Table of Contents

The Glory of God in the Earth

THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE EARTH

SYNOPSIS OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH OF MATTHEW

CONCLUSION

The Glory of God in the Earth

THE GLORY OF GOD

IN

THE EARTH.

BY CHARLES FITCH.

BOSTON:

PUBLISHED BY JOSHUA V. HIMES,

14 Devonshire Street.

1842.

THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE EARTH

Numbers xiv. 21.-"But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord."

This oath of God must be fulfilled; for "not one good thing of all that the Lord hath spoken" can fail. Thanks to the name of the Lord, the full accomplishment of every letter of this oath is, like the eternal existence of Him who uttered it, an absolute, unfailing certainty; and in the certainty that all this must be brought to pass, there is enough to wake earth and heaven to song. All this Isaiah beheld in vision, when he "saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts-The whole earth is full of his glory."

That day must be seen. That it never has been seen, all will admit. The glory of the

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Lord, which is thus to fill the earth, unquestionably includes his perfect holiness. This is the glory which the seraphim are represented as beholding and praising. Zechariah foretells the same time, when "holiness to the Lord shall be written upon the bells of the horses, and when every pot in Judah and in Jerusalem shall be holiness to the Lord." Now if all the earth is to be full of the glory of the Lord, then the hearts of all men must be filled with holiness; so that, as under the influence of Satan, "every imagination of the thoughts of men's hearts has been only evil and that continually," the time will come, when every imagination of the thoughts of men's hearts, shall be holiness to the Lord, and that continually. Now this, all this, must be true of every individual on the face of the earth; for his will is to be done in earth as it is in heaven, and all shall know him, "from the least of them, even unto the greatest of them;" so that "none shall say to neighbor or brother, know thou the Lord." Until holiness shall thus become complete and universal, it cannot be said that God's will is done in earth as in heaven, or that there is no occasion to say, "Know thou the Lord." Just so far as sin remains, the earth is filled with the glory of Satan, for he it is, who reigns in the children of disobedience.

With regard to the manner in which these glorious predictions are to be fulfilled, there

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are two views entertained by different classes of the Lord's professed people.

Some are expecting that the gospel will prevail in the earth, previous to Christ's coming, until all shall know the Lord, from the least of them, even to the greatest of them-i. e. all mankind shall be so converted and sanctified to God, that his will shall be done in the earth, in the heart and life of every individual, as it is done in heaven. All this must be accomplished, since God has covenanted to "sprinkle clean water upon them, and to cleanse them from all their filthiness and from all their idols." Now when this is done in all the earth, then, and not till then, will God's oath be fulfilled, and all the earth be filled with his glory. Those who expect that all this will be accomplished by the gospel previous to Christ's coming, expect that after the gospel has thus prevailed, there will be an apostacy, of such long continuance, and of such general prevalence, that when he shall appear, he will find the world as it was before the flood, and as the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah; and that these wicked ones will then be cut off from the earth, and the earth itself be destroyed, and be no more.

Now that there can be no such universal prevalence of the gospel in this world previous to Christ's coming, when all shall know the Lord, from the least of them even to the greatest of them, and God shall sprinkle clean

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water upon them, and cleanse them from all their filthiness and from all their idols, and thus fill all the earth with his glory; is absolutely certain, from what Christ has taught us in the parable of the tares of the field. We there learn that the children of the kingdom, and the children of the wicked one, are to grow together, until the end of this world, like wheat and tares until the harvest. And since the earth cannot be filled with the glory of the Lord while the children of the wicked one are in it, and they are to remain in it, until the end of this world, when the Son of man, at his coming, shall send his angels and gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them that do iniquity, and cast them into a furnace of fire; it is plainly a matter of absolute certainty, that the gospel never will prevail, before the end of this world, so as to fill all the earth with the glory of the Lord.

Again: Christ said, "My kingdom is not of this world." This ought to satisfy any reasonable mind, who looks at it, that his kingdom is not to come in this world, so that the will of God shall be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Again: We are told in the 7th chapter of Daniel, of a wicked power, that shall make war with the saints, and prevail against them until the Ancient of Days shall come, i. e. Christ. Here, therefore, it is also rendered

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absolutely certain, that all the world is not to be converted before Christ's coming.

Again: Paul taught the Thessalonians, that the man of sin, (i. e. the Papacy,) shall be destroyed with the brightness of Christ's coming; and of course he will not have been converted before Christ's coming, and the earth therefore cannot be filled with the glory of the Lord, by the universal prevalence of the gospel, before Christ appears.

Again: Those that expect that the kingdoms of this world are to be given to the saints, by the universal prevalence of the gospel before Christ's coming, expect that, after a period, the saints will be compelled to yield it again to the prevalence of wickedness; so that it shall become again as before the flood, and as the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah; when Christ will appear and destroy it. But God has foretold, by Daniel, that "the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and shall possess the kingdom, forever, even forever and ever." In the thirty-seventh Psalm we are also told, that "the righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever." In the sixtieth chapter of Isaiah we are told, "Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified."

Then it is certain that the saints will never lose possession of the earth, when once they shall receive it. It becomes, therefore, a

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matter of absolute certainty that there can be no temporal millennium, after which the wicked shall again possess the earth, after the righteous have had it as their inheritance. They are to "dwell therein forever." They are to "possess it forever, even forever and ever. To make these passages consistent with the doctrine of a temporal millennium, a beloved brother, who has recently written on this subject, has concluded that this millennium, must last more than a thousand years, and probably may continue 360,000 years. But nearly 360,000 years is not "forever, even forever and ever." But we are told by the dear brethren who advocate a temporal millennium, that these terms do not express or imply endless duration. But if "forever, even forever and ever" does not express or imply endless duration, I would ask what terms can express it?

It is truly painful to see our dear brethren, who are unwilling to admit that the coming of our blessed Lord and Master is at the door, resorting to the same mode of reasoning to get rid of this blessed and glorious truth, that Universalists do to escape the doctrine of endless punishment. And it would seem, moreover, that these brethren do not allow as much meaning to these terms, as even Universalists themselves. If I rightly apprehend the reasoning of Universalists, they would admit that "forever, even forever and ever," when applied to this world, must mean to the

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end of this world. But these brethren have not even a Universalist forever and ever in their mode of reasoning: because, according to their theory, after the saints, the righteous, have inherited the land, and dwelt therein forever, and have possessed it forever, even forever and ever, the wicked are again to possess it: and after all this, when mankind have apostatized, and become as before the flood, and as in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, Christ is to come, and the world is to be destroyed. I should as soon think of persuading myself to believe that an unclouded sun at noon-day did not give light, as that the fact, that when the saints possess the earth, they are to possess it forever, even forever and ever, did not prove that there can never be such a thing as a temporal millennium. If it is in the power of language to express endless duration, such terms must express it. It does not help the matter to say it expresses a very long period. If there is any end to this duration, it is not "forever, even forever and ever." The last lingering expectation of a temporal millennium is by such language entirely exploded from my own mind.

Again: When the "kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ," he is to "reign forever and ever." Now the Universalist explanation of this term would make it mean, as long as the world stands. But those who believe in a

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temporal millennium, must admit that when Christ has reigned over this world forever and ever, it is yet to be given again to the wicked, so that at Christ's coming it shall be as before the flood, and as in the days of Sodom; and then it is to be destroyed. These brethren, therefore, are compelled to go even farther than Universalists in accommodating the language of the Bible to their theory of a temporal millennium. Daniel saw one "in the night visions, like unto the Son of man, come with the clouds of heaven; and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." And yet, according to the theory of a temporal millennium, it must pass away and be destroyed; for the wicked shall again possess the earth as before the flood, and as in the days of Sodom, and after this it must be destroyed at the coming of Christ. The angel who foretold the birth of Christ, said, "The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end." Now he who believes in a temporal millennium, is obliged to admit that Christ's kingdom on earth must have an end; for the wicked are again to possess it, according to this theory; and after this it is to be destroyed at Christ's coming.

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It is utterly vain to think of evading this reasoning by saying that the eternal reign of Christ and his saints will be somewhere besides in this world. Christ has said, "to him that overcometh will I give to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my father in his throne." John heard this song: "Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, and hast made us unto our God, kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth."

It is therefore certain that Christ's kingdom with his saints on the earth is to be a kingdom of which there shall be no end; and it is, consequently, wholly impossible that this kingdom should be found in a temporal millennium. Besides, "the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, are to live and reign with Christ a thousand years; and this is the first resurrection. I know, we are told that this does not mean those souls that were beheaded, but another generation like them. They cannot, however, be like them, unless they shall live under the same circumstances, and be beheaded as they were. It is impossible to have another race of martyrs in a thousand years of universal peace. It is the veriest nonsense to talk of this. Those that were beheaded for Christ's sake, are to live

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and reign with him on the earth. The thousand years spoken of, does not mark the period during which they shall reign; because they are to possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever; but they mark the period from the first resurrection to the second; when the rest of the dead, who live not again until the thousand years are finished, are to be raised;-and it is a fearful consideration, that all who are raised in the second resurrection, are raised to the second death. The wicked are now brought forth to the second death; while those who have reigned with Christ from the first resurrection, reign still, and forever, because on such the second death hath no power.

The theory of a temporal millennium, therefore, before Christ's coming, is to me a groundless fable. I have no more expectation that it will ever come, than that the walls of Jericho will be built up, the present year, around the city of New York, with the selfsame stones which fell down at the blast of the rams' horns. The children of the wicked one are to remain with the children of the kingdom until the end of this world, when Christ will come with his mighty angels in flaming fire and destroy them. Until that coming, the man of sin is to make war with the saints and prevail against them. At that coming he will be destroyed.

How then is the earth to be filled with the glory of the Lord?

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This inquiry I will now answer, from the word of God. 1 Thess. iv. 13: "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, even so [that is, in like manner] them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God. and the dead in Christ shall rise first." Here we are taught that all the dead in Christ shall, at his coming, be raised from the dead, "even so," that is, in like manner as he was. It does not say all the dead, but the dead in Christ; because, as we are taught in the twentieth chapter of Revelation, all who are Christ's, shall come forth in the first resurrection, while "the rest of the dead live not again till the thousand years are finished."

Christ having raised the righteous dead at his appearing, "then we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, 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 Cor. xv. 52: "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the

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last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." Not all the living will thus be changed, for Christ has told us, in the seventeenth chapter of Luke, that in the day when the Son of man shall be revealed, "one shall be taken and another left."

Christ, therefore, at his coming, will take up the righteous dead and the righteous living to be with him, and all the wicked will be left. The wicked dead will be left under the power of death, for a thousand years, plainly and positively taught in the twentieth chapter of Revelation, and the living wicked will be gathered as tares and burned.

At the same time will take place that destruction of the world by fire, to which Peter tells us it is reserved against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men; and after this, we are promised new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 2 Pet. third chapter; Isa. lxv. 17; also lxvi. 22. John says, (Rev. xxi.,) "I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, God himself shall dwell with them,

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and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things have passed away." Here, then, we are taught that the tabernacle of God is to be with men in the new earth.

Then it is the new earth that shall be filled with the glory of the Lord; while the children of the wicked one are to remain with the children of the kingdom till "the end of this world," and then "the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors rooted out of it, and the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it." Prov. ii. 21, 22. In the new earth the perfect will remain forever; for "there shall be no more death." There they shall "inherit the land, and dwell therein forever," "and God shall dwell with them." There "the saints of the Most High will take the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever;" which they cannot do in the "earth which now is, because it is reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." Therefore, because this world cannot remain, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness, according to the promise of God. There "the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." There "Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting

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salvation; they shall not be ashamed nor confounded, world without end." There, also, the Son of man, the God spoken of in the twenty-first of Revelation, will have his tabernacle with men; and there will be "given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him; and his dominion will be an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." There "He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end." These things never can be in the earth that now is, because it is reserved unto destruction by fire, as we are told by Peter, by the same word of God which destroyed the old world by a flood.

According to the theory of a temporal millennium, therefore, the Bible cannot be fulfilled, and the dear brethren who attempt to uphold that theory, are compelled to resort to the hackneyed quibbles of Universalists, respecting those Bible terms which express endless duration as fully as language can express it, in order to help them out with their views, and get rid of the conviction that the coming of the Savior is at hand. For as surely as the children of the wicked one are to remain with the children of the kingdom until the harvest, which is at the end of this world, which Christ has fully taught, and as surely as Christ is to have a kingdom without end, which the saints are to possess "forever, even

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forever and ever," so certain it is, that the theory of a temporal millennium must be a fable, as unreal as the novelist's vainest tale.

We are told in the hundred and second Psalm, that "when the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory." This is the time when the Son of man shall appear in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and shall send his angels to gather his elect. Then "the evil-doers shall be cut off; but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall not be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be; but the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." "The seed of the wicked shall be cut off; the righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever." Then will God's oath to Moses be fully accomplished, "and as truly as God lives, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord." Then will the earth be filled not only with the glory of God's holiness, but Christ in his glorious body will reign, and the bodies of all saints will be "fashioned like unto Christ's glorious body," and earth itself will receive the fulfilment of the promise, "there shall be no more curse," and shall put on the glory of the New Jerusalem, and shall be lighted up with the glory of God and the Lamb. Thanks be to the name of the Lord, this is not a glory that shall

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fade away, after a period of a thousand, or even 360,000 years; but it shall remain "an everlasting light, a sun that shall no more go down." Everlasting praise to God, for such a glorious fulfilment of his oath!

But, say some of our beloved brethren, there must yet be a great multitude saved. The gospel must yet prevail a great while, so that at last the number of the lost shall be trifling in comparison with the multitude saved; and they think it must be so because of God's unspeakable benevolence. And so the Universalist, upon ground equally as good, takes God's benevolence as security that all will be saved. But one "thus saith the Lord" is worth volumes of such reasoning. Said our blessed Savior, "Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, which leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Thus we have the declaration of Him who cannot lie, that many go to destruction, and few find life. Where now is the necessity of putting forth our hands to stay up the ark of God's benevolence, by saying that few must be lost, and many saved, in order that God may fully vindicate himself? It is the self-same notion, to all intents and purposes, on which men attempt to build the doctrine of Universalism. But everything of this sort must be swept away, and "like

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the baseless fabric of a vision, leave not a wreck behind;" while the words of Christ will remain an eternal truth, "many go to destruction, few find life." Nor will he lack ways or means to vindicate his own benevolence, when his own words on this subject are found to be strictly true.

But, say many, the Jews are yet to return. The Jews did return from the Babylonish captivity, and not a word has the Bible uttered of another return. The New Testament gives not a hint of any such thing. All Israel shall be saved. Such as are in their graves will Christ bring with him, and such as are alive will he change to immortality and take them up to be with him, and all the wicked will be left. The thirty-seventh of Ezekiel shows unequivocally that Israel is to be called up from their graves and brought into their own land. It must be the new earth, therefore, after the first resurrection.

I will now bring forward evidence that the time when God's oath shall be fulfilled, and all the earth filled with his glory, is near, even at the doors.

I find evidence of this in the words of Christ in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew.

SYNOPSIS OF THE TWENTY-FOURTH OF MATTHEW

1. Declaration of Christ that the buildings of the temple shall be destroyed.

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2. Inquiry of the disciples, "when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?"

3. Christ proceeds to name events that shall transpire before the end of the world.

(1.) There shall be false Christs.

(2.) Wars, rumors of wars, etc.

(3.) Famines, pestilence and earthquakes.

(4.) Persecutions.

(5.) Betraying and hating one another.

(6.) False prophets.

(7.) Iniquity abounding, love waxing cold.

(8.) Gospel preached in all the world, a witness to all nations; then shall the end come.

4. Christ teaches his disciples what course to pursue at the siege of Jerusalem-to flee, etc.

5. He tells them how to distinguish between false Christs and himself. Go after none into deserts or secret chambers. For as lightning from heaven shall the coming of the Son of man be. Hence, receive none as Christ, until I shall thus come. Of these I have told you before, that is, in the former part of the chapter.

6. Another sign-the sun darkened, the moon giving no light, and the stars falling from heaven, etc.

7. Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven-tribes of earth shall mourn, and the Son of man shall be seen

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coming in clouds, with power and great glory.

8. He shall send his angels to gather his elect, that is, to take up the righteous into the clouds.

9. As surely as the summer is near when the fig-tree putteth forth leaves, so surely is my coming in clouds near, even at the doors, when these things have come to pass. What things? The signs already enumerated. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. "This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled." This verse I shall notice hereafter.

I shall for the present raise the following inquiry. Have these signs been fulfilled?

(1.) False Christs. Of these the Religious Encyclopedia names twenty-four, giving also the places and the periods where and when they rose and fell, with some other circumstances. The last of these appeared in Germany, in 1682, and was called Rabbi Mordecai. That sign was fulfilled.

(2.) Wars, rumors of wars, etc. None surely will deny that that has been fulfilling, and is now.

(3.) Famines, pestilence, earthquakes. All fulfilled.

(4.) Persecutions. Of these there were ten general persecutions, in the days of the Roman emperors, in which it is supposed three millions perished. Besides these, we have the persecutions of Protestants by Papists,

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century after century, up to within a short period; in which it is believed that fifty millions have suffered death for their religion. (See Religions Encyclopedia.) That sign has surely had fulfilment.

(5.) Betraying and hating one another. Episcopalians persecuted non-conformists in England in the time of Charles II. Presbyterians persecuted Episcopalians in 1645. Congregationalists persecuted Baptists and Quakers in New England. In the reign of Charles II. the Quakers and non-conformists were greatly persecuted-thousands deprived of their goods, confined in prison, and many brought to the grave. Thus have Christians hated and betrayed one another. This sign has had fulfilment.

(6.) False prophets. Within the last hundred and fifty years many have arisen, and taught, professedly from the Bible, that Christ shall not come under, at least, a thousand years, or perhaps 360,000; declaring that there shall be such a period of unexampled prosperity in the earth before our Lord's appearing; a thing of which neither Christ, nor one of the writers of the New Testament, ever gave the least intimation. It is declared that many shall be deceived. This is strikingly fulfilled. This false prediction is founded upon prophecies of the Old Testament, which are to be fulfilled only in the new earth after Christ has come. The sixtieth chapter of Isaiah is one of these Scriptures,

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to be fulfilled, as we learn from the 21st verse, in a land which all the righteous shall inherit forever; of course not in this land, which is reserved unto fire, and therefore not till after Christ's coming. But this prophecy of a temporal millennium has "deceived many," who love the Lord Jesus, to put off his coming; and other multitudes, who know not Christ, are deceived in the same way, with the cry of "peace and safety, while sudden destruction is about to come upon them as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape." This false prediction of a temporal millennium previous to Christ's coming, is a fatal delusion, and will prove eternally so to many souls; because it will lead them to defer preparation for the Lord's coming until it shall be eternally too late. Not that the dear brethren who hold to it are wilfully uttering falsehood, but that they are deceiving themselves, and deceiving others, while they should be faithfully sounding the alarm, and warning the world to prepare for the coming of the great and notable day of the Lord. False prophets have arisen, and many have indeed been deceived. This sign therefore is fulfilled.

(7.) Iniquity shall abound, and love wax cold. This is emphatically true, of vast multitudes of professed Christians, at this moment. Iniquity is love of this present world. "Demas hath forsaken us, having loved this present world." "If any man

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love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." When the gospel was first preached, we read that "as many as were possessors of lands or houses, sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold and laid them down at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need." Thus obedience was rendered to the injunctions of Christ, "Sell that ye have and give alms; provide for yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth." "Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth," etc.

But what has been the course of multitudes of professed Christians for the last fifty years? Much indeed has been done, by way of missionary effort, to spread the gospel, and bring to pass that temporal millennium for which we have been looking; but instead of selling houses and lands for such an object, Christians have been laboring to add house to house and field to field, and by all manner of speculations to increase their worldly substance, and get to themselves a treasure on earth. I know the pretence has been, to make money for doing good; that is, ten dollars to the contribution-box, and ten thousand to purposes of personal aggrandizement-so as to be able to dwell in a fine house, and drive a splendid equipage, and wear purple and fine linen every day; and thus, by a respectable

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appearance among men, to give respectability to the religion of the meek and lowly Jesus. All this time the love of this present world has been increasing in the hearts of Christians, and in equal proportion their love to Christ has been waxing cold; because the love of this present world, and the love of Christ are perfect incompatibilities. Hence, love to Christ has waxed so cold, through the love of this world, that when we now tell professing Christians, that their Savior, "who gave himself for their sins, that he might deliver them from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father," is coming soon to complete that deliverance, and give his people to inherit forever that new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness; multitudes who profess to love Christ above all, are by no means willing to see him. They love this present evil world so well, that it is pleasure to them to believe that Christ will not come under a thousand years; and some think that there is great glory in the thought, that his coming may be delayed 360,000 years. So that, instead of needing now the inspired injunction, "Be patient, brethren, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh," many professed friends of Christ seem greatly to want patience to endure being told, that their glorious Lord and Master is now to appear. Has the grace of patience so greatly increased since the days of the apostles, that Christians now can so well endure to have their Lord's

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appearing delayed for thousands of years? No-no. Such Christians love this present world, and therefore they wish it to remain. Their love to Christ has waxed cold, and they wish him not to come; they do not love his appearing. This sign is fulfilled.

"But he that endureth unto the end, the same shall be saved." He whose love to Christ and his glorious and everlasting kingdom shall hold out, through all this earthliness, so that he trample this world beneath his feet, and love and look out for the coming of his Lord, "and seek a better country, even an heavenly," "the same shall be saved."

I am fully convinced that the doctrine of a temporal millennium, by putting off the expectation of Christ's speedy coming, from the minds of his people, has accomplished a vast amount of evil, in causing iniquity, that is, the love of this world, to increase, and love to Christ and his glorious kingdom to wax cold. Tell Christians that this world is accursed of God, and reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men, and that Christ's glorious kingdom, which is to stand forever, can be found only in that new earth which John saw in vision, after that the first heaven and first earth had passed away-and that there only the tabernacle of God is to be with men, and he is to "dwell with them and be their God, and there wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow

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nor crying, nor pain;" tell them that the time is near, when Christ will come, and this world be no more, and you strike at the root of their worldliness, and make them feel the importance of being prepared to meet their Lord. I do not say that all whose hearts are fixed on a temporal millennium have that expectation because of their want of love to Christ. I do believe that this is true of vast multitudes; while some who love Christ truly are deceived, expecting the glory of the Lord in a temporal millennium in this accursed world, which must pass away; instead of Christ's immortal glory in that new earth which is to remain. See Isaiah lxvi. 22.

(8.) "The gospel shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come;"-the end of the world, of which the disciples inquired. Some maintain that this preaching of the gospel in all the world for a witness to all nations, proves that the world is to be converted: but this is impossible, for the children of the wicked one are to remain here till the harvest at the end of the world. Has the gospel been preached in all the world since Christ uttered this prediction? The gospel was preached in Asia in the first century, in Africa in the fourth century; it has gone over Europe, over this continent, to the shores of the Pacific. Multitudes beyond the Rocky Mountains have been converted. The isles of the Pacific have received God's law.

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Thousands have there embraced the gospel. Since about the commencement of the nineteenth century, the Bible has been translated into about a hundred and sixty different languages, and missionaries are at this moment in nearly, if not quite, every nation under heaven. And now, since the children of the wicked one are to remain till the end of the world, and Christ at his coming is to find the world as before the flood, and in the days of Sodom, I see not what more we have to expect. I cannot resist the conviction that even this sign is fulfilled.

Our Savior, having given his disciples the foregoing signs of his coming and of the end of the world, then directs them what to do at the time when Jerusalem shall be destroyed.

4. "When ye shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel," or, as it is by Luke, "when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh;" therefore flee into the mountains.

Those who oppose the truth that the coming of Christ is near, tell us that the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel was Antiochus Epiphanes, and that the prophetic periods in Daniel had their fulfilment in him, and of course can have no reference to the present time. But Antiochus died about 170 years before Christ was born, while this was a power that was to compass Jerusalem with armies at a period still future, when Christ

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spake the words we are considering. Of course it could not refer to a power which had ceased to be, two hundred years before. It is therefore certain that the 2300 days in the eighth of Daniel, unto which this abomination was to continue, since they referred to this abomination, could not have been fulfilled in Antiochus. Since, therefore, they refer to the Romans, they must have denoted years, instead of literal days, as many claim; and since the time appointed reaches to the end of indignation, when the sanctuary shall be cleansed, the 2300 days must measure the time of pagan and papal Rome, at the end of which the Ancient of days shall come, with his fiery flame, and his wheels of burning fire, and the body of the beast shall be slain and given to the burning flame. Thus shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

5. Having directed his disciples to flee when Jerusalem should be compassed with armies, and informed them that this fact would be a sign to them that the desolation thereof was nigh; our Savior again directs their attention to the things of which he had already spoken as betokening his coming and the end of the world; and directs them how to distinguish between false Christs and his own second advent. They would be seen in deserts and secret chambers, but He like lightning from heaven.

6. Another sign of his coming, not previously mentioned, is now presented. "The

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sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken."

John tells us, in Revelation xii. 1, that he saw a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. This woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. This refers to the time when the church of Christ, (the light of the world, through the light received from Christ,) was persecuted and driven into dens or caves of the earth, and the light of her sun, moon, and stars quenched; so that the deep, moonless, starless midnight of the dark ages brooded for centuries over the world. This was the dark night of papal authority, when the church, for a thousand two hundred and threescore days, (each day denoting a year,) or time, times, and a half, was given into the hands of that power. This period commenced when the bishop of Rome became Pope, in 538, and ended when the Pope was carried captive, in 1798; since which time an angel has been flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people; saying, "Fear God, and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship Him that

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made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication."

This darkening of the light of sun, moon, and stars, must have a figurative fulfilment, because there is to be no sign of our Savior's coming that will open the eyes of an unbelieving world, until he shall come upon them as a thief in the night. The literal darkening of sun and moon, and the falling of stars from heaven to earth, would be what none could disregard. Since, therefore, it must be a sign which unbelievers will disregard, it must be figurative. In the way now described, it has had its fulfilment. It is the last sign which our Savior gave: and in the Revelation, the last sign previous to the fall of Babylon is that very preaching of the gospel for a witness, in relation to which our Savior said, in this very chapter, the gospel shall thus be preached, and then shall the end be; that is, the end of the world, at Christ's coming; of which the disciples had inquired; or the fall of Babylon. The angel flying to preach that gospel is to cry with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment has come; not the hour of the world's conversion, but of its destruction. Another follows, saying, "Babylon is fallen."

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Everything, therefore, mentioned by our Savior to precede his coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, has transpired. And he has told us, when ye see these things, be as sure that my coming is at the doors, as that summer is nigh when ye see the trees putting forth leaves. It is, therefore, a matter of certainty, as absolute and unchanging as the truth of Him who cannot lie, that the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven is near, even at the doors. Everything set forth in Daniel, and in Revelation, and in the words of our Savior, and of his apostles, to precede his coming, has transpired. Not an event is mentioned in these prophecies which is not now in the past, not a sign named which is not now fulfilled. All that can now be done, by way of effort to prove that the Lord's coming is still to be delayed, is the attempt to make it appear that all the earth is to be filled with the glory of the Lord, before Christ comes to destroy it. But this is impossible-impossible-impossible. The children of the wicked one, I repeat, are to remain to the harvest, at the end of this world; and when Christ's dominion commences, it is to be without end; and when the saints take the kingdom with him, they are to possess it forever, even forever and ever." Again I say, therefore, that a temporal millennium is impossible.

"But of that day and hour knoweth no man," etc. True; but that it is near, even at

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the doors, we do know. Prophetic events which were to precede, have all come to pass. Signs are all fulfilled, and all prophetic periods terminate in 1843. (See works of Miller, Litch, and others.)

CONCLUSION

It is a matter of absolute certainty that those who preach a temporal millennium, are only spreading the cry, "My Lord delayeth his coming." I know there are many dear brethren who, in uttering this cry, "verily think that they are doing God service." I once uttered the same cry, thinking it according to the will of God. But I hope to obtain forgiveness, because I did it ignorantly and in unbelief. There was a time, after the truth had been placed before my mind, and I was unable to overthrow it, that I still preached a temporal millennium; but I had not at that time so given myself to prayer, and so received the light of the Holy Spirit, as to have the glorious truth written on my heart, from the abundant testimony of the Scriptures, that the glorious coming of my Savior is indeed at the door. But God has given me a spirit of prayer on this subject, and in answer thereto has made me "in his light to see light;" and everlasting thanks be to his name. I can now lift up my head and rejoice, knowing that the full, glorious, and eternal redemption of all God's people, from all their enemies, is near, even at the doors.

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Far be it from me to say that all who now hold to a temporal millennium before Christ appears, are purposely saying, My Lord delayeth his coming. They have been deceived, as I was, by this delusive, false-prophet cry, and verily think that they do God service. But I do believe that this monstrous error was got up by the great deceiver, for the very purpose of deceiving the world, and lulling them into that fatal security, in which Christ, coming suddenly, will find them sleeping; and that the result of preaching a temporal millennium will be the everlasting destruction of vast multitudes of souls.

I beseech every minister of Jesus Christ, whose eye may rest on this page, to set his face, as did Daniel, to seek the Lord God by prayer and supplication, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes, until the Holy Ghost shall be sent to give him skill and understanding in the word of God; so that he no longer flatter the world with the cry of "peace and safety," while sudden destruction is just upon them, "as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape."

The effort is now made to show, that our Savior's words, in the twenty-fourth of Matthew, were fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem, and that he did then come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; or at least what was intended by that declaration was then and there fulfilled. Thus again, the same effort is made to get rid of

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the doctrine of Christ's coming at hand, that Universalists have been accustomed to make, to get rid of the doctrine of endless punishment. It is truly painful to see the professed servants of Christ taking up the very weapons which the devil has forged, and using them, as though to smite their Lord and Master in the face, and drive him back, as he is coming in glory to claim his own, and reign with them in righteousness and peace forever. Blessed Lord, open their eyes!

But it is insisted that Christ said, "Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled." True; but what did he mean by "this generation?" He had just been instructing them not to believe that Christ has come here or there, because his coming should be as lightning from heaven; an event that all must behold. "Behold, he cometh in clouds, and every eye shall see him." Did the men of that generation see Christ coming as lightning in the clouds? No man believes it? Every man knows that Christ was not thus seen in that generation. Every eye is to see him at his coming; the righteous dead that sleep in Jesus are then to be raised, and the righteous living changed, in the twinkling of an eye, to immortality, and caught up to meet him. Who does not know, that these events did not transpire at the destruction of Jerusalem? Then Christ could not have meant the race then alive, by the phrase, "this generation."

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What then? "A seed shall serve him; it shall be counted to the Lord for a generation." The generation of Christ's seed, then, shall not pass away from this world, until the things which Christ spake of are fulfilled. Then they shall pass away into the heavens at his coming, being caught up to meet the Lord in the air. And when the day that burneth as an oven shall have consumed the wicked as stubble, and the earth and the works that are in it are burned up; and the new earth, of which Peter had heard the promise, and which John in vision saw, is completed; then will the righteous descend with the glorious new Jerusalem, and "inherit" that "good land," and "dwell therein forever." Thanks be to God, forever and ever! Then shall his oath be fully redeemed, and his glory fill all the earth. O let saint and sinner, pastor and people, be ready for the coming of this great and notable day of the Lord! O may we be saved from the doom of him who shall be found saying, "My Lord delayeth his coming!" Lord, "gather not my soul with (such) sinners;" but let me be found watching, and giving each their portion in due season.