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Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmis d des taux de rMuction diffirents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est film6 d partir de Tangle sup^rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 D. Th "Chri F'.iir E same i c. (WORLDS FAIR S()l-\KNIK.) 0. L. MOODVvs. III:nRY VARLI'V ■~\ AT WORLDS FAIR ON Nature of Christ's Atonement; OK, A SHORT TRKATISK 0\ MODKRN LATITUJJlNARIAXISM. BY \V. R I LANCE, Methodist Minister of Montreal Conference, Canada. Author of "Criticisms on Christian Sc leiice. Christ s Coming KinR.iom.'" .S« pa^c Ih of this w„rk. ir^? This Hook contains as well, in Part II., a reply to Mr. \arlcy\ World's ^.ur addresses on -Chrisfs Coning Kingdom; or, Second Advent..,- ,• same niilhiir ' •> '"^ same author. rORO.N 10 : WILLIAM IIRIGGS. C. W. COATES, .Muntical. s. F. HuKSTls, nalifa.x IS94. ^'('iin f"'r L'L'n.l, 1 8{);;, in Centre Music Ifall, Chicago, Ill.| is this 1,00k dedicated, with the earnest prayer tliat C!o(l ■ nay check the forces of error set in motion on that occasio.-, and that all may l,e led to "glory" in nothing "sav(' in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." W. |{. * If any of you wish to write to ,ne, my address is Clarencc- v.llo. I .(.. Cannula. I will be glad to hear from you i» confirma- ti..n, or otherwise, of what I have written on this subject m PREFACE. This book is a child of Providence. When my wife and I fell into the line of fashion to " j^o to tlje I'^air," and started for ( 'hica<;o last October, I had no more idea of hearinj^ .Mr. Vailey and writinj^ a reply to him than I had of a lliglit to the moon. If Mr. Varley had conlined himself to the subject announced, viz., 'Christ's Coming Kini(- dom," there would be no reply from uu\ for I went to hear him fully prepared to give him great latitude on a subject about which divines in all ages have dirtered so much. But when he tried to sweep away the foundation of our hope and the panacea for the world's hurt, by utterly repudiating the vicarious sutl'erings of our Lord, it bt^came unbearable. I wish to ask the reader's consideration as follows : Should it occur to you, at times, that tlu; treatment of the ditl'rrent subjects is too meagre, and that my arguments are not carried out to their full length, I ask you to consider the vast number of subjects introduced by my opponent, and of the limited space at my disposal, though thribblcd from its original design, and thus the impossibility of treating each theme in its fullest extent. You cannot bring the world into a nutshell ! \V. It. tl. m INTRODUCTION I'.Y REV. W. I. SHAW, M.A., LL.D., J'liiu'ipdl <l>it H»iUiiiLj Mr. N'iuliv .\li. X'iiiltv's Sfiiiioii 'I'liHT i}\u '■ ^ Mow l<» Stiiily tin- hil)l» ' — (III .Mfiiioiiain t<> lii.>'li<>j' 'iiii|».>r. Duiiglu.s) CIum; in Laiij,'iiiig»' of llouk. \'.\ 2~ Wait \. ('iiAi'ri;i> I. MttDKIlN LATITlhlN.MU.VMsM : Wat tlloo St 1 llg;,'l(' Sdciiiiall- i.siii -L'nitariaiiisiii -point of !)i.-;()Utf lK(\\ttii Mr. Viirli'V ami iiivst-lf - - . - • - "i^* .'{.'{ CMAITKH II. ( 'liri.>it ('oiiif to Kcigii or for Sac riti<<' '.' I'rcsuiiipt ive I'lv idfiK L' tliat He ( ■aiiu; for Sacritit*' (two iras(»ii.s): I. Tin- liiu roiiglit |)i'.siri' of All Xatioii.s ; 2. 'riic Harmony of All hciioniination.s Oiiiiiii of MohUry in I'opciv Origin of Mt'licf in I'lirgatory - Dr. I'ope'.s Warning Voice I'o.sitivc KviiU'iui- : 'I'aki-Mr. Varl»'V on lii.s own ( Jioiinil - .lo.sfplni.s aiul l)r. Sykrs on tin- K\j)c(tat iou.s of tilt' .lew.s- Hail Cliri.st an ()lijfil in \'ii'W? — Opinion of Mr. Moodv ;u :.! CHAITKK III. Chri.st's Death not Xucessarv for Atoiienieiil (.so say.s Mr. Varleyl^lniportance of Atoiu-inent -Meaning of Atone- iiu'iit Antithesis: between Wrath and Propitiation - lletween Atonement and Peconciliatioii P>etween Atone- ment and Redemption lietween Sentiment and Atone- ment Between AiMiiemeiit and Regeneration (A Lesson in iJiogenesis) -.-.--. ,VJ-(m CONTENTS. Vicfuious Atoiu'iiicnt Tliioc Tlicoiicis: I. M(.riii Iiitliu'iici- ; •J. IV.'iiiil SiiKstilutioiiaiy ; 'A. ( lovcrimu'iitJil (ir lU'ctnial --I. Moral InthuMici' 'i'liri-e Suli-ili\ isioii 'I'limrifs . i. MentiliratiDii ; "2. Maiiifcstalion ; .S. Maituiial Wmi Veil K(iigi\i;iie.s.s not ou the Ciouiid of Pvt'|K'Mtan e - Sot;iniaiiist.s ai'e iiri-acliy Ulustrat imis r->iit'latioii hetweeii 'I'ypc ami Anlityi)c iU'latioii Iii'twttn I'lo- jihecy aixl Kulliliiiuiit ()|tiniiiii of late Kt-v. < '. H. Spuigt'ou Opinion of Mr. Moody . . . - r\-!)( I cifAprKi; IV. DidChri.st'.s Death Delay the l\in;.;d '.' Ditlereiit Aspeets of Kin>,nloin : 1. Xalioiial; •_'. .lewisli ; 'A. .leuish 'I'heoeratie \otioii; 4. Sataiiii- ; .'). .\Ie-!)() iti-lis 144 I.". I InIUmDIi TcKV FAirr TT. CKAlTKi: I. i.V)-ir»(i M;rnM. Al.VKMisM ; ||,,u uas this Siil.jr.t ( ',)iisi.l.Mc.l in iiiiil siiirc A|.()st..lic TinH's? \Vhn{ aiv tln' Charactci i.slics ami I'liipusfs of FJis ('i)miiiLr".' - ■ - l.'»7-I(;-» CHAl'IKII II. Is It (;..s|k1 (.1 Kiulir Power llial is to Coiivfit tin- WoiI,|-' Second Advent not for Conveision No ( 'on\ ,.| ■^ions aft.'f He leaves Mis Mediatorial Throne ( iosn.l has Mot had a ( 'lianee l-.Mia.t from ll.port of I'l.-testaiit Missions of the World INNS, <.s|,e,ially from Artieles l,v I )rs. Sutherland and' W ii'dit . ' l(i;M7ii niAI'TKII III. Is HisConnng to Finish .\lonenient '.' Criticisms of "ISihle :«Mdmus tor HomeCinle" St. I'aid and .Mr. N'arlev ISS-J ^ ears Apart ' ■- 174 1 7(; (ll.M'TKi: IV. I'-il'l-'Tea.hin^ rnfultilled iVopherv Tu .. Wavs to Dj.s- |...se of It lid.le Compared to Post ( )tliee -iDiHerent Aspects of Chrial .s Coming .... CdAI'TKIl V. Will the Adv,.nt I.e I'osi or IVe-millennial? I're-miUen- nialists Contention for Four .\dvents. Four Kesur- N'tioiisand Four dud-ments .Millennium Points of I'Kpiite— lake .Mr. N'arley on his ou n ( Iround Ai.i.eal to Scripture -Parai.les Kpist les .\pp,.al to hai'iel ApiHHl to Pevelation-Kvilsof Literal Interpretation "I Symholie f.anguage-Kvi.lence from the Moral 177 INN Laws CHAPTFK VI. Views of Kminenl Men_Conclusion-(icneral ConduMo tor Purls 1. and II. I. SS- •_»•_'.") - 2L>r).>.>.'?4 WAVSIDI-; XOTEf^. i It was a fact which met with profound adiiiiiation, and pi'ovoki'd cxjii-essions of i,dadn<'ss, from world-wide ( 'hristtMi- doni when Mr. I >. L. Moody announced his heroic intention of holding e\aiii;eli.stic services at Chicago dui'ini,' the six months of the Worlds Fair. liight loyally did he cai-ry out his intention to the very (;nd with untla_rii)n that can ''ive Sweetest pli mes while we live ; 'Tis veligion must supply Solid comfort when we die." In carrying out his plans he secured music halls, theatres, institute places, tabernacles, S. S. buildings, Gospel tents, and a (iospel-waggon, which, witii scores of churches placed at his disposal, made up the number of one hundred and tivo places where services were held on Sabbaths, and in tile major part of them through the week. The average daily expenditure was from SSOO to 81,000. A large part of this expenditure was for rents of public l)uildings otlier than churdies ; for, be it said to the credit of the generous- 14 1). I.. MooUY V. hem;v vaui.kv. licirtcd tfustco l)o;ir(ls of the (.•lun'c'lics, as fai' as I could judi,'e, tlu'V i,'a\t' up, in uuiny instances, cM-n tlic collections to the "fencral fund of the rra iki' I'lst'ic ninvnu'iif. Cliica«5o is well supplied with churches, having no less than five hundi'ed {)laces of worship. It is correspondingly well supplied with ministers of all denominations. Amongst them are some of tlie most distinguished ornaments of the American pulpit, some of wliom are from Canada. Not- withstanding this extensi\e sujtply of ministers Ix-longing to the city, the hei'o of tiie effort thought it wise to call in help from abroad. That was (piite in keeping with the spirit of a World's Fair, viz., "The best from the nations." Ht! that as it may, as to " the ])est," undoubtedly he suc- ceeded in getting many able men to preach to the masses, as tlie following list, furnished me by the kindness of Mr. Moody himself, will show : TiiK BinM-: Institutk, CiiiCAao, Dec. 7, IS'J.'J. Rkv. W. Ril.wck, Clarence! vi He, (.'anada. Dkah HiioriiKH, — Mr. Moody has asked me to giv(^ you tlu; infoi-mation desired by your laltiniore, .Md. ; Rev. A. C. Dixon, of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Rev. Adolf Stoeckcr (Court Preacher to the late Emperor of ( Jcrmany, who preached in (rerman), during' the month of Sep- tend)er ; Rev. .lohn Hall, D.I)., of New Yoi-k ; Dr. (Jeo. P. Pt'iitecost, for ahout ten days ; Rev. J. \\'ill)ur Chap- man, about ten days ; Dr. A. T. Pierson, for three oi' four weeks ; Mr. I/iiirj/ Varle/f (italics mine), of London, durini,' Septendier and October; Rev. (ieo. C. Needliam ; Pe\. .lohn lioliertsoii ; Dr. John liiddell, of ( Jlas;i;ow, Scot- land ; Dr. .1. -Monro (Jibson, of London; Rev. Joseph (Jook, of lioston, for «tne address ; .^Lli.-Cen. ().(). Howard ; J{ev. {\ I. Scotield and (i. \V. Hrii;<^s, of Tt^xas ; .Mr. and y\\\->. P. r. Pierson ; Rev. .Mi-. Skooi^'sbergli, for work amon<^ the Swedes, and Rev. Niclaus P>olt, for the (lermans. The siiii^'ers were; M i-. Sankey, for about two months ; .Mr. D. P>. Towner, for the whole six months ; J. H. Ihuke, about five months: P. H. .Jacobs, about four months; T. H. .\tkinson, al)out four months. 'I'he male and female (|uartettes were from the Institute. Most of tlie students took part, in a more or less pi'ominent way, in the work. We liad only one (itoHpel-waifj.;on, wiiich wus in cliarijf^ of Mr. Hitigins. I liopt^ I hav(^ <:fiven satisfactory replies to the (juestions that you proposed, and would l)e <,dad to help you in any othei' way that 1 can. Sincerely yours, R. A. TOKHKY. The above mention of the Cospel waggon work under the H charge of Pro. Higgins, brings to my remembrance our experienct; in street preaching at Cliicago. .Vt the l)ible Institute, on Sabbath evening, October I'ltli, as a young Presbyterian minister from the west and 16 I). L. MOODY V. HENItV VAKI.EY. I were in conversjition ;Utout the grandeur of Heh. iv. 10, there came an urgent request from the leader of the Gospel- waggon work that ^frs. \{. and I should join his workers that evening. In a few minutes about a dozen of us were seated in the waggon hound for the slums of the eity. Our metal was soon tested, as mention was made l»y one of the party of the persecutions of foi-mer evenings when the hose was turned on them, stones tlwown at them. etc. We banished all api)roaches of fear, however, by striking up in song : The (lospel train is loiiiing, I see it just at hand ; I hear the car wheels rolling And rumbling through the land. Chorus. — Get on board, sinner, get on board ; Get on board, sinner, there's room enough for all. The fare is cheap, and all may go, The rich and jxior alike ; No second-class u])on the train, No diflerence in the fare. She's nearing now the station, O sinner, dt)n't be vain, IJut come and get your ticket, lie ready for the train. When we arrived at the place for service the little port- able organ was lifted to the door of the waggon, and Bro. H. took his seat at it and led in song — all joining in. In a few minutes a large number of people, young and old, })ig and little, gatliered on the sidewalk and around the waggon to see and hear wiiat was going on. All of the workers, male and female, took part, and we had a good WAYSIDK NOTES. 17 rkers m btle port- land Hro. in. In and old, )und the ai of the Id a good tinu^ ff>r about an hour. in I'ospon.sc tVoin the auditors, there .secnicd to he ch-cp iiirditation and rU)S(' attention to the ditfercnt themes presented. '* lUisidi' all wjitt-rs sow. Till! hiuhway furniws stock, Drop it whtTe thorns ;in(l thistk'S grow, Scatter it on the rock." Centre Music Hall was especially atti-aetive during the week, when midday s(!rvices wore conducted by Messrs. McNeill and Moody. The former genei-ally preached at 1 1 o'clock and the latter at 12m., closing at 1 p.m. The large building, capal)lo of holding three thousand people, was usually packed. liiblc Institute, near La Salle and Chicago Avenues, also was an important place at mid-day hours through the Week, because of lectures which were delivered there on various theological suV)jects by men of note. 1 i-efer to these things that the reader may have a bird's- eye view of the magnitude of the work carried on, and fhence the amount of harm a speaker may do by advancing |views which are unseriptural, which 1 claim .Mi-. H. .iVarley did on the afternoon of Sabbath, October 2"-', in /|pentr(' Music Hall. Tiiv? harm is especially great when %uch views are advanced under the auspices of orthodoxy. ^; Ciirist's words, in that inimitable Sermon on the Mount, come in here: " If, thei-efore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness." (Matt. vi. 2.'i.) T must confess that on arrival at Chicago (in company with Rev. Dr. Critlitii,* of Kingston, and our wjxcs, also ^^ev. F. C. Reynolds,'*^ of Cananoque, Ont.), and seeing Mr. ! * 1 had met with these brethren before. I wisli, however, to iaeution the hazardous voyage I experienced, some yearw ago, with 2 n 18 WAYSIDE NOTKS. N'arloy's iianic on Mr. Moody's printed pro<,'raninios for S;il)b;ith preaching services, T felt some prejudice against hearing him Ix'cause of his reported Plymoutliism of years ago, and concluded not to waste my time by so doing. When, however, the programme for the next Sabbath came out, and he was announced to preach on " Christ's Coming Kingdom," I concluded to go and hear him, think inir that, as he was labouring under the direction of Mr. Moody, he liad come over to ortliodoxy. Ha\ing taken Mrs. Kilance to the Art Institute to hear Lady Henry Somerset, Vice-President of the World's W.C.T.U., which was in session at the time, I, somewhat reluctantly, retraced my steps to the Music Hall to hear the sermon announced.* The speakerf was just ready to enter on the subject as I the former. We met at Point Levis, l'.(i). , for the Hr.st time when, 111 roxlc for I'luiope, Wf joyously \oyat;('(l o\cr tlu' uavi' riidiT our ( aptuiii's ((iiiiiiiaiKl ; Uiir hearts in tlu- midst of the (laiiycrs were lira\e, , And \\v were Iti-oiij.dil safely to land. We travelled together through the Hiitish Isles, Belgium, (lermaiiy. Kiance and back to Canada. Sometimes during the retiu-n voyage it was not (|uite so joyous. There were time.s when we did not know tlie moment we would go down. Captain Wi]liBm.s, of the Dominion Line, on which we voyaged, Hnding it everything we could desire, said it was the rougliest voyage he had made in twenty years. Doubtless Rev. Drs. Kyckman, WaketiehL Antiifl and Reynar retain vivid recollection.^ of settliiig accounts with Nei)tune at the same time. " In midst of ilanjrt't's, fears and deaths, Tliy ur)iidness we'll adore ; We'll praise thee for the niereies past, .\nd hiinihly hiii)e for more." * The subject announced was "Christ's Coming Kingdom." If he had adhered to that, there would be no reply fiom me. but, instead of treating tiie subject announced, he considered the nature of the present kingdom in its establishment, etc. ; and here is where we take is.sue. (See Chap. II.) fMr. ^'arley is a large, athletic man, rather above the average height, fair in complexion, with a large, W. Aithur-Iike head, i.'.. in appearance. He has a fine voice, and is a man of considerable toe it I doj Ian I niagm that patt-s ( Hudien to cal are m iSpeake Lard a concen lie fell priety, ;tlie fai S WAYSIUK NOTES. 19 nios for against 3f years Sabbath Christ's n, think 11 of Mr. ig taken y Henry J., which , retraced lounced.* hject }is I time when, ( lermany. rn voyagf e did not ftni«, of the y thing wc I made in leld, AntiitT ounts with .71 igdoni." It me. l>ut, the naturi ere ia where the average e head, i.' • considerable took my seat. He liad not spoken loii^', however, liefore it became apparent that, instead of "conung over to ortlio- doxv,' he had scah'd fence after fence the other way, and hiiKhnl in the pen of rankest Socinianism. It was bad enou<^h wlien, as a Plymoutli Brother, ho tau^dit the commercial aspect of Christ's paying' our debt, and the l>ible is a receipt that we are free, thus makinfj repentance and faitli of very little account, and placinij the Scriptures, instead of tlie witness of tlie Spirit, to testify as to our acceptance with (iod. Hut wlien he attempted to sweep away the foundation for the world's hope, and the panacea for the world's hurt, as he did in repudiating the vicarious nature of Christ's death, it became unltearable. We feel it would be recreancy to our ordination vows to h't it pass without an ettbrt to " banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doctrines contrary to the Word of God," especially when the Master prompts to action in this direction. If Mr. \'arley could not pull within orthodox traces, as the churclies labouring understand oi-thodoxality, he ought to have kept out of them ; or if, after he had laboured a while he found an uncontrollable desire to range in the broad latitudinarianism of Socinus and others of the dark magnetic power. He required to utilize it all, however, to hold that vaist audience of three thousand, made up of people from all paitsof the Knglish-speaking world. Xever did a more respectable audience receive a speak«n', and never was there a greater failure to call forth those warm and cheering impulses of approval which are unconsciously given by an audience when in accord with a speaker. They turned away in disgust as he " took away their boi-d and they did not know where to find Him " — as far as he was i concerned, at least. In his effort to captivate the people's approval, I he fell down on one knee, thus leaping beyond the precincts of pro- priety, but only to show how desperate was the elVort and signal the failure. 1 20 WAYSIDK XOTKS. a<^('s, as an honest man lie sliould liav«' witlulrawn from Mr. Moody's programme, to stand fairly ;uid sijuarcly lu'fon' tlie p('0{)lt' in his own crocd. (,)rKKii;s. — Am I to eonohidc, therefore, 1. That Ml". Moody employs men to preach without knowing' whetlici- they ai-e "sound in the faith once de- livered to the saints?" or 2. Tiiat ha has jj;one ovei- to Socinianism ''. or .'}. That Mr. Varley stoh* a march on th<; " Hero of tlie movement" at the World's Fair ? As to the first, he is not (juite so inoodi/ as to employ men without having a reasonal)le expectation whether they will preach Confucius, IMohauimed or Chi-ist, though doubt- less sometimes lie is mistaken. Tn reply to the second, not unless he has stolen a march on the churches of Chi'istendom, and gone back on all I have heard from his lips or read from his pen, as I will endeavour to show at the close of each chapter, and thus give the reason why 1 have chosen the title, " D, L. Moody V. Henry Varhsy." T leave the reader to judge as to the third query. In closing the account of the Moody meetings, it is well to ask, why those tlu'ongs morning, noon and night? Some people say the Gospel is losing its power. I would like to see a man, whoever he might be, and lecturing on whatever theme he choose outside the Gospel, th;it could draw such ever-increasing audiences as thronged those meetings. The brilliant Col. Ingersoll, I believe, once went to Chicago to deliver three lectures ; the Hrst night the hall was crowded, the second night there was a great falling-off, and the third night there were only about thirty-five present to hear him. The people want the Gospel, and T do not believe there was ever a time in the whole history of the aJon Seri m.'K iTha J on oi Ibijiti I No if ■^you n "strii a ser c -f Ale.ssia ■ipPrin WAYSIDE NOTKS. 21 n from lUiirt'ly without ince de- Hero of employ :,her they ;h doubt- a march on all I as I will and thus . Moody IS to the it is well \i1 Some d like to whatever I raw such ngs. The Chicago hall was ng-otl', and ve present 1 1 do not ory of the world when people were so hungry for the hiead of life as tlu'V are to-day. "I am not ashamed of the (lospel of Christ, for it is the powei- of Cod unto salvation.' How TO Stidv Tin; r>iMM'.. i In view of tlir work l)rfore us, then* ai'c a few ohserva- I tions 1 wish to make on '' How to study the I5il)le." * 1. Allow the r>il)le to havo that du(^ place in your t'stimution which its importance demands. There are two ways in this con?iection in which tiie Bilde is used : (1) To •rive ii the f'o Itv wluMcin it conflicts with our preconceived notions. {-) Heaping together passage after passage but wrongly applied. Some i»ai'ts of " Bible Readings for the J [ome Circle" are glaring instances of this. li. Compaie .Scri})ture with Scripture ; put together things spiritual and spii-itual.* I am reminded of Luther's remark. When he looked upon ; the accunmlations of superstition gathei'ed from i)aganism ;: along the stream of time, he exclaimed, " Hack to the 'i Scriptures." i am aware the sarcastic ivmark has been I made that you can i)lay any tune you like on the l>il)le. t That altogether depends on how you play. H you play Ion only one string, you may mak«' a noise which may please % . , . ■ *f. perverted taste; but it you would brin<; out all the possi- Jbilities of an instrument, you nmst play on all the strings. I So if you woukl bi'ing out all the possilnlities of the Bible, I you must play on all the strings of truth. I As an illustration of what I mean l»y playing on all the I "strings of truth" in the Bible, I introduce an extract of la sermon preached by llev. (Jeo. Douglas, D.D., LI..D., ^Principal of Wesleyan Theological College of iNFontreal, in i * See Angus' "liible lland-hooU," p. 160; ;ilso 'Mesus the |^le^ssiah," by Dr. Dewart, p. 1JH>. ■I 1 ■4j 22 WAYSIDK NOTES. nuMiiorv of the luiiipiitrd liishop Simpson, \vlios«? praise liii<;('rs in all tli(i (.'hurclu's : " 'Jlie text on which the preacher di.scoui.sed was Acts x. '24 : ' Ami wliilc IV'ter yet spake these words, the Holy (Jliost fell upon all tlieni that heard the word.' In speakinj^ of tlie descending Spirit as u Spirit of life, of privilege, and of power for service, he emphasized the latter in somewhat the following woids : " In tlui stnuits of an Italian city, a wan(l<'rin<,' minstrel, who had somewhere found an old and tarnished violin, was givin^jf forth the discordant notes of a familial- melody. The quick, musical ear in passim; detected some latent possibilities in what seemed a worthless instrument. He purchased it, he adjusted it, ho strun<; it, he attuned it to chromatic hai-monies, and now I see liim standing before entranced thousands in the great lialls of Kurope, and by the fire of liis genius, and by tiie tremolo, and by the staccato, and by the crescendo, and by the skill of his teclmique, evoking divinest melodies, descending to sepul- chral depths, striking notes that vibrate on every chord of the human heart, and then springing elastic, like the lark, to trill in strains celestial, he wields his instrument as a talisman dissolving into tears or kindling to enthusiasm wherever he goes, till a continent echoes and re-echoes with the name of the micjhtiest master which the violin has ever known. " If the pown were born. When your father lay dying, wli'-n he was I -isoiving into death, he said, " Pillow me up, and put u.y son Matthew into my arms, that we may consecrate him to Christ and to the service of His Church." I ha\e been ex- pecting this. (Jo, my son, and may (Jod go with thee !' " I am standing in the tented grove, ten tliousand llsten- ; ing worshippers around. Yonder a form rises, a familiar '] form. There are the deep set eyes, but they are aflame ; . the homely feature.^, but they an; lighted with supernal radiance ; the stooping form, but it bears the impress of V sublimity. He speaks -the thin and trebly voice carries H with it an all-penetrating pathos. He reasons, it is logic |on tire ; he expounds, it is intellect fused into white heat ; I he declaims, the winged arrows of conviction stick fast in :|the hearts of the King's enemies. Like the noise of the fwind on the tops of the mulberry trees, his emotional : nature is let loose and sweeps over the vast assembly, wak- Hng to ecstasy. I am caught into the chariot of his power, |] am harnessed to the fiery steed of his imagination. I am |swept up beyond the planetary, the interstellar, the nebu- .|lar worlds, until I stand on the outermost fragment of the iuniverse. Under his guidance I look up and behold the ^4 Waysidk notes. throne of (lod. T kpo more — T see rny Surety before the throne, and oh, tlie rapture I my name is written on His hands. "Thou Indiana boy, what gave thee this mastery over mind? Not alone native ".bility, great though it be : not what culture and colleges confer, [t was the Holy (jhost that fell upon tliee as at the beginning." " Lord, we believe, to us und ours, The apostolic ]>romise given. We wait the pentecostal ))o\vers, Tlie Holy (Jhost sent down from heaven.'" NoTK. — Since placing the above in nianusiiipt t'oi in, the great Dr. Dougla.s has gone to his reward. It may siiind as monumental now. " ITowl, Hr tree ; for the cedar has fallen." This extract shows alike what may be brought forth by playing on all the strings of a violin, and thus by illustra- tion, the strings of Truth, especially in the latter, under the baptism of the Holy (Jhost. In claiming this comparison of Scriptui-e with Scripture to understand the whole, we are doing no more than is readily granted in worldly jurisprudenc;e. To understand the statutes of (Jreat lii-itain you need to coujpare one part with others, new with the old, etc. I tarry here to emphasize this point —" new with old," for an evangelist labouring in Ontario, who would not like to be called a Socinianist, when he found the Old Testament conflicting with his peculiar notions, asked : " Why were these two Testaments bound together? I feel like taking my knife and cutting them a})art, throwing away the Old l)ut retain ing the New ! " No, brother, we cannot spare the Old, for the two are complementary to each other. "The New Testament is rooted and grounded in the Old, and there -J' I WAYSIDE NOTES. 25 ire tlie :>u His ry over )e : not r (^lost ,he great numental torth by illustra- r, under cripture than is orstand 3are one here to angclist called a mtlicting icse two my knife t retain Old, for he New lid there fore to seek to understand th^^ New Testament apart from the Old is as \ain as to seek to It^arn a language without lirst mastering the alphabet."* Because of the one-sided int<'rpretation of Scripture, we h;i\e so many difh^rent creeds. The Unitarian harps wholly on those passages which speak of Christ's humanity, to the disparagement of those of t(jual prominence on the l)ridge of Divine revelation which speak of His Divinity. In tlie same way, the Universalist lays undue stress on those passages which refer to the iihundance of provision in Christ, but wholly disregards lilt' conditions on which those provisions are offered. "A Scripture truth is really the consistent explanation of all that Scripture teaches in reference to the question in hand.' — Anyiis. The following rules throw additional light on the sub- ject, from a little book of extracts from Mr. Meyer's writings, selected by the Rev. B. Fay Mills : The whole of Christian living, in my opinion, hinges on the way in which Christian j)eople read the Bible for them- selves. ... There are a few simple ruh»s which may help many to 4 ac(juire this holy art, and I venture to note them down. May the Holy Spii-it himself own and use them ! I. Make time for Bible strdy. The divine teacher must , have lixed and uninterrupted hours for meeting his scholars. His word Jiiust have our ficshest and brightest thoughts. We must give Him our best and the first-fruits of our days. Hence, there is no tinn; for Bible study like the early morning. 2. Look up for the teaching of the Holy Spirit. No one can so well explain the meaning of his words as he who Pean (loulbuin, in "Christian Faith and the Atonement." ill I 26 WAYSIDE NOTES. wrote thoni. Tennyson could best explain some of liis deeper references in "In Menioriani." 3. IJead the IJiltle nu^hodically. Ua the whole, there is probably no better way than to read the Bible through once every year. 4. Head your Bible with your pen in hand. Writing of v. R. Havergal, her sister says : " She r-ead her Bil)le at her study by seven o'clock in the summer and eight o'clock in winter. Sometimes, on bitterly cold mornings, T begged that she would read with her feet comfortably to the tire, and received the rt'ply : ' But then, INIarie, T can't rule my lines neatly ; just see what a find I've got I " If only one searches, there are such extraordinary things in the Bible. None, in my judgment, have learned tlie secret of enjoy- iu" the Bibh; until thev have commenced to mark it, neatlv underlining and dating special verses which have cast a light upon theii- path on special days. "). Bead the Bible eagerly for personal profit. B>i'ing all its rays to a focus on youi' own heart. Whilst you are reading, often ask that some verse or verses may start out from the pi'inted page as God's message to yourself. And never close the book until you feel that you are carrying away your portion of meat from that hand which satistieth the desire of evers' living thin". It is well sometimes to stop reading and seriously ask, What does the Holy Spirit mean me to learn by this ? . . . Above all, turn from the printed page to prayer. If a cluster of heavtuily fruit hangs within reach, gather it. li' a promise lies upon the })age as a bank che(iue, cash it. If a prayer is recoi'tled,appropi'iate it, and launch it as a feathered arrow from the bow of your desire. If an example of holi ness gleams liefore you, ask (Jod to do as nuich foi' you. It' a truth is revealed in all its intrinsic splendour, intreat that by III sa\«' t •sav h two li.i\(' <|uil<' is not WAYSIDE NOTES. 27 of liis , thero hrough Writing 5il)le at o'clock begg«'(l the tire, rule my inly one e Bil.le. )f enjoy- t, neatly e cast iv >ring all you are tiirl out f. And carrying satistieth times to ,ly Spirit IT. if H cf it. If it. If H feathered (' of holi- •you. It' treat that its brilliance may ever irradiate the hemisphere of your life like a star. Kntwine the climbing creepers of holy desire , ;il)OUt the lattice work of Scripture. So shall you come to s;iv with the Psalmist, "Oh, how I love thy law, it is my meditation all the day ! " Concerning the subject before us, we may consider our- stdves as having gone down through the St. Lawrence, acro.ss tiie Gulf, and just passed through the Straits of Belle IsIp, with the mighty expanse of ocean before us. Some- times it is foggy here, and there are icebergs hard by. I uMiiember that when fu routp for Euro{)e sonit^ time ago, wf iiad just passed through the "straits," when I was awakened by the ringing of the caution bcsll, because of the fog. The caution bell is now ringing in my ears,^ 1. Not to do those, whose views F oppose, an injustice by misrepr<'sentation. 2. Not to sacrifice the truth to sav<' the feelings of anyone, but at the same time not to sav iiai'sh things when milder ones will do. I close these Wayside Notes in the words of Hook : '' If two men take Scripture for their guide, and, professing to h i\e no other guide, come to opposite conclusions, it is (luiie clear that neither lias a right to decide that tlie other lis not orthodox." On that account T hope to bring in the iUh'l(( of others as occasion reut we sphere, ises for ir own beyond 84. ist was tliience. iscrilx'd d Holy odhead. sts who they do ini that. 3 " heart 1," there For the judge, in mind, \postles, miracles ; will and rist's pro- convict- reas it is er of the )f disobe- (Ji.MU'i'," and is r(>presented as " going aiound seeking whom he may devour." 7. Many of tli^m are Materialists, denying tlie spiritu- ;ilitv and separate existence of the human soul, and that man sleeps in the grave after deatli : hut we claim, if matter is cogitative, it is strange that man never think.s in his heels but always in his head. We conclude, therefore, that there must be something in man superior to matter. I am awiU'e that Tertullian, in combating the spiritualizing ten- dencies of the Platonic schools, went to tlie extreme the other way, and claimed that the soul is corporeal ; but such is not taught in the Bilile. " INIind," according to the Word, must be considered as reposing upon a series of material organs, but can never be resolved into these organs, for it is totally uidike them, having none of those funda- mentals, such as extension, inertia, colour, etc., we usually term material. See " Absent from the body," etc., '2 Cor. v. S. >^. llestoration. The Bil)le holds out no inducements. "And he said unto him. If they hear not Moses and the jiioj)hets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead." Assiunitu/y/or a moment, Ok' pussihility of Ri'xforatiov, hmv in tlie iiaiure of thin(/s /,s it to be hroyujht ahotit ! Shall it be by the mere fiat of Omnipotence ] That cannot be. "The Divine government," says the llev. Marshall Handles, "is not a series of isolated arbitrary acts, but a vast network of relations, wide and lasting as the universe, in which sin and punishment stand to each other as cause and etl'ect. It is in the nature of sin to tend to perpetuate itself and to produce misery. This process is a nuitter of natural and moral law. To cut off the proper effect of sin, and cause it to l)e followed by eternal joy, by the sheer force of Onuiipotence, would not only be an abrupt break in the course of natunil law, but a violent wrench of moral rela- 'li: M i 11 \\ 32 D. I.. MOODY V. HEXI{Y VAULEV. tioTis, forcil)ly inakinj^ sin the precursor of happiness, which would not he k;ss viohmt than to make piety the precursor of wretchedness. If a siiuph^ fiat of (iod's autliority might empty the bottomless pit, why not a similar fiat have obvi- ated the necessity for the humiliation of the iJivine Son in the redemption of mankind? and why not in the sanie way have prevented all tlie agonies and inconveniences ever incurred by sin 1" * " The words of Christ on tiiis awful theme are distinct and unequivocal : 'These shall go away into everlasting punish- ment, but the righteous into life eternal.' Some have tried, by reckless verbal criticism, to neutralize the force of the declaration, and assert that the words translated ' eternal ' and 'everlasting' do not signify duration without end. 1 assert, on the contrary, that these words in the Scriptures alinatjfi liave that meaning, unless limited by other words, or by the circumstances of the case. ' The Hebrew word is CLAM, the Greek aioxion (Matt, xxv, 4G), and these are the words used to express the eternity of God and the dura- tion of the blessedness of the righteous. If, therefore, the punishment of the wicked is not eternal, then God is not eternal, and the reward of the righteous is not eternal. Furthermore, if these words do not mean duration without end, I know of no word in either language which does." f As to this verbal criticism, I notice that the Revised Version has it " eternal " in both instances. " Prepare to meet thy God." 9. Unitarians, Universalists generally, and the Camp- bellites hold most of these Socinian opinions, including the next one. We now come to the point of dispute ^ between Mr. Varley and myself : *" Forever," p. 315. t Rev. A. Sutherland, D.D., " Final Outcome of Sin." NATURE OF CHRIST S ATONEMENT. 33 10. As to the AtonPMjent : They claim tiiat the only object of Christ's life was to teach the etlicacy of repent- ance without any proper atonement for sin as a means of testoring us to the Divine favour. They claim that He exhiliited in His life and conduct an example for our imitation, and as a martyr sealed His doctrine with His hlood. [ do not hold Mr. Varley accountable for all of these views along the 8ocinian line, for he did not treat on them all, l)ut I do hold him accountable for the following, which he advanced, as 1 coj)y them from my note-book, the tirst throe of which are found in the last tenet above. 1. Christ took our nature, not to die, but to reign. L*. The murder of the Son of God was not necessary for the Atonement. ■"i. Christ's crucifixion delayed the Kingdom. 1. Christ's second coming will be within about twenty- two years.- Second Adventism. "). A kindred subject which he incidentally referred to, viz.. Soul Sleeping.* I am reminded by tiie above bill of fare of what Dr. A. T. Pierson said a few years ago, as recorded in the Iloin. Review, in his complimentary observations about Kev. John McNeill : " What men need is not negations but positions." Mr. Varley gave us postuies enough, to say the least of it, for one occasion. The apparcait trouble was they stood on himself, and not on " Thus snith the Lord," for the few passages lie gave us are wide oif the mark, as we v/ill see when we come to them in treating the subjects. * I will not consider the last in this work ; 1 may do so at some other time. NoTK. — Some have asked me if Mr. Moody was present when Mr. \'arley preached. He was not, for he had a service on Michigan Avenue. 3 34 D. r-. MOODY V. HENKY VAULEY. CHAPTEJI IT. NATURE OF CHRIST'S ATONEMENT. " Christ took our nature, not to die, l)ut to reign." TiiK reader may at once, with myself, have feelin«?s akin to those of the old lady who, when she saw the speaker was leaving the text announced, exclaimed, " Now, Mr. preacher, keep to your text." It is apparent that, while Mr. Varley announced to speak on " Christ's Coming Kingdom," his first, second and third divisions were in regard to the nature and establishment of lEis first king- dom. If he had confined himself to the subject announced, there would be no reply from me ; as stated in Wayside Notes, for I went prepared to give him considerable latitude on a subject aliout wliich divines, in all ages, have difiered so much. But when he turned directly around, from west to east, and went backward instead of forward, attacking the sitinmum honum of our Christian system, viz., the vicarious death of Christ, I was shocked. We will first give Presumptive evidences that He came foi' sacrifice. 1. The inwrought desire and expectations of all nations. If we go back to the eleventh chapter of Cenesis we find that after the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel, the descendants of Noah were scattered abroad over all the earth. Add to this the fact, that for hundreds of years well-grounded traditions had come down through the ages, arising from the promise made to the first sinning pair, that a deliverer should come. Thus, from that common centre, 2207 B.C., these de- NATURE OF CHRIST S ATONEMENT. 35 scendants of Noah carried with them these expectations, and whether you notice the aboriginal tribes of America, Australia, Asia or Africa, there is a looking for help from the Great Spirit. Thus man has been styled, " A worship- ping animal." As to the manner in which these desr00DY V, HENRV VARLEY. Tt will aid us in discussing this subject to ask had Christ an objoct in view toward which He aimed 1 No one read- ing the Bible with unprejudiced eyes, can come to any other conclusion, and that object v/as the cross. Early in His public ministry He declared: *' I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished 1 " (Luke xii. 50.) He gives a strong intimation of the revolutionary char- acter of His aim : " Suppose ye that T am ccme to give peace on c th ? I tell you nay ; but rather division." That is, He .. to concjuer first, then co reign. "The weapons of our .\ '^ ire are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds." (2 Cor. x. 1.) " Wliat soft melodious notes arc these, That Hoat upon the midnight breeze '. Now distant and again more near. Tlioy fall so sweetly on mine ear, Like harps by seraith lingers played ; 'Tis sure an angel serenade. It is, indeed, a seraph song That echoes heav'n's bright arch along I Their golden harps exalting ring, While countless hosts of angels sim^. an in ci bf es " (Jlory to(jod I resound the strain, I'eace on earth, good-will to men I He comes I but not in royal state. Attended by the rich and great ; No gorgeous couch supports His head, A babe, in lowly manger laid. The angels, at this wondrous sight. Adore and tremble with delight. And I'aise the loud, triumphant strain, (ilory to (lod, good-will to men I " NATURE OF CHRIST S ATONEMENT. 43 How ditferent the spirit of the above lines to the appear- ance of Mr. Varley's theocratic king ! Cin-istianity did not introduce revolutionary practices into the kingdom of the world, but revolutionary prin- ciples; and, though progress has been slow, the world has been slowly becoming revolutionized l^y those principles, especially the last hundred years. .lesus said : " And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto nie. This he said, sii'nifvint' what death he should die. The people answered him. We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth forever : and how savest thou. The Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man?" (.John xii. 3'_'-34.) Thus they mistook the nature and perpetuity of Christ's spiritual reign as described in Isa. ix. 7, Dan. vii. 1 I, and concluded Messiah cannot die. "Then he took unto him the twelve and said unto them : Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the pro[)hets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Clen- tiles, and shall be mocked and spitefully entreated and sj)itted on : And they shall scourge him and put Iiini to death : and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these sayings." (Luke xviii. ."U-lii.) The above passage referring to the prophecies, gives us an imi)ortant starting place. We have not space, how- ever, to develoj) it here. See page 83, next chapter, and it will serve the double purpose of explaining the two chapters. " Well may the cavern depths of earth Be shaken, and lier mountains und ; Well may tlie sheeted dead come forth To ga/.e upon a sutJering (Jod I Ik i m ■■ V (if ■p^i 44 1). L. MOODY V, HENRY VARLEY. Well may the teniplu-shrine grow dim, And shadows veil the C'lierubim, When He, the chosen One of Heaven, A sacrifice for guilt is given." — Wlnttiiy. It cannot be said that He was taken by force, although that is the position taken by ]Mr. N'arley : " He was horribly murdered." There was only once that His human nature seemed to shrink from the cross. It is recorded in Matt. xxvi. 38 : " My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. . . O my Father, if it be j)Ossible, let this cup pass from me : yet, not .' [ will but as thou wilt." He prayed the second and third time the same words with the same resignation. What df^r^s it r\] mean? It means (1) The bitterness of the cup which Christ drank for us. ("2) It means Christ's loyalty to j)erishing humanity. (3) It teaclies also the utter impossibility for man to get salvation in any other name. " Was it for crimes that I have done He in tlie garden sweat ? Ama/.ing pity I (Jrace unknown ! And love beyond degree I " That you may have a clearer view of the voluntariness with which Christ endured this for us ; that He was not a martyr to His doctrines to set us an example, but a vicarious sacrifice for sin, " to taste death for every man," hear His words: "Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servajit, and cut off his riglit ear. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into thy sheath : the cup which my Father hatii given me, shall I not drink it I" (John xviii. 10, 1 1.) '' t lay down my life that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I NATURE OF CHRIST S ATONEMENT. 45 have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." (John x. 17, IS.) We may further learn that Clirist surrendered all. Pilate asked, " Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and ha\e power to release thee 1 Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against ine, except it were given thee from above." (John xix. 10, 11.) "Jesus said unto them. Can the children of the bride- chamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them 1 l>ut the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast." (Matt. ix. 15.) In confirmation of our object in giving the above quota- tion, I will give the views of Ilase, late Professor of 'riieology in the great college of Jena in Germany : " It would be strange, indeed, for a man of thirty to express himself to older men in reference to the common end of mortals in such language as the following, ' Now is your time for festal joy, for when your friend shall be removed, it will l)e time for fasting and sorrow.' The whole con- nection of the passage shows that Jesus did not expect to part from them under happy circumstances, but amid many conflicts and in much sutlering." (Second edition of his " Leben Jesu," p. SIJ.) See also Matt. xiii. :\'2, Xl. There is another line of argument to prove that Christ intended to set up a spiritual reign and not a temporal one, vi/., the j)arables which speak of the effects of His truth upon human nature ; it was to be an inward spiritual power, and thus work outwardly to be a world renewing power. Having an eye to its gradual development. He referred to the leaven in the meal working till the whole lump was leavened ; mustard seed growing and becoming a great tree. He says, " I am couie to send tire on the 511 m 46 D. L. MOODY V. HENRY VARLEY. earth; and what will I if it be already kindleil." (Luke xii. to.) Dear reader, o'er this sacred emblem pause, And (juest thine heart therein ; If no rehning tire by thee is found, Be this thine earnest prayer : '• () that in me the sacred lire Might now l)egin to glow. Burn ujj the dross of base desire. And make the mountains How ! " O that it now from heaven might fall, And all uiy sins consume I Come, Holy (Jhost, for thee I call. Spirit of burning, come I " Rehning hre, go through my heart, Illuminate my soul ; Scatter thy life through every part, And sanctify the whole. " No longer then my heart shall uiourn. While {)uritied by grace ; I only for his glory burn, And always see his face." All of the above passages presuppose the renewal of human nature by a new and pervading principle of spiritual power. To the same effect are Christ's words in regard to the new cloth and old garment, and the new wine and old bottles (or skins), recorded in Matt. ix. 10, 17. The institutes of Christ and those of the Pharisees could never be brought to accord ; an attempt to combine the two systems would be as absurd as it would be destruc- tive." (A. Clarke's "Commentary.") By this disjunction of Christianity from the Mosaic law NATURE OF CHRIST S ATONEMENT. I 47 we are reminded of Christ's words, "Think not thy a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh " (vs. 19, '20). " The flesh of Christ means His humanity, which, as the world's high priest. He offered to (Jod for sin. ' .Jesus Christ came in the flesh . . . The Word was made tlesh . . . Who was manifest in the flesh . . . Put to death in the flesh . . . Hath suHered in the flesh . . . Who in the days of His flesh . . . Reconciled in the 48 D. L. MOODY V. HENRY VARLEY. body of His flesh through death . . . Having abolished in His flesh the enmity ... in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin . . . The seed of David according to the flesh . . . The bread that I will give is my flesh, whicli I will give (in propitiatory sacrifice) for the life of the world." Why is it that in the cycles of eternity, during probation is the only time that the following language is appropriate : "Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my ex- ceeding joy." No altar was necessary in paradise. John saw none in his vision of heaven. The inference is forced upon us : God will commune with us only through the Cross. " No man cometh unto the Father but through Me." " Thy bitter anguish o'er, To tliis dark tomb they bore Thee, Life of life — thee, Lord of all creation I Tlie hollow rocky cave Must serve thee for a grave. Who wast thyself the Itock of our Salvation!" — Fnairk. Agreeing with this is, " When tiie fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, tiiat we might receive the adoption of sons." (Gal. iv. 4, 5.) As these passages bring us up to the subject of next chfvpter, viz., Christ's death not necessary for the Atone- ment, we reserve some observations about the " rent veil," which are more appropriate under that head. Thus we have considered the various aspects under which Christ was presented in the Old Testament. We have also pointed out that Christ had a definite object in view from the beginning, and that object was the " Cross," that He NATUUK OF CIIKISTS ATONKMENT. 40 iiiiulit l»t' fible to sul)iii^iite all who would he reconciled unto Jlini. A\'e havo also considered the nature of His truth, vi/., an inward spii-itual power, that it might he a world- renewini* power, which could not find its free development in Mr. N'arley's outward state law. Paul speaks of it as ;i death to sin : " Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to he dead indcsed unto sin, hut alive unto God througli Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom. vi. 1 I.) '* O (iod, my lioart h, how the Son doth make me free. Then, Lord, 1 give my all to thee ; For time and for eternity, I shall live, 1 shall live." Again lie speaks of it as inconforniity to the woi-ld : " And be not conformed to this world : but be v , .• tug. formed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of (Jod." (Rom. X. 18.) I feel safe in concluding, therefore, that Christ came for a well-defined purpose, and that purpose He was not turned away from by friends nor foes. « 50 n. I,. MOODY V. IIKNIIY VAHI.EY. I iuii sur|)ris('il that any person is so \\arit('(l in his judj^- nicnt as to assert that which is so opj)OS(>(l to the plain t(iachin,u; of Si-ripturc, ami can account for it in no wiiy, other than to snpport and prepare the way for his erroi;i in rej,'ard to the " nature of the Atonement," which w en;,'ag(! our attention in tiio next chapter. 'I'his astonisiiiiif,' divergence, on the pai't of .Mr. N'arley, from phiin facts of 8cri})ture, finds its })arallel in the case of Prof. Workman, late of CoUourg, who denied the design l)etween prophecy and iuKiiment in tlie ( )ld and New Tcistament"^. I only iiope that T will l)e as succe.ssful in van(j[uishing the ai'gunients (or rather assertions) of the former, as Dr. Dewart has heen, in his " desus the Mes- siah," those of the latter. I think it wise, before I close this chapter, to bring into contrast with the views of .Mr. \';irley, which 1 have bee combating, those of Mr. Mo )dy, and thus justify the an thetical title of this work. A few brief sentences must sutUce, for time and space are precious. In the sermon I heard him preach in Chicago, on the Sabbath before I heard Mr. \'arley. viz., 1 oth October, on " Mene, Mene, Tekel, l^pharsin,'" Dan. v. •_>■"), he })ointed out plainly that man is found wanting without Christ's blood. If we turn to his book of sermons, entitled "Creat Joy," especially page L'-')l, we Hnd one on "Mission of Christ.'' A few extracts from that show plainly the disagreement between him and Mr. N'ai'ley about the object of Christ's coming into the world. His text is John iv. 17, which refers to Christ reading in the synagogue. " The Spirit of the Lord is upon me," etc. lie says, referring to the Bible, "That l)ook is the death-warrant of every unsaved sinner, but if a man knows that he is lost, that he is NATTRK OK CHRIST S A'K »NEMEN"|-. 51 •guilty and (.•oiidcninod, and he coiiios tr) the Saviour, then tho l>il)l(' is not a doath-warrant. Ft is a reprirvc. it is a pardon, it is i;ood nows, ^]iid tidini^s, and <'very man here t()-ni,i,dit who is unsaved ou^ht to b(^ sad when he reads his death-warrant. That is tlie reason why peoph' unsaved ill) not like to read tins hook. When we believe we hear the t;(Jod news that conies to us in the cr'V from Calvary, 'It is tinisjied I ' That is the ni.'ws, it is finished I That IS not had news, that is not our death-warrant." He goes on to tell of a little idiot boy in Scotland, who, ^vhen the minister spoke to him, always said : " Ye maun wait till a' come to ye, and when a' come I'll sing ye a sang ;in tell ye a story, but ye maun wait till a' come to ye." The minister heard that the boy wa dying and ho, went to him and said: "Sandy, you promised -me that you would sing me a song and tell me a story before you died. Will you tell me it now?" " Yes, minister," replied the boy, ''Three in ane and ane in three, an' Jesus Christ died for nue, that's a'." Three in one and one in three and Jesus Christ died for me. ^Ir. Moody adds, " I would ratlier be a poor idiot and know that, than b(; one of the mightiest men in Chicago and not believe that Jesus Christ died for me on Calvary's cross." That is plain that it is ^Nloody ca. Varley. (See third query, page 'JO.) 'i 52 D. L. MOODY V. HENRY VAllLEY. (liAPTER Iir. CIllilST'S DEATH NOT XKOIOSSAliY FOR THE ATONEMENT. TiiK leador may judfj^e as to the sui-prise in that vast (Jhristian"**" audience of three thousand people tliose words occasioned. As these articles are intended for the com- mon reader, as well as those who jiave had a wid(>r range in tiieological literature, 1 think it wise to present the doctrine of atonement in its rudimentary forms, as well as in its more advanced development. T, foi- one, have been very nnicii surprised at the tendencies to mix up tiie efl'ects with the cause, and thus ignore a very important distinction in all logical considerations. It will be readilv admitted that nothing is of more importance to us than tiie " Atonetnent,'" hence the importance of correct teaching in regard to it. The old Greek author, Hesiodus, said: "Do not mak(^ unjust gains, they are eijual to a loss." iSo with some recent attempts to gain knowl- edge in regard to this iinportant doctrine — they have been a loss. ]\lr. Varley took away the heart of the Gospel, for " witiiout the shedding of blood there can be no remission of sins." ^ome years ago, yet within the memory of many living, during tiie war in tlie United States, the use of bank notes was largely superseded in * I had never mot with so many riiriatiaiis in one audience. When the speaker asked, toward tlie close, for those who were C'liristiaus to arise, ninety per cent, stood up declarinjj; their ulle- gian-'c to dod. I will venture an opinion that not one })er cent, of them were Christians according to his view of Christ's work, which would he a misnomer. Fair, il NATURE OF CHRIST S ATONEMENT. 53 Canada by silver coins of tlie Ignited States currency. These coins were generally made up in paper parcels, dcsii^ned to amount to a C(M'tain value which was marked upon them. These seal(?d packa ; On tlio cTtic'l cro-^s lie sutlVrci. From the curse to set mo free;. " CnoKL'S.— .'^iiiLC. oil, sini^ of my Uedccmer, With his lilood lit' imrchiiscd mo; On the cross h<' scaled my imrdoti, Paid llic dc'lit. and made mi' free." The objectionable part is the last line of the chorus : " Paid the delit, and niatle me tree." Clirist set no one free on tlio cro.ss, but ntade amjile and reliable pro\ ision that all may be made free us they come for libeity. "He looseth the prisoners." (I'salms cxlvi. 7.) lill '^ 58 n. L. MOODY V. HENRY VAllLEV. It will aid us to further understand our subject if we keep in mind clearly the distinctions in the following anti- thesis : 1. I3etween wrath and propitiation. I>y the wrath of God is meant, not that turbulent passion, as manifested in wicked man, but that moral sentiment of Justice which exists in perfection in the Infinite AFind, because of which He cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. Hy propitiation is meant that satisfaction to Divine justice which makes it proper for God to exercise His mercy in forgiving sins on the terms of the Gospel. 2nd. Between atonement and reconciliation. The one is the cause, the other is the effect. Fundamental errors have arisen by not keeping these distinct. God, not man, receives the atonement ; l)ut believers receive reconciliation througli that atonement. '• He breaks the power of cancelled sin. He sets the prisoner free. His bloud can make the foulest clean. His blood availed for me." " We joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement " — at-one-)nent, or, better still, as it is in the mai'gin, Wesley's Notes* and Re- vised Aversion, reconciliation. (Hom. v. II ; 2 Cor. v. IS, 21 ; Heb. ix. IT).)! ',]. lietween atonement and redemption. This wortl nnlemption has a broader meaning and application in the Scriptui'es than either of the other woids noticed, and seems • I have freciuently noticed that where Wesley tlitreis from tlie A. V. he anticipated the K. V. by over one hundred years. + It was rathei- a fatal reference Mr. N'arley inatle when he pointed us to Heb. i. in support of his claim. Of all booUs in the IJible teaching vicarious sutlering, that is the one. NATURE OF CHRIST S ATONEMENT. 59 to include tbeni both. On the one side, it inchides atone- ment, in the price of redemption, as to its objective point, which is universal in its provisions. " Lord, 1 believe Thy precious blood, Which at the mercy-scat (if (Jod, Forever doth for simiers plead. For me, even for my soul was shed. " Lord, I believe were sinners more Than sands upon the ocean shore, Thou hast for all a ransom paid. For all a full atonement made." On the other side, redemption includes the deliverance of individual believers from the curse of the broken law, the power of sin, as its sulijoctive point. As such it is limited in its operations, beinj; confined to accountable man, who seeks God in an acceptable manner, and to unaccountables, as infants, etc., including in its ultimate scope the resur- rection from the dead. (Kom. viii. 23.) " Come, sinners, to the gospel feast, Let every soul be Jesus' guest ; Ye need not one be left behind. For God hath bidden all mankind." Sometimes the distinction is expressed as " redemption by price and redemption by power." J emphasize " acceptable manner." There is a tendency in this age to a looseness as to faith and whole heartedness in seeking the Lord. The former being merely the assent of the understai\ding ; the latter being tiie manifestation of that assent by simply holding up the hand or going forward to the front of the church or enquiry room. When I remember the struggle I had, as a young lad of tiiirteen, even to do that much, 1 cannot look upon those I'l 60 D. L. MOODY V. HEXllY VAllLEY. compliances as being meaningless signs. \ wish to add that it nieans a great deal for a poor sinner to commit himself to God puMicly, )>y breaking the snare of " the fear of man," and 1 have everything to say in favour of that public manner of starting. Tt is the cold and |)erfunctory manner, and the conclusion that that is fill that is neces- sar\', and, further, taking the Word of (iod as the witness of a(!c<»ptance, I object to. "They have healed the hni't of the daughter of my people slightly, saying peace, peace, when ther(; is tio peace." (Jer. viii. 11.) " Ucopen the wounds thy hanls have made In this weak, helpless soul, Till mercy, with its balmy aid, Descends to make me whole. " The sharpness of thy two-edged sword Enable me to endure ; Till l)old to say, my hallowing Lord Hath wrouifht a perfect cure." "Seek and ye shall tind" (Christ). " He that believeth on th(! Son of God hath the witness in himself." (1 John V. 10.) See, also, llom. viii. 15, IG. This acceptable manner refei's to the time, which is "now." The llev. Mr. Smith, of Raleigh, N.J., had tried during special services to bring a certain man of that town to the Saviour. Something was wrong. There was business or something, but Mr. Smith left the place, and the man was not converted. He was passing through it some time after, when he was informed that Mr. 15. was very ill, in fact, dying. Mr. Smith took a carriage and drove to the liospital. He said to the dying man, " T would like to speak to you about Jesus." He saw that he was very N ATI' RE OK CHRIST S ATONEMENT. 01 weak, and he said, " I think we will pray ; I will put something in my prayer to which you can respond if you desire to seek the Saviour. I will not ask you to sjicak. Just press my liand in tokcni that you accept the words I will utter in my prayer, as applied to your case." Mr. Smith prayed and waited for the pressure, l)ut it did not come. He ro.se from liis knee.s, and, bending over the man, said, " When do you intend to give your heart to the Lord]" And the man replied in a whisper, "To-morrow." At six o'clock that night he died. " VVliy do you wait, dear brother. Oh, why do you tarry so long ? Vour Saviour is waiting to give you A )»lacc in his sanctitied throng. Why not come to him now :* " 4. Between sentiment and atonement. ]\[r. Varley did not tell us how an atonement cotdd })e made without the death of Christ. Others of the same crowd, however, have spoken out on the subject, e.g.. Dr. Taylor, of Norwich, in his " Scripture Doctrine of the Atonement Examined," and in his "Key to the Apostolic AVritings," as reported in " Encyclopaedia ot Keligious Knowledge," says : " That by the blood of Christ is meant not the cor- poreal substance; not the sullerings and death of our Lord, but the blood of Chi'ist in His perfect o})edience and good- ness." This is in harmony with what I wrote in Chapter I. about Socinianism, and which does violence to all Scrip- ture interpretation and meaning of words, and is only sentimentalism. We have already explained the meaning of the other part of tliis antithesis, viz.. Atonement. 5. l^etween atonement and regeneration. I bring these into contrast to emphasize this biological side of redemption, m ill, ' ■( J 62 D. L. MOUDY V. HENRY VAllLEY. and l)riii<^ bofori! my reader recent conclusions in favdur of I>ioy;enesis or " life only from life,'' as reported by Prof. Drumniond.* He says "that for two hundred years tin; scientific world has been rent with discussions upon tin; orii,'in of life. Two great schools have defended exactly opposite views — one that matter can spontaneously generate life,t the other that life can only come from pre-existing life. The problem was solved by various experiments, :|: which resulted in a grand victory in favour of the latter, and Huxley and Tyndall* ha\e been com})elled to yield. The one reluctantly says, "The doctrine of liiogenesis is victorious along the line at the present day..i; The otlier is just as emi)hatic in atlirming "that no shn d of trust- worthy experimental testimony exists to prove that life in our day has ever appeared independently of antecedent life." Ij 'J'hus we lind that Christianity receives at length, * " Natural l^aw hi Spiritual World," p. (51. ■I- " i'.egmning of Life." By H. C. Bastian, M.A., M.l)., F.H.S. Vol. II., p. (i'.i'.i. X (il.'iss vessels were three paits filled with infusions of hay or some other organic matter. They were hermetically sealed to exclude the outer air, and boiled to kill all germs of life in the hay. In bastian's experiments, even after boiling the vessels for houis, to secure sterility, life did appear, and he concluded it was spontaneously generated. The truth was, however, as was after- wards proven by I'rof. Tyndall and Mr. Uallinger, that Mr. bastian had not subjected the vessels to a high enough temperature of heat to kill the germs. \Vheu this was done, not a vestige of life appeared. The experimenters state that " some germs were all but Hre-proof." " So far as science can settle anything, thiscjues- tion is settled by those experiments," ((!en. i. 1 ; John i. 3.) J5 "Critiques r.nd Addresses," T. H. Huxley, F.R.S.; p. 2.S9. *This is a significant fact, if what Dr. Kby says in his "Chris- tianity and Humanity," p. 60, is true, viz.: "Ask a hundred ordinary Englishmen or Americans to name the representative of Physical Science, ninety nine of them, perhaps, would name Pro- fessor Tyndall." l! Nineteenth Centuri/, 1878 ; p. 507. NATUIIK OF CHUISTS ATONEMENT. (i.'J li-is- Ired eof 'ro- ut its most central point, a support jiiid hisis in the laws of Xaturo. •' Foi: many years," the Professor tells us, " a similar discussion has drag^^ed its lenijth through the reliyious world." !t is true the attestation by experiment is not as easily attained in the religious world as in the natural, especially to those minds which look on all experience as visionaiy and unreliaMe, when taken in support of the postulates of Scripture. Yet we are not justified in shutting our eyes to tlu?se things when they are so plainly taught in the Scrijitures, as is evident in so many ex{)i'riences heing related. IJeside that of Paul, in Acts xxii. 1, we iiave his exhortations: " Examine yourselves whether ye ho in the faith : prove ytmr own selves (italics min(^), know ye now i/onr own si'lves (italics mine) how that Jesus Christ is in you except ye l)e reprobates." (2 Cor. xiii. ").) " l»ut let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup." (1 Cor. xi. 28.) We have seen that there is a great gulf lietween tlie organic and the inorganic state, and if the conclusions of l>utler, Pascal and Drummond are true as to the analogy between nature and grace — and who has not been subdued into adoration by their truthfulness? I feel safe in asserting that the great gulf, so prominently brought l)efore our minds in the parable of the " l\ich man and Lazarus,"* as existing l)etween llell and Paradise, exists to-day on earth between the "natural man" and the " spiritual." There is this difference, however : The gulf in tliis world has been bridged over by the Lord Jesus Christ, so that the natural man may pass over from nature to grace. * Luke xvi. '26. m 64 I). I. MOODV V. HKXUV \ AKhtY. "Now, onl}' now, aj^Minst tlifit Imur Wc may a |>lace provide ; Beyond tin- '^ravc, beyond the power Of hell, our .s|.irit.s hide. " Have you yet passed over? Jesus has placed His hand in thine anii lovingly in\itos you over. "This is the lime ; no more delay ; This is the accei»tal)le day ; ('(jnie in, this moment, at his rail, And live for him who died for all." '' The natural man rooeiveth not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him ; noitlier can he know th(;ni, foi- tliey are spiritually discern;;d."t The natural man is dead in trespa.sses and sins. " Far off ; without God and without hope in the world."' "Come ]\onie, come home. You are weary at lieart. For the way has been dark. And so lonely and wild ; O prodigal child. Come home ; come heme. "Come home, come home, For we watch, and we wait, And we stand at the gate. While the shadows are piled ; O })rodigal child, Come home ; come home. "Come home, come home, From the sorrow and blame, F'rom the sin and the shame, And the tempter that smiled ; O prodigal child. Come home ; come home. " tl Cor. ii. 14. NATUUP: of rHKISTS ATONKMENT. 6") We have seen that the only bridge across the gulf be- tween living and dead bodies is from |)re-existing life,* so the only bridge across tlie great gulf from spiritual deatli to spiritual life is from pre-existing life, and that life is in His Son. " He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Sot» of (lod hath not life."t Chiist speaks of it as a new '' birth." The idea of spontaneous spiritual generation is as con- trary to Scripture as it is, by analogy, to the laws of nature. You may, by the ''survival of the tittest," evolve a grand improvement to the stock on your farm, if you have one, but you never can evolve your soul from sin to holiness. The animal may evolve itself, To full-orbed splendour shine ; But man, thy sin is too deep set, I'roin it by self to find. Man may, by arduous toil, evolve grand achievements in science and art, gradually unfolding the possibilities of the mind and body, till it becomes more than ever apparent that God was wise in placing him as King on this earthly splu're ; ])ut he never can evolve a knowledge of sins forgiven. " The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom. vi. 23.) "I am the way, and the truth and the life." (John xiv. 6.) After these antithetical presentations tiie reader will, with a l;roader view and clearer light, enter on the dis- cussion of the subject — YiCAFirous Atonkment. The meaning of vicarious, according to A\'orccster, is : ■1 (Jen. ii, 7. 1 John V. 12; Col. iii. 4. 66 D. L. MOODY V. HENRY VARLEY. lirst, (l(^put('cl, delegated, comniissioued ; second, acting in the place of another ; third, done or suffered for or instead of another. " In cases where the party offending is unable to render ade(|uate atonement in his own pei'son, and where the punishment could not be endured by him without ruining him - as is the case in all capital oli'ences — if the suffering of another be accepted in his stead, the atonement thus made by a substitute is technically termed a vicarious atonement.'"* That is a case that rarely happens in human governments, but is the case in relation to the Atonement made by Christ, lit! was made sin for us, who knew^ no sin. From the Ultra-Calvinist who limits the provisions of atonement to the elect, on the one hand, to the broad Sociuian who denies the vicarious nature of Christ's death, on the other, there have not been wanting advocates for almost evory intermedifite point. While it may be admitted tliat a perfectly theoretical solution of the subject is not necessary for salvation, yet inasmuch as the stream does not rise above its fountain- head and a system is not healthier than its vital parts, it may l)e reasoual)ly concluded that at least a chnrc/i's sotrriolixjfi of atonement should be correct. 1 have no sympathy with tlu; remark we sometimes hear : " It matters not what a man believes, if the life is right." r>ut thfu'e is the trouble, for, as a rule, we do not practise; above our faith. Christ said : " Jf thine ey** l)e single, thy whole body shall b(> full of light." In order to have a full orbed view of our subject, we will consider brielly the first of the thr(!e theories which, for all piactical purposes, cover the whole ground : lirst, Moral lnHuenc(!; second, Substitutionai-y ; third, (Jovernmental. " Kncyc. Kelt. Kno." NATURE OF CHRIST S ATONEMENT. 67 Of tlie three theories just now ineutioned, the moral influence is the only one which necessarily conies into view in reply to Mr. Varley. We will, however, briefly explaiii what is meant V)y the other two. llev. 11. Watson i^ives an epitome of both. 1. By substitution is meant, tiie satisfaction made by the death of Christ, consisted in His taking the place of the guilty ; and in His sufl'ering and death being, from the dignity of His nature, regarded by the ollended Lawgiver (IS a full equivalent and adequate compensation fur the p)inisJim''.nt by death of the personally (j}iilty. '1. By the governmental or rectoral theory, " Christ is supposed to have made satisfaction for our sins, not because His death is to be accounted an adecpiate compen- sation or a full etjuivalent for the remission of punishment, but because flis sufl'ering in our stead maintained the honour of the Divine law, and yet gav(^ free scope to the mercy of the Lawgiver." Both of these opinions have iit'cat names for their advocates. jSa k ■fA 1:1 ]\[ORAL InFLUKNCK. T will endeavour, as briefly as possible, to lix in the reader's n)ind the nature of this theory. Dr. Pope speaks of it as " the exhibition of the i-edemp- tion to man, as moving upon his conscience and will and heart." \h\ Bandies: "The one feature common to all the shades and diversities of the ' moral power ' view is the notion that the eflicacy of anything Chiist did to atone was merely moral, ethically suasive, tractive, educative. ap[)ealing to the moral nature, and presenting to the sinner's mind motives or considerations that may i-ation- ally induce al)aiulonment of sin and return to (iod, and oidy saving as far as these motives take eflect. Tluw are 'mm 68 D. L. MOODY V. HENRY VARLEY. all but different aspects of what is called ' moral ' atone- ment in opposition to ' legal,' the latter aftirming and the former denying that the sufferings of Christ aimed at removing h^gal obstructions, in order that such moral forces might come into play."* The advocates of this theory mistake the real object of atonement, viz., the mode by which (iod's mercy can be exercised towards repenting man, rather than any means by which mans hostility toward God may be subdued. Tiie reader may here have a clear view of the broad distinction Ijetween this theoiy and tlie sul)stitutionary one. Mr. Valley's anti-death views till the whole of one side of this moral force theory, while the conscience-smiting influence of His death, as hehl by others, fills the other side. We acknowledge tliat these moi'al influences come from the Atonement as sunbeams from the sun, but they are not the Atonement any more than the sunbeams are the sun. This theory we are now considei'ing makes no attempt to find a (Jodward bearing in the atoning work of Christ, but solely to aflect man, bringing him to repentance. It se<»s no ground of pardon necessary besides the will of (Jodto forgive and the readiness of man to i)e forgiven, without any proper atonement for sin. We hope to have made the nature of this theoiy plain to the reader's mind. We pi-oceed to consider the defects of these views in the liglit of Scripture and reason. The language of Scripture has a more extended \ iew than meiely smiting sinners' hearts as a moral force, f. 7., "To declare I say at this time his I'ighteousness, that lie might bt* just and the just- itier of him which believeth in .Icsus." (l{om. iii. 20). "Wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our ini(juities," • " Siil)stitution,"' p. ISS. NATURE OF CHRIST S ATONEMENT. G9 etc., " The Lord hath laid upon him tlie inicjuity of us all." Atonement was satisfaction to Divine justice, and thus the legal bar in the way of pardon was removed, and the moral ends are accomplished in salvation on the terms of the Gospel. The priii»ary meaning everywhere in the iiible is the language of expiation, and not of moral education. To confound the two is to confound the cause with the eliect. "Such language applied to the influence of even the highest conceivable order of moral training were a clumsy attempt to clothe the idea of persuasion in the; language of expiation. If the Inspirer of holy men of old meant nothing more than this, the selection of terms was most unhappy, and may well tax the ingenuity of liumanitarian- ism to contract their signiticance to the dimensions of its meagre creed. Never could the influence of the most |)erfect martyrdom entitle it to the properties ascribed to the sufferings of Christ. " rf this were the true doctrine, the death, being but confirmatory of, and secondary to, the teaching and life of Christ, the salvation of men ought to be traced mainly to the latter, and only to the former in a very subordinate sense. The martyr's death is but the seal of his sincere belief of what he asserted and practised during his pre- vious life ; conseijuently the moral power of the death would be nothing without the life. If, then, Jesus died only as a martyr, the use of His deatii consisted not in its inherent virtue, l)ut in its enhancing the intluence of the doctrine He taught, and the deeds Jle performed during His life, in which the princi})al virtue consisted. Turning, however, to the Scriptures, it is seen that salvation is ti'aced much less to His antecedent teaching and example than to lUs suffering »nd death. ' While we were yet I ;■ t m1 70 D. L. MOODY V. HENUY VARLEY. sinners Christ died for us ; much more being justified by liis l)lood, we sliall be saved from wrath through him.' 'The Son of nian must be lifted up (crucified) that who- soevei- believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life,' 'Who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity.' These are a few out of many passages which exhibit the close connection between our salvation and the oiFering up of Christ unto death." * (Rom. v. 8, 9 ; -John iii. 14, 15 ; Titus ii. 1-1.) This theory we are now considering had better be analyzed, for, on account of ]\lr. Varley's very weak theological diges- tive organs, it is rather strong for \\m. lie does not believe in the death of Christ. The subdivided theories are : 1. Identitication. 2. ^lanifestation. 3. Marturial. W(! place Mr. Varley in the first. 1. We will consider, first, this identification theory. What is meant by it? Dr. Campbell answers: "I have sought to realize the Divine mind in Christ as perfect sonship towards Cod and perfect brotherhood towards men, and doing so, the incarnation has appeared developing itself naturally and necessarily as the Atonement." — Dr. Campbell, "Nature of Atonement," p. .wii. Does not this mean that the incar- nation is the Atonement ? Thus we have no trouble in our efibrts to locate Mr. N'arley, for that is exactly what he contend(.'d for. But, we ask, is there anything in the incarnation to introduce any ([uality or power that can deliver the sinner from his guilt and make him inwardly pure? IFas it any peculiar tendency to |>roduce these efi'ects, which would entitle it to be called the atonement, or the efiicacious factor ' "Substitution." IM i NATURE OK CHRIST S ATONEMENT. 71 1^ therein ? However much tlie streni'th of tlie ijreat sacrifice pre-supposes it as necessary to the value of the oflerini,', there is nothing in tlie incarnation itself of an atoning nature. The words of Prof. Randies coine in here with force : " The bearings and value of the incarnation only appear when it is contemplated as a unitjue preparation for some further proceedings in the redemptional economy. IJcth- lehem was the way of the Son of (lod to Calvary. By incarnation He could get down to our level in order to work out our deliverance. But we are not rescued and exalted bv the mere fact or the inherent virtue of His reachini,' that level. 'It behoved him to be made like unto his brethren,' not that His simply being so might save them, but ' that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to(jlod, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.' (Heb ii. 17.) To say possession of humanity is priesthood would imply that every man is a priest in the same sense ; for every man is human. But tf) say it was a necessary (lualification for his priesthood clearly explains why it behoved Him to be mad<' like unto His bretlii-en, namely, that He might make an offering of himself for the sins of the people. He liumbled himself to the likeness of men. Had He stopped there, His human bi-others had been unredeemed. But 'being found in fashion as a man, hi' humbled himself, and became obedient unto deatli, even the deaUi of the cross.' (Phil. ii. S.) "If incarnation possessed any intrinsic or necessary virtue to save by its identifying Christ with our humanity, it must have l)een of a nature very ditl'erent from the virtue of His dying ; and the freciuency and emphasis with which tiie Scriptures speak of His death as the cause of salvation must be strangely mistaken. According to this language, L»l »l yf^ n D, L. MOODY V. HENRY VARLEV. He was incarnated, not because that itself would save ; but in order i\\i\.i lie nii<:^ht become capable ot" death, and, by dying, deliver us from death. ' We see .fesus, who was made a little lower than the angels . , . that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.' (Heb. ii. 9.) Incarnation by itself has no inherent adaptation to remove guilt, or to be the ground of pardon, or to purify the coirupt heart ; and therefore it cannot invest tlie mani- festation of truth with any quality or power sutHcient to obtain remission of sins or transformation of character." We admit that He assumed our nature, but the mere assumption of our nature, though amazingly condescending on His part, and reflecting honour upon humanity at large, does not of itself change that nature, or insure its moral purity, except so far as relates to the humanity immediately included in His one person. It identified Him with all our race in the sense that His finite nature was human as ours was ; but there is no such aflinity between His divinity and our race as that between His divinity and His own proper humanity. This is evident from the fact that all the human family remained sinful while He was holy. If the incar- nation of itself saves, the Bible is full of meaningless invi- tations, accompanied by promises on well-specified terms. It would all be fiatic and wholesale, and Mr. Varlev would })rove himself and all other workers only hirelings. 2. The manifestation theory may be understood by the language of Dr. Bushnell, one of its advocates, who says : " The uplifted Christ will be the true regeneration of souls, not by action upon them, but bi/ icliaf lie is to sight.'' '^ The glaring defect in tiiis theory is, that it reduces the atoning work of C^hrist to a mere process of education or moral suasion. * " Life and Light of Men," pp. 101, '270-279. Nature of chiust's atonement. 73 "It more or less admits that man was sunk in sin, guilt, and misery ; and that tlie work of Cluist was to deliver him then^from. (jlod does not act upon iiis heart hy direct natural power, but by showing His great love to him and His al)horrence of sin ; for which exhibition the sufferings of Christ are the means. Those sufferings con- tain no virtue, potency, or property calculated to save man. They only point him to a sin-hating, man-loving Clod, the sight of whom effects his salvation. They removed no obstacle in moral government to his pardon, laid no foundation on which pardon might be vouchsafed, supplied no element in consideration of which God might cancel guilt ; they were not, in any sense or degree, the procuring cause of either forgiveness or purity. They were only the revelation of the real cause in the character of God. Their method of showing the mind of God was practical and illustrative rather than verbal ; but they were nevertheless merely instructive or persuasive." * The defect in this method is not in its being an educa- tive manifestation of (Jod (for the Atonement reveals His atti'ibutes and attitude towards man with transcendent clearness and fulness), but in its being on/y or in'iniarily educative. Truly understood, the death of Christ is a grand revelation of God, because it is something else— a divinely established basis of free salvation. "The truth shall make you free," not merely because it is truth ; for there are many truths which would not make the sinner free ; but because wlait the truth reveals is fitted to etlect his freedom. The Gospel is good news for men, not simply because it is true (else it were equally a Gospel to devils who gain acquaintance with it), but because it pre- sents the provision of grace for n)an in Christ. Can this ♦"Substitution." :1 ^ifm 74 D. L. MOODY V. HENRY VARLEY, mere process of moral enlightenment be all that is meant by that humiliation which the Scriptures present as the great sacrifice, sin-bearing, the ransom, the redemption through His blood? Certainly not I Head Kom. v. 7, 8: "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die : yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But Cod commendetli His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." This manifestation theory works all right among friends; but Christ had to deal with enemies, not only to bring them to repentance, but to expiate their guilt, consistently with the righteousness of Cod. It is true in that He manifested the "great lo\e wherewith he loved us." Christians are called upon to manifest the truth in love. The double thought is presented in the following : " In this was manifested the love of God toward us, be- cause that Cod sent his only begotten Son into the woild, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved (Jod, but that he loved us, and sent his Son fo he the pro})itiation for our sins. I^eloved, if Cod so loved us, we ought also to love one another." (1 John iv. 9-11.) Here is the manifestation of love in the incarnation. We must distinguish between the latter and the "propitia- tion, through faith in his blood." (llom. iii. 2;").) As to the manifestation of the truth by Christians, it may be done in various ways. First, abhorrence of sin. " The ashes of the martyi-s are the seed of the Church." Those who resist sin are a mighty power. Rev. H. Fay INIills tells us of a man called Uncle John Vassar, who was a great suti'erer during the last months of his life. He would pace back and forth in his room to get relief from his pain ; then he would lie down on his coucli NATURE OP CHRIST S ATONEMENT. 7.) and in the midst of his sutl'ering he was heard to say, "O my God, how much better this is than sin ! " Ah, that's the test. Die rather tlian sin. Secondly, testimony is to be borne by freedom from ques- tionable things. It was said of lUlly Gray, the C'ornisli miner, that lie had an upward look. Someone encjuired of him once how things were going on in the world. He replied, " It's so long since I've been there, that I am not posted." A man needs to be posted on some things in the world ill order to make them better ; but he must be free from the tastes and ways of the world. It is true we have to do with the world, but we are not to be of the world. Thirdly, we must testify in a positive manner. There is no power like this. "Ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meek- ness and fear." (1 Peter iii. 15.) Fourtlily, by downright, earnest, practical work for God. The world is full of sentiment. "What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works ? can faith save him ? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food. And one of you say unto them. Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body : what doth it profit ? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.'' (James ii. 14-17.) 3. Marturial. This theory is similar to the last, only laying rather more stress on the martyrdotn of the Great Teacher, thereby sealing His doctrine by 1 1 is death, as a persuasive power of truth. 76 n. L. MOODY V. HENRY VAllLKY. We acknowledge that the noble and heroic attestations to Truth, as i)re.s(;nted by the martyrs from time to time, are inspiring to faith, and if that is all we need, we have an abundance of it. iJut, in that case, we would have as many saviour? as there are martyrs. If Christ is only one out of a thousand saviours, lie could drop out and yet all would be right. 1 ask, in the name of iJible truth, if that is the indifferent way in whicli Christ is spoken of in the Scriptures '. If it were .simply the martyr spirit we need, "Foxe's Book of Martyrs" would be worth more to us than tlie l>ibl(! is. Again, if simply this spiiit were necessary, they had these noble examples as extensively presented in the familiar eleventh chapter of Hebrews. In that light the Scotch Covenanters whose graves I saw in Grevfriar's churchyard at Edinburgh a few years ago, and the Hugue- nots of France, were just so many saviours ; or, going back to the Scriptures, Paul, Stephen and Polycarp were saviours, but do we find any intimation of that ? No ! On the contrary, we find Christ singled out as the One Mediator, who gave himself a ransom for all. "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever })elieveth in him shall receive remission of sin." (Acts X. 43.) " But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God." (Heb. x. 12.) "And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people. Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this ? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as .though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk." (Acts iii. 12.) If it be claimed that He ))resented to His followers a perfect example of resignation and obedience, even amid the extremities of a violent and awful death, we can afjbrd ; i NATURE OF CHRIST S ATONEMENT. 77 ', to allow that to be the case, as one of tlie results ; l)Ut tiiat was not the design lie proposed to accomplish. The Scrip- tures nowhere teach this as the cliief object, but on tiie contrary they speak in unmistakable terms of Christ being a propitiation for sin ; not as a martyr, but as a sacrifice. We see this fully substantiated by the design of the Saviour's death being typically set forth by the victims off'ei'ed under tiie law. ''To atone, to ransom, to deliver from death, to turn aside Divine displeasure is constantly stated as the object of the victims [)resented by the Jewish high priest. Tlien such was the design of Christ in His death.'"' We come now to (jonsider a subject left over from last cliapter, viz., the rent veil : "And, Viehold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom : and the earth did (juake, and the rocks rent." (Matt, xxvii. 51.) Three evangelists mention this in almost the same words. The veil of the teuiple was a massive, gorgeous curtain, suspended between the Holy Place and the Most Holy. Hs chief purpose was to bar all entrance into the Holy of Holies. No one but the high priest, and he only once a year, was permitted to enter within the veil, and standing in tliat mysterious, inaccessible shrine, make atonement for the sins of Israel. That the veil was rent just as Christ expired is a very signiticant fact. While that Ncil was whole it was an evidence that the Jewish dispensation was still in force — that the great sacrifice had not been rendered. I3ut when that veil was rent, the Holy Ghost signified that the way to the holiest of all Avas open. Paul throws a light on here. " Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, liy a new and living way, *Rev, W. Cook's "Theology." n 1 1 f>> ■■ (iii 1 II m 78 i). 1,. MOODY V. UKNRY VARF.EY. which h(! hath consecratf^d for us, tlirough the veil, that is to say, his Mesh." (Heb. x. 19, 20.) Why was this veil not rent before ? If Mr. V'arh'y's view be coriect that so much importance is to l)e attached to Christ's incarnation alone, as the atonement for sin, why was not this veil i-ent then? Why was it not rent when He was in a<,'ony in the garden, or when He was first brought to the cross? Why wait till that particular moment of death? Mr. Varley may try to wriggle out of it, or with the conimon agility of members of that school, Jump over it, but I hold him to this point : Why wait till that moment? 1 can tind no other reason than the one we are contending for, viz., that nothing ^hort of His death met the re(|uirements as atonement for sin. " Come to Calvary's holy mountain. Sinners, ruined by the fall ; Here a pure and healing fountain Flows to you, to me, to all. In a full, perpetual tide, — Opened when our Saviour died." We see in this : 1st. The completeness of Christ's finished work — " from top to bottom " — correlatively, provision made for sinners in highest or lowest circles of society ; also for all degrees of sin, e.g., 1st of April equivocations'^ and the deep hidings of initjuity. All need to be pardoned, or they will sink. ■J. That each one may come for himself. No priest, no mass or anything of that kind necessary. Man a sinner ! Christ a Saviour ! 3. The mysteries of the Old Testament unfolded. The veil concealed the ark and the mercv-seat. From * I believe in a good sharp witticiani, if there is no lie in it. It gives spice to life ; but remember, too much spice spoils the cake. NATURE OF CHRIST S ATONEMKNT. '!) CJospcl Iiistory we see that the iiuTcy-seat signitied Christ our propitiation, and the " pot of luaiiiia," (^hrist, " the IW'Pad of Ijife." We see *' not as Moses, wlio put a veil over," etc. ("J Cor. iii. l.'5, 11.) It signifies t Ik.' opening of a new and living way to God. Christ, l»y His death, made this way possible. Christ's death rent every veil of sin and inability. We behold also in the salvation of infants and that of the heathens who, being without these moral influences as extended through the Bible, live up to the laws they have written in their hearts, an argument that cannot be over- thrown, that the death of (Christ extended, in its inherent virtue, away beyond these moral influences. It may V)e said in regard to the subliniity of the martyr spirit : attestation, ever I atonement, never ! Thus we see that (lod manifest in the tlesh was not enough. His iden- tification with humanity may truly be looked upon as a necessary preliminaiy step just as youth is preliminary to manhood, or going to a field is to doing a day's ^vol'k^ "We see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels . . . that he by the grace of (tod should taste death for every man." (Heb. ii. 9.) My newly found reputed friend Dr. Handles gives a very important view for this place : " The incarnation is never, like His death, set forth as the ijn mediate ground of forgiveness, and if it were, we should be puz/led to trace any adei^uate causal relation.'"^- This Socinian view we are com])ating was the repro- duction of the error of the school of the Alexandi'ian Fathers, as follows : " The Saviour's priestly ofHce was onlv figurative on earth and began in heaven, where He used His exalted authority to plead for mankind. The * " Su])stitution," p. 211. tl t « 80 D. J.. MOODY V. HENRY VARLEY. sacerdotal ofHce consists in this, tliat as He can in royal authority help us in all our necessities, so in His priestly character ; and the character of His help is called hy a figure His sacrifice."^ I need not waste space to show how far this is astray. We have jio inLiuiatior, in Scripture that Ciirist interceded in heaven before His ascension. The sole object of Clirist's incarnation (according to Mr, \'arley, and suffering and death according to the other tlank of this Moral Influence theory we are considering) was to induce that reppntance and animate and exemplify that obedience necessary for pardoTi. This brings us to consider tiie ineffectiveness of repentance, by itself, to secure forgiveness. I. To conclude that (Jod forgi\es, solely on the ground of repentance, is to deny the doctrine of vicarious sutToring, in consideration of which God s mercy may be extended to fallen man, without a compromise of I '^is character as a just and righteous governor. 1*. It is not any act of man thiit propitiates, and to assign to the sinner's tears that which is assigned ex- pressly and sol(;iy to the eflicacy of the Saviour's ))lood, by the teaching of Scripture, is to make man his own saviour. .'5. The fact that neither repentance nor oi)edience could release men, under the old dispensation, from the obliga- tion of [)resenting the propitiatory sacrifices to God, we conclufle that they are not enough under this, the new re(jiiiii\ of which the former was designedly the type. " 'i'hen it shall be, because; he hath sinned, and is guilty, that lie shall I'estore that which he took violently away, or the tiling which lie hath deceitfully 1,'otten. . . . And he shall l)ring his trespass ofl'ering unto tlu; Lord." (Lev. vii. 1, (5.) ' i'ope's " Tiicoloijical ('ompeiidiuin," NATURE OF CHRIST S AT0NP:MENT. 81 Seo, also, Num. v. 5-8 ; ^Fatt. xxvi. '28 ; Luke xxii. 20. We see the same thing presented by Paul: " Now we know that what things soevor the law saith, it saith to them who aiv; under tiie law : that every month may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty licforo (lod. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if right- cousness come by the law. then Christ is dead in vain. Where is boasting then : it is excluded. By what law ? of works? Nay: but by the law <.f faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." "The wi.sdom of (Jod and the tenoi- of Scripture lead us to suppose tlio (haflt of Ike RedefttiPr, or some ecjually e.xtra- ordinary course was ni'rrs! le^Jhole plan ntul its predictions arose. TTad it not been necessary to the end in view, we can hardly conceive tii-^.t the All-v/ise (lod would have appointed so extreme a humiliation. The cup was drank because, if the object was to be attained, it was not possible it should pass from Him. Hence the necessity for bloodsheding, without which there was jio remi^ssion, was founded more deeply than in tn-; requirements of Mosaic patterns, n.tmely, in the impoj-'si'oility of salvation without it. To say Christ died bccai sr the typical animals die*! rather than that they died because He was to die, would l)e a puerile inversion of the truth, an attempt to make the shadow rule the substance, the picture the reality. "The sufferings of ('hrist WfT« a ii«»ceswry part of the plan. We are not competent to sar that very plan, and no other, was absolutely riecessary to thfi salvatioM of man ; V>ut we may safely aHirm that we a*» utterU u^Hi-le to conceive or imagine any '^ther agairiat tHtach tA»^-f«» do*-s G 82 D. L. MOODY V. JIENKY VAIILEY not lio some f«ta] objection. And this is what is commonly intended l)y those who sj^eak of its necessity. " l)Ut on the mai-turial hypothenis, notwithstanding their importance, His fatal sufferings fell far below the rank of a necessity. They miglit have heen dispensed with. All they taught might have been, and to some extent were, impressed upon men's minrls by (/ther means. Men might have read the same lessons of love and duty under other equally })ortentous contirmations. As the message of Moses or Elijah produced its deep inipression by means of accompaniments other than the murder of the messenger, so might the message of the (ili-eat Teacher. Of several methods of accrediting His doctrine, martyrdom might be the most desirable; yet for all that, it was not indis- pensable. "Can a theory in which the sufferings of Christ amount oidy to an unnecessary though valuable expedient, be one with tlio Scriptural doctnne wherein they were a sine qaiv The last consideration brings to my mind a fact as pre- sented in my "analysis of Socinianisin,"' p. '1\\ viz., that tiiey reject the Old Testament. J'ei'haps it has not yet occurred to the reader's mind why they refuse to look upon the two Testaments as being complementary to each other. We find the answer in this subject of vicarious suffering. To allow that the Old is the type and the New the anti- type, the Old the prediction, the New the fullilment, and tlius to stand correlatively with each other, would be fatal to their cause. Hence, they Jump over the Old and pay no attention to it nor the New either, unless it chimes in with their reason, which is the measure of their faith. Thus they are on the sand, for what is a measure of faith to one is none to anothei", as they have no stiuulard. ^ "Substitution." -VATLUE OF CHRISTS ATONEMENT. 83 I r>(\sides tliis they are tretnendously l)i'eachy with tlie Woid of ( lod. Thoy will tOiU' down or jump over anything; and (ivt'ry- thiiiLf that stands iii th(3 way of reason. Tliev niostlv jiunp over ! They remind me of the Englishman's horsi^ : "That air orse wold Jump oert or toir done; ony vonce twenty rales eigh -so ee wood --/are.' Why ! twenty rails of "Thus saith the ]jord,*' are nothing with these free rangers. (See illustration on next page.) As to the correlation between type and antitype, tlie followiiig additional ought to suUice : WIkmi tlu; priest made atonement for the sins of himself and tiie people, after slaying the one goat, the order of j»roceeding with the other was this : " Aaron shall lay both hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all tiie ini(|uities of the children of Israel, and all their trans- gressions, even all their sins, and he shall put them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away the goat sliall bear upon hiu) all theii* ini([uiti(is unto a solitary land." (Lev. xvi. 20-'J2.) How like " The Lord hath made the inicjuity of us .'11 to meet on Him.' (Isa. liii. G.) And " He bore our sins in His own body on the tree." (1 Peter ii. L'l.) Can w(^ fa,irly avoid the conclusion that as the sins — i.e., the guilt or obligation to punishment of sin of the people was laid on the animal synd)olically, so really "the sins of tin, whole world "-—/.»'., the guilt oi- obligation to punishment for sin -^was laid on the hivine- human antitype? (See p. 17.) 'i'he sani(> holds good if you consider tlie relation between prophecy and fuliilment. There are no less than forty-two diflerent aspects in which Christ is i)resented by the Old Testame;it prophecies. A few examples must sutlice : I Ji n M t Akc reason as the measure of n\y faith! Lean not to thine own u n d c r s t ft n d i n o . There IS a way winch seemcth rlaht unU a nion but the end thercol arc \Uii ways of death Prov 14. I. Sec how he jumps! / Desiyiucd by TljC Author A MOUKUN SON. XATT'ltE OK ruiMSTS ATONEMENT. s.-) ^'/ \/n ino,. Prov,!- I urito ^rt'ot ith fov 14, I'i ^ ^, His advent. (Gen. iii. 15 ; Isa. ii. '2.) Time of advent ((len. xlix. 10; l);in. ix. IH.) Magi. (P.sa. Ixxii. 10, 15 ; Isa. Ix. ."., G.) Crucifixion. (Psa. xxii. 11, 17.) His death attested by convulsions of nature. (Zcch. xiv. 4, ; Amos xviii. 9.) Death with malefactors. (Isa. Ixiii. 0, 1"_*.) Casting lots for vesture. (I'sa. xxii. IS.) Resurrection. (Psa. xvi. 10 ; xxx. ."5 ; llos. vi, 2.) And lastly, tlu^ outpouring of the Spirit to carry on the work. (Joel ii. 2S.) Have you been filled with the Holy Chost for the development of Christian character, love, joy, peace, long- sutiering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and self- control ? Mr. Finney used to say that it was just as wicked for a man to b(i disobeying the command to be tilled with the Spirit as for an im])"nitent person not to yield the will to the eternal God, and I almost l)elieve it — nay, I do believe it. Put that is a groat word " tilled with the Spirit of God." There is room for various things in a tumbler, but if it were tilled with water there would be no room for anything else. Be tilled with Christ's life. That these passages just referred to, fi-om the Old Testament, are original predictive references to Jesus Christ, which find their complete and actual fultilment in the events recorded in the New Testament, is evident from the fact that ;al which refer to tlie gloi-y and extension of the Messianic kingdom in the worUl are b«Mng fultilh'd by the spn'Jid of the (iospel and its inlluence on the hearts and livetj of jnen, and by nothin:^: else. Take this passage (juotetl by the pvang(>!ist ( Matt. xii. IS): '* Tx-hold my .servant in whom my soul (h-lightcth. I havr put my spirit upon him ; he shall bring forth judgment to the 80 I). L. M(>(>I)^■ V. iiKNitv \'.\i;l.l:^■. Cientiles." (Is;i. xliii. I ) Tt is hard to see how any reader can deny tliat tliis passage points objectively and directly to the (ireat Teacher, the Christ of the New Testament, to wlioiu alone it can be applied. T'iiis marvellous correspondence of these facts and truths of the New Testament with the predictions of the prophets, prove conclusively that these ])redictioiis had Jesus (Jlirist as their object, and-were fultilled in llini. It is not the correspondence; between one or two predictions and their fullllment that makes the proof so stroni,'. It is the way in which such a vast number of widely dillt'i'ont predictions, uttered by ditlerent prophets at different times, meet in the character, life, death and mission of Jesus, which com- pels the belief that He was the Christ foretold in the Old Testament. As Dr. Uloas,' says : " In order to receive the full force of the argument, we must take a conjunct view of the whole. Not one, but numerous prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus ; piophecies all of them uttered hundreds of years before Jesus was born ; prophecies varied and (;omplicated ; prophecies referring to time and plac(! and to many minute events in history; all of thein point to Jesus and receive their fulfilment in llim. He was born of the same family and in the same place which the prophets foretold of the birth of the Messiah. He was in the world at the time wIkmi the Messiah was to appear ; His cliar- acter and life bore animate resemblance to the character and life of Messiah. He suffered all those indignities which the Messiah was to suffer. He was wounded, He was pierced, He was killed, He was buried, as it was fore- t Messiah. So many prophecies fiiltilleil and not a single one disproved cleai'ly. n N'A'I'rnK OK ruiMsrs ATON'rCMKXT. s demonstrate that Jesus of [Nazareth is the Messiah pre- d voted by the prophets.* Tlie language of the hate Rev. C II. Spurgeon comes in here : " Have any of you known or heard of siicli a thing as conversion wrought by any other doctrine than that which is in the Word ? Conversions through the doctrine of universal restitution ! Conversions through the doctrine of doubtful inspiration ! Conversions to the love of God and to faith in His Christ ijy hearing that the death of the Saviour was only the coyisiinnnatV'U of a yrand example (italics are mine), Ijut not a substitutionary sacritice ! Impossible ! "f The Hon. and Rev. E. J. Turnour, M.A., well says: "The Prophets afford an index to the more full accounts of the Evangelists." + For my last aigument, I need only give an extract from our beautiful ritual, pedestaled by two other passages from the "Word : " Who, in the same night that he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he brake it and gave it to his disciples, saying, Take, eat ; this is my body which is given for you ; do this in remembrance of me. Likewise after supper he took the cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying. Drink ye all of this ; for this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many, for the remission of sins ; this do ye, as oft as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me. Am ex." " l)ut I sav unto vou, i will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's kingdom." * " Jeaus the .Messiah." t " Liberalism iu Theology." I5y Rev, \V. I. Shaw, LL. I).,in Methodist Quarterly, 1893; [). 170. :l: Vol. III., p. 48. S8 I). I.. :\i()()nv V. ni:xi!V aaim.kv And for the interim, be it long or short, we have the following: Paul says : " I received of the Lurd," etc., and closes l>y, " For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, yo do shew the Lord's death till he come." (1 Cor. xi. 2:3--_>().) bringing my labours on tliis cliapter to a close, I ask : Why this commemoiation if the contention of Mr. A'arlev and those other " wandering stars " of France and (Ger- many reported to us in the Wolfenbuttel P'ragnients, be correct, that Christ was taken by force ; or, as touching the last chapter, that He came to reign as theocratic king, but was stricken down by His enemies 1 Monumental glory is alsvays the language of success, but not of failure ; of victory, but not of defeat; and remember, this memorial was constructed l)y the Saviour Himself, the defeated one according to their view. A\'ho ever lieard of a man erecting a monument of his own defeat? Add to this (and thus make it truer to the facts we are consid- ering) the utter improbability that he would leave, in his oiHcial documents, for the direction of his executors, well- detined speciiications that that monument was to be pro- tected, and thus remain undiminished in strength, and undimmed in its signification down to the end of time'? I iiave travelled much, both in the Old World and this, but 1 have never met with such a man. That, however, is exactly what my opponent makes out in regard to Christ, if we are to draw natural conclusions from his assertions, and the facts of the case that Jesus established this memorial. Mr. Varley's attitude is only another evidence that the " oileuce of the cross has not ceased." And the cheeki- iiess of the man ! It was a rellection on the connnon sense of his auditors. \.\Tri;K OF rHiMS'l'S A'l-oNKMKN'l". SO i If a noted intldel had been annouucod to speak, we could have stayed away or heeii })re}>ar('d for whatever came aloiii,' ; Imt I must confess I was not prepared for such an outrage as was perpetrated on that and other occasions — for he had delivered the same lecture, and was announced to deliver it, at other places. I have only now to present, according to my aforestated design, the views of Mr. Moodv to iustifv mv title. Re- ferring to '"Great Joy," again I iind pointed support to my position. He says : "Soon after we came back from Europe to tliis country, I received a letter from a lady saying that she had looked foi'ward to our coming hack to this country with a great deal of interest, and that her interest remained after we had commenced our services, until I came to the lecture on the blood, when she gave up all liope of our doing any good. In closing that letter, she said : ' Where did Jesus ever teach the perilous and barljarous doctrine that men were to be redeemed by the shedding of His blood 1 Never, never did Jesus teach that monstrous idea.' Let us turn to the fourteenth chapter of Mark, twenty-fourth verse, ;uid we will find: 'And he said unto them, this is my blood of the Xew Testament, wiiich is shed for many,' and also in Matthew xxvi. 28 : ' For this is mv blood of the New Testament, which is shed for the remission of sin.' There are a good many passages, but it is not necessary to refer to more. If Christ did not teach it, and also the apostles — if Christ did not preach it, then I have read my Bible all these years wrong. I haven't got the key to the Scrip- tures ; it is a sealed book to me, and if I tlon't preach it, if r give it up — I've nothing left to preach. Take the blessed doctrine of the l)lood out of my J5il)le, and my capital is gone, and I've got to take to something else. , I 00 D. L. MOODY V. HENIIY VAIILEY. " I roinornher when in the Old Couiitiv, a younf,' man — a minister — came round to me and said he wanted to talk with me. He said to me: 'Mr. Moody, you are eith<>r all rif^ht, and I am all wrong, or else I am right, and you are all wrong.' ' Well, sir,' said T, 'you have the advantage of me. You have lieard me preach, and know what doctrines F hold, whereas I have not heard you, and don't know what you preach.' ' Well,' said he, ' the ditler- ence between your preaching and mine is that you make out that salvation is got by Christ's death, and I make out that it is attained by His life.' ' Now, what do you do with the pas.sages bearing upon the death?' and I quoted the passages, ' Without the shedding of blood there is no remission,' and 'He himself, bore our own sins by his own body on the tree,' and asked him what he did with them for instance. ' Never preach on them at all.' I (quoted a number of passages more, and he gave me the same answer. 'Well, what do you preach?' 1 tinally asked. 'Moral e.ssays,' he replied. Said I, ' Did you ever know anybody to be saved by that kind of thing — -did you ever convert anybody by them ? ' 'I never aimed at that kind of con- version ; I mean to get men to heaven by culture— by refinement.' 'Well,' said T, "if I didn't preach those texts, and only preached culture, the whole thing would be a sham.' ' And it is a sham to me,' was his reply. 1 tell you the moment a man breaks away from this doctrine of blood, religion becomes a sham, because the whole teaching of this book is of one story, and this is that Christ came into the world, and died for our sins." The conclusions of Mr. ^Nloody are in harmony with the J3ible. " And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony." (Rev xii. 11.) Thus it is again plain that it is D. L. Moody vs. Henry Varley. NAIIKi: or CIIKIS'I'S ATOXKMKNT, !M CIIAITHK IV ClIULST'S CRIJCIFIXIOX DKLAYED THE KINGDOM. i DuRiXd the arduous toils of the last few weeks, on other parts of this work, 1 have been ever and anon prospecting on this Kingdom vein in the mine of Bible truth ; [ now come witli the pickaxe of Young's Concordanci! and the shovel of tiie helps in my Oxford P>ible, in hand, to dig in this rich deposit ; intending to use other lielps when \ come to analyze and assort. I find no less than 1,500 passages referring to " King " or " Kingdom." We will however, confine ourselves princi[)ally to the latter. We reduce them to a classification of seven different heads, tiiat we may more easily understand and remember them : 1. National. 2. Jewish. 3. Jewish Theocratic Notion. ■1. Satanic. T). ]\[ediatorial. G. Of Christ on Earth. 7. Of (Jlory. 1. National. "The Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all." (Psa. ciii. 19.) "The Lord is a great God and a great king above all Gods." (Psa. xcv. 3.) Passing by the many passages in the Old Testament referring to kingdoms of Israel and .ludah, we come to this national application in the New Testament. " The IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) y A w., :/. f/u ^ 1.0 I.I *:-iM ilM ■ iii III 2.2 .. -^ IIIIIM 1.8 1.25 1.4 16 ■• 6" ► V, % ^>^ >^; e. ^^t' c>: o op. //a Photographic Sciences Corporation s. 4? V ^^ ^s> ^9> V O' \j 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY I4SB0 ( 716) 872-4503 <^' V L* .<^ m. v^y CP., I fW m ^ 02 1). I.. MooDV V. ni:xi{V vaulev devil taketh him up into an exceeding liigh mountain apart, and sliowM'tli him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them," etc. (Matt. iv. 8.) Whether you take this as visionary and unlimited, or contijie it to the land of Judira and surrounding nations, the h^sson is the same. Dr. Ahbie Mariti, in his "Travels through Cyprus," etc., tells us of a mountain which could have afforded this view in the confined sense. " For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kitigdom," etc, (Matt. xxiv. 7.) The only otlu'r passage \ will refer to is : " The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. (Kev. xi. 15.) This passage refers to the final victory and, as 1 will have to refer to it from another standpoint, I will not detain the reader now with more than this allusion to answer the present purpose. •_*. Jewish. " It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs." "Truth, Lord," the woman replied, " yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's tabic;." (Matt. xv. 2(5-27.) " Desperation almost makes the woman witty ; she admits the dismissing epithet and proves that it entitles her to His m^rcy. Dog is it I am 1 And the Jews my masters ? Then, at least, let me have the crumbs that mercy does not deny to the very dogs." Jesus was sciikiiig after the lost sheep of the house of Israel ; but the cry of uevA always draws Him. Jesus answered and said unto her, " O woman, great is thy faith : be it unto tln^e even as thou wilt." "Then many shall come from the east and west and sit down with Abraham and Lsaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaviMi ; but the childvcn of the kinydom shall be cast out into outer darkness, tiiere shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matt. viii. 11, 12.) This pagan XATIKK OK CHKfSTS AIOXK.MKNT. 93 centurion Uonian officer seems almost a prototype of Cornelius of Acts x. Evidently by " children of the kin<,'{loni " here is meant the Jewish nation. No nation had enjoyed the hless- in<,'s and privileges that this Jewish people iiad, but how sad, yet true, they allowed others to step in before them. Do we not see the counterpart of this in our own con<^re- gations*? Sometimes people get what is often called "(rospel hardened."* Dr. Clarke says on the text above, " Kow many of those who are called Christians suffer the kingdom, the graces, and the salvation, which they had in their hands, to be lost ; while West India negroes, American Indians, Hindu [)olytheists and atheistic Hottentots obtain salvation." One of the most active lay workers in the city of Toronto was converted at the very first Methodist service he ever attended. He told me that the pure ( lospel thus presented, was what his poor heart needed. .'V Jewish Theocratic Notion. 1 refer the reader to what I have already written on this subject.! Here let me state that the only support Mr. Varley lias for his views of a temporal kingdom is from this Jewish notion as exjiressed in Luke xix. 11 ; xxiv. '2\ ; John xii. .31 ; Acts i. 0. The first is so plain that [ wonder anyone can fail to notice the distinction, c (/., " And as they heard these things, he added and sj>ak(^ a parable, because he was nigh to Jeru- salem, and because they thought that the kingdom of (}od should immediately appear. He said tlierefore, A c(;rtain * I do not like that expression, for the (Jospel hanlons no one. The rejection of the (joupiil does. Wo see tlie pliilosophy of it in tlie steel in the blacksmith's forge. It is softened there ; its removal into cold water hardens — every time that is repeated the harder the steel becomes. By the rejection of the Gospel, man becomes *' sin hardened." t See page 41 of this work. i t \ '1 !- !)4 I>. I.. MOODY V. IIENHV VAIILEY. ih\ iiol)lcmaii went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, iind to njturn. And he called his ten servants, and delivered thetn ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till f come." Jesus gave no countenance to their notions, but aimed ever at the cross, declaring : " F'or this cause caiiK! I unto this hour." — John xii. '-'7. (While it is an admitted fact that this Jewish notion was general, yet, I )r. J )ewart, in his able reply to Prof. Workman, quotes Dr. Wunsch, a learned German writer, who clearly proves that the idea of a sutlering ^Fessiah to make atonement was taught in the ancient synagogue. (''Jesus the Messiah," p. 145.) As this is an important matt«?r for my justification in writing this book, I wish to add : Suppose the Queen of England wished to bestow a general benefaction on this American continent through th(^ Prince of Wales. For years she had sent no less than thirty-nine messages at difi'erent intervals. In various ways she had impressed the minds of the peoj)le as to the importance of the bene- faction, giving clear description of how the Prince should come and what he would do. The Prince had a purpose after he came to which he aimed, in spite of friends and foes, till it was accomplished, declaring " It is finished," and in view of returning to his home in England, he wrote to the C^)ueen, stating, " I have finished the work you gave me to do and I am about to return iiome." I ask : AVliat would you think of a man who would, after it had become a well- estal)lislu'd fact that the Prince had intended to do that very thing, assert to a congregation of three thousand jteople, " It is not so that the Prince accomplished his pur- pose," and virtually say that he told a lie when lie wrote to his mother that he had accomplished it 1 Our disgust would be heightened when we remember that that very man t i'l NATUIIE OK nnUSTS ATOXEMKNT. 95 igust mail had been hired to go and tell the people the profound trutli- fulness of the tiling he liad denied. T need not apply this illustration. It is plain that Mr. Varley proved a traitor to the truth, the Church, and to Mr. Moody, the hero of the World's Fair evangelistic movement, when he asserted, on the 22nd of October, in Centre Music Hall, Chicago, aforementioned, that Christ's death was ruinous to His purposes, in delaying their accomplishment. I do not like to be too hard, but honesty compels me to state : He might better have kept in his butcher's stalls in London, Eng- land. I believe in a divine call to preach, but believe with Dr. Pierson, who relates the following, that sotne are mistaken: "A coloured brother, down south, said he was called to preach because he had seen the letters U. P. C. in the sky, which he interpreted, 'Go preach Christ.' An aged min- ister, after hearing the young man attempt to preach, remarked : ' A better interpretation of C P. C. would be " Go plough corn." ' " They are not all Israel which are of Israel. " (Rom. ix. 6.) "There be some that trouble you and would pervert the . MOODV V. m:\IJV VAIM^EV. crucified," etc. That is better, for it directs more clearly to the cross. 4. Satanic. " If Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how can his kinj^dom standi " (Matt. xii. 2(5,) Satan's kinj^dom is a very large one. He is repre- sented as the " Prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." (Kph. ii. 2.) Or as Paul describes them further on in this same epistle, vi. 12 : " Principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." " Ye are of your father the devil." (John viii. 44.) This earth is a battle-ground. The first promise of a Messiah gives us to understand that there was to be a conflict between right and wrong. Such a conflict has been going on between the " seed of the woman " and the *' serpent," Christ and Belial, truth and falsity, the plain and unsophisticated doctrines of Christ and ignorance, error and superstition. Christ is endeavoring to bring men back to their forfeited possessions, while the devil is endeavoring to maintain his usurped power. " The conflict is ragiu},', 'Twill \)o fearful and long. Then i^inl on your armour And go marching' along." " When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace, but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, etc." (Luke xi. 21.) Jesus Christ is this " stronger than he." " .Jesus I the Name that charms our fears That bids our sorrows cease ; 'Tis uuisic in the sinner's ears, 'Tis life, and health, and peace. (; till l!.i>i 1 NATURE OF CHRIST'S ATONEMENT. 97 " He breaks the power of cancelled sin, He sets the in'isoner free ; His blood can make the foulest clean ; His blcjod availed for me. *' He speaks, — and listening to His voice. New life the dead receive ; The mournful, broken hearts rejoice, The humble p«»or believe." 5. Mediatorial. . A mediator has been defined : a person who intervenes between two parties at variance in order to reconcile them. We may look upon it as axiomatic that there is variance between God and man. " Lift up your eyes and see. The whole creation groaneth and tra- vaileth in pain togetlier until now. And not only they," unsaved ones, "but ourselves also, which have the first ' -uits of the spirit" Christians, "even we ourselves groan within ourselves," etc. Thus we see that Christians must submit to these efl'ects of this variance as manifested in these frail bodies of ours. Pardoned ! adopted, it is true; yet the "thorn in the llesh" must be endured. Look beyond this ! — man at variance with God, "the carnal mind not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be," man at variance with man ; hence, " wars and rumours of wars," biting and devouring one another, i,nd being consumed one of another," the earth also being cursed. "Thorns and thistles shall it l)ring forth." (Gen. iii. 18.) Surely these are evidences that there is a variance between God and man. Job felt this ; but he failed as yet to see the mediator. He exclaims: "He is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both." " Daysman, a person who mediates between two contending parties, for 7 \:: 08 l>. L. MOODV V. HKNKV VAIJLKV. the purpose of reconciliation." — A'. I fall. "An umpire or judge ; an arbitrator.' Worcester. It seems to me that the true meaning is found in the union of the above definitions. "For there is one CJod, and one mediator between (lod and men, the man Christ Jesus ; who gave him.self a ran- som for all, to be testified in due time." (I Tim. ii. 5, G). We see by Paul that Christ is more than " unipire or judge." He is a " ransom." Job represents a daysman as •'laying hands upon both." It seems to me that Jesus Christ is the only one in the universe who can do that, lie is "very Cod of very Cod,"' thus He is united in the (Jodhead. He became a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; thus He is united in humanity, "That he might reconcile both (Jew and lientile) unto Cod in one l)ody by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby." (Eph. ii. IG.) Wiiat the High I'riest was to t\\v, Old dispensation Christ is to the New. " He alone virtually represented the people to Cod and Cod to the people."'* Cod has declared His willingness to receive sinners on the terms of the Cospel. " He that spared not his own .Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall lie not with him also freely give us all things ?" (Rom. viii. Wl.) In support of my position as to the fitness of Jesus to be mediator, I give an extract from a sermon by the late Rev. C. H. Spurgeon : " If the case were between a king and a beggar, it would not seem exactly right that another king should be the arbitrator, nor another beggar, but if there could be found a person who combined the two, who was both prince and beggar, then such a man could be •Pope's "Compendium," Vol. II., p. '2'JO. ;t XATlllK OF (•IIUISTS ATONEMENT. 99 )ther It if who d be selected by l^oth. Our Lord Jesus Christ precisely meets the case."* ** He was . . . fit to satisfy by his sufferings for the sins of all men, as being (lod, which put an infinite dignity and value upon them, the sufferings of an infinite person being equal to the offences done against an infinite (Jod." " Being botli (Jod and man, he was concerned for })oth parties, and interested both in the honour of (Jod and the happiness of man. and engaged to be tender of both.'f '* In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with (Jod, and the Word was (Jod." •* And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of tiie only l)e^otten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." TJiose passages show us both the divinity and humanity of Christ. We see His priesthood in the following : " Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight : but all things are naked and opened unto the eves of him with whom we have to do. Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, tliat is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our pro- fession. For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." 1 think that is one of the most solemn, yet, at the same time, one of the most encouraging passages in the IJible. Couple it with "Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath : That by two inimutable things, in which it was impo-ssiljle for God to lie, we might * Twelve Select Sermons. 1 Tillotsoii, Vol. VL, pp. 446-65. 1 jii w 100 l>. h. M(M)|)V V. IIKNHV VAKI.KY have a strong consolation, who have fled for nsfuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us," and you have rock every time. Surely, " 'J'liat which is not of faith is sin." A man's indignation always keeps pace with his sense of honour. A man with high and unyielding integrity cannot be insult(*d more quickly than by doubting his word— say nothing about his oath— which would be unbearable in the extreme ; yet frail man has heaped insult upon God day by day, and thought nothing of it. " For tiiis cause many are weak and sickly." " Who shall lay anything to the charge of (Jod's elect? It is God that justifieth." " Who is he that condemiuithi It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketli intercession for us." I buttress my argument thus strongly by Scripture, that nil may be led to receive " the ministry of reconciliation." " He ever lives above. For mo to intercede, His fvll-redoeniing love, His precious blood to [)le;ul ; His blood atoned for all our race, And sprinkles now the throne of grace. " Five bleeding wounds he bears, Received on Calvary ; They i)our effectual j>rayers. They .strongly speak forme ; ' Forgive him, O forgive,' they cry, ' Nor let that ransomed sinner die I ' " As to man's side of the question, it is of equal impor- tance that he should be willing to submit the case to the mediator. As Mr. Spurgeon says in the sermon already referred to, " The first essential is that both parties are agreed to accept the arbitrator. The second essential is H XATUHE (>K ruHlSTS AT( )Ni:Mi:vr. 101 that both partios must l»o fully .•I'jreod to leave tho case eutirely in the arl)itrator's hands. " Now God the Father has declared His willinj^ness to ahide l»y the decision. It is plain that unless each sinner accepts the terms there can be no settlement with that individual person which, accord- ing; to tile stewardship arf^ued in the last chapter, means condemnation at the last day, Ix^cause they said, " We will not have this man to reii^n over us." (Luke xix. 14.) " Because 1 have called and ye refused ; T have stretched out my hand, and no man rej:farded ; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof : I also will laugh at your calamity ; I will mock when your fear cometh ; Wiien your fear cometli as d(!8olation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind ; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer : they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me : For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord : They would none of my counsel ; they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be tilled with their own devices." (Prov. i. 24.) " If your death were His deliylit, Would He you to life invito ^ Would he ask, obtest and cry. Why will ye resolve to die ? " We see in this that the whole responsibility rests on each individual. " The word is nigh thee, in even thy mouth, and in thy heart : that is, the word of faith which we preach : That if thou slialt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved ; For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." ■ ( I i 1 • 102 1), L. Moonv V. HKNKY VAHF.EV. l!^ T uood not treat this subject theoretically, for the whole of our Christian ethics are based on tliis. I wish to point out, however, that the " heart " in the last (juotation means the seat of aflections, and not merely the assent of the und(!rHtanding, which is only the first stage of faith, as are also, " But without faith it is in)possible to please him ; for he that cometh to Uod must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him ; Thou belie vest that there is one God ; thou doest well : the devils also believe and tremble." Tlinu who for me didst feel such pain, Whose precioua l)lt)()J the cross did stain, Let not those agonies be vain. — Ii(isc > he runs his boat on Sunday." "Well," said the visitor, • .vhat will I l)e saf(^ preaching about]" "Let me f'^",' replied tbf pastor, as his eye glanced up and dow.i the chn on and galleries, " Uang away at the Mormons, foi 1 don't see one in the audience." — Ram^s Horn. Take the Advocate with j .jU in your business. Rev. B. Fay Mills relates the following : " I came across the other day a little book, out of which I read a few sentences. I read the title page and it was this, ' Hiram Gotf, a slioemaker }>y the grace of God' ; then I read the last page, and it was stated that when this man died they put on his tombstone that which he had re- (juested, 'Hiram Goff, a shoemaker by the grace of God.' I looked to see what was in the middle of the Imok, and I read this, that a young stripling of a minister who had just come to be pastor in a town, went down to talk with Hiram because he had heard that he was a sj)iritual man, and he said, ' Mr. Got!',' and Mr. Gotf said, ' Don't call me Mr. Goff. Call me Hiram.' ' Well, Hiram,' said the minister, ' I have come to talk with you about the things of (iod, and J am very glad that a man can be in a humble occupation and yet be a godly man.' The shoeinaker stop- ped and looked up at him and said, ' Don't call this occu- i;'; 104 1). 1,. MOODY V. HEXRY VAULEY. pation humble.' Tlie minister thought lie had made a mistake, and he said, * Excuse me, I didn't mean to ''eflect on what you do for a living,' The man replied: 'You didn't hurt me, but 1 was afraid you might have hurt t/ie Lord .Jesus Christ. 1 believe the making of that shoe is just as holy a thing as your niaking a .sermon. I believe that when I come to stand before the throne of God, He is going to say, " What kind of shoes did you make down on earth 1 " And He might pick out this very pair in order to let me look at them in the blazing light of the great white throne ; and He is going to say to you, " What kind of sermons did you make?" And you will have to show Him one of your sermons. Now, if I made better shoes than you made .sermons, I will have a better place in the kingdom of God.' From the depths of my soul, I believe that." See the Advocate in the conversion of a young Roman Catholic. Do not trust for salvation in what was done for you in infancy. This reminds me of an incident that occurred on one of my former fields of labour. A sprightly young Roman Catholic was converted to Christ. A few days after this I met the enraged father, who, with clenched fist, said, " I tell you, Mr. Roloins (I am used to having my name twisted), that boy received something when he was baptized in infancy he can never get rid of." I rejoice that it is well with all children, with or without ba})tism ; but there is a possibility of taking our cause out of the Advocate's hands to our own destruction. Hence Jesus said : " Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matt. xi. 28.) " I heard of a Saviour, whose lovo was so great That Ho laid down Ilia life on a tree ; The thorns they were pierced in His beautiful ])row. To pardon a reljel like me." NATURE OF Christ's atoxemext. 1 or, < : i After you have found this peace ever be" loyal to God. " Lend a hand. There must be love and service. There must be full consecration to Got!. Enoch took a walk one day, and he did not come back. He was walking with God. God took him. Hocrates was asked once if it would l»e possible to leach by great travelling the abode of the Olympian gods. 'Always keep walking in that direction,' was the reply. "Napoleon ordered a Highland piper, who had been taken prisoner, before liim. ' Play a march,' said the Emperor. The Highlander played a march ' Play a pibroch,' said the Emperor. The Highlander obeyed. 'Now,' said the man who shook the thrones of the world, ' play a retreat.' 'Na, na,' was the prompt rej^ly, ' I canna do that, I dinna ken that.'" " Here I give myself to Thee, Time and friends and earthly store ; Soul and body Thine to be. Wholly Thine for evermore. " I'm going home, I'm going home ; I'm going home. To die no more." G. Christ's kingdom on earth. In Chapter II. we dwelt largely on the nature of Christ's kingdom, and that is the reason why I will not dwell very lengthily on it now. There is a striking oneness between these two kingdoms we are to treat under the sixth and seventh heads. Hence the kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven are spoken of in the gospels interchangeably. That may be exjdained by a consideration of the oneness of the kingdom of grace and the kingdom of glory. I 1 100 n. L MOODV V. TTEXKV VAIU.EV. Dr. Sykfts observes in his essay on the "Truth of Chris- tian Religion," that those Jewish phrases, "the kingdom of God " and "the kingdom of heaven," which so often occur in the evangelists are equivalent to the kingdom of the Messiah, and signify the dispensation of the Gospel as presented and practised upon the earth, and not a state of future existence, and adds : " To a Jew, indeed, the phrases were familiar." liishop Kidder assures us that the Chaldee paraphrast, like the writers of the New Testament, sometimes denomi- nated the kingdom of the Messiah, the kingdom of God.* Christ said: '* He that receiveth you receiv(?th Me, and he that receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent me." Paul extends the thought, '*0f whom the whole family (not families) in heaven and earth is named." (Eph. iii. 15.) " One family we dwell in Him, One church above, l)eueath, Though now divided oy the stream, The narrow stream of death ; " One arm of the living (!od, To Ili.s command we bow ; Part of His host have crossed the flood, And part are crossing now." Because of this oneness of the two kingdoms, it is some- times diilicult to determine which is referred to, but a close consideration of the context, etc., will generally determine. There are many allusions and plain declarations in the Old Testament, to this kingdom of Christ we are considering. Passing l)y the many passages preceding Isaiah, we come to, " Kor unto us a child is born ; unto us a Son is given ; and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his * " Demonstration of the Messiali," Vol. 111., p. 388. NATURE OF CniUSTS ATOXEMF.XT. 10' m name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgnjent and with justice from henceforth, even forever." (Isa. ix. <>, 7.) We see both the humanity and the divinity of Christ here presented — a "child born," a "Son given." " This is an illustrious prophecy of the incarnation of Christ — the human nature in which the fulness of the (God- head was to dwell." — A. Clarke. " When the fulness of the time was come, (Jod sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." (Gal. iv. 4, 5.) Tn support of the other thought, "Son given," we give : " For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him which is the head of all prin- cipality and power." (Col. ii. 9, 10.) We have the same thought presented by Dan. ii. 35 : " The stone that smote the image became a great mountain and tilled the whole earth." It is generally admitted, unless it be by Mr. Varley and his party, that the above passages refer to the spiritual kingdom of Christ. The first intimation we have in the New Testament of this kingdom, as such, was by John, " Repent ye, for the kingd w of heaven is at hand. ' (Matt, iii. ■_'.) This is the beginning of the fulfilment of the pro- phecy of Dan. vii. 13, 14, where an "everlasting dominion" and a "kingdom which shall not be destroyed " are spoken of. It is observable that ^[atthew describes this manifesta- tion of eternal truth by Jesus Christ, most fre(iuently by "kingdom of heaven "; while Mark and Luke, in describing 'i I lOS I). L. MOODV V. HKXKV VAUI.EY. the same clisj)on.sation of infinite mercy, use the term " king- dom of God." The meaning' is the same. We have only to speak of the nature of tliis kingdom and we will iiave accomplished our purpose — for this is really tiie point of dispute in the present discussion. In addition to the; ligures of "leaven in the meal," and the growth of mustard seed, things which are slow of devel- opment, which I have already noticed, we have other pass- ag(js, which 1 have designedly kept for this place, that prove without the least shadow of true objection that Christ's kingdom is of a spiritual nature.* When Christ was brought l)efore Pilate lie said, " My kingdom is not of this world ; if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight that I sJionld not be delivered to the Jews." Pilate asked, " Art thou a king then ? " Jesus answered, " Thou sayest that I am a king : to tiiis end was I born, and for this end came I into the world, that I should bear witness of the truth." (John xviii. 30, 37. ) Here are the constitution and by-laws of this kingdom : " IJlessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Jjlessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. lUessed are they tiuit do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Jilessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." This is the consti- *" IJv Christ's kingdom," says Dr. .1. Kdwards, "is sometimes meant tluit peculiar and ajtefial time of His reigniug, wlien Ctiris- tiaiiity sliall arrive at its height, when the church shall be in its meridian. It may be this is that kingdom of (iod, of which, and the things appertaining to it, our Saviour discoursed to His apostles before lie left the world. (Acts i. ,'?.)"—" History of all the Dis- pensations of lieligion." \'ol. JL, j>. 049. "The kingdoms of this world liave become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ." m NATURE OF CIIHIS'IS AToNEMKNT. 100 tution, and these are the methods l>y which the kiii^iloiu of (!od is to he hrouglit ahout. Christ said to His disciples that they must he better than the most religious people on earth — tiie Scribes and Pharisees. Thry must not resist evil. They must return good for evil. They mu.st pray for their enemies. Tliey must do^good to tiiose people who despitefully use them. " Not every one wiio saith, Lord, Lord, but he who doeth my will, shall enter the kingdom," the Saviour. Usebius relates—" Hist. Eccles. JJib.," c. -JO— that "the relatives of our Lord were lirought Ijefore Homitian and interrogated whether they were of the family of Havid, and what sort the kingdom of Christ was, and when it would appear. They answered that this kingdom was neitlinr of this world nor of an eaithly nature ; that it was altogether heavenly and angelical, and that it would not take place till the end of the world." Agreeing with this is Paul's description in llom. xiv. 17, "The kingdom of (Jod is not meat and drink ; but righteousness, jieace and joy in the Holy Chost." Agreeing with this are Christ's words, " Tlie kingdom of God is within you.' (Luke xvii. iM.) Add to this the many passag 3s which I have not space to develop but only to mention : " Preaching the gospel of kingdom,'" (Matt. iv. •J3). "Seek yc first the kingdom of God," "The kingdom of (ioil is come unto you," "Then sliall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins,' " How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom, " "Receive the kiniidom as a little child," "Strive to enter in at the strait gate," "(Jospel of the kingdom nmst be preached," etc. Lastly, the prayer which Chi'ist taught his disciples, "Thy kingdom come. ' It has been coming ! " Christ did not conu^ to take people to heaven. He i# i i W 110 D, L. MOODY V. IIEXIIV V'ARLEY. came to transform this earth. He came to make every man a saviour of his fellow. He came to make men his part- ners in the work of establishing a kingdom in righteous- ness. He came to establish a reign of love and peace, and purity, so that a time would come when the Church would no longer be needed, because all men should know the Lord. What does the kingdom of God mean to-day ? " Nineteen centuries have almost passed away. The work of establishing a kingdom has been going on all this time. The world has been growing better. It is growing into the spirit of Jesus Ciirist. There has been a change of standards. The golden rule has been more and more recog- nized between man and man in all dealings. The very heathen are trying to prove that they have the principles of Christianity, and they have been living up to them. Where did they get them 1 They got them from Jesus. The very infidels tell you that they believe in goodness, in righteous- ness, in purity, in the Golden Rule. Where did they get all this 1 From Jesus. Compare the world of to-day with the world of which Nero was the master. The leaven has been slowly spreading."* God is l)uilding up this kingdom by seeking after the lost ones. After a great battle a father sought for his son, who lay woundtid on the field. On and on he went among the dying and the dead with his one cry : " .lohn Hartman, thy father is calling for thee ! " They heard it as he passed, the wounded ones, and ah, how many a heart ached with the thought, " I wish it wen; my father I " The father pursued the desolate search, and ever his voice sounded on the night air, "John Hartman, thy father is calling for * Rev. B. F. Milla, at Montreal iiieotingB. NATl'llE OF CHlllSTS ATONEMENT, 111 thee ! " At last a voice sounded, *' 1 am here, father ! " and the father took liis wounded son and carried hini away to minister to him. So the heavenly Father is seeking His lost children. 7. The kingdom of glory. This word is capable of a variety of applications, thus, being ambiguous, it is like the most of our nomenclature. In Romans v. 2, Paul says : " Rejoice in iiope of the glory of (iod."' The greatness of Heaven. Many good people think we shall see all of heaven the first day we get there. No I You cannot see all of Lon- don in two months. You cannot see Rome in six weeks, You cannot see Venice in a month. Well, much less can you see the New Jerusalem in a hundred years, or a thou- sand, but on and on in eternal grandeur. *' Golden sunbeams round me play. Since I've fiiund my Saviour ; Heaven seems not far away. Since I've found my Saviour." How j)laiuly Paul talked ! He said : " Kye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for those who love him," and then he adds, " But God hath revealed unto us by his Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of (Jod." Here we have the foretaste. The Israelites had some clusters of grapes in the wilderness, and yet "they entered not in because of unbelief." Walk by faith ! 1 think Paul reiers above to this foretaste. Also- " In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard th(^ word of truth, the gospel of your salvation : in whom also I •■ I 112 I). L. M()(U)Y V. hp:ni{v vaiu.ey. M after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. " Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his «,dory." (Kph. i. I.'i, 11.) And " Now he that hath wrought us for the .selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit." (-J Cor. V. 5.) " And if our fellowshiit bek)W In -lesus be so sweet, Whiit heiLcht.s of raptmc shall we know, W'lien round His throne we meet ! '' This is the place into which Clirist went after his forty days' manifestation subsequently to his resurrection. iJy John iii. l.'J, we learn that Jesus came down from heaven, and has asc(;nded to heaven. Now, of the things which we have spoken, this is the sum : " We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens." (ITeb. viii. 1 ; ix. L'l.) It is the place to which (iod will take Mis own at the conclusion of all earthly things. " V^erily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that 1 drink it new in the kingdom of dlod."' " For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." The Tsalmist says : " Lift up your heads, O ye gates . . . and the King of Glory shall conie in." This may be applied to the temple at Jerusalem, but it may be looked upon as anticipation of the return of Jesus after his grand NAiritK OK (HinsTS ATONKMKNT. li:^ ^! work of re(lein|)tiou w.-is ucooinplislit'cl. He is the Kiiiy of (ilory of lie,i\ eii. " Hi'Hveii comes il(»\vii our souls to <,'reet, And j,'lory crowns the mercy seat." This kingdom of glory, or heaven, as it is prohalily more frequently ternn-d, is a place. The .lews enuinerut«'d three heavens. The first was the rejiion of the air. Joh XXXV. 1 1 speaks of " the fowls of heaven," henct; " dew of heaven,"' "clouds of heaven " and " wind of heaven." The secoiul application of the term is to that part of space in which are fixed the luminaries, sun, moon and stars, and which Moses was instructed to call "the firmament of heaven."' ((Jen. i. S.) The third heaven, of wiiich the Hoiy of Holies was a type, is the seat of God and of the lioly angels. Jesus referred to this in the Sermon on the Mount : " But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, wiiere neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break througli nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Matt. vi. 20, 21.) We need to procure, while here below, the coin of heaven. T remember of going into a broker's oflice in Montreal to change my Canadian money into that of liritain, just before I took passage for Europe. What a change it made in my feelings I I went in there with one currency and came out with another, anfl that other was of England, whither I was Ijound. So it was with tiie publican. " And the publican, standing afar otT, would not lift up .so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 1 tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other." He changed currency I So with thou- 8 ! !• •IF -^ 114 I). I. MOODY V. ||I:n1{V VAIILKV. sands .'uul iiiilliouH. They liave ^one to churcli or to private prayer with the currency of earth in their hearts, but th(^y have come out with the currency of heaven. " Only a step to Jesus, Then why not take it now ? Come, and thy sins confessinj,', To Him, thy Saviour, bow. "Only a step, only a step, Come, He waits for thee ; Come, and thy sins confessing, Thou shalt receive a blessing, Do not reject the mercy He freely ofiers to thee. " Only a step to Jesus, A step from sin to grace : What has thy heart decided ? The moments Hy apace. " Only a step to Jesus, Oh why not come and say, (Jladly to thee, my Saviour, I give myself away." Mr. Reynolds, the great Sunday-scliool worker, was about to stop with a rich man on the Illinois prairie for a short time. He was told, " Be careful not to speak to Mr. S. about religion. He will treat you very rudely if you do " Mr. Reynolds said he generally spoke to every- l>ody he met about religi6n, and would probably find oppor- tunity to speak to Mr. S. too. Mr. Reynolds was received very hospitably. After some time Mr. S. invited iiim to go upon the roof that he might show him the surrounding country. "This is all mine," said Mr. S., pointing to the inniiense fields of grain. " And all these cattle are mine," pointing to thousands of cattle on the prairie. " And do XATUIIE OF cmnsTS AToNKMEXT. 115 \v;is for c to yif ery- por- ivecl n to ding the iiie, do you own all in this direction?" said y\r. Reynokls, pointiii-' to a number of houses in which the labourers, who tilled the farm, lived. " [ tell you," said Mr. S., a little impati- ently, " T own everythinj^ in every direction," with a sweep of the arm. " I came here a poor boy, and 1 now own everything." '* How much," said Mr. Iteynolds, putting his hand on Mr. S.'s shoulder, "how much do you own up there?" pointing to the sky. " I'm afraid 1 don't own much in that direction," replied Mr. S., after some hesita- tion. The grain was gathered in. I>ut the rich man did not own it. The lands and cattle passed to another. 'I'he rich man was gone. Death called him, and he took nothing with him. He came into the world naked, and he had to face iiis Maker naked. " So is he that layetii up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward (iod." " Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy." " Take time to be holy. Speak oft with the Lord." Wiien I got home in the Old World I had no trouble to draw the money when 1 presented the cheijue on the J5ank of England. It was paid over without a word. Ho it will be when we get to the bank of Heaven. We will reap the reward of our obedience here. Not a word, if everything is straight. We need to be like those American tourists passing through Europe. Long before they arrived at Paris they telegraphed ahead and secured hotel accom- modation. " Now, I can read my title clear, To mansions in the skies, I'll bid farewell to every fear, And wipe my weeping eyes." I !l IKi I). I.. MOODV V. IIKNltY VAULKV. We con.sicl(M-('(l jiw liil(» a^'o Olirist's iiM'diatoriiil kini^dom. Wr w(> must all stand befort^ the iud<^nient seat of ('hrist" '' Thou conieth the end, when he shall have delivenMl up the kiuLfdoin to (lod, cneii the Father ; wIkmi he shall hav«^ put down all rule and author- ity and power. Kor Ik* must reii^n till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall 1)0 destroyed is d(!ath." " When o\\c(^ the master of the iiouse is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye bei^dn to stand without, and to knock ;it tho door, sayin^^, Lord, Lord, open unto us ; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are : Then shall ye bej^in to say, Wo have eaten and drunk in thy ])resenco, and thou hast taught in our streets. Mut he shall say, T tell you, T know you not whence ye are ; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.' These sad words come in here : "Late, late, so late, and dark the night and chill, Late, late, so late I but we can enter still. Seroml Voice — Too late, too late, ye cannot enter now. Too laie, too late, ye cannot enter now. »S'o/(* — No light had we, for that we do repent. And learning this, the bridegroom will relent. Second Voice — Too late, too lite, ye cannot enter now. Solo— No light, so late, and dark and chill the night, Oh, let us in, that we may find the light. Scco)id Voice — Tt)o late, too late, ye cannot enter now ; Too late, too late, ye cannot enter now. ^1 N.vrrKK o|- ciiKisTs ATHNEMKN'T, II M Is Hut the hri(U'<,'n>i'm still with i,'mco replete / Oh, let us in, thiit we may kiss his feet : ( Ml. let us in, oh, let us in, Oh, let us in, tlm' late, to kiss his feet. No, no, too lute, ye eannot enter now." T wish to ask, hofoif dismissing this subject from the reailei's mind, With which of these seven lUhle aspects of the "Kingdom" does Mr. N'arloy'a prototype kingdom agree? I answer emphatically, the tiiird, viz., "Jewish Theocratic notion." That being the case, it wai folly to speak of "tin; death of Christ delaying the kingdom," in the true Christian sense. 1 am surprised that any man pretending to believe in the Bible shouUl attempt such an assertion. And certaiidy Mr. V'arley pretended to believe in the Bible. About the only good thing 1 heard him say in the whoh; discourse was in the introduction "Did you bring your Billies with you ] " Continuing his remark, he said, " People in America do not take their Bil>les to church with them as frequently as they do in the Old Country ! It is a good thing to bring your Bibles to church." Now, from a Bible standpoint, and that is the one we are arguing from, I cannot understand how any j)erson with those pretences can come to a conclusion other than that Cl'.risLs kingdom was designed from the l)eginning, both by type and anti-ty[>e, shadow and substance, to be of a spiritual nature. After telling His disciples of the many mansions, He tells them of the Jloly Ghost the Comforter — to carry out the work. "If^elove me, keep my commandments. And I will 118 I). I^ MOODY V. JIEXllV VAI{r.EV pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever ; Even the Spirit of trutli ; wiiom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him ; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless ; I will come to you ; Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more ; but ye see me : because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me : and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world 1 Jesus answered and said unto him. If a man love me, he will keep my words : and my Father will love him, and will come unto him, and make our abode with him." As an illustration of adhering to the Jiiljle in pretence and yet teach another thing, we (juote from Browns " Fncyc. Keligious Kno." Many years ago Dr. Fiiestly, a kindred spirit with Mr. Varley in many respects, attempted to convert the Jews, but it was attended with no success. On the contrary Mr. Levi, the Jewish opponent, undertook to prove to the world that the doctor himself did not understand the Christian Scriptures in regard to the Divinity of Christ. The Jewish parryer entitled his first letter in answer to Dr. Priestley's second address, " The Divinity of Christ and His Pre-existeut State Proved to be Taught in the (iospels." Considering Mr. Varley s claim, instead of the '-death of Christ" delaying the kingdon> it is producing the kingdoml Christ's words in the Enunaus Journey prove that. " Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to ; i XA'irKK OK CIIIJISTS A'I'itNKMKN'l'. lU) believe all that the prophets have spoken ? OuLjht not Christ to have sulfered these things, and to enter into his fjlory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the tilings con- cerning himself." (Luke xxiv. '2')-'21.) He repeats the same blessed truth when lie appeared to the disciples at Jerusalem after the Kmmans ones had returned. " And he said unto them. These are the words which T spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulHlled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might under- stand the scriptures. And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day ; And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And beliold, 1 send the promise of my leather upon you ; but tarry ye in tiie city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." (Luke xxiv. U-49.) Add, in addition to that, His world-wide commission: "Co ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the l^'ather, and of the Son, and of tlie Holy (ihost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you : and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." '^1 " If you cannot be the watclnnan, Standing high on Zion'.s wall, Pointing out the path to heaven, Utlcring life and [)eace to all. .■,'r' 120 I), L. MOODV V. HEXIIV VARLEV. Witli your prayers and with your bounties, You can do what heaven demands ; You can be like faithful Aaron, Holding up the prophet's liands." Let us be true ! Are any of us like the coward soldier? Ke was brouijht before Alexander the Great. Thinking to ingratiate him- self with the Kniperor, he said, "My name, too, is Alexan- der, sir(»," The I'^mperor Hashed a terrible look at the soldier from his eagle eyes, and said, " Forever drop that name or honour it!" " If among the older peoi)Ie, You may not be apt to teach ; Feed my lamljs ! said Christ our shepherd, Place the food within their reach. And it may be that the children Yt)u have led with trembling hand, Will be found among your jewels Wlien y(ju reach the better laud. "Do not then stand idly waiting. For souie greater work to do ; Fortune is a lazy goddess. She will never come to you. Go and toil in any vineyard. Do not fear to do or dare ; If you want a Held of labour. You can lind it anywhere." As we have just come over very important ground in the discussion of this subject, wo must " make haste slowly." On that account wv, linger around the sacred Emmaus journey, which has been, and will ever be, a blessed benediction to millions. There is a world of meaning in tliat forty-sixth verse : " It behoved Christ to sutler," etc. N'A'rUUE OF CHRIST S ATOXEMFA'T. 121 "This reminds us that there was nothing arbitrary nor contingent about the fjreat events of the Redeemer's passion ; everything happened in pursuance of an arranged and definite plan, and according to the terms of an unforgotten covenant. Xo fierceness of the anger, no bitterness of tlie cup of trembling took the Saviour by sur- prise. The shame and tlie spitting, the mocking crowds, the palsied followers, Gethsemane's dread agony, the unfathomable sorrow of the Father's hidden face, all were present to Him when His self-devotion spoke, ' Lo ! I come to do thy will, O God.' " Yes, it behoved Christ to suffer because in Him alone extremes of nature meet, and all conceivable qualifications combine, because there slumbers in His arm the omnipo- tence of power, and there issues from His heart the omnipotence of love ; because an emergency has arisen in the universe with which He alone can grapple, an emergency so great that it swoons away the heart out of all of mortal kindred ; an emergency which droops the wing, and masters the energy of the weary and bafiled archangel. How terrible the revelation to us of the infinite evil of sin. Sinner ! I beseech thee, think of it, that guilt of thine, which thou art perpetrating without scruple, which hangs about thee at this moment, which thou ai't cherishing now, is a thing so foul and so damning, that thou canst only be snatched from its penalty by the bloodshedding of the Son of (jlod." If the Messiah " must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead;" if He "ought" "to have sullered these things, and to enter into his glory ; " if " thus it behoved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead," there must have been a necessity in the nature of the task He undertook, an well for the sufi'ering as for the resurrection ih : ill 122 f). I.. Moody v. fiexPvV vai{lev and the glory. Nothing less does Christ teach, when by an apt illustration He shows that the death of the grain of wheat is not more necessary to its bearing fruit, than was His death to the success of the life-giving work into which He liad entered. (Acts xvii. .") ; Luke xxiv. '20-40 ; John xii. 24.) It is evident that His death was a necessity for the ful- tilnient of prophecy, which was designedly made as foreseen by the prophets. There is only one other passage 1 will call your attention to in this consideration of the nature of the kingdom : " Hut we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour ; that he, by the grace of Clod, should taste death for every man." (Heb. ii. 9.) 1 liave only room to i)oint out the distinction between being " made a little lower than the angels," and tasting " death for every man." As pointed out in another place, it is one thing to go to the tield, but ([uite another thing to do a day's work after you get there. Mr. Varley's contention is that for Christ to come to this iiold of sin was all tiiat was necessary. Blessed Cod, there was no shirk about Him ; He tinished the work tiie Father gave Him to do. " Wlien I survey the wondrous cross On which the Prince of glory died, My richest gain 1 count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride. " Were the whole realm of luiture mine, That were a present far too small ; Love so ama/ing, so divine, Demands my 8oul, my life, my all." The conclusion we come to is, that the '' Kingdom " XATrUE OF f'HRISTS ATOXEMKNT \2:^ Christ came to esta]>lish is a spiritual power in the hearts of its recipients, and that as sinners are converted the temple of God is built up. " Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to oiler up spiritual sacrifices, accept- able to God by Jesus Christ." " In whom ye also are huilded together for an hal)ita- tion of God through the Spirit." (1 Pet. ii. .",.) " Let it to a temple rise. Worthy him who tills the skies." Having thus noticed the nature of this kingdom, we have only to add a few remarks in reference to its founda- tion and authority to establish in the earth, and we will have done with what I claim to be a digressive part of Mr. Varley's discourse as announced.* '' Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation : he that believeth sluill not make haste." (Tsa. xxviii. IG.) " Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God ; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself l)eing the chief corner stone. (Eph. ii. 11), 20.) Having, in the consideration of the nature of the king- dom, failed to find any ground for .Mr. Varley's claim, we proceed to consider it in the nature of vicarship, anil I am persuaded we will lind that just as groundless. By the " kingdom " we have been arguing the life of God in the soul. " But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the * See Chap. ii. , p. 34. 124 I). I-. MOODY V. HEN'KV VAK/.EV. A- ft **J> excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. {•2 Cor. iv. 7.) It could hardly be expected that such a concrescil)le ele- ment in each heart would remain in isolated form. Hence this inward life so manifested itself in outward church form tliat- Paul spake of it as a body made up of dilFerent members. " For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the membf^rs of that one body, beiiiij many, are one body : so also is Christ. For by one iSpirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free ; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." (1 Cor. xii. 12, 13.) liy the Church we may understand a union of men, arising from a oneness of inward life and governed by tiie Will of the source of that life, as revealed in the JJible. "If ye love me, keep my commandments." The Church in its broadest sense includes all of God's people — visible or invisible. " And he is the head of the body, the church ; who is the beginning, the first! )orn from the dead ; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence." (Col. i. IS.) In its narrower n)anifestations we beliold local organiza- tions ; yet to be pure, they mui^t retain that " oneness of inward life." "And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he foUowcth not us : and we forbade him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forl)id him not : for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me." Thus the Church is presented to us in its formative state ; well equipped with Divine authority, '* And all things are \A'rri!H OK <'III!IS'I'S A'roNKMKXT. 12.") of (rod, who hath roconcilcd us to liiinsplf by .lesus Christ, and hath ^isoii to u.s tlic niinistrv of reconciliation ; To wit, that (iod was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not iuiputini,' their trespasses unto them ; and hath committed unto us the word of recoiiciliation. Now then we arc; ambassadors for Christ, as though (Jod did beseech you by us : wit pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to Cod." (2 Cor. v. I8--J0.) I do not mean by that " catholicity " contended for above, that " all is gold that glitters." It is a matter of importance that we should be sure that we have the pure gold with the " tower stamp " of God's testimony of appi'oval. *' Ivxamine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith ; prove your own si^lves. Know ye not your own selves, how that .Jesus Christ is in you, excejtt ye be reprobates]" (2 Cor. xiii. 5.) It is a matter also of unparalU'led im[)ortance to ascertain tlu; truth before we ijo hence to be no more. I am reminded bv that, of unskilled miners at James' river, in Virginia, who came across what they supposed to be gold. They sent a boat load to England, but only to find it was valueless. A poor time to tind it out ! Rock foundation and keys of the kingdom. "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock T will build my church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Anl I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt V)ind on earth shall be bound in heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." I think I am safe in asserting that there is no passage of Scripture, a false interpretation of which has led to greater fundainental errors than Christ's observation about the rock on which the Church is built, and the delivery of the keys to Peter. It is a well-known fact 126 I). [,. MOODY V. IIFA'IIV VAIiLKV that tlioso passages constitute the basis for the most tyrannical ecclesiastical despotism the world has ever seen. Scores of volumes havt; been written upon them. 1 wish to have my say in a few strokes of the pen, and thus try and exi)lain that which ought not to have led to so much error. The rock --"And I say also unto tliee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matt. xvi. 18.) I\rany opinions have been advanced as to the application of the word " rock." I. The Church of Home lias always applied it to Peter, and to Peter alone, as singled out from the rest. Thus he became Christ's vicegerent, and they claim that the Pope, as his successor, is such to-day. Dr. Whedon observes : "That Peter was ever bishop of Kome is without historical foundation ; and the pretence of a succession from him by the Romish bishop is a fable." Again, to claim that Peter was the solo foundation of the Church is to conflict with Paul (Kph. ii. 20) : " Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets," etc. There is no separation there one from the others. -, Some have applied '' this rock " to Christ himself. They hold that our Lord said, "Thou art Peter (a stone), and upon this rock (pointing to himself) I will build my Church. liut some have contended that this view is incon- sistent with the laws of natural interpretation. I reply : Not more so than '• Destroy this temple, and in three days 1 will raise it up." (John ii. 19.) .'^ Others contend that the confession which Peter made was the rock — upon this rock of truth which thou hast confessed, and upon this profession of faith which thou hast ' ! XA'rritK <»K cmnsl'S AlnXK.MKNT. 12- made, will I build my Church. To this it hus h('P!i ohjected, that bii)lical language always holds men, not truths, to be foundation stones. What is the foundation of tiie apostles and prophets, other than the doctrines of the same ? Surely they }wr se were not the foundation. So 1 claim that Peter jjer sc was not the rock, but the confession he had made was the foundation. This appears clearer if we step l)ack a little. " When .Jesus came into the coasts of Ca'sai'ea Philip])i, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that 1 the Son of man am ? " And they said. Some say that tiiou art John the Bap- tist : some Elias ; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. "He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am 1 " And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living Cod. " And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona : for tiesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father whicii is in heaven." Here are four confessions. The natural (juestion is. Which is corrects Christ thought them p.11 over, and said in regard to Peter's, " It is rock " — i.e., firm, true — all the others are " sinking sand." On this rock of truth, affirmed by Peter, will I build my Church. But Christ was the foundation of Peter's outward confession, and thus the foundation of the Church. Some may say that I am making a confliction amongst the disciples. Not at all I The views the others gave, were from the peo[tle. There is nothing to intimate but that the views of the other disciples were in accord with m I2S I). I,. MOODV V. IIKXKV VAKLKV. Si Peter's confession of truth, wliich brought forth the approval from the blessed Master. They were all sent to labor in tht; vinijyard. If it be claimed that the connnis- sion was for Peter to go to the Gentiles, and that he was the spokesman, w(^ can afford to grant that, as long as tlie others are not excluded from the commission. " But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them," etc. (Acts ii. 14.) They all stood up as having received the commission equal 1}' with Peter. We see it in the fact ihat Joiin with Peter was impris- oned. We see the same oneness in the following : " And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at the time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem ; and they were all scattered abroad tiiroughout the regions of Jud;ea and Samaria, except the apostles." (Acts viii. 1.) It does not concern us to ask, in this discussion, why they tarried at Jerusalem. It is enough for us to observe that the others were equal with Peter in tarrying behind to found and organize the infant Church. The others were equal with Peter, in the following passage : "Then said .lesus to them again, Peace be unto you : as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. " And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. (John xx. Lastly, we see that there was no distinction, but the names of the twelve apostles were inscribed on the twelve foundations of the city of God. " And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." (Rev. xxi. 14.) NATURE OF CHHISTS ATUXEMENT. 120 as Rev. B. Fay Mills says : '" 'Blessed art thou, Simon Bar- jona,' said the Master, when Peter had made the confes- sion, 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living CJod.' * Blessed art thou, 8imon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, hut the spirit of my Father which is in heaven.' I believe that was what the Saviour meant when he said, ' On this rock will [ build my church,' and He is still building it, on the fact that spiritual knowledge depends on the reception of the Holy ({host. Paul himself said : ' No one can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost,' and Jesus said, ' He shall take of the things of mine, and shall show them uuto you.' " Keys of the Kingdom. Having considered the " rock " on which the Church is Ijuilt, we proceed to consider the commission given. In all symbolic language the key is the symbol of autho- rity. At the old Tower of London, as the watchman goes his rounds at midniglit, the question is asked, " Who goes there 1 " " Keys ! " " Whose keys ?" " Queen Victoria's keys, and all is well ! " Here is authority. So when Christ addressed his young Church, He extended to them authority. When Jesus said unto Peter (Matt. xvi. 19) ^^ I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven ; " " his meaning was," says Dr. Sykes, " I will cause that you, the first of all the apostles, shall, by preaching, open the gospel dispen- sation both to the Gentiles and to the Jews." Within the narrow pale of the Jewish Church, religious })rivileges were no longer to be shut up and confined. They were to be unlocked to mankind in general. Accordingly we read in the Acts of the extraordinary success of Peter's preaching ; and that he did, in fact, bring into the Church of Christ the first converts, and great numbers of them, as well from the Gentile world as from the Jews, 9 h'. 130 l». f,. MOODV V. FIKNKV VAIJLKV This hiiuliti^and loosin;;,' power was not a))solute, accord- ing to their whims and notions, as is the case in the Churcli of Home, as I will show after a while. Dr. Lif,'htfoot says that these tenns were in frequent use among the Jews. He adds : " The meaninij attached to them was, Vjiddinfj or for- biddini,', granting or refusing, declaring lawful or unlawful, etc. These phrases were of common use among the Jews. To think that Christ, when He used the common phrase, was not understood by Flis hearers in the common and vul- gar sense, shall I call it a matter of laughter or madness 1" * We learn from Christ's own words that heaven is interested in the things of earth : " Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one siimer that repenteth." (Luke xv. 10.) " And I saw no temple therein : for the Lord Cod Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it ; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it : and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day : for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And tiiere shall in no vise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither what.~0'jver worketh abomination, or maketh a lie : but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." (Rev. xxi. 22-27.) There can be no doubt but that when a person is saved by converting grace, the name is entered in the Lamb's book of life. It is this arbitrary binding, which belongs to the despot, we protest against. As proof that the people are dependent on the priest's whim I have only to notice "* Clarke's Com. on Matt. xvi. 19. NA'ILHE OF CHIUSTS AT()\KMK\T. i:U the canon of the Trent C/Ouncil on intention : 1. " Tf any mnn shall say that in the minister, while consecrating and ministering the sacrament, intention is not refjuirod, if doing what the Church doth, let him he accursed." 2. "No man can be certain, hy the certainty of faith, that he receives a true sacrament ; because it depends on the intention of tlie minister, and none can see another man's intention." 3. " No olliciatiiig minister can know certainly that he is a priest ; for he cannot evidently know if he be baptized, or whether he be lawfully ordained."* On this account the trembling attention and abject submission from the people toward their spiritual administrator. Why should that promise be exclusively claimed by the Pope and his clergy, which was made to the apostles at large? (]Matt. xviii. 18.) It is a fact, which rests on the authority of historical testimony, that no bishop of the Church of Home assumed the title of universal ])ishop till the year 606, in the time of Boniface ; and Gregory the Great, in an epistle written a few years before that period, makes this striking remark : "That if any person assume the title of universal priest, he is a forerunner of anti- christ." But I would ask, if the promise was to be extended to any of the successors, why not to the successor of Peter at Antioch, and to the .successors of the other apostles, to Polycarp, and to others of the early fathers 1 It has been said that our Saviour promised to communicate his power to the apostles when He said, " All things are given unto me in heaven and in earth." I really cannot discover this from the context. It is said, all power is given unto the Saviour ; but because the power is given unto Him, does it follow that He communicated that power to His apostles and their successors % The promises, even *Ousley, in " Old Christianity Against Papacy." J VV2 n. 1.. MOODY V. HENUY VARLKV ''4 . ■ a if admitted in the above sense, rest upon this condition, ** Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." The conclusion we come to is as explained by the Lord Himself, that the only authority given to the disciples was tiie mii istry of reconciliation — ambassadors for Christ, standing with authority to invite and entreat people to be reconciled to God.* " These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee." (Titus ii. 15.) " Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and Ciod the Father, who raised him from the dead ;) And all the brethren which are witii me, unto the churches of Galatia : Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father : To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that calleth you into the grace of Clirist unto another gospel : Which is not another ; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ," (Gal. i. 17.) Thus it is apparent that tlie only binding and loosing the Bible teaches us about, is to be done by the power of the Spirit when people receive the Gospel. " And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." " If the 8on therefore sliall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." " For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Couple tliis position with that already referred to about the interest Heaven takes in earthly things, and I * 2 Cor. v. 19-20. n XATI'III-: OF CHIUSTS A VOXEMKXT. 138 feel the way is clear. Thus we have considered this subject in all its bearings but we cannot find any ground for Mr. Varley's contention that the death of Christ de- layed the kingdom. If to take time to sow the seed delays the crop ; if to take time to subdue a rebellious people delays the government of the same, I suppose we must consider his claim. But who does not know the necessity for such delay 1 We conclude, therefore, that Christ's death was a necessity to bring forth the kingdom. We have only now to justify our title. We do so in one sentence from " Great Joy," page 252 : " Without Calvary there could be no millennium." Again, and lastly, we 'ind it D. L. Moody c. Henry Varley. CHAPTER Y. i' nng of lake be iiath l)0Ut b I Having thus disposed of ^Fr. Varley as brought in contrast with Mr. Moody, we liave some further remarks we wish to make in reference to this "moral force" theory in its broador .-^spect. It will be remembered that in Chapter ITI w^e i-eCerred to the three theories of atonement, viz., ^lo'.al Influence, Substitutionary, and Governmental or Re3to;'al. It is claimed by some that "the union of the thioe theories is the scripturt . ..^ctrine, especially as set for'Ji in the Epistles of St. Peter, St. Paul and St. John ; the last giving in many particulars the linishing touches in the union of the Person and the Work of Christ." I will not in this reply to Mr. Y.i.'ley consider the respective claim 'f tiie last two theo'ies, in regard to whicii I have increasingly '='trong o'^rivictions ; but in reference to the first I feel incll^^td to ru'e it out altogether, as being a pTf^m 134 D. L. MOODY V. HENRY VARLEY. theory of the Atonement at all, beyond the historical ; just as I would rule out the comforts of a house from being the house, and just as I would rule out the seven colours of the rainbow and other blessed effects of the sunbeams from being the sun. To mix up the Epistles of Peter and John and James with those of Paul, when you are seeking for doctrine, is to mix up broad distinctions in Didactic Theology. It is a well-established and admitted fact that if you want the doctrines of Christianity you must confine your- selves principally to the Epistles of Paul ... tiu; Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Kphesians, Philippians, (Jolossians, Thessalonians, and Hebrews. If you are in search of the historical and constitutional, go to the Four Gospels. If you are in search of the link between the historical and the doctrinal, you find it in the Acts of the Apostles. If you want the pastonal, you find it in Paul to Timothy and Titus. If you want the special or individual, you find it in the one addressed to Philemon. If you are in search for the catholic or general Epistles, you find them in those of James, Peter, John, and Jude. If you are in search of the prophetical in the New Testament, you find it in tlie Revelation of John the Divine. A failure to distinguish between the doctrinal and the application of those doctrines has led to seeming contradic- tions in the Bible, e.(/., "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." (Rom. iii. 28.) '* Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works ; shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by xny works." (James ii. 17, 18.) On this seeming contradiction. Prof. Jowett says : " Tho teaching of St. James, who admits works as a co-efficient . -i NATrUE OF CIIIUSTS AToNKMEXT. 18;j 01 ient with faith in tlie Justification of man, is not absolutely identical with that of St. Paul, who asserts righteousness by faith only." This is the result of jumping to conclusions witliout investigating. If Mr. Jowett had considered the ditFerence between cause and effect ; a tree and the fruit ; the laws of astronomy and those of agriculture, it would have saved him this blunder, in claiming this as a fault with Scripture. Here we need to consider the ditference between justifica- tion in the pardon of sins, and justification at the day of judgment. As to the former, Paul says : " Being justified l)y faith, we have peace with God through our Lord .Jesus Christ." (Rom. v. 1.) He asks : " Where is boasting then 1 It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay : but by the law of faith." He proceeds in the next chapter to bring out in bolder relief the fact of justification. *' Now to him that worketh is tiie reward not reckoned of grace but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but belie veth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." (Rom. iv. 4, 5.) The impossibility of justification by works is taught plainly in Gal. iii. 10 : " For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse." Not because they " continued not," as I saw it erroneously expounded not long ago, but "because it is impossible for them," in their carnal state, " to come up to the spiritual meaning and intent of the law."* Hence God has concluded all under sin that He might liave mercy upon all, on the terms of the Gospel. All are under the curse. Some suppose that only those who go to iiell will get under the cur.se. I tell you, nay, the curse is on man nQw, and it was for this reason Christ came and " was made a curse for us," and all * A. Clarke. W 180 \X L. MOODY V. HEMIY VARLKY. who rnceive Him are delivered from the curse. Here is justifying faith. There is only one more, of many other passages recorded, that I will call your attention to : " For they l)(!ing ignorant of (lod's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not sub- mitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for rigliteousness to every one that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness ;, hioh is of the la»v. That the man which doeth those ti ill. - shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of tui '5peaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart. Who shall ascend into heaven 1 (that is, to bring Christ down from above; Or, Who shall descend into the deep ? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy month, and in thy heart ; that is, the word of faith, which we preach," etc, (Ilom. X. M-IO.) This is a presentation of the doc- trine of "justification by faith." James is contending for the evidences of this work of grace in the heart, as spoken of by Paul. By these evidences we will stand in the judgment day, as Christ said : " By thy words shalt thou be justified, or by thy words shalt thou be condemned." It is an unwarrantable assumption that because sinners are justified by faith in Christ alone, therefore good works are not necessary to secure eternal life, or that because the two are claimed to be the cause and effect, they are contra- dictory to each other. " Numerous passages of Scripture plainly show that, although justification, or initial salvation, is by faith alone, final justification at the day of judgment will be by the evidence of the works which were produced by living faith. The Apostle Paul tells the Romans that God * will render unto every man according to his deeds : to them who by NATURE OF CHRIST S ATONEMEXT. 18^ patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory, and honour and immortality, eternal life,' etc. Christ himself says : ' If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered.' And again : ' Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.' ' Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.' " It surely does not dishonour God, nor rob Him of the glory of our free salvation, to put human works of faith, wrought through the aid of Divine grace, in the conditional relationship to our ultimate salvation in which God's Word clearly places them." * Not a theory of atonement. We have expressed our inclinations to rule out this " moral influence" theory altogether. I will now give my reasons : L It takes the rationalistic rather than the scriptural line of argument. See Chapter I., also the illustra- tions in Chapter III. Dr. Miley informs us that : " Historically the theory synchronizes with Socinus, deceased, 1G04, and in the stricter sense, originated with him. Hence, it may properly be called 8ocinian. Abelard, following soon after Anselm, propounded similar views, which were favoured somewhat by Peter Lombard and others, but gave no exact construction to a new theory in opposition to the more prevalent church doctrine. He exerted but a transient disturbing influence upon this great question, and left the Anselmie doctrine in its chief position."! The Scriptures positively affirm an objective atonement in Christ ; hence, Socinus' only hope was to swing clear from Scripture which landed him and * " Misleading Lights," by Dr. Dewart. t " Atonement in Christ," p. 122. M i I ^ ' i (ifT l.^S I). T.. >f()01)V V. HEXRV VAllLEY. all his modern followers into the Rationalistic Latitudin- arianism of the ages ; a subject already disposed of in Chapters T. and III. 2. The objection strikes deeper than this. This " moral " theory sprang naturally from the Socinian system of theology. There is a scientific agreement between its Christology, in denying His divinity, and its nude theory of atonement. It denies the need of vicarious suffer- ing for atonement, and has no Christ equal to the making of one thereby. Both its Christology and anthropology being out of accord with Scripture, it is evident that its view of atonement is out of accord with that of the substitutionary theory, and consequently is extiuded by the law of necessary accordance of such truth when -brought into scientific relation. On the leading doctrines of Christianity, the truth is with the substitutionary system ; then the Socinian view of atonement is false, and cannot be entertained as a theory of atonement. The affiliated forms, such as Unitarianism and Universalism, naturally and consistently fall into line with this rationalistic movement, as opposed to the Word of God. (See Unitarianism, Chap. I.) 3. Again, 1 object to this "moral influence" being received as a theory of atonement, because it fails to give a satisfactory explanation of Christ's suffering. " We do not regard these momentous events as mere spectacular displays, much less as fictions, but as glorious facts on which depend our own welfare and that of the world's. Account for them as we may, the unparalleled sufferings and death of the only begotten Son of God are facts of history. Grant for a moment that they had no relation to human sin, were not, in any such sense as we have indicated, an atonement for sinners j what then 1 1^ NATURE OF CHIMST S A'POXEMENT. 1.S9 The mystery, the wonderful condescension, the tortures of His body, the uns})eakable agony of His soul, stand still as facts in the history of Jesus Christ — facts unalterable by any theorizing concerning them." * My opponent, Mr. Yarley, did not offer an explanation of this suffering. I suppose if he had he would have joined in with Martineau, Jowett and others, who cari- catured it and then denounced it. The former of these writers speaks of it as being " only a show-off for impression's sake ; " f the latter as *' a pain- ful fiction " interposed between luan and God. \ The man who has so far misconceived the sublime fact of" the incar- nation and the awful spectacle of Calvary as to speak of it thus, has put himself in a position in which he is either incapable or unworthy of being reasoned with. I find no explanation in this theory for these things. As has already been shown, if it was for educative and tractive purposes, other means could have been made use of. In addition to what is recorded under the Marturial theory in Chapter III., I wish, under this head, to observe that Christ's sufferings were unique. " Was ever Chris- tian martyr so straitened until his baptism of death was accomplished 1 " Was any ever so *' exceeding sorrowful 1 " Did any ever drink such a cup, sweat such drops of blood, or feel such agony as He on nearing the final crisis ? Was any heart ever so broken under the mysterious sense of being forsaken of God 'I " Unless Christ be esteemed one of the most craven men that ever sealed their testimony with their blood, His * Rev. Dr. Jackson, Methodist Quarterly, 1893, page 362, t Ibid, page 161. X " Epistles of St. Paul," Vol. II. page 473. ^• 140 1). I>. MOODY V. TIKN'UV VAllLKV unparalleled and unfathoniaV>le suffering must be attrib- uted to an unparalleled position in relation to the world's overwhelming guilt." "* In looking on Christ as a mere martyr, we find no explanation of this extraordinary depth of suffering evinced by Ilini in His last hour. We do find, however^ an explanation of it all in *he substitutionary theory which teaches : " Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows : yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities : the chastisement of our peace was upon him ; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray ; we have turned every one to his own way ; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isa. liii. 4-6. "The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." "He is the propitiation for our sins." " For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the spirit." (1 Peter iii. IS.) 4. This theory charges God with folly. To open up our subject, I ask, why is it looked upon as being the height of folly to have a fifth wheel in a waggon ? Because it is a direct confliction with the old maxim equally applicable to physics, to morals, and to theology : " Foiistra fit per plnra quod fieri potest per paucio^ri." It is needless to effect that by more instruments which may be done by fewer. I presume it was because of contemplating the works and dispensations of God that the above axiom was formed. In nature there is nothing that is superfluous or redundant. What seems such to us is only in appearance, '"Substitution." I ible as to the Infinite nature of the sacrifice. Indeed, I challenge the world to prove that any theory short of the substitutionary (penal, at that) is a whit better for Divine earthly governmental purposes than the "Mass" of the Roman Catholic Church. That may be considered the prelude of a reply I intend to make, should a kind Providence spare me, to the govern- mental errors that are going the rounds of the press, and even in high circles. ]\[y position finds an explanation in the distinction between an absolute and a limited monarchy. More anon ! * Late Rev. W. M. I'unshon, in Methodist Mmjazme, 1878, p. 40. t " Atonement in Christ." By Miley ; p. 208. r 144 I). L. MOODY V. FiEXRV VARLEY. CHAPTER VT. tM I OBJECTIONS TO VICARIOUS ATONEMENT ANSWERED. 1. It denies to God that prerogative which belongs to Him. This is taking up the subject where we left it ott", as coming from Athanasius and Nazarius, near the close of the last chapter. Divine Prerogative. As a starting [)oint I wish to recon ' unqualified acknowledgments to the original and absolute prerogative of (lod. That takes us back to the preadamic point in the cycles of eternity. It was God's prerogative : 1. Whether He would make man or not. 2. Whether, after having made him, He would sub- ject him to any test. 3. Whether He would enforce the penalty or provide a substitute. Another step would land us into the other discussion intimated at the very close of the last chapter, which we reserve for the present. The reader will notice how God's prerogative has narrowed down step after step, so that the absolute has become restricted by His own voluntary acts and promises, and thus His declarations, both as to rewards and punish- ments, have become His obligations. Here I find rock as to the reliability of His promises and the terror of His \.\Tt r.K ol' cniJISTS ATONKMKXT. 14.1 ision (i we has has liises, lish- bk as His tliieatciiitigs. Tlie laLtor is ju8t as tinii as tlie former. Th»' coiulitionality is with man. " If ye \n' wiliinj?," etc. " Come unto me.'' " How oftf;n woulil T have gathered tlice," etc. " Ye would not," etc. Considered merely as the Fiawijivci-, (Jod is to e\ery transgressor "a consuming tire."* His "law kept is gentle as a nursing motlier."' His " law broken is more terrible than an angry giant."! " There is no outlaw in God's empire wlinm /aff may curse, or Jafc may shelter ; nor can evil betid<; whom law befriends and God justiiies."J Paul was just as much in earnest when lu' said " Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men," as he was when he said, ''That V)y two immutable things, in which it was impossil)le for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation," etc. (Hel). vi. IS.) Hence we are willing to recognize God's original absolute sover- eignty, but when God promises, I say it reverently, He is pledged to His word. " God is not a man, that he should lie ; neither the Son of man, that he should repent : hath he said, and shall he not do it ? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" The Lord declares, "My covenant will T not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips." "The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law," and it is said that with the " Father of lights there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Dr. Wild says in regard to man's free will, " It is a small circle in which he cuts up his little pranks. "jj " Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth ; and let thy heart * Heb. xii. 29. t " Physical and Moral Law," page 122. X " Mediatorial Sovereigntj'," Vol. I., page 14. § "Sunday Evening .Sermons." 10 1 k; I). I-. .M()(»I)^■ V. ilKNKV VAltl.KV. ii--' cli(!or tlic(! ill tli(^ days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thino hoart, and in the si^'lit of thine eyes : l)ut know tljou, that for all tli(;5;(» things (iod will bring thee into judgment." ( Kcclcs. xi. !).) in conclusion 1 reinaik : If pai'don comes from thf^ (iat of (iod because of His j)rei'ogatived power, thos(! passag(!s which ascribe as the iri'ound of salvation the inediatoi'ial work and death of ('hrist, are witliout meaning to me. 2. Onv of recent origin is, thiit it is not taught in every portion of Scripture. Tliat is not necessary !is long as it is plainly tauglit in a geiH^ral way, for it would lead to untold tautology, which is a\()id('d in all correct lit(!raturc. 'Fids will (niable mv, to explain a passag*; Mr. N'arley and his school l;iy great stress on. " And when tlu^y had nothing to pay, he fraidcly forgavi; them both." (Ijuk(,' vii. i'2.) It was th(( subject of giatitude, rather than that of pardon, which was under consideration, as is (evident by : "Tell me therefoi'(; which of them will love; him most ^ . Wh(!r<^for(i I sn.y unto thee, her sins, which an; many, ar(! forgiven ; foi" shi; IovchI much : l)ut to whom little is fofgiven, the same loveth little. " "The love of (Jod, the sacrifice of (Jhrist, repcMitance and faith are all, in difrerent ways, conditions of pardon and j)erf(!ctly compatible with each otlier, but to demand that stitution would fail to find, in every text wherii pai'don is noticed, what they respectiv(!ly declare to be the ground of pardon. if absence from some places of Scriptui'«j wen; a critcrioji of truth, what dogma of any cnsed could stand the test ? Let it be the Trinity, the Divinity of (JhrisI, the ag«!ncy of the Spirit, Justilication by faith, tlu^ resuriciction of the d(nid, or future retribution ; if its stability must depend on its a{)pearanc(( in all or most of tin; prominent portions of Scrii)tur(^, it is doomed to fall. Why tluMj expect the doctriiK? in question to be formally ubiquitous in a Itook which had such vari(^ty of truths to unfold and ends to answer ? In lOph. i. 1, the aposth^ closely connects "forgiveness of sins" with "redemption through his blood." In Col. i. II, he admits " through his blood." The just inference is that the "forgiveness" in the latter passage is as closely conne<;ted with "his blood" as the "forgiveness" in the former. 3. I Unjust for innocent to suffer for the guilty. The gentlemen who use this objection against vicarious sutl'ering forget that they are using a sword that cuts both ways. We have observed that, look at it as we may, Clirist'a sud'er- ings are a matter of fact as recorded in history. Was it I' i 148 I). I,. MOODY V. HT-:XI{V VAI!IJ:\'. less iiiijust fur (Jlirist to sufler to nianifest the love of Hod, as the Manifestation theoi'ists conteucl, or as an example of heroism for mans imitation, as the Marturialists claim, than it was as an atonement for man's transgression 1 Ff there were anything in the ohjeotion, the caution bell men- tioned near the close of my Wayside Notes, comptils me to acknowledge that it belongs to tl Jentitication theory as presented by Mr. \'arley. But even then w(; would have to our credit the sufl'erings in the ama/ing condescension of our Lord, unless we reject His divinity, which would land us back to chai'ging God with folly. This great condescension produces the following amaze- ment : "How can it be, tliou heavenly King, That thou shouldst us to gl<»ry bring ? Make slaves tlie partners of thy throne, Decked with a never-fading cruwn :* " I do not see how a person can look indifferently on the sufferings of Christ, even from Mr. Varleys standpoint, when we consider the following : " xVnd now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which 1 had with thee before the world was." (John xvii. 5.) " With pitying eyes, the Prince of Peace Beheld our helpless grief ; He saw, and, O ama/ing hivc I He flow to our relief." His sufferings must have been great, (!ven toiive on this earth, and all admit that it was concerning man He came. Hence, \ conclude that the sword cuts Itoth ways, even with Mr. Varley. lUit there is nothing in the objection. Vicarious suffei-ing is an act of mercy, not of justice. There is a vast distinction between the two. A person XATrUE OF r'UIUSTS ATONEMENT. 140 5.) has a claim on iny justice to pay that 1 owe, etc. ; but lie has none on my unpledged mercy. Injustice arises with the refusal to meet my obligations. I cannot see where the injustice to God comes in. In the Atonement we find privileged liberation to man ; so that the rebel becomes a subject, enabled to glorify God — and who has a right to find fault? " Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect 1 It is God that justitieth. Who is he that condemneth." (Rom. viii. 33.) liut as we do not want to evade the point, we observe that men often endure toil and suffering, and imperil and sacj-ifice life itself, for the benefit of others. They do this of choice, without compulsion. Is any injustice done them by this vicarious suffering 1 I do not see that there is. The well-known case of Zaleucus, king of the Locrians, furnishes an illustration. The king had enacted a law against crime, which provided that the offender should lose both his eyes. The first person found guilty of this wicked- ness was the king's son. Zaleucus, in order to save his son from the loss of both eyes, suffered one of his own to l)e put out. Was it unjust for the king to suffer vicariously 1 The ir.justice was back of that in the crime committed by the son. So with man, the injustice was in sin against ( Jod ; but after man became a sinner there was no injustice, but glorious mercy in redemption. 4. That it reduces forgiveness to a matter of justice. An answer to this was hinted at in the last reply — pledged mercy becomes justice. Hence all our claim on (Jod's mercy for pardon grows out of His invitations and promises. "). Many have thought that man is too insignificant a proportion of the universe, and at too great a distance from ^'H>? ! ' 1 150 I). L. MOODV V. HEXHV VARLEV. God to receive such attention as the vicarious death of the Incarnate Word would imply. " Sufficiently awakened to appreciate its evil deserts, a guilty soul, on lirst hearing the Gospel, may well wonder how He who is the V)rightnes8 of the Father's glory, the express image of His person, could stoop so low to help a worm, and may be tempted to think the news too good to be true. Then the hesitation proceeds from the self accus- ing conscience, and ^passes away as mental vision grows clearer and faith stronger. But the objection affects to proceed from the understanding. It is, nevertheless, a pre- sumption for which the human mind is incompetent. If God, whose ' ways are past finding out,' declare such con- descension, on what data can mortal man declare it impos- sible or unreasonable ? Has He not the power thus to come down to our low estate if He choose ? "* It may till our minds with amazement when we join the Psalmist in, " What is man that thou art mindful of him?" It is a matter of cheer to us, however, that the hairs of our heads are all numbered. "All things are opened and naked unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." When in York, England, at one time I saw on exhibition the Prince of Wales' Indian presents, valued at three million dollars. The principal value was in the jewels. Things common-place were decked with diamonds and rubies, hence the value. So it is with man ; this priceless jewel, the soul, is where the value is. Christ asked, " What will it protit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul ^ " " Behitid this midday glory ! Worlds on worlds ! Aina/.ing pomp ! 8ul).stituli(Mi."' NA'PrUK nF (Ilins'l'S AToXEMKNT. I.-)! Redouble tliis ;uu;izo, tun tliousand udd, And twice ten thousand more, TliL-n weigh the whole, One soul outweiglis them all, And calls the astonishing niagniticence Of unintelligent creation poor." It is contended that we are to imitate our Lord in sutrer- ing, and even in dying, for one another. The conclusion is come to that the propitiatory character was absent from His death because it is necessarily absent from ours. That does not follow\ Imitation means likeness in some })ar- ticular, not necessarily in all. The suffering of the disciph' may resemble his Lord's in its benevolent motive towards the needy ; and not in its form or its intrinsic virtue to atone. It becomes us to imitate apostles and prophets in teaching the truth ; but it does not follow that thnir teacli- ing contained no element of inspiration and authority of which ours is destitute. That Christ is our example acrnits of no ([uestion. It is equally certain that His sufferings had a propitiatory (juality which cannot pertain to any sufferings of His dis- ciples. He died for men as they never die for eacli other ; gave His life a ransom for all — was the propitiation through faith in His blood — and by His death we are reconciled. No such ideas could ever be attached to the most .self- denying sufferings of a disciple. Christ being a pattern is perfectly compatible with His being a propitiation. Both i-elations meet and perfectly accord in His self-sacriBce. Tiie peculiar worth of His humiliation to atone for our sin was designed for our trust, not for our imitation. If' jir 11^ t M ,.i II ::■! PAR'i' n. P.EPr.Y TO ^^R. henry \-.\rley, OF LOS DOS, ESdLAS I), OX i i CHRIST'S COMING KIXGDUM .\s i'iii:.\(}iKi) jjv iiiM AT THI< WORLD'S FAI <'M!('A(;(), 1,,,,., isD.s. \i Bv W. fULAXCK MkTHODIST i\[lXlSTK|{ OK M DNTKEAI. (.'oNKKliKNTK, C A\Ar)A. 1 : CHHISTS COMING KINGDOM. r I r CHAPTER I. TNTRODLTCTORY. The doctrine that our Lord may at any hour return to earth again and establish a kingdom in the hind of Canaan, with Jerusalem as its capita!, and reign there over Israel for a thousand years, is the chief feature of the theory which I propose to investigate. As at the beginning of especially the second, third and fourtli chapters of " D. L. Moody v. Henry Varley," I gave first Mr. Varley 's position and then proceeded with my reply, so I will do now. After the very lengthy digression which provoked the reply in the preceding pages, he came to the subject announced, viz., " Christ's Coming Kingdom." He said tiiat Christ will come in about twenty-two years. He was a little more cautious than one W. Miller, from the States (founder of the Millerites), for in 1843 he set the time to the day. Mr. Varley reserved considerable latitude, for " about " is very elastic. The subject is generally known as " Second Adventism." A question naturally arises here : Is this question worthy of much consideration by the Church ? I am aware m 15G INTRODUCTORY. that it has, does, and probably will eiifjago the attention of many good men, both in the Old and New Worlds, and I know that some have expressed great bem-tit by a con- sideration of the subject, l>ut it does not affect me in that way. I notice that too much giving up to the subject, untits a person for downright earnest work along gospel lines. As we will notice after a while, it leads to the abandonment of the Gospel, and hence the untold harm done by '' giving up to the subject." I mean in the light that Mr. Varley presented it in.* I admit that tlie " second coming " is mentioned in the Bible, but that looking for it is any more than an incidental part of the Church's woik, I emphatically deny ; e. r/., "Occupy till I come." (Luke xix. ['.].) What was the work 1 " Occupy," use. How long '? " Till I come." Notice : His coming formed no part of occupying ; it only closed up the time. What is the Church's work 1 " Co ye into all the world and preach the Gospel." * One trouble in dealing with people who have no discipline is, you do not know where to find them. Vou cannot liold one ac- countable for the sayings of another, nor himself, unless you put it down. And yet these same people who denounce all creeds, and sects, and churches, etc., are the most bigoted of any—" We are the people and wisdom shall die with us." They are just as free as any to give their comments and opinions on Scripture. As Dr. Dewart remarks in "Broken Reeds," " The mere act of clothing our opinions in language which can be presented to the eye, does not create those opinions." CHHIST'S C'OMINC; KlX(;i)().M, , the )) le IS, ac- put aiul are free Dr. Wk will notice how this subject was cousidered in apostolin times and since. It will he readily conceded that in early times men began to look for the return of our Lord. In Angus' " Bible Hand-I>ooU,'' we i-cad as to the object in writing the second Epistle to tlie Thessalonians : ''Its chief object appears to have been to correct an erroneous notion wliich had begun to prevail among tiie Christians at Thessalonica, that the appearance of the Saviour and the end of the world were at hand." In the second ciiapter, lirst, second and third verses, he reminds them that false bretliren had imposed upon them concerning the day of (Jhrist, and he urges that "they be not soon shaken in mind;" that is, distuibed or agitated by any means which those persons may employ ; " neitlter hij ^pirit,^^ says he : that is, any pretended spirit of prophecy which these false brethren may assert they have ; " nor word" which they may rej)ort me to have spoken ; " nor by letter as from us," that is, any forged letter whicli these false brethren m^y say has come from us, announcing that the day of Christ is chron- ologically at hand. You perceive that a pretended spirit of prophecy, misconstruing or misrepresenting Paul's words, and forged letters, were the means by which these false teachers introduced their error among the Thessalon- ians, and against which St. Paul here guards them. But the apostle fearlessly crushes this rising error. Dr. Clarke's comment on the second verse is; ''To be shaken signifies to be agitated, as a ship at sea in a storm, and strongly marks the confusion and distress which the i ! ir>,s cmUSTS CO.MINCJ KlN(;i)OM, 4\ ^\ Thrssiiloiii.'ins had felt in their falhe apprel coiiiiiii' of Clii'ist," i.e., there was a hiiih fev lensions erisli e of th IS tability. And I would appeal to the whole history of pre-niillen- liali whether this /e h feverish excitahilily has, been found a prevailing element, and the i)arent of not a little that is lacking in tranquility to the minds of the [people. I was credibly informed a few weeks ago, of a lady who, at the time, lS4'i, resided at Rouse's Point, York State, and who so gave way to vanity as to have her ascen- sion robe uniformly leaded so she would ascend gracefully. Was there not feverish excitement there 1 In the other discussion we proved that JNIr. Varle^'s views of an earthly theocratic kingdom had no higher origin than the notion of the Jewish people, from a wrong interpreta- tion of the Old Testament Scriptures. We also proved that the corruptions of the Romish Church in the institu- tion of the "Mass" adoration of angels and departed spirits, and use of images were all of a heathen origin. So with this second advent theory. As in the other instances, the true was perverted by the false, so in this the truth of God's Word is perverted from its natural meaning, and the paganistic idea of a " golden age " is flounced out on the nations to the dishonour of God and in)ur\ of humanity, in breaking up real church work uid urning the whole community, if they would follo\ i set of g-'zers. This idea of the Messianic mgdom bei, g visibly established on the earth, which ih contended for by the Adventists, legitimately grew out of the expectations of the Jews, which provoked our reply in the second chapte of " Moody V. Varley," Dr. Chambers tells us : '* The notion of a golden age preserved by the converts from heathenism to Christianity . . . was naturally calculated to de- UK SECOND ADVENTISM. l.-)!) vclop and strengthen such hopes."* On accouiit of this corruption of Christianity, many of the early fathers, as Papias, Irena'us, Justin Martyr, etc, delighted themselves with dreams of the glory and magniticence of the niillennial kingdom. Christ did not tell us when He. would come, but this pagan notion of a "golden age" has set men to looking instead of working. Since the second and thiid centuries many times liave been set for the coming of this theocratic reign. Ill lite, fourth century, Lactantius and a number of other Chiliasts, predicted the coming of Christ, and according to them, it was to take place within two years after that time ; and their opinion was the result of inquiries into the subject, by all those most skilled in such matters. This Lactantius was one of the greatest writers in his day. But we need not add, the two centuries passed away, and Christ did not come. Chambers informs us also that in the fifth century St. .Jerome and St. Augustine expressly combated certain fana- tics who still hoped for the niillennial kingdom whose pleasures included those of the flesh ; and Neander adds : " Such a Chiiiasm could only promote a fleshly euda-mon- ism," and indeed, ere long it called into more energetic activity the opposition of gnostic spiritualism, f " In the tenth century, the Crusaders reinvested the advent doctrine with a transitory importance. At the period of the Reformation the view was not adopted by the gre.t body of the reformers, but by some fanatical sects, as the Theosophists." During the civil and religious wars in France and England, it was also prominent with the excite- ment of the times. ;: r., m See Millennium, Chambers' " Encyclopiedia." See My Criticisms of "Christian Science." 160 CHRIST S CUMING KIN(^DOM, In the time of Oliver Cromwell, there arose a, set of Second Advent men, commonly called ^^ FiftJi-monarcJnj- nim ;" they are described by Mosheim as ^'- irrong headed and turbulent enthusiasts, who expected Christ's sudden appearance upon earth ; they claimed to be the saints of God, and they expected, when Christ should come, that they should be promoted to rule under Mini." Dr. Adam Clarke tells us that the time was fixed for Clirist's advent, for several different times during the short period of his life ; but he believed those predictions to be vain, and he had lived to see them such. I have not space to spare, to mention all the times recorded in history as fixed for this event. In this century, one Mr. Militn-, of the United States, calculated the time as ending in 1843. When that predic- tion failed, a delay of four years was announced, and it was declared that He must come in 1847. Rev. H. Lanton has recorded that " he heard one of those bold men say in the pulpit he kneu) Christ would appear in a few days. He was stire of it ; for tJie Holy (/host liad sealed tltat ti^uth npon his Iteart ; and within a few days past, the Holy Gliost had sealed that same truth upon the harts of his brethren and sisters aronnid him, and these l)rethren and sisters cdii- firmed his statement by a loud Amen. But liie ardent spirits who had embraced that error were not long silenced by the failure of their arrogant prophecies ; and hence the time of Christ's second advent was again appointed. The 26th of May, 1854, the day of the annular eclipse, was the set time. It was publicly stated, correctly reported, that Christ might come sooner. He might come the next month, or even that very night ; but He could not be later than the 26th day of May ; and the very same person since :r OR SECOND ADVENTISM. 161 that time had to acknowledge his mistake in the place where he uttered his prediction."* In later times the most noted millennarian is Dr. John Gumming, whose work is before me. His original date for the close of this dispensation was 1866 or 1S67, As that time passed by without any millennial symptoms, he after- wards modified his original views considerably, and conjec- tured that the befjinninj; of the millennium will not differ so much after all from the years immediately preceding it, as people commonly suppose. Tn 1891, Rev. Mr. Baxter, a prophetic student of London, England, issued anotiier chart, with the dates of prophetic events for the next ten years. I will give the dates and events : 1. The formation of Daniel's ten-kingdomed confederacy by great wars and revolutions in 1891. 2. Napoleon's rise as a Hellenic king in 189 2. 3. Napoleon becomes king of Syria in 1894. 4. Napoleon makes a covenant with the Jews on April 21st, 1891 (false so far) 5. Sacririces renewed in Jerusalem November 8th, 1894. 6. Chi-ist's advent as a Bridegroom to translate the 144,000 watchful Christians on March 5th, 1896. 7. Flight of many Chi-is- tians between February and August, 1897, into a wilderness — I suppose up toward the north pole. 8. Antichrist's massacre of Christians for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, August 14th, 1897, to January 26tli, l!»OI, woes, plagues of seals, trumpets and vials, ascension of all remaining Christians on April 6th, 1901. 10. Christ's advent as a Judge at Armageddon, April 11, 1901, and the beginning of the millennium. These are tiiis remark- able mans dates. The fact is, thousands on thousands will place confidence in this list, although he gets out a changed list every few years. * '• Second Advent Lectures," by Rev. H. Lantou. U m ■? -i^ 162 CHRIST S COMING KINGDOM, The next date fixed, according to Mr. Varley, is 1915 — i.e., "about that time," he saitl. He is a little wiser tlian Mr. Baxter was — he does not fix any day. If God had intended us to know He would have told us. Instead of that, He has said, " The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night." (2 Peter iii. 9.) "Be ye therefore ready also : for the Son of man cometli at an hour when ye think not." (Luke xii. 40.) But is it not said, " Watch therefore : for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come " 1 Yes, but wliat does that mean ? I think it refers rather to watch and be ready for death, as we learn from the context, "If the good man of the house," etc; . . . "Therefore be ye also ready : for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of )nan cometh." (Matt. xxiv. 43.) What are the main scriptural characteristics of His coming ? He is to come, in the clouds (Matt. xxiv. 30) ; in glory (Matt. xvi. 27); as He ascended (Acts i. 9, 11); with a shout, etc. (1 Thess. iv. 10); with angels, with saints (1 Thess. iii. 13; Jude 14); suddenly (Luke xii. 40) ; all shall see Him (llev. i. 7). W^hnt are the pur- poses of His coming? To complete the salvation (not atonement) of His saints (Heb. ix. 28); to judge (1 Cor. iv. 5); to destroy death (1 Cor. xv. 23, 26; Rev. xx. 14). Wherein do we difier ? is an important question. We must consider this point ; for Premillennarians speak as if we do not believe Acts i. 11, which reads: "Ye men of (ialilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven 1 this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." In this respect we all believe in Christ's second advent. This point of dispute indicates my line of argument. That, with some concluding i-einarks, will cover the whole ground, at least as much as 1 have space for. LI OR SECOND ADVENTISM. 163 915— wiser •. If Id us. ■d will Be ye at an , it not t hour ml T I, as we ;e," etc; bour as .43.) of His 30); in 0, 11); 8, with ike xii. le pur- 3n (not 1 Cor. X. U). We ,k as if men of is same lall so eaven." ent. ;ument. whole CHAPTER II. Is it the Gospel or fiatic power of Christ's coming that is to convert the world 1 Are we to be workers or gazers 1 As will be noticed on next page, it was the fiatic notion in regard to the Jews that Mr. Varley advanced, and it must be the same for the Gentiles, for Paul tells us " there is no difference." Here is where we come as far apart as the poles. When the master of a harvest field leaves his servants to work and occupy till he returns, does he intend that some of them or all of them (and all have as much right as one) are to stand out in the road and look for his return ? One in a crowd of a dozen workers is enough to spoil the whole, unless they are true as steel. Let one be crying out, " Wait till the master comes, and he will gather in the grain by one fiatic stroke," and he proves to be a nuisance to the whole work. Look at it ! The return of the master has nothing to do with the gathenng in of the crop. So I say with this theory. Mr. Varley told ua what great things would be done when Christ will come, by His fiatic power. After stating that Christ will come in about twenty-two years, he adds : " The Jews will be converted instantaneously." What is that but fiatic power 1 He goes on to say : " The Jews will not partake of the nature of Christ," and he gathered great consolation by the thought that if he should " live to be an exceeding old man " he will see his Lord in the air. What are such men doing for the world 1 164 CHRIST S COMING KINGDOM, fl'l The Master has said, "Go work in my vineyard." But Mr. Varley says, "No! Stand and gaze." What does he mean 1 He denounces the Gospel, and yet he enjoyed the big congregations at the World's Fair through the power of the Gospel ; but still on the sly he subverted the truth. The words of Christ come to me as I write : " Woe unto you, lawyers ! for ye have taken away the key of knowl- edge : ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered." I appeal to the three thousand who listened if Mr. Varley did not explicitly teach that tlie means at present made use of are totally inadequate to bring the world to the feet of our Lord Jesus Christ. He vilified this dispensation and painted the blackest pictures of the present and future condition of things, as getting worse and worse till Christ comes. As evidence he pointed out that " three-fifths of the members of the British Parliament are identified with army or navy, law, or licjuor traffic." 1 do not pretend to say how far the above is true. It matters not in the present discussion as to the propriety of continuing along present lines of gospel work, or shunting ofl' on the fiatic track ; for that is the point of dispute. In Chapter I V^. of " Moody V. A'arley," we dwelt very lengthily on Christ's mediatorial work. We take our stand alongside of that subject in consideration of the question in hand, and stand on the pedestal of Divine Truth, as follows : " Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his lioly prophets since the world began." (Acts iii. 21.) " For he nuist reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet." (1 Cor. xv. 25.) Paul had so much confidence in the Gospel that he said, even to Imperial Rome, "So, as much as in me is, I am OR SECOND ADVENTISM. 165 ' But loes he ed the power I truth. >e unto knowl- bt were Varley t made ;;he feet snsation [ future I Christ ifths of ed with pretend in the alotij;; le iiatie ter IV'. Cln-ist's of that d stand oin the L of all all his 1-) s under he said, is, I am ready to preach the Gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ : for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth ; to the Jews first, and also to the Greek. (Romans i. 1"), 16.) He exhorted Timothy : " Preach the word ; be instant in season, out of season ; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsufFering and doctrine. 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." (2 Tim iv. 2-4.) Here is the plain work of the Church, pointed out to be done. Our blessed Lord was very emphatic when He said, " 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." (Matt. xxiv. 14.) But no, these Varlevites with itching ears have " turned away from the truth unto fables." The hue-and-cry of the whole advent line of watchers (who lay stress on the superior work to be done by Christ's coming), is : " The Gospel is a failure," " The world is growing worse all the time, everything is going to the bad, and the Gospel will prove still a greater failure till Christ comes to arrest this downward movement and save the remnant." They forget Gal. i. 8, 9 : " But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed," i.r., separated from your company. This brings us to the heart of the question : 1. Mr. Varley's view would be compulsion which Jesus denied to Peter. "Then said Jesus unto iiim, Put up again thy sword into his place : for all they that take the sword 166 CHRIST S COMING KINGDOM, Ml shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give iiie more than twelve legions of angels 1 " 2. It is not God's unabrogated plan. It will he remem- bered that we are not considering what God might have done. He might have given to the buds of the trees powers of articulation, or caused the " stones " to preach the Gospel. We read that " the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." The Human Touch. Rev. Dr. J. R. Miller (author of "Silent Times") relates the following : " A visitor to a glass manufactory saw a man moulding clay into the great pots which were to be used in shaping the glass. Noticing that all the moulding was done by hand, he said to a workman, * Why do you not use a tool to aid you in shaping the clay 1 ' The workman replied, * There is no tool that can do this work. We have tried different ones, but somehow it needs the human touch.' " " Just so ; there is much of the Lord's work that like- wise needs the human touch. The Divine hand would have been too glorious, too dazzling, too bright, if it had been reached out of heaven to help, and lift up, and save, to wipe away tears, to heal heart wounds, to be laid in benediction on the children's heads. Therefore, God took a human form, that with a human hand He might touch the sinful and the sorrowing. And now that Christ has gone away again into heaven, He does not reach out of the skies that glorified hand which burns with splendour to do His work of love in this world, but uses common hands, yours and mine, beseeching us to do in His name the OR SECOND ADVENTISM. 1G7 'g fifentle things He would have done for His little ones. Let us go and work." We learn God's plan, viz., Christ came to earth to make atonement for sin : " Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth ? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave some, apostles ; and some, prophets ; and some, evangelists ; and some, pastors and teachers ; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for tlie edifying of the body of Christ : Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." (Eph. iv. 8-1.3.) " But to which of the angels said he at any time. Sit on ray right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool 1 ' (Heb. i. 13.) As remarked in the other discussion, this is Mr. Varley's favourite chapter. I remarked at that time, that it was a dangerous book (Hebrews) to lead us into for the support of his views, so I say now ; e.g., " But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God" (<'.«?., on the mediatorial throne) ; "From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool." (Heb. x. 1L>, 13.) We have grand support for this in' " The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." (Psa. ex. 1.) Christ recognizes this in His contention with the scril)es : " For David himself said, by the Holy Ghost, The Lord .» ( i68 Christ's coming kIngdoM, said to ray Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool." (Mark xii. 36.) It will strengthen our argument against Mr. Varley, who contends for this instantaneous conversion of the Jews, to notice that in Acts iii. :21, it was Jews to whom Peter gave the exhortation and declaration about the restoration of all things. Before leaving this subject, I observe that it is tiie Father who gives to Jesus, as follows : " Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession."' (Psa. ii. 8 ; see also 1 Cor. xv. 27, 28.) The parables of the Leaven and Mustard Seed noticed in Chapter II. of " D. L. Moody v. Henry Varley," teach the progressive power of the Gospel. I need not retrace my steps. E/.ekiel's river (Ezek. xlvii. .3) is of the same progressive character — "ankles," " knees," "loins," then to "swim in." " This may be applied to the gradual discoveries of the plan of salvation. (1) Patriarchal ; (2) Giving of the law ; (3) The ministry of John the Baptist ; (4) Full manifestation of Christ by the communication of the Holy Ghost."* Thus, it is plain to my mind, that God's plan is along the Gospel line. With this plain work before us, it is strange tliat men will waste precious time preaching on the Second Advent. It is enough to take a few days to write on it, and it is only that I see the havoc it is making that I do so.f * Dr. A. Clarke. 1^ A noted English evangelist, when accosted as to why, in >i mission of ten days' duration in one of our city churches, he had occupied four or five evenings in talking on Second Adventism, replied : " I must preach a whole Christ — not half a Christ — not merely a Christ that was hiuniliated in incarnation and death, but a Christ that will ruturn again in glory and power." Again I ask, " What has the return of a master to do with gathering in a crop OR SECONl) ADVENTISM. 1G9 People get into inconsistencies about it. Rev. R. N. Burns, B.A., records tlie following : " I remember conversing with a very earnest Chiliast in the afternoon of a certain day, about the signs of Christ's coming. He gave it as his opinion that many signs, such as wars and run)ours of wars, would have to be more com- pletely ful tilled before Christ would come. Yet, contrary to this reasoning, so deeply seated in his heart was the idea of the suddenness of Christ's coming that, on that same evening, while standing inside the door of my house, just before going out, he was telling me about a recent dream lie had, in which Christ came in great glory and sudden- ness to the earth. While he was talking, a sudden and violent explosion of a gun outside so startled him that, with open mouth and staring eyes, he rushed to the door saying, ' Is that Him ? ' and doubtless expected to see the heavens all ablaze with the radiant glory of Christ's coming. Why cultivate such foolish and morbid expec- tations t " That is another case of the feverish excitability we mentioned a while ago. We will try and show by what has been done and the prospect before tiie Church that God has not abandoned this line. It is plain He set the Church at work along this line, and 1 have never learned, only by these fiatists, that it was ever abandoned. ID a had tism, not , but ask, crop from a field?" Christ's Second Advent will have no more to do with the conversion of sinners. " He that is unjust, let him be unjust still : and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still : and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still : and he that is holy, let him be holy still." " When once the mastei- of the house is risen up (from His mediatorial seat), and hath shut to the door (of (Jospel invitation), and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us ; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are." (Luke xiii, 25.) 170 Christ's coming kingdom, ^i m Tt must be remembered that the Church has not done her duty. I heard Dr. Punshon say, over twenty years ago, at a missionary meeting in Belleville, Ont., " The Church has been playing with mission work." Any well- informed man knows that since > '":e Church has awakened up to her duty, things have progressed as never before. The old cry of "charity begins at home " crippled the Church. You will always find in proportion as a church is far- reaching in its liberality it is profoundly spiritual at home, and blessed with constant revivals and the salvation of souls. This is God's way of working. Just as we get out of ourselves and learn that unselfish love is true self-love, and that he that watered others, his own soul shall be watered, will the Church arise in His might. There was a minister whose people got so behind that they could not pay him his salary. He immediately began preaching to them about foreign missions, and taking collections to send the Gospel abroad. In a little while the people became so liberal that they had no difficulty in sustaining him, as well as nobly helping in the evangelization of the world Gospel has not had a Chance ! I have before me two large volumes, being a report of the Missionary Conference, London, 1888. It was a centenary conference oi the Protestant missions of the world. The ends aimed at may be classed under three heads : 1. To turn to account the experience of the past. 2. To utilize that experience for the improvement of methods, etc. 3. To seek the more entire consecration of the Church of God. This conference brings to my mind a statement as found OR SECOND ADVENTISM. 171 in Cunningham's *' Preniillennial Advent," pa2[e '2\ : " Tiio Creator and Judge of all shall take the work into J I is own hands, which the common system assigns to the miserable committees of our societies." (?) 1 reply : " Behold, all ye that kindle a tire, that compass your- selves about with sparks : walk in the light of your lire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall yt; have of mine hand ; ye shall lie down in sorrow." In striking contrast with Mr. Cunningham, I will intro- duce the following extract of an article in above report, by Dr. Sutherland, our own worthy Missionary Secretary, on " Development and Results of the Missionary Idea, especially during the last hundred years" : " For the first hundred years, A. D., the spread of the Gospel was great, but when doctrinal error began to dim the light of Diviue revelation, and simplicity of worship gave place to elabor- ate and imposing ceremonial — when the Church, forgetful of her heavenly origin, leaned upon the arm of Ciesar and began to assume the status and functions of a kingdom of this world — -the central idea receded into the background, and at length the great purpose for which Christ planted His Church in the world almost disappeared from the thought of Christendom." That is quite in harmony with what I wrote in Chapter II. of Moody V. Varley about the encroachments of paganism — as they yet exist in the Church of Rome — and in this chapter, on the cry of a *' golden age " from the same source, which prompted and is strengthening this advent cry about the golden period of the world's life. It is evident I have not room for much reference to this able article by Dr. Sutherland. I can only give his conclusions : 1. "The Reformation (sixteenth century) revived the true missionary spirit in part, but only in part. M r =. ' irai 172 CHRIST S COMINC KINGDOM, 2, " The Heforniation restored to the Church the irn- luovable foundation of Scripture doctrine — the revival of the eigliteeiith century sent her forward on hci- heaven- appointed mission of evangelizing the world." .'}. "Tliis revival of missionary labour has proved that in its support is the best paying enterprise for nations or individuals. An American tersely compares the $500,- 000,000 spent in subduing the Indians of the Western States with the few dollars of expense in accomplishing the same thing in the Canadian North- West. Why ? In the latter case the Protestant missionaries had preceded the soldiers."* 4. " It has proved that the Cospel of Jesus Christ is the only power that can cope with heathenism on its own ground." 5. " That God's order, of the Gospel first, is the best." G. " It has brought clearly to light the Church's respon- sibility for the world's evangelization." 7. " . . . The latent power in the Churches, if pro- perly utilized and directed, would be amply sufficient for this purpose." Thus we see the Gospel has not had a chance till lately, and it is telling on the nations. We see it along the lines of temperance, social and moral reforms. All things are ready, " I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal : that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together." But Mr. Varley says : No ! hang up that oM, rusty sickle and stand in the road and gaze for the Lord to * It is a signiHcaut fact that in the Riel rebellion not one Christian took up arms against the Government. OR SECOND ADVEXTISM. 173 come, .'iiul He will do it all by one tiatic stroke. That cer- tainly is liis teaching. " Jiecause sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." We have had one report from Mr. Cunningham's "miser- able committee." We will give another that is just as cheering. Rev. W. Wright, D.D. (Superintendent of Editorial and Translating Department. B.F.B.S.), reported as follows on the circulation of the J3ible a hundred years ago and now. I have room for only one point : "In 1804, there were in the world only fifty vei'sions of the Word of God, but in the short period of ten years of his presidency, viz., from 1878 to 1888, they produced sixty-two translations of the Bible into other languages. Thus, the number of new versions produced by the British and Foreign Bible Society during that short period of ten years was larger than the number produced by the Chris- tian Church during the first eighteen hundred years of the Christian era." (Vol. I. p. 147.) And the work goes on. Thus, we see it is not fiatic power, as M r. Varley presented it, but by preaching the Gospel under the influence of the Holy Ghost. 174 CHRIST S COMIN(; KINGDOM, CHAPTER HI. Will Christ come to complete the Atonement 1 I had an object in view on page 1(>2 when T put in brackets "not atonement." It was tliis : Thern is a Battle Creek production (" Bihh; Headinj^s for the Home (circle") * which lays so much stress on the Second Coming as to term it the completioii of the Atone- ment. It asks : " How will it be when Christ has finished the Atonement for His people?" "So Christ was once oflered to bear che sinr, of many ; and unto them that loo:, for him shall he appcr the second time without sin unto salvation." (Heb. ix. lI8.) I gladly receivo the quotation, but not the following comment : "That is, to those who stand ivaiting and irrdcJi- ing (italics mine) for His appearance, as did the people of Israel for their high priest to appeal- to them, Christ will appear to His people ; and at that time He will have laid oir upon the head of the great scape-goat (Satan) the sins of His people whioh have been atoned for. IMien Satan will bear these sins (as did the typical scape-goat) to an unin- habited region— the desolated earth- -while the saints will bt> enjoying the glories of heaven during the one thousand years." f If the Battle Creek man voiced the view of Mr. Varley in this, J and Christ is to come in twenty-two years, he and * Some parts of which are the greatest injustice ever palmed off on a (!hristian public. I Page 90. X Mr. Varley gave tiie same ijuotation. but witliout a lonunent. OK SECONJ) ADVENTISM. 175 t will laid sins tn will uuiii- I Paul are only 1,882 years apart, for Paul certainly referred to something past (Atonement), and the Battle Creek man speaks of something to take place when Christ comes. Of course, a few hundred years, whether i)ast or future, are not much for these free rangers I (?) Hee illustration at close of Chapter III. of " D. L ^Foody r. Henry Varley. J certainly need not consider this passage to any great extent, for many of our Sabbath School children can show its unscripturalness and contradictions. The passage explains itself. Everywhere in tlie Old Testament, l)oth by type and prediction, and in the New Testament as well, till it occurred, the Atonement on Calvary was looked forward to ; but everywhere, in sacred writ, afterwards it is looked back to as an accomplished fact, e.«snes3 ; by whose stripes ye were healed." (1 Pet. yL L'4.) Here we have tli»^ provision naadr in full, and tlie appli- cation of that provMWMir salvaiioa >«y price and pf**' <-r. Objectively and litTJVEJjr See m1i» B«m. iii. :;l i^ : i^A m. \i ; Jolui ii. 2. ii. 1 1 ; 1 176 Christ's coming kincjdom, " Tis done I the precious ninsom's paid ; ' Receive my soul,' he cries I 8ee wliere he bows his sacred head ; He bows his head, and dies ! " We see the same fact of " finished atonement " in the connneinorative sfrvice of the Lord's Supper, " Do this in remembrance of wu'." People do not commemorate future events. How foolish to talk of Christ coming to finish the atonement ! V>y the parable of the talents we learn that He will come to reckon with us in judgment, but there is no atonement in that. Thus, we conclude that the Atonement was finished on the cross. The second advent will be witV-^'^t a sin- ollering. 'I'his brings us up to the next chapter. " Sitmer.s, obey the gospel -word, Haste to the supper of your Lord I Be wise to know your gracious day ; All things are ready, come away I " Ready the Fatlier is to own. And kiss his late-returning son : Ready y;iur loving Saviour stands, And spreads for you ILs l»leeding hands. '* I^eady the Spirit of his love. Just now the hardness to remove, To apply, and witness witli the l)lood, And wash and seal the sons of (J -d. " OR SECOND ADVENTISM. 177 riiAiTi:i{ IV. lilBJ.K TKAClllNG ON THE SKCOXD ADVENT. A (iUKAT deal of the coiifu.sion arises from an unwilling- ness to wait for God's explanation of UXFULFILLKD PllOPHECV. Dr. Charles Hodge, a strong post-millennialist, after a vigorous defence of his views. inod(!stly says : " Experience teaches us that the interpretation of unfultilled prophecy is exceedingly precarious." Dr. Kellog, an eminent pre inillennialist, says in a candid spirit : " We are shut up to a choice of difHculties whichever side we take." I would that all were as cautious. I ha\e a view of my own as to ho^v these unful- filled predictions should he treated. Nothing has been a greater bone of contention than these have been. There has been a forgetting that the blessed Bibh? is foi' all future ages, and hence must contain things not cahailated for us, just a° the plans and specitications of a house contain things refei'ring to the roof, cornice and general completion of the house, that the workmen on the main body of the house have nothing to do with. It seems to me w(> are yet at the main body of this great "temple of (Jod," <)ur duty is to " obey inarching orders " and " preacli the ( iospel to the regions beyond " us. I'.ut no I these restlei^s spii'its want to put the roof and cornice on, wlien tiie walls are not yet finisiied. Cowper's words come to me ; 12 7S CHRIST S ('OMIN(i KINGDOM. '' (lod moves in a luystorious way His woiulers to perforin ; He plants his footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm. " Deep in unfathomal)le mines Of never-failini^ skill, He treasures u[) liis briL,dit de.si;4ns And works his dovereiyn will. *' His i)urposes will ripen fast. Infolding every hour ; The hud may have a hitter taste, But sweet will he tlie tlower. " lUind unltelief is sure to err. And scan his work in vain ; (Jod is liis own interpreter, Anii)lp, like a hoy growing out of hi.s elothes. The reverse is the ease, for the nations are grow- ing into the Hible, and as yet it is too large for them. The fopling wlio ti'ies to hloat himself to fill men's clothes before his time, is not more di.sgusting tlu^a tliese men who want to force tlie fulfilment of prophecy. ■_'. llei(>ct them. A few months ago we prepared and (U^livered to oui' people here, wliat we termed a post olHce sermon, in which I compared the Hible to a post oflice. We compared these? unfultilled prt^dictions to unc.vUetl-for letters in a post office. These letters ar generally sent to the dead-letter ortice. Tiiat arises from the. sliort-siglited- ness of man. INHstakes are made. Not so with the liible. OR SECOND ADVENTISM. 170 nu'ii s I and otiice lotUce. lotl-for Mil to i afklressed correctly, and are to l)e called for. Infidels would have us break up the whole post otRce because of these uncalled-for niessaf,'es. They would send them to the dead-letter otiice of ol)livion, sure I lUit no I leave them here in the l»il)le, they will be called for. In Isa. chap. \lv., we hav(> a prediction in ref];ard to Cyrus, wliicli remained in the post otiice of Bible truth, for 200 years befoj-e it was called for. Josephus tells us that for ■il*.") years before Christ, the Old Testament canon liad been completed and looked upon as sacred — -nothing to be taken from nor added to. There they lay in the custodian- ship of the postmast(M's of truth *' till the fulness of tht; time was come." Suppose these respective message.s hafl been sent to the dead-letter otiice of oblivion, there would have V)een none fo;' Cyrus when he called for it ; nor for Christ when He called for them. There were faint- hearted professors and infidel lecturers who were inclined to do that thing of rejection. " Your words have been stout against me, saith the Tjord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so nmch against thee? Ye have saiil. It is vain to serve God : and what profit is it that we lia\e kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts'? " (Mai. iii. I;M4. So it is to-day, some get discouraged in churcli work, l>ocrtuse they ;;et low in religious fervour. Let such reniend)er that " we see througli a glass darkly." We cannot always see the result of our work, but : » "Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him serveth him not." [ do Tuot want to b»> understood as having a stoical indif- feTvnce to these prophecies. That would shut up ail inves- 180 CHRIST S COMIN(; KINGDOM. tiiration. At tin; siuno tiiiH% we should bf carofui not t o 'ave ui) that on \v hicl 1 we ha\(j received the; [)laine,st lig rlit, as is the case witli the duty of puhlisliinc,' the (lOspel, for the supposed ineaniiiL; of a passai^e eaU-uhited for another <;(;neration, when (Jod will nir.kc^ it plain. " Ther(^ arciSoiHH hkmi so conservative that they will clin;,' to traditional belief with a blind tenacity that is proof ai^ainst argument. There is another class who deem it a sign of independence and of superior culture to b(? known as men who are in earnest sympathy with all that is new and striking in modern thought. Such men are not safe guid(^s. 'I'hey are frequently onesided and extreme." * Such m(Mi generally run out on the line of '' higher criti- cism," which is a cant, and, in many instances, deceptive, phrase. The right to investigate is one thing, but tlie assumption that all " higher criticism " is true, is another. I am prepared to say, and prove, if general opinion is proof, that nothing has V)rought religion more into ridicule than this very Adventism. Instead of going to work, they stand in the road and gaze. Do they not work ? I suppose so ! I)ut, like the men tearing down that theatrical folly near the World's Fair ground. I'hat is all the Gospel is to these men (iod's folly. See answer to objections in "D. L. Moody vs. Henry Varley." (Jo labour on, while it is d ly. 'The world's dai'k ni^fht is hastening on ; Speed, speed thy work, cast sloth away ; It is not thus tliat souls are won. Men die in darkness at thy side. Without a hope to choer the tomb ; Take up the torch, and wave it wide. The torch that lights time's thickest ylooni. ', ♦ (( Jesua the Messiah, OH SECOND ADVENTISM. 181 not to : liglit, pel, foi- mother ,11 clin.t,' s proof em it a known : is new ot safe er criti- ceplive, Imt tlie mother, iniou is ridicule k, they suppose leal folly- pel is to "D. L. n. '' 'rdil on, ;uh1 in thy roil i-fjoice : {•'or toil (.ouH's rest, for cxilf lionu- ; Soon shall tlion hf.ir the lirideL^room's voici;, TIk' iiii(iin''j;ht peal, ' iU'hold 1 couil' I (!h]-ist's coming. I am aware tiiat our opponents rule out any application of " Christs eomini^'' to the time of our death ; hut I think- t.h.it is the manner of coming we should be ju-epai'cd for, and it will answer the douhle pur pose should we he called away, or should (Jhi'ist come for judgm(mt. What does it concei-u a dying man about the " fulness of the (Jentiles b(!ing come in"! as Mr. Varley liarped upon. What had that to do with the conversion of sinners? His coming is spokei\ of in many ways. Tn John .xiv. ■J.'t, lie speaks of coming to the believer, and making His abode with him. To the Church at M|)hesus, He says, " Repent, or else I will come unto thee ijuickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." To the church at Sardis, He says, " If therefore thou shalt not watch, 1 will come on the(? as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour 1 will conie upon thee."' All allow considerable latitude in converting grace ;* e.g., sometimes (lod is spoken of as doing it ; then Truth is spoken of as making men free. Man is spoken of as con- verting sinners. We conclude that tiie conversion of a soul is ascrilied to agencies as vv(!ll as the l)ivine Power. Rev. Li. lAiy Mills .'•ays: " W(* can save souls. W'e can sa\e souls more surely tlian w(! can raise wheat. W'e bring life from life. At one tiuu' the scientists said that there was such a thing as spontaneous generation. Now they have * Why not in reference to Christ's couiing as well ? 182 CHRIST S C:OML\(; KINGDOM, ahandoiif.'d that theory. Life comes from life. * You iiii^ht take the eartli and knead it, and you could not pro- duce life in it. You might takf; stone and rub it, but you could not produce life in it. Xo man can make a kernel of wheat. But sve put the wheat in the ;^aound, and we use God's rain and sunshine and air, and we say wu have raised this wheat. The sinner is responsilile to Uod, and the Christian is responsible for what he does oi- does not do for the sinner. Both are; true, and it is true that w(; can save men. Christ said that as the b'athei" had sent Him so He sent ILis disciples. " We can save men, and we cannot fail to .save them if we use right methods. We cannot guarantee a harvest after all our efforts, but there can be no failure in our saving souls, if we go right about it. " Cod has always recognized tlu; human agency in the saving of souls. How could I choose my godly ancestors ? How could you choose that godly mother, whose prayers : seended to Cod on your behalf, and resulted in your con- version 1 Long before we come to Cod, tender, losing influences have been at work on our behalf." Reading the Jiible sometimes is like looking for faults — you imagine you tind what you look for. I can see other comings than the Second Coming. From the above pas- sages I infer that " any extraordinary act of God's provi- dence, whether of judgment or mercy, might be called a Coming of Christ. ' t The destruction of .Jerusalem is spoken of as the coming of the Lord. " And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple : and his disci i)les came to him for to shew him the buildings * See "Antithesis l>etweeii Atoneiiifint and Regeneration," Chap. III., "]). L. Moody r.s. Henry Varley." IRev. .1. (Jail. You lot pro- but you L kernel and we wii have ocl, aTid loes not that w(; lad sent MH if we BSt aftei" r saving in the ICL'stors ? prayers our con- loving 'aults — ,ee other ove pas- 's provi- called a ulcui is temple : uildings i,"Chap. OR SECOND ADVENTISM. LSM of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things ? verily 1 say unto you, There sliall not he left here one stone upon anotlie)-, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat npf)n the mount of Olives, the dis- ciples came unto him privately, saying. Tell us, when shall these things be ? and what shall \ni the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world ?" (Matt. xxiv. 1-3.) I admit that thei-e is considerabl(> dill'erence of opinion as to the meaning of the above passage. There appear to be three questions asked : ( I ) When shall the desti'uction of the city, temple and Jewish state l)e1 {'2) What shall be the sign of thy coming, viz., to execute these judgments upon them and to establish thy own Church '. {'■'») When shall this world end?* Josejihus tells us that Ciesar gave orders that they should destroy the city and temple, t Maimonides, a Jewish rabbi, says "that the very foundations of the temple were digged up, according to the lionian custom. "| From these consid(!rations, I think we are safe in con- cluding that there are threi^ comirigs mentioned in the Scripture. (1) Destruction of Jerusalem. {'2) i)is[)ensatioti of Providence, more particularly the deatli of the jjeople from time to time. ('5) Christ's coming to judgment. If our opponents will not allow us this latitude, but con- tend for oidy one application of Christ's woi'ds as above, viz., what is generally acknowledged as His "Second Advent," they destroy their own argument, for certainly concerning the temple was the first question. [t is a characteristic of prophecy to have a very extended meaning. Mr. N'arley followed up the suV)ject, antl rcfei-ied to " 'i\vo women shall be grinding at the mill,"' etc. (Matt, xxiv. 41. * A. Clarke. I Hook VII., Chap. I. of " War." : Tract "Tannith," Chap. IV. 184- <:ill{isi's roMiNfj KiN(;i)()M, We follow on, tof 1 do want (o know tlio truth in this niattcc. We (ran allord considcrahh; latitude, as tnentioned l)of(jr(>, in tli(^ interpretation of tho wliole passage. Indeed I we must have it, h(!cause of the tliril)l)l(! ([uestion ask(?d our Lord by th(i disci[)les. Hence, the three comings men- tioned aliovfr as our conclusion are re(iuired to cover the whole ground. I call your att(mtion to two points in supjiort of my contention that the conjing mentioned in tho latter part of this chapter under considoratif)n refei'S to death : 1. It is individual, hut hotli the other comings are to many -(Wj.^ " Who then is tliaJ faithful and wise ser- vant?" etc. . . . " iJlessed is that servant." "The Loi'd of tlmf servauf shall come," etc. " shall cut //i/?i asunder." . . . " appoint him." "And what 1 say unto you 1 say unto all, Watch " individually. 2. This coming is stealthily -like a thief. Vn the coming to judgment Me will come with a "Shout." There is always trouble wlum men lay down their theories and warp the Bible to support them. " We believe in large liberty of thought, but we do not at all believe tliat it is any sign of independence or liber- ality to allow curnmt notions, which w(? are convinced are erroneous and misle/iding, to go luichallenged, as if we deemed them true- or harm less. ""**■ My contention is that Christ did not teach ITis disciples to watch for J I is second advent as much as to be pre- pared for death. Dr. Laing makes the following statement on this point : " Nowhere in the Jiible are we told to ivatch for the coming of our Lovd. On an exhaustive examination of the passages bearing on tiiis point, it will be found that (1) * Chrixliaii (I'ucvdian. OK SKCONI) ADVEN'TISM. 1S5 their )f tlie .at(l) wlicii tli I . Mark iii. "_' ; Luke i. 7 ; xiv. 1 ; \x. 20 : Acts ix. '2i). Tiirec; otlier (jlreok verbs are traiishited 'watch,' \i/.. : I'fjf-j'ofjn r, (k'y/jt'Trrf^/r, rf-f/jf-.i r. The lir-st f)f tliese means ' to keep awake ;' to ho, waking as opposed to sh-eping, to he active and alive to duty. The second means to • keep awake,' 'to he on the alert.' Hoth of these verbs are intransitive, n(Mtlier of them ever has an object, nor can thev mean 'watch for.' The thii-d word. I'f^c/jf-ir, means 'to be abstut to 'wait for,' is not to 'watch foi- ' ; it Tn(fans to exercise patience; in well-doing, until tin; [x'r.son or event expected comes.''* It is hardly })rol)able that our Lord or tin; Apostles would tell the disciples to look for 1 1 is second advent, when from the nature of the case ile could not come duiiii" their life-time. I)ut if you take tlie other view that they wei'c to watch and be ready for the calamity of the de-struction of the temple, that tlie stones should not be left on/ :> o 7 /A Photographic Sciences Corporation fV «• "% V % <^\\ ^ ^: V ;\ % ^^ ^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY 14580 (714) 872-4503 w 18G CHRIST S COMINfJ KIN(MK)M, rr m « anotlier, and that people are to watch and Ite ready for death, everything is plain. " liles.sed is that servant, whom his lord when he conieth shall find so doing;" t,^'., ready at death. That agrees with wiiat I have already stated, thj»,t *' looking for the second advetit " is only an incidental part of the (church's thought and work. "And let us all be ready for death. 1 know there are some of you that say, Death is not there ; it is the coming of the Lord. What a great, glorious fact that is I Hut don t you know that that final coming of Christ, His per- sonal coming at the end of the world's period, is brought to our mind by other comings acting as reminders — the coming of the Holy Spirit, the coming at the time of the destruction of Jeru.salem. I think there are clearly pass- ages that indicate that the.se were ooniings of Christ point- ing toward that final coming.'* Paul knew by revelation (Acts xxiii. 1 1) that lie should be taken to Home, and expected after that to visit Spain (Rom. XV, '24, *J(>), .so that beyond cjuestion he could not have ex[)ected the Lord evt^ry hour. He speaks of looking for death (2 Tim. iv. 6 ; Cor. w 8), not for Christ's appear- ing. Our Lord foretold the death of Peter (John xxi. 19) and Peter spoke of his own decease ('2 Peter i. 11) as expected, .lohn also took pains (John xxi. '2'.\) to correct a false impression that had got abroad among the disciples that he should not die before Christ should come. How is it possible in view of these passages, written many years after (*hrist's ascension, to say that the apostles thought Christ might come any day, and that they might not see death ? They certainly did not hold the Chiliast notion of Kev. Kdward JiuUon, D. 1)., New York. OK SKCONI) ADVENTISM. 1.S7 the imminence of the coming. Tliey expected to die, not to be " caught up." In 1 Thess. Paul was personating the living when he said, " We who are alive," etc., Just as in Romans, 7th cliapter, h«' personates a man under the law. Events to Th.\nsfiri; Ubfokk Chhist Comks. As this " watching for Clwist " is the key-stone in Mr. Varley's arch of triumph, I will endeavour to show that because of the things to transpire tlie disciples could not have been taught to look for th(! "Second Advent" in their day ; conse(iuently we must tind some other e.xplana- tion for the many passages urging them to watchfulness. These events concern cliietly the discipling of all nations, the restoration of the Jews, and the destruction of Christ's enemies. We have anticipated tliis in nmch that has been already written. Ft is generally admitted that Isa. ii. L'-4 lefers to the extension of Christ's kingdom : " And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills ; and all nations shall flow unto it. . . . They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and tlieir spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." See the following as well: "Thou sawcst till that a stone was cut out without iiands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. . , . and the stone that smote the image l)ecauie a great mountain, and tilled the whole earth." (Dan. ii. .'U, 35.) We have referred to the thribble lesson taught in Matt, xxiv., by which we learn that the Gospel must be preached 188 CHRIST S COMINd KINGDOM, Mt- in all the world. (Se(! also Phil. ii. lO, 11, and Rom. xiv. 11.) To confine tlu^ coming of our Lord t(» the Second Advont rxposos us to successful attacks l)y infidels. He said, "Surely I come ijuickly."' I»ut Fie has not come as Mr- Varley contends, for, aItlioui;h over 1,S()U years have passed, " nationalists and infidels have been oidy too j^lad to snp- ])Ose that the apostles e.xpected !o\vors of Will tho " and go the sun, nial glory lere to bo ihed from her lamps, tho liro go out on her altars, hor hannors drop and trail in tho dust, till Christ in His great lovo will conio in p(M-son to make things right? In other words: Will the (Iosp(!l prove a grand and unparelleled success like the WcM'ld's Fair, going away beyond the most sanguine expectations of lier votaries, or will it be like the theatri- cal failure adjoining the W^orld's Fair ground, to which allusion has already been made?* The reader will easily understand by these antitheses, with what has already been written, the attitude between Mr. Varley and myself. At the satne time, inasmuch as it is a great advantage for a reader to have chiar views of tho suljject under discussion, I will give some (quotations to that end. Dr. Kellog, to whom reference has l»een made, asks: "What has the New Testament to say as to the dominant character of the present age reaching on till tho Second Advent ? Absolutely nothing but evil I It is condemned throughout. Any exception to this mode of representation is not to be found in the New Testament." They deny that Christ has any kingdom on this earth. Uev. II. Lanton is autiiority for the following: ''()iu> of the millennarian writers says, 'We maintain that Christ has not iji>t received nntj kiuf/'loni which He ran delirer up.' ' Tiie notion,' says another, 'that the kingdonj of Christ signifies the present visible Christian Church, or the Chris- tian religion in the hearts of Cod's peo})le, or both, -and that it hits heen nianij'fsfed to the irorld erer since the cstah- lisliinent of Christinnif>/y is, in the main, erroneous, iii,.8- much as it mistakes the }neans for the e}id, and substitutes * I was informed when on the grounds that tlie large huilding being torn down waa a theatrical fizzle. The man spent .?l(X), m .1 pi: I ■m If iiri. ifr what may Im considered as the prepurntion for the kingdom, for the est(i/i/lsfiinent and tnaui/estdtion of' if.' "* Thesf! are only lo^^ical conclusions from theii- premi.scs. Tlie theory they claim for the Second Advent and the true (Jospel cannot exist together in this world. Tliey run along diflercMit lines. We answered these things very extensively in the otiier discu.ssion. The notice of these facts is of IxMK'ht to show that Mr. Varley is following the line of Advent soteiiology, and consequently will not 1>(! wrongly presented if I go over some ground that he did not toucli upon in tiie discourse which has provoked this discussion. All 1 have to say at the present is with the old Greek : '* But to spejvk On mere iinaginiiticn and to attirm As cerUtin, merit not a like regard. " This will come up again at the conclusion. That we may know wherein we differ, we will consider their teaching on their "advents," "resurrections," and "judgments." According to their theory there will he four advents of Christ, and four sections of the resurrection, and four judgments. As to the advents : 1. One in His incarnation. •J. One for His saints before the tribulation and at the rapture. .'{. One with His saints after the rapture and at the beginning of the teniporal millennium to reign. 4. One after tlie millennium witii ilis saints to judge tlie wicked. In harmony with its teachings there must be four resur- rections : * " Second Advent Lectures," p. 184. OH SECOXI) ADVENTISM. 101 ingdom, )reinisc.s. the true hey run igs very of these ollowin*? will not xi he did )ked this Greek : consider ms," and 11 he four irrection, id at the Id at the to judge kur resur- 1. One in this life wliich is spiritual and synonynious with conversion. '2. One at the hecond coming of Christ of the righteous dead only. This is at the l)eginning of what they term the " rapture of the saints,' during whicli time, according to Rev. ,1. (Jail, " thev will be doing nothing hut float in the air among the clouds, seeing nothing but the feet of those above them, and th(^ heads of tho.se below them." .'{. One sometime after the millennium for the righteous who may die during that period. 4. One at the end of the world of tlie wicked dead only. Corresponding with these they have four judgments : 1. One (luring life, which is spiritual, and at the tribunal of conscience and the; law. 2. One at death, when the soul's destiny, at least during the intermediate state, is detei mined. .}. One at Christ's second advent, when the rigiiteous onlv will be iudyed and rewarded. 4. One at the end of the world, when tjje wicked only will I )e judged and doomed."* During this time, also, there will be the tribulation on earth when the Antichrist will be destroyed as he occupies the restored temple at Jerusalem of the restored Jew.s. The millennial kingdom will commence. Its posts of honour will be manned by the twelve apostles and the .Jews. The temple will be fully restored witi> ritualistic services, including the oflering of sacrifices, and the nations will go up to worship in it. This era will last for 1,000 years, or, as some suggest, .'!()r),000 years. It will be a period of perfect peace and righteousne.ss on * •' When will Christ Come ? " Hy Rev. R. N. IJurns, IJ.A. J 02 CHRIST S CO.MINi; KL\(il)()M, m I'M.: I :J) If ' .1. I., n 1 Ji- the earth. Those Ijorii will Ix; couvortcd at once. There will l»e lU) sickness and death. (Sonu; say men will die, lull will live longer like th(! antediluvians.) Tlu? earth will he transfoi'ined and glorified. Tliere will he, however, in tlie midst of all this goodness a lurking spirit of re])ellion, which, at the elo.se, will hreak out uiuhrr the leadership of the unloosed Satan, In looking over this programme of events, I am reminded of the old lady, who e.xclaimed, the first time she saw the ocean : '' Well ! 1 am lilad to see sonietiiinj' there is plenty of." Surely our friends liave plenty of these events, and all hased, principally, on th(^ supposed meaning of one passage of Sci'ipture, Kev. x.\. 1-G, which is unparalleled in its symbolism, as we will see when we come to consider it. (Seep. -J 11.) While I am positive ahout what Mr. X'arley stated about the woik that would be done if Christ sliould come, and also about the authenticity of the (juotations 1 have made, I hope that all of the Adventists are not of that type. \ have lieard of the " orthodox " * ones— I hardly know how they apply it ; but still T can get along with a man if lie will not reject the vicarious sutl'erings of Christ, nor lay stress on the converting grace of the Second Advent. I believe in charity, but deliver me from that charity which * These belong to the Historical or I'reterite .Section, of which Dr. Honar is repri'scntative. Still he is unsettled, as the following will show : " I feel very strongly the ditliculties connected with a fulHlled Apocalypse. I am by no means satiaHed with any of those schemes that have been of late propounded. Nay, some of the most recent and most applauded will, 1 am persuaded, be found wanting. I .stand still in douht waiting earnestly for further light. The scheme of an unfulfilled Apocalypse has many plausibilities but many ditliculties." '" Mnnar's Prophetical Landmarks," p. 192.) Here is an instance, a.s we will see after awhile, of the evils of literalism. on SECOND ADVENTISM. 193 ,.. Thoie will die, .'artli will •goodness vill break remincled ; saw the there is s, and all le passage ed in its )nsider it. ited about come, and ave made, type. I now how lan if he , nor lay dveut. I ity which , of which e following ted with a uy of those )me of the he found rther light. V)ilitie8 but p. 19'2.) he evils of fails to make distinctions between Bible truth and nonsense. Mr. Varley said : " If the C^ueen should die, the Prince of Wales would l>e placed on the throne, fultilling pro- phecy." lie seemed to lay considerable stress on that fact. Well ! 1 infer if we could get rid of the ''curse" it would be a good thing ; but we will go on singing the " National Anthem," wliich finds a l)lessed vibration in millions of hearts, and from none more heartily than in this " Canada of Ours " : " How many living memorieB throng Round Britain's stonny coast I Renowned in story and in song, Her glory is our boast. " With loyal hearts wo still abide Beneath her sheltering wing, While with true patriot love and pride To Canada we cling. " We wear no haughty tyrant's chain, We bond no servile knee, When to the mistress of the main We pledge our fealty. " She binds us with the cord.s of love, All others we disdain, The rights wo owe to God above We yiehl to Him alone. "May He our future course direct By His unerring hand. Our laws and liberties protect, And bless our native land." — Helen M. Johnson. We settle down now to consider these " resurrections " and "advents." 13 194 CHRIST S C()MIN(; KlN(il)(JM, M n M ■5 ,;^'t. Tlic (loctrino of a resurrection from the dejul is oiio of pure rcvr/ation . it never could Iiave l)een ascertained l»y any other means ; ahhou;,di now that it is revealed, it may l)e illustrated i)y sonn; of (iod's works, such as the sowing; of ^'rain and the future reaj>in,i,' of the crop - a liiiur(! which St. Paul has used so forcil)ly. 'I'his doctrine of tin; resurrection was known lon<; Ix'fore our Messed liOrd <,'av(! it such promin<'nce in His teachin<^ ; it is very expressly taught in the < )ld Testament. In the hook of Jol» (xix. l'oL'7,) we read : " l'\)r \ know that my ]{edeem(U' liv«;th, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth : And thou^d^ after my skin worms destroy this Itody, yet in my Mesh shall I see (Jod. Wiiom I shall see for myself, and niine eyes shall hehold, and not another ; though my reins be consumed within me." It was scarcely possible for Job to express his lioi)e in the resurrection of his body in more ajtpropriate or forcible language. In Psalm xvi. 10, wc n'ad, from the j)en of David : " For thou will not leave my soul in hell ; neither wilt thou suli'er Thine holy one to see corruption." In Isaiah xxvi. 1!), we lead: " Tliy dead men sliall live, together with my dead l)ody shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust : for thy dew is as the dew of heibs, and tlie earth shall cast out the dead." Also, in E/ekiel xxxvii. 1-14, we have the vision of the dry l>ones, wherein tiieir resurrection to life represented the resurrec- tion from the dead, and to the believer resurrection from the death of sin to the life of righteousness. " And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to (everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt," (Dan. xii. 2.) In the New Testament we find it particularly dwelt ■'A is OIK* of uined l»y (1, it may le sowinjj ire which ii<^ before to'ichiiig ; . hi tho ^ that my latter day IS destroy )in [ shall ; anotlier ; s hope in )r forcible id : " For wilt thou ncn shall Awake s th(! dew Also, in ry hones, resurrec- ion from nd many .1 awake, erlasting •ly dwelt OK SECOND ADVKNTISM. 105 upon: Luke XX. "J."); John v. :,".>; I Cor. w. Il'-Il*. Thus we are agreed as to the fad of a resurrection. W'e are also agreed as to the ftict of Christ's advent : Acts i. 1 1 ; Acts xvii. ."U ; I 'rh«;ss. i\-. K't. 17. We ditlt.-r as to the number and relative attitude of the two. We have referred to the j^loomy picture Mr. N'arley drew of the sad state of things on the «'ai"th, and as far as I can learn that is their hobby. Perhaps I ought, for the benefit of the unskilled reader, to explain what is iiu'ant by the ''millennium": The mime " millennium " is derived froiu the woids " inilli','^ a thousand, and " atDiUfi,'^ a year, and signifies the space of a thousand years ; it is app'ied to a future paradisaical state of the Ciiurch upon eaith. The points of dispute are : 1. Will this blesseil state be brought about by th(* preaciiing of the Cospel, etc., as the Church is now organized, or will things grow worst; till Christ comes to make them right f '2. Will there l)e but one resurrection of the just and unjust, (jr will it be in sections .^ The ''London lOncyclopM'dia " supplies us with a clear view of the millennium as it was advocated in the fourth century:^ "About the middle of that century, the Mil- lennarians held the following tenets : 1. That the city of Jerusalem shall be re-built, ami that the land of J udea shall be the liabitation of those who are to icign on earth a thousand years. 2. That the first resurrection is not to be confined to the martyrs ; but that after the fall of Anti- christ all the just are to rise, and all that are then on the earth are to continue foi- that space of time. .'5. That Christ shall then come down from heaven, and l»e seen on earth, and reign there with His servants. 1. Tliat the * Vol. .\n'., p. U'20. 190 CHRIST S COMING KIN(iD()M, I: - r ■ i )ii : )■■: : ■M (Ji ( .MS'.' .-,-.?l » ^ saints, «luri!i<^ this period, shall enjoy all the delights of a terrestiial ])aradise." As to separate literal resurrections, I)r. Cuniniings, a pre niillennialist, says as follows : " The moment that the cloud wafts Christ on its wind's from the throne on wliich He now sits, and brings Ilim within the range and the attraction of the orl> on wiiich we now stand -that instant every grave that has a saint Ueneath it, though the ocean's pressure or the Alpine hills and avalanches he upon it, shall sj)lit asunder, and its awakened dead shall come forth ; and every grave that contains tlie dust of an unrenewc^d and unconverted man — let it he covered witli a beautiful tablet, or inscribed with holy epitaph — let it be a cathedral vault, or marble mauso- leum — be it what it may, the summons will be unhc'-d, and the dead dust that is there will lit; as still and as (juiet as the dead in the churchyard, were you or T to say to them, 'come forth.' You will see emerge from one grave a cloud of saints that have heard the sound of tlie Saviour's voice in its inmost caverns, and rise to reign with Christ a thousand years ; and you will see the graves of the dead, who are not in Christ, remain still and motionless, as if the wind only swept over tliem. Hut the living, what is to be their case ^ ' The dead in Christ shall rise first,' says the apostle; 'and we, which are alive and remain, shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.' What a sublime spectacle will that be ! What awful and startling sever- ances ! I look into that home : one rises as he hears a mysterious bidding, and ascends under a mysterious attrac- tion, and meets the Lord in the air— the mother is taken, the daughter is left ; or two rise, and the rest remain." As far as the living are concerned, it is supposed they will be awed into submissiveness. Mr. Haslem says : hts of a iiings, a on its 1 brings ! orb on lat has a e Alpine ', and its ave that d man — bed with le niauso- unh('"'d, 1 as (juiet f,o sav to ne grave Saviour's Christ a the dead, as if the t is to be says the shall be sublime nil sever- hears a js attrac- ts taken, ain." sed they m says : on SKCOND ADVENTISM. 107 "Christ besought men to accept His grace, and it was a failure. When lie comes He will refjuire and command tluMn, and tliat will succeed." Th(;re is no Script.irc for that view. Oppos«'d to this view we present the one held by I'oHt .Millennarianists which is in harmony with the position taken early in this discussion, viz.: Christ is now e.xalted on the throne of mediatorial power, and will reign tiius till the world will potentiiUy be subdued. The world will grt)w, nay, is ijroiriny better an • hitler as the mighty leavening power of the (Jospel spr«^acls through the preached Word. Both Jews and (lent'; 's will be or \ verted, but in Christ's spiritual kingdom there will be no temporal «'.\altation and preference of persons oi- ciisses. "The mountain of the Lord's house will be established in the top of the moun- tain," and there is the end of our disputes, (juarrels. pride, sectarianism, selfishness, vain glory ; the end of despotism on the part of the rulers, and of insubordination in the subjects ; the end of the toils of slavery, and the suilerings of martyrdom ; the end of Popery, Puseyisiu, Paganism, and Mohammedanism, the Missal, the Breviary, the Shaster, and the Koran. This spiritual blessedness will pervade the earth. The converted Jew, who my opponent said would not receive the Gospel, will, of course, do his part in the great work, "That great rainbow of the covenant, that starts f^-om the cross, vaults into the sky, and sweeps over the throne, shall complete its orbit, and rest again upon the ground, and Christ and Christianity shall be all and in all. Then shall the desert rejoice and blossom as the rose. Then the tree of life .-iiall be where the cypress is. Then shall nations sing God's ])raise, and Zion recount God's marvels. Then shall history retrace, with new joy, God's footprints. 198 CHRIST S COMlNf; KIXCDOM, ,'l 1 I Then shall tho gloiy of Je^sus sparklo in t'ne dowdrop, and ill the boundless sea : in tlie minutest atom, Jind in the greatest star ; and this earth, re strung, re-tuned, shall be one grand yKolian liarp, swept l)y the breath of the Ifoly Spirit, pouring forth those melodies which began on Cal- vary, and shall sound through all generations. "The purest and most powerful form of (vhristianity the world has ever seen will spread over tin.' earth ; the great mass of nmnkind will s spring u|» together ; I the Lord have created it." "The wilderness and the solitary place shall l)e glad for them ; and the desert shall rejoice?, and blos.som as the rose." (Isaiah.) What is this man of sin ? The usurpation of autliority against (Jod. " For the mystery of inicpiity doth uli-eady work : oidy he whd now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way," (Ver. 7.) How shall all this mystery of inicjuity b<' taken out of the way l Mr. Varley says, " liy tin? personal coming of Christ." Nay I But rather, "And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom tlie Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." (Ver. S.) What is the "spirit of Ilis mouth " l)ut the "word of His mouth ? " " So shall n)y word be that goeth forth out of my ■M m OR SECOND ADVENTISM. 20f? sss (loos d intro- liich we \n \ iow ttontion tlio n<>xt his word ians are already lilleuiiial I shall l)e -he Ijord Tsa. xi. >'' Tlie ur down u(f foith r ; 1 the > solitary 1 rejoice, autliority alieady ,il he be all thi« r. Varley IV : But hom the and shall dof His out of my w )V mouth : it shall not return unto me void, hut it sh.ill accom- plish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thint,' whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and he led forth with peace : the mountains and the hills shall break fo th before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instea 1 of the thorn shall come up the tir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree : and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." " Destroy with the brightness of his coming," may be understood of the fulfilment of such proplu-cies which speak of the great spiritual influences, under the figure of light, which are to be brought to bear upon the world, through the Church, at the beginning of the millennium; and thus tl-.e " man of sill," as a system, be destroyed by the brightness of Christ coming in His Cospel. Now, the way is clear for the Church to work along ( lospel lines, as she is now doing, till the structures of Antichrist on every shore, shall be levelled to the dust ; * that the delusions of Mohammedanism shall be scattered to the winds of heaven ; that paganism, which for ages reigned and triumphed over the min:ls and consciences of men, shall 1)6 extirpated from the face of the earth, an! that whatever stands opposed to the mediatorial authority of the liedeemer shall, according to the expression of the prophet Daniel, l)e given to the devouring flames. * As to the oveithrow of I'opery, Dr. Clarke says : "I, however, am not so much concerned as to ich''ii I'opeiy .shall end, as 1 am in the certainty of its overthrow. I'upedoin still exists, and it cannot he • lenied that this apostasy is making the most stiemious efforts to regain its former power ; hut in sy)ite of these spasmodic efforts for enUirgement, I'opery is in its 'dotage'; and all its struggles to regain its former power, shall prove only like the convulsive throes of a dying man, for sure as the unerring word of piopliecy. Anti- christ is destined to fall, and the signs of the times uidicate that the day cannot he veiy far distant wlieu the shout of joy and exul- tation shall be heard, 'Bauylon the Great is fallen ! is fallen !' " 204 CHRISTS COMING KINGDOM, I i m i f /In i.r; Jude says : "I will therefore put you in remembrance, though you once knew this, how that the Loid, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterwards destroyed them that believed not. And the angels which kept not their tirst estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." (Vers. 5, 0.) As this passage under review is the only one Mr. Varley and his party make any attempt to prove the falseness of our position by, that Antichrist and all of Christ's enemies will be made His footstool before He rises from the media- torial throne at the right hand of the Father, it behooves us to make haste slowly. The point they contend for is "destroy by the brightness of His coming." Hence they claim that it will take the awe-striking appearance of Christ to "destroy His enemies." We find, however, the Revised Version spoils their claim by rendering the pas- sage : " liring to nought by the manifestation of His com- ing." This makes a vast difference. Dr. Doddridge says "to bring to nought"' means " to divest a thing of some power which it formerly had, reducing it to an incapacity of exerting that energy any more." That is all we claim for the (rospel to do with its enemies, and that before Christ leaves His " mediatorial throne." " The Gospel is the power of Cod unto salvation, to every one that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." Awhile ago I presented the words of Dr. Cummings, as to the wicked remaining in the tombs while the righteous were being raised. We will now consider this deafness on the part of the wicked under those circumstances, and see how it holds out. " Marvel not at this : for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, OR SECOND ADVENTISM. 205 and shall come forth ; they that have clone good, unto the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrei:tion of damnation." (John v. 28, "JO.) " And inany of them tliat sleej) in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Dan. xii. L'.) It is quite plain that both of these passages speak of hut one resurrection. lioth classes are raised at once. I do not understand how language could b(? plainer. We considered the parabh; of the virgins awhile ago, and referred to that of the talents. We will now consider this latter more fully. " When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory : And before him shall be gathered all nations : and he shall sepaiate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats : And he shall set the sheep on iiis right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye l)lessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. . . . Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting tire, prepared for the devil and his angels. And these shall go away into eternal (R.V.) pun- ishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Matt. xxv. 31-34, 41, 40.) Look how these events are connected. Tiiere are no two separate resurrections taught here, Ne^ither are there two advents taught. The parable of the virgins taught about meeting the Lord ; but the idea of swinging up in the air for years is not thouglit of. The words of liev. J. (Jail lit in here : "The idea of going to meet a person on his way, and stopping at the place where they happened to meet, is 206 CHRIST S COMING KINCJDOM, If; • r Mi-!' I unpaialKflcd in Scripture, llie ten virgins went out to meet the Itridegi'ooni, but formed part of the escort that accompanied liim to the bridal feast." I certainly would conclude from this and kindred pas- sages that Christ will just have left the mediatorial throne and come down to earth " with a shout, with th(i voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God."* "All that are in the graves." good or bad, ''shall hear His voice to come to Judgment." The millennium will have preceded this advent of Christ. " iJefore liim shall be gathered all nations," good and l)ad, "and lie shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd divideth his sheep from tlie goats." f " iJut after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and reve- lation of the righteous judgment of God ; Who will render to every man according to his deeds : To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immort.'ility, eternal life : But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unright- eousness, indignation and wrath." 1 As we read on, we find that the judgment of both classes will beat the same time. ''The Lord Jesus Christ, who shall .judge the (juick and the dead at his ap{)earing and his kingdom." (2 Tim. iv. 1.) See also Acts x. 42. Appkal to Daniel. Of course, Mr. Varley could not get through without referring to Daniel. All right, I follow on ! We have ah-eady seen by a quotation that Daniel is no * 1 Thess. iv. IG. t Matt. XXV. :i2. X lioin. ii. u-8. OK SECOND ADVENTISM. 207 t out to ort tliat red pas- vl throno voice of All that voice to precetled i^ood and or, as the treasurest and reve- ill render 1 \vlio by id honour that are unright- th classes irist, who iir and his without niel is no help to him. Let us not forget that we are now in one of the most symbolic books of the ( )ld Testament. I need not go into the chronology of this subject, for it does not concern us in this discussion with Mi*. N'arley so jnuch to know when Christ will come, as what lit; will do when lie comes. Indeed, m regard to this sul)ject, I feel to agree witli Ilev. II. I.anton, when he says : " Where historians and learned men ilifler so much, as to the ('une when the little horn arose, and the kingdoms represented by the three horns, it would be presumptuous for us to decide, and it might lead us into an error similar to that into which others have fallen, when they have fixed par- ticular dates to the events predicted by Daniel, and from thence made their calculations as to when Christ is to come." ■**■ I have space for only a few passages claimed to be mo.st favourable to our opponents : " I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and tlu.'v brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, tWc.j 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." (Dan. vii. \:\ 14.) I will use this passage as a centre, and all I have to say on Daniel will cluster around it. Here we go as far apai't as the poles. Of course, they lay hands on this passage as a strong support of their Adventism. Anything and everything that has the appearance of a man in a cloud must be thrust into this advent cra/e. Here we have the error of too literal an intei'pretation. Tiiey are not so * " Second Advent Lectures," p. 100. 208 CHRIST S COMiN(; KINGDOM, Hi' .'I 'i IW I keen for the " literal ' when wo meet with similar languaf,'e in llev. vi. L* : " And I saw, and behold a white horse : and he that sat on him had a how ; and a crown was driven h dh fortli 'O' * e went The whole of the Old Testament may be looked upon as a portraiture of the coming Messiah, and such was the case here in Daniel. Notice tlw difTerence l)etween the symbolic language of the thirteenth verse as compared with the plain language of the fourteenth verse. lioth Daubu/, and Dishop Xewton remark, " that it is tlie custom of the prophets, first to describe an event in the hmguage of symbols and afterwards to represent it in plain ordinary words." Thus, in the passage Just cited, the first verse is clothed in tlie emblematic language of the East ; but the second is expressed literally and is explana- toi-y of the meaning of the former. In regard to this symbolic language of " riding upon the clouds," Dr. Moore ob.serves, in his proplujtic alphabet tliat "it signifies success against our enemies, and enlargement of power." In confirmation of this I give the words of Achmet as quoted by Dr. Lancaster : This ancient writer says, that "according to the usage of the Persians and Egyptians, 'a king's riding upon the clouds,' is interpreted of foreign nations serving him, of his ruling over them and of his being exceedingly prosperous and successful." f In confir- mation of these we have the following : " The burden of * This prophecy, says 1)au1)uz, denotes tlie rapid progress of the Gospel. Anciently a horse was not nsed for the convenience of riding, nor siil)jected to the drudgeries of agriculture. He was employed in war alone. Hence he became a symbol of conquest. To evince this, Dr. Lancaster refers to the proj)hecie8 of Scripture and the oneirocritics of the East. White, he observes, is the symbol of prosperity. t " Achmetis Oueirocritica," p. 1G4. anguage 'se : and as given nquer.'* upon as the case iguage of language tlmt it is event in ?sent it in cited, the Lce of the s explana- d to this Dr. Moore signities power. chniet as says, that jtiaus, 'a f foreign nd of his In confir- burden of gress of the venience of He was >f coiKjuest. of Scripture rves, is the OK SECOND ADVENTISM. 209 Egypt. Behold, the Lord ridcth' upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Kgypt : and tlie idols of Egypt shall he moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt .shall melt in the mid.st of it." (Tsa. xix. 1.) We learn from the passage from Daniel under review that the religion of Jesus Christ will ol)tain a signal triumph over all His enemies. We have this presented in the following : " Then was the iron, the clay, the hrass, the silver, and tlie gold, broken to pieces together, and be- came like the chart' of the summer tlireshingtloors ; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them : and the stone that smote the image became a great moun- tain, and filled the whole earth." (Dan. ii. .).").) To show that F am not misjudging these men whom I oppose, I give a quotation from Dr. J'riestly, an advocate of these views Mr. Varley is contending for. After mentioning that the feet and the toes of this great image unquestional)ly represented the present kingdoms of Europe, the Doctor goes onto sfiy : " From Daniel's inter- pretation of this vision it may be clearly inferred that the forms of government, ecclesiastical and civil, which now sulisist in ?]urope, must be dissolved ; but that something very dirterent from them and greatly superior to them, more favourable to the virtue and happiness of mankind, will take place in their stead. That this is the meaning of the j)rophecy can hardly l)e doubted l)y any person who shall give the least attention to it."* This gloomy state of afftiirs finds a parallel in the words of Mr. Varley. He referred to the same subject, and told us that the present governments will be dissolved. " I'here will be no Czar of Russia," nor " Emperor of Germany.' " There will be no Queen Victoria/' nor " King of Prussia." * " Justitutis," Vol. II., p. 420. U 210 CUHlhTS COMIN I it " h ■■,»,; Christ will sit on His tliroiic in JerusiiU-in .iiid rul(! tlit- wliole earth. Th(; rcfider will soe how deteniiiiied y\r. V'arh'y is that .Jesus Christ sliall have; the distiii<;iiish«'d honour (?) of sittin<^ona few rocks at Jerusalem and reign- in^e repi-esented the four <;reat nutnanhics, vi/,., the iJabylonisli, Medc Persian, .Macedonian and the Konmn, and tiiat the Kingdom of Christ will destroy the others, and ultimately triumph over the earth, aj?rees with other parts of the Word, e.f/., v. 44. (Psa. xxii. *J7 ; Ixxii. S, 11, 17; Isa. ii. 2-4.) TlIK (JiBRALTAR OF AdVENTISM NkXT TO HR CONSI DKRFD. " And I saw an an'^el come down from heaven, havin«; th(; key of the bottondess pit, and a '^vcat >hain in his liand. And lie laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, wliich is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deeciive the nations no more, till the thousand years should befuUilled : and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them : and I saw the .souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neith(!r his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands ; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part iii the first resurrection : on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years," (Rev. xx. 1-6.) T have been considering the most ditiicult passages in the Old Testament, from our standpoint. I now riisume those of the Xew. When we went to Daniel, we ob.served that 212 CHRIST S COMING KINGDOM, " it is one of tlie most symbolic books of the Old." I hero come to th.'it of the New, The results of our investijifations in Daniel ou^ht, at least, to remind us of the consideration necessary in the investigation of highly figurative language. This passage before us may l)e considered the Alpha and Omega of Adventism, and it is such only because of its e.vtreme symbolism, which always neeJs much caution and comparison with plain passages of Scripture. Tt may put us on our guard, at the start, to notice that our Lord's second coming is not mentioned once in the the whole passage, neither is the^re a passage in the whole Bible which connects his coming with the thousand years' reign of the saints. Hence we deny the personal reign of Christ on earth as a theocratic king. It is certain, as we have proven, that two resurrections, one at the commencement of the millennium and another after its close, are not suppoited by plain and unsymbolic parts of the P>ible. The words of Mr. Bi'own will be read with profit : '' It is very strange that the resurrection of the righteous a thousand years before the wicked, if it be a revealed truth, should be announced in ott.c passage only, when the subject of a resurrection is so often mentioned. The resurrection is a tiieme upon which the apostles de- lighted to expatiate, yet, while they point out tiie nature, grounds and connection of the resurrection with the second coming of Christ, the doctrine of a Jlrst resurrection has not dropped from their pens."* "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God ; and the books were opened : and another hook was opened, which is the book of life : and the dead were judged out of tliose things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead *"The End," p. 249. OR SECOND ADVEXTISM. 213 " I here stif^ations iideration language. ^Ipha and Aise of its lution and otice that ice in the the whole and years' al reign of iurrections, nd another unsynibolic ■ill be read rroction of :ed, if it he ssage only, mentioned. posth'S de- he nature, the second ection has land before ir hook was dead were the books, IV the dead wliich were in it ; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them : and tliey wore judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second deatli. And who- soever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of tire/' ( Kev. x.\^ iL'. 1").) The objection may 1)(; raised that this last (luotiition is from the same symbolic book that was guarded against aV)ove. True, but it has not the same .symi)olic air to it. As this tiuotation is immediately preceded by the one under consideration, and as this is a prophetic book, I think it stands us in hand to consider what both Daubuz and Bishop Newton agree on, as stated before, vi/.., that " it is customary with the prophets iirst to describe an event in the language of symbols, and afterward to repre- sent it in plain ordinary words." Here we have the whole thing in a " nutshell." No one will contend that the "great chain in the angel's hand " is a literal chain. .lust as Daniel described tilings to transpire between his day and the close of the Jewish dispensation at the destruction of Jerusalem, so does John the Kevelator in regard to the Christian dispensation. Application. 1. Who or what is represented by the "angel" who came down frojn heaven, in tirst verse? In " Illustrations of Pro{)hecy," we read : " An angel in the prophetic style expresses everything which brings a messaye from God." A tnore extended view of this sul)- ject consists in the authority from Heaven to the ministers of the Gospel — angels of the churches* — to preach the Gospel. It may single out more particularly one or all of the reformers of the 16th century. Others go back as far * Rev. i. '20 ; also Dan. xii. 3. 214 CHRISTS COMINfJ KINGDOM, i ' vn as Charlemagne. T think rather the former. The latter was not spiritual enough. Probably all combined. 2. By the " key " of the bottomless pit is determined by what is meant by the latter. We find the words "bottom- less pit " occurring in four chapters of lievelation — the ninth, eleventh, seventeenth, and twentieth — and means the abyss (see R.V.) of paganism. It does not mean the same as the "lake of fire" mentioned in the 10th verse. Confounding these two has made much trouble — the "key" to preach the Gospel to pagan nations, i.e., authority to do so. " For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish. To the one we are the savour of death unto death, and to the other tlie savour of life unto life. And who is sutlicient for these things?" (2 Cor. ii. 15, IG.) See also Rev. iii. 7. 3. By the chain is meant the power of the Gospel ; for what is liberty to the sinner is bondage to Satan. (Rev. xiv. G.) 4. By the dragon is meant all forms of opposition to Christianity, as paganism, etc., etc. This brings us back to the highly symbolic twelfth chapter of Revelation (which see), and brings us into a field of investigation too extensive to any more than scan over. By the woman in the first verse is evidently meant the (church of Jesus Christ. Dr. Clarke says, "most commentators are agreed in this." J^y the " moon under her feet," Bishop Newton understands the Jewish typical worship. Very good ! " Being clothed with the sun is a striking emblem of Jesus Christ, the Sun of righteousness, th«^ light and glory of the Church."* The point I wish to call your special attention to is in the third verse: "And there appeared another wonder in heaven ; and behold a * Rev. Dr. Clarke. I- rhe latter 1. •mined by "bottoni- tion — the id means mean the 3th verse. }\e "key" rity to do Christ, in o the one the other icient for V, iii. 7. >spp] ; for 1. (Rev. )sition to us back .evelation :'stigation le woman hurch of nentators er fret," worship. striking ness, th(^ sh to call i: "And beliold a HR SECON^D ADVENTISM. 21 great red dragon, having seven heads and ton horns, and seven crowns upon liis lieads." "The dragon here is a symbol of the heathen Roman Empire."-^ Thus our way is clear. The "dragon" is iu an unrestricted sense emble.natic of Satan, the common enemy of mankind entrenciied behind, and in. the various forms of ignorance, error and superstition the apostle speaks about as follows: "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be al>le to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against llesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Eph. vi. 11, 12.) Notice, it is the '< armour of God," and on the whole of it and keep it bright by we are to put prayer, arise. "Soldiers of Christ, And put your armour on, Strong in tlio strength wliich (iod sunni Through llis eternul Son ; Strong in the Lord of ho.sts, And in His mighty power, pphes Who in the strength of .lesus trust.' Is more tlian con(|ueror Le iive no unguarded i)I;u:( No weakness of tlie soul Tak e ov ery virtue, every gruci", And fortify the wliole : Jndissoluhly joined, ''o battle all i)roceed ; arin yourselves with ail tl iUit That was in Christ, your Head. le mind Rev. Dr. Clark 21G, CHRIST S COMIN(i KINGDOM, Wh I : I' I It is because of this symbolism that the devil is spoken of as the Sf rpent that tempted Eve. 5. The angel laying hold of the dragon teaches us the aggressive duty of the Church, " (Jo ye into all the world," etc. Here are tht; marching ord(H-s for the army of God : Attack the enemy as intruders in this Gods world. " xVnd ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. And live of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight : and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword." That was the type, liere is the antitype : " For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, l)ut mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds : Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into cai)tivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." (). "' Bound him a thousand years." For an explanation of "binding and loosing," see Vice- gerency in Chapter TV. of "jVIoody v. Varley." Rev. Matthew Flenrico says : '' We have liere a pro- phecy of the InnduKj of Satan, for a certain term of time in which he should liave much less power, and the Church much more peace than bi^fore. The power of Satan was l)roken in par-t by the setting up of the Gospel kingdom in the world ; it was further reduced by the empire becoming Christian ; it was yet further broken by the downfall of the mystical Babylon ; but still this serpent had many heads, and when one is wounded, another has life remain- ing in it. Here we have a further limitation and diminu- tion of his power." It atlords me great pleasure to give the following view, for, although I have the courage of my convictions, I must is spoken les us the B world," of (}o(l : I. shall fall chase an )usan(l to I l>y the ' For the V through insc down eth itself captivity see Vice- •e a pro- of time e Church atan was igdoni in )ecoming twnfall of ad many e remain- diminu- ing view, IS, I must OK SKCONl) ADVKNTISM. •217 confon the matter in that light.* " On such the second death hath no i)Ower." I can have no sympathy with the idea that tlie mai'tyrs reign with Christ in any sense only the spiritual. The word resurrection, or similar words, is used in the Scripture as setting forth a spiritual change, e.t/., St. Paul speaks of the conversion of the Romans from Paganism to Christianity as a resurrection from the dead. He says : " Yield yourselves unto God, ns those tluit. arc (dive from (lie dead." (Roni. vi. 13.) Again, in liis Epistle to tiu^ Ephesians, he quotes the words : " Awake, thou that sleep- est, and arise from the d(^ad, and Christ shall give thee light." (Ver. II.) And did not our blessed Lord teach the same great truth, when He said to Martha, "T am the resurrection and the life ; he that beiieveth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, — and whosoever liveth and beiieveth in me shall never die." (.John xi. i?"), '_'<).) To be converted to God, tlirough faith in Christ, is to be raised from the dead, -and then it maybe said to a multitude, " and you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins ;" and that multitude may respond, "God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love whei-ewith he loved us, * The reailer will not mi.suntleistaiul me here ; for this does not toucli tlie main points of (lit]'ereni'e Ix'tween Mr. N'iirley iiiid myself. And, again, what he might pronounoe conversion, I might pronounce only a huge scare ; for no man will he converted after Christ leaves the mediatorial seat. Tims we may agree only in tlie form of expres- sion after all. 220 CHRIST'S COMINO KINGDOM, If' Even when wo wore dead in sins, hath (juickened us togt^ther with Clirist." (Kph. ii. 4, ;")) ; and also, "Verily, verily, T say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, wh<>n the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God : and they that hear shall live." (John v. '25.) Thus we have considered what has been termed the " (jrihraltar " of Adventism. There is one important lesson which presents itself to our minds in view of the applica- tion of symbolic language which has been so mischievous to the people : l]e careful about literalism. " He saw the souls of those who had Ijeen previously put to death for the cause of Christianity, according to the cruel edicts of pagan emperors. He then saw those who wor- shipped not the beast, and were suffering under papal per- secution, as confessors and martyrs in defence of the pure, unadulterated religion of Jesus : Waldenses and Albiijenses in France and Italy, Lollards and Wicklilfites in Germany and England, and Hussites in Bohemia. He next saw those who lived and reigned with Christ, the Reformers, Luther, Calvin, and Melancthon, with their holy and blessed phalanx of combatants against the forces of tlie man of sin, who enjoyed the presence and approl)ation of their Redeemer, who were patronized by Him, who were elevated to seats of authority, who were enabled successfully to en- counter their adversaries mustered in great numbers and bent on their destruction, and who ultimately triumphed over all the principalities and powers of Rome." * They were to be priests of God —Christians having en- joyed the first resurrection of regenerating grace. I do not believe there shall he a literal resuri-ection of bodies from the dead of persons who had suffered martyrdom, or any others before the general resurrection. The Church will * " Illustrations of Prophecy." OR SECOND APVENTISM. 221 OiTftlier rerily, I hen tlie ley thai lied the it lesson iipj)lica- jliievous usly put ; to the v'ho wof- ipal per- il e pure, bisienses jlerniany ext saw formers, I blessed man of of their elevated ly to en- bers and iumphed v'ing en- [ do not ies fi'om , or any rch will go on with her work possessing the martyr spirit, and may be known as such, just as John the Baptist was of the spirit of Elijah and was called by that name. (Mai. iv. ">.) See also Matt. xi. 14. Since we have symbolic language to deal with we might as well use it, especially when we har- monize Scripture thereby. " What is the consequence of making it a rule to inter- pret prophecy lit(!rally? So completely does this nuithod of explication, when applied to many of the predictions of Scripture, alter their genuine import, and such an aii- of wildness and improbability does it impart to them, tliat it is likely to materially promote the cause of intidelity. Instances of this it would be easy to accumulate. Were there not access to another mode of interpretation, the figurative and symbolic, the steadiest and most confirmed faith would be startled and stand in suspense."* We mentioned one instance awhile ago in which our opponents flinched from the literal application. We give another : " And T looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle." (Rev. xiv. 14.) And still another: "And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the hor.se- bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred fur- longs." (Rev. xiv. 19, 20.) The blood of all the peoph; in the world would not fui-- nish a hundredth part of that CHRIST S COMING KINCDOM, ism aiul liititlclity Ucforo the con(|ueriiii,' pow(,'r of the (jiospel of Love. Of course they say that must l)e figurative. Wl»y uot allow that the "angel's coming down with a chain in his hand " is the same I 'I'hc moral laws Deity has estaljlislunl atlbrd continued evidence against Mr. Varley's contention for literal in- terpretation.. Here I present the view of Archdeacon Paley : "Were the proof of revelation ii-i'esistihle, it would restrain the voluntary powers too much ; would not answer the purpose of trial and probation ; would call for no exer- cise of candour, s(;riou^3ness, humility, iiKjuiry ; no submis- sion of passions, interests, and prejudices to mor-al evidence and to probable truth ; no habits of reflection ; none of that previous desire to learn and to obey the will of God, which forms perhaps the test and the merit of the virtuous j)iinciple. Irresistible evidence would confound all char- actei's and all dispositions, would subvert, rather than promote, the true purpose of the Divine councils, which is not to produce obedience by a force little short of mechani- cal constraint (which obedienc*^ would be regularity, not virtue, and would hardly perhaps difler from that which inanimate bodies pay to the laws impressed upon their nature), but to treat moral agents agreeably to what they are ; which is done, when light and motives are of such kinds, and are imparted in such measures, that the influ- ence of them depends upon the recipients themselves."^ As we saw in the other discussion, "Salvation by mere manifestation! is not God's plan of saving sinners,'" so we say in this, Christ put His disapproval on it by asserting: * " Kvidenoes of Christianity,"' \'ol. II., p. .%8. t See Manifestation theory, Chap. 111. of "Moody r. Varley.'' I of the niy not I in his ntiiiued eral in- t would b answer no ('xor- I sul)niis- evidenco none of of God, virtuous all char- ier than which is lucchani- rity, not it which on their hat they of such :he inllu- es."^ by mere s,'" so we iserting : 'arley." OR SPX'ONI) ADVENTISM. 223 " Neillier would they be persuaded thout;h one rose from the dead." All of (Jod's threateniii<,'s ar(^ merciful revela- tions of the penalty man has exposed himself to by trans- j,'ression, that he may be induced to be reconciled to (!od, but those manifestations in revelation are not salvation. (For a further consideration of this, sec our (.'onclusiou.) Other reasons we give that tlu; ^Vdvcnt is post-n)illen- nittl are found from the tenth verse to the end of the chapter. 1, The devil was sent to his own place. "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of tire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and evei-." What is the use of him staying around when "they who are iioly shall be holy still, and they who are filthy shall be tiltliy still"? '2. The judgment seat was erected, and the genei-a! resurrection took place. "And I saw a great white thione, and him that sat on it, and from whose face the earth and the heaven Hed away ; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand l)efore God, and the books were opened (books of dispensa- tions and I'ecords) and another book, which is the book of life," etc. (Rev. xiv. 11, 12.) .'3. The tinal separation will take place. " Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of tire" — the place jireparcd for the devil and his angels, with which powers man has become allied by sin. " Woo to the men on earth wlio dwell, Nor dread the Almighty's frown ; Wjien (iod doth all His wrath reveal, And shower His judgments down I r 224 Christ's coming kin(;iu)M, " SiniitTs, rxj)ect tlmse hfjiviest slutwers : To nieut your (iixl prcpari! ! For, lo I the sevuntli aunel pours His vial in the air. " Lo I from their seats the mountains leap, The mountains are not fountl, Transported far into the deep, And in the ocean drowned. 4^ " Who then shall live, and face the throne, And face the Jud^je severe :* When heaven and earth are Hed and gone, Oh I where shall I appear ? " "Then conietli the end when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall liave ])ut down all rule and all authority and power. Tlie last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. And when all things shall he suhdued unto him, then shall tlie Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that (iod may be all in all." (1 Cor. XV. 24, 28.) What about thos^; written in the " Lamb's Book of Life " ? "Firm in the all-destroying shock. May view the final scene ; For, lo I the everlasting Rock Ls cleft to take us in." 4. The lit at reason I give is the view given in the eighth and ninih verses of the following chapter. I call your attention to the latter: "(,'ome hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife." We get a glimpse of the same blood-washed throng, only in diminutive number, before the final scene, viz., in llev. vii. 13, 14: "And one of the OH SECOXD ADVENTISM. 22:. elders answered, suyin.. unto me, Wluit are these which are arrayed in whit.- lohes ,' and whence came they '. And 1 said unto him, Sir. thou knowest. And he said t<» n.e, . These are they which came out of ,-reat tribuhition, and have washed their robes, and made them wliite in tlie blood of the Lamb."' "Out of i^rcat distress tlicy came, U ashed tlioir rol)cs by fjiith beluvv." For these reasons, as well as for many I have not space to give, I believe the Advent will be post-millennial. vered up hall liave im, then that put (1 Cor. Book of he eighth call your v^ thee the the same er, before me of the CIIAITEJt \l. What have the followinnr to say about the views ad- vanced by Mr. V^arley ? Rev. J. L. Towers : The literal construction of texts is, I apprehend, the -rand source of error on this subject. Strange is the length to which this mode of explanation has been carried by very sensible writers, who, upon this topic, appear to have altogether forgottim that the pro- phetic Scriptures are conspicuously characterized by highly figurative language. The same men, who unifon.dy acknowledge all the forn.er part of the Apocalypse to be written in a symbolic style, when they come to the last three chapters, appear all at once to change their method of explication, and in a great degree interpret it according to the letter. .Many of the ancient fathers, from carry^in- this to its full extent, brought discredit, not only on them"- selves, but on the book of Revelation itself. Rev. J. S. Douglas, A.M., M.D. : Would it not be 15 22G CHRIST S COMING KINGDOM, k' i! M utterly dcroi^atory to Christ's glorious niaj(»sty to come and reign in /ion ! His glory, as seen in heaven, could never be borne on earth by men in their mortal bodies ! Dr. .lortin : The too literal expounding of a passage has " produced strange and precarious notiotis amongst ancient and modei'n Christians concerning the millennium : thus it has been suf)posetl that Christ shall come and reign person- ally on earth a thousand years, that the old Christian martyrs shall rise again to reign with Him, that the Jews shall have a temple rebuilt, and a temple-service reiuiwed.'"* Jlev. Mr. Stephens : As a proof that rational ideas pre- vailed over one hundred and forty yeai'S ago, T present the following extract from Mr. Ste})hens : " For the nature of this kingdom, we desire that we may not be mistaken. We do not plead for a personal reign, nor a literal resurrection of the njartyrs, nor a conlluence of all sensual delights, as numy have done. That which we principally stand for is the universal subjection of the nations to the laws of the (iospel, and the rest of tiie Church from such persecutions as have been in all anti-ehristian times."! Rev. Thomas Jeflttry : " As the Gospel was plainly fitted for the use of all mankind, so nothing can seem more reasonable and Ht, than that, some time or other, it should be known to all."]: Jlev. Mr. Grav: However, the doctrine of the millennium may be understood, " it is clear that the prophetic declara- tiom; promise the universal estaljlishment of Christianity, in purity and truth, to l)e preceded by the fall of that anti- christian power, of which the character is described as so repugnant and hostile to the spirit of the 01mrch."'v$ * " Rem. on Kce-l. Hist.,^" Vol. II., p. 424. t " A t'alculation of the Number," etc., p. 91. !;. '•flaistianity the Perfect, of all Rel.," p. !>8. § " (iray's Discourses," I7i>.'>, p. JilO. OK SE('(1XD ADVENTISM. •227 ;oine and lid never ssatjce has it ancient : thus it 11 person- Christian tlie Jews newed."* ideas [)re- esent tlie nature of :en. We iurrection ^lii,dits, as ind for is A's of the secutions llev. Mr. Pyh', on this Itev., p. >7, says: " Christ shall reign in tlie hearts and holy lives and examples of His followers.'" This is along the Gosp"' line we are contending for. Dr. Pope : Speaking ol the niilienniuin, h<' says : "Tlie main foundation of the .system is the Apocalyptic passage, which is thought to predict th<; l)inding of Satan a tliousatid years, the tirst resurrection of martyrs, and other elect saints who reign with Christ upon the earth, the sul»se- (pient loosing of Satan for a season, a final apostasy, and the coming of the Redeemer to vindicate himself and Flis Church. Now, we have seen that oui' Lord expressly speaks in one and the sanu; discourse ot a tirst resurrection (under- stood spiritually), and of a second resurrection (understood physically). Tf we apply ^he same princij)le here, this much- contested symbolical prophecy is made perfectly harmonious with the rest of Scri|)ture, and the most substantial ground of the pre-millennial advent is taken away."* ly fitted em more it sliould COXCLUSIOX. ill(Miniuni declara- istianity, hat anti- Dcd as so T part of harvesters, bi.o forms no part of i'(;aping the crop. 1. We liave pointed out that l)ecause of the natu>'.j of the millennium glory, and the work to be done during its progress requiring the mediations of Christ, it must of neces- sity precede the Advent, and conse(p.umtly that the latter is post-millennial. •'). We have concluded that, because of the (juick succes- sion of the advent, rcisurrection and judgment, as taught us in the l>ibl(>, there will be luit one advent and general resur- rection, antl that they will be for general judgment to close e work Liestion ', as he vithout I ? We iatorial The in- iplislu'd finisliod >ject of rnation, conieth lount of incl the toad of part of ill her ;s oulv ers, oi.o itu'-.- of ring its if neccs- latter sueces- ught us [ resur- to close OR SFX'OND ADVRNTISM. 229 up the atlHii's of earth, and declare to the universe that the " Judge of all the earth docth right." G. Whih;, as intimated before, it was not my intention to treat the subject, in my limited space, in an exhaustive manner, yet [ think 1 have picked out the most dillicult passages of Scri|)tur(! from our stnndpoint, being most favoural)le to my opponent. I have done l)ut very little in seeking out their weaknesses ot fortification only as they presented themselves by the way. There is one, howevci', I think I will brush up a little at this late hour, vi/., " If there is to be a milh-nnium of a thousand years with Christ and [lis own people in the midst of the earth, how is it that when Satan shall be loosed tiiat there shall be found a peo{)le in the four corners of the earth called (Jog and Magog, who shall be gathered together in battle, and wai- against the saints of (Jod in the resurrection body, and that people are as the sand of the sea in number?" T have an idea that my friend will lind the need of the symbolic, instead of the literal, interpretation before h<> gets throu'di with it. I think (Io we might have a strong consolation," etc. Here is tile pledge of Cod : " Ask of me and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritanc(; and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." (Psa. ii. S.) The jtreaching of tiie Gospel is in every respect a Divine agency. " Knowing this lirst, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any ])rivate interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by tlic^ will of man : but holy men of (xod spake as they were moved by tlie Holy (J host." (2 Peter i. 20, -n.) " But I certify you, brethren, tliat the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. . . . For thougii 1 preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of : for necessity is laid upon me ; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel I " Here we tiiid the (Jospel provided, and provision for ex- tending it. Thus the Gospel being dlod's remedy for sin, He is pledged to its perpetuity. " The Jjord said unto my Lord, Sit tliou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." y., *' For iL' could (, surely multiply DhtaituKJ :er : ;iud 1 strif*^" jraliam," made to "That sible for Here ive thee parts of reaehini; cripture 3y caine I of (xod (2 Peter lich was received velation 3 gospel, )oii me ; I for ex- for sin, ly right OH .SECOND ADVKXTISM. 231 " Tliou canst not toil in vain ; Cold, heat, and moist, and dry, Shall foster and mature the grain For garners in the sky." '^. Mr. Varley's fiatic notion is out of accord with man's free will. (Jod has ever recognized this freedom. Kven in the case of Saul of Tarsus (which has been freely used by our opponents as a rock for the support of their notions), there was freedom of choice, for he says : •' I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision." Saul was convinced by the " vision '" that desus of Naz- areth was the Messiah. Then he made an intellig.M.t choice of Christ and His cross that he may realize in due time Christ and the crown. We called your attention some time ago to Christ's reproof to Peter, to "put up the sword." \Ve see tlie same absence of force in the following: "And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief." We see the same recognition of man's cooperation being re(]uired by the following : " For unto us was the Gospel preached as w(dl as unto them ; but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." We see free will in Cod s toleration of the followin< ig WoHK A.\l> liUIN. The drink bill of the nation is over 81,000,000,000, all of which has to come out of the productive earnings of the people. The costs to take care of the paupers, imbeciles, insane and criminals, the loss of work and the accidents caused by drink, amount at a low estimate to 8100,000,000 a year. Add these together, and we get 8l,400,00U,00O as the yearly drain which the licjuor trafHc imposes on the CHRIST S COMING KINciDOM, m country, or more than one-ninth th*; entii-e productive ca]).'icity of the nation. In other \vf)rd.s, the -people of th(; United States woi-k one day out of <'\ery nine to keep the <'ni iiiuis runnin'' Remove tlie curse. y. This liatic notion is not calculated to develop spirit- uality. It causes fear, and, from Mr. Varley's standpoint, is without provision t > change the heart and give love. Jt is a glorious fact that Christ dwells in every believer, for if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His. We are commanded to grow in grace, which implies calm- ness. There is a remarkable passage in the Old Testament about the Spirit of Cod. It says, " Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall l)e cleansed from all y \ ' Hlthiness. A new heart will 1 give you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart of your llesh, and T will give you a heart of tlesh, and \ will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my ways, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them." We need the Holy Chost for the development of Chris- tian character, love, joy, jteace, long-suflering, gentleness, goodn(;ss, faitii, meekness and self-control. By this mar- vellous transformation, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, I am changed into the same image from glory to glory as by the Spirit of the Lord. Thus tinding grace to help in time of need, we go from strength to strength, till we all appear in Zion, when we will declare, " Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood. And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his b'ather : to him i)e glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." i « OR SErONI) ADVENTISM. 238 oductive ,e of tin; ceep the p spirit- ndpoiiit, ove. Jt sr, for if of His. les calin- 'stameut sprinkle from all id a new le stony esli, and Ik in my Chris- tleness, is niar- ^lory of ^lory to jraee to th, till ito liini lis own I oil and er and r; FUNERAL (JONCr.USlON TO THK TWO PARTS. Kre 1 lay down my pen, 1 wi>;h to express my gratefulness to God for His blessings allbrded, and pray their accompani- ment with this book, wlierever its winding course may be. T trust that at the close of the perusal of these pages the confidence of the reader in God, in the Bible, and Chris- tianity will be increased, as that of the author been has in their production. The blessed Bible, first presented to nie, when but a boy, by my novv octogenarian mother in her life and precepts; second, by the late Dr. Rice, when President of the Wtsleyan Methodist Church, at my ordination, accom- panied by these words : "Take thou authority to preach the Word of (iod and administer the holy sacraments in the congregation," never appeared in its transcendent great- ness and grandeur as at the present lime. A word to the undecided for Christ. We are willing to grant the fullest liberty for inspection of Bible truth, but do not spend the whole day of life inspecting. When in my father's store, at home, it was no trouble to show goods, if people meant business. Home people, in regard to salva- tion, are like those shop-runners who spend all day examin- ing goods at stores, and wind up V)y taking hoine with them a bunch of lire-crackers, — explosives. Be careful about tak- ing with you to the judgment seat the explosives of sin in your hearts. " But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. Who will render to every man according to his deeds." (Rev. ii. T), G.) "Seek first the kingdom of God." Don't wait till you know all about theology. It is all summed up in these two : (1) ]\[an a sinner, (2) Christ a Saviour. Why take long to decide ] It does not take long to decide between 16 234 CHRIST S COMING KINGDOM, honour and disgrace, wealth and poverty, liealth and sick- ness, smile and frown, welcome and rejection I Ho, in this matter of salvation, let each unsaved one ask : U-'i. " Why should I till to-morn»w st;iy For what thou wouldst bestow to-day ? What thou more willing art to give Than I to aak, or to receive ^ " This moment, Lord, th