY ABOUNDS
Verse 12. "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of
many shall wax cold."
It is evident that both the abounding of iniquity, and the waxing
cold of the love of many, are fulfilled in the professed church of Jesus
Christ. Men must first experience the love of God, and of heavenly things,
before that love can grow cold. Hence, common, unconverted sinners are not here
referred to as apostatizing. And, again, the prevalence of iniquity in the
unconverted world alone, would stimulate
the church to greater diligence, and more godliness, instead of being a cause
of apostasy. Hence the iniquity here mentioned is in the very heart of the
professed church, diffusing its chilly influence through the whole body. As the
result, the love of many has grown cold. With this, agree the words of the
apostle:
"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall
come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, false accusers,
incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady,
high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of
godliness, but denying the power thereof; from such turn away."
2Tim.3:1-5.
Here is a catalogue of sixteen sins, all resting upon those who
have a form of godliness. These are not infidels and common worldly sinners,
for they have not a form of godliness; but they are men and women professing to
be followers of Jesus Christ. And although they make a profession of piety as
high as Heaven, they are covered all over with popular sins. And by reason of
their example, and their chilly influence, many are led from the humble path to
Heaven, and their love becomes cold.
THE END
VERSE 13. "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same
shall be saved."
The word end, wherever used
in this chapter, refers to the end of the age, and to nothing else. It is the
end associated in the New Testament with the second appearing of Jesus Christ.
The disciples did not ask their Lord (see verse 3) when they should die; but "what
shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" Neither
does the Lord speak of death, when he says (see verse 6), "But the end is
not yet." And it would be strange indeed to suppose that the word end, in
verse 14, meant death. If any think such a position admissible, let them read
it into the text, as follows: And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached
in all the world, for a witness to all nations, and then shall death come.
Absurdity!
Verse 14. "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached
in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end
come."
This is the first sign of the end given by our Lord in answer to
the question, "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the
world?" But this verse, by many, is supposed to prove that all men will be
converted, and that then there will be one thousand years in which all will
know the Lord, from the least to the greatest." Some hold that the one
thousand years of Rev.20, are prophetic, each day in the year representing a
year, making three hundred and sixty-five thousand years. And many of these,
very men teach that nothing can be known of the period of the second advent.
But would they not know when their supposed millennium, whether it be literal
time, or prophetic, had commenced? Certainly they would. Then they would know
when it would terminate, and bring the coming of the Son of Man, and the
Judgment. If those enjoying the millennium could not tell when it commenced,
then it would hardly be worth having. If they could tell when it commenced,
most certainly they could tell when it would close. These men should
be the very last to oppose the view that the prophetic word points
to the very generation that shall witness the second advent.
But the text does not say that every individual will even hear
this gospel of the kingdom. It does not state that any one will be converted
and made holy by it. And we find it far from intimating that a world would be
converted, and remain so one thousand years, and that those who should enjoy
that happy period would know nothing of when it would terminate by the coming
of the Son of Man, and the unveiled glories of Jehovah, Jesus, and the mighty
angels. The text simply states: First. "And this gospel of the kingdom
shall be preached in all the world. Second. "For a witness unto all
nations. Third. "And then [not one
thousand years later, nor three hundred and sixty-five thousand; but THEN]
shall the end come." If we understand the phrase, "this gospel of the
kingdom," to be the gospel in the common acceptation of the word, is not
the work very nearly accomplished?
J.
Litch, in his "Prophetic Expositions," p. 147, under the heading,
"Signs of the Times," says: "Rev. J. O. Choules, author of a
voluminous work, a History of Missions, from the apostolic age down to the
present day, being asked, last May (1842), if he knew of any nation which never
had received the gospel, replied that he did not; but he thought the promise
implied something more than its being barely preached in each nation. The same
question was proposed to Rev. Mr. James, general financial agent of the
American Bible Society, and nearly the same answer was elicited. Dr. Nathan
Bangs, for many years at the head of the Methodist missionary operations, was
asked the question last July, and after reflecting some time, replied that he
believed there was a tribe, somewhere upon the north-west coast of North
America, to whom it had never been preached."
Wm.
Miller, in his "Lectures," p. 288, says: "Is not this sign
already accomplished? Bible translated into more than two hundred different
languages; missionaries sent among all nations known to us on the globe. The
gospel has now spread over the four quarters of the globe. It began in Asia. In
the apostles' days, that quarter was full of light. From thence it went into
Africa; and, for a number of centuries, Africa stretched out her hands unto
God. Europe, too, has had a long visitation of gospel blessings; and now
America, the last quarter of the globe, is reaping a harvest of souls for the
last day. The gospel, like the sun, arose in the east, and will set in the
west."
But if
the term, "this gospel of the kingdom," be understood as applying to
the proclamation of, or to that portion of the gospel which relates to, the
coming and kingdom of Christ, the fulfillment is equally evident. And it seems
necessary to so understand the passage, as it was given in answer to the
question, "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the
world?"
Campbell's translation of this verse decidedly favors this view of
the subject: "And this good tidings of the reign shall be published
through all the world, for the information of all nations, and then shall come
the end." Whiting's version also gives the same idea: "And this good
news of the kingdom will be preached in all the
world, for a testimony to all nations, and then will the end
come."
J. Litch, in his lecture on Matt.24, Advent
Herald, Nov. 23, 1850, says: "Many supposed the wars of Napoleon
were the wars of the last days, to precede the millennium; and that the battle
of Waterloo was the battle of Armageddon, as it is called. But the discussion
of the subject of prophecy drew forth inquiry, and a few discovered the true
light, the doctrine of Christ's personal reign on earth, and began to teach it.
Among these was a Spanish Roman Catholic, who wrote an able and voluminous work
under the anonymous signature of Ben Ezra. His work fell into the hands of
Edward Irving, the celebrated and eloquent advocate of the doctrine of the
pre-millennial advent of Christ. It opened his eyes to the glorious truth, and
led him to devote himself most zealously to its advocacy. He first translated
Ben Ezra, and subsequently wrote and published several valuable works on the
subject. For a time, the excitement on the subject in England, under his
labors, was as intense as it subsequently was in this country, under the labors
of Mr. Miller. Thousands flocked to hear him wherever he went, and listened
with wonder at the strange and glorious truths he brought forth from the word
of God. The cause received an impulse under his efforts which it will never
lose till time shall end. Many of the clergy of the Established Church, as well
as dissenting ministers of all denominations, caught the theme, and joined to
spread it abroad."
"Nor has the influence of Rev. Joseph Wolfe been unfelt. He
has visited and proclaimed 'the gospel of the kingdom,' in the four quarters of
the globe, to Protestants, Catholics, Mohammedans, Jews, and
pagans. The seed thus sown will not be lost. A work similar to that of Ben
Ezra, in Spain, appeared in Germany, the productions of Bengle. This, by the
evangelical portion of the German people, is esteemed as a standard work on
prophecy. It has been widely circulated and read as far as the German language
extends throughout continental Europe. It was from this source the Russian
Milkeaters, of whom an account was given in the Advent
Herald a few years since, obtained their information on the speedy
second advent of Christ.
"The great American movement on this subject, and the
diffusion of information with regard to it, within the last ten years, is too
well known to need extended remarks in this place. Neither labor nor sacrifice
was regarded in the wide and rapid extension of the good news of the kingdom,
as far as the English language could make it known. It was sent to the four
quarters of the globe, and to the islands of the sea, upon the wings of all the
winds."
E. R. Pinney, in his exposition of Matthew 24, says: "As
early as 1842, second-advent publications had been sent to every missionary
station in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, both sides of the Rocky
Mountains. We find this doctrine in Tartary, about twenty-five years ago, and
the time for the coming of Christ to be in 1844. This fact is obtained from an
Irish missionary in Tartary, to whom the question was put by a Tartar priest,
when Christ would come the second time. And he made answer that he knew nothing
at all about it. The Tartar priest expressed great surprise at such an answer
from a missionary who had had come to teach them the doctrines of the Bible,
and remarked 'that he thought everybody might know that, who had a Bible.' The
Tartar priest then gave his views, stating that Christ, he thought, would come
about A.D. 1844. The missionary wrote home a statement of the facts, which were
published in the Irish Magazine, in
1821. The commanders of our vessels, and the sailors, tell us they touch at no
point where they find this proclamation has not preceded them, and frequent
inquiries respecting it are made of them."
"I noticed, in a late number of the Voice of Truth, that a brother traveling on the lakes, met with
a Russian gentleman, direct from his country, who informed him that the
doctrine of 'Christ's coming, and the end of the world,' had been preached
there, but was received only by the lower classes. Rev. Mr. Mansfield had an
interview with a Moravian missionary, stationed in Antigua, who said that
several years since, the doctrine of the immediate coming was extensively
preached in Germany, and that the whole of the south of Germany was aroused
upon the subject.
The Advent Shield, Vol. I, No. 1, pp. 86, 87, says: "We look
upon the proclamation which has been made, as being the cry of the angel who
proclaimed, 'The hour of his judgment is come.'
Rev. 14:6,7. It is a sound which is to reach all nations; it is the
proclamation of 'the everlasting gospel,' or 'this gospel of the kingdom.' In
one shape or other, this cry has gone abroad through the earth wherever human
beings are found, and we have had opportunity to hear of the fact. Within the
last six years, publications treating on the subject have been sent to nearly
every
English and American missionary station on the globe; to all, at
least, to which we have had access."
An English writer, Mourant Brock, thus remarks: "It is not
merely in Great Britain that the expectation of the near return of the Redeemer
is entertained, and the voice of warning raised, but also in America, India,
and on the continent of Europe. I was lately told by one of our German
missionaries, that in Wirtemburg there is a Christian colony of several
hundreds, one of the chief features of which is, the looking for the second
advent. And a Christian minister from near the shores of the Caspian Sea, has
told me that there is the same daily expectation among his nation. They
constantly speak of it as 'the day of consolation.' In a little publication,
entitled, 'Millennium,' the writer says that he understands that in America
about three hundred ministers of the word are thus preaching 'the gospel of the
kingdom;' whilst in this country, he adds, about seven hundred of the Church of
England are raising the same cry." - Advent
Tracts, Vol. II, p. 135.
The Signs of the Times, for
Feb. 14, 1844, says: "A brother, the captain of a vessel now in England,
writes his friends that his vessel lay at Newport, in Wales, forty days, on
account of storms, during which time a continued concourse of individuals
thronged him to inquire about the coming of the Lord, having heard that he was
an Adventist. Among these were ministers and laymen that received the truth
gladly, and embraced it with all their hearts."
Eld. R. Hutchinson, Midnight Cry,
Oct.5, 1843, says: "I send about 1,500 copies of the Voice of Elijah [an Advent paper], to Europe
every fortnight, besides what I scatter
over the Provinces. This I have done regularly for the last four or five
months. The result, eternity will unfold."
Speaking of Eld. Hutchinson, and of his Voice of Elijah, F. G. Brown says: "He has forwarded them
to the Canadas, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, England, Ireland,
Scotland, Wales, France, Germany, Constantinople, Rome, etc., etc."
"But it will be asked, Is the news that such a truth is
preached a sufficient proclamation to fulfill the prophecy? Rev.14:6,7; Matt.
24:14. The answer is, If it was sufficient in the days of the apostles, it is
now. That it was then, is clear from Acts 19:8-10, where Paul preached or
taught in Ephesus two years, so that all they in Asia, both Jews and Greeks,
heard the word of the Lord Jesus. They could not all have heard a sermon, but
they heard the sound of the gospel. In this sense, I have no doubt but the
gospel of the kingdom is preached in all the world."
We still
wait for the approaching end. But when the purpose of God in the proclamation
of the coming reign of Christ shall be fully accomplished, then will the end come.
TO BE
CONTINUED….
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