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WITH AN APPKNIHX ON ^^ Abra/tiim's Mistake ill the X^ffering oj /suhc."- Hy JOHN Ci:ii"F(>Rl), M.A., \AA\., H.S:C., F,r..S., l).I)„ Mfuinier nf Wentbimnu' I'tir/c Vhapfl, LundoiT, l2mo, Oloth, 460 pp. PRIOE •2.26. " Dr. Ollfford'B V Pai).v .Stroiitftb for Pally Llviiij^," iti a volume of adniimlilt- »IIh- cdurHt's. Thuy oirc fretfk, yi^forous, orij^inal, 8u^'>{o»tiv. SEimO MSB S^ YIN Qs: By REV. SAM- p. UONES. > 'XIJ^GINNATI MUSIC HALL SERIES." Edited BY W. M. LEFTWICH, D.D. 'ojituiiiiiig J'ortraits of SAST'OOES iiiid SAM SMALL. PAPER, so CENTS; CLOTH. «l. 26. / III orderinj; this book, ploasfe mention €.'lneliiiinll MiihIc Hall !$ertt*N, a . .this volume is entirely different from the others iHSued previously. WILLIAM BRIGOiji, 78 & 8<) King St. Ejist, Toronto. C. W. COATES, VpulreA^, aue.^ S. F. IIUEiiTIS, llallfux, N.S. 16- ll'^ raa» '.ivlf- *. ■ ■ i$^ ~ .r^^f'T'^' fbzy ■ WriEl^ WILL CHRIST COME? :,£> REV. R. N. BURNS, B.A. PRINTED BY REQUEST OF THE TORONTO METHOPIST MINISTERS' ASSOCIATION. 'ki INTBODCQTION BY REV. E. A. STAFFORD, KA., LL-B., yMluT of MttroviAHan Chwch anA ^taiiitni (*f AMOtiaiion. TORONTO: • WILLIAM BRIGGS, 78-& 80 KING ST. EAST. C. W, COAXES, Montreal, Qub, S. F. HUE8TIS, Halifax, N.S. 1886. "H /«*s ;,.; iH.'- >.- r^Fi^prr-'" T^'g,.' ' > ' A 't. «■ t 4^ TNTRODUQTION. '^' «■ / -^■■.■ ,Wo ■ 4 f H . . • : , ■ ''. ■ ■^■: '■'- u . It .^ •.- > -: ■. ^:se::/ • ■ *■■ ■ .■■ '';■■■■, •:-.: ■ ii-.. L .\ ■■ ■ ■ ■■ ■■■■ m ^ ■/ WHEN WILL CHRIST COME? 'if reading ed at the pful con- iteresting sd. [JRNS. . J THE SECOND ADVENT. IT is of the utmost importance for every one who desires to properly and beneficially study this suhject to ask, What spirit prompts me and what method of investigation shall I pursue ? It is com- paratively easy for any one on either side of this ques- tion to go to the Bible with a more or less clearly- defined theory and select a number of pasfjjfiges that seem to favor his preconceived opinions and, ignoring other equally important passages, triumphantly declare the proofs of his theory. In no such spirit should we approach the Bible to ^ study this or any other question. Let us ". hew to the line" of Biblical truth, and "let the chips" of prejudice ''fall where they may." We shall find the largest benefit from a general study of all the Bible utterances ^ on this subject and from a careful consideration of the Bible teachings on the dispensations and the general purposes of God's tooral government of the world. No particular passage sta^t^s the whole truth oil any V. -^ . - ; ..*-.- ■,*'■-. ■...•■ ^^ 'V >■ *w-^ ,■ r •■ ;. ■ ■••'■■■ ■ 4' , ' .. . ■ - • ii ■'.;"' ^■v _ >■: -^ ■r:i 6 WHEN WILL CHRrsT COME? great subject, and each passage shauld be interpreted m-the light of ev6ty otiter passage that has the slightest bearing on the.^ubject. : , . Any fairlminded student of the subject must candidly admit that on either side 6f the question- there "are difficulties. Dr. Kellogg, an eminent Pre- millenniahst, candidly says. "We are shut up to a choice of difficulties whichever side we take." br Charles Hodg^, J strong Post-millennialist, after a vigorous defence ;6f his views, modestly says: "All this IS said with diffidence and submission. The inter- pretation of unfulfi^ed prophecy, experience teaches, IS exceedingly precarious. There is every reason t(> believe that the predictions concerning the second adA vent of Christ, and the events which are to attend and follow it, will disappoint the expectations of commentators, as the expectations of the Jews were disappointed in the manner in which the prophecies concerning the -first advent were accomplished." It is certainly wise and proper that we should preface all our study of this and similar questions with an earnest prayer for the promised guidance of the Holy Spirit to clarify and quicken our minds, as well as to illuminate the word. But even after we have sought and obtained the Spirit's directing and enlightening influence, there are so many human "infirmities" of mind, whicbin vain sometimes even thp Sj;^rit tries to help, that they of ten- unconsciously mar or warp our opinions. We must be very cautious, therefore, how we advance any claim to special Divine direction in the formation of any of our conclusions H^/ «'* ' ■'.. interpreted b has the " , * ■ jeot must e question- irient Pre- J up to a ike.'' br. it, after a- ays: "All rhe inter- ;e teaches^ reason t6 econi^ ad- to attend a.tions of f^ews were )rophecies id/' '"e should questions Idance of minds, as after we jting and T human ooes even nsciously cautious, il Divine V iclusions : THE SECOND ADVENT. 7 on this or any Biblical question. That, this word . of caution is needed, is evidenced by the claims that r have been put forward by some of the advocates of a Pre-millennial Advent. I have not heard any advo- cates of the other side put forward any such claims, or I should cite them for condemnation as well as these others. A very prominent teacher of Pre-milleriniar views, one day in my hea||ig, said, ^' I have given up reading treatises and books on ihis subject " (although he hims6lf is a writer of bo(^ks and pamphlets on the subject which, I suppose, he expects other people tp read. Jf not, why write them ?)" I just open my heart t6 the influences of the Holy Spirit, and in sym- pathetic moods it flashes light on thid subject into my mind, and in that way I have come to know the mind of God in this matter." ; Another earnest advocate, in preaching on the mil- lennial adiVent of Christ, addressed the objectors in the congregation thus : " Brethren, this is not a matter of intellectual reaisoning and knowledge; If you do not see itin^is light, all I jean say is, that, you are blind. Pray to God to have your eyes opened, and wh^n you see this grea;t truth, it will be lik^ a second conver- • sioh."-' ■- -^ .;' ■ :■■--■; .-'•■■■■■.■■.; ■ ■ ^)fe;;:;..; : V' '-'''•. ■■■" Another evangelistic worker, who visited this city, gave a Bible reading on the work of the Spirit, j^fter enumeriating and describing the various ofl&ces of the Spirit, such as " witnessing," " sanetif jring," " sealing," " bringing all things to our remembrance," etc., he men- tioned last, and apparently in his mind most important of all, " He shall show you things tb come." Under the % '% . * ■ ••v . ,^ '"*",'''^' ' 9 WHEN WILli CHRIST COMB?, nhings to come," of coui^e. he placed the Second Sntr' u" '<'""•« ™P'--ion on my mind that the Spmt could now, m some special way, reveal future evejits to „,; for he did not sai^. as he ought to have said, tha the Spirit could not show us L " thinis to come," either by helping „,to .train out of the otW™-r ^'^^'^S»f coming events which, to other m,nds, are not clearly revealed in the Bible or by .impa^^^^^ " special revelation cm- cerningthem. ■.^m ">« least, such presuinptuons claims ungener- S^^^^l!? •*"*'"' ""^' modest claS^^f ^ught and obtained the direction of the same Spirit ' Certainly «ueh conflicting claims must lead criticLne woridhngs into confusion and doubt concerSng he .egibmate^conclusion, would be most damaging to th^ orthodox jdea of the inspiration of the Scri^t^ef If euch cl^ms be true, then Henry Ward BeecheJs oi'llr'^'T """" ^"*'"'* tooUsS^re' this ^f.'^'f ;» *-«• Re*o'"«on," which he delivered in th^city a few yearsago. after vindicating prayer • providence, et^. against some attacks By sceS ^S' sth '• ^""^ *° giy« Christianity some Jjatel stohs as ever a ^enemo«s foe. attem^d to - Among other things, he expressed it as iis idea ^^^ t '"\iv<^yfh%,:,i-T$., ^*\i'V'* ihe Second ad that the veal future ht to have »y "things put of the 3 which, to e Bible, or ation con- s ungener- claims of also have me Spirit. Jriticizing ming the study of sedJ» Jfcg ^^ ng to the ures. If Beecher-'s s lecture vered in prayer, V 3ceptit Bible grew. One feels constrained to ask, Who did the harveatiTig, and how i Why is the canoii of Scrip- . ture now closed, and why does not the harvesting ftro- cess go on w)w? v If this work of distorting and adding to Scripture goes on as it has done of late, givirtg us minutely- drawn diagrams of the order of events, and highly imaginative pictures of the increasing gloominess of the world's outlook, the Judaic restoration and dynasty, to feaFthly millennial reign of Chri'st and His sainte, etc, we shall soon hsi.ve &n addendum to the canon of Scripture, in the shape of a book on the Second A'dvent and collateral subjectk I fear it will have to be^of .the natture of a varied symposium, because of the in- harmonious ideas of its differing advocates. We ought to welcome light on this subject from all proper sources, seeking especially the light that shines from the Sacred Word when illumin(Bd by the promised Spiritof God. . . ' ^ NATURE AND PURPOSE OF THE SECOND ■ "'.ADYENT. .*■■ ;.■ ■•■. -y . ■■ By the second advent all seem to understa*id the personal, bodily coming of Jesus Christ, which Will be as real as His incarnation differing from it' in manner } "" «PW!. •» ••:- ,' 10 WHEU WILL CHRIST COMB ? TLT^TT' J^f"^^' His glorified Lenaion. ■MIS 1 11.. In this aense we all beliew in Christ's second «,vent. It seems necessary to em iasizeTw pomt be«iuse sometimes Pre-millennariansLeak as if we robbed^Christ of the glory of this Se Jd Coming A noted English evangelist, when coL«cting a mission m one of our- city chnrch^ pubLy replied to thej!„t,cism,of agentlemafi madeupoL his ^vo- c«y of the second advent. The gentlemZaS^ ^Z you an evangelist, and have you taken tiL from that work to write a book on such a specuIaL So" Why^ you not preach the gospel to thefunsave* and nc* to k on snch doubtful questions r i confess that this criticism seems to me to have bee/justly made when an evangelist, iH:^ess,dIyj^borin ,tion of the wicked, wiifcgSpyl„ o} five servilL dur^ a ten days- minion in talking ^on the ::::^ The evangelist's reply to thH-i;rit(cism was- "I must preafch a whoh Christ-not hall a Christ-not merely a Christ that wa, humiliate^ in,,WnatLn ' audde^^^t. Christ that will..^^^ . I fail to seehow this answer met/the criticism. I f^-Shi T?'""^' "'^ criticism fould be equally foible against any man taking thf: other sldB? wh^ would give^such^ndue importancJin missidi^^ tbn But? '"^."°->;**''y cpniected withXal tipn. ButI .^nnot see how this UngelistTwords could be used as » justification of his^ersTsten^ advocacy of a Pre-niillennial advei ofiZsf ■ '■ : ^ '■ • '■ ■ -^~ - ■ ■ 'i. ! "' —. .,\ ■ ■:^;■^:' /■ ' ■ ■ .. THE SBCOND ADVENT. 11 AH evangdical ministers preach a complete Christ, incarnated, crucified, ascended, enthroned, glorified now, and finally when He comes as the monarch and judge of all men. The main difference between us is concerning the time of His coming ' But before con- sidering the question of time, it will be well to pursue a little further our study of the )»W5ifritre ari(Z purpose of His coming, r^ The words that are used to describe Christ's coming with their root meanings^ are Trapovsza, parousia-^ presence ; eiri shout, etc., (1 Thess. 4 : 16) ; with angels, (Matt. 16 : 27 ; 25 : 31 ; Mark 8.: ,"<\ , r^KL r » -i *-' ...j ::t 12 »■• WHEN WILL OHBIST COME ? ?'40" fSJ^'r^'l^f ' "*"• 2*: **; Luke diSr'' " tT;"™ "'^ """ ^"'"p'"™' p'^yo'*' of His com ng? They are: to complete the salvation of His 4. 1; Jude 15; ^v. 20: 11-13); to reign, (I«, 24: 1 K' ?rl' 1*; K«v. 11: 15); to destroy death a Cor. 15: 23, 26; Rev. 20: 14). Surely it is p,2Me It T"t'^'-"' ^'■""P '""^^ <^Haracteristics and P poses together in describing o,^e «„im^ „£ Christ and ,n^ separate them into tw. distinct classes4he"e . d^enbing a ^nd coming, in which only sairitedri interested and the other a tkira com^^^h m^ ■p^bcuarly concerns the wicfed and 4kls the c"a ! ^t-^.«s and purposes. not fulfilled in the sS IS THE ADVENT PB&OR POST JIILLENNIAL ? ♦^,^l''.^"f"^ "*" "" inclined to repeat the follies of tt.eM.ler.tesJ„ filing definite dates for the Jmlg nro^W r *'! •*" •'a3a«ling their reputations! prophefcal exegetes by stating that it will take plac^ at the end of the 2.000 years of the Christian DisC* aahon wh,ch will be of the .same duration al'^^he Jewish Dispensation. Yet these same men who fr^m ^^ <*e^advanced age. can have no reasonable hojS Lving see the close of this century are constLt^ i - . THE SECOND ADVENT. ".'■■■■•■>'. • telling us that we are not to look for death, but to diiily watch for Chriat's coming. I remember conversing with a very earnest Chiliast in the afternoon of a certain day, about the signp of Christ's coming. He gave it as his opinion that many signs, such as wars and rumors of wargf, would have to be more completely fulfilled before Christ would come Yet, contrary to this reasoning, so deeply seated ii^ his heart was the idea of the suddenness' of Chifist's coming that, on that same evening, while standing in- side the door of niy3onse, just before going out, he was telling me about a recent dreanr he had, in which Christ, came in great glory and suddenness to the earth. While {he was talking, a sudden and violent explosion of a giin 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 radidnt glbry of ■ Christ's coming; Why cultivate such foolish and morbid ^expectations ? V ' We hear a good deal said about the "imminence" of the coining. T?he ^word is used so as to imply not only the "nearness" of Christ's advent, but also the uncertainty of it. Now, we must not forget that this uncertainty on our j>art is only relative and caused by our own imperfect knowledge The timie of His coming is absolutely certain to God. He knows exactly when it will be, but has chosen wisely to pre- serve it as a secret from humanity and even angels. We of ten hear it stated as an argument for this con- stant expectancy, that the apostles and.earl3" C h ri stians *'■ j< WHEN WILL CHRIST COMB? were looking for Christ's return during their life-time at any hour. I have no doubt that there were some among the early Christians, as there are some now, who formed this idea from some words of Christ and the apostles which were liable* to a double interpretation .^not carefully examined and compared with the rest 0?. the Scriptures. .Supposing some of the early Christians did expect toht us their mistake, what lesson are we to learn gom this example ? Are we to commit the same blunder or are_ we not the rather to take warning from I their folly and guard against cultivating such false i expectations ? ■ • _ In his second epistle to the Thessalonians.in the 2nd chap.. Paul hastens to correct the misinterpretation of some words in his first epistle from which some had wrong y supposed that the coming of Christ might take pl««e at any moment. It is certain that Paul, at least.d.d^texpecttbe coming of Christ to be "im- minent. He knew by special revelation that he should bejaken to Borne (Acts 23 : 11), and expected after that to visit Spain (Rom. 15 : 24-26). Evidence will be furnished later on that Paul, Peter, and John all expected death and not the coming of Christ X As__a,n inseparable objection to this idea of '" immin- ence, taken from the position of the Chifiasts them- selves, I will quote these wbnls of Dr Laimr of Dundas: ..Chiliasts di«eras to the inteipreS o 2Th^ diap. 2. It is, however; generaltyfldhjr them that the destruction of J- the ilim o f S in C syi^ron. . :^i :ip -C: 'P^aM THK SECOND ADVENT. 15 0118 with the 'coming.' He is to he 'destroyed hy the epiphany of the presence.' The ' Lawless One ' inust therefore be revealed before the epiphany. But this revelation of the man of sin Is to be after the apostasy ; and he is to sit in the temple of Qod. This is generally regarded as teaching the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, and this must take place before the man of sin can sit there. How, then, can the 'brightness of the coming' take place to-rfcty, before the temple has been rebuilt, or the man of sin has taken his seat there-? It matters n^t how rapidly events may hasten on, it is certain that to-day the temple is not rebuilt, the man of sin is not sitting . there; and if his destruction is to be synchronous with the coming, there can be no coming to-day. It is a marvel how any Chiliast can say, ' Christ may come this hour,' and in the next breath tell you, * He will- then destroy the man of sin in the temple at Jerusalem,/" while he knows there is at this hour neither temple nor man of sin. Whait can 'imminence' mean if the coming must be delayed till the temple is rebuilt and ' the man of sin revealed ? How can an honest Chiliast be 'watching' for what, he says, cannot take place until the man of sin is sitting in the temple? By, 'imminence' cannot be meant 'liable to happen at any moment.' The above view of 2 Thess. 2, is not that which approves iiself to roe, but, on their own showing, Chiliasts who hoW that view cannot honestly be watching hourly f or i||pL _^.ord." I propose to show that the second advent of Christ will b e connected irith, i . e . , preceded or fo l lowed by, i^ ■■„...• . . f ^^^^^^^'^ '^ ^ ^^^^ P^ace at the coming, and followed by the end. Christ is to come, Irthly kingdom, but to deliver up ^ihlB^nMiatoriar kingdom to the Father, when all tKings have been put under His feet He is reigning now, and "must reign (verse 25) till He hath put all enemies under His feet," which is an undoubted refer- ^uce to the prophetic promise to the Messiah in Psalm ..^.*- m sl^-' ■ \ ' hi says, " the »t nbccHNarily atiou in "ihe < iiHhoroiii 11 Bcond "Wbur," the rapurrec- 3d. Even if would be nd^ IS an intervdJ cen of as two all boaresur- the unjust" ice, not two »wn order (or hey that are end when He hall delJver') fen He ^ y andfiP^ of this nts described AT THE UESUUHECmON, 19 m tion coming, and i is to come, lO deliver up r, when all B is reigning rath put all lubted refer- ah in Psalm ■#"■•■ ^: .%d rThiH prophncy is applied by Foter in Acts t ! „„, _„ being fulHIlcd in the goHpel disponsaiion. ,|io last enemy that Hhal'l be destroyed is doath,"-*^ . Vj^rso 26. In Rev. 20 : la, 14, we learn that this takes {flace at the resurrection. When this subjection has all been accomplished by Christ, "then shall the ^on al^o Himscllt Ikj subject unto Him that put all thiliga under Him, that God may be all in all," which is but an amplificatibn of what is described tn the 24th verie as ihe delivering up of the kingdom to the Father. This line of reasoning clearly proves that the resur- rection of the dead in Christ will take place at "the end," as well as "at the coming." The Pre-millennialist says that the righteous will be raised at the beginning of the millennium and the ' wicked at the end. Paul ^ says that the righteous will rise at the end, i.e., at the f last day. Paul ia supported in this position by the explicit and reiterated statement of Jesus, in John 6 : | ,^0: "Thiols the jw|ll of Him that sent Me, that every * one which seeth the Son And belie veth pn Him may | have evedasfcing life ; and I will raise him up at the last day " This last statement is repeated in verses -■;44 and 54.' r> ;- ;♦ ■.■^.■.. . V It must iK)t be forgotten that in this passage, 1 Gor. 15 : 23, as w#ll as in 1 Thess, 4: 13-18, the resurrec- tion of the wicked, as a class, is not mentipned or under consideration in the line of argument pursued by the • apostle, ; : - .;/ , •- -- .-— ^^. .-■, - ■ ;---,-^ j ---^.-.- ^..^-: ;,....--- :-—,-:, ^r....^: =:. It 19 wrong to conclude from this that it is separated from that of the righteous by a long period. There <«■ are great differences of nature and destiny in the -..i:-.-. s- '•P'j^t.j!'^ ■*»■ S w < (! 20 WHEN WILL CHRIST COME ? Tesurrection of the two classes, and it is quite natural for the apostle, at certain times, especially when com- forting sorrowing Christians, t<5 speak only of the glories of the resurrected righteous. In 1 Thess. 4: 16-18, as- we all know^ Paul is not contrasting the resurrection of the just with that of the unjust, but is simply clearing up the puzzled ideas of the Thessalonian Christians, and showing them that the righteous who are alive will not prevent or go before the "dead inChrist." , The only passage which, on a first superficial reading, seems to favor the idea of two bodily, resurrections, separated by a thousand years, is Rev. 20. This chapter has been well called toth the birth- place and the Qibraltar of this two-resurrection idea, and, through it, of the Pre-millennial theory^ *> So if this Gibraltar be attacked and silenced, there will be little or no defence for the theory. We must not forget that this passage is taken from the Book of Revelation— that symbolic book which ought to be interpreted by the plain teachings of other portions of God's Word. We should not, in a foolish inversion of the process, inteirpret the ciear by the obscure. There are two modfes of interpreting this and similar portions. of Scripture— the literal and the liguVktive; OT spiritual,^ Which of these shall we adopt? Pre-millennialists pretend to adopt th| M^erai inter- pretation, though in reality they do not apply it con- sistently to the whole chapter and the context. Even if we do take the literal interpretation, I can- f ^ *• >< ? AT THK RE^UBRECTION. 21 not see that it is clearly stated that there will be twd^ separate resurrections. What passage iiii' this chapter or the context describes the second advent? In the \ previous chapter a great battle is described, in which ] Clhrist and His followers completely vanquish the ; beadt and his followers, but this does not necessarily describe the second advent. I Mimy^Pre-millenmalists claim that this is the second . ^'advent. - ■■ \ ■■■','•'-. ':'■'/-' '^ .^' V Dr. Lord says that the horse on which He rides "is simply to symbolize the descent of Ghrist to the earth as a king, and to show that His advent is visible." He also says^f The armiejs in hqaven that follow Him are of the same corporeSd nature as'He^ manifestly, from their being seated on horses, and are shown to be raised ^nd glorified aaints." Such writers seem to regard the battle as a physical " conflict and the slaughter as literal, but they do not show us just how they fit on their literal interpretation to the expressions in verse 21: "The remnant were slain with the sword of Him that sa,t upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of Mia vfiouth : And all the fowls were filled with their fiesh." If, as Dr., Lord and others claim, these followers of Christ were rai«ec2 Christians, where is the need for another resurrection before the millennium ? No intelligent Pre-millennialist now claims that the "angel" in chapter 20: 1 is Christ, for throughout the Apocalypse Christ is constantly distinguished from the . angels.;. .-'^ ','"..■'■■• "/■ ■']"'■'■'[■ V ■If .■.HI. 22 WHEN WILL CHBIST COME ? By the way, who thinks that this angel had a literal "key" and a liteiil iron "chain" to bind Satan with? Even construed literally, Rev. 20: 4 does not deigfltibe the resurrection p'f all the dead in Christ. It speaks only of martyrs, already referred to in Rev. 6 : 9-11. It does not eveii speak of the resurrection of these, for it only refers toiiheir "fiiouZs." There is nothing said about this taking place on th& earth either in feSl fourth or sixth verses. v'^ Moses Stuart says in commenting on this passage, " as to the notion of a descent to the earth oi ChVist and the martyrs and their visible reign "here, there is not a word in the text, nor even an implication, at least I can find none." '. ^ ' The figurative or spiritual interpretation of this passage is the most reasonable one to adopt. The first- two or three verses of the chapter suggest to us the absurdity of a literal and the reasonableness of a figurative interpretation. What,/then, is the spiritual meaning of this chapter and the context ? At the close of chapter nineteen a great brittle is described, not physical, but a great contest between the forces of good and evil, of light and darkness, Resulting in the . discomfiture of the evil cause. Then follows, in chapter 20:1-3, the binding or restraining of Satan and his agencies of evil that good may specially prosper. Then the martyr spirit pervades the Church. That this reviving of tiie martyr spirit is a reasonable interpretation is shown by the frequency with*which any revival of God's cailse is spoken of in Scripture as a resurrection. Isaiah siaid, "Thy dead men shall live, ^v AT THE RESURHECTION. 23 together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust ; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs and the earth s^all cast out the dead." Isa. 26:19^ InHo9ea6:3 we find the same figure, and in Ezekiel 3T: 10-14 the same imagery is used in the vision of the valley of dry bones. We find fre^ quently throughout the Scriptures that when any individuals or a body of men abandon a life of sin and turn to God they are said to live again. Rom. 6:4, 8, 13. Paul, in Rom. 11 j 15, speaking of the conversion of the Jews and the accompanying spread of the Gospel, says : " If the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead.'l We often find when^a man or race of men exhibit the same spirit that was manifested by a previous man or race of men, the latter are said to live over again in the lives of the former. For instance, it was prophesied tliat Elijah should appear before the coming of Christ, and this prediction was fulfilled in the life and work of John the Baptist, who came " in the spirit and power of Elijah." 1 In Rev. 11 : 7-12 the death and resurrection of two ' witnesses is described in language similar to that Used in Rev. 20 : 4-6, and yet no Pre-millenriial commenta- tor or writer thinks of interpreting it in a literal way. In order to understand the resurrection referred to in ver. 6, we should place beside it Christ's words in Johii 5 : 25, 28, I9, « Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear u WHEN WILL CHRIST COME ? ■•^i- •I' f il ■1 ■■> .-t- '■ i shall live." This is not a future, bodily resurrection, but a temporal, spiritpal resurrection of dead souls to real lif§. In verses 28 and 29 He describes the future bodily resurrection at the end of the world. We place John 5 : 26 parallel With Rev. 20:4-6, arid John 6 :28, 29 parallel with Re^, .20 : 1145. When we take Jofin 6 : 25, 28, 29 along ^ith Rev. 20 : 4-6, we find that the two paiJssages eftheirj explicitly or iipapUcitly refer to a first and second de^th and a ^rst and second resurrec- tion. The first d^ath is literd arid bodily and the second death is spiritual or moral. Thie first resurrec- tion is figurative or spiritual and the seCbnd resurrec- ti6n is literiaJ and bodily., ''".■ Now, when in 'Rev. 20:6 "the sepond death" is undoubtedly figurative or moral, if seems most reasonable to expect that , the " first resurrection^ referred to in the same verse should be figurative or spiritual j especially when such an interpretation is in harmbny.with the use of the same expression in other passages and with the general teaching of the Scrip- tures,^. ■■■ ' •, ■*-:■;■ ■'■ ■'/.■■...^■' . :■■. ■ The most intelligent interpretation of this passage is that furnished by Dr. David Brown, which may be summarized as follows: The vision reveals a period in the history of the „Ghurch when the martyrs for Jesus, whom pagi^nism and the papacy put to death, shall liv0 in the rising up of a race of men who will exhibit the devotion to Christ which was exhibited by them. They shall not only live, but reign ; judgment shall be given unto them in the destruction of all the enemies of the Church. No human power shall be AT THE RESURRECTION. 26 in existence that will exercise* the persecuting spirit which the enemies of the martyrs possessed. The great anti-Christian powers shall have been destroyed ; the remnant of the opponents of Christ shall have been slain for a season ; the devil shall have been shut up so that he cannot deceive the nations ; though the sinful heart of man will remain, it will not be tempted to open and high-handed opposition to Christ, which Satan now encourages; vital religion will be preva- lent ; a type of ° it will be exhibited which we have never seen ; the Church in its spirituality will be the ruling power of the earth; " the kingdom and domi- nion and the greatness of the kii]lgdom under the whole heavens shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High." Dan. 7 : 27. Then the "rest of the dead" lived not again till the close of the millennium. The "rest of the dead" cor- responds with "the remnant " in Rev. 19 : 21. The same word in thfe Greek, oi-^iim, is used in both pas- sages, and the Revised Version has translated it " the rest," in 19:21. in this great battle, which cannot be entirely physi- cal, but must be largely spiritual^ the forces of evil are worsted. The beast, which is , Satau and the false propliet, ar^ "cast alive into the lake of fire that bnrneth with brimstone." His cause is.defeated and his followers are practi- cally killed. By what agency ? " With the sword of Him that sat upon ijhe horse^ even the sword which came forth out of rijs mouth." (v. 21.) What does this represent ? R jer back to v. 12, and we find 4 ■ . 26 WHEN WILL CHftlST COME? 1 ^ that the name of the powerful horseman is "The Word of God," and in v. 11, "The Faithful and True." What more appropriate symbolic language could be used to deiBciribe the mighty power of the Word to ; destroy evil than the words of v. 2l-? * He, himself, is "the Word of God." Something proceeding out of His mouth naturally suggests ^* the Word." What more expressive emblenx could be used to describe its power? A sword. "For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any tWo- edged sWord, and piercing even to the dividing of soul •a,nd spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart." Re- vised Version, Heb. 4 : 12. \ Good pld John Bunyan fittingly^ and Scripturally represents Christian using as his chief weapon in his- battles on the way and with Apollyon his trusty two- edged sword, by which he. symbolizes the word of God. This natural interpretation harmonizes with other prophecies Oif the power of the Gospel written and preached. These followers of Satan, the oi hupoo "the rest of the de&.d/* will be raised up or revived at the close of the millennium, to fight under their old leader who is to be restrained during the millenniumj and then let loose for the great final struggle between, good and evil, before the advent and judgment which will result in the eternal subjugation of all eyil forces. After Satan and his forces have been loosed in the brief outbreak of ungodliness, then the Whole vision, at least so far as this chapter goes, closes with the gene r al resu rr ection of the ," dead, small and At THB RESURBECtXON. 27 gr^at," followed by the opening of the books in the general judgment of all mankind, ^, But some ?re-millennialist may ask, Why do you use the figurative intei-ptetatioii in verses 4-6. and use the literal intei-pretation in verses 11-15, where you understand John to describe the literal bodUy resur- rection? We might retort. Why do you usd the figurative interpretation in verses 1-3 (where no one supposes a literal key, or chain, or pit is meant), and then use the literaa interpretation in verses 4-6 ? But suppose we enlarge the question to show the principle involved. Why do we change from the use of the figurative interpretation in one/ part of the Bible to the use of the literal interpretsition in another part? The change ought to be made ^f the exegetical condi- tions are fulfilled, when the two passages are side by side as companion verses, just as truly as when they '.are separated as widely as Genesis and Revelation. If thfe language used in the passage, the context sur^ rounding it, and the harmony of Scripture require that a change be made from one method of interpretation to another, then in the interests of Scriptural truth it ought to be made, even though in two companion versesj or even in .two clauses of the same verse. It is not a question of .location in chapter and verse, but of getting a clear and consistent interpretation of the Scriptures. The division into chapters and verses is a pittrely human ipvention. / ' ^^ ' ■ We adopt thfe figurative interpretation of the word ,^ "resurrection," etc., in verses 4-6, because 8.11 the sur- rounding words are figuratively used, a nd t h ere is n ot -h'^- .■ I + .■i-.f; just as the word , resurrection sotnetimes moans conversion. they say a second "judgment" will take place at death, but that cannot properly be called a judgment ; for all men at death enter a disembodied slap, wheria they enjoy or suffer the natural consequenqteS^ll^^f their lives and characters on earth. Then they "^ay there will be a third "judgment" of the righteous only air Christ's second advent preceding the millejmium. '\ This will be only a kind- of adjudication upon the ^ claims of the righteous for rpwaisij^uring the millen- nium^ and probably in the final hB^yen^ Then they say there will be a fourth "judgment" by Christ and the saints at the close of the millennium and after the resurrection of the wicked. ,' . * Now, these last two judgments, which we claim ought to be combined in one general judgment of good and bad, are closely connected with the theory of two resurrections. If we have succeeded in pro\nng that they are not two separate resurrections, then these / two descriptions of a judgment ought not to be parted/ but drawn together in one great event occurring after Christ's coming and the general resurrection, and vious to the end of the world. '« ,- The following passages connect the coming of (3hrist and the general judgment : Matt. 16 : 27, " For