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17 Price 
 
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 i SIGN' 
 
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 ^ 
 
THE 
 
 SIGHS, MA^R ^^^ ™^ 
 
 OP' 
 
 ->'' ' 
 
 li Our Lord's Second Coming. 
 
 BY 
 
 MRS. MARY GILBERT. 
 
 ,84 DeQrassi St., Toronto. Ont. 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 ^. 
 
 
 PBINTP:!) BV THl 
 
 I .."iv 
 
 a^'^^^^" 
 
 ''***«, 
 
B 7 if 1^5 
 
 1962 
 
 
 Entered according to Act of the Parliament of Cana«lu, in the yeai one 
 tliousaud eight hundred and niiiei> -five, by Mus. Makv (Jiijiekt, 
 at the Department of Agriculture. 
 

 THE SIGNS, MANNER AND TIME 
 
 OK THE 
 
 SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 
 
 TSaSTHEN we search the scriptures it should be done 
 \[\[ with the purest motive, being willing to lay 
 aside our preconceived ideas, and be taught by the spirit 
 of truth. We sliould ascertain when such and such pass- 
 ages were uttered, and to whom were the words spoken, 
 and under what circumstanpes were they spoke, for 
 want ot" this many mistakes are made and false conclu- 
 sions arrived at. Now with regard to the second coming 
 of Christ, if we read carefullv the '24th of Matt, the 13th 
 of Mark, and the 2 1st of Luke, we have there the signs, 
 the manner, and the time of our Lord's coming, and 
 Christ concludes his remarks by saying: this generation 
 shall not pass till all these things be fulflllea, Matt. xxiv. 
 34, and he said to his disciples : watch, therefore, for ye 
 know not what hour your Lord doth come. Now, cer- 
 tainly His coming must be in their day and in that 
 generation, or why would He say so and tell them to 
 watch for it. As there are many figurative expressions 
 used res})ecting certain events connected with His coming, 
 we must compare scripture with scripture to understand 
 the meaning thereof. When Christ said they should see 
 
 v 
 
4 The Siynn, Manner and Time 
 
 the .sign of tlie son of man in lieaven, it was in connection 
 with tlie sun being darkened, the moon withholding her 
 liglit, tlie stars falling, and the powers of heaven being 
 shaken, Matt. xxiv. 29, lU). The sun signified the religion 
 of the church, the moon the government of the state, and 
 the stars the judges and doctors of both. Christ meant 
 that in connection with His coming the Jewish heavens 
 should peri^sh and the sun and moon of its glory and 
 hap[)iness be darkened, (brought to nought) as in Rev. 
 vi. 13, 14. Peter said their heavens should pass away 
 with a great noise, and their elements melt with fervent 
 heat, the earth and the works therein burnt up, 2nd of 
 Peter iii. 10. The heavens signified their exalted privi- 
 leges, their elements the rites and ceremonies of the 
 Mosaic law, in Gal. iv. 3, called elements of the world, 
 and in 9th called weak and beggarly elements. The 
 earth is put to signify tlie peo[)le of the land of Judea, 
 the container put for the contained, as in Jer. xxii. 29, 
 earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord. Tiie 
 literal earth will not be burned up, for in the 119th 
 Psalm and 90th verse it reads. Thou hath established the 
 earth and it abideth, and in Eccl. i. 4, one generation 
 passeth away and another generation cometh, but the 
 earth abideth forever. In pro[)hetic language, great com- 
 motions on earth are often represented by the idea of 
 commotions and changes in the heavens. Such expres- 
 sions were used respecting the downfall of Babylon, Isaiah 
 xiii. 9, 10, and the overthrow of Egypt, Ezk. xxxii. 7, 8, 
 and the last destruction of Jerusalem, called the terrible 
 day of the Lord by Joel ii. 30, 31. Christ said there 
 vshould be signs in the sun, moon and stars, and upon the 
 
 
 -•►«• 
 
 ir 
 
oj the Second Comimj of Christ. 
 
 .) 
 
 V 
 
 i 
 
 earth distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and the 
 waves roaring, etc., Liiko xxi. 2."), 20, fi^Mir&tively pointin*^ 
 out the wai-s and ruuKjrs of wars wliioh were the si^'ns 
 of His coming. Especially when CaliLjula ordered his 
 statue to be set up in the temple of Ood, which the Jews 
 having refused had every reason to expect a war with 
 the Romans, and were in such consternation on the occa- 
 sion that they even neglected to till their lan<l. A dread- 
 ful war occurred at Caesarea, wheie the Jews and Syrians 
 contended about the right of the city, which ended in 
 the total expulsion of the Jews from there and twenty 
 thousand of them killed. The whole Jewish nation being 
 exasperated at this, flew to arms, and burnt and plun- 
 dered the neighboring cities and villages of the Syrians, 
 making an immense slaughtei- of the people. The 
 Syrians, in return, destroyed not a less number of the 
 Jews. It is worthy of remark, the Juws themselves said 
 that in the time of the Messiah wars should be stirred u]) 
 in the world. Rab Eleasar, the son of Abina, said, when 
 ye see kingdom rising against kingdom then expect the 
 immediate appearance of the Messiah. It was further 
 added, there should be famines and earthquakes, and 
 fearful sights and.great signs from heaven, Luke xxi. 11. 
 there was a famine foretold by Agabus, in Acts xi. 28, 
 which came to pa^s-in the days of Claudius Caesar, and it 
 was so severe in Jerusalem that raanv died for lack of 
 food, hence the necessity of the churches in other places 
 sending help to the ])Oor saints in Jerusalem. Also, there 
 were earthquakes in divers places, and a dreadful one in 
 Judea, accompanied b}^ a dreadful tempest, violent winds, 
 vehement showers, and continual lightnings and thunder, 
 
 . .-i. ■ 
 
 <^^^ 
 
♦) 
 
 The signs. Manner and Time 
 
 wliich caused many to believe that tliese tilings poi tend- 
 ed some uncommon calamity. Joseplius, the Jewish his- 
 torian, in his preface to the Jewish Wars, gives an ac- 
 count of several remarkable signs. First, a star hung 
 over the city like a sword, and a comet continued a whole 
 year. Second, the people being assembled at the feast of 
 unleavened bread, at the ninth hour of the night, a great 
 light shone about the altar and the temple, and this con- 
 tinued for half an hour. Third, the eastern gate of the 
 temple, which was of solid brass and very heavy, and 
 could scarcely be opened or shut by twenty men, and 
 was fastened by strong bars and bolts, was seen at the 
 sixth hour of the night to open of its own accord. Fourth, 
 before sun setting, there were seen over all the country 
 chariots and armies fighting in the clouds, and besieging 
 cities. Fifth, at the feast of Pentecost, when the priests 
 were g^>i-ig into the inner temple by night, to attend their 
 service, they heard first a motion and then a noise, and 
 then a voice as of a multitude, saying, Let us depart hence. 
 Sixth, a man from the countrv came to the feast of taber- 
 nacles, and ran up and down the streets of the city day and 
 night, crying, A voice from the east, a voice from the 
 west, a voice from the four winds ; a voice against Jerusa- 
 lem and the temple, a voice against the bridegrooms 
 and the brides, and a voice against all the peo[>le. 
 Though the magistrates endeavored by stripes and tor- 
 tures to restrain him, yet he cried with a mournful voice 
 Woe, woe to Jerusalem. Thus h) continued to do, until a 
 stone from some sling or engine struck him dead on the 
 spot. If Isaiah had been an eye-witness to it, he could 
 not have spoken m plainer language, Isaiah Ixvi. G and 
 
 i 
 
 
 i *. 
 
of the l^eamd Coming of ('hri»t. 7 
 
 If), l(),and in Ixv. 12. NotwithsUnding those signs, and 
 the advice from wiser men, the seditious went on mur- 
 dering and phmdering, until Cestius GaUas, the President 
 of Syria, came with a powerful army and besieged the 
 city, and had he continued the siege, he would have taken 
 it. But there were Christians there that Christ said 
 should be saved if they continued to the end, and Provi- 
 dence so ordered it that he retieated from the city ; and 
 the Jews followed them and made sad havoc in the rear 
 ranks of the Roman army, during which time the city 
 gates being left open, the Christians made their escape. 
 Remembering what Christ told them to do when they 
 saw Jerusalem compassed with armies, Luke xxi. 20, they 
 fled to the mountains of Pella, the other side Jordan 
 (called the wilderness), in the domain of King Agrippa, 
 where they had a place prepared of God, and where they 
 were nourished for a time, times, and half a time (that is 
 three years and a half, or a thousand, two hundred and 
 threescore days, Rev. xii. and 14); in another place 
 forty-two months, all the same amount of time. The se- 
 ditious continued murdering and plundering until Titus 
 Vespasian came with the Roman armies, and other auxili- 
 Q,ries, like clouds, and never left till the temple and city 
 were destroyed. As predicted by Jer. iv. 13, our Lord 
 said the tribulation would be such as was not since the 
 beginning of the world to that time, no, nor ever should 
 be, Matt. xxiv. 21. No history can furnish us with a 
 parallel to the calamities and miseries of the pooi' Jews. 
 Rapine, murder, famine and pestilence within ; fire and 
 sword, and all the horrors of war without. Our Lord 
 wept at the foresight of these calamities, and it is almost 
 
 
 ■:^: 
 
H The Sigtw, Manner and Time 
 
 impossil)lo for any Iniiiiaiic ixn-son to road the relation of 
 tlieni in iloscplnis' history without weeping also. They 
 were called the Days of Vengeance, that all things that 
 were written might he fulfilled, Luke xxi. 22. Those 
 were tlie days in which all the calamities pro<licted by 
 Moses, Joel, Danit;!, and all the prophets, as well as those 
 predicted by our Lord, met in one common centre, 
 and were fulfilled in the most terrible manner on tliat 
 generation. It was c.'illc<l the battle of tlie (Jreat Day of 
 God Almighty in Rev. xvi. 14-10, and well ma}' the place 
 be called Armageddon ; n)oaning a ])lace of great slaugh- 
 ter for there were eleven hundred thousand Jews perished 
 in the seige, besides the many thousands destroyed by 
 otlier means and in other places. Our Lord described the 
 route, as well as the manner in which He would come 
 with the armies (called his mighty angels), to execute his 
 purpose. He said, as the lightning conieth out of the 
 East and shineth unto the West, so shall the coming of 
 the Sou of Man be. Matt. xxiv. 27. The Roman armies 
 commenced in the East, and carried on their conquest 
 westward, until they surrounded the city. Thus, where 
 tlie carcase was, the eagles were gathered together, Matt, 
 xxiv. 28. The Roman armies were called the eagles, be- 
 cause the eagle was their ensign ; the Jews was the 
 carcase. His coming also was as visible as lightning, 
 although they could not sec Him, in })erson, with their 
 naked eye ; for he came in the like manner in which he 
 went up. Acts i. J). A cloud received Him out of their 
 sight. Although He was out of sight, they knew He was 
 there. So, in like manner, he came in the clouds of hea- 
 ven, with power and great glory, Matt. xxiv. SO. Then 
 
of the Second Coming of Christ. 
 
 9 
 
 the tribes of the earth (tho Jews) mourned, when thoy 
 saw Him cominj^ in judgment upon tiiem, as in Rev. i. 7. 
 But how could every eye see Him ; just in tho same sense 
 we see the wind, by its ettbets. Christ said, when ye see 
 the south wind blow, ye say there will bo heat, Luke xii. 
 66. Thoy were said to see the win<l, when they could 
 only see its effects. In like nmnner, every eye could see 
 the hand of Him whom they had pierced, was in the 
 judgment that came upon them ; and they wailed because 
 of Him. There is no Script i. to prove that Christ will 
 ever come again in the flesh ; > at rather the contrary, it 
 was said He should come i i lil.e mavcr, not in person, 
 put in power; Paul sr.id, Chiist .should be known no 
 more after the tlesh, 2 Cor. v. IJ, and it is vain to expect 
 Him to be located any whare on earth. For Christ Him- 
 self, said, if any man shall bay unto vou, Lo, hero is 
 Christ, or lo, there, believe it not. Matt, xxiv 23 ; and, 
 again, he said, I go to the Father, and ye shall see Me no 
 more, John yvi. 10. He meant in the tlesh, in the same 
 sense in which the world would see Him no more, as in 
 John xiv. 19, yet a little while, and the world saeth Me 
 no more. Yet His disciples saw Him, in the sense as the 
 pure in heart see God fully explained in the next four 
 verses of same chapter. But can the Roman armies bo 
 called the clouds of heaven. The Assyrian army was 
 called a cloud, on which God rode into Egypt, Isa. xix. 1, 
 and Jer. iv. 13 ; and the Roman armies were the clouds 
 in which He came in judgment on the Jewish nation. 
 They were called the clouds of heaven, because they were 
 used by the God of heaven, for the accomplishment of 
 His purpose, and because of their exalted position, from 
 
 '■\ 
 
a 
 
 I.. J. 
 
 10 
 
 The SignSf Manner and Time 
 
 the like of which the King of Babylon fell, Isa. xiv. 12. 
 The Romans being exalted above all other nations, their 
 armies might be called the clouds of heaven. In the 50th 
 Psalm 3-6, it reads, our God shall come and shall not keep 
 silence ; a fire shall devour before Him ; He shall call to 
 the heavens (the Roman power) above other nations, and 
 to the earth (the nations under their power) that He may 
 judge His people (the Jews), and the heavens shall de- 
 clare his righteousness, for God is Judge, Himself, and it 
 was so ; for when Titus was viewing the fortifications, 
 after the taking of the city, he could not help ascribing 
 his success to God. We have fought, said he, with God 
 on our side, and it is God who pulled the Jews out of 
 their strongholds ; for what could machines or the hands 
 of men avail against such towers as these. Thus the 
 high powers, called the heavens, declared the righteous- 
 ness of God, in His judgment on His people (the Jews). 
 Observe next, the time of Christ's coming. Christ, Him- 
 self, said it would be in connection with the shaking of 
 the Jewish heavens, and the sun and moon of their glory 
 passing away. Then, said he, (not some time after), but 
 then, shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven* 
 Matt. xxiv. 29-30, and that occurred shortly after John had 
 the Revelations of it. For John was banished to the Isle 
 of Patmos in the reign of Nero, who put an end to his own 
 existence in the year 68, and the city and temple wa? de- 
 stroyed in the year 70, and as a proof that John had the 
 vision of it before that, read Rev. xi. 1. John had a reed 
 given him with which to measure the temple of God, and 
 the altar, and those who worshipped therein, and in the 
 eighth verse, the city is said to be the place where our 
 
 1 
 J 
 
of the Second Coming of Christ. 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 J 
 
 Lord was crucified. John wrote the Revelations some 
 time after he came from there, most likely in the year 69, 
 for that was about the time he wrote his epistles, and he 
 was told he should prophesy again before many peoples 
 and nations, and tongues and kings, Rev. x. 1 1 ; and in 
 chapter i. 9, he said, I was (he does not say how long 
 ago), but, I was in the isle that is called Patmos ; and 
 heard a voice saying. What thou seest write in a book, 
 and send it unto the seven churches in Asia : and to the 
 church at Thyatyra it was said : That which ye have al- 
 ready, hold fast till I come. Rev. ii. 25. Now, His coming 
 was surely in their day, or how could they hold fast what 
 they had till He came. And as a proof that those things 
 revealed to John were nigh at hand, he was told the time 
 is at hand, Rev. i. 3, and again, Seal not the sayings of 
 the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand, Rev. 
 xxii. 10, (that is, the time of their fulfilment), for it all 
 was so near at hand, that in the first verse we read, they 
 were shortly to come to pass. There need be no mistake, 
 for the Revelations came direct from God to Christ, from 
 Christ to the angel, from the angel to John, from John 
 to the seven churches in Asia ; and it is handed down to 
 us for our information. We read, the Lord God of the 
 holy prophets sent His angel to shew unto His servants 
 the things which must shortly be done. Rev. xxii. 6. Ob- 
 serve, the definite article the implies the whole of them ; 
 and in the last verse it reads. He which testifieth these 
 things saith, surely I come quickly. Amen, said John, 
 even so, come Lord Jesus. John's heart was filled with 
 joy on hearing the word quickly, for he was expecting 
 the Lord's coming ever since he heard the reply made to 
 

 12 
 
 The Signs, Manner and Time 
 
 Peter, when he asked, What shall this man do ? Christ 
 said, If he tarry till I come, what is that to thee. John 
 xxi. 22. After tarrying so long in expectation, he was 
 glad to hear Him say, I come quickly ; and John remem- 
 bered what Christ said to him and the rest of the disci- 
 ples in Matt. xvi. 28, Verily I say unto you, there be 
 some s-tPi,nding here that shall not taste of death till they 
 see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. Jesus knew 
 some of them would suffer martyrdom before His coming, 
 but some would live to see it, and John was one who 
 lived to see the kingdom of God come with power, Mark 
 ix. 1, not the vision of it only, as some say, but the rea- 
 lization of it, when Christ came in the glory of His 
 Father, with His angels (the Roman armies), and re- 
 warded men according to their works. Matt. xvi. 27. As 
 He said, Rev. xxii. 12, He rewarded the righteous by de- 
 livering them from the destruction that fell on that 
 wicked city called Babylon, and Sodom, and Egypt. Rev. 
 xi. 8. John heard a voice saying, Come out of her, my 
 people, that ye be not partakers of her sins. Rev. xviii. 4. 
 Then the wicked were rewarded according to their works, 
 as Jude said in 14 and 15, Behold He cometh with ten 
 thousand of His saints, to execute judgment, and act as 
 predicted by Isaiah Ixiii. 1-6. In Matt. x. we read of 
 Christ sending his twelve apostles to the lost sheep of the 
 house of Israel ; and after telling them what persecution 
 they would have, he said, verily I say unto you, ye shall 
 not have gone over the cities of Israel till the Son of Man 
 be come. Matt. x. 23. Some of the apostles would be thus 
 engaged until He came, or He would not have said so. 
 Furthermore, in every chapter of Paul's first and second 
 
 «- 
 
 *i 
 
^m 
 
 of the Second Coviing of CJtrist. 
 
 13 
 
 Epistles to the Tliessalonians there are intimations of 
 Christ's coining in their day, and J^anl was glad that they 
 had turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true 
 God; and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He 
 raised from the dead, even Jesus, wliich delivered them 
 from the wrath that was cominrj on the unbelieving: 
 Jews, 1 Thess., i. 10. Certainly they were expecting 
 Him in their day, or why was Paul glad that they were 
 waiting for Him. There were Christian Jews in Thes- 
 salonia, who were persuaded by some party that the day 
 of Christ was at hand ; and knowing that would be a 
 day^ of great tribulation, they were in great trouble about 
 their brethren in Jerusalem, who were repi-esented a« 
 dead in the streets of that great city. By the two wit- 
 nesses, Rev. xi. 8, sometimes the word death is used to 
 signif}^ a loss of privileges, as in Adam's case ; sometimes 
 to signify a perilous position, 2 Cor. xi. 23. The Chris- 
 tians in Jerusalem were in a perilous ))osition the while 
 Cestius Gallus' army was round the city, for all were in 
 a state of consternation, represented in Daniel's vision as 
 in the dust of the earth. Dan. xii. 2. But those whose 
 names were found written in the Book of Life were de- 
 livered when Cestius Gallus retreated from the city. Then, 
 the Christians represented by the two witnesses coming 
 to life, made their escape when they heard the voice say- 
 ing, come up hither. Rev. xi. 12. The number two is 
 put to signify the smallest number taken to witness to 
 the truth. They were the smallest number, but was suf- 
 ficient to witness for Christ. Paul exhorts them not to 
 sorrow for those wlio were represented dead or asleep, 
 for the V were in Christ; therefore, as certain as Christ 
 
AT 
 
 '^ 
 
 14 
 
 Thp Signs, Manner and Time 
 
 (lied and rose again in triumph over his enemies, so 
 certain would they be raised to a better state at Christ's 
 coming, as Christ said it was the Father's will, that of all 
 who were cjiven him he should lose none, but should be 
 raised up at the last day, John vi. 39-40. Meaning the 
 last day of the Jewish dispensation. Those who were 
 outside Judea were not in such a perilous state as those 
 inside, they were said to be alive, hence he said we which 
 are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall 
 not prevent (go before) them which are asleep, I Thes. 
 iv. 15, meaning that those outside would not go before 
 those in Judea. But those who were represented dead 
 would be raised first, then they outside as well as those 
 in Judea were all caught up together in the clouds. As 
 the word clouds is often used in Scripture to signify 
 numbers, so the different companies of Christians inside 
 and outside Judea were brought together in clouds to the 
 mountains of Pella. Thus they were in God's protection, 
 for they rnet the Lord in the air (that is in the open air), 
 on the mountains, and were ever with the Lord; that is 
 in the Christian covenant instead of the Jewish. Their 
 position then being changed, as Paul said, he shall change 
 our vile body, Phil. iii. 21, mark the expression, body 
 (not bodies that are w^asted away in the earth), but our 
 body, Paul meant Christ's body of followers, in the origi- 
 nal it reads, the body of our humiliation. For the mean- 
 inof of the word vile see James ii. 2. The word vile rai- 
 ment means poor raiment ; so the Christian body was at 
 that time a poor despised body, represented by Paul as a 
 bare grain trampled under foot, but it did not waste 
 away, it germinated and brought forth a spiiitual body, 
 
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of the Second Commg of Clirist. 
 
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 I Cor. XV. 37-38, and made like unto Christ's glorious 
 body. As Paul said, when Christ who is our life sb.all 
 appear, we shall appear with him in glory, Col. Hi, 4, in 
 a more glorified state). Wlien I'aul wrote his Epistles to 
 Thessalonians, it was 18 years before the Cv^ming of 
 Christ ; therefore he told them not to be shaken in mind 
 or be troubled as though the day of Christ was at hand ; 
 yet believing it possible for them to live to see that day, 
 he prayed that their spirit, soul and body, might be pre- 
 served blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, I Thes. v. 23. Paul knew they needed the pre- 
 serving grace of God, in tliose last days, because of their 
 persecution and trials. It is a mistake to fancy there are 
 any last days to the Christian dispensation, for God is to 
 be glorified in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all 
 ages world without end, Eph. iii. 21, the last days that 
 Paul spoke of in his Second Epistle to Timothy and 3rd 
 chapter, were not our days, but the days of the apostles 
 as it reads ; God, who at sundry times and in divers 
 manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the pro- 
 phets, hath (not shall) in these last days spoken unto us 
 by his son, Heb. i. 1-2. It is not the son, but the spirit 
 that was in the son, that speaks to us now in this spirit 
 age. Peter spoke of scoffers in those last days of the 
 Jewish dispensation, who said, where is the promise of his 
 coming. Making out that God had forgot his promises ; 
 but Peter assured them that God could not forget, for one 
 da}'" was with the Lord as a thousand years, and a 
 thousand years as one day. Therefore God was not 
 slack concerning his promise, as some men count slack- 
 ness, but was long sufiering toward them, not willing 
 
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 Tlie Signs, Manner and Time 
 
 that any should perish; but the day of the Lord did 
 come upon them as a thief in the niglit, II. Peter iii. 9-10. 
 Paul knew the Lord wouhl not delay his coming, for he 
 said, yet a little while and he that shall come will come, 
 and will not tarr}^ Heb. x. 37. James said the coming of 
 the Lord w^as drawing nigh in his day, James v. 7-8. Paul 
 told Timothy to keep the Commandment without spot 
 unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, I. Timothy vi. 14, his coming was certainly ex- 
 pected in Timothy's day, or how could he keep 
 what was committed unto him till he came. Christ 
 himself said his coming would be in connection with 
 those things spoken of in Matt. xxiv. 29-30, and in 
 the 34th verse he said, this generation, meaning the 
 generation then living, should not pass till all those 
 things were fulfilled, observe the word this genera- 
 tion means the ']jeneration living w^hen the words 
 were spoken ; as in Alatt. xxiii. 33-34, and in the 36th 
 verse he said, Verily I say unto you, all these things shall 
 come upon this generation, meaning the people he was 
 then talking to ; and it did come upon that very genera- 
 tion, at the time of Christ's second coming in the clouds 
 of heaven to overthrow the Jewish kingdom, and to es- 
 tablish His own, as in Dan. vii, 13-14 ; then it was the 
 saints possessed the kingdom also, 22nd verse, for all the 
 visions of Daniel were finished in the year seventy, as it 
 re ids, when He shall have accomplished to scatter the 
 power of the hoi}'" people, all these things shall be fin- 
 ished, Dan. xii. 7. ; their power was scattered in the year 
 seventy by the Roman armies, and they have not been in 
 r»ower since ; for Christ said to them, Therefore I say un- 
 
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of the t^iecoml Coming of (Jkrisf. 
 
 17 
 
 to you, the kingiloni of God sliall V»o taken from you, 
 and ji'iven to a nation l)nn<dn<; Ibrtli the fruits thereof, 
 and never promised to restore it to them again. Tiie 
 restoration that was ])romised the Jews was fulfilled 
 when they returned from their captivity, and rebuilt 
 their second temple, an account of which we have in 
 Ezra and Nehemiah ; and there is no promise of them 
 ever being established again, and building a third. When 
 Christ said they should be scattered among all nations, 
 He never ])romised they should be gathered again to 
 their former privileges. But they may be brought into 
 the privileges Christians enjoy, called eternal life, if they 
 remain not in unbelief It is said in Isaiah, of the increase 
 of Christ's government and peace, there shall be no end ; 
 and Isaiah ix. 7, Christ is now sitting on the throne of 
 His Father David. It cannot be the literal throne of 
 David ; for Christ said, My kingdom is not of this v/orld ; 
 it is a spiritual kingdom ; it is the throne of his Father 
 David, on account of the promise made to David that his 
 son should sit upon it: just in the same sense that 
 the promise made to Abraham that in his seed all the 
 nations should be blessed is called the Blessing of Abra- 
 ham. Read Gal. iii. 8 and 14, the blessing that came on 
 the Gentiles throuojh Christ is called the Blessino: of 
 Abraham; so Christ's throne is not literally the throne 
 of his father David ; but the throne God promised David 
 his son should sit upon. But the word throne does not 
 always mean a literal throne, it sometimes means an ex- 
 alted position. God hath highly exalted Christ, and given 
 Him a name which is alx)ve every name. 
 
 Peter said He was exalted by the right hand of God to 
 
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 Tlte Signs, Manner and Time. 
 
 tho jiosition He now occupies as Lord and Christ Acts ii, 
 29-30 which exalted position He will never leave to be 
 located on earth again, as some say ; if so, He will be here 
 or there ; but He said, If any man say unto you, lo ! here 
 is Christ, or there, believe it not. And why should I 
 believe what Ciirist tells mo not believe. Christ said, 
 where two or three are met together in my name there am 
 I in the midst of them. Thus the same blessed Jesus that 
 ascended in a body can be here without that body and be 
 the same Jesus that said, Lo I I am with you always, unto 
 the end of tho world. That was the Jewish vv or Id, the 
 world in righteousness that He judged at His second com- 
 ing. Acts xvii. 31. The only body He will have on 
 earth is the body of which He is said to be the head, for 
 God has given Him to be the head overall to His church, 
 which is His body, Eph. i. 22, that is, those who follow 
 His example, as jHe said, If a man love Me he will keep 
 My words, and My Father will love him, and we will 
 come unto him and make our abode with him. John xiv. 
 23. Then we realize what He prayed for in John xvii. 
 23 : I in them and Thou in Me, that they may be made 
 perfect in one, being by one spirit baptized into one body, 
 and made to drink into one spirit, I. Cor. xii. 13. Thpt 
 is the true spirit of Christianity, so as to be able to say by 
 works as well as words, we have the mind of Ch:rist. 
 I. Cor. ii. 16. Now unto him that is able to do exceed- 
 ing abundantly above all that we ask or think, accord- 
 ing to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory 
 in the church by (.'hrist Jesus throughout all ages, world 
 without end. Amen. 
 
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