BLANK

STUDIES
IN THE

SCRIPTURES
“The Path of the Just is as the Shining Light,
Which Shineth More and More
Unto the Perfect Day.”

________
SERIES II
________

The Time is at Hand

“Times of Refreshing Shall Come From the
Presence of the Lord; and He Shall Send Jesus
Christ, … Whom the Heavens Must Retain until
THE TIMES OF RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS
Which God Hath Spoken by the Mouth of All His
Holy Prophets Since the World Began.”
“Ye Brethren, Are Not in Darkness, That That Day
Should Overtake You as a Thief.”
Acts 3:19-21; 1 Thess. 5:4
BLANK
 To the King of Kings and Lord of Lords
IN THE INTEREST OF

HIS CONSECRATED SAINTS,

WAITING FOR THE ADOPTION,

—AND OF—

“ALL THAT IN EVERY PLACE CALL UPON THE LORD,”

“THE HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH,”

—AND OF—

THE GROANING CREATION, TRAVAILING AND WAITING FOR THE

MANIFESTATION OF THE SONS OF GOD,

THIS WORK IS DEDICATED

_____________

“To make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning
of the world hath been hid in God.” “Wherein He hath abounded toward
us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the
mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which
He hath purposed in Himself; that in the dispen-
sation of the fulness of the times He might
gather together in one all things,
under Christ.”
Eph. 3:4, 5, 9; 1:8-10

_____________

Written in 1889 by Pastor Russell

BLANK
 The Time Is At Hand
THE AUTHOR’S FOREWORD

T HE FIRST EDITION of this Volume was given to the

public in A.D. 1889. Since then, one edition after
another has gone forth in various languages, until
now more than one million and a half copies are in the hands
of the people. These figures are astonishing when we
consider how few people today have any faith in the Bible
as a Divine Revelation, and how few of those who do have
faith in the Bible have an appreciation of prophecy and of
chronology—especially of Bible chronology and the Bible’s
history of the world.
The author and the publishers have great cause for
rejoicing in the evidence continually coming to hand that
this Volume has proven very helpful to the people of God
in every land in the study of the Bible—in collating the
message of the Lord’s Word under various headings and
classifications assistful to the student. Especially have we
heard of many being blessed in their study of the manner of
the Second Advent—in the Scriptural proof set forth in this
Volume that our Lord will never again come to this earth as
a man, having fulfilled completely His mission as a human
being when He by the grace of God tasted death for every
man at Calvary. The texts brought to the attention of the
reader, proving that now our Lord is the glorified One at the
Father’s right hand, and is soon to become King of the
world, have been assistful to many, as their letters testify.
This Volume makes no claim to infallibility, and no claim
of any direct inspiration from God in the interpretation of
His Word. On the contrary, it does claim that the Divine
Revelation is the Bible. Its endeavor has been to collate the
Bible evidences and to offer suggestions in respect to their
significance.
 Dealing with subjects so difficult that they are rarely
touched by others, it is not to be considered strange if some
of the suggestions made in this Volume have not been
fulfilled with absolute accuracy to the very letter. But the
author, the publishers, and the thousands of readers of this
Volume are not ashamed of its presentations, and are still
handing it forth to all who have an interest in Bible study—
as most interesting and most helpful in an understanding of
the Lord’s Word.
The Bible chronology herein presented shows that the six
great thousand-year Days beginning with Adam are ended,
and that the great Seventh Day, the thousand years of
Christ’s Reign, began in 1873. The events of these 43 years,
which this Volume claims as the beginning of the Millen-
nium, we still find fully corroborating Bible prophecies, as
herein set forth. During these 43 years, nearly all the
inventions of our day have been accomplished. The sewing
machine, one of the first, began to reach its perfection 43
years ago. Since then, we have all kinds of farming machin-
ery and tools, and workshop, store, factory and home
conveniences, in abundance and cheap—through human
invention. These are shortening the hours of labor, and
doing away with the “sweat of face,” which the Bible
declares to be identified with the curse.
It is entirely safe to say that in these 43 years the world has
increased its riches one thousandfold. And when we
remember that behind the 43 years lies a total of six thou-
sand years of human endeavor, it seems almost a miracle
that the world should accomplish one thousand times more
in the past 43 years than in the six thousand years preceding.
Surely this well attests the claim of this Volume that we have
entered the great Seventh Day, and that what we are already
experiencing as a race are only the foregleams of the much

ii
greater blessings still to come—when the Sun of Righteous-
ness shall arise with healing in His beams, and scatter all the
darkness, ignorance, and superstition of the world!
This Volume sets forth, what its author has been preach-
ing for over forty years, that the “Times of the Gentiles”
chronologically ended in the fall of A.D. 1914. The expres-
sion, “Times of the Gentiles,” in Bible usage signifies the
years, or period of time, in which the Gentile nations of the
world were to be permitted to have control, following the
taking away of the typical kingdom from natural Israel, and
filling the hiatus between that event and the establishment
of God’s Kingdom in the hands of Messiah—“whose right
it is.” Ezekiel 21:27
We could not, of course, know in 1889, whether the date
1914, so clearly marked in the Bible as the end of the Gentile
lease of power or permission to rule the world, would mean
that they would be fully out of power at that time, or
whether, their lease expiring, their eviction would begin.
The latter we perceive to be the Lord’s program; and
promptly in August, 1914, the Gentile kingdoms referred to
in the prophecy began the present great struggle, which,
according to the Bible, will culminate in the complete
overthrow of all human government, opening the way for
the full establishment of the Kingdom of God’s dear Son.
We are not able to see behind the veil; we are not able to
know the things progressing under the direction of our
glorious Lord and the members of His Church already
glorified. Our thought is that somehow the Lord is taking a
hand in the affairs of the world now as He did not do in
times past. We do know that the great Time of Trouble,
which has begun, very closely corresponds to the Divine
declaration respecting the time and conditions of the
establishment of Messiah’s Kingdom. The Lord Himself

iii
informs us that, at the time He shall take to Himself His
great power and reign, the nations will be mad and the
Divine wrath will come. A little later on the time will come
for the judging of the dead, and the giving of the reward to
God’s servants, small and great, leading on finally to the
destruction of the incorrigible, who would exercise a corrupt
influence upon the earth. Revelation 21:8
All over the world people knew of the expectations of
Bible Students in respect to the year A.D. 1914; and when
so stupendous a war as the present one broke loose, when
the winds of strife began to blow with such fury and destruc-
tion, thousands remembered what they had heard and read
respecting the end of the Gentile Times. Thousands today
have come to fully appreciate the times in which we are
living. The influence is very helpful and inspiring. A
realization that we are in the Day of the Lord, and that very
soon all of His saints will be gathered to Him by the resur-
rection change, has a stimulating and encouraging influence
upon Bible students, separating them from the world and its
fears and ambitions and fixing their eyes upon the Crown of
Life, which the Lord has in reservation for them that love
Him most.
The author acknowledges that in this book he presents the
thought that the Lord’s saints might expect to be with Him
in glory at the ending of the Gentile Times. This was a
natural mistake to fall into, but the Lord overruled it for the
blessing of His people. The thought that the Church would
all be gathered to glory before October, 1914, certainly did
have a very stimulating and sanctifying effect upon thou-
sands, all of whom accordingly can praise the Lord—even
for the mistake. Many, indeed, can express themselves as
being thankful to the Lord that the culmination of the
Church’s hopes was not reached at the time we expected;

iv
and that we, as the Lord’s people, have further opportunities
of perfecting holiness and of being participators with our
Master in the further presentation of His Message to His
people.
Our mistake was evidently not in respect to the ending of
the Times of the Gentiles; we drew a false conclusion,
however, not authorized by the Word of the Lord. We saw
in the Bible certain parallels between the Jewish Age and the
Gospel Age. We should have noted that these parallels
follow the nominal systems to destruction in both cases, and
do not indicate the time of the glorification of the New
Creation. This explanation will help the reader as he studies
“THE TIME IS AT HAND.” We have no doubt that the
great blessings which have come to many of us in the past
will continue to go through the Volume to thousands of
others. So with it go the prayers of the author,

CHARLES T. RUSSELL
Brooklyn, N.Y.,
October 1, 1916

v
BLANK
 CONTENTS
STUDY I
SPECIAL TIMES AND SEASONS
DIVINELY APPOINTED
T HE T IMES AND S EASONS OF D IVINE A PPOINTMENT —W HY N OT M ORE
P LAINLY S TATED —I N D UE T IME R EVEALED —E ARNEST D ESIRE TO K NOW
THE T IMES AND S EASONS C OMMENDABLE —M ISTAKES OF A DVENTISTS —
T HE R EAL O BJECT OF T IME P ROPHECIES —O UR P RESENT P OSI -
TION —T HE O BJECT OF S UCCEEDING C HAPTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

STUDY II
BIBLE CHRONOLOGY
CHRONOLOGY NECESSARY TO AN UNDERSTANDING OF PROPHECY
—INDISPENSABLE DATA FURNISHED IN THE BIBLE—FROM THE CREATION OF
ADAM TO A.D. 1873 WAS SIX THOUSAND YEARS—A STATEMENT OF BIBLE
CHRONOLOGY IN GREAT PERIODS—ITS EXAMINATION IN DETAIL—FROM
CREATION TO THE DAY THE FLOOD WAS DRIED UP—TO THE ABRAHAMIC
COVENANT—TO THE GIVING OF THE LAW—TO THE DIVISION OF CANAAN
AMONG THE TRIBES—THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES—THE PERIOD OF THE
KINGS—THE PERIOD OF THE DESOLATION—TO A.D. 1873—WHEREIN THIS
CHRONOLOGY DIFFERS FROM THAT OF BISHOP USHER, NOTED IN OUR
ENGLISH BIBLES—THE TRUE DATE OF OUR LORD’S BIRTH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

STUDY III
THE FULFILMENT OF TIME PROPHECY AT
THE FIRST ADVENT OF CHRIST
Dan. 9:23-27
THE SEVENTY WEEKS OF DANIEL’S PROPHECY—EVENTS FORETOLD TO
TRANSPIRE WITHIN THAT TIME—THE TIME OF MESSIAH’S ADVENT
INDICATED, AND A PRINCIPLE ESTABLISHED BY THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS
INDICATED—A KEY TO OTHER TIME PROPHECIES—THE TIME OF MESSIAH’S
CRUCIFIXION INDICATED—THE SPECIAL FAVOR TO ISRAEL AS A NATION CUT
SHORT IN RIGHTEOUSNESS, BUT CONTINUED INDIVIDUALLY—ANOINTING
THE MOST HOLY—TROUBLE POURED UPON THE DESOLATE ONE. . . . . . . . 63
 STUDY IV
THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES
WHAT ARE GENTILE TIMES?—THEIR BEGINNING; THEIR LENGTH; THEIR END
A.D. 1914—ATTENDANT EVENTS—EVENTS TO FOLLOW—LITERAL AND
SYMBOLIC TIME—A REMARKABLE TYPE—PRESENT INDICATIONS—GOD’S
KINGDOM TO OVERTHROW GENTILE RULE—THEREFORE ORGANIZED BEFORE
IT ENDS—BEFORE A.D. 1914—WHY OPPOSED BY GENTILE KINGDOMS—HOW
AND WHY ALL WILL FINALLY ACCEPT IT JOYFULLY—“THE DESIRE OF ALL
NATIONS SHALL COME.” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

STUDY V
THE MANNER OF OUR LORD’S RETURN
AND APPEARING
HARMONY OF THE MANNER OF OUR LORD’S SECOND ADVENT WITH OTHER
FEATURES OF THE DIVINE PLAN—HOW AND WHEN THE CHURCH SHALL SEE
HIM—HOW AND WHEN THE GLORY OF THE LORD SHALL BE SO REVEALED
THAT ALL FLESH SHALL SEE IT TOGETHER—STATEMENTS APPARENTLY
CONFLICTING SHOWN TO BE HARMONIOUS—HE COMES “AS A THIEF”—“NOT
WITH OUTWARD SHOW”—AND YET “WITH A SHOUT”—WITH “VOICES”—
AND “WITH THE SOUND OF THE GREAT TRUMPET”—“HE SHALL BE REVEALED
IN FLAMING FIRE, TAKING VENGEANCE”—AND YET, “HE SHALL SO COME, IN
LIKE MANNER” AS HE WENT AWAY—IMPORTANCE OF PROPHETIC TIME IN
THIS CONNECTION SHOWN—HARMONY OF PRESENT INDICATIONS. . . . . 103

STUDY VI
EARTH’S GREAT JUBILEE
“THE TIMES OF RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS” FORETOLD BY MOSES—THE DATE
OF THEIR BEGINNING INDICATED—THEY CANNOT BEGIN UNTIL THE GREAT
RESTORER HAS COME—EVIDENCE FROM THE LAW—CORROBORATIVE
TESTIMONY FROM THE PROPHETS—LOGICAL CONCLUSIONS DRAWN FROM
THESE AS SEPARATELY AND UNITEDLY CONSIDERED—HARMONY OF PRESENT
INDICATIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

STUDY VII
THE PARALLEL DISPENSATIONS
THE JEWISH AGE A TYPE OF THE GOSPEL AGE—REMARKABLE PARALLELISM OR
CORRESPONDENCY BETWEEN THE TWO DISPENSATIONS—YET THEY ARE
DISTINCT—SUPERIORITY OF THE CHRISTIAN EPOCH, THE ANTITYPE—
FLESHLY AND SPIRITUAL ISRAEL CONTRASTED—PROMINENT PARALLELS
EXAMINED—TIME PARALLELS SPECIALLY NOTICED—PERIOD OF FLESHLY
ISRAEL’S FAVOR—TIME OF THEIR CUTTING OFF FROM FAVOR—THE PERIOD
OF DISFAVOR SHOWN FROM PROPHECY TO BE EQUAL TO THE PERIOD OF
FAVOR—APOSTOLIC TESTIMONY THAT THEIR PERIOD OF DISFAVOR IS THE
PERIOD FOR THE HIGH CALLING OF SPIRITUAL ISRAEL—THE LENGTH OF THE
 GOSPEL AGE THUS SHOWN INDIRECTLY BUT CLEARLY—HARMONY OF THE
BIBLE CHRONOLOGY, JUBILEE TESTIMONY, GENTILE TIMES, AND OTHER
PROPHECIES WITH THE LESSONS OF THESE PARALLELS UNANSWERABLE,
CONCLUSIVE AND SATISFYING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

STUDY VIII
ELIAS SHALL FIRST COME
HOW THIS IMPORTANT PROPHECY STANDS RELATED TO THE SECOND
ADVENT—A PARTIAL AND TYPICAL FULFILMENT IN JOHN THE BAPTIST—THE
REAL FULFILMENT—THE VISION ON THE HOLY MOUNT—REMARKABLE
CORRESPONDENCIES BETWEEN ELIJAH, THE TYPE AND THE ANTITYPICAL
ELIJAH—THE TIME IS AT HAND—THE OUTLOOK—ELIJAH’S SUCCESSOR,
ELISHA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

STUDY IX
THE MAN OF SIN—ANTICHRIST
ANTICHRIST MUST BE DEVELOPED, REVEALED AND SMITTEN BEFORE THE DAY
OF THE LORD—A CONTRARY VIEW OF THIS SUBJECT CONSIDERED—
PROPHETIC DELINEATION—ANTICHRIST’S BIRTH—HIS RAPID DEVELOP-
MENT—THE HISTORIC PICTURE AND THE BIBLE DESCRIPTION AGREE—HIS
KINGDOM A COUNTERFEIT—HIS HEAD AND MOUTH NOTABLE—HIS GREAT
SWELLING WORDS OF BLASPHEMY—HIS BLASPHEMOUS TEACHINGS—HIS
WEARING OUT OF THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH—HIS MILLENNIAL
REIGN—ANTICHRIST SMITTEN WITH THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT—HIS FINAL
STRUGGLE AND END. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

STUDY X
THE TIME IS AT HAND
NOTHING INTERVENES—THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CHRIST’S KINGDOM, THE
WORK NOW IN PROGRESS—THE TESTIMONY OF PROPHECY CONCURS—THE
WORLDLY-WISE SEE MUCH—THE WATCHING SAINTS SEE MORE DISTINCTLY
—THE IMPORTANCE TO ALL, OF OPEN EYES IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. . 363
BLANK
 STUDY I

SPECIAL TIMES AND SEASONS

DIVINELY APPOINTED

T HE T IMES AND SEASONS OF D IVINE A PPOINTMENT —W HY N OT M ORE

P LAINLY STATED—IN DUE TIME REVEALED—EARNEST DESIRE TO KNOW THE
TIMES AND SEASONS COMMENDABLE—MISTAKES OF ADVENTISTS—THE REAL
OBJECT OF TIME PROPHECIES—OUR PRESENT POSITION—THE OBJECT OF
SUCCEEDING CHAPTERS.

A S in “THE PLAN OF THE AGES” we endeavored to set

forth the prominent outlines of the divine arrange-
ment for human salvation from a purely Scriptural stand-
point, so it is the purpose of this volume to show, on the
same authority, that the various features of that plan have
definitely appointed times and seasons for their accomplish-
ment; that, so far as that plan has progressed, each succeed-
ing feature of it has been accomplished exactly on time; and
that the time is now at hand for its culmination in the
blessing of all the families of the earth. Gen. 28:14; Gal. 3:16
During the long centuries of the Gospel age, the Church,
as instructed by her Lord, has prayed, “Thy kingdom come;
thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.” But, like
drowsy children, because the time was long, many have
almost forgotten the import of the words that now seem to
die upon their lips. To all such whose hearts are still loyal
to the Lord, we call in the words of the Apostle Paul, “It is

13
14 The Time is at Hand

high time to awake out of sleep; for now is our salvation

nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the
[Millennial] day is at hand.” Yea, it is even at the doors.
The kingdom of heaven is now at hand, not in its mere
embryotic or incipient stage, as at our Lord’s first advent
(Matt. 3:2), but in the sense in which he declared it was yet
to come (John 18:36, 37)—“in power and great glory.”
Only those, however, who have made a careful study of
the Plan of the Ages will be prepared to appreciate the
teaching of this volume concerning the divinely appointed
times and seasons for the development of the various
features of that plan, and for its final consummation. It is
hoped that none will undertake this study, therefore, before
they have thoroughly comprehended the lessons of the
preceding volume. Otherwise it will not be meat in due
season to them. Truth is only meat in season when we are
prepared to receive it. A child is not prepared to solve a
mathematical problem until he has first been instructed in
the use of figures and of language. So also with divine truth:
it is built up step by step, and to gain an understanding of it
we must ascend by the steps provided—carefully, of course,
proving by the Scriptures every advance step we take, yet
not fearful to take the steps as we thus find for them sure
footing. Only those who have implicit faith in God, and to
whom a “Thus saith the Lord” is the end of all doubt and
controversy, can be led by the Spirit of God into advanced
truth as it becomes due—led into things new, as well as
confirmed in things old and proved true by the same
authority.
Only such, God proposes so to lead. In the end of the age,
which is the harvest time, much truth is due to be uncov-
ered, which God did not make known in times past, even to
his most faithful and devoted children. It was in the time of
the end that the Prophet Habakkuk (2:3) declared that the
 Times and Seasons 15

vision, concerning the glorious consummation of God’s

plan, should speak and not lie; and that to some of God’s
children it should speak so plainly that they would be able,
as directed, to make it plain on tables; that through their
instrumentality others might be enabled to read it clearly:
and then Daniel also (12:4, 9, 10) declared that knowledge
should be increased, and that the wise (through faith)
should understand the vision.
Our object here is not to prophesy out of the abundance
of human imagination, nor in any sense to be wise above
what is written in the sacred Scriptures. Therefore, discard-
ing all human inventions, we keep close to the fountain of
divine truth, endeavoring to read prophecy in the light of
prophecy and its manifest fulfilment; and to make plain
upon tables that which God said would be sealed up, and
which therefore could not be understood before this time
of the end, but of which he gave assurance that it should then
be understood.
In this volume we offer a chain of testimony on the subject
of God’s appointed times and seasons, each link of which we
consider Scripturally strong, while the whole of it when
viewed together, in the relationship which one part bears to
another, gives evidence of a plan so broad and comprehen-
sive, a design so deep, and a harmony so perfect, as to clearly
manifest to the studious and reverent inquirer that it is
beyond the breadth and depth of human thought, and
therefore cannot be of human origin.
We find that the end of the Gospel age, like the end of the
Jewish age, is called a harvest (Matt. 9:37; 13:24, 30, 39);
that like that also, it is a period of forty years; and that
upon the harvests of the ages the rays of prophetic testi-
mony are specially concentrated, particularly upon the
harvest of this age, where even all the light of the Jewish
age—because of its typical character—converges in a
16 The Time is at Hand

glorious focus. In this light we may now distinctly see the

stately steppings of our God, not only in the long vista of
the ages past, but also in the present outworkings of his
plan. And not only so, but according to his promise to show
us things to come (John 16:13), we see, with wonderful
distinctness of vision, his wise policy for the blessing of all
in the incoming Millennial age—even down to its glorious
consummation in the restitution of all things. We find that
many great and wonderful events center in this harvest:
that in it occur the great time of trouble, the day of
Jehovah; the final and complete overthrow of Antichrist
and the fall of Great Babylon; the beginning of returning
favor to the Jew; the second advent of our Lord and the
establishment of his kingdom; and the resurrection and
reward of the saints.
We find in prophecy the beginning and the ending of this
harvest period clearly marked, as well as the events due to
occur in it. And to call attention to and trace the various
lines of prophetic time to the events in which they culminate
is, in substance, the object of this volume. To receive its
testimony, the reader will need to have an ear to hear (Rev.
2:7; Matt. 11:15), and must expect meekly to cast away
many preconceived opinions as fast as he comes to see their
lack of harmony with God’s Word. To such as are thus
minded, and who pursue the lessons of this volume with
patience and care, and in the order of their arrangement, we
doubt not it will be a great blessing. If its lessons are
received into good and honest hearts, we trust it will be a
power to separate them from the world and to ripen them
as wheat for the garner. To thus quicken and ripen and
separate the saints, as wheat from tares, in this time of
harvest, is the object for which, we apprehend, these
prophecies now unfolding were designed by our Lord.
 Times and Seasons 17

Those permitted to view God’s grand chart of the ages,

which so clearly maps out the orderly arrangement, the deep
design and the wonderful scope of the divine plan as set
forth in the preceding volume, should be anxious to discover
whatever God may be pleased to reveal concerning its times
and seasons. Their interest in this subject should be many
fold greater than that of any in the past ages who did not see
the great blessings in reservation for all. Faithful children of
God long to know when the King of Glory shall come in,
and the prince of darkness be bound; when the children of
the light shall shine forth as the sun, and the darkness be
scattered; when the saints shall be received into full divine
adoption, and the groaning creation released from the
bondage of corruption; and when our heavenly Father’s
glorious character shall be fully revealed to an astonished
world, causing all who love righteousness to bow their hearts
in adoration and love and obedience.
To be devoid of such desires indicates a lack of interest in,
and appreciation of, God’s plans. The apostles, the
prophets and the angels all desired and sought earnestly to
know what time the spirit of God indicated through the
prophets. And this interest on the part of his children is ever
pleasing to God; for though he never heretofore gratified
such desires to any considerable extent, because the due
time had not yet come, he never once chided such interest.
On the contrary, he called the inquiring Daniel greatly
beloved, and answered his inquiry so far as was consistent
with his plan.
Such inquiry, therefore, should not be regarded as an
improper prying into the secrets of God. God would have
us manifest that interest in his plans which would “search
the Scriptures,” and “take heed to the sure word of
prophecy,” and thus be in that proper, waiting attitude
which will quickly discern the truth as it becomes due.
18 The Time is at Hand

Secret things belong unto God, but things revealed belong

unto us and our children forever. (Deut. 29:29) Therefore,
if we confine ourselves strictly to the Word of God, and
avoid idle speculation, we are on safe ground. If God’s plan
and times and seasons are not recorded in the Scriptures,
none can find them there; and God has surely had nothing
recorded by his prophets and apostles which he desires to
keep secret forever. In due time and order every recorded
feature of the divine plan, and its time and season, is
manifested to those watching; but the entire outline of the
plan, together with the time features of it, was not due to
be understood until the period designated “The time of the
end.” (Dan. 12:9, 10) And let it be borne in mind that until
such time as God purposes to reveal his secrets, neither
learning nor piety can find them out. Although the
prophecies have stood for centuries before the eyes of all,
they could not be unlocked and their secrets read until the
due time had come.
When some of the disciples came to our Lord inquiring
concerning the time for the establishment of the Kingdom
of God, before it was yet due to be revealed, he answered,
“It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the
Father hath appointed by his own authority.” (Acts 1:7)
And on another occasion, concerning the same subject, he
said, “Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the
angels who are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Take ye heed, watch and pray; for ye know not when the
time is.… And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch.”
Mark 13:32, 33, 37
These words of our Lord cannot be understood to mean
that none but the Father will ever know of his times and
seasons; hence it no more proves that we cannot know those
times and seasons now, than that our Lord cannot know
them now. And the very fact that the entire outline of our
 Times and Seasons 19

Father’s plan, and also his times and seasons, are now clearly
discernible, is strong proof that we are now living in the time
of the end of the present dominion of evil, and the dawn of
the Millennial Day, when knowledge should be increased,
and the wise should understand. (Dan. 12:4, 10) If prophecy
was never designed to be understood, there could have been
no reasonable object in giving it.
These expressions of the Master indicate that God is not
executing the various parts of his plan in a random, hap-
hazard manner, but that he has fixed and definite times and
seasons for every feature of his great work. And his infinite
power and wisdom guarantee that there can be no mis-
carriage or delay.
The words also impress the thought that up to that time
the Father had revealed the times and seasons connected
with his plans to no one, not even to our Lord Jesus. So far
from warranting the general supposition, that our Lord
rebuked investigation and interest in the times and seasons,
and by these words forbade such examination, the very
reverse is true. His words clearly show that though the times
and seasons were not yet given to them to know, they would
be very important some time, and would then be revealed
to those watching. In view of the fact that they would be
unsealed some time, and that they would be very important
then, he urges them to “take heed,” and not to allow indiffer-
ence to come over them, but to “watch” continually, that
they might know when the due time should come.
Those who watched all down the age, though they did not
see all they watched for, were nevertheless greatly blessed
and kept separate from the world, by so doing; while those
who will be living in the “due time” and shall obediently
“watch,” shall know, shall see, “shall understand,” and not
be in ignorance, in the midst of the wonderful events of the
“harvest” of this age. He who at any time neglects to watch,
20 The Time is at Hand

loses a blessing upon which the Master laid great stress, and
proves himself to be either blinded with prejudice by the
god of this world, or overcharged with matters of this life
and present interests, to the neglect of his vow of full
consecration to the Lord, to seek chiefly the Kingdom and
life to come.
The Apostles Peter and Paul call attention to this subject
of the times and seasons. Peter declares (2 Pet. 1:16), that
we are not following cunningly devised fables; that he saw
in a figure the glory of the coming kingdom of Christ on the
mount of transfiguration, when he beheld the glorious
“vision” of Moses and Elijah and Jesus in glittering garments
—Moses representing the ancient worthies (Heb. 11:38-40)
who shall be the earthly representatives of the heavenly
Kingdom, and Elijah representing the “overcomers” of this
Gospel age—the scene as a whole foreshadowing the “glory
to follow,” after the sufferings for righteousness’ sake shall
have completed the election according to favor. Yet Peter,
even while relating his vision, points to the prophetic
testimony, saying, “We have a more sure word of prophecy,
whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light that
shineth in a dark place until the day dawn.” (2 Pet. 1:19) He
well knew that all the prophecies could not be fully under-
stood by any then, and thus urged a watching attitude on the
part of the saints—not a watching of the sky, but a watching
for the fulfilment of all that God had spoken by the holy
prophets concerning the restitution, and the “times of
restitution,” which form so large and important a part of
their testimony. He assures us that prophecy will have
freshly important truths for us, all the way along until
Day-dawn.
The Apostle Paul declares, “Of the times and seasons,
brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you; for your-
selves know perfectly that the Day of the Lord so cometh as
 Times and Seasons 21

a thief in the night. [Quietly, stealthily it will come, and after

it has come, many will not for some time know that they are
in it.] When they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden
destruction cometh upon them [sudden or rapid, compared
with the slow processes of the past six thousand years, as our
day is called the fast day of steam and electricity—not
sudden as lightning, but sudden] as travail upon a woman.
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should
overtake you as a thief.” 1 Thess. 5:1-4
The “brethren” all have the lamp, the sure word of
prophecy mentioned by Peter, as a light in a dark place; and
while they keep the proper attitude of brethren, as faithful,
meek and humble students of the Word, they will at no time
be in darkness: they will always have the truth supplied as
meat in due season. At no time have those then living in full
harmony with God been left in ignorance of necessary truth,
to grope their way in the dark with the world. Abraham and
Lot knew of the destruction of Sodom beforehand, God
saying, “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?”
(Gen. 18:17) Noah knew of the flood in time to build the
ark, and was informed of the very day that he should go into
it. At the first advent, too, Simeon and Anna, and the wise
men of the East, knew to expect Messiah. In fact, the
expectation was general then. (Luke 2:25-38; Matt. 2:2;
Luke 3:15) And if God so dealt with the house of servants,
shall he do less for the house of Sons? Our Lord and Head
has said, “Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant
knoweth not what his Lord doeth; but I have called you
friends, for all things that I have heard of my Father I have
made known unto you.” Our Lord certainly shall know of the
times and seasons in due time, since he is to accomplish the
plan, and unless he has changed, he will make known the
plans to those close to him and associated in his work—his
friends, his saints.
22 The Time is at Hand

Reason, then, teaches us that so surely as it is written,

“The Lord will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto
his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7), and that most of
what he revealed unto them was not for themselves, but for
us, the Gospel Church (1 Pet. 1:12), so surely will the faith-
ful not be left in darkness, unable to discern it, when the day
of the Lord has come. It will not come upon them as a thief
and a snare—unawares; for they will be watching, and will
have the promised light then due upon the subject.
The Apostle states why he makes the positive assertion
that ye, brethren, will know of the times and seasons when
due, and will not be in darkness, saying (verse 5), “Ye are all
the children of light, and the children of the day.” Such are
begotten of the truth, and are to be developed by the truth
more and more unto the perfect day—to which they belong.
James 1:18; John 17:17, 19
Notice how carefully the pronouns ye and you, and they
and them, of this and other scriptures, distinguish the classes
referred to—the saints from the world. The knowledge
which the saints will have in the day of the Lord is con-
trasted with the ignorance, on the part of the world, of the
significance and tendency of transpiring events—“Ye have
no need that I write unto you.” “When they shall say, Peace
and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them …
and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in dark-
ness that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all
children of the light.” “Take heed,” says our Lord, “to your-
selves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with
surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so
that day come upon you unawares; for as a snare it shall
come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
Watch ye, therefore [watch yourselves and also the word of
prophecy], and pray always, that ye may be accounted
 Times and Seasons 23

worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and
to stand before the Son of man.” Luke 21:24-36
It follows, then, that if a child of God, living in the day of
the Lord, remain in darkness or ignorance as to the fact, he
must be either surfeited with the things of this life and
intoxicated with the spirit of the world, or else overcharged
with the cares of this life, and in either case indifferently
neglecting to watch with his lamp trimmed and burning and
with oil in his vessel—i.e., with the Word of God in heart
and mind, and with the spirit of truth in himself.
Though much, connected with the times and seasons, as
well as with the details of the plan, had been foretold by the
prophets, they confessed their ignorance of the import of
the prophecies to which they gave expression. (See Dan.
12:8; Ezek. 20:49; Matt. 13:17; 1 Pet. 1:10-12.) Stated in
dark and symbolic language, and linked with events then
future, to understand them then was impossible. Thus,
though recorded aforetime, and made to bear witness to the
divine foreknowledge and arrangement, they were for the
learning of those living in the due time for their fulfilment,
and not for those who uttered them. (Rom. 15:4) They
awaited the unfolding of various connected features of the
divine plan and human history, which, by God’s arrange-
ment, should unlock them, and enrich the patient, searching
children of God with “meat in due season” for an hour of
trial and need in “the evil day”—the day of trouble with
which this age closes, and in the midst of which also the new
era and dispensation dawns.
A wonderful modern device, which serves well to illus-
trate the divine arrangement of time prophecy, is what is
termed a Combination Time-Lock, used in some of the
largest banks. Like other combination locks, the key or
handle remains in the lock constantly. Certain peculiar
24 The Time is at Hand

movements of the handle, known only to one aware of the

arrangement, are needful to open it, while the slightest
deviation from the proper movements only complicates
the matter and makes it the more difficult to open. The
Combination Time-Lock adds the peculiar feature, that by
a clock arrangement inside the bank vaults, the doors when
closed at night are so locked that they cannot be opened
by any one until a fixed hour the next morning; and then,
only in response to the use of the right combination upon
which the lock has been set.
Thus our Heavenly Father has closed up and sealed many
features of his plan during the night with his great Time-
Lock, which was so set as to prevent their being opened until
“the time appointed”—in the morning of the great day of
restitution. And then Jehovah’s Anointed, “he that hath the
key” and understands the combination upon which it has
been set, “openeth, and no man shutteth.” (Rev. 3:7) He
opens unto us by giving us the necessary information as to
how the key of prophecy is to be operated by those desiring
to find the treasures of infinite wisdom. And we may unlock
the treasures of divine wisdom now, because the morning
hour has come—though it is early and not yet light to the
world. But only by carefully heeding the instructions, and
applying the key to the combination set by the great
Designer, will its treasures open to us.
In fact, this illustration fits the entire plan of God in all its
parts: Each feature of truth and each prophecy is but a part
of the one grand combination, which may be opened now
because it is morning—because the bolts of the great Time-
Lock are withdrawn. And this grand combination, once
opened, discloses fully and grandly the boundless treasures
of divine wisdom, justice, love and power. He who opens
will indeed know God as never before.
 Times and Seasons 25

Let us, then, examine the Scriptures with a reverent spirit,

that we may learn what God is pleased to show us with
reference to his times and seasons. Since he has recently
made the grand outlines of his plan so clear, we may
reasonably expect that his time is due to lead us into a
knowledge of its time features. The times and seasons were
wisely hidden in the past, and the saints were thus saved
from discouragement, because the time was long; but as the
plan nears its glorious consummation, it is the privilege of
the saints to know it, that they may lift up their heads and
rejoice, knowing that their deliverance draweth nigh. (Luke
21:28) The revealing of the time, in the “time of the end,”
will be as profitable and stimulating to the saints as its
revealing before would have been unprofitable and
discouraging.
Evidently our God is a God of order. Everything that he
does is in accordance with a definitely prearranged plan; and
his appointed times and seasons are no insignificant or
unimportant part of that plan. Notice that Jesus was born on
time—“In the fulness of time God sent his only begotten
Son.” (Gal. 4:4) Not before, nor after, but just when the
time was full. Our Lord’s first preaching was on the subject
of time—“He came preaching, and saying, The time is
fulfilled.… Repent and believe the good tidings.” (Mark
1:15) “In due time Christ died.” (Rom. 5:6) “He rose again
the third day [at the appointed time] according to the
Scriptures.” (1 Cor. 15:4) During his ministry his enemies
frequently sought to take him, but it is stated that they could
not, “because his hour was not yet come.” John 7:30
The time prophecies were not given to satisfy mere
curiosity, but to enable the student of the Word to recognize
the foretold events when due. For instance: Although
prophecy marked the time and manner of the first advent,
26 The Time is at Hand

it was not understood until Christ had come; and then it

helped those who carefully studied the Scriptures to
recognize the man Jesus as the Christ, sent of God according
to appointment and prophecy. And, just so, prophecies
marking the time and manner of the second advent are due
to be understood at about the time of that event, to aid us
in recognizing his day when it has come—and its order of
events and the duties of the hour. One cannot read the Old
Testament Scriptures thoughtfully without noticing the
prominence given to dates, and the great particularity with
which some are marked, even to a day, though quite
frequently they are attached to what may seem to be very
insignificant events. But the close student will find that these
various dates and chronological references are links in a
wonderful chain of evidence which points out with great
precision particularly two of the most notable and important
events in the history of the world, viz.: the first and second
advents of the world’s Redeemer and Lord, and the impor-
tant matters associated therewith.
The fact that the majority of Christians are indifferent to
these things is no reason why those who love his appearing,
and desire to be found approved of him, should drop into a
similar condition of lukewarmness.
It should be borne in mind that fleshly Israel, except the
“friends” of God, stumbled and knew not the time of their
visitation (Luke 19:44), and that the prophet has foretold
the stumbling of both the houses of Israel—the nominal
Jewish house, and the nominal Christian house. (Isa. 8:14)
Only “a remnant” in the close or harvest of each dispensa-
tion is prepared to receive and appreciate the truths then
due, and therefore to enter into the special privileges and
blessings of the dawning dispensation. It therefore remains
for each individual Christian, in the closing period of this
age, to see to it that he is one of “the remnant,” and not one
 Times and Seasons 27

of the lukewarm, listless, indifferent mass of the nominal

Christian Church, which will surely stumble, as foretold by
the Prophet, by the Lord and by the apostles, and as
foreshadowed by the course of fleshly Israel, which was
declared to be its shadow or type.
But while time prophecy will be of great advantage in its
due time, showing various features of God’s plan pertaining
to the harvest, etc., it is also true that a knowledge of the
manner of our Lord’s coming and appearing is very neces-
sary. To this, very careful attention, in its appropriate place,
is requested. And back of all this knowledge must lie
holiness and humility, which must pave the way for its
reception by enabling the child of God to remove prejudice
from his heart and to search diligently to know what has
been revealed. So it was at the first advent: the earnest,
consecrated, meek ones alone discerned the time and
manner. The worldly and overcharged ones, the full ones,
will not discern either the prophecies or the signs of the
times fulfilling them, until the harvest is past and the
summer of special favor is ended.
In the end or “harvest” of the Jewish age, the truly humble
and earnest “Israelites indeed” were in a condition of
expectancy which differed widely from that of the proud,
worldly-minded and self-righteous about them; so that not
only were they more ready to accept God’s plan as he had
arranged it, but they were more ready to hear and examine
the truth when they came in contact with it. And our Lord,
while dismissing the self-satisfied, fault-finding quibbles of
the Pharisees with dark or evasive answers, took time and
care in making truth clear and plain to the humble, earnest
seekers. (Matt. 13:10-17; 16:1-4; Mark 7:1-23; Luke 18:18-
30; John 1:45-51; Luke 24:13-32 and 33-49; John 20:24-28;
21:1-12) The proud and self-satisfied, and all who followed
them, stumbled (Matt. 15:14), while the humble and truth-
28 The Time is at Hand

hungry inquired earnestly for the truth. (Matt. 13:36; Mark

4:10) And the Lord expounded the dark sayings to such, and
said, “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the
Kingdom of God, but to them that are without [not Israel-
ites indeed], all these things are done in parables, that seeing
they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear
and not understand.”
So, too, it is at the end of this age. Truth here, as there,
separates the earnest and humble, and leads them forward
into the knowledge now due to such, and strengthens and
enlightens them, that they may not stumble with the mass
of nominal Christians; while the lukewarm and self-satisfied
reject the truths here due, because blinded by their own
improper condition of heart. Hence they will be rejected by
the Lord as unworthy of becoming his bride. Eph. 4:1;
1 Cor. 9:27
It is a serious error into which many fall, to suppose that
a knowledge of God’s doings and plans is of little impor-
tance, that the graces of Christian character are all that God
requires, and that these are better conserved by ignorance.
How differently the Scriptures present the matter! They
counsel us, not only to cultivate the graces of the Christian
character, but to preserve constantly that condition of heart
which will enable us to discern the truth—especially that
great truth of the Lord’s presence when due—and when
dispensational changes take place. A knowledge of dispen-
sational truth is quite as important in the end of this age as
it was in the end of the Jewish age. Those who did not
discern the truth then due did not receive the favors then
due. And just so in the end of this age: Those who cannot
discern the truth now due, being blinded by unbelief and
worldliness, cannot receive special favors now due. They are
not overcomers, and hence are unfit to be the bride of
Christ, and to enter into the glorious inheritance of the
 Times and Seasons 29

saints as joint-heirs with him. Truth, in this age, under the

adverse circumstances for its reception, becomes a test of
our faithfulness to God, and therefore as a sickle separates
the fit ones from those unfit—the wheat from the tares.
Odium attaches to the study of prophetic time by reason
of past misapplications of it by “Second Adventists” and
others, and the consequent failures to realize the events
expected to occur at stated times. We see, however, that
even this has been a part of God’s plan to obscure the
subject to all but the class for whom it was intended, by
permitting contempt and ridicule to attach to it, thus
hindering the worldly-wise and prudent from apprehending
it. (Matt. 11:25) This, we doubt not, was as much a part of
the divine plan as the sending of Jesus into Nazareth, a
despised place, “that he might be called a Nazarene” (Matt.
2:23), though he was really born in the honorable town of
Bethlehem. As the worldly-wise and prudent of that day
said, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” so today,
when prophetic time or anything relating to the Lord’s
second advent is mentioned, many cry “Adventist,” as if to
say, “Can any good thing come out of Adventism?”—even
though they admit that many prophecies containing time are
not yet fulfilled, and that the second coming of the Lord is
the most prominent topic of Scripture.
We have great sympathy for both the First Adventists (the
Jews) and the Second Adventists, though only a few of
either realized the truths they so nearly apprehended, yet
failed to grasp, each being blinded by false expectations. Our
Adventist friends have failed to recognize both the manner
and the object of the Lord’s return as taught in the Scrip-
tures; consequently they have not been expecting to “see
him as he is,” but as he was. They consider the object of his
coming one which will fill the hearts of all except the saints
with dismay and terror; that his object is to gather the elect,
30 The Time is at Hand

destroy all others of mankind, and burn up the world.

Having such ideas, they used the time prophecies as a whip
to scourge and drive the world to God. But the world coolly
looked on, and said that these were unreasonable enthusi-
asts, and, if there is a God, he is certainly more reasonable
and just than that. The scorn of the world grew more and
more intense, as time after time they foretold a wreck of
matter and a crush of worlds, and time after time their
predictions failed—until now the very mention of prophetic
time is received very generally with an incredulous smile, or
with open contempt, even by Christians who well know that
prophecy and chronology constitute a large proportion of
God’s revelation.
But blessed is he
“Who bears unmoved the world’s dark frown,
Nor heeds its scornful smile;
Whom seas of trouble cannot drown,
Nor Satan’s arts beguile.”
But God provided time prophecies for no such purpose,
nor will he attempt to convert the world in any such way as
this; for he seeketh such to worship him as worship in spirit
and in truth (John 4:23), and not such as are frightened into
his service. If he had designed to terrorize men into obedi-
ence, he could have devised some more successful method
than the proclamation of time—as our Adventist friends
have proved. Prophetic time was given, not to alarm the
world—nor for the world in any sense—but to enlighten,
strengthen, comfort, encourage and guide the Church in the
troublous times in the end of the age. Therefore it is written,
“None of the wicked shall understand, but the wise only.”
To these, this becomes meat in due season, and it, with
other meat, will strengthen those who use it, so that they will
be “able to stand in the evil day”—the day of trouble with
which this age closes. It will enable them to understand the
 Times and Seasons 31

wonderful events transpiring around them, so that they will

neither be consumed by fear and dread, nor swallowed up
by the projects and false theories—science falsely so
called—with which this day will abound. And, withal, they
may be in the devouring fire [trouble], witnesses for God
and his plan, and teachers of the people—pointers to the
glorious outcome of Jehovah’s plan, lifting up a standard for
the people. Isa. 62:10
This is the object of time prophecy, and how important,
how indispensable—that the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished, at this time. Without these prophetic
time-proofs, we might see the events of this Day of the Lord,
and know not of it, or of our duties and privileges in it. Let
none, then, of the truly consecrated undervalue these
prophetic time-evidences, which were designed to guide our
words and deeds in the early Dawn of the Millennial Day,
before sunrise, while the world and the nominal church are
yet asleep, ignorant and heedless of the dispensational
changes now occurring. These prophetic time-proofs were
largely God’s means of drawing the attention of the writer
more fully and carefully to other features of the divine plan.
Attention given to these must result in lasting profit to the
student, not only by informing him of “present truth,” but
also by giving force and vital reality to all Scriptural truths,
by furnishing proof that all God’s plans are working together
in time, as well as in kind, to the development of his glorious
purposes.
The failure of the predictions of Adventists, who at-
tempted to fix a time for the burning of the world, etc., etc.,
has been more in regard to the character of the events
expected than in the time. Like the Jews, they erred by
looking for the wrong thing at the right time. This was the
secondary cause of their failure to clearly apprehend the
truth, but the primary cause of it was the fact that it was not
32 The Time is at Hand

yet time for a clearer unfolding. And yet it was time for the
stirring up of the saints to look for the Lord’s appearing—for
a going forth to meet the Bridegroom, and a disappointment
prior to his actual coming—all of which was indicated in our
Lord’s parable of the Ten Virgins, as will be shown at length
hereafter. As shown in the preceding volume, the fire which
is to devour the earth in the Day of the Lord is symbolic, not
literal; and in succeeding chapters it will be shown that the
applications of some time prophecies which Adventists have
discarded as failures were not failures, but correct, and that
they clearly mark the symbolic fire of this time—already
getting under way.
The Advent people, laboring under the difficulty of
expecting a literal burning of the earth, attempted to force
all the prophetic periods to one common day of termina-
tion—a twenty-four hour day at that—and thus they did
violence to some prophecies to make them fit and end with
others. But the clearer view of the divine plan now reveals
the perfect harmony of the various time prophecies, and
there is no necessity for twisting or doing violence to any,
to make it fit with the others. As in succeeding chapters we
institute an examination of the leading prophecies, we do
not form a theory and then endeavor to bend all the pro-
phetic periods to it, but we carefully trace each period to its
termination, and then weave together the theory or plan
thus indicated by the great Revealer of secrets. It will be
found that the order and harmony of God’s plan are just as
manifest in its times and seasons as in the glorious features
of that plan traced in the preceding volume, and mapped
out on the Chart of the Ages. And when the great clock of
the ages strikes the hours indicated on the prophetic dial,
the events foretold are as sure to follow as that God
foretold them.
 STUDY II

BIBLE CHRONOLOGY

CHRONOLOGY NECESSARY TO AN UNDERSTANDING OF PROPHECY—INDISPENSABLE

DATA FURNISHED IN THE BIBLE—FROM THE CREATION OF ADAM TO A.D. 1873
WAS SIX THOUSAND YEARS—A STATEMENT OF BIBLE CHRONOLOGY IN GREAT
PERIODS—ITS EXAMINATION IN DETAIL—FROM CREATION TO THE DAY THE
FLOOD WAS DRIED UP—TO THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT—TO THE GIVING OF
THE LAW—TO THE DIVISION OF CANAAN AMONG THE TRIBES—THE PERIOD OF
THE JUDGES—THE PERIOD OF THE KINGS—THE PERIOD OF THE DESOLA-
TION—TO A.D. 1873—WHEREIN THIS CHRONOLOGY DIFFERS FROM THAT OF
BISHOP USHER, NOTED IN OUR ENGLISH BIBLES—THE TRUE DATE OF OUR
LORD’S BIRTH.

I N this chapter we present the Bible evidence which

indicates that six thousand years from the creation of
Adam were complete with A.D. 1872; and hence that, since
1872 A.D., we are chronologically entered upon the seventh
thousand or the Millennium—the forepart of which, the
“Day of the Lord,” the “day of trouble,” is to witness the
breaking into pieces of the kingdoms of this world and the
establishment of the Kingdom of God under the whole
heavens.
Chronology is necessary, too, as a basis for the examina-
tion of the prophetic periods. We must ascertain first of all
where we are on the stream of time; and to do this, we must
have reliable dates for the calculation; hence we take up the
subject of chronology first in order. And a complete
chronology of human history must of necessity begin with
the creation of man.
The length of time since the creation of man is variously
estimated. Among those who accept the Bible record, there
can be but little difference of opinion; but among those who
reject it, the differences are enormous, varying all the way

33
34 The Time is at Hand

from ten thousand to hundreds of thousands of years. These

suppositions are based upon facts which afford but slight
ground for such extravagant and reckless conclusions. For
instance, the finding of flint arrowheads in the peat bogs of
Switzerland and Ireland, at a considerable depth below the
surface, is taken as a proof that their level was once the
surface, and that the peat mosses gradually grew up around
and above them; and the time necessary for such a growth
is calculated from the present rate of growth per century,
which is very slight. If their premises were true, of course it
would prove that man had lived hundreds of thousands of
years ago. But other geologists will show, and with good
reason, that these peat bogs were once so soft that a flint
arrowhead might easily sink to a great depth gradually,
during a few centuries.
Another instance we quote: “In making soundings in the
slimy soil of the Nile valley two baked bricks were discov-
ered, one at a depth of twenty, the other of twenty-four
yards. If we estimate the thickness of the annual deposit
formed by the river at eight inches a century, we must assign
to the first of these bricks an age of 12,000 years and to the
second that of 14,000. By means of analogous calculations,
Burmeister [a celebrated geologist] supposes seventy-two
thousand years to have elapsed since the first appearance of
man upon the soil of Egypt; and Draper [another noted
geologist] attributes to the European man who witnessed
the last glacial epoch an antiquity of more than 250,000
years.”*
Of course “if we estimate” just as these great men do, we
should reach the same great conclusions. But some of us are
unscientific enough to inquire, whether it is not more than
probable that the slime deposits of the Nile river have been

* Prof. N. Joly, in “Man Before Metals,” page 183.

 Bible Chronology 35

very irregular, as of other rivers, which sometimes shift their

beds and wash away their banks wonderfully in a single
freshet. Again, we remember the Flood of Noah’s day, not
only particularly mentioned in the Bible, but preserved in
the oldest traditions of the heathen nations, and we wonder
how much slime and debris that caused, over and above the
eight inches a century. We wonder, too, why it has not
occurred to these great minds, as it naturally does to some
not too great, that two bricks thrown into that “slimy soil,”
at a time when it was covered with water and very soft,
would sink quite a distance by their own weight, being so
much more dense than the slimy soil. As for the difference
in depth of the two bricks, it would seem to an unscientific
mind much more reasonable to suppose that the one fell
into the slime edge-wise, or end-wise, while the other, falling
flat, would sink more slowly, than to suppose that men living
two thousand years apart made two bricks exactly alike.
It is not many years since the skeleton of a man was found
in a former bed of the Mississippi river, and some geologists
began to calculate how many thousands of years might be
indicated by the many feet of silt, slime, etc., covering the
skeleton, and fancied they had a very valuable sample of
prehistoric man. But finding later, several feet below the
skeleton, parts of a “flat boat,” such as was in use on the
Mississippi less than fifty years ago, it completely upset the
calculations, and relieved mankind of “another proof ” that
the world is hundreds of thousands of years older than the
Bible teaches.
Leaving the discordant and wholly unreliable guessing of
some geologists on this subject of chronology, we appeal to
human history for information. And what do we find? The
history of the oldest of the Gentile nations can be traced
back clearly and distinctly less than three thousand years.
Back of that all is dark, uncertain, mythical, fabulous, and
36 The Time is at Hand

untrustworthy tradition. Roman history does not extend

so far back, as it is only twenty-seven hundred years since
Rome was founded, and then its first centuries are wrapped
in uncertain tradition. Three thousand years back in the
Babylonian, Syrian, and Egyptian histories brings us to a
period where their records are fragmentary and involved
in great obscurity. In the history of China, it brings us to
the Tchou dynasty, where the events of Chinese history
“begin to be more trustworthy.” In Greece, noted for its
scholarship in the past three thousand years, with whom
above all nations we might expect to find accurate history,
what do we find? We find its dates accurate for the last
twenty-six hundred years, but no farther back. Back of that,
we come to what is known as the “fabulous, mythical or
prehistoric age” of Greece. The only reasonable and
connected account of the first three thousand years of man
on the earth is found in the Bible; and this fact is surely in
harmony with its claim to divine origin, direction and
preservation.
As with history, so with dates: the world has, aside from
the Bible, no means of tracing its chronology farther back
than B.C. 776. On this subject we quote Prof. Fisher, of Yale
College. He says: “An exact method of establishing dates
was slowly reached. The invention of eras was indispensable
to this end. The earliest definite time for the dating of events
was established in Babylon—the era of Nabonassar, 747
B.C. The Greeks (from about 300 B.C.) dated events from
the first recorded victory at the Olympic games, 776 B.C.
These games occurred every fourth year. Each Olympiad
was thus a period of four years. The Romans, though not for
some centuries after the founding of Rome, dated from that
event; i.e., from 753 B.C.”
In further evidence that the many so-called histories of
the remote past so abound with vagaries and mythical
 Bible Chronology 37

traditions as to make them valueless as to chronological

data, and wholly unworthy of consideration, we quote as
follows from the American Cyclopedia, under the caption,
Chronology:
“The history of ancient nations, unless we make an
exception in the case of the Hebrews, goes back into
mythical periods of thousands or millions of years; and even
after the records begin to assume a historical aspect, the
discrepancies are very great: … The Assyrian, Babylonian
and Egyptian inscriptions are in extinct languages, and in
characters long obsolete.… Greek and Roman dates are
generally well authenticated to the first Olympiad, B.C. 776,
and the establishment of the Consulate, B.C. 510, previous
to which they are mainly traditional or legendary. Herod-
otus is valuable only as to events of his own time, about 450
B.C., and those of a century or two earlier.”
Clinton in his work on Grecian Chronology (page 283)
says, “The history contained in the Hebrew Scriptures
presents a remarkable and pleasing contrast to the early
accounts of the Greeks. In the latter we trace with difficulty
a few obscure facts preserved to us by the poets, who
transmitted, with all the embellishments of poetry and fable,
what they had received from oral tradition. In the annals of
the Hebrew nation, we have authentic narratives written by
contemporaries under the guidance of inspiration. What
they have delivered to us comes accordingly under a double
sanction. They were aided by divine inspiration, in record-
ing facts upon which, as mere human witnesses, their
evidence would be valid.”
The Bible, our God-provided history of the first three
thousand years, is the only work in the world which—
beginning with Adam, the first man mentioned in history,
monument or inscription, whose name, the time of his
creation and death are recorded, and from whom his
38 The Time is at Hand

descendants can be traced by name and age in successive

links for nearly four thousand years—furnishes us a clear
and connected history down to a period where secular
history is well authenticated. As we shall see, the Bible
record extends to the first year of Cyrus, B.C. 536, a well
established and generally accepted date. There the thread
of Bible chronology is dropped—at a point where secular
history is reliable. God has thus provided for his children a
clear and connected record down to the present time. The
Bible by its prophecies even supplements history, down to
the consummation of “the restitution of all things,” in the
end of the seventh millennium, whence the new era of
eternal blessedness will begin to date. The Bible is therefore
the only record in the world which furnishes a view of
human history as a whole. It carries us from the lost paradise
of Genesis to the restored paradise of Revelation, tracing the
pathway of humanity into eternity. Taken together, the
history and prophecy of the Bible afford a panoramic view
of the whole course of events from the creation and fall of
man to his reconciliation and restitution. The Bible,
therefore, is the chart of all history. Without it, as has been
truly said, history would be “like rivers flowing from
unknown sources to unknown seas;” but under its guidance
we may trace these rivers to their springs, yea, and see their
glorious ending in the ocean of eternity.
In the Bible alone, therefore, we may expect to find a
record which will order aright the inharmonious periods and
chronological irregularities which the annals of human
history at first sight present—into harmony with each other
and with the periods of nature.
In starting with the question, How long is it since man’s
creation? we should and do feel confident that he who gave
the prophecies, and said that in the time of the end they
should be understood, has provided in his Word the data
 Bible Chronology 39

necessary to enable us accurately to locate those prophecies.

However, any who expect to find these matters so plainly
stated as to be convincing to the mere surface reader, or
the insincere skeptic, will be disappointed. God’s times
and seasons are given in such a way as to be convincing, at
this time, only to those who, by acquaintance with God,
are able to recognize his characteristic methods. The
evidence is given “that the man of God may be thoroughly
furnished.” (2 Tim. 3:17) These well know that in all the
paths by which their Father leads they must walk by faith
and not by sight. To all who are prepared to walk thus, we
expect to be able to point out, at every step, solid state-
ments of God’s Word—a sure foundation for reasonable
faith.
We will not here discuss the merits of the Septuagint and
Hebrew versions of the Old Testament Scriptures, their
difference in chronological data, etc., but will satisfy
ourselves, and we trust the reader, with the statement that
the former was a translation by Egyptians, while the latter
is the original Hebrew record; which facts, taken in connec-
tion with the almost superstitious veneration with which the
Hebrews guarded every jot and tittle of those sacred
writings, is strong evidence of the reliability of the Hebrew
version. Its acceptance by scholars is quite general, and in
this volume we follow its dates, etc.
Here we furnish the evidence that from the creation of
Adam to A.D. 1873 was six thousand years. And though the
Bible contains no direct statement that the seventh thou-
sand will be the epoch of Christ’s reign, the great Sabbath
Day of restitution to the world, yet the venerable tradition
is not without a reasonable foundation. The law given to
Israel, the typical people, appointing that six days of labor
and weariness should be followed by one of refreshment and
rest from their own works, seems fitly to illustrate the six
40 The Time is at Hand

thousand years in which the whole creation labors and

groans under the bondage of sin and death (Rom. 8:22) in
a vain endeavor to extricate itself, and the grand Millennial
Day in which the weary and heavy laden may come to Christ
Jesus, the shepherd and bishop of their souls, and through
him find rest, refreshment and restitution—in which,
through the merits of his precious blood, they may find
repentance and remission of sins. On the typical seventh day
he inquired of the impotent man, “Wilt thou be made
whole?” and in answer to his faith and obedience gave him
strength to take up his bed and walk. (See John 5:6-9; also
Matt. 12:10, 13; John 7:23; Luke 13:11-16; 14:1-5.) So,
during the antitypical Sabbath, the Millennium, it will be
declared to all the world that “whosoever will” may have life
and health eternal if he will take the steps of faith and
obedience.
We must not overlook the fact already noted (Vol. I,
Chap. VIII), that the term day is indefinite, and signifies
merely a period of time, whether of long or of short duration.
The Apostle Peter intimated that the seventh thousand-year
period of the world’s history would be the seventh day in
God’s reckoning, saying, “Beloved, be not ignorant of this
one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day.… The day of the Lord will
come,” etc. 2 Pet. 3:8, 10
If, then, the seventh thousand-year period of earth’s
history be an epoch specially noted as the period of Christ’s
reign, we shall, by showing that it began in A.D. 1873, be
proving that we are already in it. This calls to mind what we
have already noted in the preceding volume, that the
Scriptures indicate that the dawn of the Millennium, or
Day of the Lord, will be dark and stormy, and full of
trouble upon the world and upon the nominal church,
though its earliest dawning light will be full of comfort
 Bible Chronology 41

and cheer to the saints, who draw their comfort and peace
from the hope set before them in the gospel, which, as an
anchor, enters beyond the time of trouble, and fastens in
the precious promises of the Millennial sunrise and glory:
they see, beyond the time of trouble, the glorious reign
and blessings promised.
The general condition of the world today, and the rapid
development since 1873 of Socialism, Nihilism and Com-
munism, whose avowed object is the overturning of the
powers that be, and the redistribution of the wealth of the
world, are certainly not out of harmony with what we should
expect, however much, in some respects, these things may
be deprecated by those who love law and order and peace.
Only those who see that the coming anarchy and trouble are
God’s agencies for the establishment of a yet more complete
law and order, and a more lasting peace, will be relieved
from overwhelming fear as they pass through it.
Nor is this pointing out of the seventh epoch, or Millen-
nium, the only value of chronology; for while we shall
present several lines of prophecy entirely independent of
chronology, it is the measure by which several lines of
prophecy are established. The perfect agreement between
these two classes of prophetic teaching, some dependent on,
and some independent of, chronology, is very strong proof,
not only of the correctness of those applications, but also of
the correctness of the chronology which shows this har-
mony; on the same principle that a key which will unlock a
treasure-casket difficult to open is evidently the true key.
The chronology given below harmonizes the various
prophetic statements relating to Christ’s Kingdom and its
establishment, by showing their relative order and time.
Chronology is the stem or handle by which all the prophetic
time-proofs, as notches or wards of the key, are held
together and operated.
42 The Time is at Hand

A CONDENSED STATEMENT OF CHRONOLOGY

TO THE YEAR A.M. 6000

The following condensed statement of chronological

periods may properly be termed Bible chronology, because
the Bible record alone is followed down to the first year of
Cyrus, B.C. 536, a date well authenticated and generally
accepted by scholars. Here the thread of Bible chronology
ends—a little beyond the period where secular history
begins to be reliable. This, in itself, is a marked evidence of
divine direction and oversight, in helping us only where we
are unable to help ourselves.

FROM THE CREATION OF ADAM

To the end of the flood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1656 years

Thence to the covenant with Abraham . . . . . . . 427 “
Thence to the Exodus and the giving of the Law 430 “
Thence to the division of Canaan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 “
The period of the Judges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450 “
The period of the Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513 “
The period of the desolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 “
Thence to A.D. 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536 “
Thence to A.D. 1873 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1872 “
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6000 years

As we consider particularly each of these periods, let the

reader figure it out for himself, and see how firm a founda-
tion for our faith is laid in God’s Word. Two breaks in the
historic narrative of the Old Testament we shall find, yet
when we discover that in the New Testament God has
provided bridges to span these two chasms, it should
increase our confidence that God so arranged the record as
to hide his times and seasons, until his due time for revealing
 Bible Chronology 43

them had come—just as he has done with other truths

already noticed.
We will now examine the foregoing periods separately,
and in their order as named above, down to the reign of
Cyrus. Have your Bible at hand and verify every quotation,
that you may receive this as God’s Word and not as man’s.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE PERIOD FROM THE CREATION

OF ADAM TO THE DAY THE FLOOD WAS DRIED UP

“Adam lived 130 years and begat a son and

called his name Seth.” Gen. 5:3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 years
“Seth lived 105 years and begat Enos.”
Gen. 5:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 “
“Enos lived 90 years and begat Cainan.”
Gen. 5:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 “
“Cainan lived 70 years and begat Mahalaleel.”
Gen. 5:12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 “
“Mahalaleel lived 65 years and begat Jared.”
Gen. 5:15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 “
“Jared lived 162 years and begat Enoch.”
Gen. 5:18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 “
“Enoch lived 65 years and begat Methuselah.”
Gen. 5:21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 “
“Methuselah lived 187 years and begat Lamech.”
Gen. 5:25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 “
“Lamech lived 182 years and begat a son and
called his name Noah.” Gen. 5:28 . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 “
“Noah was 600 years old when the flood of
waters was upon the earth.” Gen. 7:6 . . . . . . . . . 600 “
Total from the creation of Adam to the day
the flood was dried up. Gen. 8:13 . . . . . . . . . . . . 1656 years
Nothing more simple and exact to a day than this could
be asked. Let us now examine the next period.
44 The Time is at Hand

THE PERIOD FROM THE FLOOD TO THE COVENANT WITH

ABRAHAM, AT THE DEATH OF TERAH, HIS FATHER

“Shem—begat Arphaxad 2 years after the flood.”

Gen. 11:10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 years
“Arphaxad lived 35 years and begat Salah.”
Gen. 11:12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 “
“Salah lived 30 years and begat Eber.”
Gen. 11:14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 “
“Eber lived 34 years and begat Peleg.”
Gen. 11:16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 “
“Peleg lived 30 years and begat Reu.”
Gen. 11:18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 “
“Reu lived 32 years and begat Serug.”
Gen. 11:20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 “
“Serug lived 30 years and begat Nahor.”
Gen. 11:22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 “
“Nahor lived 29 years and begat Terah.”
Gen. 11:24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 “
“The days of Terah were 205 years and he died.”
Gen. 11:32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 “
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427 years

This, too, is very simple and exact. But the next period is
not so easily traced; for the direct line of chronology is
broken, until after the exodus of Israel from Egypt. Hence
we would be quite unable to proceed, were it not that Paul
and Stephen, as the mouthpieces of the Spirit, furnish the
connecting link.

THE PERIOD FROM THE COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM

TO THE GIVING OF THE LAW

Paul declares that the length of this period was four hundred
and thirty years. (Gal. 3:17) The Covenant included the
 Bible Chronology 45

promise of the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession,

and though several times reaffirmed, to Abraham, to Isaac
and to Jacob, it was always the same covenant. (See Gen.
12:7, 8; 13:14-18; 26:3, 4; 35:9-12; 46:2-4; 50:24.) As
shown by a comparison of Gen. 12:1-5, 7 and Acts 7:2-5, the
covenant was made (according to previous promise) as soon
as Abraham had fully complied with the conditions on which
he was to receive it: that was, as soon as he had entered
Canaan, which he did immediately after the decease of his
father, who died in Haran, on the way to Canaan. Having
the date of the covenant—just after Terah’s death—thus
established by Stephen’s statement, and having Paul’s
statement, that the Law was four hundred and thirty years
after the covenant, the break in the Old Testament chronol-
ogy is thus bridged by the New. But let us read the account
carefully, and mark the particularity with which the bridge
is constructed:
“Now the Lord had [previously, before he left Mesopo-
tamia, or Ur of the Chaldees] said unto Abraham, Get
thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from
thy father’s house [brethren, etc.] unto a land that I will
show thee; and [if you do so] I will make of thee a great
nation,” etc. (Gen. 12:1, 2. Compare Acts 7:2.) This
indicates that God had proposed the covenant to Abraham
before Terah, his father, died, and before he came to dwell
in Haran or Charran. But there was a stipulation which
demanded Abraham’s faith and obedience before the
covenant should be actually made. This stipulation was
that he must manifest faith in the promise that such a
covenant would be made with him, by leaving his native
country and kindred and going to the land to which he was
directed. This Abraham did, and as his wife, his nephew
Lot and his aged father shared his faith and desired to
share his fortunes with him, they were permitted to do so,
46 The Time is at Hand

and the four started for the land of promise. His father
Terah died on the way, in Haran, after which Abraham
passed over into Canaan, that there he might secure and
bind the covenant. As Stephen declared to Israel: “When
his father was dead, he removed him into this land
wherein ye now dwell.” “So Abraham departed [out of
Haran] as the Lord had spoken unto him.” (Acts 7:4; Gen.
12:4) And the covenant was made just after he entered the
land. (See Gen. 12:5-7.) Thus we have the date of the
covenant, and the beginning of the four hundred and
thirty years, fixed as immediately following Terah’s death,
and the chain of chronology complete to the giving of the
Law. The first feature of the Law was the Passover, which
was instituted the same day that Israel left Egypt. Exod.
12:41-43, 47, 50, 51
In harmony with this we read: “Now the sojourning of the
children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and
thirty years; and it came to pass at the end of the four
hundred and thirty years, even the self-same day it came to
pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of
Egypt.” Exod. 12:40-42, 51
Some may suppose that the statements of Moses and Paul
(Exod. 12:40-42 and Gal. 3:17) are not in harmony, the one
affirming that the sojourning of Israel was four hundred and
thirty years, and the other, that from the covenant with
Abraham to the giving of the Law was four hundred and
thirty years, reasoning that if only four hundred and thirty
years elapsed between Abraham’s coming into Canaan and
the giving of the Law, the sojourn of the children of Israel
in Egypt must have been much less. But it should be
observed that the statement is not that Israel sojourned in
Egypt four hundred and thirty years, but that the whole
length of the sojourning of that people who for some
time lived in Egypt lasted four hundred and thirty years:
 Bible Chronology 47

“Now the sojourning of the children of Israel who dwelt in

Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.” The sojourning
referred to began when Abraham first came into Canaan.
(Heb. 11:8, 9) Israel sojourned in Abraham and in Isaac and
in Jacob, even as Levi paid tithes to Melchizedec, while yet
in the loins of his father. Heb. 7:9, 10
The covenant with Abraham took effect from the time
that, leaving Haran or Charran, he set foot in Canaan, the
land of promise. From that time, he and all Israel in him, yet
unborn, became heirs of the things promised, and sojourners,
or pilgrims, waiting on God for the fulfilment of the prom-
ise. This sojourning had lasted four hundred and thirty
years, to a day, when Israel left Egypt, and received that first
feature of the Law, the institution of the Passover. The
statements of Moses and Paul, therefore, refer to precisely
the same period, thus giving most positive evidence that
from the covenant with Abraham to the giving of the Law
was four hundred and thirty years. Paul gave special empha-
sis to the fact that the Passover must be regarded as the
beginning of the Law (which Moses also shows, Exod.
12:42, 43, 47, 50), and Moses gave special emphasis to the
exactness of the period, to a day.
Thus we have our third period clearly established. And
when we mark the Lord’s particularity to a day, in furnishing
this link in the chain of chronology, it gives us strong
confidence, especially when we consider that such particu-
larity was probably of no special interest to the Church of
the past, and was given for no other than the present use.

PERIOD FROM THE EXODUS TO THE DIVISION

OF CANAAN AMONG THE TRIBES

Israel’s forty years, or “day of temptation in the wilder-

ness” (Deut. 8:2; Psa. 95:8-10; Heb. 3:8, 9), was followed
48 The Time is at Hand

by six years of war in Canaan, and the dividing of the land

among the tribes. One year, one month and five days
elapsed from their going out of Egypt to their leaving Sinai
for Paran. (Num. 33:3; 10:11-13) And it was then, from
Kadesh-barnea in the wilderness of Paran, that the spies
were sent. (Num. 13:3-26; 32:8-13) One of these, Caleb,
when applying for his portion at the division of the land
(Joshua 11:23; 10:42), said, “Forty years old was I when
Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea
to espy out the land, and I brought him word again.… And
now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said, these
forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word …
while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, lo, I am
this day fourscore and five years old.” (Joshua 14:7, 10)
Thus it will be seen that it was forty-five years from the
spying of the land to its division among the tribes, as
affirmed by Joshua, and a little over a year from the exodus
to the sending of the spies, making forty-six full years and
a fraction* from the exodus to the division of the land. As
the first forty years of this period were passed in the
wilderness, as shown by many scriptures, notably Acts 7:36
and Heb. 3:9, the remaining six to the division of the land
were spent in Canaan, conquering and taking possession of
the land of promise.

* We take account of only the complete years, more accurate account

being impossible. Sometimes, as above, the years are fractionally long. And
again some are short, as in the case of Zedekiah’s reign. Zedekiah is said to
have reigned eleven years (2 Chron. 36:11; Jer. 52:1); yet, from verses 3 to
7 of the latter chapter, it is clear that his actual reign was ten years four
months and nine days. We believe that these fractional parts of years
counterbalance themselves; and that the Lord has thus overruled and
arranged the matter is our confidence, supported by the outcome and the
results deducible from it, and the accuracy to a day, even in large periods,
already noticed. As illustrating God’s care and particularity in this matter, see
Gen. 7:11; 7:13; Exod. 12:40, 41.
 Bible Chronology 49

THE PERIOD OF THE JUDGES

We come now to the most difficult portion of chronology,

the period from the division of the land to the anointing of
Saul as king. It is usually termed the period of the Judges,
though the Judges did not fill the office continuously. The
record given in the books of Judges and 1 Samuel mentions
nineteen periods, approximating a total of four hundred and
fifty years; but they are disconnected, broken, lapped and
tangled so much that we could arrive at no definite conclu-
sion from them, and should be obliged to conclude as others
have done, that nothing positive could be known on the
subject, were it not that the New Testament supplies the
deficiency. Paul states that after God divided their land to
them by lot, “He gave unto them Judges about [during] the
space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the
Prophet. Afterward they desired a king, and God gave unto
them Saul.” Acts 13:19-21
The Greek word rendered about in the common version
is hos, and has the significance of during, or while. The same
writer uses the word in three other places where the
common version translates it while, viz.: Acts 1:10; 10:17;
Luke 24:32. This passage would be better translated, “He
gave unto them Judges during the space of four hundred and
fifty years.” The Syriac reads thus—“And for four hundred
and fifty years he gave them Judges, until Samuel the
prophet”—the last of the “Judges.”
The statement of the length of this period of the Judges,
by the Apostle, we accept as a specially designed solution of
the problem. In only two instances—the four hundred and
thirty years from the Covenant to the Law, and this period
of the Judges—is there any reasonable uncertainty about
the Old Testament chronology, and both are clearly stated
in the New. Can we suppose that this merely happened so?
50 The Time is at Hand

It is more reasonable to suppose that God first hid the

matter, by leaving the Old Testament record incomplete,
and later supplied the deficiency in the New Testament, so
that in due time, when attention should be called to it, those
having sufficient interest to compare the accounts might
find the missing links supplied in a manner calculated to
teach dependence upon the Great Time-Keeper.
THE PERIOD OF THE KINGS
Saul’s reign was in or during the space of forty years
following the last Judge, until David was anointed king, as
shown above; and following him, the periods of the kings in
the line of David are easily traced in Chronicles, thus:
Saul’s “space” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acts 13:21 . . . . . . 40 years
David reigned . . . . . . . . 1 Chron. 29:27 . . . . . . . 40 “
Solomon “ . . . . . . . . . . 2 Chron. 9:30 . . . . . . . 40 “
Rehoboam “ . . . . . . . . . . . “ “ 12:13 . . . . . . . 17 “
Abijah “ ........... “ “ 13:2 . . . . . . . 3 “
Asa “ ........... “ “ 16:13 . . . . . . . 41 “
Jehoshaphat “ . . . . . . . . . . . “ “ 20:31 . . . . . . . 25 “
Jehoram “ ........... “ “ 21:20 . . . . . . . 8 “
Ahaziah “ ........... “ “ 22:2 . . . . . . . 1 “
Athaliah “ ........... “ “ 22:12 . . . . . . . 6 “
Jehoash “ ........... “ “ 24:1 . . . . . . . 40 “
Amaziah “ ........... “ “ 25:1 . . . . . . . 29 “
Uzziah “ ........... “ “ 26:3 . . . . . . . 52 “
Jotham “ ........... “ “ 27:1 . . . . . . . 16 “
Ahaz “ ........... “ “ 28:1 . . . . . 16 “
Hezekiah “ . . . . . . . . . . . “ “ 29:1 . . . . . . . 29 “
Manasseh “ . . . . . . . . . . . “ “ 33:1 . . . . . . . 55 “
Amon “ ........... “ “ 33:21 . . . . . . . 2 “
Josiah “ ........... “ “ 34:1 . . . . . . . 31 “
Jehoiakim “ . . . . . . . . . . . “ “ 36:5 . . . . . . . 11 “
Zedekiah “ . . . . . . . . . . . “ “ 36:11 . . . . . . . 11 “
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513 years
 Bible Chronology 51

THE SEVENTY YEARS OF DESOLATION

This brings us to the period of the desolation of the land,

which lasted seventy years, and was ended by the restoration
of its people from Babylon, in the first year of Cyrus,
B.C. 536 (See 2 Chron. 36:20, 23), a date well established
in secular history, and beyond which the line of Bible
chronology does not extend.

PERIOD FROM THE RESTORATION TO A.D. 1873

The period from the time of the restoration of the Jews

from Babylon, at the close of the seventy years desolation
of their land, in the first year of Cyrus, down to the date
known as A.D. 1, is not covered by Bible history. But, as
before stated, it is well established by secular history as a
period of 536 years. Ptolemy, a learned Greek-Egyptian, a
geometer and astronomer, has well established these figures.
They are generally accepted by scholars, and known as
Ptolemy’s Canon.
Thus we have found a clear and connected line of chronol-
ogy from creation to the beginning of the Christian era
(A.D.)—in all, a period of four thousand one hundred and
twenty-eight (4128) years, which, together with eighteen
hundred and seventy-two years of the Christian era, make
six thousand years from creation to the year 1873 A.D.

THIS AND USHER’S CHRONOLOGY COMPARED

It will be interesting to some to know wherein the above

chronology differs from that inserted in the margin of the
common version of the Bible, known as Usher’s Chronol-
ogy. The difference between the two, down to the time of
the seventy years of desolation, is one hundred and twenty-
four (124) years. This difference is made up of four periods
of 18, 4, 2 and 100 years—as follows:
52 The Time is at Hand

Usher dates the seventy years desolation eighteen years

earlier than shown above—i.e., before the dethronement of
Zedekiah, Judah’s last king—because he figured the king of
Babylon took many of the people captive at that time.*
(2 Chron. 36:9, 10, 17; 2 Kings 24:8-16) He evidently
makes the not uncommon mistake of regarding those
seventy years as the period of captivity, whereas the Lord
expressly declares them to be seventy years of desolation of
the land, that the land should lie “desolate, without an
inhabitant.” Such was not the case prior to Zedekiah’s
dethronement. (2 Kings 24:14) But the desolation which
followed Zedekiah’s overthrow was complete; for, though
some of the poor of the land were left to be vine-dressers
and husbandmen (2 Kings 25:12), shortly even these—“all
people, both small and great”—fled to Egypt for fear of the
Chaldees. (Verse 26) There can be no doubt here: and
therefore in reckoning the time to the desolation of the land,
all periods up to the close of Zedekiah’s reign should be
counted in, as we have done.
The four years difference is in the reign of Jehoram. Usher
gives it as a reign of four years, while the Bible says it was
eight years. 2 Chron. 21:5; 2 Kings 8:17
Of the two years difference, one year is found in the term
of the reign of Ahaz, which Usher gives as fifteen, while the
Bible says it was sixteen years. (2 Chron. 28:1; 2 Kings 16:2)
And the other is in the term of Jehoash, which Usher
reckons as thirty-nine, while the Bible gives it as forty years.
2 Kings 12:1; 2 Chron. 24:1
These differences can be accounted for only by supposing
that Usher followed, or attempted to follow, Josephus, a
Jewish historian whose chronological dates are now gener-
ally recognized as reckless and faulty. We rely on the Bible
alone, believing that God is his own interpreter.
* Note, however, this partial captivity occurred eleven, not eighteen,
years before the dethronement of Zedekiah.
 Bible Chronology 53

Aside from these twenty-four years difference in the

period of the Kings, there is another variance between the
above Bible chronology and that of Usher, namely, one
hundred years in the period of the Judges. Here Usher is
misled by the evident error of 1 Kings 6:1, which says that
the fourth year of Solomon’s reign was the four-hundred
and-eightieth year from the coming out of Egypt. It evi-
dently should read the five-hundred-and-eightieth year, and
was possibly an error in transcribing; for if to Solomon’s four
years we add David’s forty, and Saul’s space of forty, and the
forty-six years from leaving Egypt to the division of the land,
we have one hundred and thirty years, which deducted from
four hundred and eighty would leave only three hundred
and fifty years for the period of the Judges, instead of the
four hundred and fifty years mentioned in the Book of
Judges, and by Paul, as heretofore shown. The Hebrew
character “daleth” (4) very much resembles the character
“hay” (5), and it is supposed that in this way the error has
occurred, possibly the mistake of a transcriber. 1 Kings 6:1,
then, should read five hundred and eighty, and thus be in
perfect harmony with the other statements.
Thus the Word of God corrects the few slight errors which
have crept into it by any means.* And remember that those
breaks occur in the period bridged effectually by the inspired
testimony of the New Testament.
So, then, whereas Usher dates A.D. 1 as the year 4005
from the creation of Adam, it really was, as we have shown,
the year 4129, according to the Bible record, thus showing
* A similar discrepancy will be noticed in comparing 2 Chron. 36:9 with
2 Kings 24:8, the one giving eighteen years and the other, evidently
incorrect, giving eight years as the age of Jehoiachin, who reigned three
months, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, and was punished by captivity,
etc. Such a mistake could easily occur, but God has so guarded his Word that
the few trivial errors of copyists are made very manifest, and the full
harmony of his Word gives ample foundation for faith.
54 The Time is at Hand

the year 1872 A.D. to be the year of the world 6000, and
1873 A.D. the commencement of the seventh thousand-year
period, the seventh millennium, or thousand-year day of
earth’s history.
Thus chronology as gathered from the Bible alone, from
creation down to well authenticated secular history, is clear
and strong, bearing evidence, too, of the peculiar methods
of divine providence in its record, in its concealing and in its
gradual unfolding in due time. And this, together with the
reliable dates of the Christian era and the several centuries
before it at hand, enables us to locate ourselves accurately
on the stream of time. And we begin hopefully to lift up our
heads and rejoice, as we realize that we are actually sweeping
into the glorious age of the seventh millennium—even
though we recognize that its beginning is to be dark and full
of trouble, as foretold by the prophets, and that the storm-
clouds are already gathering and growing darker.

THE DATE OF OUR LORD’S BIRTH

In the sixth century the Church began to reckon time from
the birth of our Lord, and fixed the date A.D. as it now
stands; viz., 536 years after the first year of Cyrus, king of
Persia.* Whether they placed it correctly or not does not
affect the chronology as just given, which shows that the six
thousand years from the creation of Adam ended with A.D.
1872; because it is eighteen hundred and seventy-two years
since the year designated A.D., and the first year of Cyrus
was five hundred and thirty-six years before that year
(A.D.), whether it was the year of our Lord’s birth or not.

* The year A.D. was fixed upon as early as the sixth century by Dionysius
Exiguus, and other scholars of that period, though it did not come into general
use until two centuries later.
 Date of Jesus’ Birth 55

We cannot, perhaps, explain this better than by the time-

worn illustration of a line with a star upon it—thus:
B.C. * A.D.
Let the line represent the six thousand years of earth’s
history from the creation of Adam to 1873 A.D.; and let the
star represent the turning point between B.C. and A.D. To
move that point either way would not alter the length of the
entire period, though it would alter the names of the years.
To move the A.D. point backward one year would make the
B.C. period one year less, and the A.D. period one year
more, but the sum of the B.C. and A.D. years would still be
the same; for the amount taken from the one is always an
addition to the other. Nevertheless, let us briefly examine
the date of our Lord’s birth, as it will be found useful in our
subsequent studies.
It has become customary among scholars to concede that
our commonly accepted A.D. is incorrect to the amount of
four years—that our Lord was born four years previous to
the year designated A.D., i.e., in the year B.C. 4. And this
theory has been followed by the publishers of the common
version of the Bible. We cannot agree that B.C. 4 was the
true date of our Lord’s birth. On the contrary, we find that
he was born only one year and three months before our
common era, A.D., viz., in October of B.C. 2.
The general reason with most of those who claim that
A.D. should have been placed four years earlier to correctly
mark the Savior’s birth, is a desire to harmonize it with
certain statements of the Jewish historian Josephus, relative
to the length of the reign of Herod the Great. According to
one of his statements, it would appear that Herod died
three years before the year reckoned A.D. If this were true,
it would certainly prove that our Lord was born in the year
B.C. 4; for it was this Herod, that issued the decree for the
56 The Time is at Hand

slaying of the babes of Bethlehem, from whom the infant

Jesus was delivered. (Matt. 2:14-16) But is this statement
of Josephus reliable? Is it true that Herod died four years
before the year A.D.? No, we answer: Josephus alone is not
sufficient authority for such a decision, as he is known and
admitted to be inaccurate in his record of dates.
But this notion has prevailed: the date B.C. 4 has been
generally accepted, and historical events and dates have
been somewhat bent to fit and support this theory. Among
other supposed proofs that B.C. 4 was the proper date, was
an eclipse of the moon, said by Josephus to have occurred
a short time before the death of Herod. All that is known
of that eclipse is as follows: Herod had placed a large
golden eagle over the gate of the Temple. Two notable
Jews, named Matthias and Judas, persuaded some young
men to pull it down. They did so, were arrested and
executed. To make the matter clear, Josephus relates that
there was at that time another Matthias, a high priest, who
was not concerned in the sedition. He then adds: “But
Herod deprived this Matthias of his high priesthood, and
burnt the other Matthias who had raised the sedition, with
his companions, alive, and that very night there was an
eclipse of the moon.” This is recorded as one of the last
prominent acts of Herod, and is given a date which might
correspond with B.C. 4 by Josephus, who marks the date by
the eclipse mentioned.
But since at times as many as four eclipses of the moon
occur in one year, it is evident that except under very
peculiar circumstances the record of such an occurrence
proves nothing. Where the time of the night, the time of the
year and the amount of obscuration are all given, as has
been done in several instances, the record is of great value
in fixing dates; but in the case under consideration, there
is nothing of the kind; hence absolutely nothing is proved
 Date of Jesus’ Birth 57

by the record, so far as chronology is concerned. Josephus

does mention a fast, as having been kept before the event,
but what fast, or how long before, is not stated.
As it happens, there was only one eclipse of the moon in
B.C. 4, while in B.C. 1 there were three. The eclipse of B.C.
4 was only partial (six digits, or only one-half of the moon
being obscured), while all three in B.C. 1 were total
eclipses—the entire moon was obscured, and of course for
a longer time causing the event to be much more notice-
able. Hence if the eclipse theory has any weight it certainly
is not in favor of the earlier date, B.C. 4.
Unfortunately, the time of Herod’s death is not given by
a reliable historian. Josephus gives some important periods
in his history and the dates of some events, but these dates
are not trustworthy. Some of them would teach that Herod
died B.C. 4, but others cannot be reconciled with that date.
For instance, his death is said to have been at the age of
seventy. He was made governor of Galilee B.C. 47, at which
time Josephus says he was twenty-five years of age. (Ant.
14:9:2) This would date his birth B.C. 72 (47 plus 25). His
death at seventy would then be B.C. 2 instead of B.C. 4.
In this connection it may be well to note the conflict of
opinion among learned men, relative to the exact date of
Herod’s death, that thus it may be apparent to all that there
is no well founded reason for accepting B.C. 4 as the only
date in harmony with Matt. 2:14-16. Faussett’s Bible
Encyclopedia gives Herod’s age when made governor at
about twenty years. This would make his death, at seventy
years, A.D. 2. Chambers’ Cyclopedia and Smith’s Bible
Dictionary give his age at that time as fifteen years, which
would place his death A.D. 7. Appleton’s Cyclopedia,
article Chronology, says: “Josephus also gives dates, but he
is altogether too careless to be taken into account.”
58 The Time is at Hand

We now proceed to offer the Scriptural evidence relating

to this subject, which more nearly agrees with the common
era, and shows that our Lord’s birth occurred only one year
and three months prior to January, A.D. 1. It is as follows:
Our Lord’s ministry lasted three and a half years. The
sixty-nine symbolic weeks of years (Dan. 9:24-27) reached
to his baptism and anointing as Messiah, and there the last
or seventieth week (seven years) of Israel’s favor began. He
was cut off [in death] in the middle of that seventieth week
—three and a half years from the beginning of his ministry.
He was crucified, we know, at the time of the Passover,
about April 1st, whatever the year. The three and a half
years of his ministry, which ended in April, must conse-
quently have begun about October, whatever the year. And
October of some year must have been the true month of his
birth, because he delayed not to begin his ministry as soon
as he was thirty, and could not, according to the Law (under
which he was born and which he obeyed), begin before he
was thirty. As we read, “Now when Jesus began to be about
thirty years of age he cometh” etc.
John the Baptist was six months older than our Lord
(Luke 1:26, 36), hence he was of age (thirty years, accord-
ing to the Law—Num. 4:3; Luke 3:23, etc.) and began to
preach six months before our Lord became of age and began
his ministry. The date of the beginning of John’s ministry is
clearly stated to have been the “fifteenth year of the reign of
Tiberius Caesar,” the third emperor of Rome. (Luke 3:1)
This is a clearly fixed date of which there can be no reason-
able doubt. Tiberius became emperor at the death of
Augustus Caesar, in the year of Rome 767, which was the
year A.D. 14.
But those misled by the inaccurate statements of Jose-
phus relative to Herod, and who place the birth of Jesus at
 Date of Jesus’ Birth 59

B.C. 4, in order to harmonize with him, run across a

difficulty in this clearly stated date given by Luke, and
endeavor to make it also harmonize with their B.C. 4
theory. To accomplish this end they make the claim that
Tiberius began to exercise authority some three or four
years before Augustus died, and before he was fully consti-
tuted emperor. They claim that possibly his rule might have
been reckoned from that date.
But such suppositions will be found baseless, by any who
will investigate the matter on the pages of history. It is true
that Tiberius was exalted to a very important position by
Augustus, but it was not four years before Augustus’ death,
as their theory would demand, but ten years before, in A.D.
4. But the power then conferred upon him was only such as
had been enjoyed by others before his day. It was in no
sense of the word imperial power, and in no sense of the
word can his “reign” be said to have begun there: he was
only the heir-apparent. Even in the most exaggerated use of
language, his “reign” could not be said to have commenced
before Augustus’ death and his own investiture in office at
the hands of the Roman Senate, A.D. 14.
History says, “The Emperor, whose declining age needed
an associate, adopted Tiberius A.D. 4, renewing his tribun-
ian power.” Article TIBERIUS, Rees’ Cyclopedia.
“He [Augustus] determined accordingly to devolve upon
him [Tiberius] a share in the government.… This formal
investiture placed him on the same footing as that enjoyed
by the veteran Agrippa during his later years, and there can
be no doubt that it was universally regarded as an introduc-
tion to the first place in the empire.… The programme for
the succession was significantly shadowed out: Tiberius had
been ordered to assume his place at the head of the Senate,
the people, and the army.… The adoption, which took
60 The Time is at Hand

place at the same time, is dated June 27 (A.U.C. 757)—

A.D. 4.” Merivale’s History of the Romans (Appleton’s),
Vol. IV, pp. 220, 221
Thus there is conclusive proof that the first year of the
reign of Tiberius Caesar was not three or four years before
Augustus died; and that the honors referred to as conferred
during Augustus’ reign were conferred ten, and not four,
years before Augustus’ death, and then were in no sense
imperial honors.
We may, therefore, consider the date of Luke 3:1 not
merely the only one furnished in the New Testament, but
an unequivocal one. There can be no doubt about it in the
minds of any who have investigated it. Tiberius began to
reign in A.D. 14. The fifteenth year of his reign, would
therefore be the year A.D. 29, in which year, Luke states
(3:1-3), John began his ministry. Since our Lord’s thirtieth
birthday and the beginning of his ministry were in October,
and since John’s birthday and the beginning of his ministry
were just six months earlier, it follows that John began his
ministry in the spring, about April first—just as soon as he
was of age; for God’s plans are always carried out on exact
time. So, then, John was thirty years old in A.D. 29, about
April first, consequently he was born B.C. 2*, about April
first. And Jesus’ birth, six months later, must have been
B.C. 2, about October first.
Again, there is clear, strong evidence that Jesus was
crucified on Friday, April 3rd, A.D. 33. The fact that his
crucifixion occurred at the close of the fourteenth day of
the month Nisan, and that this date rarely falls on Friday,
but did so in the year A.D. 33, substantiates that date so
thoroughly that even Usher, who adopted B.C. 4 as the
* For the benefit of readers not much accustomed to calculating dates,
we call attention to the fact that in the beginning of the year A.D. 29, only
28 full years had elapsed: the twenty-ninth was only beginning.
 Date of Jesus’ Birth 61

date of Jesus’ birth was forced to admit that his crucifixion

was A.D. 33. Compare Usher’s dates in the margin of the
common version Bible at Luke 2:21 and Matt. 2:1 with
those at Matthew 27 and Luke 23. The date of the crucifix-
ion being A.D. 33, it follows that if Jesus had been born
B.C. 4, he would have been 36 years old when he died; and
his ministry from his thirtieth to his thirty-sixth year
would have been six years. But it is clear that our Lord’s
ministry was three and a half years only. And this generally
conceded fact is proved by Daniel’s prophecy concerning
Messiah’s cutting off in the middle of the seventieth week
of Israel’s favor.
Thus, it is again proven that Jesus’ birth was about one
year and three months before our common era, A.D. 1; for,
his ministry ending when he was thirty-three and a half years
old, April 3rd, A.D. 33, the date of his birth may be readily
found by measuring backward to a date thirty-three and a
half years prior to April 3rd, A.D. 33. Thirty-two years and
three months before April A.D. 33 would be January 3rd,
A.D. 1, and one year and three months further back would
bring us to October 3rd, B.C. 2, as the date of our Lord’s
birth at Bethlehem. The difference between lunar time, used
by the Jews, and solar time, now in common use, would be
a few days, so that we could not be certain that the exact day
might not be in September about the 27th, but October 1st,
B.C. 2, is about correct. Nine months back of that date
would bring us to about Christmas time, B.C. 3, as the date
at which our Lord laid aside the glory which he had with the
Father before the world was [made] and the taking of or
changing to human nature began. It seems probable that this
was the origin of the celebration of December 25th as
Christmas Day. Some writers on Church history claim, even,
that Christmas Day was originally celebrated as the date of
62 The Time is at Hand

the annunciation by Gabriel to the virgin Mary. (Luke 1:26)

Certain it is that a midwinter date does not well agree with
the declaration of Scripture, that at the time of our Lord’s
birth the shepherds were in the fields with their flocks.

“Lift up your heads, desponding pilgrims;

Give to the winds your needless fears;
He who has died on Calvary’s mountain
Soon is to reign a thousand years.

“A thousand years! earth’s coming glory—

’Tis the glad day so long foretold:
’Tis the bright morn of Zion’s glory,
Prophets foresaw in times of old.

“Tell the whole world these blessed tidings;

Speak of the time of rest that nears;
Tell the oppressed of every nation,
Jubilee lasts a thousand years.

“What if the clouds do for a moment

Hide the blue sky where morn appears?
Soon the glad sun of promise given
Rises to shine a thousand years.”

—Bonar
 STUDY III
THE FULFILMENT OF TIME PROPHECY AT
THE FIRST ADVENT OF CHRIST
Dan. 9:23-27

THE SEVENTY WEEKS OF DANIEL’S PROPHECY—EVENTS FORETOLD TO TRANSPIRE

WITHIN THAT TIME—THE TIME OF MESSIAH’S ADVENT INDICATED, AND A
PRINCIPLE ESTABLISHED BY THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS INDICATED—A KEY TO
OTHER TIME PROPHECIES—THE TIME OF MESSIAH’S CRUCIFIXION INDICATED
—THE SPECIAL FAVOR TO ISRAEL AS A NATION CUT SHORT IN RIGHTEOUSNESS,
BUT CONTINUED INDIVIDUALLY—ANOINTING THE MOST HOLY—TROUBLE
POURED UPON THE DESOLATE ONE.

“U NDERSTAND the matter, and consider the vision.

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and
upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make
an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and
to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the
vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. Know
therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the
commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, unto the
Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and
two weeks [7 and 60 and 2 = 69 weeks]: the street shall be
built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut
off, but not for himself. (And the people of the prince that
shall come [the Roman prince—Titus’ army] shall destroy
the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with
a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are deter-
mined.) And he [Messiah] shall confirm the covenant with
many for one week [the seventieth, or last week of the
covenant of favor]. And in the midst of the week he shall

63
64 The Time is at Hand

cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for [or
because of] the overspreading of abominations, he [Mes-
siah] shall make it desolate—even until the consummation
[or completion] and that [which is] determined [in God’s
plan] shall be poured upon the desolate” [people—
represented by Jerusalem]. Dan. 9:23-27
While this prophecy marks the beginning of the “harvest”
of the Jewish age and our Lord’s presence there as the chief
reaper, there are several prophecies which much more
clearly mark the beginning of the “harvest” of the Gospel
age, in which also our Lord is, at his second advent, to be the
chief reaper. The fulfilment of this prophecy illustrates
prophetic fulfilments in general, as well as establishes a point
marked in another prophecy, yet to be shown.
While many prophecies combine to fix and confirm the
date of the second coming of Christ, this one alone marked
the date of the first advent. If its fulfilment is clearly estab-
lished, it will aid us in calculating and judging of those
relating to the second advent. For this reason we here give
place to this fulfilled prophecy, as well as because some of
the dates established in this will be needful to be understood
in connection with prophecies relating to the second advent,
considered farther along.
Daniel had been shown many visions, as recorded in
chapters 2, 4, 7 and 8 of his prophecy, all of which showed
great prosperity and exaltation to heathen or gentile
kingdoms; but his special interest was in Israel, and he had
not been informed concerning Israel’s future. He knew,
however, from Jeremiah’s prophecy (Jer. 29:10; 2 Chron.
36:20-23), that the desolation of Judea would continue
seventy years; and knowing that period to be nearly com-
plete (Dan. 9:2), he prayed earnestly for the return of God’s
favor to Israel (verses 17-19), and the foregoing was God’s
answer to him through an angel.
 The First Advent 65

The marked off (“cut off,” or “determined”) period of

Israel’s history here shown is “seventy weeks” from a given
starting point—viz., from the going forth of a decree “to
restore and to build Jerusalem.” (Mark! not the Temple.)
During the period great things were to be accomplished:
The city would be rebuilt under unfavorable circumstances
(Neh. 4), in troublous times; sin would be finished by a
reconciliation being made for iniquity; and righteousness
(justification) would be established—not like that accom-
plished year by year with the blood of bulls and goats, but
the true and “everlasting righteousness,” brought about by
the sacrifice of Christ. Daniel was also informed that he who
would introduce the better sacrifice would thereby cause the
typical sacrifices and oblations of the Law to cease.
In this period, Messiah, the long-looked-for Savior of
Israel, would come, and seven weeks and threescore and
two weeks, or sixty-nine weeks, are stated as the measure
of the time to Messiah’s presence. And after that he would
be cut off, but not for himself. There would therefore
remain, after Messiah’s coming, one week, the last, the
seventieth of this promised favor; and in the midst or
middle of that week it was foretold that he would cause the
typical sacrifices to cease, by making “his soul an offering
for sin.” Isa. 53:10-12
These seventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety days,
represented four hundred and ninety years, each symbolic
day representing a year. And being so fulfilled in this, the
only time prophecy directly relating to the first advent, it
furnishes a key to some other prophecies which will here-
after be shown to have been thus hidden in symbolic
numbers—a day for a year—until their due time had come
for solution. This prophecy was so worded that Daniel and
other Jews might, if they chose, think it incredible, and in
time forget it; or it might be remembered by those who
66 The Time is at Hand

“waited for the consolation of Israel,” and who might infer

the time to be symbolic, as in the case of Ezekiel. (Chap.
4:6) Certain it is that faithful ones knew to expect Messiah;
and it is even written that all men were in expectation of him
(Luke 3:15), even if they were not all able to receive him in
the way he came.
It should be noticed that the sixty-nine symbolic weeks,
or four hundred and eighty-three years, reach unto Messiah
the Prince, and not to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. The
Hebrew word Messiah, corresponding to the Greek word
Christ, signifies The Anointed, and is a title rather than a
name. Jesus was not the Anointed, the Messiah, the Christ,
until after his baptism. Compare Acts 10:37, 38 and Matt.
3:16. He was anointed with the holy Spirit immediately on
coming out of the water. This was when he had attained
manhood’s estate, which was at thirty years according to the
Law, under which he was born, and to which he and every
Jew was subject until he ended its dominion by fulfilling its
conditions—“nailing it to his cross.” Therefore the sixty-
nine weeks of this prophecy reach to the time of his baptism
and anointing, from which time, and not before, he was the
Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed. Hence the sixtynine
weeks, or four hundred and eighty-three years, ended in the
autumn of A.D. 29. And there that portion of the prophecy
was fulfilled which says: “From the going forth of the
commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem (Dan.
9:25), unto Messiah [the Anointed] the Prince, shall be
seven weeks and three-score and two [sixty-nine] weeks.”
Beginning there, we find the seventieth week fulfilled like
the rest—a year for a day.
Most writers on this subject have commenced to count
this period from the seventh year of Artaxerxes, when a com-
mission was given to Ezra (Ezra 7:7-14), supposed to be the
enforcement of the decree of Cyrus. (Ezra 1:3; 5:13; 6:1-12)
 The First Advent 67

It should be noted, however, that Cyrus’ order was to

build the house of the Lord—the Temple and its court
wall. But there was another decree granted to Nehemiah
in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes to rebuild the walls of
Jerusalem, which at that time were still unrepaired. (Neh.
2:3-8; 6:15; 7:1) And it is from this decree “to restore and
to build Jerusalem” that this prophecy of Daniel should
be dated. The entire account harmonizes with this, there
being but one seeming objection, in a prophecy concern-
ing it by Isaiah, which had said of Cyrus, not only, “He
shall let go my captives,” but also, “He shall build my
city.” (Isa. 45:13) This apparent objection we answer
thus: The word here translated city is ir, and signifies a
walled place. We understand the court walls of the
Temple to be referred to here; and with this the facts
above referred to agree. The same word ir is rendered
court in 2 Kings 20:4.
The date of Nehemiah’s commission is ordinarily stated
to be B.C. 445. But Dr. Hale’s work on chronology (pages
449 and 531) and Dr. Priestlie’s treatise on the “Harmony
of the Evangelists” (pages 24-38) show this common view
to be nine years short, which would give B.C. 454 as the true
date of Nehemiah’s commission; and with this date Daniel’s
prediction (Chapter 9:25), concerning the decree to restore
and to build Jerusalem, agrees.
Since sixty-nine weeks (7 and 62), or four hundred and
eighty-three years, reach unto Messiah (the Anointed) the
Prince, therefore from this period of sixty-nine symbolic
weeks, or four hundred and eighty-three (483) years, we
deduct four hundred and fifty-four (454) years B.C. as the
true date of the decree to restore and to build Jerusalem;
and the remainder—29 A.D.—should be the year in which
the Anointed (Messiah) would be manifested. This is in
exact accord with what we have already shown, viz.: that
68 The Time is at Hand

Jesus was baptized by John and received the anointing of the

Spirit A.D. 29, about October 3rd, at which time he was
thirty years of age, according to the true date of his birth as
shown in the preceding chapter.
Our Lord’s ministry covered three and a half years, ending
with his crucifixion, at the time of the Passover, in the spring
of A.D. 33. In this he exactly fulfilled the prophecy concern-
ing the remaining or last week (seven years) of promised
favor, which says: “After (7 and 62) sixty-nine weeks shall
Messiah be cut off [Douay translation, “be slain”] but not for
himself ”* “in the midst of the week [remaining—the 70th]
he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease.”
The sacrifices which were offered according to the Law
there ceased; not that animals, incense, etc., were not
offered thereafter by the priests, for they continued to be
offered year by year, but that they were not accepted by
Jehovah, and were in no sense sacrifices for sin. The true
sacrifice having come, our Lord Jesus having “put away sin
by the sacrifice of himself ” (Heb. 9:26), Jehovah could no
longer recognize other offerings as sacrifices, nor any
necessity for them.
There, at the cross, Messiah, who had been sacrificing
himself for three and a half years, finished the work (John
19:30) and thus “made an end of sin,” made full and
complete reconciliation toward God for the iniquity of men,
thus bringing to all mankind an everlasting justification from
sin, instead of the typical yearly justification, accomplished
by the types for the typical people, Israel. The death of
Messiah was also the “seal”—the guarantee of the fulfil-
ment—of all the visions and prophecies of coming blessings,
and “times of restitution of all things, which God hath

* This expression, “but not for himself,” is variously rendered in other

translations, several of which are before us; but in our opinion this, of our
common version, is the clearest and best rendering.
 The First Advent 69

spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world
began.” (Acts 3:21) Those promises, both the Abrahamic
Covenant and the New Covenant, were secured, made sure,
with “his own precious blood” (Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25),
which speaketh better things for us than the blood of bulls
and goats—even everlasting justification and putting away
of sin, to all those who receive him. And in the remainder or
latter half of this seventieth or last week of Jewish favor
—the three and a half years, beginning with Pentecost—his
followers, “the most holy” of that nation, were anointed with
the holy Spirit of God, as Messiah had been at the close of
the sixty-ninth week.
Thus were fulfilled the statements of verse 24 of this
prophecy: “Seventy weeks are determined [set apart] upon
THY PEOPLE and upon thy holy city—(a) to finish the
transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make
reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
righteousness—(b) and to seal up the vision and proph-
ecy—(c) and to anoint the most holy.” The prophecy did
not show that this entire work would be deferred until the
last “week,” when Messiah would be present; and doubtless
they understood it to imply great moral reform on their part
which would prepare them for Messiah, and the anointing
under him of their nation as the “most holy” people, to bless
the world in general. They had not learned by centuries of
experience that they were powerless to put away sin and
make reconciliation for iniquity, and that it would require
a perfect ransom-sacrifice to accomplish this great work of
blotting out sin and justifying the condemned.
On the other hand, Daniel’s prophecy, while showing that
Messiah would be cut off [die] in the midst of the last week,
did not show that the mass of his people would be unholy
and therefore cast off, as they were, in the midst of that
week. (Matt. 23:38) Another prophet had said, He shall
70 The Time is at Hand

finish the work and cut it short in righteousness [justly];

and all was finished in the half-week (three and a half years)
of Jesus’ ministry, except the anointing of the most holy.
But what of the balance of the seventieth week, the three
and a half years of it which extended beyond the cross? Did
Jehovah promise to set aside seventy weeks of favor upon
Israel, and really give them but sixty-nine and a half? At first
glance it has this appearance, especially when we recall that
it was just five days before his death “in the midst of the
week” that Jesus wept over their city and gave them up,
saying, “Your house is left unto you desolate.” But not so:
Jehovah knew the end from the beginning; and when he
promised seventy weeks, he meant it. Hence we must look
for favor upon that people for three and a half years after the
crucifixion, notwithstanding they were then left desolate
nationally.
That the Israelites as a nation were not fit to be the
recipients of the chief or spiritual favor (nor of the earthly
favor either) was demonstrated by their rejection of
Messiah, as God had foreseen and foretold; hence it was
profitless to them to continue their national testing beyond
the midst of their seventieth week, and it was cut short
there, when they were left “desolate”—rejected from favor.
During the remaining portion (three and a half years) of
their period, the favor was increased, though confined to the
“remnant,” the most holy, the purest or fittest, whom alone
it could benefit. (Isa. 10:22, 23. Compare Rom. 9:28.) The
increase of favor consisted in the fact that it gave to that
remnant three and a half years of exclusive attention and
ministration, under the increased advantages of the spirit
dispensation, which, beginning with the disciples at Pente-
cost, reached probably all the ripe wheat of that nation,
during that period of special favor. See Acts 2:41 and 4:4 for
the results of the first few days.
 The First Advent 71

It was for this reason that, though Jesus had tasted death
for all, and the Gospel was to be proclaimed to all, yet his
instructions to his disciples were, that they begin at Jerusa-
lem. Nor were they to leave that special work, or offer the
favor of the new dispensation to any others, until the three
and a half years of promised favor to Israel were fulfilled—
until God specially sent it to the Gentiles as well as to the
Jews. Acts 10
The exact date of the conversion of Cornelius, chronol-
ogers can only guess at; and hence it is variously estimated
as having occurred from A.D. 37 to 40; but in view of this
marked prophecy which we are now considering, we doubt
not that it was in the autumn of A.D. 36; for there the
seventy weeks, or four hundred and ninety years, of favor
upon Israel ended. Since their exclusive favor ended there,
most appropriately should it be marked by sending the
gospel to the Gentiles. Israelites were not deprived of the
gospel after that, but were treated the same as the Gentiles,
though prejudice no doubt placed the remainder in a less
favorable position. The “most holy” being already chosen
out, the gospel was no longer confined to them exclusively,
but was open to every creature having an ear to hear.
After the seventy weeks came the distress and trouble
mentioned in the latter clauses of verses 26 and 27. The
Roman prince came, and did destroy the city and the
Temple, and, like a flood, he left behind him terrible waste
and destruction. And Messiah, whom they rejected, has
permitted various evils to befall that people since, and will
continue to permit them “until the consummation,” until
they shall have had enough, until he shall say, “Speak ye
comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her ap-
pointed time is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned.”
(Isa. 40:2) Meantime that that is determined shall be poured
upon that desolate one (or cast off people) till her cup be
72 The Time is at Hand

full of sorrow—until that day when they shall say, “Blessed

is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” That day of
Israel’s deliverance is now dawning, thank God; and though
their desolation and distress are not yet at an end, each hour
hastens the time when their prejudice-blinded minds shall
see out of obscurity him whom they have pierced, and when
they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son.
Zech. 12:10
Since many, in reading the passage here examined, have
fallen into great confusion and error through a failure to
understand rightly the arrangement of the Prophet’s words,
confounding Messiah the Prince with the Roman prince,
etc., we suggest a careful study of the passage as arranged at
the beginning of this chapter, noting the parenthesis and the
explanatory remarks in brackets.
 STUDY IV
THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES

WHAT ARE GENTILE TIMES?—THEIR BEGINNING; THEIR LENGTH; THEIR END A.D.
1914—ATTENDANT EVENTS—EVENTS TO FOLLOW—LITERAL AND SYMBOLIC
TIME—A REMARKABLE TYPE—PRESENT INDICATIONS—GOD’S KINGDOM TO
OVERTHROW GENTILE RULE—THEREFORE ORGANIZED BEFORE IT ENDS—
BEFORE A.D. 1914—WHY OPPOSED BY GENTILE KINGDOMS—HOW AND WHY
ALL WILL FINALLY ACCEPT IT JOYFULLY—“THE DESIRE OF ALL N ATIONS
SHALL COME.”
[Since the topic considered in this chapter is very closely related to that of
chapter xiii of Vol. I, the reader will be greatly assisted by a review of that
chapter before commencing this.]

“J ERUSALEM shall be trodden down of the Gentiles,

until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Luke
21:24
The term “Times of the Gentiles” was applied by our Lord
to that interval of earth’s history between the removal of the
typical Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Israel (Ezek.
21:25-27), and the introduction and establishment of its
antitype, the true Kingdom of God, when Christ comes to
be “glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that
believe in that day.”
During this interval, the dominion of earth was to be
exercised by Gentile governments; and Israel, both fleshly
and spiritual, have been and are to be subject to these
powers until their time is expired. While God does not
approve of nor commend these governments, he recognizes
their dominion. In other words, he has for wise ends
permitted their dominion for an appointed time.
The dominion of earth was originally given to Adam, to
subdue and possess and rule it in righteousness. (Gen. 1:28)
Adam failed, and the dominion forfeited by sin was taken
from him. Angels were next permitted to have the control.
Instead, however, of lifting up the fallen race, some of them
“kept not their first estate,” but fell into transgression. After

73
74 The Time is at Hand

the flood, God declared to Abraham his purpose to bring the

needed help for the sinful, dying race through his posterity,
by raising up from among them a great deliverer, ruler and
teacher, saying, “In thy seed shall all the families of the earth
be blessed.”
This was the earliest suggestion of a national, universal
dominion over earth. And this suggestion, coming from
God, implied a special fitness, a peculiar superiority of this
ruler over and above all others, and that it would be to the
advantage of all mankind to be subject to such a ruler. That
this promise to Abraham filled the hearts and minds of his
posterity, Israel, and was well known by their relatives, the
Moabites and Edomites, there can be no doubt. That such
a national hope would become known to other nations is
probable; and, if known, we cannot doubt that pride would
beget in them the desire to be the chief nation, and to have
universal dominion, as being in every way as able and as fit
to rule, and teach, and thus bless the nations, as any of
Abraham’s posterity.
Israel’s hope of attaining universal dominion, not by the
choice of the nations to have it so, but by God’s choice and
power manifested in their favor, seems to have spread to
other nations also. At all events, we find that these Gentile
kings and peoples accepted their dominions as favors from
the gods whom they worshiped. And the same thought still
clings to every petty ruler and prince, as well as to the more
powerful kings and emperors. No matter how weak mentally
or physically, and no matter how vicious and unfit to rule
either themselves or others, they possess to an almost insane
degree the idea that God specially chose them and their
families to rule over and “BLESS” (?) all the earth. This
theory, accepted by the masses of the people, is blazoned
forth on medals, coins and papers of state in the words,
“King________by the grace of God.”
 Times of the Gentiles 75

Thus, while Israel were waiting and hoping for the

promised dominion of earth, and often supposed they were
just within reach of its realization, particularly under kings
David and Solomon, the desire for universal empire became
general among other nations. And when God was about to
remove the crown from Israel until the true seed of promise
should come to take the dominion, he determined to let the
Gentile kingdoms take control and try the experiment of
ruling the world, that thus the world might also learn the
futility of its own efforts at self-government while in its
present sinful condition. As he had given the dominion
forfeited by Adam to the angels, to demonstrate their
inability to rule and bless the world, so he now delivered
that dominion over to the Gentiles, to let them try their
various methods, unaided by him. These various experiments
God permits, as so many valuable and necessary lessons,
filling the intervening time until the Lord’s Anointed, whose
right it is, shall come and take the dominion and accomplish
all his gracious purposes.
Since Israel after the flesh was typical of spiritual Israel,
the Gospel Church, which is also called in this higher sense
“a royal priesthood and holy nation” (1 Pet. 2:9), and
which in due time is to rule and bless all nations, so their
kingdom was typical in some respects of the Kingdom of
Christ. Consequently, when God’s time came to turn over
the dominion of earth to Gentile rule, it was appropriate
that he should first remove the typical crown from Israel,
and that the typical kingdom should no longer be recog-
nized. This he did, declaring that they had proven them-
selves unfit for exaltation to universal dominion, having
become corrupt, vain and idolatrous in proportion as they
had attained national distinction. This was in the days of
King Zedekiah; and the divine decree was expressed in the
words of the prophet: “Thus saith the Lord God, remove
76 The Time is at Hand

the diadem and take off the crown: this shall not be the
same: exalt him that is low and abase him that is high. I will
overturn, overturn, overturn it; and it shall be no more
until he come whose right it is, and I will give it him.”
Ezek. 21:24-27
This overturning of the crown, or dominion, has been
accomplished. It was first turned over to Babylon, then to
Medo-Persia, then to Grecia, and then to Rome. The
character of these empires, as recorded on the pages of
history, we have found to agree perfectly with the pro-
phetic descriptions, as portrayed in Nebuchadnezzar’s
vision of the great image and in Daniel’s vision of the four
beasts. This overturned condition of Israel’s dominion was
to continue until Christ, the rightful heir to the throne of
Israel and all the earth, who purchased it with his own
precious blood, would come and take control. His, as we
have seen, will be the fifth universal empire of earth, the
Kingdom of God under the whole heavens. But unlike the
preceding four dominions which were permitted for an
appointed time, and therefore recognized, though not
approvingly, this one will be approved and established by
God, as his representative in the earth. It will be God’s
Kingdom, the Kingdom of Jehovah’s Anointed. It will be
established gradually, during a great time of trouble with
which the Gospel age will close, and in the midst of which
present dominions shall be utterly consumed, passing away
amid great confusion.
In this chapter we present the Bible evidence proving that
the full end of the times of the Gentiles, i.e., the full end of
their lease of dominion, will be reached in A.D. 1914; and
that that date will see the disintegration of the rule of
imperfect men. And be it observed, that if this is shown to
be a fact firmly established by the Scriptures, it will prove:
 Times of the Gentiles 77

Firstly, That at that date the Kingdom of God, for which

our Lord taught us to pray, saying, “Thy Kingdom come,”
will begin to assume control, and that it will then shortly be
“set up,” or firmly established, in the earth, on the ruins of
present institutions.
Secondly, It will prove that he whose right it is thus to take
the dominion will then be present as earth’s new Ruler; and
not only so, but it will also prove that he will be present for
a considerable period before that date; because the over-
throw of these Gentile governments is directly caused by his
dashing them to pieces as a potter’s vessel (Psa. 2:9; Rev.
2:27), and establishing in their stead his own righteous
government.
Thirdly, It will prove that some time before the end of the
overthrow the last member of the divinely recognized
Church of Christ, the “royal priesthood,” “the body of
Christ,” will be glorified with the Head; because every
member is to reign with Christ, being a joint-heir with him
of the Kingdom, and it cannot be fully “set up” without
every member.
Fourthly, It will prove that from that time forward
Jerusalem shall no longer be trodden down of the Gentiles,
but shall arise from the dust of divine disfavor, to honor;
because the “Times of the Gentiles” will be fulfilled or
completed.
Fifthly, It will prove that by that date, or sooner, Israel’s
blindness will begin to be turned away; because their
“blindness in part” was to continue only “until the fulness
of the Gentiles be come in” (Rom. 11:25), or, in other
words, until the full number from among the Gentiles, who
are to be members of the body or bride of Christ, would be
fully selected.
Sixthly, It will prove that the great “time of trouble such
as never was since there was a nation,” will reach its culmina-
78 The Time is at Hand

tion in a world-wide reign of anarchy; and then men will

learn to be still, and to know that Jehovah is God and that
he will be exalted in the earth. (Psa. 46:10) The condition
of things spoken of in symbolic language as raging waves of
the sea, melting earth, falling mountains and burning
heavens will then pass away, and the “new heavens and new
earth” with their peaceful blessings will begin to be recog-
nized by trouble-tossed humanity. But the Lord’s Anointed
and his rightful and righteous authority will first be recog-
nized by a company of God’s children while passing through
the great tribulation—the class represented by m and t on
the Chart of the Ages (see also pages 235 to 239, Vol. I);
afterward, just at its close, by fleshly Israel; and ultimately
by mankind in general.
Seventhly, It will prove that before that date God’s
Kingdom, organized in power, will be in the earth and then
smite and crush the Gentile image (Dan. 2:34)—and fully
consume the power of these kings. Its own power and
dominion will be established as fast as by its varied influ-
ences and agencies it crushes and scatters the “powers that
be”—civil and ecclesiastical—iron and clay.

THE BEGINNING OF GENTILE TIMES, 606 B.C.

Our Lord’s words, “until the times* of the Gentiles be

fulfilled,” imply that the times of the Gentiles must have a
definitely appointed limit; because an unlimited, indefinite
period could not be said to be fulfilled. So, then, Gentile rule
had a beginning, will last for a fixed time, and will end at the
time appointed.

* The Greek word here rendered “times” is kairos, which signifies a

fixed time. It is the same word translated “times” in the following passages:
Mark 1:15; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 12:14; Acts 3:19; 17:26. The word “seasons”
in Acts 1:7 is from the same Greek word.
 Times of the Gentiles 79

The beginning of these Gentile Times is clearly located

by the Scriptures. Hence, if they furnish us the length also
of the fixed period, or lease of Gentile dominion, we can
know positively just when it will terminate. The Bible does
furnish this fixed period, which must be fulfilled; but it was
furnished in such a way that it could not be understood
when written, nor until the lapse of time and the events of
history had shed their light upon it; and even then, only by
those who were watching and who were not overcharged by
the cares of the world.
The Bible evidence is clear and strong that the “Times of
the Gentiles” is a period of 2520 years, from the year B.C.
606 to and including A.D. 1914. This lease of universal
dominion to Gentile governments, as we have already seen,
began with Nebuchadnezzar—not when his reign began, but
when the typical kingdom of the Lord passed away, and the
dominion of the whole world was left in the hands of the
Gentiles. The date for the beginning of the Gentile Times
is, therefore, definitely marked as at the time of the removal
of the crown of God’s typical kingdom, from Zedekiah, their
last king.
According to the words of the prophet (Ezek. 21:25-27),
the crown was taken from Zedekiah; and Jerusalem was
besieged by Nebuchadnezzar’s army and laid in ruins, and
so remained for seventy years—until the restoration in the
first year of Cyrus. (2 Chron. 36:21-23) Though Jerusalem
was then rebuilt, and the captives returned, Israel has never
had another king from that to the present day. Though
restored to their land and to personal liberty by Cyrus, they,
as a nation, were subject successively to the Persians,
Grecians and Romans. Under the yoke of the latter they
were living when our Lord’s first advent occurred, Pilate and
Herod being deputies of Caesar.
With these facts before us, we readily find the date for the
80 The Time is at Hand

beginning of the Gentile Times of dominion; for the first

year of the reign of Cyrus is a very clearly fixed date—both
secular and religious histories with marked unanimity
agreeing with Ptolemy’s Canon, which places it B.C. 536.
And if B.C. 536 was the year in which the seventy years of
Jerusalem’s desolation ended and the restoration of the Jews
began, it follows that their kingdom was overthrown just
seventy years before B.C. 536, i.e., 536 plus 70, or B.C. 606.
This gives us the date of the beginning of the Times of the
Gentiles—B.C. 606.
Recognizing God’s lease of power to these worldly or
Gentile governments, we know, not only that they will fail,
and be overthrown, and be succeeded by the Kingdom of
Christ when their “times” expire, but also that God will not
take the dominion from them, to give it to his Anointed,
until that lease expires—“until the Times of the Gentiles be
fulfilled.” Consequently, we are guarded right here against
the false idea into which Papacy has led the world—that the
Kingdom of God was set up at Pentecost, and more fully
established when, as it is claimed, the Roman empire was
converted to Christianity (to Papacy), and it attained both
temporal and spiritual empire in the world. We see from this
prophecy of the Times of the Gentiles that this claim made
by the church of Rome, and more or less endorsed by
Protestants, is false. We see that those nations which both
Papacy and Protestantism designate Christian Nations, and
whose dominions they call Christendom (i.e., Christ’s
Kingdom), are not such. They are “kingdoms of this world,”
and until their “times” are fulfilled Christ’s Kingdom cannot
take the control, though it will be organizing and preparing
to do so in the few years which close the Gentile Times,
while these kingdoms will be trembling, disintegrating and
falling into anarchy.
During the Gospel age, the Kingdom of Christ has existed
 Times of the Gentiles 81

only in its incipient stage, in its humiliation, without power

or privilege of reigning—without the crown, possessing only
the scepter of promise: unrecognized by the world, and
subject to the “powers that be”—the Gentile kingdoms. And
the heirs of the heavenly kingdom must so continue, until
the time appointed for them to reign together with Christ.
During the time of trouble, closing this age, they will be
exalted to power, but their “reign” of righteousness over the
world could not precede A.D. 1915—when the Times of the
Gentiles have expired. Therefore it is the duty of the Church
to await patiently the appointed time for its triumph and
glorious reign: to keep separate from the kingdoms of this
world as strangers, pilgrims and foreigners; and, as heirs of
the Kingdom to come, to let their hopes and ambitions
center in it. Christians should recognize the true character
of these kingdoms, and, while they keep separate from them,
should render to them due respect and obedience, because
God has permitted them to rule. As Paul teaches, “Let every
soul be subject unto the higher powers; for there is no power
but of God.” Rom. 13:1
Nor can fleshly Israel come into their long promised
inheritance until that time, though preparatory steps will
previously be taken; for God will not fully establish either
the earthly or the spiritual phase of his Kingdom until this
lease to the Gentiles expires.
The crown (dominion) was removed from God’s people
(both the spiritual and the fleshly seed) until the Times of
the Gentiles shall end—at the glorious presence of Messiah,
who will be not only “King of the Jews,” but “King over all
the earth, in that day.” Some may think that this removal of
the crown from Israel was a violation of the promise, “The
Scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from
between his feet, until Shiloh come.” (Gen. 49:10) Note,
however, a distinction between the crown and the scepter;
82 The Time is at Hand

for, though the crown passed away in the days of Zedekiah,

the scepter, as we shall see, did not depart until six hundred
and thirty-nine years afterward—when our Lord Jesus, of
the tribe of Judah and seed of David according to the flesh,
being approved of God, became the rightful and only heir
of the long-promised scepter of earth.
God’s promise to Abraham, renewed to Isaac and to
Jacob, was that from their posterity should come the great
deliverer who should not only bless and exalt their family in
the world, but who should “bless ALL the families of the
earth.” It looked for a time as though Moses, the great
Lawgiver and deliverer, was the one promised; but he
prophetically declared to the people, “A Prophet like unto
me shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your
brethren,” thus indicating that he was but a type of him that
was to come; and Moses died. Next, the promise, “The
scepter shall not depart from Judah,” narrowed down the
expectation to that tribe. And all the other tribes in a
measure clung to Judah in proportion as they had faith in
God’s promises, expecting a blessing in conjunction with
Judah, in due time.
When King David arose from the promised tribe, his
victories led to great expectations of an extended kingdom,
whose influence would spread and embrace the world, and
subject all nations to the Law. And when Solomon’s world-
renowned wisdom and greatness were at their height, it
surely looked as though the crown of universal dominion was
almost within their grasp. The Lord’s promise to David, that
of the fruit of his loins he would raise up one to sit on his
throne forever, had narrowed down the promise in the tribe
of Judah to one family, and that family already on the throne
of Israel. And when the grand Temple of Solomon was
erected, and its hundreds of singers and priests were an
imposing spectacle; when Solomon’s fame for wisdom and
 Times of the Gentiles 83

riches was world-wide; when kings sent him presents and

desired his favor; and when the queen of Sheba came with
gifts to see this most renowned and wonderful king the
world had yet known, no wonder the Jewish bosom swelled
with hope and pride as the long expected moment for the
exaltation of the seed of Abraham, and the blessing of all
nations through them, seemed just at hand.
Sore was their disappointment when, after Solomon’s
death, the kingdom was torn, and finally utterly overturned,
and the people who had expected to rule and bless all
nations as God’s holy nation were carried captives to
Babylon. “By the rivers of Babylon there we sat down, yea,
we wept when we remembered Zion.” Psa. 137
But though the crown was removed, i.e., though the power
to govern even themselves was taken from them, the right
to rule (the scepter), conveyed originally in God’s promise,
was not removed. Though universal dominion was given to
Nebuchadnezzar and his successors, as illustrated in the
great image, and by the four great beasts, yet it was to
continue only a limited period. The original promise to
Israel must be fulfilled—the crown was removed, but the
scepter remained until Shiloh came. This was even pointed
out in the decree against Zedekiah: Take off the crown—I
will overturn it, till he come whose right it is, and I will give
it unto him.
While the covenant made with Abraham promised the
ruling and blessing of the world through his seed, the
covenant of the Law made with Israel, Abraham’s children,
limited and restricted that Abrahamic Covenant, so that
only such as would fully and perfectly obey the Law could
claim, or had any right to hope for, a share in the ruling and
blessing promised in the Abrahamic Covenant. Seeing this
fact led to the formation of the sect of the Pharisees, who
claimed to fulfil every particular of the Law blamelessly, and
84 The Time is at Hand

“trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised

others,” calling others “publicans and sinners” and them-
selves the “children of Abraham,” heirs of the promised
dominion which was to bless the world.
The clear, forcible teaching of our Lord Jesus was in part
directed against the errors of the Pharisees, who supposed
that their careful performance of some of the outward
ceremonies of the Law was a full compliance with its letter
and spirit. Our Lord taught what all Christians now know,
that the Law, when seen in its fulness, is so majestically
perfect, and man so fallen and imperfect, and so beset with
temptations from without as well as by weakness from
within, that none of them could possibly keep that Law
perfectly nor claim the Abrahamic blessing. Our Lord’s
censures of Pharisaism must not therefore be understood as
objections to their endeavor to keep the Law blamelessly;
nor did he blame them for failing to keep the Law fully,
which no imperfect man can do. But he did blame them for
hypocrisy, in deceiving themselves and others with a
claimed perfection and holiness, which they as well as others
could see was merely a cleansing of the outside, while their
hearts were still impure and unconsecrated. He censured
them for having a mere form of godliness, and a lip service,
while their hearts were far from God. So, then, as our Lord
and Paul declare, none of them really did or really could keep
the Law perfectly (John 7:19; Rom. 3:20), though they
might have come much nearer to a perfect observance of its
requirements than they did.
Our Lord not only declared in words the full import of the
Law to be, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, and with
all thy strength, and thy neighbor as thyself,” but he
illustrated this in his full surrender of himself to the will and
plan of God, in his avoidance of any plan and ambition of his
 Times of the Gentiles 85

own, and of all self-seeking—a most hearty doing of the will

of God with all his heart, mind, soul and strength, and loving
his neighbor as himself—all this even unto death.
Thus by fulfilling its conditions—by obeying the Law
perfectly, as none of the imperfect human family could do—
our Lord Jesus became heir of all the blessings promised in
that Law Covenant made with Israel at Mount Sinai; and thus
also he was proved to be THE SEED OF ABRAHAM to whom the
entire Abrahamic promise now applied. Our Lord thus
secured to himself the scepter (the promised right or authority
of earth’s dominion) which for centuries had been promised
should be merited by and given to some one in the tribe of
Judah and family of David. The great prize, for which Israel
had been hoping and striving and longing for centuries, was
won at last by the Lion (the strong one) of the tribe of Judah.
Shiloh, the great Peacemaker, had come: he who not only
made peace between God and man by the blood of his cross,
when he redeemed mankind from the condemnation of death
justly upon all, but he who also, when he takes his great
power and reigns King of kings and Lord of lords, will
overthrow all wrong and evil and sin, and establish peace
upon a sure basis of holiness. He is the Prince of Peace.
When the scepter (the right) under the covenant passed
to our Lord Jesus, that Law Covenant ended; for how could
God continue to offer to others, on any conditions, the prize
which had already been won by Shiloh? Hence, as the
Apostle declares, “Christ made an end of the Law [cove-
nant], nailing it to his cross.” Col. 2:14
Thus the “Prince of Peace” secured for his subjects both
forgiveness of sins and restitution, and established an
everlasting kingdom on the basis of righteousness, such as
could in no other way have been brought about. Thus was
fulfilled the prediction, “The scepter shall not depart from
Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet [loins], until
86 The Time is at Hand

Shiloh come.” Then it did depart from Judah, being given

to “the Lion [the strong one, the highly exalted spiritual
creature, the Lord of glory] from the tribe of Judah,” who
now holds this scepter (or title to authority) as King of kings
and Lord of lords.
Even after the seventy years captivity in Babylon, when
some returned and built again the Temple and the walls of
the city, it was such as had respect to the promise of God,
and who “waited for the consolation of Israel.” These
gathered about the tribe of Judah, remembering God’s
promise that the Lawgiver, the Deliverer, the great Shiloh
or peacemaker, should come in that tribe. But alas! when the
peaceful one who made peace and reconciliation for iniquity
by the blood of his cross came, they despised and rejected
him, expecting not a great High Priest, but a great general.
Shiloh having received the scepter and “all power” at his
resurrection, because of his obedience unto death, will
indeed bless Israel first—but not fleshly Israel, for they are
not all true Israelites who are called such according to the
flesh. (Rom. 9:6) Shiloh, the heir, is seeking and finding
children of Abraham according to the spirit—such as share
the Abrahamic disposition of faith and obedience, both from
his natural posterity and from among the Gentiles—to be
a people for his name. (Acts 15:14) And “after this” [after
the gathering of his elect Church is accomplished—in the
harvest or end of the Gospel age, at the close of the Gentile
Times] he will turn again his favor and will build again the
ruins of Israel, and finally of all the families of the earth,
upon a better basis than has ever entered into the heart of
man to conceive. He who now holds the scepter—“whose
right it is” to rule—will at the expiration of the Gentile
Times receive the crown also; “and unto him shall the
gathering of the people be.” (Gen. 49:10) The scepter, or
title to “all power in heaven and in earth,” was given unto
 Times of the Gentiles 87

him at his resurrection, but he awaits the Father’s

appointed time—the limit of the Gentile Times—before
he will take his great power and begin his glorious reign.
See Rev. 11:17, 18.
Now bear in mind the date already found for the begin-
ning of these Gentile Times—viz., B.C. 606—while we
proceed to examine the evidence proving their length to be
2520 years, ending A.D. 1914.
We must not expect to find this information stated in so
many words. Had it been so stated, it would have been
known before it was due. It is given in such a way as to
conceal it until “the time of the end.” Dan. 12:4, 10
Our Lord’s words, “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of
the Gentiles until the Times of the Gentiles be fulfilled,” not
only suggest a limit and definite period of Gentile domina-
tion, but they also suggest the thought that though spiritual
as well as fleshly Israel has been subject to these Gentile
powers, yet these “times” are somehow connected with and
measured upon the earthly city, Jerusalem, and the fleshly
house of Israel. And the thought occurs—Can it be that God
foretold concerning Israel’s history something which will
give us the exact measure of these “times” to which our Lord
refers? It is even so.
Turning to Leviticus we find recorded blessings and
cursings of an earthly and temporal character. If Israel would
obey God faithfully, they would be blessed above other
nations; if not, certain evils would befall them. The conclu-
sion is stated thus: “And I will walk among you and be your
God, and ye shall be my people;… but if ye will not hearken
unto me, and will not do all these commandments, … I will
set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your
enemies; they that hate you shall reign over you.” “And ye
shall sow your seed in vain; for your enemies shall eat it.”
88 The Time is at Hand

“And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, THEN I WILL
PUNISH YOU SEVEN TIMES more [further] for your sins.” Lev.
26:17, 18, 24, 28
This threat of “seven times” of punishment is mentioned
three times. The various punishments mentioned before the
“seven times” refer to the several captivities to the Assyrians,
Moabites, Midianites, Philistines, etc., etc., during all of
which God’s care continued over them. His dealings were
to them “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little
and there a little;” yet he kept hold of them, and when they
repented and cried unto him, he heard them and answered,
and delivered them from their enemies. (Judges 3:9, 15) But
these chastisements having failed, he applied the threatened
seven times: the crown was permanently removed, and
Israel, as well as the whole world, was subject to the beastly
powers for seven times. Thus it befell them according to
God’s warning—“If ye will not yet for all this [previous
chastisements] hearken unto me, then I will punish you
seven times.”
The connection in which the “seven times” (more, further,
or additional) are threatened indicates that they include a
final and conclusive punishment upon that people after the
other chastisements had repeatedly failed to reform them
permanently. The punishment of these “seven times” will
have the designed effect of thoroughly humbling them
before the Lord, and thus preparing them to receive his
blessings. These seven times therefore refer to the length of
time during which the Gentiles should rule over them. And
to this period of “seven times” our Lord undoubtedly
referred when speaking of “the Times of the Gentiles.”
The time when the lesser captivities and chastisements
gave place to this final great national chastisement of
“seven times” was, as already shown, when their last king
 Times of the Gentiles 89

Zedekiah was removed—since which there has been one

long period of chastisement—the predicted “seven times”
or 2520 years.
In the Bible a “time” is used in the sense of a year, whether
the year be literal or symbolic; but at the time of the
utterance of any prophecy, it could not be known whether
the time referred to was literal or symbolic. The prophets
searched diligently, but in vain, to learn what time, or
manner of time (literal or symbolic), the Spirit did signify.
(1 Pet. 1:11) A symbolic year as used in prophecy is reck-
oned on the basis of a lunar year—twelve months of thirty
days each, or three hundred and sixty days—each day
representing a year. Consequently, a “time” or year, if
symbolic, signifies three hundred and sixty (360) symbolic
days, and “seven times” represent twenty-five hundred and
twenty (7 x 360 = 2520) symbolic days, or 2520 literal years.
The question here presenting itself is, Were these “seven
times” literal or symbolic? Did they refer to seven years, or
twenty-five hundred and twenty years? We answer, they
were symbolic times, 2520 years. They cannot be under-
stood as seven literal years; for Israel had many captivities
of longer duration—for instance, they served the king of
Mesopotamia eight years (Judges 3:8), the king of Moab
eighteen years (Judges 3:14), King Jabin twenty years
(Judges 4:2, 3), the Philistines one period of forty years and
another of eighteen years (Judges 10:7, 8; 13:1), besides
their seventy years in Babylon. All these periods being far
longer than “seven times” or years literal, yet the “seven
times” being mentioned as the last, greatest and final
punishment, proves that symbolic, not literal time is meant,
though the Hebrew word translated “seven times” in Leviti-
cus 26:18, 21, 24, 28, is the same word so translated in Daniel
4:16, 23, 25, 32, except that in Daniel the word iddan is
added, whereas in Leviticus it is left to be understood.
90 The Time is at Hand

And, peculiarly, too, it is repeated four times in each case.

In Nebuchadnezzar’s case they were literal years, but, as we
shall yet see, both Nebuchadnezzar and his “seven times”
were typical.
The “seven times” of Nebuchadnezzar’s degradation (Dan.
4:16, 23-26) proved to be seven literal years, when actually
so fulfilled; and so the humiliation of Israel and the world
under the “powers that be” has proved to be seven symbolic
times—twenty-five hundred and twenty literal years. This
period now lacks but twenty-six years of being fulfilled, and
agencies are at work on every hand pointing to a termination
of Gentile dominion, and the bringing in of everlasting
righteousness and all the blessings of the New Covenant to
Israel and to all the groaning creation.

THE END OF ISRAEL’S SEVEN TIMES

This long period (“seven times,” or 2520 years) of Israel’s

punishment is the period of Gentile dominion—the “Times
of the Gentiles.” Since, as we have already shown, the
“Gentile Times” began B.C. 606, and were to continue
twenty-five hundred and twenty years, they will end A.D.
1914 (2520 – 606 = 1914). Then the blessings recorded in
the latter part of the same chapter (Lev. 26:44, 45) will be
fulfilled. God will remember and fulfil to Israel the covenant
made with their fathers. Rom. 11:25-27
This may be shown more clearly to some thus:
Israel’s “seven times” of chastisement = 2520 years.
They began when the lease of power was
given to the Gentiles, which, as we have
shown, was 606 B.C. Consequently, in
A.D. 1, 606 “
of their period had passed, and the re-
mainder would indicate the A.D. date, viz., 1914
 Times of the Gentiles 91

In proof that a day for a year is Bible usage in symbolic

prophecy, we cite the following instances thus fulfilled: (a)
The spies were caused to wander forty days searching
Canaan, typical of Israel’s forty years wandering in the
wilderness. (Num. 14:33, 34) (b) When God would
announce to Israel by Ezekiel a period of adversity, he had
the prophet symbolize it, declaring, “I have appointed thee
each day for a year.” (Ezek. 4:1-8) (c) In that notable and
already fulfilled prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27, examined in
the preceding chapter, in which the time to the anointing of
our Lord is shown, and also the seven years of favor to Israel
thereafter, in the midst of which Messiah was “cut off,”
symbolic time is used: Each day of the seventy symbolic
weeks represented a year, and was so fulfilled. (d) Again, in
Dan. 7:25 and 12:7, the period of Papacy’s triumph is given
as three and a half times, and this we know (and will show
in this volume) was fulfilled in twelve hundred and sixty
years (360 x 3½ = 1260). The same period is mentioned in
the book of Revelation: In chapter 12:14 it is called three
and a half times (360 x 3½ = 1260); in chapter 13:5 it is
termed forty-two months (30 x 42 = 1260); and in chapter
12:6 it is called twelve hundred and sixty days. The fulfil-
ment of these prophecies will be particularly examined
hereafter. Suffice it now to note that the use by the Spirit of
the word “time,” elsewhere, agrees with the present use of
that term—that in symbolic prophecy a “time” is a symbolic
year of three hundred and sixty years; and the fact that three
and a half times, applied as a measure to the triumph of the
apostate church, has been fulfilled in twelve hundred and
sixty years, establishes the principle upon which the seven
times of Gentile dominion are reckoned (360 x 7 = 2520)
and proves their end to be A.D. 1914; for if three and a half
times are 1260 days (years), seven times will be a period just
twice as long, namely, 2520 years.
92 The Time is at Hand

Had Israel’s “seven times” been fulfilled in literal time

(seven years), the blessing guaranteed to them by God’s
unconditional covenant with their fathers would have
followed. (See Lev. 26:45; Rom. 11:28.) But this was not
the case. They have never yet enjoyed those promised
blessings; and that covenant will not be fulfilled, says Paul
(Rom. 11:25, 26), until the elect Gospel Church, the body
of Christ, has been perfected as their deliverer, through
whom the covenant will be put into operation. “This shall
be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days [i.e., the seven times of punishment], saith
the Lord: I will put my law in their inward parts, and write
it in their hearts, and will be their God and they shall be my
people. And they shall teach no more every man his neigh-
bor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for
they shall all know me from the least of them unto the
greatest of them, saith the Lord; for I will forgive their
iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jer. 31:33,
34; Heb. 10:16, 17) “In those days [the days of favor
following the seven times of punishment] they shall say no
more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape and the children’s
teeth are set on edge. But every one [who dies] shall die for
his own iniquity; every man that eateth the sour grape, his
teeth shall be set on edge.” Jer. 31:29, 30
The restoration at the end of the seventy years in Babylon
was not a release from Gentile rule; for they were a tribu-
tary people ever after that. That restoration served merely
to keep together a people to whom Messiah should be
presented. It was while Gentile rule was already holding
Israel in subjection, and in view of that fact, that our Lord
declared that they would continue to be trodden down until
the Times of the Gentiles expired, or were fulfilled. The
world is witness to the fact that Israel’s punishment under
the dominion of the Gentiles has been continuous since
 Times of the Gentiles 93

B.C. 606, that it still continues, and that there is no reason

to expect their national reorganization sooner than A.D.
1914, the limit of their “seven times”—2520 years. But as
this long period of their national chastisement draws near
its close, we can see marked indications that the barren fig
tree is about to put forth, showing that the winter time of
evil is closing, and the Millennial summer approaching,
which will fully restore them to their promised inheritance
and national independence. The fact that there are now
great preparations and expectations relative to the return
of Israel to their own land is of itself strong circumstantial
evidence corroborative of this Scripture teaching. As to the
significance of such an event, see Vol. I, pages 286-298.

ANOTHER LINE OF TESTIMONY

Another view of the Gentile Times is presented by

Daniel—Chapter 4. Here man’s original dominion over the
whole earth, its removal, and the certainty of its restitution,
to begin at the end of the Gentile Times, is forcibly illus-
trated in a dream given to Nebuchadnezzar, its interpreta-
tion by Daniel, and its fulfilment upon Nebuchadnezzar.
In his dream, Nebuchadnezzar “saw, and behold a tree in
the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The
tree grew and was strong, and the height thereof reached
unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth;
the leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and
in it was meat for all: and the beasts of the field had shadow
under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs
thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. And, behold, a watcher
and a holy one came down from heaven. He cried aloud
and said thus, Hew down the tree and cut off his branches;
shake off his leaves and scatter his fruit; let the beasts get
away from under it, and the fowls from his branches.
94 The Time is at Hand

Nevertheless, leave the stump of his roots in the earth,

even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of
the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let
his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. Let
his heart be changed from man’s and let a beast’s heart be
given unto him; and let seven times pass over him. This
matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand
by the word of the holy ones, to the intent that the living
may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of
men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up
over it the basest of men.”
This remarkable tree, in its glory and beauty, represented
the first dominion of earth given to the human race in its
representative and head, Adam, to whom God said, “Be
fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and
have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of
the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the
earth.” (Gen. 1:28) The original glory of man and the power
vested in him were indeed sublime, and were over the whole
earth, to bless, and feed, and protect and shelter every living
thing. But when sin entered, the command came to hew
down the tree, and the glory and beauty and power of
mankind were taken away; and the lower creation no more
found shelter, protection and blessing under his influence.
Death hewed down the great tree, scattered his fruit and
foliage, and left the lower creation without its lord and
benefactor.
So far as man was concerned, all power to recover the lost
dominion was hopelessly gone. But it was not so from God’s
standpoint. The dominion originally sprang out of his plan,
and was his gracious gift; and though he had commanded it
to be hewn down, yet the root—God’s purpose and plan of
a restitution—continued, though bound with strong fetters
so that it should not sprout until the divinely appointed time.
 Times of the Gentiles 95

As in the dream the figure changes from the stump of a

tree to a man degraded and brought to the companionship
and likeness of beasts, with reason dethroned and all his
glory departed, so we see man, the fallen, degraded lord of
earth: his glory and dominion have departed. Ever since the
sentence passed, the race has been having its portion with
the beasts, and the human heart has become beastly and
degraded. How striking the picture, when we consider the
present and past half-civilized and savage condition of the
great mass of the human race, and that even the small
minority who aspire to overcome the downward tendency
succeed only to a limited degree, and with great struggling
and constant effort. The race must remain in its degradation,
under the dominion of evil, until the lesson has been
learned, that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men,
and giveth it to whomsoever he will. And while men are in
this degraded condition God permits some of the basest
characters among them to rule over them, that their present
bitter experience may prove in the future to be of lasting
benefit.
True to Daniel’s interpretation, we are told that “All this
came upon the king, Nebuchadnezzar,” and that in this
insane, degraded, beastly condition he wandered among the
beasts until seven times (seven literal years in his case)
passed over him. Daniel’s interpretation of the dream
relates only to its fulfilment upon Nebuchadnezzar; but the
fact that the dream, the interpretation and the fulfilment
are all so carefully related here is evidence of an object in
its narration. And its remarkable fitness as an illustration of
the divine purpose in subjecting the whole race to the
dominion of evil for its punishment and correction, that in
due time God might restore and establish it in righteous-
ness and everlasting life, warrants us in accepting it as an
intended type.
96 The Time is at Hand

The dream in its fulfilment upon Nebuchadnezzar is

specially noteworthy when we remember that he was made
the representative ruling head of human dominion (Dan.
2:38), and, as lord of earth, was addressed by the prophet
in almost the same words which God at the first addressed
to Adam—“The God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom,
power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the
children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowl of
heaven hath he given into thy hand, and hath made thee
ruler over them all.” (Dan. 2:37, 38. Compare Gen. 1:28.)
Afterward, because of sin, Nebuchadnezzar received the
“seven times” of punishment, after which his reason began
to return, and his restitution to dominion was accomplished.
He was re-established in his kingdom, and majesty was
added unto him after he had learned the needed lesson to
which he referred in the following language:
“At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine
eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto
me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored
him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting
dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to genera-
tion. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as
nothing; and he doeth according to his will in the army of
heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none
can stay his hand or say unto him, What doest thou? At the
same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of
my kingdom, mine honor and brightness returned unto me
… and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent
majesty was added unto me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise
and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are
truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride
he is able to abase.”
The degradation of Nebuchadnezzar was typical of human
degradation under beastly governments during seven
 Times of the Gentiles 97

symbolic times or years—a year for a day, 2520 years—from

his day onward. And be it observed that this corresponds
exactly with the seven times foretold upon Israel, which, as
we have just seen, end A.D. 1914. For it was under this
Nebuchadnezzar that Israel was carried away captive to
Babylon, when the crown of God’s kingdom was removed,
and the seven times began.
It is in perfect harmony with this that God, in representing
these governments of the Gentiles, portrayed them to Daniel
as so many wild beasts, while the kingdom of God at their
close is represented as given to one like unto a son of man.
Unless it was thus to foreshadow the degradation and the
duration of Gentile Times, we know of no reason for the
recording of this scrap of the history of a heathen king.
That his seven years of degradation fitly illustrated human
debasement, is a fact; that God has promised a restitution
of earth’s dominion after humanity has learned certain
great lessons, is also a fact; and that the seven symbolic
Gentile Times (2520 years) end at the exact point when
mankind will have learned its own degradation and present
inability to rule the world to advantage, and will be ready
for God’s kingdom and dominion, is a third fact. And the
fitness of the illustration forces the conviction that Neb-
uchadnezzar’s seven years, while literally fulfilled on him
personally, had a yet greater and broader significance as a
figure of the seven symbolic times of Gentile dominion,
which he represented.
The exact date of Nebuchadnezzar’s degradation is not
stated, and is of no consequence, because the period of his
degradation typified the entire period of Gentile dominion,
which began when the crown of the typical kingdom of God
was removed from Zedekiah. It was beastly from its very
start, and its times are numbered: its boundaries are set by
Jehovah, and cannot be passed.
98 The Time is at Hand

How refreshing the prospect brought to view at the close

of these seven times! Neither Israel nor the world of man-
kind represented by that people will longer be trodden
down, oppressed and misruled by beastly Gentile powers.
The Kingdom of God and his Christ will then be estab-
lished in the earth, and Israel and all the world will be
blessed under his rightful and righteous authority. Then
the root of promise and hope planted first in Eden (Gen.
3:15), and borne across the flood and transplanted with
Israel the typical people (Gen. 12:1-3), will sprout and
bloom again.
It began to sprout at our Lord’s first advent, but the
appointed season had not arrived for it to bloom and bring
forth its blessed fruitage in the restitution of all things. But
at the end of the Gentile Times the sure signs of spring will
not be lacking, and rich will be the summer fruitage and
glorious the autumnal harvest to be reaped and enjoyed in
the eternal ages of glory to follow. Then the original lord of
earth, with reason restored, will be fully reinstated, with
added excellence and glory, as in the type, and will praise
and extol and honor the King of heaven.
Already we begin to see reason returning to mankind: men
are awakening to some sense of their degradation, and are
on the lookout to improve their condition. They are
thinking, planning and scheming for a better condition than
that to which they have been submitting under the beastly
powers. But before they come to recognize God and his
dominion over all, they will experience one more terrible fit
of madness, from which struggle they will awake weak,
helpless, exhausted, but with reason so far restored as to
recognize and bow to the authority of him who comes to
re-establish the long lost, first dominion, on the permanent
basis of experience and knowledge of both good and evil.
True, it is expecting great things to claim, as we do, that
 Times of the Gentiles 99

within the coming twenty-six years all present governments

will be overthrown and dissolved; but we are living in a
special and peculiar time, the “Day of Jehovah,” in which
matters culminate quickly; and it is written, “A short work
will the Lord make upon the earth.” (See Vol. I, chap. xv.)
For the past eleven years these things have been preached
and published substantially as set forth above; and in that
brief time the development of influences and agencies for
the undermining and overthrow of the strongest empires of
earth has been wonderful. In that time Communism,
Socialism and Nihilism sprang into vigorous existence, and
already are causing great uneasiness among the rulers and
high ones of earth, whose hearts are failing them for fear,
and for looking after those things which are coming on the
earth; for the present powers are being mightily shaken, and
ultimately shall pass away with a great tumult.
In view of this strong Bible evidence concerning the
Times of the Gentiles, we consider it an established truth
that the final end of the kingdoms of this world, and the full
establishment of the Kingdom of God, will be accomplished
near the end of A.D. 1915. Then the prayer of the Church,
ever since her Lord took his departure—“Thy Kingdom
come”—will be answered; and under that wise and just
administration, the whole earth will be filled with the glory
of the Lord—with knowledge, and righteousness, and peace
(Psa. 72:19; Isa. 6:3; Hab. 2:14); and the will of God shall
be done “on earth, as it is done in heaven.”
Daniel’s statement, that God’s Kingdom will be set up, not
after these kingdoms of earth are dissolved, but in their days,
while they still exist and have power, and that it is God’s
Kingdom which shall break in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms (Dan. 2:44), is worthy of our special consider-
ation. So it was with each of these beastly governments: it
existed before it acquired universal dominion. Babylon
100 The Time is at Hand

existed long before it conquered Jerusalem and obtained the

dominion (Dan. 2:37, 38); Medo-Persia existed before it
conquered Babylon; and so with all kingdoms: they must
first have existed and have received superior power before
they could conquer others. So, too, with God’s Kingdom:
it has existed in an embryo form for eighteen centuries; but
it, with the world at large, was made subject to “the powers
that be,” “ordained of God.” Until their “seven times” shall
end, the Kingdom of God cannot come into universal
dominion. However, like the others, it must obtain power
adequate to the overthrow of these kingdoms before it shall
break them in pieces.
So, in this “Day of Jehovah,” the “Day of Trouble,” our
Lord takes his great power (hitherto dormant) and reigns,
and this it is that will cause the trouble, though the world
will not so recognize it for some time. That the saints shall
share in this work of breaking to pieces present kingdoms,
there can be no doubt. It is written, “This honor have all his
saints—to execute the judgments written, to bind their kings
with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron”—of
strength. (Psa. 149:8, 9) “He that overcometh, and keepeth
my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the
nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the
vessels of a potter shall they [the empires] be broken to
shivers.” Rev. 2:26, 27; Psa. 2:8, 9
But our examination, in the preceding volume, of the great
difference in character between the Kingdom of God and
the beastly kingdoms of earth, prepares us to see also a
difference in modes of warfare. The methods of conquest
and breaking will be widely different from any which have
ever before overthrown nations. He who now takes his great
power to reign is shown in symbol (Rev. 19:15) as the one
whose sword went forth out of his mouth, “that with it he
should smite the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod
 Times of the Gentiles 101

of iron.” That sword is the TRUTH (Eph. 6:17); and the living
saints, as well as many of the world, are now being used as
the Lord’s soldiers in overthrowing errors and evils. But let
no one hastily infer a peaceable conversion of the nations to
be here symbolized; for many scriptures, such as Rev. 11:17,
18; Dan. 12:1; 2 Thes. 2:8; Psalms 149 and 47, teach the
very opposite.
Be not surprised, then, when in subsequent chapters we
present proofs that the setting up of the Kingdom of God is
already begun, that it is pointed out in prophecy as due to
begin the exercise of power in A.D. 1878, and that the
“battle of the great day of God Almighty” (Rev. 16:14),
which will end in A.D. 1915, with the complete overthrow
of earth’s present rulership, is already commenced. The
gathering of the armies is plainly visible from the standpoint
of God’s Word.
If our vision be unobstructed by prejudice, when we get
the telescope of God’s Word rightly adjusted we may see
with clearness the character of many of the events due to
take place in the “Day of the Lord”—that we are in the very
midst of those events, and that “the Great Day of His Wrath
is come.”
The sword of truth, already sharpened, is to smite every
evil system and custom—civil, social and ecclesiastical. Nay,
more, we can see that the smiting is commenced: freedom
of thought, and human rights, civil and religious, long lost
sight of under kings and emperors, popes, synods, councils,
traditions and creeds, are being appreciated and asserted as
never before. The internal conflict is already fomenting: it
will ere long break forth as a consuming fire, and human
systems, and errors, which for centuries have fettered truth
and oppressed the groaning creation, must melt before it.
Yes, truth—and widespread and increasing knowledge of
it—is the sword which is perplexing and wounding the heads
102 The Time is at Hand

over many countries. (Psa. 110:6) Yet in this trouble what

a blessing is disguised: It will prepare mankind for a fuller
appreciation of righteousness and truth, under the reign of
the King of Righteousness.
As men shall eventually come to realize that justice is laid
to the line and righteousness to the plummet (Isa. 28:17),
they will also learn that the strict rules of justice alone can
secure the blessings which all desire. And, thoroughly
disheartened with their own ways and the miserable fruitage
of selfishness, they will welcome and gladly submit to the
righteous authority which takes the control; and thus, as it
is written, “The desire of all nations shall come”—the
Kingdom of God, under the absolute and unlimited control
of Jehovah’s Anointed.

“We are living, we are dwelling,

In a grand and awful time.
In an age on ages telling,
To be living is sublime.
Hark! the rumbling in the nations,
Iron crumbling with the clay:
Hark! what soundeth? ’Tis creation
Groaning for a better day.

“Scoffers scorning, Heaven beholding,

Thou hast but an hour to fight.
See prophetic truth unfolding!
Watch! and keep thy garments white.
Oh, let all the soul within you
For the truth’s sake go abroad!
Strike! let every nerve and sinew
Tell on ages—tell for God!”
 STUDY V

THE MANNER OF OUR LORD’S RETURN

AND APPEARING

HARMONY OF THE MANNER OF OUR LORD’S SECOND ADVENT WITH OTHER

FEATURES OF THE DIVINE PLAN—HOW AND WHEN THE CHURCH SHALL SEE
HIM—HOW AND WHEN THE GLORY OF THE LORD SHALL BE SO REVEALED THAT
ALL FLESH SHALL SEE IT TOGETHER—STATEMENTS APPARENTLY CONFLICTING
SHOWN TO BE HARMONIOUS—HE COMES “AS A THIEF”—“NOT WITH OUTWARD
SHOW”—AND YET “WITH A SHOUT”—WITH “VOICES”—AND “WITH THE SOUND
OF THE GREAT TRUMPET”—“HE SHALL BE REVEALED IN FLAMING FIRE, TAKING
VENGEANCE”—AND YET, “HE SHALL SO COME, IN LIKE MANNER” AS HE WENT
AWAY—IMPORTANCE OF PROPHETIC TIME IN THIS CONNECTION SHOWN—
HARMONY OF PRESENT INDICATIONS.

T HE VIEW just had, of the speedy close of Gentile

Times, and the assurance that the consummation of the
Church’s hope must precede their close, only whets the
appetite of those now waiting for the consolation of Israel.
Such will be hungering for whatever information our Father
may have supplied through the prophets, touching the
“harvest,” the end, or closing period of this age—the
separating of wheat from tares among the living members
of the nominal Church, and the time of the change of the
overcomers, to be with and like their Lord and Head.
But in order to appreciate the reasonableness of the
prophetic teaching on these deeply interesting subjects, it
is absolutely necessary that we have clear views both of the
object of our Lord’s second coming, and of the manner in
which he will be revealed. That the object of his coming is
to reconcile “whosoever will,” of the world, to God, by a
process of ruling, and teaching, and disciplining, called
judging and blessing, we trust all present readers have been
convinced in the reading of Volume I. The manner of the

103
104 The Time is at Hand

Lord’s coming and appearing, therefore, is of paramount

importance, before proceeding in our study of the time of
the harvest, etc. The student must hold clearly in mind the
object while studying the manner of our Lord’s return; and
both of these, when he comes to study the time. This is
needful as an offset to the erroneous views, already preoccu-
pying many minds, based upon false ideas of both the object
and the manner of our Lord’s coming.
Grasp and hold in mind as firmly as possible the fact
already demonstrated, that God’s plan is one harmonious
whole, which is being wrought out through Christ; and that
the work of the second advent stands related to the work of
the first as effect to cause: That is, that the great work of
Restitution at the second advent follows the work of
Redemption accomplished at the first advent as a logical
sequence according to the divine plan. Therefore the Lord’s
return is the dawn of hope for the world, the time for the
bestowment of the favors secured by the redemption—the
Gospel Age being merely an intervening parenthesis, during
which the bride of Christ is selected, to be associated with
her Lord in the great work of restitution which he comes to
accomplish.
And since the Church of Christ, which has been develop-
ing during the Gospel age, is to be associated with her Lord
in the great restitution work of the Millennial age, the first
work of Christ at the second advent must be the gathering
of his elect Church, to which reference is made through the
Prophet (Psa. 50:5), saying, “Gather my saints together
unto me—those that have made a covenant with me by
sacrifice.” This gathering or harvesting time is in the lapping
period of the two ages. As will be shown, it is a period of
forty years, which both ends the Gospel age and introduces
the Millennial age. (See Vol. I, pages 219-221; 234-237; and
the Chart of the Ages.) This harvest period not only
 Manner of the Second Advent 105

accomplishes the separation of wheat from tares in the

nominal Gospel church, and the gathering and glorification
of the wheat class, but it is also to accomplish the burning
(destruction) of the tares (as tares, or imitation wheat—not
as individuals: the fire of destruction is symbolic as well as
the tares), and the gathering and destruction of the corrupt
fruitage of “the Vine of the earth” (human ambition, greed
and selfishness), which has been growing and ripening for
centuries in the kingdoms of this world and in the various
civil and social organizations among men.
Although, when treating of the object of our Lord’s
return, we showed that it would be a personal coming, let
us again guard the student against confusion of thought in
considering the two apparently conflicting expressions of
our Lord—“Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of
the world” (aionos age), and, “I go to prepare a place for
you, … and will come again and receive you.” (Matt.
28:20; John 14:2, 3) The following incident will serve as
an illustration of the harmony of the two promises: One
friend said to another as they were about to part, Remem-
ber, I will be with you through all your journey. How?
Certainly not in person; for there they took trains to go in
opposite directions to distant points. The idea was that in
love, and thought, and care one for another, they would
not be separated. In a similar yet fuller sense, the Lord has
always been with his Church, his divine power enabling
him to oversee, direct and assist them, from first to last.
But we are now considering, not our Lord’s presence with
us in this figurative sense, but the manner of his second
personal presence and appearing, “when he shall come to
be glorified in his saints and to be admired in all them that
believe in that day.”
The Scriptures teach that Christ comes again to reign; that
he must reign until he has put down all enemies—all
106 The Time is at Hand

opponents, all things in the way of the great restitution

which he comes to accomplish—the last to be overthrown
being death (1 Cor. 15:25, 26); and that he will reign for a
thousand years. It is therefore only as should be expected,
that we find a much larger space in prophecy devoted to the
second advent and its thousand years of triumphant reign
and overthrow of evil than to the thirty-four years of the first
advent for redemption. And as we have found that prophecy
touches the various important points of those thirty-four
years, from Bethlehem and Nazareth to the gall and vinegar,
the parted raiment, the cross, the tomb and the resurrection,
so we find that prophecy likewise touches various points of
the thousand years of the second presence, particularly their
beginning and ending.
The second presence of our Lord will cover a much longer
period of time than the first. The mission of his first advent
was finished in less than thirty-four years, while it will
require a thousand years to accomplish the appointed work
of his second presence. And thus it may be seen at a glance
that, while the work of the first advent was no less important
than that of the second advent—yea, though it was so
important that the work of the second advent could never
have been possible without it—yet it was not so varied, and
hence required less description than the work of the second
advent.
In considering the second advent we must not, any more
than at the first advent, expect all prophecies to mark one
particularly eventful moment of our Lord’s arrival and to call
the attention of all men to the fact of his presence. Such is
not God’s usual method: such was not the case at the first
advent. The first advent of Messiah was not marked by any
sudden or surprising demonstration, out of the usual order
of things, but it was manifested and proven by the gradual
fulfilment of prophecy showing to thoughtful observers that
 Manner of the Second Advent 107

the events which should be expected were being accom-

plished on time. And thus it will be at his second advent. It
is of less importance that we discover the exact moment of
his arrival than that we discern the fact of his presence when
he has arrived, even as at the first advent it was important to
be able to recognize his presence, and the sooner the better,
but much less important to know the exact date of his birth.
In considering the second advent, the act of coming and the
moment of arrival are too frequently the thought, whereas
it should be thought of as a period of presence, as was the first
advent. The precise moment at which that presence would
begin would then seem less important, and his object and
work during the period of his presence would receive the
greater consideration.
We must bear in mind, also, that our Lord is no longer a
human being; that as a human being he gave himself a
ransom for men, having become a man for that very pur-
pose. (1 Tim. 2:6; Heb. 10:4, 5; 1 Cor. 15:21, 22) He is now
highly exalted, to the divine nature. Therefore Paul said,
“Though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now,
henceforth, know we him [so] no more.” (2 Cor. 5:16) He
was raised from the dead a life-giving spirit being (1 Cor.
15:45), and not a man, of the earth earthy. He is no longer
human in any sense or degree; for we must not forget what
we have learned (See Vol. I, Chap. 10)—that natures are
separate and distinct. Since he is no longer in any sense or
degree a human being, we must not expect him to come
again as a human being, as at the first advent. His second
coming is to be in a different manner, as well as for a
different purpose.
Noting the fact that our Lord’s change from human to
divine nature at his resurrection was even a greater change
than the one which occurred some thirty-four years previ-
ously, when he laid aside the glory of spiritual being and
108 The Time is at Hand

“was made flesh,” we may with great profit consider very

minutely his every action during the forty days after his
resurrection before he went “to the Father;” because it is the
resurrected Jesus of those forty days who is to come again,
and not the man Christ Jesus who gave himself as our
ransom, in death. He who was put to death a flesh being was
also in his resurrection quickened [made alive] a spirit
being. 1 Pet. 3:18*
At his second advent he does not come to be subject to
the powers that be, to pay tribute to Caesar and to suffer
humiliation, injustice and violence; but he comes to reign,
exercising all power in heaven and in earth. He does not
come in the body of his humiliation, a human body, which
he took for the suffering of death, inferior to his former
glorious body (Heb. 2:9); but in his glorious spiritual body,
which is “the express image of the Father’s person” (Heb.
1:3); for, because of his obedience even unto death, he is
now highly exalted to the divine nature and likeness, and
given a name above every name—the Father’s name only
excepted. (Phil. 2:9; 1 Cor. 15:27) The Apostle shows that
it “doth not yet appear” to our human understanding what
he is now like; hence we know not what we shall be like
when made like him, but we (the Church) may rejoice in the

* In this passage, the words “in the” and “by the” are arbitrarily
supplied by the translators, and are misleading. The Greek reads simply—
“Put to death flesh, quickened spirit.” Our Lord was put to death a fleshly
or human being, but was raised from the dead a spirit being. And since the
Church is to be “changed” in order that she may be like Christ, it is evident
that the change which occurred in the Head was of a kind similar to that
described as in reservation for the overcomers, who shall be changed from
human to spiritual nature, and made like him—“partakers of the divine
nature.” Hence, the following description of the change of the saints is
applicable also to their Lord; viz., “It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in
glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural
body, it is raised a spiritual body.”
 Manner of the Second Advent 109

assurance that we shall one day be with him, and like him,
and see him as he is (1 John 3:2)—not as he was at his first
advent in humiliation, when he had laid aside his former
glory and for our sakes had become poor, that we through
his poverty might be made rich.
If we consider the wisdom and prudence of our Lord’s
methods of manifesting his presence to his disciples after his
resurrection, as well as previously, it may help us to remem-
ber that the same wisdom will be displayed in his methods
of revealing himself at his second advent, both to the
Church and to the world—methods not necessarily similar,
but in each case well suited to his object, which never is to
alarm or excite men, but to convince their cool, calm
judgments of the great truths to be impressed upon them.
Our Lord’s first advent was not a startling, exciting or
alarming event. How quietly and unobtrusively he came! So
much so that only those who had faith and humility were
enabled to recognize in the infant of humble birth, in the
man of sorrows, in the friend of the humble and poor, and
finally in the crucified one, the long-looked-for Messiah.
After his resurrection, the manifestation of his presence
would in the nature of the case be a more astounding fact,
particularly when his changed nature is taken into consider-
ation. Yet the fact of his resurrection, together with the fact
of his changed nature, had to be fully manifested, not to all
the world at that time, but to chosen witnesses who would
give credible testimony of the fact to succeeding genera-
tions. Had all the world been made acquainted with the fact
then, the testimony coming down to our day would proba-
bly have been much less trustworthy, being colored and
warped by men’s ideas and mixed with their traditions, so
that the truth might appear almost or quite incredible. But
God entrusted it only to chosen, faithful and worthy
witnesses; and as we notice the account, let each mark how
110 The Time is at Hand

perfectly the object was accomplished, and how clear,

positive and convincing was the proof of Christ’s resurrec-
tion and change offered to them. Mark, too, the carefulness
with which he guarded against alarming or unduly exciting
them while making manifest and emphasizing these great
truths. And be assured that the same wisdom, prudence and
skill will be displayed in his methods of making known the
fact of his glorious presence at his second advent. The cool,
calm judgment will be convinced in every case, though the
world in general will need to be brought by severe discipline
to the proper attitude to receive the testimony, while those
whose hearts are right will have the blessed intelligence
sooner. All the proofs of his resurrection and change to
spiritual nature were not given to his disciples at once, but
as they were able to bear them and in the manner calculated
to make the deepest impression.
During the three and a half years of our Lord’s ministry,
his disciples had sacrificed friends, reputation, business,
etc., to devote time and energy to heralding Messiah’s
presence and the establishment of his kingdom. But they
had necessarily crude ideas regarding the manner and time
of their Master’s exaltation, and of their promised exalta-
tion with him. Nor was full knowledge then necessary: it
was quite sufficient that they should faithfully take each
step as it became due; hence the Master taught them little
by little as they were able to receive it. And near the close
of his ministry he said, “I have yet many things to say unto
you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when he, the
Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth …
and show you things to come, and bring all things to your
remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John
16:12, 13; 14:26
Who can tell their great disappointment, even though so
far as possible they had been armed against it, when they
 Manner of the Second Advent 111

saw him suddenly taken from them and ignominiously

crucified as a felon—him whose kingdom and glory they had
been expecting and declaring, and which only five days
before his crucifixion had seemed to them so near a realiza-
tion. (John 12:1, 12-19) Though they knew him to be falsely
accused and wrongfully crucified, this did not alter the fact
that their long cherished national hopes of a Jewish king,
who would restore their nation to influence and power,
together with their own individual hopes, ambitions and
air-castles of important offices and high honors in the
kingdom, were all suddenly demolished by this unfavorable
turn which matters had taken in the crucifixion of their king.
Well did the Master know how desolate and aimless and
perplexed they would feel; for thus it was written by the
Prophet, “I will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall
be scattered.” (Zech. 13:7; Mark 14:27) And during the
forty days between his resurrection and ascension, it was
therefore his chief concern to gather them again, and to
re-establish their faith in him as the long-looked-for
Messiah, by proving to them the fact of his resurrection,
and that since his resurrection, though retaining the same
individuality, he was no longer human, but an exalted
spirit being, having “all power in heaven and in earth.”
Matt. 28:18
He broke the news of his resurrection gradually to
them—first, through the women (Mary Magdalene, and
Joanna, Mary the mother of James and Salome, and others
with them—Mark 16:1; Luke 24:1, 10), who came early to
the sepulcher to anoint his dead body with sweet spices.
While they wondered whom they should get to roll away the
stone from the door of the sepulcher, behold, there was an
earthquake, and when they came they found the stone rolled
away, and an angel of the Lord sat upon it, who addressed
them, saying, “Fear not, for I know that ye seek Jesus which
112 The Time is at Hand

was crucified. He is not here; for he is risen, as he said.

Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and
tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and behold,
he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him.”
Matt. 28:5-7
It seems that Mary Magdalene separated from the other
women and ran to tell Peter and John (John 20:1, 2), while
the others went to tell the rest of the disciples, and that
after she had left them Jesus appeared to the other women
on the way, saying (Matt. 28:9, 10), “All hail.” And they
came and held him by the feet and worshiped him. Then
said Jesus unto them, “Be not afraid: go tell my brethren
that they go into Galilee [their home], and there shall they
see me.” And with fear and joy they ran to tell the other
disciples. In their mingled feelings of surprise, perplexity,
joy and fear, and their general bewilderment, they scarcely
knew how to report their strange and wonderful experi-
ence. When Mary met Peter and John she said sadly, “They
have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher and we
know not where they have laid him.” (John 20:2) The
other women told how at the sepulcher they had seen a
vision of angels who said he was alive (Luke 24:22, 23),
and then how they afterward met the Lord in the way.
Matt. 28:8, 10
The majority of the disciples evidently regarded their
story merely as superstitious excitement, but Peter and
John said, We will go and see for ourselves; and Mary
returned to the sepulcher with them. All that Peter and
John saw was that the body was gone, that the grave clothes
were carefully folded and laid by, and that the stone was
rolled away from the door. So in perplexity they turned
away, though Mary still remained there weeping. As she
wept she stooped down and looked into the sepulcher and
saw two angels, who said, “Woman, why weepest thou?”
 Manner of the Second Advent 113

She answered, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and

I know not where they have laid him.” And as she turned
about she saw Jesus standing, but did not know him. He
inquired, “Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest
thou?” And she, supposing him to be the gardener, an-
swered, “Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me where
thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.” Then, in the
old familiar tone which she quickly recognized, the Lord
said, “Mary!”
That was enough to establish her faith in the statement
of the angel, that he had risen, which until now had seemed
like a dream or an idle tale; and in her joy she exclaimed,
“Master!” Her first impulse was to embrace him, and to
tarry in his presence. But Jesus gently informed her that
there was a very important mission for her to perform now,
in bearing witness to the fact of his resurrection, and that
she should be in haste to carry the message and establish
the faith of the other disciples, still in perplexity and
uncertainty, saying, “Touch [Greek, haptomai, embrace]
me not [do not tarry for further demonstration of your
affection now]; for I am not yet ascended to my Father [I
will be with you for a short time yet]: but go to my brethren
and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your
Father, and to my God, and your God.” (John 20:17)
Through the other women also he had sent them word that
he would meet them in Galilee.
Next, he overtook two of the sad and perplexed disciples
as they walked from Jerusalem to Emmaus, and inquired the
cause of their sadness and despondency. (Luke 24:13-35)
And one of them answered: “Art thou only a stranger in
Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come
to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What
things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of
Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word
114 The Time is at Hand

before God and all the people: and how the chief priests and
our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and
have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which
should have redeemed Israel: and besides all this, today is
the third day since these things were done. [Here they were
probably calling to mind John 2:19, 21, 22.] Yea, and certain
women also of our company made us astonished, which
were early at the sepulcher. And when they found not his
body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of
angels, which said he was alive. And certain of them which
were with us went to the sepulcher, and found it even so as
the women had said; but him they saw not.”
No wonder they were perplexed; how strange it all
seemed! how peculiar and thrilling had been the events of
the past few days!
Then the stranger preached them a stirring sermon from
the prophecies, showing them that the very things which
had so disheartened them were the things which the
prophets had foretold concerning the true Messiah: that
before he could rule and bless and lift up Israel and all the
world, he must first redeem them with his own life from the
curse of death, which came upon all through Adam, and
that afterward, raised to life and glory by Jehovah, their
Master would fulfil all that was written by the prophets
concerning his future glory and honor, as truly as he had
fulfilled those prophecies which foretold his sufferings,
humiliation and death. A wonderful preacher! and a
wonderful sermon was that! It started new ideas and
opened new expectations and hopes. As they drew near the
village they constrained him to tarry with them, as it was
toward evening and the day was far spent. He went in to
tarry with them; and as he sat at meat with them, he took
bread and brake and gave it to them. Then their eyes were
opened; and he vanished out of their sight.
 Manner of the Second Advent 115

Not until that moment did they recognize him, though

they had walked, and talked and sat at meat together. He
was known to them not by face, but in the simple act of
blessing and breaking bread in the old familiar way, thus
assuring their faith in what they had already heard—that he
had risen, and would see them again.
Then the two surprised and overjoyed disciples arose that
same hour and returned to Jerusalem, saying to each other,
“Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us
by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures?”
Arriving in Jerusalem they found the others rejoicing also,
saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to
Simon.” And they told what things were done in the way,
and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.
Probably they were nearly all there that evening, homes,
business and everything else forgotten—Mary Magdalene
with her tears of joy, saying, I knew him the moment he
called my name—I could not credit the angel’s assurance of
his resurrection until then; and the other women telling
their wonderful experience of the morning, and how they
had met him in the way. Then Simon had his story to tell;
and now here were two other witnesses from Emmaus. What
an eventful day! No wonder they desired to meet together
on the first day of every week after that, to talk the matter
over and to call to mind all the circumstances connected
with this wonderful event of the Lord’s resurrection, and to
have their hearts “burn” again and again.
While the excited and overjoyed little company were thus
met and relating to each other their several experiences, the
Lord Jesus himself suddenly stood in their midst (Luke
24:36-49) and said, “Peace be unto you!” From where had
he come? All such meetings were held secretly with closed
doors, for fear of the Jews (John 20:19, 26), but here was
a sudden appearance without any visible approach; and
116 The Time is at Hand

they were terrified, and supposed they had seen a spirit.

Then he comforted them, told them to calm their fears, and
showed them his hands and his feet, saying, “It is I, myself;
handle me and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as
ye see me have.” And while they yet believed not for joy,
and wondered, he said unto them, “Have ye here any
meat?” and they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and he
took it and did eat before them. Then he opened their
understanding, their mental eyes, and expounded the
Scriptures to them, showing from the law and the prophets
that these things had come to pass exactly as foretold. But
Thomas was absent (John 20:24); and when the other
disciples told him that they had seen the Lord, he would
not believe it, but said, “Except I shall see in his hands the
print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will
not believe.”
Eight days passed without further manifestations, and
they had time calmly to think and talk over the experiences
of that wonderful day, when, the disciples being again
assembled as before, Jesus stood in their midst, just as on the
first evening, saying, “Peace be unto you.” (John 20:26)
This time Thomas was present, and the Lord addressed
him, saying, “Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold
my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my
side; and be not faithless, but believing.” He thus showed
that he knew what Thomas had said without being told, and
he gave that proof of his resurrection which Thomas had
said would satisfy him; and with joy Thomas answered,
“My Lord and my God!”
After this, there must have been quite a long interval
before there was any further manifestation of the Lord’s
presence, and the disciples who were Galileans began to
think of home and the future; and remembering the Lord’s
message by the women, that he would go before them into
 Manner of the Second Advent 117

Galilee, they went thither. Probably on their way, the Lord

met them, as Matthew relates, in a mountain. They were
perplexed; they no longer felt the same familiarity they
once had toward him; he seemed so greatly changed since
his crucifixion from what he used to be—he appeared and
disappeared in such peculiar times and places; he no longer
seemed like “the man Christ Jesus;” so Matthew says “they
worshiped him—but some doubted.” After a few words
with them the Lord “vanished” from their sight, and left
them to wonder what next would happen. For some time
after their return to Galilee nothing unusual occurred, and
there was no further indication of the Lord’s presence.
Doubtless they met together and talked over the situation,
and wondered why he did not appear to them more
frequently.
As they waited, the days and the weeks seemed long.
They had long ago given up the ordinary pursuits of life, to
follow the Lord from place to place, learning of him, and
preaching to others, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
(Matt. 10:5-7) They did not now wish to go back to the old
pursuits; and yet, how should they proceed with the Lord’s
work? They comprehended the situation clearly enough to
know that they could no longer preach as formerly the
kingdom at hand; for all the people knew that their Master
and King had been crucified, and none but themselves knew
of his resurrection. While all of the eleven were thus
perplexed and anxious, waiting for something, they knew
not what, Peter said, Well, it will not do to remain idle: I
will go back to my old fishing business; and six of the others
said, We will do the same: we will go with you. (John 21:3)
And probably the rest also turned again to their old
employments.
Who can doubt that the Lord was invisibly present with
them many times as they talked together, overruling and
118 The Time is at Hand

directing the course of circumstances, etc., for their highest

good? If they should have great success and become
swallowed up by interest in business, they would soon be
unfit for the higher service; yet if they should have no
success, it would seem like forcing them; so the Lord
adopted a plan which taught them a lesson such as he often
teaches his followers, viz.: that the success or failure of their
efforts, in any direction, he can control if he please.
The old firm of fishermen reorganized: got together their
boats, nets, etc., and went out for their first catch. But they
toiled all night and caught no fish, and began to feel dis-
heartened. In the morning a stranger on shore calls to them
to know of their success. Poor success! We have caught
nothing, they answer. Try again, said the stranger. Now cast
your net on the other side of the boat. No use, stranger, we
have tried both sides all night long, and if there were fish on
one side, there would be on the other. However, we will try
again and let you see. They did so, and got an immense haul.
How strange! said some; but the quick and impressible John
at once got the correct idea, and said, Brethren, the Lord
only could do this. Don’t you remember the feeding of the
multitudes, etc? That must be the Lord on shore, and this
is another way that he has chosen to manifest himself to us.
Don’t you remember that it was just so when the Lord first
called us? Then, too, we had toiled all night and caught
nothing until he called to us, saying, “Let down your nets for
a draught.” (Luke 5:4-11) Yes, surely that is the Lord,
though, since his resurrection, we cannot recognize him by
his appearance. He now appears in a variety of forms; but we
know each time that it is he by some peculiar circumstance
like this calling to mind some marked incident of our past
acquaintance with him.
And when they got to shore they found that Jesus had
bread as well as fish, and they learned the lesson, that under
 Manner of the Second Advent 119

his direction and care and in his service they would not be
left to starve. (Luke 12:29, 30) They did not ask him if he
were the Lord; for on this as on other occasions, the eyes of
their understanding being opened, they knew him, not by
physical sight, but by the miracle. Then followed the
instructions of that delightful hour, reassuring Peter of his
continued acceptance notwithstanding his denial of the
Lord, for which he repented and wept. He now learned
afresh of his Master’s love, and of his continued privilege of
feeding the sheep and the lambs. We seem to hear the Lord
say, You need not go back to the fishing business, Peter: I
called you once to be a fisher of men, and, knowing your
heart to be still loyal and zealous, I renew your commission
as a fisher of men.
“And, eating together with them, he commanded them
that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the
promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized
with the holy Spirit not many days hence.” (Acts 1:4—
margin) So they came to Jerusalem as instructed, and here
it was, forty days after his resurrection, that he met with
them for the last time and talked with them. They sum-
moned courage this time to question him about the kingdom
he had promised them, saying, “Lord, wilt thou at this time
restore the kingdom to Israel?” This thought of the kingdom
was the one uppermost in the mind of every Jew. Israel, they
understood, was to be chief among the nations under
Messiah, and they knew not of the long Times of the
Gentiles, and they saw not yet that the chief blessing had
been taken from fleshly Israel (Matt. 21:43; Rom. 11:7),
and that they themselves were to be members of the new
(spiritual) Israel, the royal priesthood and holy nation,
through whom, as the body of Christ, the blessing of the
world would come. They as yet understood none of these
120 The Time is at Hand

things. How could they? They had not yet received the
holy Spirit of adoption as sons, but were still under
condemnation; because, though the ransom-sacrifice had
been made by the Redeemer, it had not yet been formally
presented on our behalf in the Most Holy, even Heaven
itself. (John 7:39) Hence our Lord did not attempt any
explanatory answer to their question, but merely said, “It
is not for you [now] to know the times and seasons which
the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive
power* after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and ye
shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the
earth.” Acts 1:7, 8
Then the Lord, who was walking with them, when they
reached the Mount of Olives, lifted his hands and blessed
them, and he was parted from them and went upward; and
a cloud received him out of their sight. (Luke 24:48-52; Acts
1:6-15) They began to see something more of God’s plan
now. The Lord who came down from heaven had returned
to the Father, as he had told them before he died—had gone
to prepare a place for them and would come again and
receive them—had gone afar to receive the promised
kingdom, and to return (Luke 19:12); and meantime they
were to be his witnesses in all the earth to call and make
ready a people to receive him when he would come to be
glorified in his saints, and to reign King of kings and Lord
of lords. They saw their new mission, of proclaiming to
every creature a coming king from heaven, “with all power

* This promised power to know and to understand times and seasons,

and all things pertaining to a proper witnessing, applies to the whole
Church from first to last; and under the guidance and power of the holy
Spirit, meat in due season concerning every feature of the plan is provided,
in order that we may be his witnesses, even to the end of this age. Compare
John 16:12, 13.
 Manner of the Second Advent 121

in heaven and in earth,” to be a much more important work

than that of the preceding years, when they heralded “the
man Christ Jesus,” and followed him who was “despised and
rejected of men.” Their risen Lord was changed indeed, not
only in his personal appearance—appearing sometimes in
one way and place, and again in a different way and place,
manifesting his “all power”—but he was changed in condi-
tion or nature also. No longer did he appeal to the Jews, nor
show himself to them; for since his resurrection none saw
him in any sense except his friends and followers. His words,
“Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more,” were
thus verified.
Thus was the faith of the apostles and of the early
Church established in the fact of the Lord’s resurrection.
Their doubts were scattered, and their hearts rejoiced; and
they returned to Jerusalem and continued in prayer and
supplication and study of the Scriptures, waiting for the
adoption promised by the Father, and their endowment
with spiritual understanding, and with special miraculous
gifts of power, to enable them to convince true Israelites,
and to establish the Gospel Church, at the day of Pentecost.
Acts 1:14; 2:1
Though our Lord at his second advent will not manifest
his presence in the same way that he did during those forty
days after his resurrection, yet we have his assurance that the
“brethren shall not be in darkness.” Nay, more: we shall
have an aid which they could not and did not have to help
them during those forty days, viz., “power from on high,” to
guide us into the understanding of every truth due to be
understood, and, even as promised, to show us things to
come. Hence in due season we shall have full understanding
of the manner, time and attendant circumstances of his
appearing, which, if carefully watched for and marked, will
be no less convincing than were the evidences of our Lord’s
122 The Time is at Hand

resurrection furnished to the early Church, although of a

different kind.
That our Lord at his second advent could assume the
human form, and thus appear to men, as he did to his
disciples after his resurrection, there can be no question; not
only because he thus appeared in human form during those
forty days, but because spirit beings have in the past
manifested the power to appear as men in flesh and in
various forms. But such a manifestation would be out of
harmony with the general tenor of God’s plan, as well as out
of harmony with the Scriptural indications given, relative to
the manner of his manifestation, as we shall see. Instead, it
is the Lord’s plan that his spiritual kingdom shall communi-
cate, operate, and manifest its presence and power through
human, earthly agencies. Just as the prince of this world,
Satan, though unseen by men, exercises a wide influence in
the world through those subject to him, and possessed of
and controlled by his spirit, so the new Prince of Peace, the
Lord, will chiefly operate in, and manifest his presence and
power through, human beings, subject to him and possessed
of and controlled by his spirit.
Seeing with the natural eye and hearing with the natural
ear are not all there is of seeing and hearing. “No man hath
seen God at any time” thus, yet all God’s children have seen
him, and known him, and held communion with him. (John
1:18; 5:37; 14:7) We hear God’s call, our “high calling,” we
hear the voice of our Shepherd, and are constantly looking
unto Jesus, and see the prize, the crown of life which he
promises—not by natural sight and hearing, but by our
understanding. Far more precious is the sight we have of our
glorified Lord as the spiritual, highly exalted King of glory,
our Redeemer as well as our King, by the eyes of our
understanding and faith, than the sight afforded to the
natural eye before Pentecost.
 Manner of the Second Advent 123

There was a necessity for our Lord’s appearing in the

manner he did to his disciples, after his resurrection, which
will not exist at his second advent. His object then will be
better served in a different way. In fact, to appear so at his
second advent would be detrimental to the purpose then to
be accomplished. His object in appearing to his disciples
after his resurrection was to convince them that he who was
dead is alive forevermore, that they might go forth as
witnesses to the fact of his resurrection (Luke 24:48), and
that their testimony might be a sure foundation for the faith
of coming generations. Since no man can come to God
acceptably, to receive the holy Spirit of adoption, without
faith in Christ, it became necessary, not only for the sake of
the disciples then, but for all since, that the evidences of his
resurrection and change should be such as natural men could
grasp and appreciate. After they had become partakers of the
holy Spirit and understood spiritual things (See 1 Cor.
2:12-16), they could have believed the angels at the sepul-
cher, that he had risen from the dead condition, even if they
had seen the fleshly body of the man Christ Jesus still lying
in the tomb; but not so before—the body must be away to
make faith in his resurrection possible to them. After the
holy Spirit had enabled them to discern spiritual things they
could have believed the testimony of the prophets that he
must needs die, and would rise from the dead, and that he
would be highly exalted as King of glory, without its being
needful for him to appear as a man, and assume various
bodies of flesh as a garment, so that they could handle him
and see him ascend. But all this was needful for them and for
all natural men. By believing, we come to God by him and
receive forgiveness of sins and the Spirit of adoption, to
understand spiritual things.
Even while removing the natural obstacles to faith, by
assuming human form, etc., our Lord convinced the disciples,
124 The Time is at Hand

and made them witnesses to others, not by their natural

sight and touch, but by reasoning with them out of the
Scriptures: “Then opened he their understanding, that they
might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus
it is written, and thus it behooved 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.” (Luke 24:45-48) Peter also states this object
clearly, saying, “Him God raised up the third day, and
permitted him to become manifest—NOT TO ALL THE PEOPLE,
but to those witnesses previously chosen of God, to us, who
did eat and drink with him after he arose from the dead.
And he commanded us to proclaim to the people that this
[the resurrected Jesus] is he who has been appointed by
God the judge of the living and the dead.” Acts 10:40-42.
Diaglott translation.
With our Lord, after his resurrection, it was simply a
question of expediency as to which way of appearing to his
disciples would best accomplish his object, of making
known his resurrection and change of nature. Had he
appeared as a flame of fire, as the angel appeared to Moses
in the burning bush (Exod. 3:2), he might indeed have
conversed with them, but the evidence thus given would
have been far from being as convincing as the method he
did adopt, both to the apostles and to the world at large to
whom they witnessed.
If he had appeared in the glory of the spirit form, as the
angel did to Daniel (Dan. 10:5-8), the glory would have
been greater than the witnesses could have borne. They
would probably have been so alarmed as to be unable to
receive instructions from him. To none except Paul did the
Lord ever thus show himself; and Paul was so overcome by
that glimpse of his glory that he fell to the ground and was
 Manner of the Second Advent 125

blinded by its brightness, which was above that of the sun

at noonday.
In our examination of the method of manifestation
adopted by our Lord during those forty days, we saw that he
“permitted” himself to become manifest even to the chosen
witnesses only a few times, and then but briefly. The entire
time that he was manifest to them, had it all been crowded
into one day instead of being at intervals during the forty
days, would probably have been less than twelve hours, or
one eightieth of that entire time. This being true, it is
evident that he was present with them unseen about sev-
enty-nine eightieths of that period of forty days. And even
when they did have manifestations, they were not (except
once, repeated to St. Thomas) in a form exactly like the one
they had known so intimately for three years, and had seen
but a few days before. It is not once intimated that they
knew him by the familiar features of his face, nor even that
he was recognized by the same appearance as in other
manifestations.
Mary supposed him to be “the gardener.” To the two on
their way to Emmaus he was “a stranger.” He was also a
stranger to the fishermen on the sea of Galilee, and to the
eleven in the upper room. On every occasion he was
recognized by his actions, his words, or the familiar tones of
his voice.
When Thomas declared that only the proof which
addressed his natural sight and touch would be acceptable
to him, the Lord, though he granted that demand, gently
reproved him, saying, Because thou hast seen me, thou hast
believed; blessed are those who believe, not having seen.
(John 20:27-29) The stronger evidence was that which was
not addressed to natural sight, and more blessed are those
who hold themselves in readiness to receive the truth
through whatsoever proofs God is pleased to substantiate it.
126 The Time is at Hand

He thus showed them, not only that he now had the

power to appear in a variety of ways and forms, but also that
no one of those bodies which they saw was his spiritual,
glorious body, though the facts of his resurrection and
presence were thus manifested to them. The different forms,
and the long intervals of invisible presence with no outward
manifestation, made evident the fact that though their Lord
and teacher was alive and not yet ascended to the Father, he
was now a spirit being, really invisible to human sight, but
with ability to manifest his presence and power in a variety
of ways at pleasure.*
The creating of the body and clothing in which he
appeared to them, in the very room in which they were
gathered, was proof unquestionable that Christ was no
longer a human being, though he assured his disciples that
the body which they saw, and which Thomas handled, was
a veritable flesh and bone body, and not a mere vision or
appearance.† As a human being he could not come into the

* The occurrence recorded by Luke (4:30) should not be regarded as a case

parallel to his appearing and vanishing after his resurrection. That was not a
disappearance in the sense of becoming invisible to the people. It was merely
an adroit, prompt movement, by which he eluded the murderous design of his
enemies. Before they had executed their plans for his death he turned about,
and, passing through their midst, no man had courage or power to molest
him, because his hour had not yet come.
† Let no one hastily suppose that we are here following Spiritism, Sweden-
borgianism or any other ism. We are simply following and logically
connecting the apostolic account. The vast difference between the Bible
teaching and that counterfeit of it promulgated by Satan, known as
Spiritualism, we distinctly discern and shall examine in a succeeding volume.
Suffice it here to point out that Spiritism affects to communicate between
dead men and living men, while the Bible condemns this (Isa. 8:19), and
teaches that such communications as were true have been made only by spirit
beings, such as angels, and by our Lord; and not by our Lord while he was
“the man Christ Jesus,” nor while he was dead, but after his resurrection
change, when he had become a life-giving or “quickening spirit” being.
 Manner of the Second Advent 127

room without opening the door, but as a spirit being he

could, and there he instantly created and assumed such a
body of flesh and such clothing as he saw fit for the purpose
intended.
Nor can we for a moment admit the suggestion offered by
some, that our Lord opened the doors without being
observed; for the record is plain and clear that he came and
stood in their midst while the doors were shut—probably very
carefully barred and bolted too—“for fear of the Jews.” John
20:19, 26
The lesson of his changed nature was still further empha-
sized by his manner of leaving their sight: “He vanished out
of their sight.” The human body of flesh and bones, etc., and
its clothing, which appeared suddenly while the doors were
shut, did not go out of the door, but simply disappeared or
dissolved into the same elements from which he had created
them a few moments before. He vanished out of their sight,
and was no longer seen of them when the flesh and bones
and clothing in which he had manifested himself were
dissolved, though doubtless he was still with them—
invisibly present; and so also much of the time during those
forty days.
On special occasions, for special instruction, God has
granted similar power to other spirit beings, angels, enabling
them to appear as men, in bodies of flesh and bones which
ate and talked to those they instructed, just as our Lord did.
See Gen. 18; Judges 6:11-22; 13:3-20; and the comments
on these in Vol. I, pages 178 to 184.
The power manifested by our Lord, and the angels
referred to, to create and dissolve the clothing in which they
appeared, was just as superhuman as the creating and
dissolving of their assumed human bodies; and the bodies
were no more their glorious spiritual bodies than were the
clothes they wore. It will be remembered that the seamless
128 The Time is at Hand

robe and other clothing which our Redeemer wore before

his crucifixion had been divided among the Roman soldiers,
and that the grave clothes were left folded away in the
sepulcher (John 19:23, 24; 20:5-7), so that the clothing in
which he appeared on the occasions mentioned must have
been specially created, and probably was the most appropri-
ate for each occasion. For instance, when he appeared as a
gardener to Mary, it was probably in such apparel as a
gardener would wear.
That the bodies in which our Lord appeared were real
human bodies, and not mere delusions, he gave them clearly
to understand when he ate before them, and invited them
to handle him and see that the body was real flesh and
bones, saying, “Why are ye troubled? … Behold my hands
and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me and see; for a spirit
hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”
Some Christians draw very absurd conclusions from this
expression of our Lord as to the verity of his assumed flesh
and bone body. They regard the assumed body as his
spirit body, and declare that a spirit body is flesh and
bones, and just like a human body, excepting that an
indefinable something, which they call spirit, flows
through its veins instead of blood. They seem to disregard
the statement of our Lord, that this was not a spirit
body—that a spirit being has not flesh and bones. Do they
also forget John’s statement, that “It doth not yet appear”
what a spirit body is, and that we shall not know until we
are changed and made like him and see him, not as he was,
but as he is? (1 John 3:2) Do they also forget the Apostle
Paul’s express statement that “flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God?”—and his further assurance
that therefore all the heirs with Christ must also “be
changed?” 1 Cor. 15:50, 51
Many Christians have the idea that our Lord’s glorious
 Manner of the Second Advent 129

spiritual body is the very same body that was crucified and
laid away in Joseph’s tomb: they expect, when they see the
Lord in glory, to identify him by the scars he received on
Calvary. This is a great mistake, which a very little consider-
ation should make manifest—Firstly, It would prove that his
resurrection body is not glorious or perfect, but scarred and
disfigured: Secondly, It would prove that we do know what
a spirit body is, notwithstanding the Apostle’s statement to
the contrary: Thirdly, It would prove that our redemption
price was taken back; for Jesus said, “My flesh I will give for
the life of the world.” It was his flesh, his life as a man, his
humanity, that was sacrificed for our redemption. And when
he was raised to life again by the power of the Father, it was
not to human existence; because that was sacrificed as our
purchase price. And if that price had been taken back, we
would still be under the condemnation of death, and
without hope.
We have no more reason to suppose that our Lord’s spirit
body since his resurrection is a human body than we have
for supposing that his spirit body prior to his first advent
was human, or that other spirit beings have human bodies;
for a spirit hath not flesh and bones; and, says the Apostle
Peter, our Lord was “put to death in the flesh but made
alive in spirit.”
Our Lord’s human body was, however, supernaturally
removed from the tomb; because had it remained there it
would have been an insurmountable obstacle to the faith of
the disciples, who were not yet instructed in spiritual
things—for “the spirit was not yet given.” (John 7:39) We
know nothing about what became of it, except that it did not
decay or corrupt. (Acts 2:27, 31) Whether it was dissolved
into gases or whether it is still preserved somewhere as the
grand memorial of God’s love, of Christ’s obedience, and of
our redemption, no one knows—nor is such knowledge
130 The Time is at Hand

necessary. That God did miraculously hide the body of

Moses, we are assured (Deut. 34:6; Jude 9); and that as a
memorial God did miraculously preserve from corruption
the manna in the golden bowl, which was placed in the Ark
under the Mercy Seat in the Tabernacle, and that it was a
symbol of our Lord’s flesh, the bread from heaven, we also
know. (Exod. 16:20, 33; Heb. 9:4; John 6:51-58) Hence it
will not surprise us if, in the Kingdom, God shall show to the
world the body of flesh, crucified for all in giving the ransom
on their behalf—not permitted to corrupt, but preserved as
an everlasting testimony of infinite love and perfect obedi-
ence. It is at least possible that John 19:37 and Zech. 12:10
may have such a fulfilment. Those who cried, “Crucify him!”
may yet, as witnesses, identify the very body pierced by the
spear and torn by the nails and thorns.
To regard our Lord’s glorious body as a body of flesh
would not in the least account for his peculiar and sudden
appearings during those forty days prior to his ascension.
How could he so suddenly appear and then vanish? How
was it that he kept himself almost constantly invisible during
those forty days? And why was it that his appearance each
time was so changed as not to be recognized as the same one
seen on any former occasion, or as the one so well known
and loved by all, before his crucifixion, only a few days
previous?
It will not do merely to say that these were miracles, for
then some use or necessity for the miracles should be
named. If his body after his resurrection were flesh and
bones, and the same body that was crucified, with all the
features and scars, why did he perform miracles which not
only did not establish that fact, but which were likely, we
see, to teach the opposite?—that he himself was no longer
human—flesh and bones—but a spirit being who could go
and come as the wind, so that none could tell whence he
 Manner of the Second Advent 131

came or whither he went, but who, for the purpose of

instructing them, appeared as a man in various bodies of
flesh and bones which he created and dissolved as occasion
required.
Before our Lord’s crucifixion, he had been on familiar
terms with his disciples, but after his resurrection, though
he loved them none the less, his manner toward them was
more reserved. This was doubtless to impress them more
forcibly with the dignity and honor of his high exaltation,
and to inspire due reverence for his person and authority.
Though as a man Jesus never lacked that dignity of deport-
ment which commands respect, yet a greater reserve was
necessary and expedient after his change to the divine
nature. Such reserve has always been maintained by Jehovah
toward his creatures, and is expedient under the circum-
stances. This reserve marked all our Lord’s interviews with
the disciples after his resurrection. They were very brief,
even as he had said, “Hereafter I will not talk much with
you.” John 14:30
Those who believe that our Heavenly Father is a spirit
and not a man should find no difficulty in realizing that our
Lord Jesus, who is now exalted to the divine nature, and
who is not only a moral likeness of God but in fact “the
express image of the Father’s person,” is no longer a man but
a spirit being, whom no man hath seen nor can see without
a miracle. It is just as impossible for men to see the
unveiled glory of the Lord Jesus as it is for them to behold
Jehovah. Think for a moment how even a reflection of the
spiritual glory affected Moses and Israel at Sinai. (Heb.
12:21; Exod. 19; 20:19-21; 33:20-23; 34:29-35) “So
terrible was the sight,” so overwhelming and fear-inspiring,
“that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake.” And
though Moses was supernaturally strengthened to behold
the glory of the Lord, so that for forty days and forty
132 The Time is at Hand

nights, alone with God, overshadowed by his glory and

without either food or drink, he received and wrote the
divine law (Exod. 34:28), yet when he desired to see the
Lord face to face he was told, “Thou canst not see my face;
for there shall no man see me and live.” (Exod. 33:20) All
that Moses ever saw, therefore, was an appearance repre-
senting God, and nothing more was possible. This accords,
too, with the Apostle’s statements: “No man hath seen
God at any time;” he is the King immortal, invisible, whom
no man hath seen nor can [ever] see. (1 Tim. 6:15, 16) But
that spirit beings can and do see God, who himself is a
spirit being, is clearly stated. Matt. 18:10
If our Lord is still “the man Christ Jesus, who gave
himself a ransom for all” (1 Tim. 2:5, 6)—if being put to
death in the flesh he was raised again in the flesh, and not,
as the Apostle declares, a life-giving spirit—then instead
of being exalted higher than angels and every name that is
named in heaven as well as in earth, he is still a man. And
if he retains the form of a servant, which he took for the
purpose of suffering death for every man, and is still a little
lower than the angels, he never can see God. But how
unreasonable such a view when fully examined in the light
of apostolic testimony. Consider, too, that if our Lord’s
flesh, that was pierced and wounded with nail and spear
and crown of thorns, and marked with sorrow, is his
glorious spiritual body, and if the scars and marred human
features are part and parcel of the exalted Lord, he would
be far from beautiful, even if we should love the wounds
endured for us. And if he thus bears an imperfect, scarred,
marred body, and if we shall be like him, would it not imply
that the Apostles and saints who were crucified, beheaded,
stoned to death, burned, cut to pieces and torn by beasts,
as well as those who met with accidents, would each
likewise bear his blemishes and scars? And in that view
 Manner of the Second Advent 133

would not heaven present a most awful spectacle—to all

eternity? But this is not the case, and no one could long
hold so unreasonable and unscriptural a view. Spirit beings
are perfect in every particular, and so the Apostle reminds
the Church, who are heirs of heavenly or spiritual glory and
honor, that, though sown [in death] in weakness [with
marks and wounds, etc.] it [the being] is raised in power;
though sown in dishonor [with lines of care and sorrow,
etc.] it is raised in glory; though sown a natural body
[literally, “an animal body”] it will be raised a spiritual
body; and that as we have borne the image of the earthly
father, we shall bear the image of the heavenly Lord.
(1 Cor. 15:42-51) Our Lord Jesus for our sakes took and
bore the image of the earthly also, for a while, that he
might redeem us. But in his resurrection he became the
heavenly Lord (Rom. 14:9), and we, if faithful, shall soon
bear the image of the heavenly Lord (spiritual bodies), as
we now still bear the image of the earthly lord, Adam
(human bodies).
Remember Paul’s case—In order that he might be one of
the apostles, he must be a witness—must see the Lord after
his resurrection. He was not one of those who saw the
manifestations of resurrection and presence during the forty
days, hence he was given a special glimpse of the Lord. But
he saw him, not as did the others—not veiled in flesh and
garments of various forms. And the merest glance at the
unveiled glorious person of our Lord caused him to fall to
the ground blinded with a glory far “above the brightness of
the sun at noon-day:” from which blindness, to restore him
to even partial sight required a miracle. (Acts 9:17, 18) Did
not Paul see the Lord as he is—a spiritual being? And did
not our Lord during the forty days appear as he was, i.e., as
he had been previously, for the special purposes and reasons
already pointed out? There is no room to doubt this. But the
134 The Time is at Hand

Lord had an object in appearing to Paul thus, just as he had,

and served another object by appearing differently to the
others. This object Paul shows, saying: “Last of all he was
seen of me also—as by one BORN BEFORE THE DUE TIME.”
(1 Cor. 15:8—literal rendering) As the resurrection of our
Lord was his birth from the dead, to the full perfection of
spiritual being (Col. 1:18; Rom. 8:29), so the resurrection
of the Church, the body of Christ, is here and elsewhere
referred to as a birth. In our birth or resurrection as spirit
beings, we shall see the Lord as he is, just as Paul saw him;
but we, being changed or born then, as spirit beings, will not
be stricken down nor blinded with the sight of our Lord’s
glorious person. Paul’s statement means that he saw him as
we shall see him—“as he is:” he saw him as all the body of
Christ shall see him, but BEFORE THE DUE TIME, before he was
born from the dead, and therefore before able to endure
it—yet “as” each one so born shall in due time see him.
Moses, coming down from the mount to communicate
to Israel the Law Covenant, was a type of the greater
Lawgiver and Mediator of the New Covenant, who at his
second advent shall come forth to rule and bless the world.
Moses typified, therefore, the entire Church, of which our
Lord is the Head. Moses’ face was caused to shine, so that
the people could not look at him, and he must thereafter
wear a veil, as a type of the spiritual glory of Christ, an
illustration of the point we are now examining. Christ has
the real glory and brightness, the express image of the
Father’s person, and we shall be like him, and no man can
behold that glory; hence whatever manifestation of the
Law-giver there will be to the world when the glory of the
Lord shall be revealed, the glory of the spiritual persons
cannot be seen. They will speak through the veil—under
the cover. This, as well as more, was meant by Moses’ veil.
Exod. 34:30-33
 Manner of the Second Advent 135

As we give the matter careful study, we come more and

more to recognize the divine wisdom displayed in the
manner of revealing the resurrection of our Lord to the
apostles, that they should be thoroughly satisfied and
reliable witnesses, and that the meek of the world might be
able to receive their testimony and believe that God raised
our Lord from the dead—that they might recognize him as
the one that was dead, but is now alive forevermore, and,
believing, might come unto God by him. And as we consider
him under the leadings of the holy Spirit of truth, our minds
expand and we see him no longer the man Christ Jesus, but
the Lord of glory and power, partaker of the divine nature.
And thus we know him, for whose coming and kingdom the
Church has so earnestly prayed and longed. And no one
properly recognizing his great exaltation can expect at his
second coming the man Christ Jesus in the body of flesh
prepared for sacrifice and wounded and given in death as our
ransom. Nor should we expect that at his second coming he
would “appear,” or manifest himself, in various flesh and
bone forms to the world—that was needful for those early
witnesses, but not so now. He will, as we shall see, manifest
his second presence very differently.
From what we have seen regarding spirit beings and their
manifestations in times past, it is evident that if our Lord
were to manifest himself at his second advent either by
opening men’s eyes to behold his glory, as he did with Paul
and Daniel, or by assuming a human body, it would be
detrimental to the plan revealed in his Word. The effect of
appearing in glory to the world, their eyes being miracu-
lously wrought upon to enable them to see him, would be
almost to paralyze them with the overwhelming sight, while
to appear as a man would be to lower the standard of dignity
and give a lower than the true estimate of the divine nature
and form. As neither would seem to be necessary or advis-
136 The Time is at Hand

able now, we cannot presume that either of these methods

will be adopted.
On the contrary, we should expect that the Christ would
be manifest in the flesh of mankind in the same manner that
when the Lord was “made flesh” and dwelt among men, God
was manifest in his flesh. Human nature, when perfect and
in harmony with God, is a likeness of God in the flesh; hence
the originally perfect Adam was a likeness of God, and the
perfect man Christ Jesus was also; so that he could say to the
disciple Philip, who asked to see the Father, “He that hath
seen me hath seen the Father”—he hath seen the likeness
of God in the flesh, “God manifest in the flesh.”
So, too, mankind in general, as its members come gradu-
ally back to the long-lost image of God, will be fleshly
images and likenesses of the Father and of the Christ. At the
very beginning of the Millennium, as we have seen, there
will be samples of perfect manhood before the world (Vol. I,
pages 287-293): Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the holy
prophets, already tried and approved, will be the “princes”
among men, the exponents and representatives of the
spiritual, invisible kingdom. In these Christ will be
manifested—in their flesh—even as the Father was mani-
fested in his flesh. And as “whosoever will” reaches perfec-
tion and comes into full harmony with the will of Christ,
every such one will be an image of God and of Christ, and
in each of these Christ will be manifested.
Because created in God’s moral image, the perfect man,
fully consecrated, will be able to appreciate perfectly the
holy Spirit and Word of God; and the glorified Church will
direct him. No doubt, too, visions and direct revelations,
and general communication between the spiritual kingdom
and its earthly representatives and exponents, will be much
more free and general than similar communications ever
were before—more after the order of the communions of
 Manner of the Second Advent 137

Eden, before sin brought condemnation and separation from

God’s favor and communion.
Nothing, then, either in reason or in Scripture, demands
that our Lord shall at his second advent appear in various
bodies of flesh and bones. That such a procedure is not
essential is evident from the success of Satan’s kingdom,
which operates through human beings as agents. Those who
partake of the spirit of evil and error represent the great
unseen prince, most fully. He is thus manifest in their flesh
though himself a spirit being, invisible to men.
The Christ “changed,” made partakers of the divine
nature, shall be spirit beings as truly as is Satan, and equally
invisible to men. Their operations will be similar in manner,
though directly opposite in character and results; their
honored agents, not bound and made slaves by ignorance
and weakness, as are most of the servants of Satan, but made
perfect, and “free indeed,” will act intelligently and harmoni-
ously, from choice and from love; and their appointments
will be rewards of righteousness.
Our Lord’s presence will be manifested to the world by
exhibitions of “power and great glory,” not, however,
merely to the natural sight, but to the eyes of their
understanding, as they shall open to an appreciation of the
great changes which the new Ruler shall effect. His
presence and righteous authority will be recognized in
both the punishments and the blessings that will flow to
mankind from his reign.
It has long been generally believed that distress and
trouble come as punishments for evil doing, upon the
wicked. This seeming to be a natural and proper law,
people in general have accepted it, thinking that it should
be so, even if it is not; yet the hard facts of experience
agree with the Bible, that in the past it has been the godly
who have oftenest suffered afflictions and persecutions.
138 The Time is at Hand

(2 Tim. 3:12) But in the “Day of Trouble,” the period of

forty years introducing Messiah’s reign, this order will
begin to be reversed. In that day, evil powers are to be
overthrown, and righteousness, established by a gradual
process, shall speedily work out a corresponding retribu-
tion to evildoers, and blessings to them that do good—
“Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that
doeth evil, … but glory, honor and peace to every man
that worketh good”—in that “day of wrath and revelation
of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to
every man according to his deeds.” (Rom. 2:9, 10, 6, 5)
And since there is so much that is wrong now, the retribu-
tion will be very heavy at first, making a “time of trouble
such as was not since there was a nation.” Thus, in
vengeance, and trouble, and wrath upon the nations, will
the Lord reveal to the world the fact of the change of
dispensations, and the change of rulers. And thus, “When
the judgments of the Lord are in the earth, the inhabitants
of the world will learn righteousness.” (Isa. 26:5-11) They
will learn that under the new order of things right-doers
are to be exalted and evildoers restrained and punished.
For clear prophetic testimony relative to this kingdom and
its operation on behalf of the humble, the upright, the
poor, the needy and the oppressed, and its overthrow of
monopolies and every system of injustice and oppression,
and the general equalization of human affairs, read
carefully Psalm 72:1-19; 37:1-14.
Our King will thus reveal himself gradually: some will
discern the new Ruler sooner than others, but ultimately
“every eye shall see [horao—discern] him.” (Rev. 1:7) But
“he cometh with clouds;” and while the clouds of trouble are
heavy and dark, when the mountains (kingdoms of this
world) are trembling and falling, and the earth (organized
society) is being shaken, disintegrated, melted, some will
 Manner of the Second Advent 139

begin to realize what we now proclaim as already at hand—

that the great day of Jehovah has come; that the foretold
day of trouble and wrath upon the nations is beginning; and
that Jehovah’s Anointed is taking to himself his great power
and beginning his work, of laying justice to the line and
righteousness to the plummet. (Isa. 28:17) And “he must
reign until” he shall have put down all authorities and laws
on earth, contrary to those which control in heaven.
As the trouble increases, men will seek, but in vain, for
protection in the “dens” and caves, the great rocks and
fortresses of society (Free Masonry, Odd Fellowship, and
Trades Unions, Guilds, Trusts, and all societies secular and
ecclesiastical), and in the mountains (governments) of
earth; saying, “Fall over* [cover, protect] and hide us from
the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the
wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of his wrath is come.”
Rev. 6:15-17
The idolatry of money in which the whole world has gone
mad, and which is to have so prominent a place in the
trouble, causing not only anxiety for its accumulation, but
also for its preservation, is to be completely overthrown, as
shown in Isa. 2:8-21; Ezek. 7:17-19.
The great day of trouble will be recognized, and from its
storm all will seek protection, though few will recognize the
judgments of the Lord then abroad in the world as the result
of his presence, the setting up of his authority, and the

* The Greek word epi, here used, is generally translated on, but has also
the significance of over and about, and is so translated many times in the
common version. The thought is that of protection, not of destruction. The
common view of this passage, that it teaches that wicked men will get faith
enough to pray for literal mountains to fall, is absurd. The real fulfilment is
already beginning: the great, the rich, and no less the poor, are seeking to
the mountains and rocks and caves for shelter from the darkening storm of
trouble which all see is gathering.
140 The Time is at Hand

enforcement of his laws. In the end, however, all shall

recognize [“see”] the King of glory; and all who then love
righteousness will rejoice to obey him and conform them-
selves fully to his just requirements.
That will be a time of retribution upon all who by fraud
or force, sometimes in the name of law and under its
sanction, have unrighteously grasped the rights or property
of others. The retribution, as we have seen, will come from
the Lord, through the uprising of the masses of the people.
In their distress, loathe to part with a dollar or an acre, or an
assumed right or dignity long enjoyed and long undisputed,
yet seeing the approaching retribution, many will seek the
covering of the hitherto powerful organizations—civil, social
and ecclesiastical—to promote and shield their interests,
feeling that alone they must fall. But these shall not be able
to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s anger. The ap-
proaching conflict and retribution will cause all the families
of the earth to wail; for it will be a time of trouble such as
was not since there was a nation—no, nor ever shall be
again. It will be “because of him” that they will wail; because
of his judgments producing in a natural way the great
trouble; because the Lord ariseth to shake terribly the earth,
and to destroy its corruptions. (Isa. 2:21) So far-reaching
will be the judgments and the trouble that none shall escape.
Ultimately every eye shall discern the change, and recognize
that the Lord reigneth. The trouble might be greatly
lessened could men see and promptly act upon principles of
equity, ignoring and relinquishing all unjust privileges of the
past, even though legalized; but this, selfishness will not
permit until the trouble shall break and overthrow the
proud, humble the powerful and exalt the meek.
But not until the great day of trouble is about clos-
ing—not until the Gentile kingdoms are ground to powder
and utterly removed, no place being found for them (A.D.
 Manner of the Second Advent 141

1915, as shown in the preceding chapter)—not until great

Babylon is utterly overthrown and her influence over the
world broken—will the great mass of mankind come to
realize the true state of the case. Then they will see that the
great trouble through which they will have passed was that
symbolically termed “The battle of the great day of God
Almighty” (Rev. 16:14); that in proportion as they have
aided error and wrong, they have been battling against the
law and forces of the new empire and the new Ruler of
earth; and that in proportion as their tongues, and pens, and
hands, and influence, and means, were used to support the
right and the truth on any subject, they had been to that
extent fighting on the Lord’s side.
Some will learn the significance of the trouble more
quickly than others, because more teachable. And during all
the trouble there will be in the world those who will bear
witness to its cause, declaring the Lord’s presence and the
setting up of his kingdom which is in opposition to the
powers of darkness to be the real cause of the trouble and
shaking and overturning of society, showing that all who
oppose truth and righteousness are the enemies of the new
kingdom, and that unless they quickly surrender they must
soon suffer ignominious defeat. Yet the masses will be
heedless of wise counsel, as they have always been, until
completely humbled under the iron rule of the new king-
dom, only at last realizing the folly of their course.
The true teacher and light bearer (Matt. 5:14), the true
Church, the body of Christ, is not to be left in darkness to
learn of her Lord’s presence by the manifestations of his
wrath and power, as the world will learn of it. For her
enlightenment special provision has been made. By the sure
word of prophecy, which shines as a light in a dark place,
she is clearly and definitely informed just what to expect.
142 The Time is at Hand

(2 Pet. 1:19) Through the prophetic word, she shall not

only be shielded from discouragement, and enabled to
overcome the besetments, snares and stumbling stones so
prevalent in “the evil day,” and thus to stand approved of
God, but she becomes the light-bearer and instructor of the
world. The Church is thus enabled to point out to the world
the cause of the trouble, to announce the presence of the
new Ruler, to declare the policy, plan and object of the new
dispensation, and to instruct the world as to the wisest
course to pursue in view of these things. And though men
will not give heed to the instruction until the lesson of
submission has been forced upon them by the trouble, it
will greatly aid them then in learning the lesson. It is to this
mission of the “feet,” or last members of the Church, who
will declare upon the mountains (kingdoms) the reign of
Christ begun, that Isaiah 52:7 refers.

SEEMINGLY CONFLICTING SCRIPTURES

There are some statements of Scripture with reference to

the manner of the Lord’s return and appearing which, until
critically examined, appear to be contradictory of each
other. And no doubt they have for centuries served the
divine purpose of concealing the truth until the due time for
it to be understood; and even then, from all except the
special class of consecrated ones for whom it was intended.
For instance, our Lord said, “Behold, I come as a thief;”
and, “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the
days of the Son of man [the days of his presence]: They did
eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in
marriage,” “and knew not until the flood came.” “And when
Jesus was questioned of the Pharisees when the Kingdom of
God should come, he answered them and said, The King-
dom of God cometh not with observation” [marginal reading,
 Manner of the Second Advent 143

“not with outward show”]. Rev. 16:15; Luke 17:26, 27, 20;
Matt. 24:38, 39
These scriptures plainly state and illustrate the manner of
the Lord’s coming. They show that he will be present
unseen, doing a work of which the world for a time will be
entirely unaware. His arrival must therefore be in a quiet
manner, unobserved, and entirely unknown to the world,
just “as a thief ” would come, without noise or other demon-
stration to attract attention. As in the days of Noah the
world went on with its affairs as usual, not in the least
disconcerted, and without the slightest faith in the preaching
of Noah with reference to the coming flood, so in the early
part of the Day of the Lord, the world, having no faith in the
announcement of his presence and of the impending
trouble, will go on as usual, giving no heed whatever to any
such preaching until, in the great flood of trouble, the old
world—the old order of things—goes down, passes away,
preparatory to the full establishment of the new order, the
Kingdom of God under the whole heavens—“As it was in
the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days [of the
presence] of the Son of man.”
On the other hand, we find scriptures which at first sight
seem to be in direct conflict with these; as, for instance:
“The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God.”
“The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his
mighty messengers, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on
them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ.” “They [the world] shall see the Son
of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great
glory.” “Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall
see him.” 1 Thess. 4:16; 2 Thess. 1:7, 8; Matt. 24:30; Rev. 1:7
As seekers after truth, it will not do for us to say, in view
of these passages, that the majority of them seem to favor
144 The Time is at Hand

whatever view we incline to prefer, and then to ignore the

others. Until we have a view of the matter in which every
Bible statement finds a reasonable representation, we should
not feel sure that we have the truth on the subject. One
statement of God is as true, and as firm a foundation for
faith, as a hundred. And it would be wiser to seek for a
harmonious understanding than to arrive at a conclusion or
adopt a theory based on a one-sided interpretation, and thus
to deceive ourselves and others.
Christians generally make no effort to harmonize these
statements, and therefore their ideas are one-sided and
incorrect. The last group of statements is just as positive as
the first, and apparently teaches the very reverse of a quiet,
unobserved, thief-like manner in the Lord’s coming and
presence. In addition to these statements, we are referred
to two other illustrations of the manner of his coming, viz.:
“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,” and, “As the lightning cometh out of the east, and
shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the
Son of man be.” (Acts 1:11; Matt. 24:27) To reach a correct
conclusion, these also must be given due weight.
In our examination of the subject we should note that
while our Lord stated, as a positive fact, that his kingdom
would be established without outward show, and that his
coming, his presence, would be as a thief, requiring close,
attentive watching to apprehend and discern it, all of the
above texts generally cited as proof of an outward, visible
manifestation are in highly figurative language, except the
one which says that he will come in like manner as he went
away. The symbolic must always bend in interpretation to
the plainer, more literal statements, as soon as their
symbolic character is recognized. Whenever a literal
interpretation would do violence to reason, and also place
 Manner of the Second Advent 145

the passage in direct antagonism to plain statements of

Scripture, such passage should be considered figurative,
and its interpretation as a symbol should be sought in
harmony with obviously plain and literal passages, and
with the general character and object of the revealed plan.
By recognizing and thus interpreting the symbols in this
case, the beautiful harmony of all the statements is
manifest. Let us now examine them and see how perfectly
they agree with the statements which are not symbolic.
“The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God.”
(1 Thess. 4:16) The voice and the trumpet here mentioned
correspond in every way with the same figures used in Rev.
11:15-19—“The seventh angel sounded; and there were
great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of this world is
become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he
shall reign forever and ever.… And the nations were angry,
and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they
should be judged,” etc. The same events are referred to in
Daniel’s prophecy: “And at that time shall Michael [Christ]
stand up [assume control], the great Prince, … and there
shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was
a nation, … and many of them that sleep in the dust of the
earth shall awake.” And Paul adds to his mention of the
voices and the trumpet the statement, “And the dead in
Christ shall rise first.” In 2 Tim. 4:1 he further states that
Christ shall judge the quick (the living) and the dead, at this
time of his appearing and kingdom; and the beginning of
this judgment of the living nations is everywhere described
as the greatest time of trouble the world has ever known.
Dan. 12:1
Thus Paul, John and Daniel evidently refer to the same
time, the time of our Lord’s appearing, and the establish-
ment of his kingdom in the midst of a great time of trouble,
146 The Time is at Hand

and to the events preceding and introducing it. The same

result is shown by each writer to follow the standing up of
Michael, the voices and the trumpet: namely, trouble and
wrath upon the nations and the resurrection of the dead.
Next, mark the figure used:
“WITH A SHOUT.” The Greek word here translated “shout”
is keleusma, which signifies a shout of encouragement. A shout
implies a public message designed for the ears, not of a few,
but of a mixed multitude. It is generally designed either to
alarm and terrify or to assist and encourage. Or it may have
the one effect upon one class, and the reverse effect upon
another, according to circumstances and conditions.
The aspect of affairs in the world for the past fifteen years
very strikingly corresponds with this symbol, in the outbursts
of world-wide encouragement for all men to wake up to a
sense of their rights and privileges as men, and to consider
their mutual relationships, the principles upon which they are
based and the ends which they should accomplish. Where on
the face of the earth is the civilized nation that has not heard
the shout, and is not influenced by it! The entire civilized
world has, in the past few years been studying political
economy, civil rights and social liberties as never before in
the annals of history; and men are encouraging each other,
and being encouraged, as never before, to probe these
subjects to the very foundation. The shout of encouragement
started by the increase of knowledge among men has already
encircled the earth, and under its influence men are banding
themselves together, encouraged and assisted by men of
brain and genius, to contend and strive for both real and
fancied rights and liberties; and as their organizations
increase and multiply, the shout grows louder and longer,
and will by and by result as foretold, in the great time of
trouble and tumult of angry nations. This result is graphically
described by the Prophet—“The noise of a multitude in the
 Manner of the Second Advent 147

mountains [kingdoms] like as of a great people; a tumultuous

noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the Lord
of hosts mustereth the host of battle.” Isa. 13:4
“THE VOICE OF THE ARCHANGEL” is another striking symbol
of similar import. The name “archangel” signifies chief
messenger; and our anointed Lord himself is Jehovah’s Chief
Messenger—the “Messenger of the Covenant.” (Mal. 3:1)
Daniel refers to the same personage, calling him Michael,
which name signifies who as God—an appropriate name for
him who is “the express image of the Father’s person,” and
the representative of his authority and power. The voice of
the Archangel represents Christ’s authority and command.
This symbol, then, represents Christ as taking control, or
beginning his reign and issuing his commands, his official
orders, announcing the change of dispensation by the
enforcement of the laws of his kingdom.
The same thought is differently expressed by Daniel, when
he says, Then shall Michael, the great Prince, “stand up.” To
stand up signifies to assume authority, to give commands.
See “ariseth,” Isa. 2:19, 21. Another illustration of this
symbol is from David, who says of Christ prophetically, “He
uttered his voice; the earth melted.” The great time of
trouble will be precipitated, and the earth (organized
society) will melt, or disintegrate, under the change of
administration going into effect when the new King utters
his voice of command. At his command, systems of error,
civil, social and religious, must go down, however old or
firmly entrenched and fortified they may be. The sword out
of his mouth shall cause the havoc: The truth on every
subject, and in all its varied aspects, shall judge men, and,
under his power and overruling, shall cause the overturning
of evil and error in all their thousand forms.
“THE TRUMP OF GOD.” Many seem thoughtlessly to en-
tertain the idea that this trumpet will be a literal sound on
148 The Time is at Hand

the air. But this will be seen to be an unreasonable expecta-

tion, when it is noticed that Paul here refers to what the
Revelator designates “The Seventh Trumpet,” the “Last
Trump” in a series of symbolic trumpets. (Rev. 11:15;
1 Cor. 15:52) The proof that these references are to the
same trumpet is found in the record of the events con-
nected with each. Paul mentions the resurrection, and the
establishment of the Lord’s Kingdom, as connected with
“the trump of God,” and the Revelator mentions the same
with even greater minuteness. The propriety of calling the
“seventh,” or “last trump,” the “trump of God,” is evident,
too, when we remember that the events mentioned under
the preceding six trumpets of Revelation refer to human-
ity’s doings, while the seventh refers specially to the Lord’s
work, and covers the “Day of the Lord.” Since the six
preceding trumpets were symbols—and this is generally
admitted by commentators and students who make any
claim as expositors of Revelation—it would be a violation
of reason and common sense to expect the seventh, the last
of the series, to be a literal, audible sound on the air. And
not only so, but it would be out of harmony with the Lord’s
general methods, as well as with those statements of
Scripture indicating the secrecy of his coming; for a thief
never sounds a trumpet to announce his arrival.
The seven trumpets of Revelation are all symbolic, and
represent seven great periods of time and their events. The
examination of these we leave for a subsequent volume.
Suffice it here to say that we find ourselves today in the
midst of the very events which mark the sounding of the
seventh trumpet. The great voices, the increase of knowl-
edge, the angry nations, etc., taken in connection with time
prophecies, establish this as a fact. Many events are yet to
transpire before this seventh or last trumpet ceases to
sound; as, for instance, the rewarding of the saints and
 Manner of the Second Advent 149

prophets, the resurrection of all the dead, etc. In fact, it

covers the entire period of the Millennial reign of Christ,
as indicated by the events which are to transpire under it.
Rev. 10:7; 11:15, 18
Thus we find the “shout,” the “voice of the Archangel” and
“the trump of God” all symbols, and now in process of
fulfilment. Note carefully, too, the fact that each of the three
prophecies just referred to (Dan. 12:1; Rev. 11:15; 1 Thess.
4:16) declares the Lord’s presence at the time when the
events mentioned transpire. They were foretold for the very
purpose of indicating the manner in which his invisible
presence would be manifested to those who have faith in the
word of prophecy. Paul says, “The Lord shall descend with
[literally in, or during] a shout,” voice, trumpet, etc.; John
says that the kingdoms of this world become his, during the
time of these events; and Daniel says, “At that time shall
Michael, the great Prince [Christ], stand up” (be present)
and take to himself his great power. If, therefore, we can
recognize the shout, the voices and the sounding of the great
trumpet, we should accept them as indications, not that the
Lord will come soon, but rather that he has come and is now
present, and that the harvest work of gathering the wheat
and burning the tares is already under way. This we shall
soon see is abundantly proved by time prophecies. Yet it is
not to the natural vision, but only to the eye of faith,
through the sure word of prophecy, that his presence and
work can be discerned.
Just here another fact should not be overlooked, namely,
that the “Shout,” the “Voice of the Archangel,” and the
“Trump of God,” as above explained, are all instrumentali-
ties for the accomplishment of the harvest work of the
Gospel age. If, therefore, we see not only the meaning of
these symbols, but the foretold results actually taking place,
we have additional proof both that we have rightly inter-
150 The Time is at Hand

preted the symbols, and that we are now in this period called
the “harvest,” in which the Gospel age and the Millennial
age lap—the one closing and the other opening. Many will
need no aid in tracing a separating work now going on
between the truly consecrated and the merely nominal
Christians. Many can see the symbolic fire already under
way, and can discern the “shout” of the people, the com-
mand of the new King Immanuel and the events called the
“seventh trumpet,” and the “clouds” of trouble, in which the
Lord comes, and from and in which his power is to be
manifested—subduing all things unto himself.
We have already (Vol. I, p. 237) called attention to the
fact, that the recognition of the harvest work in actual
process is proof of the Lord’s presence, since he declared
that he would be the chief reaper and director of the entire
work, and that this would be his first work—“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.… And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his
sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.” “In the time
of the harvest I will say to the reapers, gather” etc. (Rev.
14:14, 16; Matt. 13:30) The harvest work will occupy forty
years for its full accomplishment, ending with A.D. 1914. Its
various features will be accomplished gradually, but all of its
days are “days of the Son of Man”—days of our Lord’s
presence and power—recognized in the end by all, but at
first only by the class specified by the Apostle—“Ye,
brethren—not in darkness.”
“IN FLAMING FIRE.” The next of these symbolic statements
can be readily understood, if the meaning of the symbols,
fire, etc., already explained (Vol. I, p. 317), be borne in
mind. It reads, “The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from
heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking
vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not
 Manner of the Second Advent 151

the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 1:8

Expressed literally, we understand this to signify that in
his day (the Millennial age) our Lord’s presence will be
revealed or manifested to the world from his position of
spiritual control (“heaven”), in the wrath and punishment
then visited upon evil and evildoers. It will be consuming
wrath, as indicated by the symbol, fire, and will leave
neither root nor branch of evil systems, error, oppression,
or wilful sinners; and all the proud, and all evildoers, shall
be burned up as stubble in that Millennial day. In its
beginning—in this “harvest” period—this fire will burn
very fiercely, consuming pride and evil, now of such rank
growth. Happy those who will surrender their pride and evil
to be destroyed, that they themselves be not destroyed also
(in the “second death”), as some resisters will evidently be,
during the Millennial age. It is of this time that we read,
“Behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all
the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble:
and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord
of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.”
Mal. 4:1
The “mighty angels,” messengers, or agents of his power,
are various, and may properly be understood as applying to
and including all the various agencies, animate and inani-
mate, which shall be used by our Lord in the overthrow of
the evil systems of the present, and in the chastisement of
evildoers.
While the wrath or vengeance of the Lord is thus to be
expressed in flaming fire, in consuming trouble, such as
never before was known—so general and widespread, and
so destructive of evil—righteousness and the righteous will
begin to be favored. And as these dealings become more and
more apparent, men will begin to draw the inference that a
new power has taken control of human affairs; and thus the
152 The Time is at Hand

presence of our Lord as King of kings shall be revealed to the

world. “He shall be revealed in flaming fire, taking ven-
geance [both] on them that know not God [who are not
really acquainted with God, but who nevertheless fail to
obey the light of conscience, which all to some extent
possess], and [also on those who, while knowing God, yet]
obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Under the chastisements and increasing light and favor-
able opportunities of the Millennial day, all will be brought
to such a clear knowledge of the truth and the way of
righteousness as to be without the excuse of ignorance, or
of inability to obey the truth; and those who persistently
continue enemies of God and righteousness shall be pun-
ished with lasting destruction (a destruction from which
there shall be no resurrection) from the presence of the
Lord and from the glory of his power.
“IN POWER AND GREAT GLORY.” The next statement is to the
effect that the world will see the Son of man coming, before
his kingdom is fully set up or his joint-heirs are all gathered
and exalted with him. And, seeing his coming, all the tribes
of the earth will mourn—“They shall see the Son of man
coming with power and great glory.”
Already the world sees the clouds of trouble gathering and
darkening; they realize that a power is now at work in the
affairs of men, with which they cannot cope; the near future,
from the present outlook, is dark and ominous to all who
have sufficient intelligence to mark the trend of events.
Thinking men observe the persistency with which questions
of right and wrong, justice and injustice, are forced upon
their consideration, demanding an expression of their
individual principles. Many recognize the glory and power
of earth’s new Ruler, yet because clouds and darkness are
round about him they do not recognize the King himself.
Men see the clouds, and therefore see him coming in the
 Manner of the Second Advent 153

clouds with power and great glory [the glory of power and
justice], but they do not recognize him. Not until the clouds
have let fall hail stones and coals of fire (Psa. 18:12, 13) to
batter down men’s pride, and selfishness, and prejudices,
and consume these, will the clouds disappear, and reveal the
full majesty and glory of Christ’s presence. If men would
consider, and hearken to the voice of the Lord, which now
directs the course of justice, and warns of impending
retribution, the great disasters of the near future would be
averted; but “God speaketh once, yea, twice, yet man
perceiveth it not.… Then he openeth the ears of men [in the
thunder tones of “the day of trouble”] and sealeth their
instruction, that he may withdraw man from his [own]
purpose, and hide pride from man.”
“Behold, he cometh with clouds,” and in due time “every
eye shall see [discern] him,” shall recognize his presence,
power and authority; and all must submit to it, whether
willing or unwilling, until the loosing of Satan for a little
season, in the close of the Millennium, when after full
experience their willingness or unwillingness will be fully
tested, and the unwilling will be destroyed—the second
death, symbolically called the lake of fire. Rev. 21:8
Thus seen, all of these symbolic explanations of the
manner of our Lord’s coming accord perfectly with the plain
statements which declare that his presence will be a secret
for a time, known only to those watching.

IN LIKE MANNER

What, now, is taught by the statement of the angel at the

time of our Lord’s departure—Acts 1:11—“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”?
A careful examination of this text will manifest its har-
mony with the foregoing. Many seem to think the passage
154 The Time is at Hand

reads, As you see the Lord ascend into heaven, so, in like
manner, you shall see him come again. Such should read it
again and again, until they note the fact that it does not say
that those who saw him go will see him come, nor that any
one else will see him come. What it does say is, that the
manner of his coming will be like the manner of his going.
What, then, was the manner of his going? Was it with great
splendor, and with great demonstration? Was it with
trumpet sound and voices and a great shout rending the air,
and the Lord’s person shining in supernatural glory and
brightness? If so, we should expect his coming again to be
“in like manner.” On the other hand, was it not as quietly and
secretly as was possible, consistent with his purpose of
having thoroughly convinced witnesses of the fact? None
saw him, or knew of the fact, except his faithful followers.
His statement (John 14:19), “Yet a little while and the world
seeth me no more,” has never yet been disproved; for none
but the brethren saw even his manifestations after his
resurrection, and no others witnessed his ascension. And in
like manner as he went away (quietly, secretly, so far as the
world was concerned, and unknown except to his followers),
so, in this manner, he comes again. And as when he went
away he lifted up his hands and blessed them, so, when he
comes again, it is that their joy may be full, as he said: “I will
come again, and receive you unto myself;” “I will see you
again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man
taketh from you.” Luke 24:50, 51; John 14:3; 16:22
The angel seemed also to give special emphasis to the
fact that the coming again would be the coming of this very
“same Jesus”—the same one who left the glory which he
had with the Father before the world was, and became
man—became poor that we might be made rich; the same
Jesus that died on Calvary; the same Jesus that arose a
quickening spirit the third day; the same Jesus that had
 Manner of the Second Advent 155

manifested his change during the forty days—THIS same

Jesus now ascended up on high. Yes, it is the same Jesus
who has experienced two changes of nature—first from
spirit to human, and then from human to divine. These
changes of nature have not destroyed his individuality. His
identity was preserved, as the angel thus assures us,
whether the philosophy of that fact be understood or not;
and though we shall know him no more after the flesh (as
a man), but should remember his exaltation, that he is now
of the divine, spiritual nature, and should anticipate his
coming in harmony with this change and exaltation, yet we
may remember that he is the same loving Jesus, and not
changed in this respect. It is “this same Jesus,” who, though
present forty days after his resurrection, was seen of the
disciples only, and by them but briefly, who in his second
presence will be as invisible to the world as during the forty
days preceding his ascension. We must remember that he
does not come to give himself as a sacrifice, and hence that
he has no further use for a human body prepared for
sacrifice. (Heb. 10:5) That is all over now: he dies no
more, but now comes to rule and bless and uplift the
redeemed race.
Our Lord furnished us a most beautiful illustration of the
manner in which his presence will be revealed, when he
said, “As the bright-shining emerges from the east, and
illuminates even unto the west, so will be the presence of the
Son of man.” (Matt. 24:27) That most translations of this
verse are faulty in using the word lightning, where sunlight
is meant, is evident; for lightning flashes do not come out
of the east and shine unto the west. They just as frequently
come from other quarters, and rarely, if ever, flash clear
across the heavens. The Lord’s illustration, and the only
one which will comport with his words, is the sun’s bright-
ness, which does invariably emerge from the east and shine
156 The Time is at Hand

even unto the west. The Greek word astrape, here used, is
thus shown to be improperly translated in this text, and also
in the account of the same words by Luke (17:24). Another
instance of the use of this word astrape by our Lord is found
in Luke 11:36, where it applies to the brightness of a
candle, and in the common version is rendered “bright-
shining.” Incorrect ideas of the manner of our Lord’s
coming and revealing, firmly fixed in the minds of transla-
tors, led them into this error of translating astrape by the
word “lightning.” They supposed that he would be revealed
suddenly, like a flash of lightning, and not gradually, like the
dawning sunlight. But how beautiful is the figure of sunrise,
as illustrating the gradual dawning of truth and blessing in
the day of his presence. The Lord associates the overcomers
with himself in this figure, saying, “Then shall the righteous
shine forth as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father.” And
the Prophet, using the same figure, says, “The Sun of
righteousness shall arise with healing in his beams.” The
dawning is gradual, but finally the full, clear brightness shall
thoroughly banish the darkness of evil, ignorance, supersti-
tion and sin.
An imperfect translation of the word parousia has further
tended to obscure the sense of this passage. In the Emphatic
Diaglott and in Prof. Young’s translation it is rendered
presence; in Rotherham’s it is arrival; while in the common
version it is rendered coming. And though the text of the
Revised Version retains this last erroneous rendering—
coming—yet in the marginal reading it acknowledges
“presence” to be the true definition of the Greek. The Greek
word parousia invariably signifies personal presence, as
having come, having arrived; and it should never be under-
stood as signifying to be on the way, as the English word
coming is generally used. The text under consideration
therefore teaches that as the sunlight gradually dawns, so
 Manner of the Second Advent 157

shall the presence of the Son of man be gradually manifested

or revealed.
Together with this illustration, our Lord coupled words
of caution to guard us against certain errors which would
be advanced about the time of his second advent, calculated
to lead his Church astray. “Behold, I have told you before.
Wherefore, if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the
desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers;
believe it not. For as the bright shining [sun] cometh out
of the east and [gradually] shineth even unto the west, so
shall be the presence of the Son of man.” Thus does our
Lord put us on guard against two errors rapidly growing in
our day. One is the claim that our Lord will come in the
flesh, in the wilderness or desert of Palestine; and, so
believing, many have gone thither, and are waiting to see
Jesus in the flesh, with the scars, as when crucified. Expect-
ing him as he was, and not “as he is,” they seriously err, and
blind themselves to the truth, as did the Jews at the first
advent. These false expectations lead this class to interpret
literally the statement of the prophet (Zech. 14:4), “His
feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives,” etc.*
Blinded by false expectations, they do not see that the
“feet” in this passage are figurative, as truly as in Psa. 91:12;
Isa. 52:7; Psa. 8:6; 110:1; Eph. 6:15; Deut. 33:3; and in
many other passages. If they knew what to expect, they
would know not to go to Jerusalem to look for the man
Christ Jesus; for the highly exalted king comes as the
sunlight, making his presence and influence felt the world
over. Wherefore, “Go not forth.”
“If they shall say, Behold, he is in the secret chambers;
believe it not.” Spiritism, ever ready to deceive by counter-
feits, and ever ready to use advanced truths as a garment of

* We leave the examination of this prophecy for another occasion.

158 The Time is at Hand

light (2 Cor. 11:13, 14), has not hesitated to claim that we are
in a period of dispensational change, the dawning of a
glorious age. Among other such things, some of them even
teach that Christ is present, and, we doubt not, ere long they
will give seances at which they will claim to show him in the
secret chambers. Should the error present itself in this form,
or any other, let us remember our Lord’s words and repudiate
all such claims as false, knowing that not thus will he reveal his
presence, but “as the sunlight,” emerging gradually—“the Sun
of righteousness shall arise with healing in his beams.”
OUR LORD’S PAROUSIA IN THE HARVEST

The Greek is a very exact language: a fact which greatly

enhances its value in giving exact expression to truth. Thus,
for instance, in our common English Bibles, the word come
is used to translate thirty-two Greek words, each of which
has a fine shade of difference. Instances:—ephistemi signifies
to overtake, as in Luke 21:34—“come upon [overtake] you
unawares;” sunerchomai signifies to gather, or come together,
as in 1 Cor. 11:18—“come together in the church;” pro-
serchomai signifies to approach, or come toward, as in Heb.
4:16—“Let us therefore come boldly;” heko signifies to
arrive, or have come, or came, as when the action of coming
is completed, as in John 2:4—“Mine hour is not yet come;”
enistemi signifies to be present, and is so translated, except in
two instances where it should be so rendered: 2 Tim. 3:1—
“Perilous times shall come”—be present; and 2 Thess. 2:2—
“That the day of Christ is at hand”—present. Parousia, too,
signifies presence, and should never be translated coming, as
in the common English Bible, where it is twice rendered
properly, presence. (2 Cor. 10:10; Phil. 2:12) The “Emphatic
Diaglott,” a very valuable translation of the New Testament,
renders parousia properly, PRESENCE, in almost every
occurrence of the word.
 Manner of the Second Advent 159

The two Greek words, heko and parousia, and their use in
the New Testament, are what we desire to notice at present,
and particularly the latter of these; because a correct
appreciation of their significance sheds light upon the
manner of our Lord’s return, through passages in which they
occur, while the common but erroneous translation be-
clouds the very point it should illuminate.*
With the correct thought as to the meaning of parousia in
mind—not that of coming, as being on the way, but presence,
as after arrival—let us examine some passages in which the
word is used. And from these we will learn that presence does
not necessarily imply sight, but that it is applicable also to
things present but unseen. Thus, for instance, angels, spirit
beings, can be present with us, yet unseen, as our Lord was
present in the world and often with the disciples during the
forty days after his resurrection, without being seen of the
world, or by his disciples except on the few brief occasions
already referred to. Those days were days of his parousia
(presence), as much as the preceding thirty-three and a half
years had been.
In the conversation previous to the question of Matt. 24:3,
our Lord had foretold the destruction of the temple, and the
rejection of Israel after the flesh until a time when they
would gladly recognize him as their Messiah and say,
“Blessed is he.” He had told his disciples that he would go
away, and come again and receive them unto himself. He
called their day the “harvest,” or end of that age, and he had
told them of a future “harvest” at the time of his second

* The word parousia occurs twenty-four times in the Greek Testament,

and is only twice in the English com. ver. (2 Cor. 10:10; Phil. 2:12)
correctly translated presence. The other occurrences, in which it is
mistranslated coming, are as follows:—Matt. 24:3, 27, 37, 39; 1 Cor.
15:23; 16:17; 2 Cor. 7:6, 7; Phil. 1:26; 1 Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23;
2 Thess. 2:1, 8, 9; James 5:7, 8; 2 Pet. 1:16; 3:4, 12; 1 John 2:28.
160 The Time is at Hand

coming. (Matt. 9:37, 38; 13:39, 40) Doubtless remembering

that few recognized him as the Christ at his first advent, they
wanted to know how he might be surely recognized at his
second advent—expecting probably that his second advent
would occur in their day. Hence their inquiry, “What shall
be the sign [indication] of thy parousia [presence] and of
the end of the age?”
Because of their disposition to mix the closing events of
the Jewish age, or harvest, in which they already were, with
the then future “harvest,” or end of the Gospel dispensa-
tion, our Lord gave quite a detailed account of events
which must intervene, indicating a lapse of a considerable
period between, yet giving no clear idea of its length; for
even he did not then know how long it would be. Mark
13:32
Our Lord’s reply in verses 1 to 14 covers the entire Gospel
age; and his words in verses 15 to 22 have a double
application—literally to the close of the Jewish age, and
figuratively to the end of this Gospel age, of which the
Jewish age was a shadow. Verses 23-26 contain words of
warning against false Christs, and in verse 27 he reaches
their question regarding his parousia, and declares [properly
translated], “as the bright shining [the sunlight] cometh out
of the east and shineth even unto the west, so shall the
parousia [the PRESENCE] of the Son of man be.” The sunlight
becomes present instantly, yet noiselessly; and it is first
discerned by those who are first awake.
Leaving other intermediate features of our Lord’s dis-
course for examination in their appropriate place, we note
his second reference to their question regarding his parousia
in verses 37 and 39. He says, “As the days of Noah, so shall
also the parousia [PRESENCE] of the Son of man be.” Notice,
that the comparison is not between the coming of Noah and
the coming of our Lord, nor between the coming of the flood
 Manner of the Second Advent 161

and the coming of our Lord. The coming of Noah is not

referred to at all; neither is the coming of our Lord referred
to; for, as already stated, parousia does not mean coming, but
presence. The contrast, then, is between the time of the
presence of Noah among the people “before the flood,” and
the time of the presence of Christ in the world, at his second
advent, before the fire—the extreme trouble of the Day of
the Lord with which this age ends.
And though the people were wicked in Noah’s day,
before the flood, and will be wicked in the time of our
Lord’s presence, before the hot fire of trouble comes upon
them, yet this is not the point of comparison or likeness to
which our Lord refers; for wickedness has abounded in
every age. The point of comparison is stated clearly, and
is readily seen if we read critically: The people, except the
members of Noah’s family, were ignorant of the coming
storm, and unbelieving as to the testimony of Noah and his
family, and hence they “knew not;” and this is the point of
comparison. So shall also the PRESENCE of the Son of man
be. None but those of the family of God will believe here:
others will “know not,” until society, as at present orga-
nized, begins to melt with the fervent heat of the time of
trouble now impending. This is illustrated by the words,
“As in the days that were before the flood, they were
eating, drinking and marrying [Luke (17:28) adds
“planting and building”], until the day Noah entered into
the ark, and knew not, … so shall also the parousia [the
presence] of the Son of man be.” In the time of the
presence of the Son of man, therefore, the world will go on
with its eating, drinking, planting, building and marry-
ing—not mentioned as sinful doings, but as indicative of
their ignorance of his presence, and of the trouble that will
prevail in the world. This, then, is our Lord’s answer to the
question of the disciples—What shall be the sign [indica-
162 The Time is at Hand

tion] of thy [parousia] presence and of the end or harvest

of the age? In substance, he says: There will be no sign for
the worldly masses; they will not know of my presence and
the new dispensational changes. Only the few will know,
and they will be taught of God (in a way not here ex-
plained) before there is any sign (indication) which the
worldly could discern.
Luke’s account of this same discourse (Luke 17:26-29),
though not in the same words, is in perfect accord. Luke
does not use the word parousia, but he expresses this exact
thought, saying: “As it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be
also in the days of the Son of man”—in the days of his
presence. Not before his days, nor after his days, but in
(during) his days, the world will be eating, drinking,
marrying, buying, selling, planting and building. These
scriptures, then, clearly teach that our Lord will be present
in the end of this age, entirely unknown to the world, and
unseen by them.
Though there shall never be another flood to destroy the
earth (Gen. 9:11), it is written that the whole earth shall be
devoured with the fire of God’s jealousy (Zeph. 3:8)—not
the literal, physical earth in either case, but the existing
order of things in both cases: in the first instance accom-
plished by drowning all the people except Noah’s family;
in the last, by burning all except the family of God in the
symbolic fire—the great trouble of the Day of the Lord.
The faithful children of God shall be counted worthy to
escape all those things coming on the earth (Luke 21:36):
not necessarily by being taken away from the earth, but
possibly by being rendered fire-proof, as in the typical
illustration of the three Hebrews who walked in the midst
of the fiery furnace heated seven times, on whose garments,
even, was not the smell of fire; because one like unto the
Son of God was present with them. Dan. 3:19-25
 Manner of the Second Advent 163

Next we will notice scriptures which teach that many in

the Church will, for a time, be ignorant of the Lord’s
presence, and of the “harvest” and ending of this age, while
he is actually present, and the harvest work in progress.
The closing verses of Matt. 24, from verse 42 on, are very
significant. In verse 37 our Lord had shown that the world
would not know of the parousia of the Son of man; and now
he cautions his professed disciples that, unless on their guard
they will be similarly in darkness relative to his parousia. He
says, “Watch, therefore; for ye know not what hour your
Lord doth come [erchomai—arrive].” If people were
expecting a thief at a definite time, they would stay awake
so as not to be taken unawares: so you should be ever awake,
always ready, and always watching for the first evidence of
my parousia. In reply to your question, “When shall these
things be?” I merely tell you to watch and be ready, and
when I arrive, when I am present, I will communicate the fact
to all who are watching and faithful, and they only will have
any right to know. All others should and must be in outer
darkness, and must learn with and as the world—through
trouble.
“Who, then [in the “harvest”], is a faithful and wise
servant, whom his Master shall make* ruler over his house-
hold, to give them meat in due season? Blessed that servant
whom his Master on coming [erchomai—when he arrives]
shall find so doing. Verily, I say unto you, he shall make him
ruler over all his goods”—all the vast storehouse of precious
truth shall be opened to such faithful servants, to arm and
supply and feed the entire household of faith.
But if the servant’s heart is not right, he will say, My
Master tarries [has not arrived], and may smite [oppose and
contradict] his fellow servants [those who differ with him;

* Sinaitic and Vatican MSS read “shall make.”

164 The Time is at Hand

those, therefore, who are declaring the opposite—My Lord

does not tarry, but has come, is present]. Such may eat and
drink with the intemperate [become intoxicated with the
spirit of the world], but the Master of that servant will come
[Greek, heko—will have arrived] in a day not expected, and
in an hour in which that servant is not aware, and will cut
him off [from being one of the servants privileged to hand
meat in due season to the household], and will appoint him
his portion with the hypocrites. [Though not a hypocrite
but a genuine servant, he must, because unfaithful and
overcharged, have his portion with the hypocrites in the
perplexity and trouble coming upon Babylon.] “There shall
be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The foregoing, carefully examined, clearly teaches us that
in the end of this age there will be one class denying that the
Lord is present (not denying that he will come sometime,
but that he has come), and smiting or harshly opposing
those fellow servants who must therefore be teaching the
opposite—that the Lord has come. Which is the faithful,
truthful servant, and which the one in error, is clearly stated
by our Lord. The faithful one whom he finds giving season-
able “meat” will be exalted and given fuller stewardship over
the storehouse of truth, with increased ability to bring it
forth to the household, while the unfaithful one will be
gradually separated and drawn into closer and closer
sympathy with the mere professors or hypocrites. And note
the fact that the unfaithful is thus cut off, or separated, at a
time of which he is not aware—in the harvest time—while
his Lord is really present unknown to him, searching for and
gathering his jewels. Matt. 13:30; Psa. 50:5; Mal. 3:17;
Matt. 24:31
We particularize here, merely to show that, in answer to
the question of the disciples about signs and evidences of his
second presence, our Lord taught that neither the world nor
 Manner of the Second Advent 165

the unfaithful servants would be aware of it, until the intense

fire of trouble is at least commenced. And the faithful
evidently will see him present merely by the eye of faith—
through the Scriptures written aforetime for their learning,
to be apprehended as they become due. Present truths on
every subject are parts of “his goods” and treasures new and
old which our Lord had laid up for us and now freely gives
us. Matt. 24:45-47
While thus, by foretold indications, the Lord made ample
preparation to enable the Church to recognize his presence
when due, though they should not see him with the natural
eye, he also carefully warned us against deceptions which
should arise—deceptions which should appear so plausible
as to deceive the very elect, if it were possible. But it is not
possible, because all the elect give earnest heed to the
warning, and studiously acquaint themselves with the
foretold indications of his presence, and are watching for
their fulfilment. Those otherwise minded are not of the elect
class. Only the overcomers are to reign with the Lord. These
deceptions, as will be shown in a succeeding chapter, are
already in existence, and are deceiving many. But, thank
God, the elect are forewarned and forearmed, and shall
neither be deceived nor disheartened. Though clouds and
darkness are round about him, they recognize his presence,
and rejoice that their deliverance draweth nigh. If any man
should say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there [in any
particular place], believe it not. And if they shall say unto
you, Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth: behold he is
in the secret chambers, believe it not; for as [like] the bright
shining sunlight, which gradually dawns upon and fills the
earth, so shall his presence be. (Matt. 24:23, 26, 27) It will be
manifested as foretold, by the dawning light of truth—truth
on every subject, as we now see it so rapidly and gloriously
unfolding. A few years more, and the Sun of righteousness
166 The Time is at Hand

will have fully risen with healing in its beams to bless and
raise up the death-stricken world.
In view of the evidences presented in this and the
preceding and following chapters, we have no hesitation
in announcing the heart-cheering intelligence, that the
harvest of the Gospel age is upon us, and that the Master
is again present as the Chief Reaper—not in the flesh, as
in the Jewish harvest, but in power and great glory, as the
“highly exalted,” divine Christ whose glorious body is now
“the express image of the Father’s person,” though his
glorious person is graciously veiled from human sight. He
is inaugurating his reign of righteousness; his sickle of
truth is separating; he is gathering together into oneness
of heart and mind the ripe first-fruits of spiritual Israel; and
soon that elect “body” complete shall rule and bless the
world.
This announcement is here made, in order that as we
proceed the reader may have the clearer idea of what the
time prophecies most particularly indicate, when it shall be
shown that the harvest, and all its attendant events, are now
chronologically due, and coming to pass as foretold.
Thus seen, these time prophecies and all this particularity
of instruction with reference to the manner and the attend-
ing circumstances of the Lord’s appearing were not given to
alarm the world, nor to satisfy idle curiosity, nor to awaken
a sleeping nominal church; but they were given in order that
those who are not asleep, and not of the world, but who are
awake, consecrated and faithful, and earnest students of
their Father’s plan, may be informed of the significance of
transpiring events, and not be in darkness on a subject and
with regard to events in no other way discernible with certainty
—the harvest, the presence of the great Reaper, the thresh-
ing and sifting of the true wheat, the bundling and burning
of the tares in the time of trouble, etc.
 Manner of the Second Advent 167

SCOFFING FORETOLD

The Apostle Peter describes how some of the unfaithful

servants and hypocrites will scoff during the presence of the
Lord, even as they scoffed in the days of Noah. (2 Pet. 3:3,
4, 10, 12) Notice that the Apostle wrote to the Church, and
that the scoffers he describes are in the nominal church and
professedly interested in the Lord’s work and plan, and
believers, therefore, that he will come some time. The
scoffing described is on the very subject here noticed, and
such as we hear and shall hear from professed Christians,
whenever the subject of the Lord’s presence and harvest
work, etc., is presented. Christians generally, until they
investigate the subject, have such ideas of literal manifesta-
tions of fire, trumpets, voices, etc., and of seeing the Lord
descending through the air, a shining body of flesh, that
when they hear of his invisible presence, without taking time
to investigate a subject upon which they feel so sure, busied
with worldly plans, and intoxicated with the spirit of the
world, they will dismiss the matter quickly as unworthy of
investigation.
It is to this class of professed Christians that the Apostle
refers, saying, “In the last days [in the closing years of the
Gospel age—in the “harvest”] shall come scoffers, walking
after their own desires [plans, theories, etc.], asking, Where
is the promise of his presence [parousia]? for ever since the
fathers fell asleep, all things continue as at present from the
beginning of creation.” When referred to our Lord’s
statement (Matt. 24:37-39; Luke 17:26) that in his days, in
the days of his presence, things would indeed continue as
before; and that, as in Noah’s day, men would be eating,
drinking, marrying, planting and building; and that, as then,
the world would know not of his presence, and read not the
168 The Time is at Hand

signs of the speedy and great changes just at hand, they are
too busy to consider the testimony carefully, and only
continue to scoff.
Ah! says Peter, they forget the great change which
occurred in the days of Noah; and then, under the symbol
of fire, he describes the overwhelming flood of trouble
which shall shortly overtake the whole world, utterly
overthrowing all civil and ecclesiastical rule [the heavens]
and melting the entire social fabric [the earth]—producing
anarchy and social chaos until the new heavens [ruling
powers—the Kingdom of God] shall be fully established, as
well as a new earth [society organized on a new and better
basis, of love, equality and righteousness]. The Apostle then
reminds us (verse 8) that this Day of the Lord’s presence, for
which the Church has long hoped and looked, is a thou-
sand-year day—the Millennium of Christ’s reign.
In verse 10 he assures us that “the Day of the Lord will
arrive [Greek, heko] as a thief ”* [unobservedly, quietly: it
will be present, while some are scoffing and smiting those
fellow-servants who declare the truth]. The Apostle then
exhorts the saints to separateness from the world; that they
be not swallowed up by politics, money-getting, etc., but
that they set their affections on higher things. He says,
Seeing that in God’s plan present earthly conditions are only
temporary and will soon give place to the better order, what
manner of persons ought we to be, in respect to holy
conduct and piety?—“looking for the PRESENCE [parousia] of
the Day of God”—watching for the evidences (signs) to
prove that it has come.
And, thanks be to God, his provision is so abundant that
all those of piety, who are looking for that day, will know of
it before the full bursting forth of the fire of wrath. Through

* Old Manuscripts omit here the words, “in the night.”

 Manner of the Second Advent 169

Paul he assures us that none of the children of the light will

be left in darkness, that that day should come upon them
unawares. (1 Thess. 5:4) Hence, though we are already in
the day of the Lord’s presence, and in the beginning of the
great fire of trouble, we see that it is even as shown us in
symbol (Rev. 7:1, 2)—the storm is held in check until the
faithful servants of God are “sealed in their foreheads:” i.e.,
until such are given an intellectual appreciation of the time,
presence, etc., which will not only comfort them, and shield
them, but also be a mark, seal or evidence of their sonship,
as indicated by our Lord when he promised that the holy
Spirit should show to the faithful “things to come.” John
16:13
Some take Peter’s statement literally, that “the heavens
being on fire shall be dissolved and pass away with a great
noise;” and also the Revelator’s description of the same
events, by a very similar symbol, “The heaven departed as
a scroll when it is rolled together.” It would seem, however,
that one glance upward at the myriad gems of night shining
through millions of miles of space, with nothing between to
roll away, or to take fire, should be argument enough in one
moment to convince such that they had erred in supposing
these statements to be literal—should convince them that
their expectation of a literal fulfilment is absurd in the
extreme.
So, then, God veiled from mankind under figures of
trumpets, voices, fire, etc., information (which was not for
the worldly to know, but only for the “little flock” of con-
secrated saints) regarding the harvest, the Lord’s presence,
his spiritual kingdom, etc.; and yet he arranged them so that,
in due time, they would speak clearly and emphatically to
the class for whom he intended the information. As at the
first advent, so to a similar consecrated class it may now be
said, in the time of the second advent—“Unto you it is given
170 The Time is at Hand

to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God; but unto

them that are without, all these things are done in para-
bles”—in figures and dark sayings—in order that, even
though having the Bible before them, others than the con-
secrated may not really see and understand. Mark 4:11, 12
The world is not ignorant of the unprecedented events
and circumstances of the present time, and their increasing
noteworthiness with every passing year; but not perceiving
the grand outcome, these only fill their minds with dark
forebodings of evil. As foretold, they are in fear, looking
forward to those things that are coming on the earth; for
already the powers of the heaven (the present ruling
powers) are being shaken.
CONNECTING THE PROPHETIC CHAIN

In the preceding chapter we presented evidence showing

that the “Times of the Gentiles,” or their lease of dominion,
will run fully out with the year A.D. 1914, and that at that
time they will be overturned* and Christ’s Kingdom fully
established. That the Lord must be present, and set up his
Kingdom, and exercise his great power so as to dash the
nations to pieces as a potter’s vessel, is then clearly fixed; for
it is “in the days of these kings”—before their overthrow—
i.e., before A.D. 1914—that the God of heaven shall set up
his Kingdom. And IT shall break in pieces and consume all
these. (Dan. 2:44) And in harmony with this, we see all
about us evidence of the beginning of the smiting, shaking,
and overturning of the present powers, preparatory to the
establishment of the kingdom “which cannot be moved”—
the strong government.
The next chapter will present Bible evidence that 1874
A.D. was the exact date of the beginning of the “Times of
* How long it will require to accomplish this overturning we are not
informed, but have reason to believe the period will be “short.”
 Manner of the Second Advent 171

Restitution,” and hence of our Lord’s return. Since that date

he has been verifying his promise to those in the proper
attitude of watchfulness—“Blessed are those servants whom
the Lord when he cometh shall find watching: Verily, I say
unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit
down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.” (Luke
12:37) Even so, he has opened unto us the Scriptures,
showing us truth concerning his present glorious nature, the
object, manner, and time of his coming, and the character
of his manifestations to the household of faith and to the
world. He has drawn our attention to the prophecies which
definitely locate us on the stream of time, and has shown us
the order of his plan of operations in this harvest time. He
has shown us, first of all, that it is a harvest of the saints, a
time for their full ripening, and for their separation from the
tares; and secondly, that it is a time for the world to reap its
whirlwind harvest—for the reaping of the vine of the earth,
and the treading of its fruitage in the winepress of the wrath
of Almighty God. He has shown us that both of these
ripenings (Rev. 14:1-4, 18-20) will be completed in a period
of forty years, ending with the year A.D. 1915.
But while the reader is thus informed of what will be
proved in succeeding chapters, he must not expect to have
passages of Scripture pointed out in which these matters and
these dates are plainly written. On the contrary, he must
bear in mind that all these things have been hidden by the
Lord, in such manner that they could not be understood or
appreciated until the due time had come, and then only by
his earnest, faithful children, who esteem truth as more
precious than rubies, and who are willing to seek it as men
search for silver. Truth, like silver, must be not only mined,
but also refined, separated from dross, before its value can
be appreciated. The things here stated in few words will be
proved point by point; and while many may prefer to take
172 The Time is at Hand

a statement without the trouble of verifying it from the

Scriptures, this will not be the case with the real truth-
seeker. He must, so far as possible, make every point,
argument and proof his own, direct from God’s Word, by
tracing all the connections and thus convincing himself of
the truthfulness of the account presented.
Though the Lord provides it, and the servants bring forth
the “meat in due season for the household,” yet each, to be
strengthened thereby, must eat for himself.

“Mine eyes can see the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the winepress where His grapes of wrath are stored;
I see the flaming tempest of His swift-descending sword.
Our King is marching on.

“I can see His coming judgments, as they circle all the earth,
The signs and groanings promised, to precede a second birth;
I read His righteous sentence in the crumbling thrones of earth.
Our King is marching on.

“The ‘Gentile Times’ are closing; for their kings have had their day;
And with them sin and sorrow will forever pass away;
For the tribe of Judah’s ‘Lion’ now comes to hold the sway.
Our King is marching on.

“The seventh trump is sounding, and our King knows no defeat:

He will sift out the hearts of men before His Judgment Seat.
Oh, be swift, my soul, to welcome Him, be jubilant, my feet.
Our King is marching on.”
 STUDY VI

EARTH’S GREAT JUBILEE

“THE TIMES OF RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS” FORETOLD BY MOSES—THE DATE

OF THEIR BEGINNING INDICATED—THEY CANNOT BEGIN UNTIL THE GREAT
RESTORER HAS COME—EVIDENCE FROM THE LAW—CORROBORATIVE TESTI-
MONY FROM THE PROPHETS—LOGICAL CONCLUSIONS DRAWN FROM THESE AS
SEPARATELY AND UNITEDLY CONSIDERED—HARMONY OF PRESENT INDICATIONS.

“V ERILY I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass,

one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the
Law, till all be fulfilled.” Matt. 5:18
It is only when we recognize the typical character of God’s
dealings with Israel that we can rightly appreciate the
wonderful history of that people, or understand why their
history, in preference to that of all other nations, is so
particularly recorded by the Prophets and the New Testa-
ment writers. In them, as the New Testament writers show,
God has given striking illustrations of his plans, both for the
Church and for the world. Their Tabernacle service, so
minutely prescribed in the divinely given Law, with its
bleeding beasts and all its peculiar appointments, their
festivals and holy days, their Sabbaths, and all their ceremo-
nies, as types pointed forward to antitypes, larger, higher
and grander far than those shadows. And the Apostle Paul
assures us that those antitypes will be laden with blessings
for mankind, when he says that the Law foreshadowed
“GOOD THINGS to come” (Heb. 10:1; 8:5; Col. 2:17); while
our Lord, in the above expression, assures us that all the
good things foreshadowed are sure of fulfilment.
However, in considering types, we should carefully avoid
the error of many well-meaning people, who, when they

173
174 The Time is at Hand

begin to see that there are significant types in the Scriptures

run to the extreme of treating every Bible character and
incident as typical, and are thus led into error by mere
curiosity and ingenuity. On no such unsafe ground do we
build when examining the ceremonies of the Jewish Law,
given specially as types and declared by the apostles to be
such. Nor can we afford to let these types pass without due
consideration and careful study of the lessons they teach,
any more than we can afford to spend time in speculating,
and in building faith upon mere conjecture.
When our Lord said that not one jot or tittle of the Law
should pass away until fulfilled, he referred not only to the
fulfilling of its covenant obligations for all under that Law
Covenant, finishing its hold upon them, by meeting its
demands against them in full with his own life, but he meant
more than this: He meant, further, that all the blessings
expressed in it typically would also be sure of fulfilment
upon an antitypical scale. In all the Jewish ceremonies, God
caused no type to be made which will prove meaningless, or
pass unfulfilled; and the observance of all types was kept up
until their fulfilment at least began. All types must be
continually repeated until their antitypes appear; for the
keeping of a type is not the fulfilling of it. The fulfilling is
reached where the type ceases, being displaced by the
reality, the antitype.
Thus, for instance, the slaying of the paschal lamb was
fulfilled in the death of Christ, the “Lamb of God,” and there
began the special blessing upon the antitypical firstborn, the
believers of the Gospel age. The blessing, foreshadowed in
that type, is not yet completely fulfilled, though the fulfil-
ment began with the death of Christ, our Passover Lamb. In
like manner, every ceremony prescribed in the Law proves
to be full of typical significance. And the particularity with
which the observance of every detail of the types was
 Earth’s Great Jubilee 175

enforced throughout the Jewish age gives emphasis to our

Lord’s words quoted above—that every minute particular,
every jot and tittle, must be as particularly fulfilled as it was
carefully enforced in the ceremonies of the Law.
In this chapter we propose to examine that typical feature
of the Mosaic Law known as the Jubilee, and to show that
it was intended to foreshadow the great Restitution, the
recovery of mankind from the fall, to be accomplished in the
Millennial age; that in its character it was an illustration of
the coming Restitution; and that in the manner of its
reckoning it furnishes time regulations which, when
understood and applied, indicate clearly the time for the
beginning of the antitype, the “Restitution of all things.” Acts
3:19-21
Since the Jubilee was a part of the Law, and since repeat-
ing does not fulfil it, and since our Lord declared that the
type could not pass away without fulfilment; and moreover,
since we know that no such restitution of all things as that
foretold “by all the holy prophets since the world began,”
and prefigured in this type, has ever yet occurred, we know
that it must be fulfilled in the future.

ISRAEL’S JUBILEE YEAR

The year of Jubilee was a Sabbath of rest and refreshing,

both to the people and to the land which God gave them. It
was the chief of a series of Sabbaths or rests.* They had a
Sabbath day every seventh day; and once every year these
typical Sabbath days reached a climax—i.e., a cycle of seven
of these Sabbaths, thus marking a period of forty-nine days
(7 x 7 = 49), was followed by a Jubilee day, the fiftieth day
(Lev. 23:15, 16), known among the Jews as Pentecost. It
was a day of rejoicing and thanksgiving.

* The word “Sabbath,” signifies rest.

176 The Time is at Hand

The Sabbath year occurred every seventh year. In it the

land was allowed to rest and no crops were to be planted.
A climax of these Sabbath (rest) years was reached in the
same manner as the Pentecost or fiftieth day-Sabbath.
Seven of the Sabbath years, embracing a period of seven
times seven years, or forty-nine years (7 x 7 = 49), consti-
tuted a cycle of Sabbath years; and the year following, the
FIFTIETH YEAR, WAS THE YEAR OF JUBILEE.
Let us examine the account of it and mark its fitness as an
illustration of the great millennium of restitution.
When Israel came into Canaan, the land was divided
among them by lot, according to their tribes and families.
Success thereafter might increase, or adversity decrease,
their individual possessions, as the case might be. If a man
became involved in debt, he might be obliged to sell a part
or even all of his property, and with his family go into
servitude. But God made a bountiful provision for the
unfortunate: He arranged that such adverse circumstances
might not continue forever, but that all their accounts—
credits and debts—must be reckoned only to the Jubilee
Year, when all must be freed from old encumbrances, etc.,
to make a fresh start for the next term of fifty years.*
Thus every fiftieth year, counting from the time of their
entrance into Canaan, was to Israel a year of Jubilee, a time
of rejoicing and restitution, in which broken families were
reunited and lost homesteads were restored. No wonder that

* A somewhat similar arrangement under a Bankrupt Law has been found

expedient in our day and land, thus endorsing the principle then enunciated.
Nor does it follow, that a cancellation of debt every fifty years, and the
Jewish form, would serve us better than the methods of today; for in their
case, the time, circumstances, etc., were not specially for themselves, their
convenience, and their circumstances, but specially as prophetic figures and
lessons relating to God’s plan in its future development.
 Earth’s Great Jubilee 177

it was called a Jubilee. If property had been sold for debt, it

was to be considered merely as a grant of such property until
the Jubilee year; and the price it would bring if sold de-
pended on whether the coming Jubilee was near or far
distant.
The account of this observance is found in Leviticus 25.
Verses 10 to 15 read thus: “Ye shall hallow the fiftieth year,
and proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto all the
inhabitants thereof. It is a Jubilee unto you, and ye shall
return every man unto his possession and ye shall return
every man unto his family.… And if thou sell aught to thy
neighbor, or buyest aught of thy neighbor’s hand, ye shall
not oppress one another. According to the number of years
after the Jubilee thou shalt buy of thy neighbor, and accord-
ing unto the number of years of the fruits he shall sell unto
thee. According to the multitude of the years thou shalt
increase the price thereof, and according to the fewness of
the years thou shalt diminish the price of it.”
This arrangement provided by God through their leader
and typical mediator, Moses, though itself a blessed boon,
foreshadowed a still greater blessing which God had in
view—the release of all mankind from the debt of sin and
its bondage and servitude, through Christ our Lord, the
greater Mediator and Deliverer, whom Moses typified.
(Deut. 18:15) It was thus, in types, that Moses wrote of
Christ and the blessings to come through him (John 5:46;
1:45)—the Great Restitution and Jubilee to come to all the
race, now groaning under the bondage of corruption and
slavery to Sin.
If the shadow brought happiness and joy to the typical
people, the substance, the real restitution, will cause bound-
less joy and will indeed be a grand Jubilee to all people—all
the world, including Israel, being typified by that people,
178 The Time is at Hand

even as their priesthood represented the Church, the “royal

priesthood.” Even if we were not definitely informed, what
would be more reasonable than to surmise that the same
infinite love which provided for the temporary welfare of
Israel, a “stiff-necked generation,” would much more make
provision for the lasting welfare of the whole world, which
God so loved as to redeem while yet sinners? And here it
may be well to note what will be more fully shown hereaf-
ter, that while in one aspect the Israelites were typical of the
believers of the Gospel age, in another they represented all
who, in any age, shall believe God and accept his leading.
And in this character we are now viewing them. Their
covenant, sealed with the blood of bulls and goats, was
typical of the New Covenant, sealed with the precious
blood of Christ, under which the reconciling of the world
shall be effected in the next age. Their day of atonement
and its sin-offerings, though in type to that people, and for
their sins only, typified the “better sacrifices” and the actual
atonement “for the sins of the whole world.” But note that
the Jubilee applied not to Israel’s priesthood (typical of the
Gospel Church), but to the others only; for the priesthood
was given no possessions, and hence could neither lose any
nor have any restored. The Jubilee was for all the people
except the priestly tribe, and hence typifies, not those
blessings which are to come to the Church, the “Royal
Priesthood,” but the restitution blessings—earthly blessings
—in due time to come to all those who become believers
in and followers of God.
The teaching of this type is in perfect accord with what we
have learned in our examination of the divine Plan of the
Ages. It points unmistakably to “The Times of Restitution
of all things, spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets
since the world began.” Moses was one of the prophets; and
here particularly he speaks to us of the coming restitution of
 Earth’s Great Jubilee 179

man’s first estate and liberty, long lost, sold under sin. By the
failure of our first parents all was lost: all rights were
forfeited, and all became slaves to the tyrant Sin and were
unable to free themselves. The family circle has been sadly
broken by the bondage of corruption—death. Thank God
for the promised time of release! The Jubilee is at hand, and
soon the captives of Death and slaves of Sin shall have back
their first estate, perfect manhood, and their first inheri-
tance, the earth—the gift of God through Jesus Christ, the
mediator and ratifier of the New Covenant.
While in the typical Jubilee Year many restored liberties
and blessings were at once entered upon, yet probably most
of the year was required to straighten out affairs and get
each one fully installed again in all his former liberties, rights
and possessions. So, too, with the antitype, the Millennial
age of Restitution. It will open with sweeping reforms, with
the recognition of rights, liberties and possessions long lost
sight of; but the work of completely restoring (to the
obedient) all that was originally lost will require all of that
age of restitution—a thousand years.
It is certain that no antitype of the Jubilee answering to
the features of this type has yet occurred; and, on the
strength of our Lord’s assertion, we are equally sure that the
type could not pass away unfulfilled: “It is easier for heaven
and earth to pass, than for one tittle of the Law to fail.”
(Luke 16:17) But, apparently, this feature of the Law has
failed. As a matter of fact, the type, which was observed
regularly every fiftieth year as long as the Israelites were in
their own land, has not been observed since their captivity
in Babylon. Apparently, therefore, this feature of the Law
did “pass away” without even beginning a fulfilment. What
shall we answer in the face of this apparent contradiction
of the Lord’s statement? But is it really so? or can any
antitype of the Jubilee be found, beginning where the last
180 The Time is at Hand

observance of the typical Jubilee ended? Yes, we answer; a

clearly defined antitype had its beginning at that exact
point, and on a larger and grander scale, as antitypes always
are. We see, by actual fulfilment, that the cycles, as well as
the Jubilee Years in which they culminated, were included
in the type; and that the same method by which the typical
Jubilee was pointed out (by multiplying) was to be ob-
served in calculating the time for the antitype—Earth’s
Great Jubilee. When the last typical Jubilee had been
observed and had passed away, the great cycle began to
count, the close of which will usher in the antitypical Jubilee
or Restitution age.
We have already referred to the method of counting the
Sabbaths—that the multiplying of the Sabbath or seventh
day by seven (7 x 7 = 49) pointed out Pentecost, the Jubilee
Day which followed; and the multiplying of the seventh
year by seven (7 x 7 = 49) made the cycle which pointed
out and led to the fiftieth or Jubilee Year. And the same
system carried out would indicate that to reach the great
antitype which we seek we should in like manner square the
Jubilee—i.e., multiply the fiftieth year by fifty. That is to
say, the antitypical cycle, by the method of multiplying here
taught us, should be reckoned by multiplying the typical
Jubilee or fiftieth Sabbath year by fifty, just as in reaching
it we multiplied the seventh year Sabbath by seven. Lev.
25:2-13
Following this divinely indicated method of reckoning,
wonderful results open before us, which assure us that we
have the correct key and are using it as was intended by him
who formed this treasure-casket. Fifty times fifty years gives
the long period of twenty-five hundred years (50 x 50 =
2500), as the length of that great cycle, which began to count
when Israel’s last typical Jubilee ended, and which must
culminate in the great antitypical Jubilee. We know that such
 Earth’s Great Jubilee 181

a cycle must have begun to count where the type ceased;

because, if not one jot or tittle of the Law could pass away
without a fulfilment at least commencing, then the Jubilee
type, which was far more than a jot or tittle, indeed a large
and important feature of the Law, would not have been
permitted to pass away until the right time for its antitype
to begin. That the antitype of the Jubilee did not in any
sense begin when the Israelites ceased to observe it, is
evident; hence that a grand cycle began to count then, we
may be certain. The new, long cycle began there, though
Israel and all the world are ignorant both of the fact that a
great cycle has been counting and also of the great anti-
typical Jubilee by which it will be terminated. We are not
to look for the great Jubilee of Jubilees to begin after this
cycle, but as the antitype to take the place of the fiftieth or
last Jubilee of the cycle. An antitype never follows its type
but takes its place upon the same date. Hence the 2500th
year, which would be the great 50th Jubilee, must be the
antitype, the real Jubilee or Restitution. But instead of
being a year, as in the type, it will be larger; it will be the
beginning of the great thousand-year Jubilee—the Millen-
nium. Just so it has been in the fulfilment of every type in
which time was a feature. Thus the Pentecostal outpouring
of the holy Spirit came upon the typical day of Pente-
cost—or fiftieth day. Christ, our Passover sacrifice, died in
the same night in which the typical lamb was appointed to
be killed—a day before or a day after would not answer. So
here, not the year after nor the year before the 2500th, or
closing of the typical cycle, would do; but that very year,
beginning October, 1874, must have begun the antitype of
Restitution times.
The observance of the type could not cease until the great
cycle (50 x 50) began to count. The important point to be
ascertained, then, is the exact date when the last typical
182 The Time is at Hand

Jubilee was observed by Israel. With that date definitely

established, it becomes a very simple matter to count the
great cycle of fifty times fifty or twenty-five hundred years,
and thus locate definitely the date of the beginning of the
great Jubilee of Earth—the “Times of Restitution of all
things.”
But we must look for beginnings only of this stupendous
work of restoring all things. The first few days in the typical
Jubilee Year would see comparatively little accomplished;
and so we must expect in the first few years in the dawning
of the great Millennial Jubilee to see but little accomplished.
The first work in the typical Jubilee Year would naturally be
a searching out of former rights and possessions and the
ascertaining of present lacks. Tracing the parallel of this, we
should expect in the antitype just what we now see going on
all about us; for, as will shortly be shown, we have already
entered upon the great antitypical Jubilee period, and have
been in it since October, A.D. 1874. What do we see about
us? We see investigation on the part of the people of their
original, God-given inheritance, and their present lacks,
rights, etc., many in ignorance and selfishness claiming what
others have; and the attempt to hold on to as much as
possible on the part of those who have possession—causing
disputes, controversies, strikes and lock-outs, with more or
less justice and injustice on both sides, which must finally
be left to Christ’s adjudication, as disputes under the Law
were settled by Moses, and after his death by those who sat
in Moses’ seat. (Matt. 23:2) With these fixed conclusions
and expectations, let us seek the date which God evidently
hid for us in this type, “that we might know the things freely
given unto us of God,” now due to be understood.
We have no direct Bible record of Israel’s observance of
their typical Jubilees which would show which was the last
one observed. We fix upon the date for the Jubilee immedi-
 Earth’s Great Jubilee 183

ately preceding the Babylonian captivity and seventy years

desolation of their land, as the last one, for two reasons:
First, It could not have been this side of that desolation,
because there, surely, the type ceased, “passed away;” for
the land being desolate seventy years and the people in
captivity in a foreign land, a Jubilee must have been due
somewhere in the midst of those seventy years and must
have gone unobserved. A glance is sufficient to show that the
commands and provisions relative to the Jubilee Year could
not be complied with while they as a nation were in
captivity and the land was desolate. Hence we say the type
either passed away then, or before that interruption: it
could not be this side of it. And whenever the observance
of the type ceased, the cycle of the great antitype must have
begun to count. One such failure to observe the type would
indicate that the type had ceased and that the cycle leading
to the antitype had begun. Besides, never since the Babylo-
nian captivity has Israel had full control of the land: they
and their land have ever since been subject to Gentile
dominion.
Secondly, In every captivity previous to that one, God
evidently delivered them from their enemies in time to get
back into their own land to celebrate the Jubilee Year, and
thus to perpetuate it as a type until the right time for the
great (50 x 50) cycle to begin counting; for their previous
captivities, though frequent, it seems never lasted longer
than forty years, thus permitting them, according to the
Jubilee arrangement, to go free and to receive back every
man his inheritance every Jubilee Year. Besides, when we
shall shortly show that, reckoned from the beginning of the
seventy years desolation under Babylon, the great cycle ends
with the year A.D. 1875, it will be manifest to all that it
could not have commenced at an earlier date, prior to that
Babylonian captivity; for if we place it even one Jubilee
184 The Time is at Hand

earlier, it would locate the termination of the cycle fifty

years earlier than A.D. 1875, namely A.D. 1825; and surely
no Jubilee age of restitution began with that year.
Satisfied thus that the last typical Jubilee, from which the
great (50 x 50) cycle counts, was not earlier, and could not
be since the captivity in Babylon, and hence that the one
immediately preceding that captivity was the last typical
Jubilee Year, and that at its close the great, silent cycle began
to count, we proceed to locate the exact time of that last
typical Jubilee, thus:
The system of year Sabbaths being identified with their
land, Canaan, and their inheritance in it, the first cycle of
forty-nine years, leading to the first Jubilee, should begin to
count from the time they entered Canaan. This reasonable
inference is made positive by the Lord’s words—“When ye
come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep
a Sabbath [observe the Sabbath system] unto the Lord: Six
years shalt thou sow thy field, and six years shalt thou prune
thy vineyard and gather in the fruit thereof; but in the
seventh year [from entering the land] shall be a Sabbath of
rest unto the land.” So, then, the cycle of seven times seven,
or forty-nine years (7 x 7 = 49), began to count at once, and
the fiftieth year after entering Canaan was the first typical
Jubilee.*

* Some have suggested that as there were six years consumed in war
before the division of the land was finished, therefore the counting of the
Jubilee cycles did not begin until then. But no, the land was entered upon
when they crossed over Jordan, and the command reads, “When ye come
into the land,” and not, When ye have divided the land. It was divided
parcel by parcel during the six years, but they did not get possession of all
of it during those years, nor for an indefinite time afterward—until the
enemies were driven out, which in some cases was never done. (See
Joshua 18:2, 3; 17:12, 13; 23:4, 7, 13, 15.) Hence, had they waited for full
possession before beginning to count the cycles, they would never have
begun.
 Earth’s Great Jubilee 185

It will be seen, by reference to the table of Chronology,

that 969 years elapsed between the entering of Canaan and
the seventy years desolation.
To the division of the land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 years
Period of the Judges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450 “
Period of the Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513 “
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 969 years
We may know how many Jubilees they had observed up
to that time by dividing 969 years by 50. There are 19 fifties
in 969, showing that number of Jubilees, and the remaining
19 years show that their nineteenth, which was the last of
the typical Jubilees, occurred just nineteen years before the
beginning of the seventy years of desolation of the land
while they were in captivity in Babylon, and nine hundred
and fifty years after entering Canaan.
There, then, just nineteen years before the “seventy
years desolation” of their land, at the close of their last
Jubilee—the nineteenth—the great cycle of 2500 years
(50 x 50 = 2500) began to count; and it becomes a very
simple matter to reckon where those 2500 years terminated,
and consequently where the twenty-five hundredth year, the
beginning of the great antitypical Jubilee, began. Thus:
From the last or nineteenth Jubilee to the
beginning of the desolation of the land . . . . . . 19 years
Period of the desolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 “
From the restoration of Israel by Cyrus, to
the date known as A.D. (Anno Domini—
the year of our Lord) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536 “
Hence, from their last Jubilee to A.D. 1 . . . . . . . . 625 “
The number of years since A.D. 1, necessary
to complete the cycle of 2500 years . . . . . . . . . . 1875 “
From the last observed Jubilee—Total . . . . . . . . 2500 years
 CHRONOLOGICAL
TABLE

see page 184

Jubilee type dates from

entering Canaan:
To the division of
the land . . . . . . . . . . 6 yrs.
Period of Judges . . . . 450 “
Period of Kings . . . . . 513 “
To the desolation . . . 969 “
19 Jubilees . . . . . . . . = 950 “
Remainder: . . . . . . . . . 19 yrs.

From last Jubilee to

the desolation . . . . 19 yrs.
Period of desolation,
and captivity of
all in Babylon . . . . 70 “
From Restoration
to their land by
Cyrus, to A.D. 1 . . 536 “
From year A.D. 1 to
A.D. 1875 (Jew-
ish time, begin-
ning Oct. 1874) 1874 “
2499 yrs.

Thus, the year which be-

gan October 1874 was the
2500th year, but since the
antitype is larger than the
type—1000 years instead of
one year—1875 (beginning
Oct. 1874), instead of being
a Jubilee year was the first of
the 1000 years of Jubilee.
 Earth’s Great Jubilee 187

Thus we find that the twenty-five hundredth year began

with the beginning of the year A.D. 1875, which in Jewish
civil time, by which this is reckoned (Lev. 25:9), began
about October 1874. So, then, if the great Jubilee were to
be only a year, like its type, it would have commenced
October, A.D. 1874, at the end of 2499 years, and would
have ended October, A.D. 1875. But this is not the type,
but the reality: it was not a Jubilee Year, but the antitypical
Thousand years of Restitution of all things, which com-
menced October, A.D. 1874.
Thus we see that not only did Israel’s Jubilee clearly and
forcibly prefigure the great “TIMES OF RESTITUTION OF ALL
THINGS which God hath spoken by the mouth of all the holy
prophets since the world began,” but that also the manner
of its reckoning just as clearly indicates the date of the
beginning of Earth’s Great Jubilee. If we fail to accept
these conclusions, we see no other alternative than that
this type passed away without fulfilment, notwithstanding
the most positive assertions of our Lord that it could
not—that it would be easier for heaven and earth to pass
than for one jot or tittle of the Law to pass away without
reaching a fulfilment. (Matt. 5:18) We accept the facts thus
divinely indicated, however astounding the conclusions
which we must reasonably draw therefrom.
But what are the reasonable conclusions from these
Bible teachings? Let us consider what must follow, from
the standpoint of reason, and then see if any other
scriptures will either warrant or contradict those conclu-
sions. First, we infer that when the “Times of Restitution”
are due to begin, the presence of the GREAT RESTORER is also
due. This would be a very reasonable inference, but it
amounts to much more than inference when it is endorsed
by the Apostle’s positive inspired statement, that “When
the [appointed] times of refreshing shall come from the
188 The Time is at Hand

presence* of the Lord [Jehovah], … he shall send Jesus

Christ, which before was preached unto you, whom the
heaven must retain until THE TIMES OF RESTITUTION OF ALL
THINGS, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his
holy prophets since the world began.” Acts 3:19-21
On the strength of this inspired statement alone, we have
clear evidence of the fact that our Lord’s second advent was
due when the Times of Restitution were due to begin, viz.,
in October, A.D. 1874, as marked by the Jubilee arrange-
ment. It seems evident, indeed, that the Jubilee, like all
other things of that dispensation, was arranged “for our
admonition [our instruction] upon whom the ends of the
ages are come.” (1 Cor. 10:11) One thing seems clear—if
they do not profit us, they have been thus far almost
profitless; for the Scriptures inform us that the Jews never
fully and properly observed the type, even during the first
nineteen Jubilees. (Lev. 26:35) They no doubt found it
almost impossible to restrain their love of wealth. It, like all
prophecies and types, was no doubt arranged to cast light
when and where needed on the path of the just—to guide
the “feet” of the body of Christ.

* The word here rendered presence is not parousia, but prosopon; and apo
prosopon, rendered from the presence, does not signify as a result of presence,
but rather out from the face of. The thought is common to us, and was much
more common in eastern countries long ago: To show the face was a mark of
favor, while to turn the back was a mark of disfavor. Thus of our Lord at his
first advent it was written, “We hid as it were our faces from him.” i.e., we
were ashamed of and would not acknowledge him. Thus, too, Jehovah
“would not look upon sin,” and hid his face from sinners. Now, however,
since the ransom has been given, Jehovah waits to be gracious, until the
appointed time. Then he will no longer disregard men and treat them as
sinners, turning his back upon them, but will send them refreshment from his
face, his favor, and will send Jesus, his agent in the restitution of all things.
We have the same thought in our hymns: “Show thy reconciled face;” and
“Show thy face and all is bright.”
 Earth’s Great Jubilee 189

Now call to mind what was shown in the preceding chap-

ter concerning the manner of our Lord’s return and
appearing, lest you stumble here because of erroneous ideas
on that point. Remember, that “As the days of Noah were,
so shall also the presence [Greek, parousia] of the Son of
man be; for as in the days that were before the flood they …
knew not, … so shall also the presence of the Son of man
be.” (Matt. 24:37-39) Remember, also, what we have
already gathered from the inspired teaching—that only
those faithfully watching unto the sure word of prophecy,
and loving and looking for his appearing, will be able to
discern his presence, until he makes it manifest to the world
“in flaming fire, taking vengeance”—in the great time of
trouble. The fact, then, that his presence is not known and
generally recognized by the world, or even among Chris-
tians, is no argument against this truth. The world has no
faith in prophecy, and of course cannot see anything in its
light. And lukewarm Christians (and such are the large
majority) are paying no attention to the “sure word of
prophecy;” and many who profess to be watching are
reading the prophecies through the colored glasses of old
and long cherished errors, and with their eyes miserably
crossed by prejudice. All such should go to the Great
Physician for some of the “eye salve” or meekness (Rev.
3:18), and forever discard the colored glasses of the
traditions of men, and all theories of their own and of
others which will not harmonize with every testimony of
God’s Word.
But neither the world’s ignorance and unbelief nor the
lukewarm indifference and prejudice of the great majority
of professed Christians shall prove stumbling blocks to
God’s elect—to those who in simple, child-like faith accept
the testimony of his blessed Word. Such cannot stumble;
nor is it possible that they should be deceived. By their faith
190 The Time is at Hand

and God’s leading such will overcome all. Fear not, precious
Jewels of the Lord’s own choosing: lift up your heads and
rejoice, knowing that your deliverance, your exaltation and
glory, draweth nigh. Luke 21:28; 12:32
Another reasonable expectation, if the Times of Restitu-
tion actually began with October, A.D. 1874, and if our
Lord’s second presence was then due, would be, that those
watching should see some distinguishable indications of
what the Scriptures explain to be the first work of his
presence, viz., the harvesting of the fruit of the Gospel age,
the gathering together of his elect (in mental association and
spiritual communion), and at least some preparatory steps
toward the establishment of Christ’s Kingdom. Some of
these evidences we have already briefly hinted at; but there
is so much to be observed on this point that we must leave
its consideration for a subsequent chapter. The harvest of
the Church is indeed upon us; the wheat is being separated
from the tares; and affairs in the world are rapidly shaping
themselves, making ready for the permanent establishment
of the Redeemer’s Kingdom. The foretold signs, in the exact
manner and order of their prediction, are made clearly
manifest to those watching; but this we leave for the
present—because we wish first to bring other prophetic
testimonies to view. Suffice it to say here that the sickle in
the “harvest” of this age, as in the Jewish “harvest,” is the
truth; and that the “messengers” who use the sickle now are
disciples or followers of the Lord, though many of them
now, as then, realize but slightly the magnitude of the work
in which they are engaged.

PROPHETIC EVIDENCES CORROBORATIVE

While the foregoing evidence is strong and clear just as it

stands, we now present prophetic testimony which proves that
we began counting the Great Cycle (50 x 50) at the right
 Earth’s Great Jubilee 191

point. Our Heavenly Father knew the fear and trembling

with which our faith would grasp these exceeding great and
precious promises, and hence he has doubled the already
strong cord of evidence, furnished in the Law, by additional
testimony through the prophet. And our dear Redeemer
and Lord, who hands us this cord, and whose presence this
testimony points out to us, as he comes to us in the early
dawn of the Millennial Day, seems to say, as he once said
to Peter (Matt. 14:25-32), “O thou of little faith, wherefore
didst thou doubt?” Learn that I am a spirit being, no longer
visible to human sight. I thus reveal myself by the lamp of
the Word to the eyes of thine understanding, that as in
coming days I shall walk upon the stormy sea of the world’s
unparalleled trouble, thou needst not fear, but “Be of good
cheer.” Remembering that it is I, be not afraid.
This truly marvelous prophetic corroboration, which we
now proceed to consider, lay hidden in its own simplicity
until the appreciation and application of the Jubilee type, as
above, gave it significance.
The seventy years, usually referred to as the seventy years
captivity in Babylon, is Scripturally styled the “seventy years
desolation of the land.” This desolation God had predicted
by Jeremiah the Prophet, thus: “And this whole land shall
be a desolation, and … shall serve the king of Babylon
seventy years.” (Jer. 25:11) “Thus saith the Lord, that after
seventy years be accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you,
and perform my good word toward you in causing you to
return to this place.” (Jer. 29:10) In 2 Chron. 36:17-21 the
fulfilment of this prophecy is recorded; and the reason why
it was just seventy years, and why it was made completely
desolate, is stated thus: “He brought upon them the king of
the Chaldees [Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon], … and
them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to
Babylon, where they were servants to him and his sons until
192 The Time is at Hand

the reign of the kingdom of Persia: to fulfil the word of the

Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed
her Sabbaths; for AS LONG AS SHE LAY DESOLATE SHE KEPT SABBATH,
to fulfil threescore and ten [70] years.”
From this we see that Israel had failed to observe properly
the Sabbatic years, of which the Jubilees were the chief. It
certainly was a severe test of obedience toward the Heavenly
King, to a people so notably avaricious, to be commanded
to let the land rest, to restore to former owners lands
acquired and possessed for years, and to restore to servants
their liberty—especially when obedience was only com-
manded, and not summarily enforced by compulsion. God
had forewarned them, through Moses, that if they were
disobedient to the laws to which as a nation they had
pledged themselves, he would punish them for it. In the
same chapter in which he tells them of the punishment of
seven times under Gentile rule, he tells them, also, that if
they would neglect the year Sabbaths he would punish them
for it by desolating their land. (And, as a matter of fact, the
seventy years desolation was also the beginning of the seven
Gentile Times, as already shown.) The Lord’s threatening
reads thus: “Your land shall be desolate and your cities
waste. Then shall the land enjoy her Sabbaths, as long as it
lieth desolate and ye be in your enemies’ land, … because it
did not rest in your Sabbaths when ye dwelt upon it.” Lev.
26:34, 35, 43
God permitted for a while their half-hearted and half-way
obedience, but finally removed them entirely from the land,
made it desolate, without an inhabitant, and gave it the full
number of its Jubilee Years—not only for those they had
imperfectly observed, but also for the entire future number
which would elapse, according to his arrangement, before
the antitypical Jubilee, the Restitution or Millennial age,
would be due.
 Earth’s Great Jubilee 193

And since the entire number of typical Jubilees, designed

to precede the antitype, is thus proved to be seventy, we are
thus furnished another means of calculating when the
antitype is due to begin. The calculating of this prophetic
statement of the entire number of Jubilees is simple and
easy; and, as we should expect, its results agree exactly with
those already obtained by the method of counting furnished
by the Law.
The entire number being seventy, and nineteen of these
having been observed in a half-hearted way by Israel before
the desolation, it follows that the remaining fifty-one
(70 ! 19 = 51) mark the period from the last Jubilee which
Israel imperfectly observed, down to the great antitype. But
here note a difference in the manner of counting. Under the
Law reckoning, we counted the future as well as the past
cycles of forty-nine years with the fiftieth or Jubilee Year
added; for the Law shows things as they would have been,
had Israel carried them out properly. But prophecy records
things just as they will actually occur. We are now examining
the prophetic statement, remember, and hence should now
reckon these cycles as they have occurred—cycles of
forty-nine years, without Jubilees; for Israel did not observe
a Jubilee since their nineteenth one. The first nineteen
cycles had Jubilee Years, but the fifty-one since have had
none; hence we must reckon fifty-one cycles of forty-nine
years each, or 2499 years (49 x 51 = 2499), from the last
typical Jubilee observed by Israel to the antitype. This
calculation, though entirely distinct from the other, ends
exactly as shown by the Law method of reckoning previously
examined—October, A.D. 1874.
Let us state this last proof in another form, for the benefit
of some, thus: The full number of Jubilee cycles which God
had ordained was seventy, as shown by the plain statements
relative to the reason for the seventy years desolation of their
194 The Time is at Hand

land. This was to include those that Israel had observed in

an unsatisfactory manner, which we have seen were nine-
teen, as well as all the cycles to follow, up to the antitype.
We will now reckon all these from their commencement on
entering Canaan, and see where they end.
19 Cycles with Jubilees added (50 years each) = 950 years
51 Cycles without Jubilees (49 years each) =2499 “
70 Cycles, therefore, cover a period of 3449 years
This period of 3449 years, reckoned from the entering of
Canaan, ends as the foregoing, October, A.D. 1874, thus:
From entering Canaan to division of the land . . 6 years
Period of the Judges to Saul the king . . . . . . . . . . 450 “
Period of the kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513 “
Period of the desolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 “
From the restoration to A.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536 “
Total number of years before the date
known as A.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1575 “
Years since A.D., to complete above
period of 3449 years, are 1874 full years,
which would end (Jewish time) October . . . . . . 1874 “
The period of the 70 cycles, as shown
above, from the beginning of the Jubilee
system, on entering Canaan, until the
antitype, the Great Jubilee, or Times of
Restitution, began, Oct., A.D. 1874 . . . . . . . . . . . 3449 years
The logical conclusion, if these matters are accepted as of
divine arrangement, is easily drawn. And if not divinely
arranged, whence came they? We do not put them into the
inspired Word: we merely find them there in all their sim-
plicity and beauty, and, like all the other precious and rich
food from the storehouse, which our Lord is now serving us
 CHRONOLOGICAL
TABLE
see page 194

From entering Canaan:

To the division of
the land . . . . . . . . . . 6 yrs.
Period of Judges . . . . 450 “
Period of Kings . . . . . 513 “
To the desolation . . . 969 “
19 Jubilees . . . . . . . = 950 “
Remainder: . . . . . . 19 yrs.
Thus their last Jubilee was
observed 19 years before the
Desolation.

P ERIOD SINCE LAST JUBILEE.

Before the “Desola-
tion” as above . . . . 19 yrs.
Years of Desolation. . 70 “
From the Restora-
tion by Cyrus to
A.D. 1 . . . . . . . . . . . 536 “
Years from A.D. 1
to A.D. 1874,
Oct. 10th (the
end of year—
Jewish time) . . . . . 1874 “
2499 yrs.

51 cycles (without Jubi-

lees) as they actually occurred
and were mentioned in proph-
ecy, 49 years each = 2499
years. Or, total years from
entering Canaan to October
1874 = 3449 years.
The Period of 19 cycles
and Jubilees (950 years) and
51 cycles alone (2499 years) OCT. A.D. 1874, DATE OF BEGINNING OF
= 3449 years. EARTH’S G REAT JUBILEE
196 The Time is at Hand

according to his promise (Luke 12:37), this is nourishing

“strong meat”—not especially intended for “babes in
Christ,” but for those more developed, “who have their
senses exercised” (Heb. 5:14) to discern and appreciate
this meat now in “due season.” If not of divine arrange-
ment and intended for our instruction, how and why come
the double proofs, matching and corroborating each other
so perfectly? To convince yourself of their divine arrange-
ment, notice that in no other place and way can these
seventy years of Sabbaths in desolation be made to
harmonize with the (50 x 50) cycle of the Great Jubilee.
Try it. Prove it. Suppose either a mistake, or a change of
one of the nineteen Jubilees kept by Israel: Suppose that
eighteen (one less) or twenty (one more) had elapsed
before the seventy years desolation began. Calculate, and
you will see that these two lines of evidence, which so
perfectly unite in the testimony that 1875 (beginning
October, A.D. 1874) is the date of the beginning of the
Times of Restitution, and the date, therefore, from which
we may know that the heavens no longer retain our Lord,
the great Restorer, cannot be united elsewhere, without
doing violence to themselves, to the chronology, and to
other prophecies yet to be examined.
If these time prophecies teach anything, it is that the
Great Jubilee, the Times of Restitution of all things, has
begun, and that we are already in the dawn of the Millennial
age, as well as in the “harvest” of the Gospel age—which
ages lap one upon the other for forty years—the “day of
wrath.” We are already fourteen years into this forty-year-
day of wrath; and preparations for the struggle are progress-
ing rapidly. The coming twenty-six years, at the present
momentum, will be quite sufficient for the accomplishment
of “all things written.”
 Earth’s Great Jubilee 197

Let no reader hastily conclude that there are no evidences

of Restitution about us, nor that the Sun of Righteousness
is not already gilding the watch towers of Zion and enlight-
ening the world. Let him, on the contrary, reflect that we are
already in the day when the hidden things are being made
manifest; and let him remember that the first work of
Restitution is properly a breaking down of the old and
decaying structure which stands in the place which the new
is to occupy. Remember that the first work of the tenderest
physician is often to open the wounds, and to cleanse and
amputate according to the necessities of the patient, in order
to make thorough work of the healing. That such service
causes pain and is seldom appreciated by the patient at the
time, none need be told; and so it is with the work of the
great Physician, the Restorer, the Life-giver: He wounds to
heal, and the trouble and sifting in the Church and the world
are but the lancing and cleansing needful, and a most
important part of the Restitution work.
In the type, the Trumpet of Jubilee was to be sounded
when the Jubilee Year began, to proclaim liberty throughout
all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof. (Lev. 25:10)
The antitype is ushered in with the sounding of the (sym-
bolic) “Seventh Trumpet,” the “Trump of God,” the “Last
Trump.” It is indeed the great trumpet: it announces liberty
to every captive; and while at first it means the surrender of
many expired claims and privileges, and a general time of
disturbance and unsettling of usages, habits, etc., its full
import, when rightly appreciated, is “good tidings of great joy
which shall be unto all people.”
In the early commotion, each one who hears the Jubilee
Trumpet of the new dispensation is forcibly struck by some
one of its many features and heeds no other. One sees the
propriety of, and calls for, governmental reforms, the
abolition of standing armies and their burdensome tax.
198 The Time is at Hand

Another calls for the abolition of titled aristocracy and the

recognition of every man by his manly qualities. Others call
for the abolition of landlordism, and demand that land-
holding shall be as at first, according to necessity, and ability
and willingness to use. Others call for temperance reform,
and by prohibitory and other laws, by Law and Order
Societies, seek to chain this great evil, and begin to restrain
men who for the love of money would ensnare, enslave and
destroy fellowmen, and who, fastening their fangs into their
weaknesses, would fatten and luxuriate upon their blood.
Others form Humane and Anti-Cruelty Societies, to prevent
those who have the ability from injuring the weak and
dependent. Others form societies for the suppression of vice
and of demoralizing literature. Others form Anti-Adultera-
tion Societies to examine into adulterations of food, and to
expose and prosecute and punish those who for love of
greater gain adulterate food and make it even injurious to
health. Laws are enacted for the protection of the lives and
the health of the people. Miners must have pure air, no
matter what the cost; they must have two ways of escape in
case of fire. Working people, powerless to help themselves
or to choose their places of work, are cared for by the public
laws. They can no longer be paid when the employer may
please, and in store-orders, but the law now demands that
pay-day shall be at least every two weeks and in cash. They
can no longer be crowded into buildings where in case of fire
they would be liable either to burn to death or to maim
themselves for life by jumping; for “fire-escapes” are
compulsory, and for any death or injury traceable to
carelessness on the part of the employer, he is held responsi-
ble, and is punishable, either by fines, damages or imprison-
ment. Wealthy corporations, such as own railroad and
steam-ship lines, are compelled to care for the lives and
interests of the people, the poor as well as the rich. These
 Earth’s Great Jubilee 199

reforms are the results of the awakening of the people by

the Jubilee Trump of knowledge and liberty, and are not
traceable to pure benevolence on the part of the more
favored class. For though all in the favored or wealthy class
who are benevolent, and such as love righteousness, can
and do rejoice in these beginnings of reform, others, and
the majority, regretfully yield from necessity. True, such
laws and arrangements are not yet perfected, nor are they
universal; but the beginnings noticed rejoice our hearts,
and give evidence of what may be expected in the exalting
of the humble and lowly, and the abasing of the proud,
when the Jubilee regulations are fully in operation. All these
things are parts of the reform commotion ushering in
Earth’s Great Jubilee; and though much has been de-
manded, and much has been gradually conceded, yet kings,
and emperors, and queens—political, social, ecclesiastical
and financial—will not submit to the great leveling process
of this Jubilee or Restitution age without a great and severe
struggle, such as the Scriptures point out as just before us,
and which, though severe, is unavoidable, and will work out
ultimate good.
The spirit of “liberty throughout all the land” is indeed
sometimes carried to an unreasonable extent by the ignorant
and the hot-headed; and yet it is all part of the great un-
avoidable Jubilee excitement, occasioned by the ignorance
and oppression of the past. None but the Lord’s “little flock”
is fully and correctly informed as to the grand scope of the
Restitution. These see the minor changes, the straightening
out of the lesser affairs of men, but they see also what can be
seen from no other standpoint than God’s Word—that the
great enslaver, Sin, is to be shorn of his power, that the great
prisonhouse of Death is to be opened and a release pre-
sented to each prisoner, signed in the precious blood of the
Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world, the
200 The Time is at Hand

great Redeemer and Restorer. Glad tidings indeed it shall be

to all people, not only to the living, but also to all that are in
their graves. Before the end of this great Jubilee every
human being may go entirely free—may get back to man’s
first estate, “very good,” receiving back through Christ all
that was lost in Adam.

THE SEVENTH TRUMPET

“Blow ye the Trumpet, blow
The gladly solemn sound;
Let all the nations know,
To earth’s remotest bound,
The Jubilee of Earth is come,
Returning ransomed sinners home.
“Jesus, our great High Priest,
Hath full atonement made.
Ye weary spirits, rest;
Ye mournful souls, be glad.
The Jubilee of Earth is come,
Returning ransomed sinners home.
“Ye who were sold for naught,
Whose heritage was lost,
May have all back unbought,
A gift at Jesus’ cost.
The Jubilee of Earth is come,
Returning ransomed sinners home.
“The Seventh Trumpet hear,
The news of heavenly grace;
Salvation now is near;
Seek ye the Savior’s face.
The Jubilee of Earth is come,
Returning ransomed sinners home.”
 STUDY VII

THE PARALLEL DISPENSATIONS

THE JEWISH AGE A TYPE OF THE GOSPEL AGE—REMARKABLE PARALLELISM OR

CORRESPONDENCY BETWEEN THE TWO DISPENSATIONS—YET THEY ARE
DISTINCT—SUPERIORITY OF THE CHRISTIAN EPOCH, THE ANTITYPE—FLESHLY
AND SPIRITUAL ISRAEL CONTRASTED—PROMINENT PARALLELS EXAM-
INED—TIME PARALLELS SPECIALLY NOTICED—PERIOD OF FLESHLY ISRAEL'S
FAVOR—TIME OF THEIR CUTTING OFF FROM FAVOR—THE PERIOD OF DISFAVOR
SHOWN FROM PROPHECY TO BE EQUAL TO THE PERIOD OF FAVOR—APOSTOLIC
TESTIMONY THAT THEIR PERIOD OF DISFAVOR IS THE PERIOD FOR THE HIGH
CALLING OF SPIRITUAL ISRAEL—THE LENGTH OF THE GOSPEL AGE THUS SHOWN
INDIRECTLY BUT CLEARLY—HARMONY OF THE BIBLE CHRONOLOGY, JUBILEE
TESTIMONY, GENTILE TIMES, AND OTHER PROPHECIES WITH THE LESSONS OF
THESE PARALLELS UNANSWERABLE, CONCLUSIVE AND SATISFYING.

I N previous chapters the fact has been referred to, that

God’s dealings with the nation of Israel were of a typical
character; yet few have any adequate conception of how
fully this was the case. It has doubtless been observed by
many that the apostles, particularly Paul, in instructing the
Christian Church, frequently refer to some striking features
of type and antitype in the Jewish and Christian dispensa-
tions. But a closer attention to the Apostle’s teachings will
show that he does not only make use of a few illustrations
drawn from the Jewish economy, but that in his close
reasonings he calls up the whole Jewish system as divinely
instituted (ignoring entirely the “traditions of the elders,”
which were no part of that system), and shows that in all its
features it was typical of the then dawning Christian
dispensation, mapping out most clearly the course of the
Christian Church in the Gospel age, as well as pointing out
its glorious work in the Millennial age.

201
202 The Time is at Hand

Many presume that the Jewish and Christian ages are

really one, and that God has been selecting the Christian
Church from the very beginning of human existence. This
is a serious mistake, which beclouds and hinders the correct
and clear apprehension of many truths. Jesus was the head
and forerunner of the Christian Church, which is his body
(Eph. 5:23; Col. 1:24); consequently none preceded him as
members of the Church. Had any preceded him, he could
not properly be styled the forerunner. The “high calling” to
become joint-sacrificers, and finally joint-heirs with him,
was not made known in other ages. (Eph. 3:2, 5, 6) Good
men who lived and died prior to the actual payment of our
ransom by the precious blood knew nothing of this “high
calling.” And since the gifts and callings of God are unmer-
ited favors, no injustice is done to those of other ages, in not
offering them the same favor. The call and favor to those of
past ages, as they will also be to those of the coming age,
were to earthly honors, and earthly glory, and everlasting life
as earthly (human) beings; while the call and favor of the
Gospel age are to heavenly honors and glory, to a change of
nature from human to divine, and to power, honor and
dominion in heaven and in earth, as joint-heirs and co-
workers with Christ. And since the Church thus called out,
separated from the world, and developed during this age, is
in the age to come to be the agent of Jehovah in the full
execution of his great plan of the ages—a plan which
compasses the interests not only of humanity, but of all
creatures in heaven and in earth—wonderful have been the
preparations made in the ages past for their training and
instruction. And no less wonderful has been the care with
which these, called to be heirs of divine glory, have during
this age been trained, disciplined, guided and protected
through the long, difficult, narrow way, first opened up by
 Parallel Dispensations 203

their Lord and Forerunner, in whose footprints they are

directed to tread—as he set the example. 1 Pet. 2:21
Our Lord spent the three and a half years of his ministry
in gathering out from Israel, and in training and instructing,
the few disciples who should form the nucleus of the
Christian Church. When about to leave them alone in the
world he gave them the promise of the holy Spirit, which,
during the entire age, should guide the Church into all truth,
and show them things to come, and bring freshly to remem-
brance what he had taught—which promise began to be
verified at Pentecost. It is also written that the angels are all
ministering spirits sent forth to minister to these heirs of this
great salvation (Heb. 1:14), and that our Lord’s special care
is over them, even to the end of the age. (Matt. 28:20) All
the writings of the apostles are addressed to the Church, and
not to the world, as many seem to think; and they are full of
special instructions, encouragements and exhortations,
needful only to the saints who during this age are walking in
the narrow way. And our Lord’s revelation, which God gave
him after he had passed into glory, he sent and signified
[sign-ified—told in signs, symbols, etc.] to his Church,
through his servant John. (Rev. 1:1) We are also told that
the prophecies given aforetime by holy men of old were
given, not for themselves, nor for others of their day and
age, but exclusively for the instruction of the Christian
Church. 1 Pet. 1:12
In this chapter we purpose to show that the whole Jewish
nation, during that entire age, was unwittingly engaged,
under God’s direction, in furnishing for our instruction a
typical view of the entire plan of salvation in all its work-
ings, even as we have just seen its Jubilees pointing out the
final consummation of the plan in the blessing of all the
families of the earth. It is by our drawing upon this
storehouse of truth, so abundantly and specially provided
204 The Time is at Hand

for the Church, that the Spirit of God feeds us and leads
us gradually into a more and more nearly complete
understanding of his plan, as rapidly as that knowledge
becomes needful to us. And from this great storehouse
God is now supplying much of the special light and food
needful to us in this “harvest” time at the consummation
of the age. Since such has been God’s care and abundant
provision for the Christian Church above all other people
of past and future ages, how important in his estimation
must that knowledge be to us, and how eagerly should we
avail ourselves of it.
While we will not in this chapter or volume enter into a
detailed examination of the typical features of God’s
dealings with Israel, as set forth in the Tabernacle, and
Temple, and ordinances and sacrifices, etc., we do now
invite close attention to some of the marked and prominent
outlines of correspondency between the Jewish and Chris-
tian dispensations as type and antitype; for all that the
Christian Church actually experiences and accomplishes,
the Jewish Church prefigured. And many of these features
of correspondency are parallel not only in character, but
also in their relative time of occurrence. Even in their
national history, and in the history of many particular
individuals of that nation, we find correspondencies marked
by the Scriptures. Some of these, Christian thinkers have
long noticed, and others have been entirely overlooked.
Here a beautiful and fruitful field of thought and study
opens before us.
Paul designates the Jewish Church “Israel after the flesh,”
and the Christian Church “The Israel of God.” (1 Cor.
10:18; Gal. 6:16) We may therefore properly designate
them Fleshly Israel and Spiritual Israel. The higher plane of
the spiritual house is also pointed out by the Apostle when
he describes Fleshly Israel as a house [family] of servants,
 Parallel Dispensations 205

and Spiritual Israel as a house of sons. (Heb. 3:5, 6; Rom.

8:14) The fleshly house was the honored servants of the
spiritual house in various ways, but chiefly in that they
unconsciously, under God’s arrangement, furnished
pantomime illustrations of spiritual things, which, if studied
and heeded, greatly bless and enlighten the house of sons.
In both cases there have been a Nominal Israel and a Real
Israel, in God’s estimation, though to men they have
appeared as one; the nominal and the real not being clearly
distinguishable until the end or harvest time of their
respective ages, when the truth then due and brought to
light accomplishes the separation, and makes manifest which
are of the real and which of the merely nominal Israel. Of
the fleshly house Paul said, “They are not all Israel which are
[nominally] of Israel” (Rom. 9:6); and our Lord recognized
the same fact when of Nathaniel he said, “Behold an Israelite
indeed, in whom is no guile,” and also when in the time of
harvest he separated the real from the nominal, and called
the former valuable wheat, and the latter mere chaff—
though, comparatively, the wheat was only a handful, and
the chaff included nearly all of that nation. In a similar
proportion, and under a similar figure, the nominal and the
real members of Spiritual Israel of the Gospel age are
pointed out; and their separation, too, is in the time of
harvest—in the end of the Gospel age. Then only the
wheat—a comparatively small number, a “little flock”—will
be separated from the masses of nominal Spiritual Israel,
while the great majority, being tares and not real wheat, will
be rejected as unworthy of the chief favor to which they
were called, and will not be counted among the Lord’s
jewels. Rom. 9:27; 11:5; Luke 12:32; Matt. 3:12; 13:24-40
The head of the fleshly house was Jacob, surnamed Israel
(a prince); and through his twelve sons he founded the house
which bore his name, the House of Jacob, the House of Israel.
206 The Time is at Hand

So with the Spiritual House: its founder, Christ, established

it through the twelve apostles; and this house also bears the
name of its founder—The Church of Christ. In point of time,
God called Fleshly Israel first; but in point of favor, and in
time of realization, Spiritual Israel comes first. Thus the first
becomes last, and the last first. (Luke 13:30) The Scriptures
clearly mark these two houses of Israel as being the fleshly
seed of Abraham and the spiritual seed of Jehovah—the
Heavenly Father whom Abraham typified.
Some are blinded to important truths by the supposition
that the expression, “both the houses of Israel,” refers to the
two divisions of Fleshly Israel, after the split in the days of
Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. Such need only be reminded that
after the captivity in Babylon, upon their restoration to
Palestine, all Israelites of all the tribes then captives in all the
universal domain of Medo-Persia, including the land of Syria
or Babylonia, were given liberty to return to their own land
if they chose. (Ezra 1:1-4) Many of the faithful Israelites of
all the tribes, who had respect to the promises of God
associated with the holy land and the holy city, returned to
the various cities of Palestine. The tribe of Judah, the
principal tribe, in which was vested the kingly office, and in
whose territory Jerusalem, the chief city, was located,
naturally took a leading part in its rebuilding; but after that
return from Babylon, Israel was no more a divided nation, but
dwelt together as at first, as one people, and were known by
the one original name, Israel. See Neh. 11:1, 20; Ezra 2:70.
This is further emphasized in the New Testament. The
Lord and the apostles speak of Fleshly Israel as one. Paul
says that Israel sought, but that only a “remnant” was found
worthy. (Rom. 10:1-3; 9:27; 11:5-12, 20-25; Acts 26:7)
Our Lord said that he was “sent to [all] the lost sheep of the
[one] house of Israel;” yet when he would not permit his
disciples to go outside of Palestine to seek them (Matt.
 Parallel Dispensations 207

10:5, 6; 15:24), it is evident that those living in Palestine

represented all Israel. Peter, too, speaks of fleshly Israel as
one house; and addressing the people at Jerusalem he said,
“Let all the house of Israel know,” etc. James also speaks of
the twelve tribes as one people. (Acts 2:36; Jas. 1:1) Many
of all the tribes dwelt in Palestine, and many of all the tribes
dwelt in surrounding nations. Thus Paul met and preached
to Israelites in nearly every city which he visited in Asia
Minor and Italy, but they were always recognized as one
nation, spiritual Israel being the only other Israel.
God has made special covenants or promises to both these
houses of Israel. The promises to the fleshly house were all
earthly, while those to the spiritual house are all heavenly.
Though the promises to the fleshly house were (and still
are) grand and precious, the promises to the spiritual house
are characterized as “better promises,” and “exceeding great
and precious promises.” (Heb. 8:6; 2 Pet. 1:4) To the
fleshly house it was said, “If ye will obey my voice indeed,
and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure
unto me above all people; for all the earth is mine. And ye
shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.”
And though all Israel answered and said, “All that the Lord
hath spoken we will do” (Exod. 19:5-8), and then failed to
keep their covenant, yet the faithful among them, who
earnestly endeavored in their weakness to keep it, will in the
Millennial age be “princes in all the earth,” members of the
earthly phase of the Kingdom of God. See Vol. I, chapter xiv.
To the spiritual house, on the contrary, it is said, “Ye are
built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up
sacrifices* acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.… Ye are a

* The word spiritual before sacrifices in this text (verse 5) is omitted

in the oldest Greek manuscript—the Sinaitic. The correctness of this
omission is evident when we reflect that not spiritual things are sacrificed,
but earthly or human privileges, rights, etc.
208 The Time is at Hand

chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a

peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of him
who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;
which in time past were not a people, but are now THE PEOPLE
OF GOD.” 1 Pet. 2:5, 9, 10
Fleshly Israel had by God’s appointment a Tabernacle
made with hands, which was typical both in itself and in all
its services. (Heb. 9:1, 2, 9, 10) But Spiritual Israel has “the
true [the antitypical] Tabernacle, which the Lord pitched
and not man.” (Heb. 8:2) For the services of the typical
Tabernacle a typical priesthood was ordained, of which
Aaron was the head, which offered typical sacrifices for the
sins of the typical people, and accomplished a typical
cleansing or justification each year. The antitypical Taberna-
cle has its priesthood, which offers up better sacrifices (Heb.
9:23), which actually and forever cancel the sins of the
whole world. And of this priesthood our Lord Jesus is the
head priest—the High Priest of our profession [or order]—
the Church which is his body being the under-priests. The
entire nominal church is not this priesthood—but the true
Church, the faithful in Christ Jesus, who follow the footsteps
of our great High Priest in sacrifice.
Another marked feature of this correspondency as type
and antitype, noted in the Scriptures, is that both the houses
of Israel (fleshly and spiritual) were carried away captives
into Babylon. This will be more clearly seen when in a
succeeding chapter we come to view “Babylon the Great, the
Mother of Harlots.” (Rev. 17:5, 6) We merely notice here
the correspondence. Fleshly Israel was taken captive into
literal Babylon, which was built upon the literal river
Euphrates, while in the Gospel age mystic or figurative
Babylon, which carried away captive Spiritual Israel, is
portrayed as sitting upon the mystic Euphrates. In the type,
the golden vessels of the Temple were carried away and
 Parallel Dispensations 209

profaned by literal Babylon: in the antitype, the precious,

divine (golden) truths, pertaining to the service of the true
Temple, the Church (1 Cor. 3:16, 17; Rev. 3:12), were far
removed from their proper places, perverted and misapplied
by mystic Babylon. Literal Babylon being built upon the
river Euphrates, which materially contributed to its wealth
and resources, its overthrow was accomplished by the
turning aside of those waters. So mystic Babylon sits upon,
is supported by, many waters (peoples, nations), and its fall
is predicted, through the turning aside of its supporters and
sustainers, the people. Rev. 16:12

TIME PARALLELS
MEASURING

SHADOW AND SUBSTANCE—TYPE AND ANTITYPE

We now come to the consideration of that most wonderful

feature of this typical correspondency, viz., the time
element, which in every instance sustains and corroborates
the dates indicated by the Jubilees, the Chronology, and the
foretold close of Gentile Times. And it is for this purpose
particularly that this subject is here introduced—that the
force of this wonderful parallelism may increase and confirm
the faith of God’s children in the time element of his plan,
as it was evidently intended to do. Heb. 9:9, 23; 10:1
Of all the prophecies and time-proofs there is none more
striking and convincing than this one. The lesson it teaches
is startling because of its very simplicity, and carries convic-
tion to the hearts of the humble. Not only were Fleshly
Israel and its ceremonies typical, but the Jewish age was
typical of the Gospel age. They are of exactly the same
length, and correspond to each other; so that, seeing and
210 The Time is at Hand

appreciating the Jewish age, its length, and the peculiarities

of its harvest or close, we may know the exact length of the
Gospel age, its antitype, and may understand what to look
for, and when, in the harvest of the Gospel age. But let us
now proceed to show this; for though we might take it for
granted on general principles, and say that as the various
features of the Jewish system correspond to those of the
Gospel age, so too the time should correspond, yet God has
not left us thus to infer this, but has clearly though indirectly
told us so.
Paul tells us that God has cast off the fleshly house from
favor, during the time of the selection of the spiritual house;
and that when the spiritual house has been selected, then
God’s favor will return to the fleshly house. He says: “I
would not, brethren [brethren of the Church, or spiritual
Israel], that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye
should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part
is happened to Israel [natural, or fleshly] until the fulness of
the Gentiles* be come in. As it is written: There shall come
out of Zion the [promised] Deliverer [the Christ—our
Lord, the head, and the remnants or faithful few, of both the
nominal houses of Israel, which shall compose his body, the
Church] and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. And
so all Israel shall be saved (for this is my covenant unto

* None should confound this “Fulness of [or, from out of] the
Gentiles” with the “Times of the Gentiles,” mentioned heretofore. The
“Times of the Gentiles,” as has been shown, is the period of time during
which the Gentiles are permitted to rule the world; while the “Fulness of
the Gentiles” refers to the full number to be selected out from among the
Gentiles, to complete the Gospel Church—who, with the “remnant”
selected from among the Israelites (which would include the apostles),
shall constitute the Church of Christ, the Holy Nation, the Royal Priest-
hood, the Kingdom of God, to whom the kingdom and dominion of earth
shall be committed.
 Parallel Dispensations 211

them) when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the

gospel [the high calling of this age], they are enemies [cast
off] for your sakes [that you may have the preference and
inherit the choicest, the spiritual parts of the promises]; but
as touching the election [by which they were chosen to
receive special earthly favors from God, promised to their
father Abraham and his natural seed], they are beloved for
the fathers’ sakes; for the gifts and calling of God are not
things to be repented of.” What God has promised is sure of
fulfilment. Knowing the end from the beginning, Jehovah
never made a covenant which he would need or wish to
break.
In this prophecy the Apostle gives an intimation of the
length of the Gospel age, by showing that it began with the
casting off of Fleshly Israel, and that it will end with their
restoration to favor. Placing the statements of Paul and
Peter (Rom. 11:27 and Acts 3:19, 20) together, we learn
that the time for the return of favor to Israel will be in the
beginning of the Times of Restitution, at the second advent
of our Lord. Paul says the return of favor to that people will
be when God shall take away their sins, which Peter says he
will do in the times of refreshing or restitution which shall
come when our Lord comes the second time, when the
heavens no longer retain him.
The date of our Lord’s second advent, and the dawn of the
Times of Restitution, we have already shown to be A.D.
1874. We should expect, therefore, to see some marks of
God’s returning favor to Fleshly Israel shortly after A.D.
1874, as one of the first features of restitution work. And,
surely enough, we do see favor beginning to return to them.
And every fresh evidence of the removal of Israel’s blind-
ness, and of divine favor toward them, is, when measured by
the Apostle’s words, a fresh proof that the Gospel age is
closing and that the “little flock” is about complete. But we
212 The Time is at Hand

have further proof which furnishes us with the exact date

when favor should begin to return to Israel. Thus far we
have merely seen that the measure of Fleshly Israel’s cast off
condition is the measure of the time of special favor to
others, for the calling of other people (Gentiles) to be
joint-heirs with Christ, which call ends in the beginning of
the Times of Restitution; but not (other prophecies show)
at the very beginning of it.
But pause a moment—let there be no misunderstanding
on this point: When the call to the high privilege of becom-
ing members of the Church, the bride and joint-heir of
Christ, ceases, it by no means signifies that all of those
already called are sure to be counted worthy, and therefore
to be chosen; for “Many are called, but few are chosen,”
because only a few of the called ones comply with the
conditions of the call. Nor does it imply that those not
thereafter called to that “high calling” will be offered no
other favors. The fact is, that when this “high calling” ceases,
it is because the great Designer of the plan of the ages has
almost completed that part of his plan intended to be
accomplished in the Gospel age—viz.: the selection of the
Gospel Church, the bride of Christ. All men were not called
to that high honor. We are specially informed that God’s
design was to select for this purpose only a limited number,
a “little flock,” as compared with the mass of mankind. After
enough have been called and the time for calling ends and
it is no longer proper to extend this call to others, it will still
be possible for those already called, who have accepted the
call, to make their calling and election sure, by faithfulness
to their covenant of entire consecration to God, even unto
death; and it will still be possible for these to fail of so doing.
This call, which must end when enough have been invited
from which to complete the favored “little flock,” the body
of Christ, is far from being the limit of God’s love and favor
 Parallel Dispensations 213

and calling. Its end will merely close the heavenly or “high
calling.” For where this call ends, where this door of
opportunity and favor closes, another door begins to swing
open—the door of opportunity to enter the highway of
holiness, and to go up thereon—not to the divine nature,
to which the Gospel Church was called, but to everlasting
life and perfection as human beings. See Vol. I, chapters x
and xi.
But now for the exact date of the return of favor to Israel,
which marks the exact end of the heavenly call—from which
date Israel will begin gradually to see, and to have increasing
evidences of returning divine favor, and from which date
also God’s call to heavenly honors will cease, and only these
already called will be privileged to win that prize by faithful-
ness to the close of life:
Fleshly Israel, like Spiritual Israel, was called of God to be
his peculiar people, a peculiar treasure unto him above all
other people (the one an earthly treasure, and a type of the
other, which is a heavenly treasure). Separated from the
world, they were the recipients of special favor from God for
eighteen hundred and forty-five (1845) years. This period
began with the beginning of their national life, at the death
of Jacob, the last of the patriarchs, when they were first
recognized as a nation, and called “The Twelve Tribes of
Israel,” a national name. See Gen. 49:28; 46:3; Deut. 26:5.
These eighteen hundred and forty-five years of national life
and favor ended with their rejection of Messiah—A.D.
33—when, five days before his crucifixion, he presented
himself to them as their king, and, not being received,
declared, “Your house is left unto you desolate.” (Matt. 23:38)
This, the end of their favor, was the point of their fall, which
continued for thirty-seven (37) years, and ended A.D. 70 in
the total destruction of their national polity, as well as of
their city, temple, etc. It should be noted, however, that God
214 The Time is at Hand

continued his favor to individuals of that nation, after the

nation, as a nation, had been cut off; for the gospel call was
confined to individuals of that nation for three and a half
years after Pentecost, after the death of Christ—not
reaching Cornelius, the first Gentile so favored (Acts 10),
until that time. This was the full end of the seventy weeks of
favor promised through Daniel, as it had been written, “He
shall confirm the covenant with many for one week.” That
seventieth week of years began at our Lord’s baptism; his
cross, as predicted, marked its middle; and favor was
confined to Fleshly Israel until its close.
During their long period (1845 years) of national favor,
during which other nations were ignored, Israel had
chastisements and blessings combined. But even their
chastisements for sins were evidences and elements of God’s
favor and fatherly care over them. He sent trouble upon
them, and frequently allowed them to be carried away into
captivity, when they forgot and disobeyed him; yet when
they repented and cried unto the Lord he always heard and
delivered them. The entire history of that people, as
recorded in Exodus, Joshua, Judges, Chronicles and Samuel,
attests the fact that God did not long hide his face from
them, and that his ear was ever open unto their repentant
cry—down to the day their house was left desolate. Even on
that day, God was forgiving them more than ever, and had
sent them the long-promised Messiah, the Deliverer, in the
person of our Lord, his Son. The unfitness of that nation
longer to be his special treasure, or in any measure to
represent God’s Kingdom on earth, was manifested in their
rejection of the holy, harmless, undefiled one, and their
desire of a murderer in his stead.
Thus, because of their unfitness, the day of their greatest
favor became the day of their rejection and fall from favor.
 Parallel Dispensations 215

And the great favor of becoming joint-inheritors with

Messiah, which Israel, except the faithful “remnant” (Isa.
1:9; 10:22, 23; Rom. 9:28, 29; 11:5), thus missed by their
blindness and hardness of heart, was offered to believing
Gentiles: not to Gentile nations, but to justified believers of
every nation—though the favor was at first, for three and a
half years, confined exclusively to believers of the nation of
Israel. Blinded as a people by national prejudices, the great
prize which they were offered first, but of which they were
unworthy, goes to a holy nation, a peculiar people, com-
posed of a worthy “remnant” of their nation, with others
called out from Gentile nations, whom in their arrogant
pride they once despised as “dogs.” And God’s promised
favor will not return to them as a people, to remove their
blindness, and to lead them as a first-fruits of the nations
into earthly blessings, until the full number of the “peculiar
people” have been called from the Gentiles—until the
fulness of the Gentiles be come into this higher favor.
Thus, as Paul declared (Rom. 11:7), Fleshly Israel did not
obtain that for which they sought, viz., the chief favor.
Supposing the chief favor to be the earthly blessings, and in
their pride of heart claiming that chief blessing as their
natural birthright, and as further merited by their works,
they blindly stumbled over and rejected it as a favor through
Christ. As David had foretold, their table—so bountifully
spread with the rich promises and blessings offered them
through Christ—became “a snare, and a trap, and a stum-
bling block, and a recompense unto them,” because of their
hardness of heart. (Rom. 11:9, 10; Psa. 69:22-28) Christ,
who came to redeem and who would have exalted them to
a position of glory beyond their ability to desire or imagine,
was to their pride “a stone of stumbling and a rock of
offense.” Rom. 9:32, 33; Isa. 8:14
216 The Time is at Hand

Yet the blindness of Israel was only a “blindness in part,”

and not a total loss of sight; for the testimony of the Law,
the prophets and the apostles was open to all, whether Jew
or Gentile; and during the Gospel age any Jew who would
resolutely brush away the films of prejudice and pride, and
humbly and thankfully accept the favor of God with his
Gentile brother, might do so. Yet few have ever been able
to do so; and no favor will be granted, and no special effort
to convince them as a nation of the truth, or to overcome
their prejudices, will be exerted, until the fulness of the
Gentiles has come in; or, in other words, until Spiritual
Israel is complete.
Since their rejection of Messiah—since their house was
left desolate—Israel has had no marks of God’s favor. Even
Jews themselves must admit that their tears and groans and
prayers have gone unanswered; and, as foretold by their
prophets, they have been “a by-word and a hissing” unto all
nations. Though formerly God heard their prayers, and
marked their tears, and returned them to their own land, and
continually favored them, since then he heeds them not and
shows them no favor. Since they said, “His blood be upon us
and upon our children,” theirs has been one continuous
chastisement: they have been scattered and persecuted
among all nations, as foretold. These are the facts as all may
read them on the pages of history. Now let us turn to the
prophets and see how particularly these facts were foretold,
and what the same prophets have to say concerning their
future.
Through the prophet Jeremiah (chapter xvi), after telling
Israel how they had forsaken him, the Lord says: “Therefore
will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not,
neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other
Gods [rulers] day and night, where I will not show you
favor.” (Verses 9-13) These days came when they rejected
 Parallel Dispensations 217

Messiah. How literally this threat has been fulfilled all may
judge, and they themselves must admit. This prophecy
cannot refer to any of their previous captivities to surround-
ing nations—Syria, Babylon, etc. Such an inference is
guarded against in the expression, “Into a land which ye
know not, neither ye nor your fathers.” Abraham came from
Ur of the Chaldees—Babylonia—and Jacob from Syria.
(Deut. 26:5) Israel’s dispersion among all nations since the
close of their 1845 years of favor, and no other of their
captivities, fits this pointed expression—a land which ye and
your fathers have not known. So then this, together with the
no favor, positively marks this prophecy as relating to Israel’s
present dispersion among all nations.
But though he cast them off from all favor for a while, God
will not leave them cast off forever, but says—Jer. 16:13-15:
“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more
be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of
Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, The Lord liveth, that
brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north
[Russia, where nearly one half of the Hebrew race resides],
and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will
bring them again into their land that I gave unto their
fathers.”
We might multiply quotations from the prophets and
apostles concerning the final return of God’s favor to Jacob,
or Israel after the flesh, after the selection of the full number
for “the body of Christ” from the Gentiles, but the student
can do so by the use of a Concordance or a Reference Bible.
Among the very pointed references to this favor to be
restored to Israel, in the New Testament, is that by James,
Acts 15:14-16, and by Paul, Rom. 11:26. But first, they must
drink the very last dregs of their chastisement; and thus it is
expressed in this remarkable prophecy (verse 18); “And first
[before the favor will come] I will recompense their iniquity
218 The Time is at Hand

and their sin double.” The Hebrew word here rendered

“double” is mishneh, and signifies a second portion, a
repetition. Thus understood, the Prophet’s declaration is,
that from the time of their being cast off from all favor until
the time of their return to favor would be a repetition, or
duplication in time, of their previous history, during which
time they had enjoyed divine favor.
As shown in the accompanying diagram, the period of
their favor, from the commencement of their national
existence at the death of Jacob, down to the end of that favor
at the death of Christ, A.D. 33, was eighteen hundred and
forty-five (1845) years; and there their “double” (mishneh)
—the repetition or duplication of the same length of time,
eighteen hundred and forty-five (1845) years, without
favor—began. Eighteen hundred and forty-five years since
A.D. 33 shows A.D. 1878 to be the end of their period of
disfavor. A.D. 33 plus 1845 = A.D. 1878.
All these prophetic points in the past are clearly marked,
and we should expect some evidence of God’s returning
favor to Fleshly Israel (“Jacob”) in or about A.D. 1878. This
we do find, in the fact that the Jew is now permitted
privileges in Palestine denied him for centuries past. And it
was in that very year—1878 A.D., when their “double” was
full, and God’s favor was due to return to that people—that
the “Berlin Congress of Nations” was held, in which Lord
Beaconsfield (a Jew), then Prime Minister of England, was
the central figure and took the leading part. There England
assumed a general protectorate over the Asiatic provinces
of Turkey, among which is Palestine; and the Turkish
government amended its laws relating to aliens, which
greatly ameliorated the condition of the Jews then residing
in Palestine, as well as partially opened the door for others
to locate there, with the privilege of holding real estate.
Previously, the Jew was but “a dog,” to be cuffed, kicked and
“BOTH THE HOUSES OF ISRAEL”
— TIME PARALLELS—
BLANK
 Parallel Dispensations 221

abused by his Mohammedan ruler, and was denied the most

ordinary privileges of existence, in the land sacred to him
with memories of the past, and with promises touching the
future.
At the same time that the door to Palestine thus opened
before them, a fierce persecution arose in Roumania and
Germany, and specially in Russia, where it still contin-
ues—increasingly. By one regulation after another they have
been despoiled of rights and privileges by these govern-
ments, as well as mobbed by their neighbors, until they are
being compelled to leave in large numbers. But this persecu-
tion is doubtless a favor also, as it will tend, and has already
tended, to cause them to look toward Jerusalem and the
covenants, and to remind them that they are heirs of certain
rich earthly promises.
But we must remember that the year A.D. 1878 was but
the turning point of returning favor to Fleshly Israel. We
have already learned, from our study of “The Times of the
Gentiles,” that Jerusalem and its people will continue to be
trodden down—controlled and oppressed by the Gen-
tiles—“until the Times of the Gentiles be fulfilled,” and
hence, though favor was due and began in A.D. 1878, the
Jew will not be received back into full favor until after 1915.
Thus their rise again to favor will be gradual, as was their
fall from it. It is remarkable, too, that these two periods of
their falling and rising are of exactly the same length—the
falling was gradual, with increasing momentum, for
thirty-seven years, from A.D. 33, where their national favor
ceased, to A.D. 70, where their national existence ended,
the land was desolated and Jerusalem totally destroyed.
History thus marks the beginning and ending of their fall,
while prophecy marks both ends of their rising—1878 and
1915—showing an exact parallel of thirty-seven years. This
222 The Time is at Hand

is a further part of their mishneh (“double”) mentioned by

the prophet.
Though the turning points of the Jewish and Gospel ages
are thus clearly marked at A.D. 33 and A.D. 1878 respec-
tively, by Israel’s rejection and returning favor, yet the work
of each of these ages laps over upon the age succeeding it.
Thus the turning point of the Jewish age being reached,
their age thereafter was lapped upon by the opening Gospel
age, just as their returning favor, which is one of the opening
features of the Millennial age, laps over upon the close or
harvest of the Gospel age. For thirty-seven years (from A.D.
33, the end of their national favor, to A.D. 70, their complete
overthrow) Israel, except the faithful remnant, was falling,
and the believing Gentiles were rising—the Jewish age was
ending and the Gospel age was beginning; and for thirty-
seven years (from A.D. 1878 to A.D. 1915) the Gospel age
is ending, and woes are preparing and coming upon so-
called Christendom, except the faithful remnant, while the
restitution work for Israel and all people is preparing. That
is to say, the dates A.D. 33 and A.D. 1878 mark when the
work of the respective new ages began, though the work of
harvesting the preceding age, and destroying the refuse, was
allowed to continue thirty-seven years into the new, in both
cases. Thus the lap of the dispensations, as well as the end-
marks of each, is clearly defined.
A double work belongs to each of these lapping periods:
the pulling down of the old and the establishment of the new
arrangement or dispensation. And as the Jewish age and
people were but the types or shadows, we must expect the
results here to be much more extensive than there; and so
we shall find them. This twofold work is shown in the
statement of the prophet Isaiah—“For (1) the day of
vengeance is in my heart, and (2) the year of my redeemed
is come.” Isa. 63:4
 Parallel Dispensations 223

Nor is it a cunningly devised correspondency, arranged to

suit the facts; for many of these parallels, and other truths,
were seen from prophecy, and were preached as here
presented, several years prior to A.D. 1878—that year being
announced as the time of returning favor to Israel, before it
came, and before any event marked it so. The author of this
volume published these conclusions drawn from Scripture,
in pamphlet form, in the spring of A.D. 1877.
The testimony could scarcely be stronger, and yet be kept
secret until the present due time for knowledge to be
increased, and for the wise [in truly heavenly teaching] to
understand. The exact year of Israel’s rejection—yes, even
the very day—we know; that they were to have a mishneh or
double, the Prophet explicitly declares; that this parallel
period is eighteen hundred and forty-five years long, and
that it ended A.D. 1878, we have shown clearly, we think;
and that it was marked by favor is an indisputable fact. And
bear in mind, too, that it is since the end of their “double”
that Prof. Delitzsch has published his Hebrew translation of
the New Testament, which is already in the hands of
thousands of Hebrews and awakening much interest. And
further, remember that the greatest Christian movement
among the Hebrews since the days of the apostles, headed
by Rabinowitsch and others, is now in progress in Russia.
And it had its start about as long a time after A.D. 1878,
where Israel’s “double” ended, as the time of the awakening
among the Gentiles was after Israel’s rejection in A.D. 33.
Now call to mind the Apostle’s words which show clearly
that they were cast off from divine favor, and from EARTHLY
COVENANTS, STILL THEIRS, until the fulness or complete
number from the Gentiles has come in—until the end of the
Gospel call—and then you will see that 1878 is a marked
date, of deep interest to Spiritual Israel—no less important
than to Fleshly Israel.
224 The Time is at Hand

However, as none but our Lord Jesus knew the import of

the end of the Law age and the beginning of the Gospel age
(even the apostles knew only in part and saw dimly until
after Pentecost), so we can now expect only the body of
Christ, anointed with the same spirit, to see clearly the
ending of the Gospel age and its weighty import. The poor
Jews and many professed Christians do not even yet know
of the great dispensational change which occurred at the
first advent—the ending of the Jewish age and the opening
of the Gospel age. And likewise now, few know, or will come
to know, until outward evidences prove it to their natural
sight, that we are now in the end or “harvest” of the Gospel
age, and that A.D. 1878 marked so important a point as it
did. Nor was it intended that others than the faithful few
should see and know, and not be in darkness with the
world—“To you it is given to know,” said our Lord.
But some perhaps may say, Though Jeremiah was truly a
prophet of the Lord, whose testimony as to the “mishneh”
or duplication of Israel’s experiences should be respected,
we should consider the evidence still stronger if another
prophet had mentioned the same thing. To such we reply
that the statement of one reliable prophet is good and
sufficient ground for faith, and that many of the notable
proofs at the first advent were foretold by only a single
prophet; nevertheless, God, who is rich in mercy and very
pitiful, considered our weakness of faith, and has answered
the prayer of our hearts in advance, providing more than the
one testimony.
Turn now to Zechariah’s prophecy (9:9-12). In prophetic
vision he walks beside Jesus as he rides into Jerusa-
lem—A.D. 33—five days before his crucifixion (John
12:1-12), and to the people the Prophet cries, “Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusa-
lem! Behold, thy king cometh unto thee! He is just, and
 Parallel Dispensations 225

having salvation: lowly, and riding upon an ass.” Mark the

clear fulfilment of these words—Matt. 21:4-9, 43; John
12:12-15; Luke 19:40-42. Every item was fulfilled, even to
the shouting. When the people shouted Hosanna! the
Pharisees asked Jesus to rebuke them, but he refused, saying,
“If these should hold their peace, the stones would immedi-
ately cry out.” Why? Because it had been prophesied that
there would be a shout, and every item of prophecy must be
fulfilled. Let this particularity of detail in prophetic fulfil-
ment give us confidence in the further statements of this and
other prophets.
After briefly noting the evil consequences to follow a
rejection of their king (Zech. 9:10), the Prophet, speaking
for Jehovah, addresses them thus (verse 12): “Turn you to
the stronghold [Christ], ye prisoners of hope: even today do
I declare that I will render DOUBLE unto thee.” The word
double, here, is the same word used by Jeremiah—
“mishneh”—a repetition, or another equal portion. Israel
had for years been under the Roman yoke, but they were
“prisoners of hope,” hoping for a coming king who would
deliver them and exalt them to the promised dominion of
earth. Now their king, their strong tower, had come, but so
meek and lowly that they in their pride of heart could not
recognize him as such a deliverer. And much more they were
Sin’s prisoners, and this Deliverer purposed this greater
release also. Our Lord had been with them three and a half
years, fulfilling the Scriptures in their midst, and now came
the last and final test—would they receive him, the Lord’s
Anointed, as their king? The foreknowledge of God, that
they would reject Messiah, is shown by the Prophet’s
words—“Even today do I declare that I will render double
unto thee.”
This prophecy not only leaves no doubt about there being
a double—a duplication of chastisement added to Israel’s
226 The Time is at Hand

experience because of their rejection of Messiah—but it also

marks the exact day when it began, and makes the conclu-
sions drawn from Jeremiah’s prophecy, and fixed by our
Lord’s words, “Your house is left unto you desolate,” doubly
strong, exact and clear.
Call to mind our Lord’s words at this time and in this
connection—“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killest the
prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how
often would I have gathered thy children together, even as
a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would
not. Behold! your house is left unto you desolate; for I say
unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth till ye shall say
[from the heart], Blessed is he that cometh in the name of
the Lord.” (Matt. 23:37-39) Also we read that on the last
day of their test, “when he was come near [riding on the
ass], he beheld the city and wept over it, saying, If thou
hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things
which belong unto thy peace! But now [henceforth] they
are hid from thine eyes.” (Luke 19:41, 42) Thank God, now
that their “double” is complete, we can see that their
blindness is beginning to be turned away. And this gives joy
to the saints on their own account, too, for they realize that
the glorification of the Body of Christ draweth nigh.
But our loving Father, who evidently wished to settle and
to establish our hearts beyond doubt, upon the small point
which decides and proves so much, has sent us word
concerning Israel’s “double” by another of his most honored
servants—the Prophet Isaiah.
This prophet takes his standpoint down at this end, at
the time when the “double” (mishneh) has been fulfilled—
A.D. 1878; and, addressing us who now live, he gives us
God’s message, saying: “Comfort ye, comfort ye my
people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,
and cry unto her that her appointed time is accomplished,
 Parallel Dispensations 227

that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the

Lord’s hand DOUBLE* for all her sins.” Isa. 40:1, 2. See
marginal reading.
The student of prophecy should notice that the prophets
vary their standpoints of utterance, sometimes speaking of
future things as future, and sometimes assuming a position
future and speaking from that assumed standpoint; as, for
instance, Isaiah, speaking of our Lord’s birth, assumes to
stand by the manger where the babe Jesus lay, when he says,
“Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the
government shall be upon his shoulders,” etc. (Isa. 9:6) The
Book of Psalms cannot be read intelligently unless this
principle be recognized. No better illustration of this
principle of different prophetic standpoints can be given
than the three prophecies relating to Israel’s “double”
already noticed. Jeremiah foretold that the days would come
when God would scatter them among all nations, and that,
when they have received “DOUBLE,” he would gather them
again by a more mighty display of power on their behalf than
when they came out of Egyptian bondage. Zechariah speaks
as though living at the time of Christ’s offering himself to
Israel as their king, and tells us that there, in that very day,
their “double” began to count. Isaiah stands beside us in
A.D. 1878, and calls our attention to the fact that God had
a fixed or appointed time for favoring Israel already arranged,
and that this fixed time was after a double, or counterpart,
of their previous favor; and he tells us that we should now
give to Israel this comforting message that her double is
complete—her appointed time accomplished. It would be
difficult indeed to decide which of these three prophecies
is strongest or most important. They are each important,

* The Hebrew word here translated “double” is kephel, which signifies

double, in the sense of a thing having been folded in the middle.
228 The Time is at Hand

and each would be strong alone; but combined they are a

three-fold cord of wonderful strength to the humble,
studious, trustful children of God.
The force of these prophetic utterances is increased when
we remember that these prophets not only lived and wrote
hundreds of years apart, but that they wrote things entirely
contrary to Jewish expectation. Surely faithless and slow of
heart to believe all that God has spoken by the prophets are
those who cannot see in this clear and harmonious testi-
mony the finger and dealings of God.
If any should object, that the Berlin Congress and its
actions were not a sufficiently marked beginning of God’s
returning favor to Israel, we reply that it was a far more
marked return of favor than was our Lord’s action upon
riding into Jerusalem a mark of disfavor. Neither, at the time
of its occurrence, was recognized as a fulfilment of proph-
ecy. And today there are thousands more who know of the
fulfilment of the double than up to Pentecost knew that the
double began back there. Thus we see that the child that
Simeon said was set for the fall and rising again of many in
Israel (Luke 2:34) proved the fall or stone of stumbling to
Fleshly Israel as a nation; and we have seen how, as the
Head and Captain of Spiritual Israel, he is to be the Deliv-
erer, to raise up again the fleshly house, and to restore all
things after their “appointed time,” their “double,” is
complete; and now we see the double complete and favor
to Israel beginning. As we note these fulfilments of our
Father’s Word, our hearts may well sing,
“How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in his excellent Word.”

While thus noting Israel’s fall from favor and their

consequent loss, and the cause of all this, let us not forget
that in this also they foreshadowed nominal Spiritual Israel,
 Parallel Dispensations 229

and that the same prophets have foretold the stumbling and
fall of both the houses of Israel—“He shall be for a stone of
stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of
Israel.” Isa. 8:14
Just as truly as there was a casting off and fall of nominal
Fleshly Israel, as we have seen, there is also to be a casting
off and fall of nominal Spiritual Israel, the nominal Gospel
Church, and for similar reasons. The casting off and fall of
the one are just as vividly portrayed in the Scriptures as
those of the other. And just as surely, also, as a remnant of
Fleshly Israel was saved from the blindness and fall through
meekness and faith, even so also a similar remnant of
nominal Spiritual Israel shall be saved from the blindness
and fall of the nominal mass in the “harvest” or close of this
age. Thus the last members of the true Church, the body of
Christ, are to be separated from the nominal church—to be
joined to the Head, glorified. These (the remnant selected
from Fleshly Israel at its fall, and the faithful few of the
Gospel age, including the living remnant at its close) alone
constitute the true “Israel of God.” These are the Elect—
justified by faith in Christ’s redemptive work, called to
joint-sacrifice and joint-heirship with Christ, chosen
through belief of the truth and sanctification by the spirit of
truth, and faithful even unto death. With the completion of
the selection of this company, in the harvest of this age,
quite a commotion may be expected among the wheat and
tares; for many divine favors, specially granted because of
the faithful few, will be withdrawn from the nominal mass,
when the little flock, for whose development they were
granted, has been completed.
We should expect that the order here would be, as in the
typical Jewish harvest, a separating work, fulfilling the
words of the Prophet, “Gather my saints together unto me,
those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
230 The Time is at Hand

(Psa. 50:5) And as A.D. 33 marked the giving over of the

nominal Jewish house, as a system, to disfavor, disruption
and overthrow, so the corresponding date, A.D. 1878,
marked the beginning of the disfavor, disruption and
overthrow of the nominal Spiritual Israel, of which we shall
have more to say in succeeding chapters.

MATHEMATICAL DEMONSTRATION

Assuming that the foregoing evidence is conclusive and

satisfactory, we now proceed to demonstrate chronologi-
cally: First, that the Jewish age, from the death of Jacob to
where their house was left desolate when their double or
second part began to count, was eighteen hundred and
forty-five (1845) years long; and second, that the double
ended in A.D. 1878, and favor was due to begin there—
proving thus the close of the Gospel age favors.
The second point really requires no demonstration; for it
being a fact that our Lord died in A.D. 33, it becomes an
easy matter to add eighteen hundred and forty-five years to
A.D. 33, and find the year A.D. 1878 to be the year in which
favor to Israel was due to begin, provided we can prove our
first proposition, that the period of Israel’s waiting for the
fulfilment of God’s promises under his favor was a period of
eighteen hundred and forty-five years.
The length of this period is fully set forth in the chapter
on Chronology except one item, namely, the period from
the death of Jacob to the coming out of Egypt. This period
was rather peculiarly hidden, or covered, until recently;
until it was noticed the length of the Jewish age was not
known; and without it the double of it could not have been
measured, even if the prophecies regarding the double had
been noticed and understood. The Chronology runs
smoothly until Jacob’s death, but from that date until the
coming out of Egypt, there is no full record. Various
 Parallel Dispensations 231

snatches here and there are given, but no connected thread

by which we could surely know. It was for this reason that
at this point in the table of Chronology we were compelled
to look to the New Testament. There we received aid from
the inspired Apostle, who gave us the connecting link. We
thus learned that it was a period of four hundred and thirty
(430) years from the Covenant, at the death of Terah,
Abraham’s father, to Israel’s exodus from Egypt.
We find the hidden period between the death of Jacob and
Israel’s coming out of Egypt, exactly, by first calculating the
period from the death of Terah to the death of Jacob, and
then deducting that number of years from the four hundred
and thirty years, the period from Terah’s death to the
exodus from Egypt. Thus:
Abraham was seventy-five (75) years old when the
Covenant was made with him, at the death of Terah (Gen.
12:4), and Isaac was born twenty-five (25) years after.
(Gen. 21:5) Hence—
From the Covenant to the birth of Isaac . . . . . . . . 25 years
From Isaac’s to Jacob’s birth (Gen. 25:26) . . . . . 60 “
From Jacob’s birth to his death (Gen. 47:28) . . . 147 “
Total years from the Abrahamic Covenant
to Jacob’s death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 “
From the Covenant to the day Israel left Egypt
(Exod. 12:41), at the Passover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430 “
From this deduct the period from the
Covenant to Jacob’s death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 “
The period from Jacob’s death to the Exodus,
therefore, was . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 years
Thus all difficulty relative to the length of Israel’s national
existence is cleared away. The hidden period from Jacob’s
death to the Exodus was no doubt purposely concealed,
until due to be seen. To this we now add the periods
presented in the Chronological Table, as follows:
232 The Time is at Hand

Period from Jacob’s death to the Exodus . . . . . . . 198 years

Israel in the wilderness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 “
To the division of Canaan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 “
Period of the Judges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450 “
“ “ Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513 “
“ “ Desolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 “
From the first year of Cyrus to A.D. 1 . . . . . . . . . . . 536 “
Total years from Jacob’s death to our Anno
Domini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1813 “
From A.D. 1 to the crucifixion, at the Pass-
over in the Spring of A.D. 33—full years,
Jewish ecclesiastical time* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 “
Total period of Israel’s waiting for the king-
dom, under divine favor and recognition . . . . 1845 years

To find the measure of their double, when favor was due

and began toward them, and when therefore it began to
depart from the nominal Spiritual Israel, we count eighteen
hundred and forty-five (1845) years from the Spring of A.D.
33, and obtain the date of the Passover, A.D. 1878. Their
rising again from A.D. 1878 to A.D. 1915 (the closing of
Gentile Times), under the favor of the King whom they
rejected, and whom by that time they will recognize,
corresponds in length with their thirty-seven years of falling,
from the day their house was left desolate, A.D. 33, until
their utter overthrow as a people, A.D. 70.
We have already examined many striking parallels
between the Jewish age shadow, or type, and the Gospel age
substance, or antitype, and here we have just proved
another: The length of the two ages corresponds exactly—the
Gospel Church being called during Israel’s “mishneh” or

* The Jewish ecclesiastical year dated from the Spring; and the Passover
occurred on the 15th day of the first month of each new (ecclesiastical) year.
 Parallel Dispensations 233

double of disfavor. And while other correspondencies are

striking, especially so are the closing features of the two
ages—their “harvests,” their reapers, their work and the time
devoted, all serve to give us clear outlines of the closing
work to be accomplished in the harvest which is the end of
this age. Notice carefully the correspondencies of these two
harvests, as we shall briefly recapitulate:

REVIEW OF HARVEST PARALLELS

The Jewish age ended with a “harvest,” our Lord and the
apostles doing the work of reaping fruit, the seed of which
had been sown by Moses and the prophets. “Lift up your
eyes (said Jesus), and look on the fields, for they are white
already to harvest.” “I send you forth to reap that whereon
ye have bestowed no labor: other men labored, and ye are
entered into their labors.” (John 4:35-38) The end of the
Gospel age is also called a harvest—“The harvest is the end
of the world” (age). “In the time of harvest, I will say to the
reapers, Gather first the tares and bind them in bundles, …
but gather the wheat into my barn.” Matt. 13:39, 30
John foretold the work and effect of the Jewish harvest,
saying (Matt. 3:12), “Whose fan is in his hand, and he will
thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat [Israelites
indeed] into the garner [the Christian Church]; but he will
burn up the chaff [the refuse of the nation] with unquench-
able fire”—(a trouble which consumed them nationally).
Here was the baptism of the holy Spirit and of fire—the holy
Spirit coming upon the “Israelites indeed” at Pentecost, and
the fire of trouble upon all others, during the thirty-seven
years following their rejection. (Matt. 3:11) In that trouble
Israel as a nation was destroyed, but not as individuals. The
Revelator tells of the harvesting of this age with the sharp
sickle of truth, because the time to reap is come, and shows
a double work, part of which relates to the vine of the earth,
234 The Time is at Hand

as distinguished from the true vine of the Father’s planting,

Christ Jesus and his members or branches. (John 15:1-6)
The harvest of this age is said to be of wheat and tares
(Matt. 13:24-30, 36-39): that of the Jewish age was called
one of wheat and chaff. And as the chaff predominated
largely there, the analogy and parallelism so marked in every
other feature implies that the tares will be much more
abundant than the wheat in this harvest.
The Jewish harvest, in all a period of forty years, began
with our Lord’s ministry and ended with nominal Israel’s
rejection and overthrow, and the destruction of their city,
accomplished by the Romans, A.D. 70. And the harvest of
this age began with the presence of our Lord at the begin-
ning of Earth’s Great Jubilee, in 1874, as shown in chapter
vi, and ends with the overthrow of Gentile power—A.D.
1914, likewise a period of forty years—another of the
wonderful parallels of the two ages.
While the Jewish harvest began with our Lord’s ministry,
and God’s favor departed from their nominal system three
and a half years later, and was followed by thirty-seven
years of trouble upon that system, yet special favor
continued to individuals of that nation, and the call to the
high position of joint-heirship with Christ was given to
them exclusively for three and a half years after our Lord’s
rejection by them and of them—thus verifying the promise
to Daniel (Dan. 9:27), that favor would be shown to his
people to the full end of the seventieth week, in the midst
of which Messiah was cut off. This promise was fulfilled
to all the true wheat, while the system which held that
wheat was condemned and cast off in the midst of the
week. The harvesting of the wheat of the Jewish age lasted
for several years, beginning with our Lord’s ministry,
though all the special favor ceased three and a half years
after the death of Christ. The trouble (fire) upon that
 Parallel Dispensations 235

nation began to kindle early, but did not reach its terrible
fury until the wheat of that nation had been about all
garnered.
Similar periods are marked in the harvest of this age now
closing, corresponding to the features of that harvest. The
fall of A.D. 1874, where the Jubilee cycles point out that our
Lord was due to be present, corresponds to the time of his
baptism and anointing by the holy Spirit when he became
Messiah the Prince (Dan. 9:25), and began his work of
reaping the Jewish harvest. The Spring of A.D. 1878 (three
and a half years after) corresponds to the date at which our
Lord assumed the office of King, rode on the ass, cleansed
the temple of its money-changers, and wept over and gave
up to desolation that nominal church or kingdom; and it
marks the date when the nominal church systems were
“spewed out” (Rev. 3:16), and from which time (A.D. 1878)
they are not the mouthpieces of God, nor in any degree
recognized by him. And the three and a half years following
the Spring of A.D. 1878, which ended October, A.D. 1881,
correspond to the three and a half years of continued favor
to individual Jews in the last half of their seventieth week of
favor. As in the type that date—three and a half years after
the death of Christ—marked the end of all special favor to
the Jew and the beginning of favor to the Gentiles, so we
recognize A.D. 1881 as marking the close of the special favor
to Gentiles—the close of the “high calling,” or invitation to
the blessings peculiar to this age—to become joint-heirs
with Christ and partakers of the divine nature. And, as we
have seen, this marks a great movement among the Jewish
people toward Christianity, known as the “Kishenev
Movement.” And now trouble is impending over nominal
Christendom, but the storm is stayed until the wheat is
garnered, until God’s messengers seal his servants in their
foreheads (intellects) with the truth. Rev. 7:3
236 The Time is at Hand

The features of this harvest corresponding to those of the

Jewish harvest have been very marked also as regards the
preaching done. In the first three and a half years of the
Jewish harvest, the Lord and the disciples had for their
special text time, and the fact of Messiah’s presence. Their
proclamation was, “The time is fulfilled,” the Deliverer has
come. (Mark 1:15; Matt. 10:7) So it was in this harvest
also: up to A.D. 1878 the time prophecies and the fact of
the Lord’s presence, substantially as here presented, though
less clearly, was our message. Since then the work has
widened, and the view of other truths has become brighter
and clearer; but the same facts and scriptures, teaching the
same time and presence, stand unchallenged and incontro-
vertible. As the favor which was continued to individual
Israelites, after their house nominal was cut off from favor,
was not intended to convert and reform their nominal
church system, nor granted in hope of changing their chaff
into wheat, but was intended merely to separate and garner
every grain of ripe wheat, so in this harvest the object of the
continued and abounding favor (of the light of truth) of the
present is not designed to convert whole sects or to work
national reforms, but on the contrary to separate com-
pletely the wheat class from the tare class. They have grown
together side by side for centuries, and a pure, all-wheat sect
has been unknown; but now in the harvest the separation
must come, and the strain will be terrible. It will mean, in
many instances, the uprooting of earthly friendships and
the sundering of many tender ties; and the truth will do the
separating. The Lord’s prediction as to the “harvest” at the
first advent will be true again in the present harvest. (See
Matt. 10:35-38; Luke 12:51-53.) As there the truth set the
father against the son, the daughter against the mother, and
the mother-in-law against the daughter-in-law, so again, a
man’s foes shall oftenest be they of his own household. This
 Parallel Dispensations 237

cannot be avoided. They who love peace more than the

truth will be tested, and they who love truth supremely will
be accepted and approved as the “overcomers”—just as in
the Jewish “harvest.”
In the Jewish “harvest” the messengers chosen and sent
forth as heralds of the King and of the Kingdom at hand
were humble, untitled men, and those who opposed the
message were the Chief Priests, Scribes, Pharisees and
Doctors of Divinity; and as we should expect we find it
here: the blindest are the leaders of the blind, who, like
their Jewish types, “Know not the time of their visitation.”
Luke 19:44
The presence was one of the main points of testing there,
and the cross was the other. John the Baptizer cried to
them, “There standeth one among you whom ye know not.”
Yet only the Israelites indeed were able to realize the fact
of Messiah’s presence; and of these many stumbled over
the cross; for though willing to accept Messiah as a
Deliverer, their pride made them unwilling to receive him
as Redeemer, also. So here, likewise, the presence of Christ,
the “harvest” in progress, and the rejection of the nominal
mass of professors, stumble many; and the great Deliverer,
for whose coming and kingdom many have prayed (as did
the Jews), they are unready to acknowledge. Again it is
true, “There standeth one among you whom ye know not.”
And again the cross of Christ becomes a test and a stone of
stumbling or trial as none could have expected; and many,
many are now falling over it, saying, We will accept Christ
as our Deliverer, but reject him as our Redeemer or
Ransomer.
Surely all who will consider the matter carefully must
acknowledge that the evidence that our Lord is now present
(a spirit being, and hence invisible) is greater and clearer
than the evidence which the Jew had of his presence in the
238 The Time is at Hand

flesh at the first advent. And not only are the prophetic
evidences of the Lord’s presence now more full, complete
and numerous, but the signs of the times everywhere about
us, showing the harvest work in progress, are much more
apparent and convincing, to those whose eyes are anointed
(Rev. 3:18), than were the circumstances of the first advent,
when our Lord Jesus, with a handful of followers, through
much opposition and under many unfavorable conditions,
announced, “The time is FULFILLED; repent and believe the
good tidings”—Messiah has come, the Messenger of the
great Jehovah, to fulfil to you all the promises made to the
fathers. What wonder that only the humble minded ones
could accept of the humble Nazarene as the great Deliverer,
or of the humble, untitled men with him as part of his
chosen cabinet—as those who were to be princes under him.
Only the few could see in the one who rode on the ass and
wept over Jerusalem the great King of whom Zechariah had
prophesied that Zion would receive him as King with
shoutings of joy.
At his first advent he humbled himself, taking the form
and nature of man (Heb. 2:9, 14), thereby to accomplish
our redemption by giving himself as our ransom price. He
is now highly exalted, and dieth no more; and at his second
advent, clothed with all power (Phil. 2:9), he will exalt his
“body,” and then bestow upon the world the blessing of
restitution which he purchased for them at his first advent
with his own precious blood. Remember, he is no longer
flesh, but a spirit being, and will shortly change, and glorify
as his members and joint-heirs, all his faithful followers.
To the Jewish house Jesus presented himself in three
characters—as Bridegroom (John 3:29), Reaper (John
4:35, 38) and King (Matt. 21:5, 9, 4). To the Christian
house he presents himself in the same three characters.
(2 Cor. 11:2; Rev. 14:14, 15; 17:14) To the Jewish house
 Parallel Dispensations 239

he came as Bridegroom and Reaper in the beginning of

their harvest (the beginning of his ministry); and just
before his crucifixion he presented himself as their King,
exercising kingly authority in pronouncing judgment
against them, in leaving their house desolate, and in the
typical act of cleansing their temple. (Luke 19:41-46; Mark
11:15-17) Just so it has been in this harvest: Our Lord’s
presence as Bridegroom and Reaper was recognized during
the first three and a half years, from A.D. 1874 to A.D.
1878. Since that time it has been emphatically manifest that
the time had come in A.D. 1878 when kingly judgment
should begin at the house of God. It is here that Rev.
14:14-20 applies, and our Lord is brought to view as the
Reaper crowned. The year A.D. 1878, being the parallel of
his assuming power and authority in the type, clearly marks
the time for the actual assuming of power as King of kings,
by our present, spiritual, invisible Lord—the time of his
taking to himself his great power to reign, which in the
prophecy is closely associated with the resurrection of his
faithful, and the beginning of the trouble and wrath upon
the nations. (Rev. 11:17, 18) Here, as in the type, judgment
begins with the nominal church, in condemning to destruc-
tion the nominal systems (not the people), outwardly
representing the true Church—“the body.” Here also is the
cleansing of the true temple, the true Church, the body of
Christ—the consecrated class. (1 Cor. 3:16; Rev. 3:12)
This consecrated or temple class in the nominal church
stands related to the nominal church, as a whole, as the
literal temple stood related to the holy city Jerusalem, as a
whole. After the city was given up the temple was cleansed:
so now the temple class must be cleansed: every selfish,
carnal thought and all worldliness must be cast out, that the
temple may be clean, the dwelling place of God’s holy
Spirit—the temple of the living God.
240 The Time is at Hand

The special work since A.D. 1878 has been the proclama-
tion of the King’s command, “Come out of her [Babylon],
my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye
receive not of her plagues.” (Rev. 18:4) “Depart ye, depart
ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out
of the midst of her; be ye [the royal Priesthood] clean, that
bear the vessels of the Lord.” Isa. 52:11
Another marked point of similarity accompanying the first
and second advents is the prevailing sense of the need of a
deliverer, and a widespread impression among the nations
that deliverance must in some way soon come—the ideas of
some even approximating the truth of the matter. But in
each case only a few are able to recognize the Deliverer and
enlist under his banner in the service of the truth. In the
Jewish harvest, there was a going forth of many to meet the
Lord when all men “were in expectation” of him (Luke
3:15), at the time of his birth, thirty years before his
anointing as Messiah at the beginning of his ministry; and
so there was a corresponding expectation and movement on
the part of many (afterward called Adventists) led mainly
by a Baptist brother named William Miller, in this country,
and by Mr. Wolff and others in Europe and Asia. This
culminated in the year A.D. 1844, just thirty years before
A.D. 1874, when Christ the Bridegroom and Reaper actually
came, as shown by the Jubilee’s teaching. In this we find
another striking time-parallel between these ages; for those
thirty years corresponded exactly to the thirty years from the
birth of the babe Jesus unto Messiah the Anointed—
baptized, and introduced as Bridegroom and Reaper, at the
age of thirty. Matt. 3:11; John 3:29
In both cases there was a disappointment and a tarry-
ing-time of thirty years, during which all slumbered, and
only a few in each case awakened at the proper time to a
realization of Messiah’s presence. The great nominal mass
 Parallel Dispensations 241

in both houses fail to recognize the visitation, because

overcharged and lukewarm, neglecting the command to take
heed and watch. Thus will be fulfilled the prediction by the
Prophet—“He shall be for a stone of stumbling and for a
rock of offense to both the houses of Israel.” (Isa. 8:14) The
fleshly house stumbled because they had made void the law
of God through giving attention to traditions (Mark 7:9,
13), and so had not a proper conception of the manner and
object of the first advent. For that reason they were unpre-
pared to receive him in the way he did come, and so
stumbled over him and his work of sacrifice. The mass of
nominal spiritual Israel are now stumbling over the same
rock, and for the same reason. They are blinded by the
traditions of men and sectarian prejudices which hinder a
proper enlightenment by the Word of God; consequently
they have not a proper conception of the manner or object
of the Lord’s second advent. And here also the cross of
Christ, the doctrine of the ransom, is becoming a test to all.
It is worthy of careful notice, too, that neither house would
stumble or fall over a rock not present. The Rock is now
present, and nominal systems are stumbling, falling and
being broken to pieces; while now, as at the first advent, the
“Israelites indeed” are individually recognizing and accept-
ing the Rock, and by climbing upon this truth are being
lifted spiritually far above the stumbling, rejecting masses.
Those who have the eyes of their understanding enlight-
ened do not stumble; but as they climb upon the Rock, from
its higher standpoint they see much more clearly both the
past and the future of the divine plan—some things not
possible to utter, relative to the coming glory of the Church
and the gala-day of earth. They who put their trust in the
Lord shall never be confounded.
The full force of this parallelism is not obtained unless it
is noticed that the Jubilee cycles and the Gentile Times
242 The Time is at Hand

mark the periods which correspond so exactly with these in

the Jewish parallels. It is not an imagination that the Jewish
and Christian ages are type and antitype—the apostles and
prophets testify to their correspondency. Nor do we rely
merely on the parallels in proof of the harvest work of the
Christian dispensation now in progress: this harvest, as
already shown, is otherwise marked—both its beginning
and its close. The Jubilee cycles prove that our Lord Jesus
was due to be present and begin the restitution work in the
fall of 1874 A.D. and the parallelism above referred to
shows that date (1874) to correspond exactly with the
anointing of Jesus as the Messiah, at the beginning of the
Jewish “harvest,” at the first advent. The “Gentile Times”
prove that the present governments must all be overturned
about the close of A.D. 1915; and the parallelism above
shows that this period corresponds exactly with the year
A.D. 70, which witnessed the completion of the downfall
of the Jewish polity. A reasonable question, then, in view
of all this, is, Are these time-correspondencies mere
accidents, or are they of the same divine ordering which we
have seen arranged the other affairs of the fleshly house as
shadows of the realities of this dispensation?
No, they are not accidental: undoubtedly the same
all-wise One who taught us through the Chronology that six
thousand years from Adam’s creation ended with A.D.
1872, and that the seventh thousand, the Millennial age,
began there; who through the Jubilee cycles taught us that
the Lord would be present and the Times of Restitution
begin in the fall of 1874; and who through the Times of the
Gentiles showed us that we must not expect these things to
be done in haste, but by seemingly natural means covering
a period of forty years, has in these Parallel Dispensations
marked by Israel’s “double” given us evidence which not
only itself teaches clearly the Lord’s presence, the harvest
 Parallel Dispensations 243

and the restitution (beginning with favor to fleshly Israel),

but at the same time furnishes a proof of the correctness of
the other prophetic evidences and of the Chronology. For
be it distinctly noticed that if the Chronology, or any of
these time-periods, be changed but one year, the beauty
and force of this parallelism are destroyed. For instance, if
the Chronology be altered but one year, more or less—if we
add one year, say to the period of the Kings or the Judges,
or if we make it one year less—it would spoil the parallel-
ism. If we should add one year it would make the first of
Israel’s periods 1846 years long, and the double or other
half of it would thus be thrown one year later, while, on the
contrary, by such a change of the Chronology the Jubilee
cycles would be thrown one year earlier, i.e., A.D. 1873;
and it would make the 6000 years end in A.D. 1871, while
the Gentile Times would not be affected by it at all. All can
see that the harmony or parallelism would thus be utterly
destroyed. Or, if one year should be deducted from the
chronological reckoning the confusion would be just as
great, the changes to the several periods being in an
opposite direction. Thus these various time prophecies
corroborate each other, while the parallelism of the two
dispensations clinches their testimony.
It will be noticed by those at all familiar with the calcula-
tions usually made by “Second Adventists” and others,
relative to the prophetic periods, etc., that this method of
dealing with these subjects is very different from theirs.
They usually attempt to make all prophecies end at some
one date. Their erroneous expectations lead them to this.
They expect that a few moments will witness the entire
program which will really occupy a thousand years—the
Lord’s coming, the resurrection, and the judgment of the
world. And their expectation concerning those few
moments is that they close by the burning up of the world.
244 The Time is at Hand

To appreciate and accept the prophecies which point out

various dates for various steps in God’s great plan, they
would need first to understand the “Plan of the Ages” and
the true manner of the Lord’s second advent. But the great
majority are too much blinded by their theories and
prejudices to do this. Their attempts to apply prophecy to
their false expectations often lead to twisting, stretching
or whittling, according to the necessities of the case, in the
endeavor to get all the prophecies to terminate at some one
date. These friends should awake to their error in this
direction; for one after another their expectations have
failed, while we and they know that some of the prophecies
they have used cannot be stretched into the future, but are
in the past, and are now abandoned by them. They are
fulfilled, but differently from what they expected, and they
know it not.
On the contrary, the prophecies here presented, and those
yet to be considered, are unstrained, and without twisting
or whittling. We simply present them as we find them in
God’s Word; and, having correct expectations from God’s
great “Plan of the Ages,” it is easy for those seeing it clearly
to note how the various prophetic chains fit to it and
measure it. They mark it, some at one important point and
some at another; and to such as see this much, this parallel-
ism of the Jewish and Christian dispensations shows and
proves beyond reasonable doubt the correctness of all the
others.
The statement of the time-periods of God’s plan, fur-
nished in the prophecies, is very similar to an architect’s
specifications; and the parallels of the Jewish dispensation
resemble his outline drawings. Suppose we had an archi-
tect’s specifications for a house, without any drawings, and
were to sit down and make a drawing from the specifica-
tions, and afterward should receive from the architect his
 Parallel Dispensations 245

outline drawings of the prospective building—if a compari-

son of it with our own sketch, made from the specifications,
showed all the angles and measures exactly alike, we should
be doubly assured as to our correct understanding of the
specifications. So here, the drawing, the type or shadow of
the Gospel age furnished us in the Jewish age, and the
correspondence of prophecies and events with those fore-
shadowings, give us as strong assurance of the correctness
of our conclusions as could be asked, while we still “walk by
faith and not by sight.”
Other prophetic testimonies yet to be examined will also
be found in perfect accord with these parallels. One of
them, the Days of Daniel, points out a great blessing upon
the consecrated who would be living in A.D. 1875 and
onward—a blessing surely being fulfilled in the grand
unfolding of the truths of God’s Word since that time. To
him be the praise who hath called us out of darkness into
his marvelous light!
Remember that the forty years’ Jewish harvest ended
October, A.D. 69, and was followed by the complete
overthrow of that nation; and that likewise the forty years
of the Gospel age harvest will end October, 1914, and that
likewise the overthrow of “Christendom,” so-called, must
be expected to immediately follow. “In one hour” judgment
shall come upon her. Rev. 18:10, 17, 19
The reader’s attention is directed to the Table of Corre-
spondencies following, which will well repay careful study.
 “Both the Houses of Israel”
CORRESPONDENCIES OF THE
MOSAIC AND CHRISTIAN DISPENSATIONS
ISRAEL AFTER THE FLESH ISRAEL AFTER THE SPIRIT
A HOUSE OF SERVANTS A HOUSE OF SONS
1 Cor. 10:18; Rom. 9:7, 8; 4:16; Heb. 3:5 Gal. 4:5, 6, 7, 30, 31; 6:15, 16; John 1:12; Rom. 8:15
FOUNDED IN J ACOB ’S T WELVE SONS FOUNDED IN J ESUS ’ T WELVE APOSTLES
1 Kings 18:31 Rev. 21:14
A K INGDOM AND P RIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION A R OYAL P RIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION
Exod. 19:6 1 Pet. 2:5, 9
AARON , FLESHLY HIGH-P RIEST J ESUS , THE SPIRITUAL HIGH-P RIEST
Heb. 9:7 Heb. 9:11
C IRCUMCISION OF THE FLESH C IRCUMCISION OF THE HEART
Rom. 2:28, 29 Rom. 2:28, 29
L AW OF SIN AND DEATH L AW OF THE SPIRIT OF L IFE IN C HRIST J ESUS
Rom. 8:2 Rom. 8:2
EARTHLY P ROMISES “BETTER P ROMISES ”
Gen. 13:14-17; Acts 7:2-5 Heb. 9:23; 11:40
I N C APTIVITY TO L ITERAL BABYLON I N C APTIVITY TO M YSTIC BABYLON
2 Chron. 36:20 Rev. 17:5; 18:4
L ENGTH OF FAVOR 1845 Y EARS , FROM J ACOB ’S L ENGTH OF FAVOR, 1845 Y EARS , FROM J ESUS ’
DEATH TO I SRAEL’S R EJECTION AND THE DEATH TO THE BEGINNING OF C HRIST ’S R EIGN
BEGINNING OF SPIRITUAL I SRAEL, A.D. 33 AND THE R EJECTION OF B ABYLON , A.D. 1878

T HE NOMINAL SYSTEM C AST OFF , A.D. 33 T HE NOMINAL SYSTEM SPEWED OUT , A.D. 1878

FROM THE DEATH OF JACOB TO THE CROSS, THE PE-

FOLLOWED BY THE EXALTATION OF A FAITHFUL FEW,
FOLLOWED BY THE EXALTATION OF A FAITHFUL FEW,
FROM THE DEATH OF JESUS TO A.D. 1878, THE PE-

Matt. 23:38 Rev. 3:16

 37 Y EARS IN FALLING , TO A.D. 70 37 Y EARS IN FALLING , TO A.D. 1915
T HE END OF THE AGE A HARVEST OF 40 YEARS T HE END OF THE AGE A HARVEST OF 40 YEARS
Luke 10:2, 16 Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43
P RESENCE OF C HRIST IN THE FLESH AS R EAPER SPIRITUAL P RESENCE OF C HRIST AS R EAPER
John 4:35-38 Rev. 14:14, 15
OUR L ORD'S P RESENCE AND THE SACRIFICIAL OUR L ORD'S P RESENCE AND THE SACRIFICIAL
C HARACTER OF HIS DEATH, THE STUMBLING-STONE C HARACTER OF HIS DEATH, THE STUMBLING-STONE
“He shall be for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the [nominal] houses of Israel.” Isa. 8:14
THEY KNEW NOT THE TIME OF THEIR VISITATION
Luke 19:44; Matt. 24:38, 39
OUR LORD PRESENTED IN THREE CHARACTERS—AS BRIDEGROOM, REAPER AND KING
John 3:29; 4:35, 38; Matt. 21:5, 9, 4; 2 Cor. 11:2; Rev. 14:14, 15; 17:14
AN ADVENT M OVEMENT AT THE T IME OF J ESUS ' AN ADVENT M OVEMENT IN 1844, THIRTY YEARS
BIRTH, THIRTY YEARS PRIOR TO HIS ADVENT PRIOR TO THE ACTUAL TIME OF H IS P RESENCE ,
AND A NOINTING , AS M ESSIAH , AT B APTISM TO A WAKEN AND T EST THE C HURCH
Matt. 2:1-16; Acts 10:37, 38 Matt. 25:1
ACTUAL PRESENCE OF THE L ORD AS BRIDEGROOM ACTUAL P RESENCE OF THE L ORD AS BRIDEGROOM
AND R EAPER —O CTOBER , A.D. 29 AND R EAPER —O CTOBER , A.D. 1874
P OWER AND T ITLE AS K ING ASSUMED THREE P OWER AND T ITLE AS K ING ASSUMED THREE
AND A HALF YEARS LATER —A.D. 33 AND A HALF YEARS LATER—A.D. 1878

FIRST WORK OF THE KING, JUDGMENT

NOMINAL J EWISH HOUSE R EJECTED; L ITERAL T EMPLE NOMINAL C HRISTIAN HOUSE R EJECTED; SPIRITUAL
C LEANSED—M ATT . 20:18; 21:5-15; 23:37; 24:2 T EMPLE C LEANSED—1 P ET . 4:17; R EV. 3:16; M AL. 3:2
ENTIRE DESTRUCTION OF J EWISH P OLITY, ACCOM- ENTIRE DESTRUCTION OF NOMINAL C HRISTENDOM,
PLISHED IN 37 YEARS A FTER BEING C AST O FF — OR ACCOMPLISHED IN 37 YEARS AFTER BEING C AST OFF
40 YEARS FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE HARVEST — OR 40 YEARS FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE

AND BY CASTING OFF, TROUBLE AND JUDGMENTS UPON THE OTHERS

AND BY CASTING OFF, TROUBLE AND JUDGMENTS UPON THE OTHERS

RIOD OF FAVOR TO THE NOMINAL HOUSE OF SERVANTS, 1845 YEARS,

RIOD OF FAVOR TO THE NOMINAL HOUSE OF SONS, 1845 YEARS,

—A.D. 70 HARVEST —A.D, 1915

BLANK
 STUDY VIII

ELIAS SHALL FIRST COME

HOW THIS IMPORTANT PROPHECY STANDS RELATED TO THE SECOND ADVENT—A

PARTIAL AND TYPICAL FULFILMENT IN JOHN THE BAPTIST—THE REAL
FULFILMENT—THE VISION ON THE HOLY MOUNT—REMARKABLE CORRESPOND-
ENCIES BETWEEN ELIJAH, THE TYPE AND THE ANTITYPICAL ELIJAH—THE TIME
IS AT HAND—THE OUTLOOK—ELIJAH’S SUCCESSOR, ELISHA.

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of
the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of
the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their
fathers, lest [i.e., or else] I come and smite the earth with a curse.”
Mal. 4:5, 6

I N considering the evidences of the time being at hand for

the establishment of Messiah’s Kingdom in the earth, this
prophecy, showing the priority of Elijah’s coming, must not
be overlooked.
The expression of our text is peculiar. The thought seems
to be that Elijah’s work will be to turn (i.e., convert) parents
to a humble, childlike condition, and, after making them
teachable as little children, to turn their hearts from error,
sin and unfaithfulness, and lead them back into harmony
with their “fathers”—a name given by Hebrews to their
faithful patriarchs and prophets.
Malachi’s prophecy, the last message sent by Jehovah to
Israel, seems to have deeply impressed them—especially the
last two chapters, which particularly refer to Messiah’s
coming, and to the special trials which the day of the Lord’s
presence would bring with it. (See Mal. 3:1-3, 13-18; 4:1-6.)
Gathering from this that the testing would be peculiar, they
took comfort from the last verses quoted above, which

249
250 The Time is at Hand

promised that Elijah the prophet, who had once converted

the entire nation from the worship of Baal back to the
worship of God, would come again to prepare them, before
this severe testing time which Messiah’s coming would
bring.
This prophecy was not fulfilled at the first advent of our
Lord—neither the portion which relates to Messiah nor
that which refers to Elijah. The reference of the prophecy
is evidently to the second advent; to the coming of the
“Messenger of the Covenant” in glory and power; and to
the testing and great trouble of the Day of the Lord at that
time. However, Christ’s presentation to typical Israel, and
the great trouble which came upon them as a nation when
they rejected him, was, as God had foreseen and intended,
another shadow which further illustrated in many particu-
lars the things presented in this prophecy. John the
Immerser, in the spirit of Elijah, did a work for Israel
similar to that of the Elijah promised, but failed of success;
and, as a result, trouble (a curse) upon that nation fol-
lowed. The real Elijah referred to by the prophet was to do
a great work for the whole “earth,” to prepare all mankind
for the second advent; and he will for a time also fail of
success, and as a result the great time of trouble (the curse)
will smite the whole earth.
The coming of Elijah mentioned by the prophet is “before”
this “great and dreadful Day of Jehovah.”* And since, as we
have just shown, the great Day of Jehovah began in A.D.
1874, will continue forty years, and will end with the
expiration of Gentile Times in the complete overthrow of
worldly and Satanic dominion in the earth, and the full
investiture of Immanuel—Christ Jesus and his saints—with
all power and dominion, it is important for us to show here

* See Vol. I, Chapter xv.

 Elias Shall First Come 251

that Elijah has come. He has failed to turn the hearts of the
world to childlikeness and to the [true] wisdom of the just;
and therefore the great time of trouble comes, as God
foresaw and foretold. In it, God will teach mankind by
severe and bitter experiences lessons they need to learn
thoroughly, to prepare them to gratefully accept the
Christ—Jehovah’s Messenger of the New Covenant—with
all the just arrangements, laws, etc., of that covenant.
At the first advent, as we have just seen, many of God’s
promises and plans were carried out on a small scale with
one nation, Israel, as an illustration of the greater, grander
realities to be accomplished at Christ’s second coming.
And as the miracles, cures, etc., represented the greater
works of the Millennial age, and our Lord’s riding on the
ass as King represented his assuming the greater power,
majesty and honor at the second advent as King of kings
and Lord of lords, so “the man Christ Jesus” and his little
band of disciples represented the Lord of Glory highly
exalted, associated with the saints, his bride and coheirs,
at the second advent. And thus John the Baptist and his
disciples engaged in the same work with and under him,
in attempting to convert Israel and to prepare them to
receive Messiah, represented the real Elijah (the true
Christian church), whose work has been to attempt the
conversion of the world before the coming of Messiah to
the world—the spiritual Lord of glory and King of kings.
John the Immerser, in the spirit and power of Elijah, failed
to reform Israel, and, as a consequence (Matt. 17:12),
Israel rejected Jesus in the flesh, and brought upon
themselves a great “day of vengeance,” trouble and wrath.
(Luke 21:22) So, likewise, only on the larger scale, the real
and greater Elijah has failed to convert and prepare the
world to receive the King of Glory, and now, conse-
quently, the great day of wrath must come upon the world,
252 The Time is at Hand

to melt and mellow and humble and prepare all to cry out
from the heart—Hosannah! Blessed is he that cometh in
the name of Jehovah!
It is thus seen that the Church in the flesh (the Christ in
the flesh, Head and body) is the Elijah or forerunner of the
Church in glory, Jehovah’s Anointed. Not the nominal
church, but the really consecrated Church, which on the
other side of the tomb will be the great Anointed Deliverer
—these constitute the Elijah. Their mission is to reprove
error and sin, and to point to the coming Kingdom of glory.
Our Lord Jesus and the apostles, and all the faithful in Christ
Jesus since, are of this great antitypical Elijah, prophet or
teacher—the same class (Head and body) which shall
shortly compose the King of Glory. The work in which the
Church is now engaged is merely preliminary to its future
work, so far as the reforming of the world is concerned. In
its kingly office the Church shall accomplish for the world
what it fails to do as the Elijah teacher.
Let us not be misunderstood: We have heretofore shown
that God’s plan does not extend to the converting of the
world during the Gospel age. He did not intend it to do so,
but merely designed the selection and trial of the Church
now, and the blessing of the world through the Church, the
Christ, in an age to follow this. We do not contradict this
when we say that the Elijah (Christ in the flesh) has tried to
convert the world and failed, except in bringing about partial
reforms; for though God knew and foretold that our mission
to the world would be largely a failure, except in selecting a
choice little flock, yet, knowing that the effort would react
favorably upon ourselves, his commission to us through our
Lord was to try to convert the world, when he said, “Go ye
into all the world and preach the good tidings to every
creature.” Seeing that he foretold our present failure, but our
future success, when he shall glorify and endue us with
 Elias Shall First Come 253

divine power, we are enabled to rejoice even while viewing

the comparative failure of the past eighteen centuries,
realizing that the labor of the true Elijah class has not been
in vain, but has served the divine purpose in developing the
true Church while bearing witness before the world—which
will profit it in due time.
John the Baptist was not actually Elijah returned to earth,
neither is the Church; but as it was true of John, that he did
an Elijah work to Israel (Luke 1:17) to prepare them, and
introduced the Lord in the flesh, so it is true of the
Church—it does the predicted Elijah work “in the spirit and
power of Elijah” to the world, and announces our Lord’s
second advent in almost the same words which John used
at the first advent: “There standeth one among you whom
ye know not; He it is who, coming after me, is superior to
me.” John 1:26, 27
All could not receive John’s testimony nor realize that he
was forerunner to the King in the flesh. Had they done so,
they would have been prepared thereby to receive Jesus as
their Messiah. To as many of them as could and did accept
John’s message and receive Christ, to these John did do the
Elijah work. As our Lord said to them of John (Matt. 11:14),
“If ye will receive it, this is the Elias which was to come;”
though John and his work did not complete the prediction
concerning Elijah, even as our Lord in the flesh did not fulfil
all that was predicted of Messiah. He was, to all who could
receive it, Jehovah’s Anointed, even before he had finished
his work of sacrifice, or had been glorified, or had come
again in the exercise of the great office of Messiah or
Deliverer. John, at the first advent, was really a finishing out,
in a measure, of the type begun in the person and work of
Elijah; and John’s work at the first advent foreshadowed the
closing work of the Church at the second advent. These, the
feet of Christ in the flesh—the feet of Elijah—announce the
254 The Time is at Hand

Kingdom. (Isa. 52:7) To those who “can receive it” we

announce, as at hand, the reign of the Christ glorified; and
likewise to those who “can receive it” we have pointed out the
foretold antitypical Elijah. Some, probably, will not “receive
it,” but will still look for some one man to fulfil Malachi’s
predictions, and will “know not the time of their visitation”
until the great day of trouble is burning as an oven.
It will be seen, then, that the failure of the Elijah (the
Christ in the flesh) to convert and restore the world was as
much a foreseen result as was John’s failure to convert
Israel. Nevertheless it will be the same Elijah class, only
glorified and empowered, which will during the Millennial
age bless and teach the world and restore all things, as
promised by the mouth of all the holy prophets (Acts
3:19-21); only in the name and likeness the Elijah type
ceases with our earthly career. In harmony with this were
our Lord’s words in reply to his disciples who asked, “Why
then say the scribes that Elijah must first come?” Our Lord’s
answer does not attempt a full explanation of Elijah’s being
a type and John a continuation of the same while at the
same time a shadowy fulfilment of it, etc.—things which the
disciples were not then prepared to understand, and which
moreover were not then due to be understood; and hence,
while pointing out John’s failure as a partial fulfilment of
the prophecy, our Lord adds, “Elijah truly shall* come, and
restore all things.” (Matt. 17:11) Evidently he had in mind
his own glorious work of the coming age, associated with
his glorified “body” which the Gospel age would select and
test. He was looking beyond the veil to the Millennial age,
and seeing the Elijah class caught up in the chariots of fire
in power and great glory—spiritual exaltation.

* Oldest Manuscripts omit first.

 Elias Shall First Come 255

A woman is the figure used when the Church alone is

referred to, separate from her Lord and Head. Separate and
distinct from her Lord, the Bridegroom, she is an espoused
virgin. But in this instance a man, Elijah, is the figure used,
because the work prefigured is not the work of the Church
separate from her Lord, but the one work of both. Our Lord
was the Head and Forerunner of the Church in the flesh
(the Elijah), as truly as he is Head of the Church trium-
phant—the Christ. Other instances in which a man is the
figure used, when a joint work of Christ Jesus and his body,
the Church, is typified, are numerous: for instance, Aaron
and all his successors in the office of Chief Priest repre-
sented the Lord and the under-priests, members of his body;
Melchisedec similarly represented the whole body in glory;
so did Moses, David and Solomon. Hence the use of Elijah
as a figure, in representing a united work of Christ and the
Church, is in harmony with the Scripture usage.
In view of the class which Elijah represented, how forcibly
eloquent was that “vision” which the Lord showed to the
three disciples on the mount of transfiguration. (Matt.
17:1-9) It was a vision of the coming Kingdom, Peter tells
us. (2 Pet. 1:16-18) Our Lord, transfigured, appeared
radiant before their eyes, while a figure of Moses repre-
sented the Mosaic or Law Dispensation and a figure of Elijah
represented the Gospel or Christian Dispensation. Both
dispensations look toward and point out and speak of the
sacrifice and sufferings of Christ and the glory to follow.
Before leaving this subject we will point out some features
and incidents in the life of the Prophet Elijah, the type,
comparing them with the history of the Church, the
antitypical Elijah, which will certainly astonish all who have
not noticed them heretofore. That the comparison may be
readily seen, we will place these in parallel columns.
256 The Time is at Hand

ELIJAH THE CHURCH

———— —————
Elijah was persecuted for fidelity to The Church was persecuted for
truth and righteousness. fidelity to truth and righteousness.
————— —————
His principal persecutor was The principal persecutor was the
Jezebel, the wicked queen of Israel, apostate Church of Rome, which
who is mentioned by name as the type claims to be a “queen” and ruler over
of the enemy of the saints. Rev. 2:20 spiritual Israel. Rev. 18:7
————— —————
Jezebel’s persecuting power was Papacy’s persecuting power was
exercised through her husband, Ahab, exercised through the Roman Empire,
the king. to which she was joined.
————— —————
Elijah fled from Jezebel and The true Church fled into the
Ahab, into the wilderness, to a place symbolic wilderness—or condition of
prepared of God, where he was isolation—to her place, prepared of
miraculously nourished. 1 Kings God, where she was sustained. Rev.
17:5-9 12:6, 16
————— —————
Elijah was “three years and six The Church was three and a half
months” in the wilderness, and during symbolic years (a day for a year—
that time there was no rain, and a 1260 literal years) in the wilderness
great famine was in the land. James condition, during which there was a
5:17; 1 Kings 17:7; 18:2 spiritual famine because of the lack of
truth—the living water. Comp. Rev.
12:6; 11:3; Amos 8:11.
————— —————
After the three and a half years, At the end of the 1260 years the
1260 days, when Elijah returned from power of the truth and its witnesses
the wilderness, the errors of Jezebel’s was manifested (A.D. 1799); and
priests were manifested, the true God since then the truth has flowed at the
was honored, and copious rains fol- rate of millions of Bibles every year,
lowed. 1 Kings 18:41-45 refreshing the world and bringing
forth fruit.
————— —————
The king and the people at first The Bible has brought such bless-
rejoiced, and Elijah and his God were ings that the empires of earth recog-
honored; but the spirit of Jezebel was nize the Lord’s hand; yet the princi-
unchanged. She still sought Elijah’s ples of Papacy—Jezebel—in so-called
life, and he was again compelled to Protestant sects compel the saints
flee into the wilderness. 1 Kings again to flee into the wilderness con-
18:40, 45, 46; 19:1-4 dition.
————— —————
Elijah’s career ended by his being The saints will be changed from
taken from the earth. earthly to heavenly conditions.
 Elias Shall First Come 257

These are striking coincidences, and are not accidental.

And the fact that Elijah was to come before the great day,
and that now we have found in the Church the antitypical
Elijah to whom Malachi the prophet referred and whom
John the Baptist further typified, should be esteemed
another evidence that the time is at hand—that the great
Day of the Lord has come. But, beyond this, there are in this
type suggestions, supported by other scriptures, designed to
guide and to prepare the saints to act well their part, and to
strengthen and sustain them in the stormy day just upon us.
We have no desire to draw before the mind a dark picture:
we would prefer to think of and point out the glory to follow
the great day of wrath, and the joys of the incoming Millen-
nial Day, rather than the afflictions and discouragements of
the nearer future which precedes full sunrise. But it is
necessary that the saints should be at least in some measure
forewarned of impending events, that when such come to
pass they may not be alarmed or disheartened, but being
forearmed may know how to meet them; and also that they
may more fully appreciate the blessings of the present, so as
diligently to “work while it is called day; for the night [a
much darker time in comparison with the present, called
day] cometh, wherein no man CAN WORK.”
The present little season, before the storm-cloud bursts
upon the world, is a most favorable time for the work of the
Elijah class, and corresponds to the successful days of both
Elijah and John. It is favorable for personal growth in grace
and knowledge, and also for the spread of the truth—the
most favorable time that has ever been known. How the
early truth-seekers, the Bereans, for instance, would have
rejoiced at such students’ helps as we now possess, in the
way of complete and printed Reference Bibles, Concor-
dances, Histories, Cyclopedias, Dictionaries and other
valuable works of reference, at prices within the reach of all,
258 The Time is at Hand

and accessible to all without price in the public libraries of

even moderate-sized towns; and in addition to all these, the
increasing light of the dawning Millennial day, and the
ability of all classes to read and think intelligently for them-
selves. With such helps more can be learned of God’s Word
and plan in a day than it was possible to learn in a year in less
favored times. Nor has there ever been a time so favorable
for Christian effort, or so spurring to Christian zeal and
activity, as this time of the glorious harvest message of the
Lord’s presence and the glad tidings of the approaching
kingdom.
If we would travel from place to place, to meet with
believers, we can do as much traveling in a week as Paul
could do in a month or more, and with much more comfort.
If we would preach by voice, we can do so with none to
molest or make us afraid; and we live at a time when the
masses of the people can read and write, which only the very
few could do in times past, and when the printed gospel is
cheap, convenient, and often more effective than oral
sermons. The willing heart can do far more thus than Aquila
and Priscilla could do in their way and time with the same
amount of effort. We can preach with both the printed and
the written page through the agency of the wonderful mail
systems of our day, to friends and strangers the world over,
and at almost no cost.
But the Apostle, referring to the nominal Church in the
last days, asserts that “the time will come when they will not
endure sound doctrine.” (2 Tim. 4:3) While this is true now,
in the same sense that it has been true for centuries, it is to
have a more forcible and clear fulfilment future. It is true
now that the Church nominal will not endure preachers who
ignore their creeds and “preach the Word,” the “whole
counsel [plan] of God;” but having “itching ears” they love
human speculations on evolution, and philosophies falsely
 Elias Shall First Come 259

so-called, rather than the Word of God. And yet, because

they cannot hinder it, they endure the sound doctrine to
some extent—to an extent far beyond what Rome in her
palmy days would have endured.
Just before the words we have here cited, the Apostle
refers directly to the perilous times of the last days of this
age (2 Tim. 3:1-13), pointing out its high-minded, plea-
sure-loving and good-despising characteristics, with its
formalism, covetousness, pride and unthankfulness; and he
declares that (in the Church) evil men and leaders-astray
(from the truth) shall grow worse and worse, deceiving
others, and being deceived themselves by their sophistries.
And since the Apostle was thinking and writing specially
about the last days, and not about the middle ages, we are
surely justified in querying whether a time may not be but
a short distance before us, in these “last days,” when sound
doctrine will not be endured or permitted to any degree.
While it is true now, to a large extent, that none are
permitted to buy or sell [trade in the truth] in the common
marts or synagogues, except those who have the mark of the
beast or the number of his name (Rev. 13:17), yet the fully
consecrated have learned that magnificent temples of
fashion, called churches, are no more necessary to the
preaching of the gospel now than they were in the days of
the apostles, and that grand organs and trained choirs are
not necessary accompaniments to attract the attention of the
people; for now, as in the early days, the common people
hear the gospel gladly on the street corners, in the market
places, through the mails and from the printed page. The
question is, May not this statement of the Revelator mean
still more than is at present experienced? and, like the
Apostle Paul’s statement, may it not imply that a time will
come, in the last days, when sound doctrine will not be
endured at all? May not ours in this respect correspond
260 The Time is at Hand

somewhat to the experience of John the Baptist (the type),

who was shut up in prison? In other words, What may we
expect between the present comparatively favorable time
—though it is not without its difficulties—and the coming
blessed time of unhindered righteousness? Will it continue
to be as favorable as the present for labor in the vine-
yard—or more so, or less so? Let us notice what these types
indicate; for since our Lord has directed our attention to
them, whatever we find in the life and experience of either
Elijah or John which seems to fit well to the experience of
the Church, and to the testimony regarding her future
earthly course, we are justified in recognizing as typical.
Elijah was separated from earthly scenes by a chariot of
fire, representative of the spiritual glory and exaltation
awaiting, at the end of the earthly racecourse, those of the
Church alive and remaining to the last days. But we should
also remember that it was by a whirlwind or storm that he
was taken away; and a storm is the symbol of trouble, as
much as the fiery chariot is a figure of victory and glorious
escape from that trouble.
John the Baptist’s closing experiences are still more clearly
marked by the trouble feature. Though he was not obeyed
by the people (Matt. 17:12), they for a short time recog-
nized him as a servant and prophet of God (John 5:35); yet
when he had announced the presence of Messiah his
influence soon began to wane, as he had testified it would
do, saying of Christ, “He must increase, but I must de-
crease.” So it must be in the end of this age: the work of the
John class (the Elijah class) closes with the announcement
that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, and that the King
is present. This is now being done; and the exact words of
John’s testimony apply with equal force at this time of the
Lord’s second advent: “There standeth one among you
[present] whom ye know not,” “whose fan is in his hand,
 Elias Shall First Come 261

and he will thoroughly purge [cleanse] his [threshing] floor,

and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the
chaff with unquenchable fire”—the great time of trouble.
John 1:26; Matt. 3:12
As John decreased—his special work being accomplished
when his message was delivered—so the Church in the flesh
must decrease when its last message is given, until the last
member has laid down his consecrated life, and passed
beyond the veil into “glory,” thenceforth to be a member of
the glorious, reigning Christ. As John said that Jesus must
increase, so now that the real kingdom is about to be
established we can confidently say that the King is present,
and that his kingdom must increase until it fills the earth.
And John’s announcement of the “harvest” work—the
gathering of the wheat, and the trouble coming upon the
chaff—also finds its parallel in the present time.
John’s liberty was restrained soon after the delivery of his
message, announcing the present One and the work before
him; and he was cast into prison because he had reproved
the king of improper union with a woman (Matt. 14:4). And
though the faithful children of God have often pointed out
that union between the Church and the civil power is out of
order, being in the Scriptures termed harlotry (Rev. 17:5),
and though in a great measure the world has withdrawn
from the churches, the union still exists, and the Scriptures
seem to point out that, in the time of trouble approaching,
the nominal churches, professedly virgins of Christ, will be
on the side of the kings of the earth, and united to them; and
the true Church, like its type, John the Baptist, will be
unpopular and restrained of liberty, because of faithfulness
in opposing and condemning error.
In John’s case as well as in Elijah’s it was a woman that
persecuted—a king acting as her agent and tool: with the
true Church it has been in the past that which these sym-
262 The Time is at Hand

bolize, and doubtless will be so in the future—the nominal

church represented by a woman and civil government by a
king. Not only does prophecy point out a closer union
between these than at present exists, but any close observer
can see that the principal lever by which the royal aristocracy
rules the masses is the superstition that God appointed these
“great men,” though often both weak and vicious, to rule
over them; and that to rebel against tyranny and injustice,
and to claim justice, liberty and equal rights, is to oppose
God’s will. Hence the tendency of governments and
churches is toward open or secret union for their mutual
welfare in the coming storm.
Not only so, but the coming struggle between the aristoc-
racy and the masses of every civilized land will be so
peculiar, so unlike any former experience, that moderate,
conservative, religiously-inclined people, fearing the utter
wreck of society in chaos and anarchy, will naturally prefer
monarchy, oppression and bondage to anything certain to
be worse. Hence such will affiliate with church and empire,
with wealth and aristocracy, in the general effort to repress
and prevent that irrepressible conflict—“The battle of the
great day of God Almighty.”
Eventually, probably the only exceptions to this course,
among the lovers of peace and true religion, will be those to
whom the King of kings is pleased, through his Word, to
reveal his plans (John 16:13), and who have full confidence
in his wisdom and love, as well as in his power to make all
things work out according to his promises. Only such,
among the conservative, order-loving people, as see the part
which the coming social revolution must play in God’s plan,
in removing effete systems whose day is past, and in
preparing the world, by a great leveling process, for the
Millennial reign of righteousness, will be able to compre-
hend the situation and to act accordingly. But these will be
 Elias Shall First Come 263

misunderstood, and their endeavors to point out the true

state of the case, and the real and only remedy, will probably
be interfered with by those who do not see the grand
outcome, and who, because unwilling to submit their own
wills, ideas and plans, are unable to see God’s plans. When
repressive, restrictive and coercive measures are thought to
be necessary, such measures will probably include not only
labor organizations and the publications which advocate
their rights and wrongs, but also such others as point out the
plan of God, and the real cause and only remedy for the
great distress of the nations. Yes, the time is probably not
many years distant, when repressive measures may be
brought to bear against every effort of the saints to spread
the good news of the coming kingdom, all on the plea that
the general interests and the public welfare demand such a
course.
Thus would be fulfilled the predictions of the Second
Psalm, and probably in the end with more bitterness than
can now well be imagined, though it has been partially
fulfilled already upon the Head of the body. Acts 4:25-29
The same necessity for restricting liberty on political and
social questions will probably be supposed to apply equally
to freedom of expression on religious questions, which really
lie at the foundation of all liberty. It would not be surprising
if a “strong government,” a monarchy, would some day
replace this present Great Republic; and it is entirely
probable that one common standard of religious belief will
be deemed expedient and will be promulgated, to teach
outside of which will be treated and punished as a political
offense. Such a persecution would not only furnish, in the
end or harvest of this age, another parallel to the harvest of
the Jewish age (Acts 4:10-13, 23-30; 5:29-41; 11:19), but
would also give a wider and deeper significance to the words
of the Apostles Paul and John (2 Tim. 4:3; Rev. 13:17),
264 The Time is at Hand

and to the typical illustrations of the close of the earthly

career of the true Church, as represented in Elijah’s whirl-
wind departure and John the Baptist’s imprisonment and
beheading.
Two lessons we may draw from this to advantage, whether
future developments shall prove that we have read the
prophetic testimony correctly or incorrectly; and they are
these: First, we should be so prepared, so armed and so
thoroughly furnished with the invincible truth, that persecu-
tion would move us only to greater zeal, and not lead us
through surprise or fear to lower our standard, nor to
surrender when the kings of the earth stand up, and, with
the religious rulers of the people, are gathered against us,
and against the truths to which God has granted us the
privilege of witnessing, as his servants and ambassadors.
(1 John 3:1) Second, such reflections relative to the future,
contrasted with the privileges of the present, should serve
to stimulate every consecrated child of God to make diligent
use of the present grand harvest opportunities and privi-
leges, remembering that “he that reapeth receiveth wages,”
as truly as he that planted and watered, and that now is
pre-eminently a time for gathering fruit unto eternal life. The
little quiet of the present favorable time, with its greater
liberties and advantages in every way, is divinely arranged
in order to the sealing of the true servants of God in their
foreheads (intellectually, with the truth). Rev. 7:3
“Let the ‘little while’ between
In its golden light be seen.”
The Master saith: “Work while it is called day; for the
night cometh, when no man can work.” “Labor not for the
meat that perisheth, but for that which endureth unto
everlasting life.”
So, then, in the present due time, we see that Elijah the
prophet came, as foretold, before the great and notable day
 Elias Shall First Come 265

of the Lord. And we hear his closing testimony, like that of

John, saying, “There standeth one among you whom ye
know not”—whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly
cleanse his threshing-floor: he will gather his wheat into the
garner, and burn up the tares [as tares—not as men] with
unquenchable fire in the great time of trouble—the curse,
which must needs come to prepare the way of the Great
King of kings. He must increase, but the Elijah must
decrease and finally be entirely restrained. Not only do we
hear this testimony from a few of the Elijah class now, but
every one who is of the Elijah class will ere long be found
proclaiming this message and engaging in the Elijah work.
Such only as are thus faithful will be of the glorified Elijah,
and permitted to share in the work of restitution of all things
which, during the Millennium, will be a grand success. A
depth of significance is found in the meaning of the name
Elijah. It signifies God [mighty-one] of Jehovah. It is thus a
fitting name for the Lord’s Anointed, whose grand work will
be to restore all things which God hath spoken by the mouth
of all his holy prophets since the world began.
Concluding this subject, we notice briefly the fact that in
the close of the Prophet Elijah’s career he called Elisha,
who, after sacrificing, left all and followed with Elijah, and
became his successor as prophet when Elijah was taken
away in the whirlwind—receiving his mantle of authority
and a large degree of his spirit and power. (2 Kings 2:9-16)
And since Elijah represented the Body of Christ in the
flesh—the overcoming Church, a company, a number—it
is but reasonable that we should conclude that Elisha
represented a class also; a class which will come into deep
sympathy with the Elijah class, and follow the Lord’s
leading with it; and yet a class which will not be expecting
to be glorified. These will be separated, by the “whirlwind”
of trouble, from the Elijah class, yet nevertheless will retain
266 The Time is at Hand

an interest and will receive a blessing. After Elijah was gone,

Elisha became bold and powerful, so that the theologians
of that day (“sons of the prophets”) said, The spirit of
Elijah rests upon Elisha now!
The meaning of the name Elisha is mighty deliverer, and
the career of Elisha was one of restitution work. This
doubtless foreshadows a work by a class which in the future
will be the active agents among men in carrying on the
restitution work in the power of the then glorified Church.
Among other wonderful works, Elisha healed the waters, so
that there should not be thence any more death or barren
land; he increased the poor widow’s oil to cancel her debt;
he raised the Shunamite’s son to life; and when there was
famine in the land, and the mess of pottage for the theolo-
gians (“sons of the prophets”) was found to be poisoned, so
that none could eat of it, Elisha healed it and made it
wholesome for food. He caused bread sufficient for only a
few to more than supply a large number. He healed the
leprosy of Naaman. He was also God’s agent in the anoint-
ing of Jehu, at whose hands, according to the word of the
Lord by Elijah, the royal family of Ahab, including Jezebel,
was entirely cut off, and all her priests as well. 2 Kings
2:19-22; 4:1-7, 18-44; 5:1-10; 9:1-37; 10:28
It is not difficult to trace in these works of Elisha what
bears a close resemblance to the very restitution work which
may be expected ere long, when the waters of truth shall no
longer be brackish with error, being healed at the very spring
by a clearer understanding of the Word of God; when the
poor shall be helped to secure the oil of joy for the spirit of
heaviness; when the dead shall be restored; when in the
famine the food (truth) shall be made wholesome and
plentiful; and when the powers and systems represented by
Ahab and Jezebel, and all who unite with them against the
Lord, shall be fully and finally overthrown.
 STUDY IX

THE MAN OF SIN—ANTICHRIST

ANTICHRIST MUST BE DEVELOPED, REVEALED AND SMITTEN BEFORE THE DAY OF

THE LORD—A CONTRARY VIEW OF THIS SUBJECT CONSIDERED—PROPHETIC
DELINEATION—ANTICHRIST’S BIRTH—HIS RAPID DEVELOPMENT—THE
HISTORIC PICTURE AND THE BIBLE DESCRIPTION AGREE—HIS KINGDOM A
COUNTERFEIT—HIS HEAD AND MOUTH NOTABLE—HIS GREAT SWELLING
WORDS OF BLASPHEMY—HIS BLASPHEMOUS TEACHINGS—HIS WEARING OUT
OF THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH—HIS MILLENNIAL REIGN—ANTICHRIST
SMITTEN WITH THE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT—HIS FINAL STRUGGLE AND END.

“Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not
come, except there come a falling away first, and that Man of Sin
be revealed, the Son of Perdition.” 2 Thess. 2:3

I N VIEW of these pointed words of the Apostle Paul,

showing that a character which he designates “The Man
of Sin” must precede the coming of the Day of the Lord,
which we have proved has already begun to dawn, it is
important that we look about, to see if such a character has
yet appeared. For if such a character as Paul and the other
apostles so carefully describe has not yet come, the above
words should be understood as Paul’s veto to all the other
testimony concerning the Lord’s presence and the setting
up of his Kingdom now. And that veto must stand as an
unanswerable argument until this Man of Sin shall be
recognized, corresponding in every particular to the
prophetic description.
It is clearly stated, not only that this Man of Sin must
first rise, but that he must develop and prosper, before the

267
268 The Time is at Hand

Day of the Lord comes. Before Christ’s day the prosperity

and influence of this power will have reached their climax
and will be on the decline; and it is to be by the bright
shining of the Lord’s presence at his second advent that this
Man of Sin shall be utterly destroyed. These foretold
circumstances we must observe, in order to see whether
this caution to the Church in Paul’s day is still applicable
in our day. Now, after eighteen centuries, the claim is again
made that the day of Christ has come; and the important
question arises, Does anything which Paul said in correct-
ing the error of the Thessalonians stand as an objection to
this claim now?
From the Apostle’s exhortations to the Church, to watch
for the Lord’s return, taking heed to the sure word of
prophecy, and from his care in pointing out the signs of
Christ’s presence, the character of his work at that time, etc.,
it is evident that he was quite as anxious that the Church
should be able to recognize the Lord’s presence when he
should come, as that they should not be deceived into the
error that he had come, before the time of his presence. A
fall into the latter error, in the early part of the age, exposed
those who embraced it to the deceptions of the Antichrist
principle which was even then working; while a failure to
recognize the Day of the Lord, and his presence in the day
when his presence is due, exposes those failing to recognize
him to the continued deceptions and false doctrines of
Antichrist, and blinds them to the grand truths and special
privileges of this day. Hence the Apostle’s anxiety for the
Church at both ends of the age, and his warning—“Let no
man deceive you by any means.” Hence also the exact
description of the Man of Sin, in order that he might be
recognized in his time.
While Christians in this end of the age are inclined to
forget even the promise of the Lord’s return, and, when they
 The Man of Sin 269

do remember it, to think of it only with dread and fearful

forebodings, the early Church looked for it anxiously, and
with joyful anticipation, as the fruition of all its hopes, the
reward of all its faithfulness and the end of all its sorrows.
Consequently, the believers of that day were ready to
hearken diligently to any teaching which claimed that the
Day of the Lord was either very near or present; and hence
they were in danger of being deceived on this point unless
they were careful students of the teachings of the apostles
on the subject.
The Church at Thessalonica, impressed with the errone-
ous teachings of some, to the effect that the Lord had come
again, and that they were living in his day, evidently
supposed that the idea was in harmony with Paul’s teaching
in his first epistle to them, wherein he said (1 Thess. 5:1-5)
that the Day of the Lord would steal on quietly and un-
observedly, as a thief in the night, and that, though others
would be in it unawares, the saints would be in the light
concerning it. Learning of the serious error into which they
had fallen, of supposing the day of the Lord’s presence to
have already come, Paul wrote them a second epistle, the
central thought of which was the correction of this error. He
says: “Now we beseech you, brethren, concerning the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together
unto him, that ye be not readily agitated in mind nor
troubled; neither by spirit, neither by word, neither by letter
as from us, as though the Day of the Lord [enestemi] is
present. Let no man delude you, by any means; because the
falling away [apostasy] must first come, and there must be
revealed that Man of Sin, the Son of Destruction, the
Opposer, exalting himself above all, being called a god
[mighty ruler] or that receives homage—so as to seat
himself in the Temple of God, openly displaying himself
that he is a god. Remember ye not that while I was yet with
270 The Time is at Hand

you I told you these things? And now ye know what inter-
poses, in order that he [Christ] may be revealed in his own
[due] season. But insubordination [to Christ] is already
working, only as a secret thing, until the now hindering one
shall be out of the way; and then shall that insubordinate one
be revealed, whom the Lord shall kill with the spirit of his
mouth and annihilate by the bright shining of his [parousia]
presence.” Paul could write thus positively of the develop-
ment of the Man of Sin before the Day of the Lord, because
of his study of Daniel’s prophecy, to which our Lord also
referred (Matt. 24:15); and probably because Paul himself,
in his “visions and revelations,” had been shown the great
havoc which this character would work in the Church.
It should be observed that Paul did not use arguments
such as some today are disposed to use against the claim that
the day of the Lord has begun. He did not say, O foolish
Thessalonians, do ye not know that when Christ comes your
eyes shall behold him, and your ears shall hear a dreadful
sound of the trump of God? and that you will have further
proof of it in the reeling tombstones and the rising saints?
Is it not evident that if such a criticism had been proper,
Paul would have been quick to avail himself of an argument
so simple and so easily grasped? And moreover, is not the
fact that he did not use this argument a proof that such an
argument is not, and could not be, founded on the truth?
From the fact that Paul, in his energetic effort to correct
their error, offered but this one objection to their claim, he
thereby evidently endorsed as correct their general ideas of
the Day of the Lord—that it could be commenced while
many might be in ignorance of it, that it could come
without outward demonstration to mark it. But the only
ground of his objection was, that there must first come a
falling away, and, in consequence of that falling away, the
development of the Man of Sin—which, whatever it may
 The Man of Sin 271

be (whether a single individual, or a great Antichrist system

which he thus personifies), must rise, flourish and begin to
decline—before the day of the Lord’s presence. So, then, if
this one objection which Paul offered be no longer in the
way—if we can clearly see a character in actual existence
whose history corresponds in every particular to the
prophetic description of the Man of Sin, from the beginning
of his existence down to the present time—then Paul’s
objection, which was well taken in his day, and his only one,
is no longer a valid objection against the present claim that
we are living in the Day of the Lord, the day of the Lord’s
presence. And, further, if the Man of Sin can be readily
distinguished, if his rise, development and decline are
clearly seen, then this fact becomes another corroborative
proof of the teaching of the preceding chapters, which show
that we are now in the Day of the Lord.
HIS PROPHETIC DELINEATION

The student of prophecy will find that the Man of Sin is

distinctly noted throughout the sacred writings, not only by
giving a clear description of his character, but also by
showing the times and places of his beginning, prosperity
and decline.
This character is very forcibly delineated even in the
names applied to it by the inspired writers. Paul calls it
“That Wicked One,” “The Man of Sin,” “The Mystery of
Iniquity,” “The Antichrist,” and “The Son of Perdition;”
the Prophet Daniel calls it “The Abomination that maketh
desolate” (Dan. 11:31; 12:11); and our Lord refers to the
same character as “The Abomination of Desolation, spoken
of by Daniel the prophet” (Matt. 24:15), and again as a
“Beast” (Rev. 13:1-8). This same character was also
prefigured by a little horn, or power, out of a terrible beast
that Daniel saw in his prophetic vision, which had eyes, and
272 The Time is at Hand

a mouth that spoke great things, and which prospered and

made war with the saints, and prevailed against them.
(Dan. 7:8, 21) John also saw and warned the Church
against this character, saying, “Ye have heard that Anti-
christ shall come.” He then advises how to escape Anti-
christ’s influence. (1 John 2:18-27) The book of Revela-
tion, too, is in large part a detailed symbolic prophecy
concerning this same Antichrist—though this we shall
merely glance at here, leaving its more particular examina-
tion for a succeeding volume.
These various appellations and brief descriptions indicate
a base, subtle, hypocritical, deceptive, tyrannical and cruel
character, developed in the midst of the Christian Church;
at first creeping in and up very gradually, then rapidly
ascending in power and influence until it reaches the very
pinnacle of earthly power, wealth and glory—meanwhile
exerting its influence against the truth, and against the
saints, and for its own aggrandizement, claiming, to the last,
peculiar sanctity and authority and power from God.
In this chapter we purpose to show that this Man of Sin
is a system, and not a single individual, as many seem to
infer; that as the Christ consists of the true Lord and the
true Church, so Antichrist is a counterfeit system consisting
of a false lord and an apostate church, which for a time is
permitted to misrepresent the truth, to practice deceit and
to counterfeit the authority and future reign of the true Lord
and his Church, and to intoxicate the nations with false
claims and assumptions.
We hope to prove, to the satisfaction of every conscien-
tious reader, that this great apostasy or falling away men-
tioned by Paul has come, and that this Man of Sin has been
developed, has sat “in the temple of God” (the real, not the
typical), has fulfilled all the predictions of the apostles and
prophets concerning his character, work, etc., has been
 The Man of Sin 273

revealed, and now, since A.D. 1799, is being consumed by

the spirit of the Lord’s mouth (the truth), and will be utterly
destroyed during this day of the Lord’s wrath and revelation
with flaming fire of retribution, already beginning.
Without any desire to treat lightly the opinions of others,
we nevertheless feel it necessary to point out to the reader
a few of the absurdities connected with the common view
concerning Antichrist, that thereby the dignity and reason-
ableness of the truth on this subject may be properly
estimated, in contrast with the narrow claim that all which
the Scriptures predict concerning this character will be
accomplished by some one literal man. This man, it is
claimed, will so charm the whole world that in a few short
years he will secure to himself the homage and worship of all
men, who will be so easily imposed upon as to suppose this
man to be God, and, in a rebuilt Jewish temple, to worship
him as the Almighty Jehovah. All this is to be done at
lightning speed—three and a half years, say they, misinter-
preting the symbolic time, even as they misinterpret the
symbolic “man.”
Tales of fiction and the most absurd imaginations of
childhood furnish no parallel to the extreme views of some
of God’s dear children who are stumbling over a literal
interpretation of Paul’s language, and thereby blinding
themselves and others to many precious truths, which,
because of error on this subject, they are unprepared to see
in an unprejudiced light. No matter how much we may
sympathize with them, their “blind faith” forces a smile as
they seriously tell over the various symbols of Revelation
which they do not understand, misapplying them literally to
their wonderful man. In this, the most skeptical age the
world has ever known, he will, they claim, in the short space
of three and a half years, have the whole world at his feet,
worshiping him as God, while the Caesars, Alexander,
274 The Time is at Hand

Napoleon, Mahomet and others sailed through bloody seas

and spent many times three and a half years, without
accomplishing the one thousandth part of what is claimed
for this man.
And yet those conquerors had all the advantages of dense
ignorance and superstition to aid them, while today we live
under conditions most unfavorable to such a development
of deceit and fraud: in a day when every hidden thing is
being manifested as never before; in a day when fraud of the
sort claimed is too preposterous and ridiculous for consider-
ation. Indeed, the tendency of our day is toward a lack of
respect for men, no matter how good, talented and able, or
what offices of trust and authority they may occupy. To such
an extent is this true, as never before, that it is a thousand
times more likely that the whole world will deny that there
is any God, than that they will ever worship a fellow human
being as the Almighty God.
One great obstacle to many, in considering this subject,
is the contracted idea generally entertained of the meaning
of the word god. They fail to note that the Greek theos (god)
does not invariably refer to Jehovah. It signifies a mighty one,
a ruler, and especially a religious or sacerdotal ruler. In the
New Testament, theos is seldom used except in referring to
Jehovah, because, in their discourses, the apostles spoke
rarely and little of the false systems of religion, and hence
seldom noticed their sacred rulers or gods; yet in the
following texts the word god (theos) is used to refer to others
than the one supreme being, Jehovah—viz.: John 10:34, 35;
Acts 7:40, 43; 17:23; 1 Cor. 8:5.
Recognizing the breadth of the Greek word theos, it will
be seen at once that the Apostle’s statement concerning
Antichrist—that he will seat himself in the temple of God,
showing himself to be a god—does not of necessity mean
that Antichrist will attempt to exalt himself above Jehovah,
 The Man of Sin 275

nor even that he will attempt to take Jehovah’s place. It

simply implies that this one will exhibit himself as a
religious ruler, claiming and exercising authority over and
above all other religious rulers, even to the extent of
exalting himself in the Church, which is the true Temple of
God, and there claiming and exercising lordly authority as
its chief or authorized ruler. Wherever in the Greek the
word theos is used in any sentence where its meaning would
be ambiguous, it then is preceded by the Greek article, if it
refers to Jehovah; as if in English we were to say the God.
In the texts above, which refer to other gods, and in this text
(2 Thess. 2:4), which refers to Antichrist, there is no such
emphasis.
With this seen clearly, a great stumbling-block is re-
moved, and the mind is prepared to look for the right things
as fulfilments of this prediction: not for an Antichrist
claiming to be Jehovah and demanding worship as such, but
for one claiming to be the chief, supreme religious teacher
in the Church; who thus attempts the usurpation of the
authority of Christ, the divinely appointed Head, Lord and
Teacher.
Strangely enough, too, they who take this literal view of
the Man of Sin are generally those who are believers in the
Lord’s premillennial coming, who are looking for and
expecting the Lord to come “at any moment now.” Why
cannot all see the Apostle’s meaning, when he positively
declares that the Day of the Lord (the Day of his presence)
cannot come and should not be expected until after the Man
of Sin has been revealed? It required over forty years to
build the former Jewish temple, and it would surely require
at least ten to twenty years to build, with more than former
magnificence, the new temple at Jerusalem, where they
expect a literal Man of Sin to be installed and worshiped as
God. Why then should those who believe thus expect the
276 The Time is at Hand

Lord to come at any moment now? Such a view is out of

harmony with reason as well as with the Apostle’s prophecy.
Consistency demands that they should either give up
looking for the Lord at any moment, or else give up their
expectation of a future Man of Sin; for the Day of the Lord’s
presence cannot come until the falling away (the apostasy)
has taken place, and until the Man of Sin has been devel-
oped and revealed out of that apostasy.
But when we get a correct view of the Apostle’s words,
together with correct ideas of the manner of the Lord’s
coming, we find no such discrepancies and contradictions,
but a convincing harmony and fitness. And such a view we
now present. Its Scripturalness the reader must prove.
The various titles applied to this system are evidently
symbolic. They do not refer as names to a single individual,
but as character delineations to a corrupt religious and civil
combination, developed within the nominal Christian
church, which, by its subtle opposition to Christ, the Head,
and his true Church, his body, well earns the name Anti-
christ. Such a system could fulfil all the predictions made
concerning the Antichrist, or Man of Sin, though an
individual could not. It is evident, moreover, that this
Antichrist system is not one of the heathen systems of
religion, such as Mohammedanism or Brahminism; for the
Christian Church has never been under the control of any
such system, nor did any of these systems originate in the
Christian Church. They now are, and always have been,
independent of the Christian Church.
The system which fully answers the description given by
inspiration must be professedly Christian, and must
contain a large majority of those who claim to be Chris-
tians. And it must be one having its start as an apostasy, or
falling away from the true Christian faith—an apostasy,
too, which was secret and stealthy, until circumstances
 The Man of Sin 277

favored its assumption of power. Its stealthy beginning was

in the days of the apostles—in the desire of some teachers
to be greatest.
We need not look long to find a character fitting all the
requirements perfectly; one whose record, written by secular
historians as well as by its own deluded servants, we shall see
agrees exactly with the prophetic delineations of Antichrist.
But when we state that the one and only system whose
history fits these prophecies is Papacy, let no one misunder-
stand us to mean that every Roman Catholic is a man of sin;
nor that the priests, nor even the popes of the Church of
Rome, are, or have been, the Antichrist. No man is “the
Antichrist,” “the Man of Sin,” described in prophecy. Popes,
bishops and others are at most only parts or members of the
Antichrist system, even as all of the Royal Priests are only
members of the true Christ, under Jesus their head, and in
the same manner that these in their present condition are
together the antitypical Elijah, though no one of them is the
Elijah or the Christ foretold. Notice, further, that the
Church of Rome as an ecclesiastical system only is not the
“Man of Sin,” and is never presented under any figure of a
man. On the contrary, a woman is always the symbol used
for a church separate from its head and lord. The true
Church is symbolized by a “chaste virgin,” while the
apostate church, which has fallen away from primitive purity
and fidelity to the Lord, is symbolically called “a harlot.” As
the true “virgin” Church continues to be such to the end of
the age, when she is to be united to her Lord and take his
name—Christ—so the apostate church was not the Anti-
christ, or Man of Sin, until she united with her lord and
head, the pope, the claimed vicegerent of Christ, and
became a religious empire, falsely styled Christendom—
which signifies Christ’s Kingdom.
278 The Time is at Hand

Papacy is the name of this false kingdom; and it was built

upon a misapplied truth—the truth that the Church is
called to be kings and priests unto God and to reign on the
earth. But the time for reigning had not yet come: the
Gospel age was not appointed for that purpose, but for the
selection, development, discipline, humiliation and sacrifice
of the Church, following in the footprints of her Lord and
patiently waiting and enduring until the time appointed for
the promised exaltation and glorious reign—the Millennial
age.
The Lord foresaw that nominal Christianity would spread
over the world, and that, becoming popular, it would be
embraced by many who would appreciate the form without
entering into the spirit of its institution. He foresaw that as
numbers of this sort would identify themselves with the
Church, the worldly spirit, which is the opposite of the
spirit of self-denial and self-sacrifice, would come in with
them; that selfishness and a desire to be great and to rule,
thus coming in, would not have long to wait until they
could seize an opportunity; and that thus the Church would
seek to dominate the world before the time—or, rather,
that the worldly element which would enter the Church
would make its influence felt, and in the name of the true
Church would grasp the civil power of earth which God had
given over to the Gentiles, and which cannot pass fully into
the hands of the true Church until the close of the Times
of the Gentiles, A.D. 1914.
And thus it actually transpired: the nominal church began
to fall away as it increased in numbers under the teaching
and example of ambitious men whose ideas grew more and
more favorable to the power and worldly influence which
numbers and wealth brought with them. Gradually the spirit
of the Church became worldly, and the things of the world
were coveted. The suggestion of ambition was—“If the great
 The Man of Sin 279

Roman Empire, with all its power and influence, its armies
and wealth, were only to support the Church, how honor-
able and noble it would then be to be a Christian! How
speedily then would heathen persecutions cease! Then it
would be in our power not only to overawe them, but to
compel their adherence to the Church and cross and name
of Christ. It evidently is not God’s design that the Church
should forever be subject to the world and persecuted by it:
the Apostle’s words, ‘Know ye not that the saints shall judge
the world?’ as well as our Lord’s promises that we shall reign
with him, and the many prophecies which refer to the reign
of the Church, indicate clearly that such is God’s plan. True,
the Apostle wrote that our Lord would first return and exalt
the Church, and exhorted that we should ‘wait’ for the Lord;
but several centuries are now past, and we see no sign of the
Lord’s coming. We must understand that the apostles were
to some extent in error. To us it seems clear that we can and
should use every means to obtain a hold upon civil govern-
ment and conquer the world for the Lord. It must be, too,
that the Church should have a head—one to represent the
absent Lord and to represent the Church before the
world—one who would receive the homage of the world,
exercise the authority of Christ, and rule the world with a
rod of iron, as the Prophet David predicted.” Thus gradually
by a slow process of reasoning covering centuries, the real
hope of the Church for exaltation to rule and bless the
world—namely, the second coming of the Lord—was lost
sight of, and a new hope took its place: the hope of success
without the Lord, under the headship and lead of a line of
popes. And thus, by collusion, intriguing and exchange of
favors with the world, the hope of the Church became a false
hope, a delusive snare by which Satan led from one evil and
error to another, both of doctrine and of practice.
280 The Time is at Hand

The point at which the apostasy developed into the “Man

of Sin” was when the Papal hierarchy exalted itself under
the headship of an arranged line of popes, and claimed and
attempted the rulership of earth in the name of, and
pretending to be, Christ’s Millennial Kingdom. It was a
false, fraudulent claim, no matter how thoroughly some of
its supporters believed it. It was a fraudulent, counterfeit
kingdom, no matter how sincere some if its organizers and
supporters may have been. It was Antichrist’s, no matter
how much they claimed and believed it to be the true
Christ’s glory and kingdom and power upon earth. It is a
mistake to suppose that to be conscientious is always to be
right. Every system of error doubtless has as many consci-
entiously deluded votaries as it has hypocrites, or more.
Conscientiousness is moral honesty, and it is not dependent
upon knowledge. The heathen, misinformed, conscien-
tiously worship and sacrifice to idols; Saul, misinformed,
conscientiously persecuted the saints; and so, too, many
papists, misinformed, conscientiously did violence to the
prophecies, persecuted the true saints and organized the
great system of Antichrist. For hundreds of years Papacy
has not only deceived the kings of the earth as to its power
and claimed divine authority, and ruled over them, but even
in the Church, God’s Temple, where Christ alone should
be recognized as Head and Teacher, it has seated itself and
claimed to be the only teacher and lawgiver; and here it has
deceived all, except the few, by its phenomenal success and
boastful claims. “All the world wondered”—were aston-
ished, deceived, bewildered—“whose names were not
written in the Lamb’s book of life,” and many whose names
are written as saints of God were seriously perplexed. And
this deception is the stronger because of the very gradual
formation of these ambitious designs and their yet more
gradual realization. It extended over centuries, and, as an
 The Man of Sin 281

ambition, was already secretly at work in Paul’s day. It was

a process of little by little adding error to error—the
supplementing of one man’s ambitious declarations by
those of another and another farther down the stream of
time. Thus, insidiously, did Satan plant and water the seeds
of error, and develop the greatest and most influential
system the world has ever known—Antichrist.
The name “Antichrist” has a twofold significance. The
first is against (i.e., in opposition to) Christ: the second
significance is instead (i.e., a counterfeit) of Christ. In the
first sense the expression is a general one, which would
apply to any enemy opposing Christ. In this sense Saul
(afterward called Paul), and every Jew, and every Moham-
medan, and all the Pagan emperors and people of Rome,
were antichrists—opposers of Christ. (Acts 9:4) But it is
not in this sense of the word that the Scriptures use the
name Antichrist. They pass over all such enemies, and apply
the term Antichrist in the sense given above, as now its
secondary meaning, viz.—as against, in the sense of
misrepresenting, counterfeiting, taking the place of the true
Christ. Thus John remarks, “Ye have heard that the Anti-
christ shall come. Even now there are many antichrists.”
(1 John 2:18, 19) [The Greek distinguishes between the
special Antichrist and the numerous lesser ones.] And
John’s subsequent remarks show that he does not refer to all
opposers of Christ and the Church, but to a certain class
who, still professing to be of the Christ body, the Church,
had left the foundation principles of the truth, and were
therefore not only misrepresenting the truth, but were, in
the eyes of the world, taking the place and name of the true
Church—hence really counterfeiting the true saints. John
says of these, “They went out from us, but they were not of
us:” they do not represent us, even though they may deceive
themselves and the world on this subject. In the same epistle
282 The Time is at Hand

John declares that those he mentions as many antichrists

have the spirit of the Antichrist.
Here, then, is what we should expect, and what we do find
in Papacy: not an opposition to the name of Christ, but an
enemy or opponent of Christ in that it falsely bears his
name, counterfeits his kingdom and authority, and misrepre-
sents his character and plans and doctrines before the
world—a most baneful enemy and opponent indeed—worse
far than an outspoken foe. And this is true, be it remem-
bered, even though some of those connected with that
system are conscientiously astray—“deceiving and being
deceived.”
With these intimations as to the identity and characteris-
tics of the Man of Sin, and when, and where, and under what
circumstances, to look for him, we shall proceed to an
examination of some of the historic evidences, proving, we
think beyond reasonable question, that every prediction
concerning the Antichrist has been fulfilled in the Papal
system, in a manner and to an extent which, with the
enlightenment of this day taken into account, all must admit
could never be repeated. Space obliges us here to confine
ourselves to a mere outline of the great mass of historic
testimony. We have also confined ourselves to historians of
recognized accuracy, in many instances going to Roman
Catholic writers for their testimony or admissions.

THE CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH GAVE BIRTH

TO THE MAN OF SIN

A GREAT FALLING AWAY. We first inquire, Does history

record a fulfilment of Paul’s prophecy of a great falling
away from the original simplicity and purity of the doc-
trines and life of the Christian Church, and of the secret
working of an iniquitous, ambitious influence in the
Church, prior to the development of Papacy, the Man of
 The Man of Sin 283

Sin—i.e., prior to the recognition of a pope as the head of

the Church?
Yes, very clearly: The Papal Hierarchy did not come into
existence for several centuries after the Lord and the
apostles had founded the Church. And of the interval
between, we read*:
“As the church grew in numbers and wealth, costly
edifices were constructed for worship; the services became
more elaborate; sculpture and painting were enlisted in the
work of providing aids to devotion. Relics of saints and
martyrs were cherished as sacred possessions; religious
observances were multiplied; and the church under the
Christian emperors [in the fourth century], with its array of
clergy and of imposing ceremonies, assumed much of the
stateliness and visible splendor that belonged to the heathen
system which it had supplanted.”
Says another,† “Contemporaneously with the establish-
ment [of Christianity as the religion of the empire in the
fourth century] was the progress of a great and general
corruption which had arisen two centuries before. Superstition
and ignorance invested the ecclesiastics with a power which
they exerted to their own aggrandizement.”
Rapin observes that, “In the fifth century Christianity was
debased by a vast number of human inventions; the simplic-
ity of its government and discipline was reduced to a system
of clerical power; and its worship was polluted with ceremo-
nies borrowed from the heathen.”
Mosheim, in his “History of Christianity,” traces the falling
away of the Church from its original simplicity and purity,
step by step, down to its deep degradation which culminated
in the development of the “Man of Sin.” Whether or not he
recognized the Antichrist does not appear, but in a masterly
way he has traced the workings of the “Mystery of Iniquity,”
* Fisher’s Universal History, page 193.
† White’s Universal History, page 156.
284 The Time is at Hand

in the Church, down to the beginning of the fourth

century—when his work was suddenly cut short by death.
From his excellent and voluminous work our space does not
here permit quotations, but we commend the work entire
as highly instructive in its bearing on the subject.
We quote, from Lord’s “Old Roman World,” a brief and
pointed sketch of the Church’s history during the first four
centuries, which shows clearly and concisely its gradual
decline, and its rapid degeneracy after the hindrance
referred to by the Apostle was removed. He says:
“In the First Century not many wise or noble were called.
No great names have been handed down to us; no philoso-
phers, or statesmen, or nobles, or generals, or governors, or
judges, or magistrates. In the first century the Christians
were not of sufficient importance to be generally persecuted
by the government. They had not even arrested public
attention. Nobody wrote against them, not even Greek
philosophers. We do not read of protests or apologies from
the Christians themselves. They had no great men in their
ranks, either for learning, or talents, or wealth, or social
position. Nothing in history is more barren than the annals
of the Church in the first century, so far as great names are
concerned. Yet in this century converts were multiplied in
every city, and traditions point to the martyrdoms of those
who were prominent, including nearly all of the apostles.
“In the Second Century there are no greater names than
Polycarp, Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Clement, Melito and
Apollonius, quiet bishops or intrepid martyrs, who ad-
dressed their flocks in upper chambers, and who held no
worldly rank, famous only for their sanctity or simplicity of
character, and only mentioned for their sufferings and faith.
We read of martyrs, some of whom wrote valuable treatises
and apologies; but among them we find no people of rank.
It was a disgrace to be a Christian in the eye of fashion or
power. The early Christian literature is chiefly apologetic,
and the doctrinal character is simple and practical. There
were controversies in the Church, an intense religious life,
great activities, great virtues, but no outward conflicts, no
 The Man of Sin 285

secular history. They had not as yet assailed the government

or the great social institutions of the empire. It was a small
body of pure and blameless men, who did not aspire to
control society. But they had attracted the notice of the
government and were of sufficient consequence to be
persecuted. They were looked upon as fanatics who sought
to destroy a reverence for existing institutions.”
[ORGANIZED FOR POWER]
“In this century the polity of the Church was quietly
organized. There was an organized fellowship among the
members; bishops had become influential, not in society, but
among the Christians; dioceses and parishes were estab-
lished; there was a distinction between city and rural
bishops; delegates of churches assembled to discuss points
of faith or suppress nascent heresies; the diocesan system was
developed, and ecclesiastical centralization commenced;
deacons began to be reckoned among the higher clergy; the
weapons of excommunication were forged; missionary efforts
were carried on; the festivals of the church were created;
Gnosticism was embraced by many leading minds; cate-
chetical schools taught the faith systematically; the formulas
of baptism and the sacraments became of great importance;
and monachism became popular. The Church was thus
laying the foundation of its future polity and power.
“The Third Century saw the Church more powerful as an
institution. Regular synods had assembled in the great cities
of the empire; the metropolitan system was matured; the
canons of the Church were definitely enumerated; great
schools of theology attracted inquiring minds; the doctrines
were systematized [i.e., defined, limited, and formulated into
creeds and confessions of faith]. Christianity had spread so
extensively that it must needs be either persecuted or
legalized; great bishops ruled the growing church; great
doctors [of divinity] speculated on the questions [philoso-
phy and science falsely so called] which had agitated the
Grecian schools; church edifices were enlarged, and
banquets instituted in honor of the martyrs. The Church
was rapidly advancing to a position which extorted the
attention of mankind.
286 The Time is at Hand

“It was not till the Fourth Century—when imperial

persecution had stopped; when [the Roman Emperor]
Constantine was converted; when the Church was allied with
the State; when the early faith was itself corrupted; when
superstition and vain philosophy had entered the ranks of
the faithful; when bishops became courtiers; when churches
became both rich and splendid; when synods were brought
under political influence; when monachists [monks] had
established a false principle of virtue; when politics and
dogmatics went hand in hand, and emperors enforced the
decrees of [church] councils—that men of rank entered the
Church. When Christianity became the religion of the court
and of the fashionable classes, it was used to support the
very evils against which it originally protested. The Church
was not only impregnated with the errors of Pagan philoso-
phy, but it adopted many of the ceremonies of oriental
worship, which were both minute and magnificent. The
churches became, in the fourth century, as imposing as the
old temples of idolatry. Festivals became frequent and
imposing. The people clung to them because they obtained
excitement and a cessation from labor. Veneration for
martyrs ripened into the introduction of images—a future
source of popular idolatry. Christianity was emblazoned in
pompous ceremonies. The veneration for saints approxi-
mated to their deification, and superstition exalted the
mother of our Lord into an object of absolute worship.
Communion tables became imposing altars typical of Jewish
sacrifices, and the relics of martyrs were preserved as sacred
amulets. Monastic life also ripened into a grand system of
penance and expiatory rites. Armies of monks retired to
gloomy and isolated places, and abandoned themselves to
rhapsodies and fastings and self-expiation. They were a
dismal and fanatical set of men, overlooking the practical
aims of life.
“The clergy, ambitious and worldly, sought rank and
distinction. They even thronged the courts of princes and
aspired to temporal honors. They were no longer supported
by the voluntary contributions of the faithful, but by
revenues supplied by government, or property inherited
from the old [pagan] temples. Great legacies were made to
 The Man of Sin 287

the Church by the rich, and these the clergy controlled.

These bequests became sources of inexhaustible wealth. As
wealth increased and was intrusted to the clergy, they
became indifferent to the wants of the people—no longer
supported by them. They became lazy, arrogant and
independent. The people were shut out of the government
of the Church. The bishop became a grand personage who
controlled and appointed his clergy. The Church was allied
with the State, and religious dogmas were enforced by the
sword of the magistrate.
“AN IMPOSING HIERARCHY WAS ESTABLISHED, OF
VARIOUS GRADES, WHICH CULMINATED
IN THE BISHOP OF ROME

“The Emperor decided points of faith, and the clergy were

exempted from the burdens of the state. There was a great
flocking to the priestly offices when the clergy wielded so
much power and became so rich; and men were elevated to
great sees [bishoprics], not because of their piety or talents,
but their influence with the great. The mission of the Church
was lost sight of in a degrading alliance with the State.
Christianity was a pageant, a ritualism, an arm of the State,
a vain philosophy, a superstition, a formula.”
Thus the great falling away from the faith, predicted by
the Apostle Paul, is an established fact of history. All
historians bear witness to it, even those who approve the
assumption of power and eulogize the chief actors in the
scheme. We regret that our space limits our quotations to
some of the most pointed expressions. The falling away,
covering a period of centuries, was so gradual as to be much
less noticeable to those who then lived in its midst than to
us who see it as a whole; and the more deceiving was it
because every step of organization, and every advance
toward influence and authority in the Church and over the
world, was taken in the name of Christ, and professedly to
glorify him and fulfil his plans recorded in Scripture. Thus
was the great Antichrist developed—the most dangerous,
288 The Time is at Hand

most subtle and most persistent opponent of true Christian-

ity, and the most fiendish persecutor of the true saints.
THE HINDRANCE REMOVED
The Apostle Paul foretold that this iniquitous principle
would work secretly for a time, while some opposing thing
stood in the way, until, the hindrance being removed, it
could have a free course, and progress rapidly to the
development of the Antichrist. He says, “Only he that now
hindereth will hinder, until he be taken out of the way.”
(2 Thess. 2:7) What does history have to show in fulfilment
of this prediction? It shows that the thing which hindered
a rapid development of Antichrist was the fact that the place
aspired to was already filled by another. The Roman empire
had not only conquered the world and given it politics and
laws, but, recognizing religious superstitions to be the
strongest chains by which to hold and control a people, it
had adopted a scheme which had its origin in Babylon, in
the time of her greatness as ruler of the world. That plan
was, that the emperor should be esteemed the director and
ruler in religious as well as in civil affairs. In support of this,
it was claimed that the emperor was a demigod, in some
sense descended from their heathen deities. As such he was
worshiped and his statues adored; and as such he was styled
Pontifex Maximus—i.e., Chief Priest or Greatest Religious
Ruler. And this is the very title claimed by and given to the
pontiffs or popes of the Roman Hierarchy since this
Antichrist obtained “the power and seat and great authority”
of the former ruler of Rome. Rev. 13:2
But ancient pagan Rome and Babylon had only a mere
skeleton of sacerdotal power as compared with the complex
and elaborate machinery and contrivances of doctrine and
practice of Papal Rome, the triumphant successor to their
scheme, who now, after centuries of cunning and skill, has
its power so intrenched that even today, when its power is
 The Man of Sin 289

outwardly broken and it is shorn of civil dominion, it rules

the world and controls kingdoms secretly, under cover,
more thoroughly than the Roman emperors ever ruled the
kings subordinate to them.
To their credit be it recorded that not one of the Roman
emperors, as Pontifex Maximus or Chief Religious Ruler,
ever exercised the tyranny of some of their successors on the
Papal throne. On this point Gibbon says:* “It must be
allowed that the number of Protestants who were executed
in a single province and a single reign, far exceeded that of
the primitive martyrs in the space of three centuries and of
the [entire] Roman empire.” According to the custom of
their day they did favor the most popular gods, but wherever
their armies went, the gods and worship of the conquered
people were generally respected. This was illustrated in
Palestine, in which, though under Roman control, religious
liberty and freedom of conscience were generally respected
by the imperial Pontifex Maximus, who as religious ruler thus
showed his clemency toward the people, and his harmony
with all the popular gods.
So, then, we see that what hindered the early development
of Antichrist was the fact that the coveted seat of spiritual
supremacy was filled by the representatives of the strongest
empire the world had yet known; and that for any to have
attempted an open display of ambition in this direction
would have exposed them to the wrath of the masters of the
world. Hence this iniquitous ambition at first worked
secretly, disclaiming any intent to gain power or authority,
until a favorable opportunity was presented—after the
nominal Church had become large and influential and the
imperial power was shattered by political dissensions and
was beginning to decay.
The power of Rome was rapidly failing, and its strength
* Vol. II, page 85.
290 The Time is at Hand

and unity were divided among six claimants to the imperial

honors, when Constantine became emperor. And that, in
part at least, he adopted Christianity to strengthen and
unify his empire, is a reasonable supposition. On this point
history says:
“Whether Constantine embraced it [Christianity] from
conviction of its truth, or from policy, is a matter of dispute.
Certain it is, that this religion, though receiving from the
Roman power only silent obloquy, or active persecution,
had extended among the people, so that Constantine
strengthened himself in the affection of the soldiers by
adopting it.… Worldly ambition pointed to the course
which the emperor pursued in declaring himself a Christian,
and not the spirit of Christ, who said, My kingdom is not of
this world. Constantine made it the religion of the empire,
and thenceforth we find its influence sullied with earthly
things. … No particular bishop was regarded as head of the
whole Church, but the emperor was such in point of fact. In
this capacity he called the Council of Nice, having in the
controversy between Athanasius and Arius taken sides
against the latter. The council agreed with the emperor.”*
“Whatever advantages might be derived from the acquisi-
tion of an imperial proselyte, he was distinguished by the
splendor of the purple, rather than the superiority of wisdom
or virtue, from the many thousands of his subjects who had
embraced the doctrines of Christianity....The same year of
his reign in which he convened the Council of Nice was
polluted by the execution of his eldest son. The gratitude of
the Church has exalted the virtues and excused the failings
of a generous patron who seated Christianity on the throne
of the Roman world.Ӡ
Here, then, under Constantine’s reign, the opposition of
the empire to Christianity gave way to favor, and the
Imperial Pontifex Maximus became the patron of the
professed but really apostate Church of Christ; and, taking
* Willard’s Universal History, page 163.
† Gibbon, Vol. II, page 269
 The Man of Sin 291

her by the hand, he assisted her to a place of popularity and

splendor from which she was able afterward, as the imperial
power grew weak, to put her own representatives upon the
religious throne of the world as Chief Religious Ruler—
Pontifex Maximus.
But it is a mistake to suppose, as many do, that the Church
at this time was a pure (virgin) church, suddenly lifted into
a dignity and power which became her snare. Quite the
contrary is true. As already stated, a great falling away had
occurred, from primitive purity and simplicity and freedom
into creed-bound, ambitious factions, whose errors and
ceremonies, resembling those of the pagan philosophies,
garnished with some truths and enforced and clinched with
the doctrine of everlasting torment, had drawn into the
church a vast horde, whose numbers and influence became
valuable to Constantine and were respected and used
accordingly. No such worldly man ever thought seriously of
espousing the cause of the humble, Christlike “little
flock”—the truly consecrated Church, whose names are
written in heaven. The popularity with his soldiers, men-
tioned by the historians, is very different from popularity
with real soldiers of the cross.
In proof of this let us here quote from history, regarding
the state of religious society under Diocletian, the predeces-
sor of Constantine, who, toward the close of his reign,
believing that Christians had attempted to destroy his life,
became embittered against them and persecuted them by
ordering the destruction of Bibles, the banishing of bishops,
and finally by decreeing the death of such as opposed these
enactments. Gibbon* says of this era:
“Diocletian and his colleagues frequently conferred the
most important offices on those persons who avowed their
abhorrence for the worship of the gods, but who displayed

* Vol. II, page 53 and 57.

292 The Time is at Hand

abilities proper for the service of the state. The bishops held
an honorable rank in their respective provinces, and were
treated with distinction and respect, not only by the people,
but by the magistrates themselves. Almost in every city, the
ancient churches were found insufficient to contain the
increasing number of proselytes; and in their place more
stately and capacious edifices were erected for the public
worship of the faithful. The corruption of manners and
principles, so forcibly lamented by Eusebius, may be
considered as not only a consequence but a proof of the
liberty which the Christians enjoyed and abused under the
reign of Diocletian. Prosperity had relaxed the nerves of
discipline. Fraud, envy and malice prevailed in every
congregation. The proselytes aspired to the episcopal office,
which every day became an object more worthy of their
ambition. The bishops, who contended with each other for
ecclesiastical pre-eminence, appeared by their conduct to
claim a secular and tyrannical power in the church; and the
lively faith which still distinguished the Christians from the
Gentiles was shown much less in their lives than in their
controversial writings.
“The story of Paul of Samosata, who filled the metropoli-
tan see [bishopric] of Antioch while the East was in the
hands of Odenatus and Zenobia, may serve to illustrate the
condition and character of the times. [A.D. 270] Paul
considered the service of the church a very lucrative
profession. His ecclesiastical jurisdiction was venal and
rapacious: he extorted frequent contributions from the most
opulent of the faithful, and converted to his own use a
considerable part of the public revenues. [It is claimed by
critics, says Gibbon, that Paul held the office of Imperial
Ducenarius, or procurator, with an annual salary of two
hundred Sestertia —$77,000.] By his pride and luxury, the
Christian religion was rendered odious in the eyes of the
Gentiles. His council chamber, and his throne, the splendor
with which he appeared in public, the suppliant crowd who
solicited his attention, the multitude of letters and petitions
to which he dictated his answers, and the perpetual hurry of
business in which he was involved, were circumstances
much better suited to the state of a civil magistrate than to
 The Man of Sin 293

the humility of a primitive bishop. When he harangued his

people from the pulpit, Paul affected the figurative style and
the theatrical gestures of an Asiatic sophist, while the
cathedral resounded with the most extravagant acclamations
in the praise of his divine eloquence. Against those who
resisted his power, or refused to flatter his vanity, the prelate
of Antioch was arrogant, rigid and inexorable, but he relaxed
the discipline and lavished the treasures of the church on his
dependent clergy.”
Thus under Constantine’s reign all hindrance was finally
removed, and, as we shall find, the organization of Papacy—
the church nominal under the headship of the bishop of
Rome as pope—was speedily effected.
RAPID DEVELOPMENT OF ANTICHRIST

The rapid development of the Papal Hierarchy after the

accession of Constantine is a very remarkable feature of its
history. “The prince of this world” was true to his promise
to give power and dominion as a reward for worshiping and
obeying him. (Matt. 4:8, 9) By the edict of Milan, Con-
stantine gave legal security to the possessions of the Church,
and Christians recovered lands formerly forfeited. A second
edict, A.D. 321, granted the liberty of bequeathing property
to the Church, while Constantine himself set an example of
liberality and lavished wealth upon the Christian clergy
unsparingly. This example of the Emperor was followed by
thousands of his subjects, whose offerings during life and
whose bequests in the hour of death flowed into the
ecclesiastical treasury. White says:*
“The church of Rome began early to assume authority
over the others [over the churches of other cities and
countries] as well from the numbers and wealth of its
converts as from its position in the capital city. Many
circumstances concurred to augment the influence of its
bishop, although his usurpation and ambition were for a

* White’s Universal History, page 155.

294 The Time is at Hand

time vigorously repelled. The transference of the seat of

power [by Constantine, from Rome to Constantinople, A.D.
334] increased the power of the western church by confer-
ring the chief magistracy on the bishop. To this must be
added the sanction given by Gratian and Valentinian to the
custom of appeals to Rome, and the frequent pilgrimages to
the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul and other martyrs.”
After the death of Constantine the varied fortunes of the
Roman Empire seemed to cooperate for the advancement
of the apostate church and the development of Antichrist;
for a union under one head or pope, esteemed the represen-
tative or vicegerent of Christ, had not yet been effected. The
emperors succeeding Constantine, down to Theodosius,
continued to regard themselves as the heads of the Church,
in whom centered divine authority. Though no one of the
eighteen hundred bishops of the empire was yet prepared
to demand recognition as the head, or pope, several had their
eyes on that prize, and the emperors were shown the
shallowness of their claims to the title Pontifex Maximus, in
the argument that since they worshiped dead saints they
owed a similar respect to their living representatives—the
bishops. Nevertheless, the emperors in their edicts repeat-
edly referred to the empire as a divine hierarchy and to
themselves as divine personages.*
The power and headship of the bishop of Rome came on
apace: within fifty years from the time Christianity was
legally established, his wealth and dignity, as the bishop of
the capital and chief city of the world, were very great.
Ammianus, a contemporary historian, describing his wealth
and ostentation, says, “He surpassed kings in splendor and
magnificence, rode in the stateliest chariots, was arrayed in
the finest attire, and was distinguished by his luxury and
pride.” The removal of the seat of empire to Constantinople,
the exposure of the city of Rome to the invasion of the
* See Gibbon, Vol. II, page 108.
 The Man of Sin 295

barbarians from the north, the continual changes of generals

and governors in the now fast falling empire, left the bishop
of the church at Rome the most permanent and most
honored official there; and his gradually increasing prestige
was heightened as well by the removal of the rival splendors
of the imperial court to Constantinople as by the reverence
attaching to the very name of Rome, among all the peoples
of the world.
As an illustration of this, we note that when, in A.D. 455,
the city of Rome was invaded and plundered by the Vandals,
and all around was distress and desolation, Leo, the bishop
of Rome, improved the opportunity for impressing upon all,
both barbarians and Romans, his claim of spiritual power.
To the rude and superstitious barbarians, already greatly
impressed by what they saw about them, of Rome’s great-
ness and wealth, Leo, arrayed in his pontifical robes,
exclaimed: “Beware! I am the successor of St. Peter, to
whom God has given the keys of the kingdom of heaven and
against whose church the gates of hell cannot prevail; I am
the living representative of divine power on the earth; I am
Caesar, a Christian Caesar, ruling in love, to whom all
Christians owe allegiance; I hold in my hands the curses of
hell and the benedictions of heaven; I absolve all subjects
from allegiance to kings; I give and take away, by divine
right, all thrones and principalities of Christendom. Beware
how you desecrate the patrimony given me by your invisible
king; yea, bow down your necks to me and pray that the
anger of God may be averted.”
The veneration for the place and name was actively taken
advantage of by the bishop of Rome, who soon claimed a
superiority to all other bishops, governors and rulers. Soon
he claimed not only ecclesiastical dominion of the world,
but also civil dominion: that the right to crown and un-
crown, to make and degrade any and all rulers of the old
296 The Time is at Hand

Roman Empire was the right and inheritance of the Church

of Rome, which, it was claimed, God had thus invested with
the dominion of earth. These claims were made repeatedly,
and repeatedly denied by opposing bishops, so that to fix an
exact year as the date of its beginning would be impossible.
As for itself, Papacy claims that it was organized in the days
of the apostles, and that Peter was the first pope; but this is
not only without proof, but it is most positively contradicted
by all history, which shows that though the iniquity of
ambition worked secretly for a long time, it was hindered
from developing into Antichrist, and from making such open
claims, until the Roman Empire began to disintegrate.
Henceforth we deal with the Antichrist, whose gradual
development and organization from secretly working
ambition are a fitting prelude to the terrible character
displayed after the coveted power had been grasped—from
539 A.D. to 1799 A.D., 1260 years. Of this period the first
three hundred years mark the rise of this temporal power;
the last three mark its waning under the influences of the
Reformation and civilization; and the intermediate period
of seven centuries embraces Papacy’s glory-time and the
“dark ages” of the world, full of frauds and deceptions in the
name of Christ and true religion.
A Roman Catholic writer fully corroborates our findings
on this subject, and we present his words regardless of their
gloss, as corroborative testimony. Giving, with glowing
enthusiasm, a description of the rise of the Papacy to
temporal power, describing it as a plant of heavenly origin,
and therefore of rapid growth and high exaltation in the
world, he says:
“The rise of the temporal power of the Popes presents to
the mind one of the most extraordinary phenomena which
the annals of the human race offer to our wonder and admi-
ration. By a singular combination of concurring circum-
 The Man of Sin 297

stances a new power and a new dominion grew up, silently

and steadily, on the ruins of that Roman Empire which had
extended its sway over, or made itself respected by, nearly
all the nations, peoples and races that lived in the period of
its strength and glory; and that new power, of lowly origin,
struck a deeper root, and soon exercised a wider authority,
than the empire whose gigantic ruins it saw shivered into
fragments and mouldering in dust. In Rome itself the power
of the successor of Peter grew side by side with, and under
the protecting shadow of, that of the emperor; and such was
the increasing influence of the popes, that the majesty of the
supreme Pontiff was likely ere long to dim the splendor of
the purple.
“The removal by Constantine of the seat of empire from
the West to the East, from the historic banks of the Tiber to
the beautiful shores of the Bosphorus, laid the broad
foundation of a sovereignty which in reality commences from
that momentous change. Practically, almost from that day,
Rome, which had witnessed the birth, the youth, the
splendor, and the decay, of the mighty race by whom her
name had been carried with her eagles to the remotest
regions of the then known world, was gradually abandoned
by the inheritors of her renown; and its people, deserted by
the emperors, and an easy prey to the ravages of the barbari-
ans whom they had no longer the courage to resist, beheld
in the bishop of Rome their guardian, their protector, their
father. Year by year the temporal authority of the popes
grew into shape and hardened into strength, without
violence, without bloodshed, without fraud, by the force of
overwhelming circumstances, fashioned, as if visibly, by the
hand of God.”
While Roman Catholics thus represent the rise of the
Papacy on the ruins of Pagan Rome as a triumph of Chris-
tianity, those who are acquainted with the true spirit of
Christianity look in vain to see any trace of that spirit in the
prostitution of the Church and her unholy alliance with the
world. Neither can the true Christian see in the advantages
furnished by ignorance, superstition, calamities, and the
various circumstances of the times of which the Church of
298 The Time is at Hand

Rome took advantage, any evidence of divine interposition

in her favor. Nor yet can they discover, in the exaltation of
the Church of Rome to earthly power and glory, any
verification of the Lord’s promise to the true Church, to
exalt her in due time—after the Antichrist has come and
gone; for the exaltation of the true Church is not to be to a
blood-stained and crime-polluted throne, such as the throne
of the Papacy has been from its very beginning: neither will
the true Christ ever need to call upon earthly kings to
establish or defend his power. The marks which distinguish
the counterfeit from the real kingdom of Christ are easily
recognizable by those acquainted, through the Scriptures,
with the real Christ and his body, the true Church, with the
principles upon which his kingdom is to be established, and
with the object for which it is to be set up.
But let no one suppose that the real Church of Christ,
even in those corrupt times, was either extinguished or lost
sight of. “The Lord knoweth them that are his” in every age
and under every condition. As wheat they were permitted
to grow in the midst of a field overrun with tares; as gold
they were in the furnace, being tried and purified and “made
meet for the inheritance of the saints in light.” True, the
course of the multitude, who called themselves Christians,
occupies the most prominent place on the pages of history;
but undoubtedly a faithful few through all the persecutions,
and in the midst of all the deceptive arts of the Mystery of
Iniquity, walked worthy of their high calling, were laid to
rest and recorded of God as heirs to the crown that fadeth
not away, reserved in heaven for them.
Thus, clearly, on the pages of history, the fact is pointed
out that this Man of Sin, Antichrist, was born in Rome; and,
though at first opposed, he gradually raised himself up to
power; or, as expressed in Daniel’s prophecy, as “a little
horn,” it came up out of the head of that old Roman beast,
 The Man of Sin 299

that “great and terrible beast,” for which Daniel could find
no name, which had such power to hurt and to destroy. And,
as we proceed, we shall find that Antichrist’s history
corresponds exactly, not only with Daniel’s prophecy, but
with all the prophecies recorded concerning him.
ANTICHRIST’S CHARACTER IN HISTORY

Having located Antichrist, we next proceed to compare

the character of Papacy with the prophecies recorded,
descriptive of the character and deeds of the Antichrist or
Man of Sin.
Some may query whether it be right to pass over the
emperors of Rome (who claimed to be Supreme religious
rulers), without calling their system Antichrist, and to apply
that title complete and entire to the organized Papal system.
We answer, This is certainly right; and we refer the reader
again to the definition of Antichrist already given, as used
in the Scriptures, viz., in the place of, instead of, i.e., to be a
spiritual empire: it must claim to rule the kingdoms of earth
by this spiritual authority; it must thus be not only an
antagonist but a counterfeit, misrepresenting and pretend-
ing to be Christ’s kingdom, and exercising what will in God’s
due time be the authority of the true Christ, the church
glorified and complete under the only true Head and
Lord—the real Pontifex Maximus.
Not only does Papacy claim to be the glorified kingdom
of Christ promised by the Lord, the apostles and the
prophets, but it applies to itself and its successive heads (the
popes, who, it claims, take the place of Christ, as Pontiff,
Chief or King of this kingdom) all those passages of the
prophets which describe the Millennial glory of the Christ.
And, “deceiving [others] and being deceived” themselves
(by their false theories, developed slowly by sinful ambition
for greatness, during centuries), the popes have piece by
300 The Time is at Hand

piece arranged the titles of all associated in the hierarchy,

their gorgeous clothing, their imposing ceremonials, their
grand cathedrals with solemn, awe-inspiring services, on a
scale to correspond as nearly as possible with their claims—
the gorgeous surroundings and clothing and ceremonies
matching, as best they can make them match, the glories and
grandeur portrayed by the prophets.
For instance, Psalm 2:12 reads, “Kiss the Son, O ye kings
of the earth, lest he be angry, and ye perish by the way, when
his anger is kindled but a little.” This is not a command to
kiss literally, but to yield willing, cheerful submission to our
Lord, and applies to the present hour, when, preparatory to
the great and true Millennial reign of the true Christ, the
kings or great ones of earth, politically, socially, financially
and ecclesiastically, are being tested by their willingness or
unwillingness to bow to the righteous regulations now due
to go into operation. Those who resist righteousness resist
the scepter of this King of glory, and all such shall be
overthrown in the great time of trouble which ushers in the
Millennial reign of the new King: all who would not have
him reign shall be slain. (Luke 19:27) “His enemies shall lick
the dust”—be vanquished.
Misapplying this prophecy to his counterfeit kingdom,
Antichrist’s representative head, the pope, in the palmy days
of his prosperity caused kings and emperors to bow before
him, as before Christ, and to kiss his great toe—applying the
same as the fulfilment of this prophecy.
Claims like these are very generally passed over lightly by
prophetic students and writers, while they search out and
specially notice immoralities; but herein they greatly err, for
criminalities have been plentiful enough in every age, and
would need no such special, prophetic delineations as are
given of Antichrist. Could it be proved that those connected
with the papal system have been very models of morality, it
 The Man of Sin 301

would be none the less identical with the character noted in

Scripture as the great Antichrist—the counterfeit which has
arrogated to itself the titles, privileges, powers and reverence
belonging to the Lord’s Anointed. As a counterfeit, it has
also misrepresented the plan of God with reference to the
selection of a “little flock,” or Church, in the present time;
and it has entirely set aside the real hope of the Church, and
the Lord’s provision for the blessing of the world during the
Millennial reign of Christ—which it represents as fulfilled
in its own reign.
The ill effects of such perversion and misrepresentation
of God’s plan can scarcely be estimated. They have been the
direct source from which sprang all the corrupt doctrines
which, one after another, were introduced to support the
claims and add to the dignity of Antichrist. And though the
Reformation, three centuries ago, ushered in an era of Bible
study and liberty of thought, and led to the rejection of
many evils and errors, yet the counterfeit was on so elabo-
rate a scale, so complete in all its parts and arrangements,
and had so thoroughly deceived the whole world that, even
after Luther and many others had recognized Papacy as the
outcome of the great falling away—the Antichrist of
prophecy—they, while denouncing it as a system, held
firmly to the false theory which led to its peculiar errors of
doctrine and practice. To this day the great majority of
Protestants of all denominations support the theory of
Antichrist, that Christ’s Kingdom has been set up. Some have
endeavored to do as Papacy did—to organize their church
under some one person as its head—while others supply the
place of this head with a council or synod; but all are under
the delusion imposed by the false and misleading interpreta-
tions of Scripture doctrines started by Antichrist—that now,
and not at a future time, is the reign of Christ’s Kingdom;
and, denying the coming age, as the Antichrist does, they,
302 The Time is at Hand

like that system, are careless of the full development of

holiness among believers and are zealous rather for the
accomplishment now of the work of the next age (the
conversion of the world)—so much so, that they are often
willing to misrepresent God’s plan and Word, and to invent
theories to frighten and drive the world into a profession of
godliness; and willing also to resort to questionable and
worldly methods to add to their attractions, to make their
various systems the more enticing to the unconverted, whom
they, like Antichrist, are willing to count in for pride’s sake
and to make a good showing.
Such find it difficult to see that Papacy is Antichrist. How
could they, while faith is not yet free from the poison, and
reason is still greatly blinded by the very essence of Anti-
christ’s error. The greatness, the grandeur and the necessity
of Christ’s Millennial Kingdom and its work of blessing all
the families of the earth must be seen, before the greatness
of the Antichrist counterfeit can be appreciated, or its havoc
to the truth and its desolating and defiling influence in the
nominal church or temple of God can be rightly estimated.
None need be surprised at the completeness of this
counterfeit, when we reflect that it is Satan’s workmanship,
and has been patterned after the types and illustrations of
future glory presented in the Scriptures. Seeing that the time
for the selection of the Church had come, and that the truths
planted by the Lord and the apostles had gained rapid
headway against all the heathen religions, seeking out the
meek wherever it went, the great adversary sought to
destroy the purity of the Church and to turn into other and
false channels that which he could not stop. Thus the
triumph of Antichrist, as well as its present power, has really
been Satan’s success. But here we behold the wisdom of
God; for while the success of Antichrist seemed to presage
the defeat of God’s plan it was really, though unwittingly,
 THE CHURCH OF GOD,
THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD

THE REALITY
DURING THE
TRUE TYPE MILLENNIUM COUNTERFEIT
AARON— CHRIST JESUS, THE POPES,
and successors—Chief our Lord and Head in turn, High-Priests of
or High Priest, head and representative; the the Papal Hierarchy;
and representative and High-Priest of our pro- its lord, head and
mouthpiece. fession or order. mouthpiece.

Under-Priests, deriving The Church glorified, The Church of Rome

their official dignity the Body of Christ, consists of the bishops
and rights and privi- sharers of his glory, and prelates, who share
leges of service through majesty, and office of the dignities of the hie-
Aaron, whose body they ruler: whose offices will rarchy, though differing
represented, typified differ, as star differeth in degrees of honor—
the Church of Christ. from star in glory. cardinals, bishops, etc.

Subject to the Hierarchy are assistants, as follows:

The Levites, The earthly phase The under-priests
who did services con- of the Kingdom of God; of Papacy, not parts or
nected with the typical through whom the glori- members of the church
Tabernacle—teaching, fied Church will have or hierarchy, but called
etc., etc. An inferior or- more direct contact with “Brothers” and “Sis-
der of priests not per- the world, in teaching, ters.” Of these are the
mitted to enter the Most governing, etc., and who teachers, nurses, etc., in
Holy Sanctuary (typical also will have closest direct contact with the
of the spiritual nature), communion with the spi- people as well as with
neither to look therein. ritual Church in glory. the hierarchy.

All Israel was taught The World will be Papacy claims the
and directed by the taught, directed, ruled obedience of the World
above described hie- and helped by the above to its rule and teachings
rarchy. And in Moses, described Kingdom of —as being the King-
who was a type of the God and its earthly dom of God. The lower
complete Christ, they representatives, which priesthood is its agent.
had prophet, priest and will have all power, and When in power, it at-
king united, typical of must be obeyed; and all tempted to enforce its
Christ’s Millennial who obey not will be laws, and to “cut off ”
authority. Acts 3:22 “cut off.” Acts 3:23 those who obeyed not.
304 The Time is at Hand

cooperating to insure the success of his plan; for by no other

means could the truly consecrated have been so thoroughly
tried, and their faithfulness to God’s Word so thoroughly
tested, as by the permission of this great counterfeit.
The accompanying table will serve to show how complete
has been the counterfeit of the future organization of
Christ’s kingdom in Papacy, and how it was drawn from the
Jewish typical priesthood.
Mosheim, explaining the rise of the hierarchical system in
the Church, very clearly shows this counterfeiting, in these
words, Vol. I, p. 337:
“Whilst the least probability remained that Jerusalem
might at one time or other again rear its head from the dust,
the Christian teachers and elders assumed to themselves no
titles or distinctions, at least none but the most modest and
humble ones; but when the fate of that city had been sealed
by Hadrian [A.D. 135], and not the most distant hope could
any longer be entertained by the Jews, of seeing their
ancient government re-established, these same pastors and
ministers conceived a wish to have it believed by their flocks that
they themselves had succeeded to the rights of the Jewish
priesthood. The bishops, therefore, made it their business to
inculcate the notion that they were invested with a character
resembling that of the great High Priest of the Jews, and were
consequently possessed of all those rights which had been
recognized as belonging to the Jewish Pontiff. The functions of
the ordinary Jewish priest were, in like manner, stated to have
devolved, though under a more perfect form, on the presby-
ters of the Christian Church: and finally the deacons were
placed on a parallel with the Levites, or inferior ministers.”

THE HEAD AND MOUTH OF ANTICHRIST

HIS GREAT SWELLING WORDS

The pope (each pope in his turn) is the head of the false
church, which is his body, even as Christ Jesus is the head
 The Man of Sin 305

of the true Church, which is his body. Since the head is the
representative of the body, and its mouth speaks for the
body, we find, as we should expect, this feature of Antichrist
prominently referred to in the Scriptures. In Daniel 7:8, 11,
25, and Rev. 13:5, 6, the mouth of Antichrist is brought
specially to our notice as a leading characteristic. Daniel says
this horn had “eyes like the eyes of man”—symbolic of
intelligence and a farsighted policy. This “horn” was to be
different from all the other powers; it was to be more wise,
more cunning, than other empires which attempted to rule
the world; its power was to be that of its mouth (utterance)
guided by its eyes (knowledge), rather than that of physical
force. And no one acquainted with the history of Papacy can
deny that the figures used to illustrate its power and
methods are strikingly good.
“And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great
things. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God,
to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that
dwell in heaven.” “And he shall speak great words against the
Most High.” Rev. 13:5, 6; Dan. 7:8, 25
It should not be forgotten that these are figurative
expressions descriptive of the character and claims of a
symbolic “beast” (government) and “horn” (power) out of
the old Roman beast or empire. In some respects, Papacy
was a new government (“beast”), distinct from the old
Roman empire; and in others, it was a horn or power among
others out of that empire, which for a time held superior
control over the other horns or powers. It is presented in
symbol from both these standpoints so as most thoroughly
to locate and designate it.
Antichrist’s great swelling words, or blasphemies, cover the
whole period of his long career. The expression, “blas-
phemy,” in our day, is usually given only a coarse meaning,
as if it related to the most vulgar forms of cursing and pro-
306 The Time is at Hand

fanity only. But, in its true significance, the word “blas-

phemy” is applicable to any indignity offered to God. Bouvier
defines it thus: “Blasphemy is to attribute to God that which
is contrary to his nature, and does not belong to him—and
to deny what does.” See Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary
under heads of Blasphemy and Blasphemously. And in
evidence that this is the sense in which the word “blasphemy”
is used in the Scriptures, notice the manner in which our
Lord and the Pharisees used it: “The Jews answered, For a
good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy; and because
thou, being a man, makest thyself God.” Jesus answered
them, “Say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified, and
sent into the world, Thou blasphemest, because I said, I am
the Son of God?” John 10:33, 36. See also Mark 14:61-64.
With this, the proper definition of “blasphemy,” before us,
how evident it must be to the simplest minds that Papacy’s
great swelling words and boastful claims have, one and all,
been blasphemies. The establishment of a counterfeit
Kingdom of God was a libel upon God’s government, a gross
blasphemy, and a misrepresentation of his character and
plan and word. God’s character, i.e., his “name,” was
blasphemed in the thousand monstrous edicts, bulls and
decretals issued in his name, by the long line of those who
claimed, as vicegerents, to represent his Son; and God’s
tabernacle, the true Church, was blasphemed by the false
system which claimed to take its place—which claimed that
its faithful were the true and only tabernacle or Church of
God. But we must let history tell us of these great swelling
words, these blasphemous assumptions, which successive
popes, as the head of Antichrist, uttered and approved.
In a work entitled, “The Pope the Vicar of Christ, the
Head of the Church,” by the celebrated Roman Catholic,
Monsignor Capel, is a list of no less than sixty-two blasphe-
mous titles applied to the pope; and, be it noticed, these
 The Man of Sin 307

are not mere dead titles from the past, for they were
arranged by one of Papacy’s foremost living writers. We
quote from the list as follows:
“Most Divine of all Heads.”
“Holy Father of Fathers.”
“Pontiff Supreme over all Prelates.”
“Overseer of the Christian Religion.”
“The Chief Pastor—Pastor of Pastors.”
“Christ by Unction.”
“Abraham by Patriarchate.”
“Melchisedec in Order.”
“Moses in Authority.”
“Samuel in the Judicial Office.”
“High Priest, Supreme Bishop.”
“Prince of Bishops.”
“Heir of the Apostles; Peter in Power.”
“Key-bearer of the Kingdom of Heaven.”
“Pontiff Appointed with Plenitude of Power.”
“Vicar of Christ.”
“Sovereign Priest.”
“Head of all the Holy Churches.”
“Chief of the Universal Church.”
“Bishop of Bishops, that is, Sovereign Pontiff.”
“Ruler of the House of the Lord.”
“Apostolic Lord and Father of Fathers.”
“Chief Pastor and Teacher.”
“Physician of Souls.”
“Rock against which the proud gates of hell prevail not.”
“Infallible Pope.”
“Head of all the Holy Priests of God.”
In addition to the long list of titles of which the above are
instances, the author gives the following quotations from a
letter which St. Bernard, Abbott of Clairvaux, wrote to Pope
Eugenius III, A.D. 1150:
308 The Time is at Hand

“Who art thou? The High-Priest, the Supreme Bishop.

Thou art the Prince of Bishops, thou art the Heir of the
Apostles. Thou art Abel in Primacy, Noah in government,
Abraham in the patriarchal rank, in order Melchisedec, in
dignity Aaron, in authority Moses, Samuel in judicial office,
Peter in power, CHRIST IN UNCTION. Thou art he to whom the
keys of heaven are given, to whom the sheep are intrusted.
There are indeed other door-keepers of heaven, and other
shepherds of the flocks; but thou art the more glorious in
proportion as thou hast also, in a different fashion, inherited
before others both these names.… The power of others is
limited by definite bounds: thine extends even over those
who have received authority over others. Canst thou not,
when a just reason occurs, shut up heaven against a bishop,
depose him from the episcopal office, and deliver him over
to Satan? Thus thy privilege is immutable, as well in the keys
committed to thee as in the sheep intrusted to thy care.”
All these blasphemously flattering titles have been applied
to and received by the Roman pontiffs with complacency
and marked satisfaction, as rightfully belonging to them.
From Pope Boniface VIII we have the following decree,
which is still extant in the common law: “We declare, say,
define, pronounce it necessary to salvation for every human
creature to be subject to the Roman pontiff.” Pope Gregory
VII, who in the year 1063 ordained that the pope should be
called father of fathers, draws the following from Gen. 1:16,
to support papal pretensions: “God made two great lights
in the firmament of heaven; the greater light to rule the day
and the less to rule the night; both great, but one the
greater. ‘In the firmament of heaven,’ that is, the universal
church, ‘God made two great lights’; that is, he instituted
two dignities, which are the pontifical authority and the
regal power; but that which presides over the day, that is,
the spiritual, is the greater; but that which presides over
carnal things is the less; for as the sun differs from the moon,
so do popes differ from kings.” Other popes have adopted
 The Man of Sin 309

this interpretation, which has done much to enforce the idea

of papal supremacy.
St. Antonius, Archbishop of Florence, after citing Psalm
8:4-8, “Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,”
etc., and applying it to Christ, transfers it to the pope in the
following words:
“And because he left us in his bodily presence, he left his
vicar [substitute] on the earth, viz., the chief pontiff, who
is called papa, which means father of fathers; so that these
words may be fitly expounded of the pope. For the pope, as
Hostiensis saith, is greater than man but less than an angel,
because he is mortal; yet he is greater in authority and
power. For an angel cannot consecrate the body and blood
of Christ, nor absolve or bind, the highest degree of which
power belongs to the pope; nor can an angel ordain or grant
indulgences. He is crowned with glory and honor; the glory
of commendation, because he is called not only blessed, but
most blessed. Who shall doubt to call him blessed whom the
very top of such great dignity hath exalted? He is crowned
with the honor of veneration, so that the faithful may kiss his
feet. A greater veneration cannot exist. ‘Adore his footstool.’
(Psa. 99:5) He is crowned with the magnitude of authority,
because he can judge all persons, but can be judged of none,
unless he be found to deviate from faith [the faith of
Antichrist, of course]. Hence he is crowned with a triple,
golden crown, and is ‘placed over all the works of his hands,’
to dispose of all inferiors. He opens heaven, sends the guilty
to hell, confirms empires, regulates the whole clergy.”
The Council of Lateran in its first session gave to the pope
the appellation of “Prince of the Universe;” in its second
session it called him “Priest and King, who is to be adored
by all people, and who is very like unto God;” and in its fifth
session it referred prophecies of Christ’s glorious reign to
Leo X in these terms: “Weep not, daughter of Zion, for
behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David:
behold, God hath raised thee up a savior.”
310 The Time is at Hand

From Ferraris’ Ecclesiastical Dictionary, a standard Roman

Catholic authority, we quote the following condensed
outline of papal power as given under the word papa, article
2nd:
“The pope is of such dignity and highness that he is not
simply a man but, as it were, God, and the vicar [representa-
tive] of God.… Hence the pope is crowned with a triple
crown, as king of heaven, of earth and of hell. Nay, the
pope’s excellence and power are not only above heavenly,
terrestrial and infernal things, but he is also above angels,
and is their superior; so that if it were possible that angels
could err from the faith, or entertain sentiments contrary
thereto, they could be judged and excommunicated by the
pope.… He is of such great dignity and power that he
occupies one and the same tribunal with Christ; so that
whatsoever the pope does seems to proceed from the mouth
of God.… The pope is, as it were, God on earth, the only
prince of the faithful of Christ, the greatest king of all kings,
possessing the plenitude of power; to whom the government
of the earthly and heavenly kingdom is entrusted.” He further
adds: “The pope is of so great authority and power that he
can modify, declare or interpret the divine law.” “The pope
can sometimes counteract the divine law by limiting,
explaining, etc.”
Thus, Antichrist not only endeavored to establish the
Church in power before the Lord’s time, but it was auda-
cious enough to attempt to “counteract” and “modify”
divine laws to suit its own schemes. How clearly did it thus
fulfil the prophecy which over a thousand years before
declared—“He shall think to change times and laws.” Dan.
7:25
In a bull, or edict, Sixtus V declares:
“The authority given to St. Peter and his successors, by
the immense power of the eternal King, excels all the power
of earthly kings and princes. It passeth uncontrollable
sentence upon them all. And if it find any of them resisting
God’s ordinance, it takes more severe vengeance on them,
 The Man of Sin 311

casting them down from their thrones, however powerful

they may be, and tumbling them down to the lowest parts
of the earth as the ministers of aspiring Lucifer.”
A bull of Pope Pius V, entitled “The damnation and
excommunication of Elizabeth, queen of England, and her
adherents—with an addition of other punishments,” reads
as follows:
“He that reigneth on high, to whom is given all power in
heaven and in earth, committed one holy, catholic and
apostolic church (out of which there is no salvation) to one
alone upon earth, namely, to Peter, the Prince of the
apostles, and to Peter’s successor, the bishop of Rome, to be
governed in fulness of power. Him alone he made prince
over all people and all kingdoms, to pluck up, destroy,
scatter, consume, plant, and build.”
St. Bernard affirms that “none except God is like the pope,
either in heaven or on earth.”
“The Emperor Constantine,” says Pope Nicholas I,
“conferred the appellation of God on the pope; who,
therefore, being God, cannot be judged by man.”
Said Pope Innocent III—“The pope holds the place of the
true God;” and the canon law, in the gloss, denominates the
pope—“our Lord God.”
Innocent and Jacobatius state that “the pope can do nearly
all that God can do,” while Decius rejects the word nearly,
as unnecessary. Jacobatius and Durand assert that “none
dare say to him any more than to God—Lord, what doest
thou?” And Antonius wrote:
“To him [the pope] it belongs to ordain those things
which pertain to the public good, and remove those things
which prevent this end, as vices, abuses which alienate men
from God....And this according to Jeremiah 1:10 [Here
again appropriating to Antichrist a prophecy which belongs
to Christ’s Millennial reign]: ‘Behold, I have placed thee
over the nations and kingdoms, to root up and destroy, to
scatter and disperse,’ that is, as it regards vices; ‘to build up
312 The Time is at Hand

and plant,’ that is, as it regards virtues.… In regard to the

power of the pope over those in hell, who are designated by
the fishes in the sea (Psalm 8)—because, as the fishes are
continually agitated by the waves of the sea, so those in
purgatory are continually exercised by the afflictions of
punishment—God hath subjected to the pope also the fishes
of the sea, that is, those who are in purgatory, to relieve
them by indulgences.
“Pagans are subject to the pope, who presides in the world
in the place of Christ. But Christ hath full power over every
creature. The pope is the vicar of Christ, and no one can
lawfully withdraw himself from his obedience, as no one can
withdraw himself lawfully from obedience to God.… The
pope can punish pagans and barbarous nations.… And
though pagans cannot be punished with the spiritual
punishment of excommunication and the like, yet they can
be punished by the church with pecuniary punishment, and
by princes with corporeal punishment also.… The church
can punish, indirectly, the Jews with spiritual punishment,
by excommunicating Christian princes to whom the Jews are
subject, if they neglect to punish them with temporal punish-
ment when they do anything against Christians.… If the
conversion of some should be desired, they may be compelled
by terrors and stripes, not indeed to receive faith, but that
they should present no obstacle to faith by an obstinate will.
For the conversion of infidels, the judgment of God ought
to be imitated.”
Here is an illustration of how error of doctrine produces
unrighteousness. Men may speedily be led into every form
of cruelty and oppression, if first they can convince them-
selves that in the exercise of such depravities they are the
more like God—imitators of God. The wonder is that men
are as kind and moderate as we find them, with all the
terrible, false ideas and doctrines concerning God’s plan for
mankind, with which Satan has blinded and deluded them
through the papal fountain of error, leading them in a
course congenial to their fallen nature. Continuing, the
same writer adds:
 The Man of Sin 313

“The power of the pope is exercised over heretics and

schismatics, denoted also by oxen, because they resist the
truth with the horn of pride. God hath subjected these also
under the feet of the pope to be punished in a fourfold way,
viz., by excommunication, deposition, the deprivation of
temporal goods and military persecution. But then they are
only to be taken for heretics when they refuse to reform
their pestiferous doctrines, and are ready pertinaciously to
defend them.… The pope can choose or elect the emperor.
The emperor is the minister [servant] of the pope, in this,
that he is the minister of God, whose place the pope fills; for God
hath deputed the emperor as the minister of the pope.… I
suppose it to be said as a truth, that the pope, the vicar of
Christ, hath universal jurisdiction of spiritual and temporal
things, in the whole world, in the place of the living God.”
The following utterances of the popes, culled from Fox’s
“Acts and Monuments,” by H. G. Guinness, an English
writer of note, deserves a place of prominence; and we can
sympathize heartily with this writer’s comment on the system
whose mouth gives forth such utterances, when he says—“If
‘he that exalteth himself shall be abased,’ what degradation
can be commensurate with such self-exaltation as this?”
“Wherefore, seeing such power is given to Peter, and to
me in Peter, being his successor, who is he then in all the
world that ought not to be subject to my decrees, which
have such power in heaven, in hell, in earth, with the quick
and also the dead.… By the jurisdiction of which key the
fullness of my power is so great that, whereas all others are
subjects—yea, and emperors themselves ought to subdue
their executions to me—only I am subject to no creature,
no, not to myself; so my Papal majesty ever remaineth
undiminished; superior to all men, whom all persons ought
to obey and follow, whom no man must judge or accuse of
any crime, no man depose but I myself. No man can
excommunicate me, yea, though I commune with the ex-
communicated; for no canon bindeth me; whom no man
314 The Time is at Hand

must lie to, for he that lieth to me is a heretic, and an

excommunicated person. Thus, then, it appeareth that the
greatness of priesthood began in Melchisedec, was solem-
nized in Aaron, perfectionated in Christ, represented in
Peter, exalted in the universal jurisdiction, and manifested in
the Pope. So that through this pre-eminence of my priesthood,
having all things subject to me, it may seem well verified in
me, that was spoken of Christ, ‘Thou hast subdued all
things under his feet.’
“And, likewise, it is to be presumed that the bishop of
that church is always good and holy. Yea, though he fall into
homicide or adultery, he may sin, but yet he cannot be
accused, but rather excused by the murders of Samson, the
thefts of the Hebrews, etc. All the earth is my diocese, and
I am the ordinary of all men, having the authority of the
King of all kings upon subjects. I am all in all, and above all,
so that God himself, and I, the vicar of God, have both one
consistory, and I am able to do almost all that God can do.
In all things that I list my will is to stand for reason, for I am
able by the law to dispense above the law, and of wrong to
make justice in correcting laws and changing them. Where-
fore, if those things that I do be said not to be done of man,
but of God—WHAT CAN YOU MAKE ME BUT GOD? Again, if
prelates of the church be called and counted of Constantine
for Gods, I then, being above all prelates, seem by this
reason to be ABOVE ALL GODS. Wherefore, no marvel if it be
in my power to change time and times, to alter and abrogate
laws, to dispense with all things, yea, with the precepts of
Christ; for where Christ biddeth Peter put up his sword,
and admonishes his disciples not to use any outward force
in revenging themselves, do not I, Pope Nicholas, writing
to the bishops of France, exhort them to draw out their
material swords?...And whereas Christ was present himself
at the marriage in Cana of Galilee, do not I, Pope Martin,
in my distinction, inhibit the spiritual clergy to be present
at marriage-feasts, and also to marry? Moreover, where
Christ biddeth us lend without hope of gain, do not I, Pope
Martin, give dispensation for the same? What should I
speak of murder, making it to be no murder or homicide to
slay them that be excommunicated? Likewise, against the
 The Man of Sin 315

law of nature, item against the apostles, also against the

canons of the apostles, I can and do dispense; for where
they, in their canon, command a priest for fornication to be
deposed, I, through the authority of Sylvester, do alter the
rigor of that constitution, considering the minds and bodies
also of men now to be weaker than they were then.… If ye
list briefly to hear the whole number of all such cases as
properly do appertain to my Papal dispensation, which
come to the number of one-and-fifty points, that no man
may meddle with but only I myself alone, I will recite them.
[Here follows the list.]
“After that I have now sufficiently declared my power in
earth, in heaven, in purgatory, how great it is, and what is
the fullness thereof in binding, loosing, commanding,
permitting, electing, confirming, dispensing, doing and
undoing, etc., I will speak now a little of my riches and of my
great possessions, that every man may see my wealth and
abundance of all things—rents, tithes, tributes; my silks, my
purple mitres, crowns, gold, silver, pearls and gems, lands
and lordships. For to me pertaineth first the imperial city of
Rome; the palace of Lateran; the kingdom of Sicily is proper
to me; Apula and Capua be mine. Also the kingdoms of
England and Ireland, be they not, or ought they not to be,
tributaries to me? To these I adjoin also, besides other
provinces and countries, in both the Occident and the
Orient, from the north to the south, these dominions by
name. [Here follows a long list]. What should I speak here
of my daily revenues, of my first-fruits, annates, palls,
indulgences, bulls, confessionals, indults and rescripts,
testaments, dispensations, privileges, elections, prebends,
religious houses, and such like, which come to no small mass
of money?… whereby what vantage cometh to my coffers
it may partly be conjectured.… But what should I speak of
Germany, when the whole world is my diocese, as my
canonists do say, and all men are bound to believe. Where-
fore, as I began, so I conclude, commanding, declaring, and
pronouncing, to stand upon necessity of salvation, for every
human creature to be subject to me.”
It is presumed by many today that these boastings of the
Papacy belong only to the distant past, and that a great change
316 The Time is at Hand

has come over that system in later times; but a little reflection
and observation prove that these sentiments of the Papacy are
still unchanged. We should bear in mind, too, that the
constant claim of Papacy is that its doctrines are unchange-
able: that the decrees of its popes and councils are infallible;
and that those decrees, breathing out blasphemy against God,
and persecution against his saints, are still held sacred by the
Roman Catholic Church of the present day. The change in
Papacy is merely the loss of power brought about by the
awakening of the Reformation. The will is still possessed, but
the power to do is curtailed by the increase of knowledge and
liberty in which the Bible has been the principal factor.
Antichrist is being gradually “rendered powerless” by the true
Christ—by the “spirit of his mouth”—his Word. Soon the
bright shining of Immanuel’s presence will utterly destroy the
vainglorious counterfeit, and wholly free the world from the
chains of its delusive claims and errors.
For an illustration of latter time assumptions, note the fact
that the present pope, upon ascending the papal throne,
took the title of Leo XIII, and shortly after subscribed
himself “Leo de tribus Juda”—i.e., “The Lion of the tribe of
Judah”;—one of the titles of the true Head. Surely in
presumptuous claims, therefore, he is not behind those who
held the same office during the dark ages.
The following, called The Adoration, is still a part of the
ceremony connected with the installation of a new pope.
The new pope, clad in white, studded with many brilliant
gems, and wearing red shoes with large gold crosses for
buckles, is conducted to the altar, where he kneels.
Then—“The pope rises, and, wearing his mitre, is lifted up
by the cardinals and placed by them upon the altar-throne
to sit there. One of the bishops kneels, and the singing of Te
Deum [We praise thee, O God] begins. Meantime the
cardinals kiss the feet and hands and face of the pope.” A
 The Man of Sin 317

coin representing this ceremony, struck in the Papal mint,

bears the words, “Whom they create, they adore.”
Cardinal Manning, Papacy’s chief representative in
England, endorses and draws public attention to the
following clause of the Catholic faith:
“We declare, affirm, define, and pronounce it necessary
to salvation, for every human creature to be subject to the
Roman Pontiff.” And in a published discourse he represents
the pope as saying, “I claim to be the Supreme Judge and
Director of the consciences of men; of the peasant that tills
the field, and the prince that sits on the throne; of the
household that lives in the shade of privacy, and the
Legislature that makes laws for kingdoms. I am the sole, last,
Supreme Judge of what is right and wrong.”
Surely, too, in observing modern instances of Papacy’s
“great swelling words of vanity,” we should not overlook the
notable decree of the Ecumenical Council, held in Rome in
A.D. 1870, declaring the infallibility of the Pope. True, it
had been claimed now and then in the past, by supercilious
popes, that they were infallible; and bishops and princes
desirous of flattering their pride had virtually so pronounced
them, in the declaration, “Thou art another god, on earth;”
but it remained for a Papal Council in this enlightened
nineteenth century to coolly and deliberately inform the
world how great this “god on earth” is—that he is almost as
perfect as the other God, in heaven; that he cannot err more
than the other; that in his ex cathedra utterances the pope
is infallible—unerring.
The vote of the council was taken July 13th 1870, and on
the 18th the decree was formally promulgated, with cere-
mony, at the great St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome. The
following description of the event, by Dr. J. Cummings, of
London, will be read with interest. He says:
“The Pope had a grand throne erected in front of the
eastern window in St. Peter’s, and arrayed himself in a
perfect blaze of precious stones, and surrounded himself
318 The Time is at Hand

with cardinals and patriarchs and bishops in gorgeous

apparel, for a magnificent spectacular scene. He had chosen
the early morning hour and the eastern window—that the
rising sun should flash its beams full upon his magnificence,
and by it his diamonds, rubies and emeralds be so refracted
and reflected that he should appear to be not a man, but
what the decree proclaimed him, one having all the glory of
God.… The pope posted himself at an early hour at the
eastern window, … but the sun refused to … shine. The
dismal dawn darkened rapidly to a deeper and deeper
gloom. The dazzle of glory could not be produced. The aged
eyes of the would-be God could not see to read by daylight,
and he had to send for candles. Candle-light strained his
nerves of vision too much, and he handed the reading over
to a cardinal. The cardinal began to read amid an ever
blackening gloom, but had not read many lines before such
a glare of lurid fire and such a crash burst from the inky
heavens as was never equaled at Rome before. Terror fell
upon all. The reading ceased. One cardinal jumped trem-
bling from his chair, and exclaimed, ‘It is the voice of God
speaking, the thunders of Sinai.’”
Among the blasphemous pretentions of Antichrist should
be remembered several of its doctrines, particularly the
doctrine of the Mass, which we will notice in a subsequent
volume. Passing over the worshiping of saints and of Mary,
we note some of the still more grievous errors.
Church Infallibility was one of the first, and paved the way
to others. It was claimed before the office of Pope was
acknowledged. It has been a most serious error, and has
barred the way against the rectifying of errors when after-
ward discovered. It has placed the decrees of church
councils beyond contradiction or questioning, either by
reason or Scripture, and has made human ignorance and
weaknesses and misconceptions the standards of faith
instead of God’s word—the Bible; for, once conceded that
the voice of the church council was infallible (unerring),
everything must be forced to conform thereto; and each
 The Man of Sin 319

council felt bound to render no decisions contrary to

preceding councils; and those which did otherwise were
liable to be repudiated. So an error once affirmed could not
be denied nor even dropped, and the Bible and reason had
to be interpreted and twisted to match the infallible decrees
of fallible men. No wonder it was found that it required a
very expert theologian to interpret the Scriptures so as to
make them agree with the so-called infallible decrees. No
wonder either that, from expediency, Antichrist—
Proscribed the Bible. The history of Papacy shows clearly
that, while professing to reverence the Bible as the Word of
God, it has kept it in the background and its own infallible
words in the front. Not only so, but it has proscribed God’s
Word entirely, as unfit to be read and dangerous to the
people, that its own infallible word might have full control.
It well knew that the Bible was dangerous to its power, and
a constant denouncement of its blasphemous pretentions.
In the days of Papal power, the possession or reading of
the Bible by the people was treated as a criminal offense.
The art of printing and the general revival of learning
resulting therefrom, about the sixteenth century, secured the
resurrection of the Bible from the sepulcher of dead lan-
guages where Antichrist had long kept it hidden, forbidding
the translating of it under severe penalties. And when an
awakening spirit of independence began to scatter it in living
languages among the people, Bible-burning was no uncom-
mon thing; and long and loud were the merciless curses that
issued from the Vatican against the presumptuous sinners
who dared to translate, publish or read the Word of God.
When Wycliffe published his translation, Pope Gregory
sent a bull to the Oxford University condemning the
translator as “run into a detestable kind of wickedness.”
Tyndale’s translation was also condemned; and when Luther
published his German translation, Pope Leo X issued a bull
320 The Time is at Hand

against him. Nevertheless, the work went grandly and

steadily forward: the Bible was to have a complete resurrec-
tion, and was destined to shed light upon men of every
nation and language. Slowly the Church of Rome came to
realize this, and resolved, therefore, to permit the translation
of the Scriptures into modern languages, by Catholic
translators, accompanied with Catholic notes. These,
however, were not to be given to the people, except where
there was danger of their receiving the Protestant transla-
tions. The Rhemish translation declares this.
The following show the character of some of the Notes of
the Rhemish translation—which, however, is in recent years
being superseded by the Douay translation, very similar, but
with less pointed notes. A note on Matt. 3 reads: “Heretics
may be punished and suppressed; and may, and ought, by
public authority, either spiritual or temporal, to be chastised
or executed.” One on Gal. 1:8 reads: “Catholics should not
spare their own parents, if heretics.” On Heb. 5:7 the note
reads: “The translators of the Protestant Bible ought to be
translated to the depths of hell.” And on Rev. 17:6 the
comment reads: “But the blood of Protestants is not called
the blood of saints, no more than the blood of thieves,
man-killers, and other malefactors, for the shedding of which,
by the order of justice, no commonwealth shall answer.”
The following are some of the restrictions imposed when
it was found that the reading of the Bible could not be
entirely prevented. The fourth rule of the Index Expurgatoris
says:
“If any shall have the presumption to read or possess the
Bible without written permission, he shall not receive
absolution until he have first delivered up such Bible to the
ordinary. Book-sellers who shall sell or otherwise dispose of
Bibles in the vulgar tongue, to any person not having such
permission, shall forfeit the value of the books, … and be
subjected by the bishop to such other penalties as the bishop
 The Man of Sin 321

shall judge proper, according to the quality of the offense.”

Said the Council of Trent, in its session A.D. 1546:
“In order to restrain petulant minds, the council decrees
that in matters of faith and morals, and whatever relates to
the maintenance of Christian doctrine, no one, confiding in
his own judgment, shall dare to wrest the sacred Scriptures
to his own sense of them, contrary to that which hath been
held, and still is held, by the holy mother church, whose
right it is to judge of the true meaning.”
From the bull of Pius VII, against Bible Societies, issued
June 29, 1816, to the Primate of Poland, we quote:
“We have been truly shocked at this most crafty device, by
which the very foundations of religion are undermined; and
having, because of the great importance of the subject,
conferred in council with our venerable brethren, the
cardinals of the holy Roman Church, we have, with the
utmost care and attention, deliberated upon the measures
proper to be adopted by our pontifical authority, in order to
remedy and abolish this pestilence as far as possible.… Of
your own accord you have already shown an ardent desire
to detect and overthrow the impious machinations of these
innovators; yet, in conformity with our office, we again and
again exhort you that whatever you can achieve by power,
provide by counsel, or effect by authority, you will daily
execute with the utmost earnestness.… The Bible printed
by heretics is to be numbered among other prohibited
books, conformably to the rules of the Index.”
The same pope, in the year 1819, issued a bull against the
use of the Scriptures in the schools of Ireland. From it we
quote:
“Information has reached the ears of the sacred congrega-
tion that Bible Schools, supported by the funds of the
heterodox, have been established in almost every part of
Ireland; in which the inexperienced of both sexes are
invested with the fatal poison of depraved doctrines....Every
possible exertion must therefore be made, to keep the youth
away from these destructive schools.… Do you labor with
all your might to keep the orthodox youth from being
322 The Time is at Hand

corrupted by them—an object which will, I hope, be easily

effected by the establishment of Catholic schools through-
out your diocese.”
Here we have a candid admission of the real object of the
establishment of Catholic parochial schools in Great Britain
and North America, viz.: to protect their lines. Antichrist
has no other object in offering education to the common
people. Ignorance and superstition are Papacy’s bulwarks;
and the centuries of its power, including what is known as
the “dark ages,” prove this. The education of the clergy
under “restrictions” was not neglected; but, that no provi-
sion was made for the education of the people, the dense
ignorance of all old Roman Catholic countries is strong
proof. Schools and Bibles have ever been Antichrist’s
unendurable enemies, and would not be tolerated, except
as they became necessities—upon which a false light must
be thrown for the preservation of Antichrist’s existence.
From a bull by Leo XII to the Roman Catholic clergy of
Ireland, A.D. 1825, we quote:
“It is no secret to you, venerable brethren, that a certain
society, vulgarly called the Bible Society, is audaciously
dispreading itself through the whole world. After despising
the traditions of the holy fathers, and in opposition to the
well known decree of the Council of Trent, this society has
collected all its forces, and directs every means to one
object: to the translation, or rather to the perversion, of the
Bible into the vernacular languages of all nations.”
Even the late Pope Pius IX expressed his anguish of heart
at the triumph on every hand of this great enemy of Anti-
christ—the Bible. He said, “Accursed be those very crafty
and deceitful societies called Bible Societies, which thrust
the Bible into the hands of the inexperienced youth.”
True, it was decreed at the Roman Catholic Plenary
Council of Baltimore, A.D. 1886, that an approved Bible
shall be permitted in Catholic schools of the United States.
This, however, betokens no change in the real sentiment of
 The Man of Sin 323

Antichrist; it is but another stroke of its farsighted policy, in

deference to the spirit of liberty in this country, which
abhors such restraints. They well knew, however, that the
liberty and not the Bible was wanted; and inquiry discovers
that now, two years after, the Bible is not to be found in
Catholic schools hereabouts.
The doctrine of the natural, inherent immortality of man
(that a human existence once begun can never cease) was
another fruitful error, borrowed from Grecian philosophy.
And, being admitted, it led naturally to the conclusion that
if existence must continue forever, then the Bible expressions
concerning the destruction of finally wilful sinners, the
second death, etc., must be construed to mean the opposite
of what they say, viz.: everlasting life, in some condition.
Next, it was easy to decree that to the wicked it must be a
life of suffering; and the torments were frequently pictured
upon the walls of the churches as well as by the words of
zealous priests and monks. This error was the more easily
impressed upon converts because the Greek philosophers
(then the leaders of the world in matters of science, religion
and philosophy—whose ideas, as Josephus shows, had even
begun to tincture Judaism) had long held and taught a
punishment for the wicked in death. To their credit,
however, be it noted that they never descended to the
horrible blasphemies of God’s character and government
taught to the world by Antichrist. Next, it was in order to fix
a place for this torment and call it hell, and to seek passages
of Scripture referring to sheol and hades and gehenna which
describe the real wages of sin—the first and second deaths—
and dextrously to apply these and the parables of our Lord
and the symbols of Revelation, so as to delude themselves
and the whole world on this subject and most grievously to
malign and blaspheme the character and plan of God, our
all-wise and gracious Heavenly Father.
Purgatory was brought in, to relieve and make endurable
324 The Time is at Hand

this terrible dose of doctrine, and withal to give Antichrist

a firmer hold upon the people. It claimed to hold the keys
of heaven and hell and to have power to remit the pains of
purgatory: not only the Adamic penalty, and the weak-
nesses inherited thereby, but also the penalties of wilful,
deliberate sins. What a leverage of power this gave, over an
ignorant people, can be easily imagined—especially when
the emperors and chief men of earth acknowledged and
bowed before the deceiver.
Masses for the dead followed; and rich and poor alike felt
it a duty to pay, and liberally, too, to have these. The efficacy
of masses, for the relief of purgatorial sufferings, is claimed
to be omnipotent—so that not even Jehovah or Christ could
interfere with it. This became a source of great income to
Antichrist; for the priests were not slow to remind the dying,
if wealthy, of the propriety of leaving liberal bequests for
masses for themselves—lest those who inherited their
wealth should neglect the matter. And, indeed, within the
present year warnings of a similar kind have appeared in
Roman Catholic journals, urging that less money be spent
upon funeral flowers, that the more might be spent for
masses for the dead.
Indulgences came in, some time before the “Crusades”: we
know that indulgences were offered, as a bounty, to secure
volunteers for these “Crusades” or “Holy Wars.” By Papal
edict, whoever would engage in these holy wars would not
only have forgiveness for sins past, but also merit to offset
sins future; and thus be guaranteed against certain purgato-
rial sufferings. These indulgences, Roman Catholics tell us,
are not designed to be licenses to commit sins, but are
rewards of merit which offset or cancel a certain number of
days or years of purgatorial anguish: so that if a man’s sins
made him liable to one thousand years of suffering, and he,
at one time, or at various times, secured indulgences to the
 The Man of Sin 325

amount of one thousand years, either for money, or for

services rendered to Papacy, or by penances done, he would
go free; if he had to his credit nine hundred years indul-
gence, he would have to endure one hundred years of
suffering; and if indulgences were reckoned to much
overbalance his penalties, he would probably be accounted
a saint, of special influence in heaven, to be prayed to and
adored. Of this order Louis, king of France, the Crusader,
would be an example. He was canonized, and is now adored
and prayed to as Saint Louis.
There is indeed a difference between this view of Indul-
gences and a license to commit sins; and yet it is very slight;
for Papacy affixed to various common sins a certain amount
of suffering, and not only could sins past be thus offset and
canceled, but those who had reason to think that they might
commit certain sins, in the future, could thus provide
beforehand merit to cancel them. Besides this, some, called
“plenary [complete, entire] indulgences,” are certainly
understood to cover all sins, past and future.
The practice even at the present day seems scarcely
credible. Romanists have certain prayers, a repetition of
which constitutes a ground for indulgence for a limited
period; and many added together, they claim, will protect
from wrath a long time. Thus, those who say the “Hail, Holy
Queen” are granted forty days of indulgence, while for saying
the “Litany of the Blessed Virgin” there is an indulgence of
two hundred days; and for those who say the “Blessed be the
Holy, Immaculate and Most Pure Conception of the Virgin
Mary” one hundred years indulgence is granted, etc., etc. In
the “darker ages,” when indulgences were freely offered for
money and for services in the persecution of infidels and
heretics, it may readily be imagined to what corruption this
blasphemous doctrine led.
To crimes generally committed by the rich, who could pay
326 The Time is at Hand

liberally, enormous penalties were affixed, while the basest

violations of justice, more common among the poorer
classes, were lightly excused. Thus, marriage with a first
cousin cost $5,000, while wife-murder or parricide cost only
$20. Spanheim says: “The institution of Indulgence was the
mint which coined money for the Roman Church; the gold
mines for the profligate nephews and natural children of the
popes; the nerves of the Papal wars; the means of liquidating
debt, and the inexhaustible fountain of luxury to the popes.”
To regulate this traffic a graded scale of penalties was
affixed to various sins—so many days or years in purgatory
for each; and a scale of prices was also arranged to corre-
spond, so that those obtaining indulgence for a murder or
a theft, for infanticide, or adultery, or perjury, or other sins,
could be charged at different rates. By this means penances
were canceled and the torments of purgatory mitigated or
ended, at the pleasure of Antichrist’s agents. We cannot
wonder that the people speedily got to understand that so
much money paid for so much sin.
To such an extent was crime increased by these indul-
gences, that the indignation of the better classes of society
was roused to rebellion against the church. Men’s eyes
began to be opened, and they saw the clergy, from the
highest dignitaries of the church down to the lowest orders
of officials, steeped in iniquity.
As the darkest hour precedes the storm, so just before the
great Reformation movement was, morally, the darkest hour
of Antichrist’s dark reign. There the open and shameful
traffic in indulgences produced nausea, and led Luther and
other zealous papists to question and examine the entire
system, both in its moral, and afterward in its doctrinal,
aspects. Finally, Luther struck the true idea—that Papacy
was indeed the Antichrist. And, having discovered this, he
fearlessly pointed out some of the symbols of Revelation,
 The Man of Sin 327

and showed their applicability and partial fulfilment in the

Papal Hierarchy.
On this subject we quote the following from the pen of the
well known clergyman, Lyman Abbott. He says:
“Among other conditions, for which indulgences were
formerly granted more than now, was the contribution of
money to the church. This traffic reached its height in the
beginning of the sixteenth century, under Leo X, who
published indulgences to all who would contribute toward
the erection of St. Peter’s [Cathedral] at Rome. His chief
agent for the sale of indulgences in Germany was one John
Tetzel. The notorious vices of Tetzel did not prevent him
from being selected as the bearer of these pardons to other
purer souls, and no extravagance seemed to him too great,
so that it brought money to his coffers. He declared that the
red cross, which accompanied him wherever he went, had
as great efficacy as the cross of Christ—that there was no sin
so great that he could not remit it. ‘Indulgences save not the
living alone, they also save the dead. The very moment that
the money chinks against the bottom of the chest, the soul
escapes from Purgatory and flies free to heaven.’ Such were
some of his blasphemous declarations. A regular scale of
prices was established. ‘Polygamy cost six ducats; sacrilege
and perjury, nine; murder, eight; witchcraft, two.’ It was this
open and shameless traffic which, more than anything else,
led to the Reformation. Indulgences continued to be
granted, not only for acts of worship, but also for contribu-
tions in money to the church; but the public and open sale
of indulgences is now banished, for the most part, from the
Church of Rome.”
Another writer quoted Tetzel’s language further, thus:
“Draw near and I will give you letters duly sealed, by
which even the sins you shall hereafter desire to commit
shall be all forgiven you. There is no sin so great that
indulgence cannot remit. Pay, only pay largely and you shall
be forgiven. Ye priests, ye nobles, ye tradesmen, ye wives,
ye maidens, ye young men, hearken to your departed
parents and friends, who call to you from the bottomless
328 The Time is at Hand

abyss, ‘We are enduring horrible torment; a small alms

would deliver us. You can give it, Will you not?’ With ten
groschen you can deliver your father from purgatory. Our
Lord God no longer deals with us as God—He has given all
power to the Pope.”
The following is handed down as a copy of the blanks used
by Tetzel—filled out with the name of the purchaser, his
sins, etc.:
“Our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on thee, … and
absolve thee by the merits of his most holy sufferings. I, in
virtue of the Apostolic power committed to me, absolve
thee from all … excesses, sins and crimes that thou mayest
have committed, however great and enormous they may be,
and of whatever kind, … I remit the pains thou wouldst
have had to endure in purgatory, … I restore thee to the
innocence and purity of thy baptism, so that, at the
moment of death, the gates of the place of torment shall be
shut against thee, and the gates of paradise open to thee.
And if thou shouldst live long, this grace continueth
unchangeable till the time of thy end. In the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen. The
brother, John Tetzel, commissary, hath signed this with his
own hand. .”
As to the immediate present we cannot say, but we know
that, only a few years since, printed indulgences with prices
affixed were kept on sale, at tables, in some of the large
Roman Catholic churches of Mexico and Cuba.

“IT WAS GIVEN HIM TO MAKE WAR WITH THE SAINTS

AND TO OVERCOME THEM”—TO “WEAR OUT
THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH”
Did the papal counterfeit kingdom hold and exercise
power over the truly consecrated children of God, and over-
come them—“wear them out” by a long period of oppres-
sion, or crushing, as the Hebrew text implies? We answer,
Yes: every means that could be thought of was employed to
crush out the very spirit of true Christianity (John 8:36;
 The Man of Sin 329

Gal. 5:1; 2 Cor. 3:17), and to substitute the spirit, doctrines

and forms of Antichrist. It was at first less of an open attack
on the faithful than of a slow, persistent, crushing oppres-
sion, dealing more particularly with opposing teachers; and
wearing out the patience and also the faith of many. This
persistent worrying, and wearing out, are well illustrated in
the institution of the Confessional, in which Antichrist not
only took cognizance of every criticism and every word of
objection to that system, uttered in the hearing of the
confessing one, but under threat of future penalties com-
pelled him to confess and repent of any opposing thoughts
or acts of his own. This, too, was soon so backed by the civil
power that to utter any protest against the church could be
construed as treason against the civil power, which was
upheld by papal authority.
In the first flush of papal exaltation, the people as a whole
were nominally members of the church or else pagans; and all
who professed Christ were expected to conform to the usages
and regulations of the gradually self-exalting hierarchy. Error,
always more popular than truth, when exalted to influence
and power, hunted down, proscribed and made disreputable
the truth, and all who held it. This was the time when, as
pictured in Revelation, the true Church (woman) fled into
the wilderness—into solitude (Rev. 12:6)—an outcast
because of her fidelity to the truth, and to the true Lord and
Head of the Church. In this time, when apostates were being
exalted as princes, the true, humble saints were experiencing
what the Lord had warned them, and all who will live godly
(in this present time), to expect, viz., persecution. The
mother-in-law was against the daughter-in-law, father against
son, and brother against brother; and a man’s foes were often
indeed they of his own household. Could anything be
conceived of more likely to wear out or crush the saints of the
Most High than such a course, persisted in for centuries?
330 The Time is at Hand

To gain an idea of the ferocity and relentlessness of this

persecution, we must again turn to the pages of history.
The persecutions of the Christians under Pagan Rome
were not worthy of comparison with those under Papal
Rome, being less frequent, more limited in extent and
much less severe. It is stated, on the authority of the early
Christians, that the majority of the Roman magistrates
who exercised in the provinces the authority of the em-
peror, or of the senate, and in whose hands was the power
of life and death, behaved like men of polished manners
and liberal education, who respected the rules of justice.
They frequently declined the odious task of persecution,
dismissed charges against the Christians with contempt
(as Pilate and Herod attempted to do in the case of our
Lord—Luke 23:14-16, 20, 22; Matt. 27:24), or suggested
to accused Christians some legal evasion. When possible,
they used their power much oftener for the relief than for
the oppression of Christians; and the Pagan tribunals
were often their surest refuge against their Jewish
accusers.* The cruel persecution under the execrable
tyrant Nero, who burned some of the Christians to divert
public suspicion from himself, forms one of the darkest
pages in the history of Pagan Rome; but his victims were
comparatively few. The victims of Pagan persecution were
not communities generally, but prominent individuals.
These persecutions of leading representatives, even, were
not so much a fixed, persistent determination of opposi-
tion on the part of the government as a result of uncon-
trollable popular clamor, awakened by superstition, which
it seemed to the rulers necessary to satisfy in the interest
of peace and order. Several instances illustrative of this
are found in the career of the Apostle Paul, as well as of
other apostles. See Acts 19:35-41; 25:24-27; 26:2, 3, 28.
* Gibbon, Vol. II, pages 31-33.
 The Man of Sin 331

Even the more general persecutions, under the Roman

emperors, lasted for but brief periods, except that under
Diocletian, which continued with varying severity for ten
years. Between these persecutions were often long
periods of peace and quiet. Under the emperors, though
greatly harassed, Christianity was not worn out, but, as
we have seen, it greatly prospered.
How different the persecutions of Papacy, which laid hold
not only of prominent opposers but of all, and whose
persecutions lasted not for a few months only, but inces-
santly! What under Pagan emperors had been a passing rage
or frenzy, under the popes was reduced to a regular system,
animated by religious fanaticism and scheming ambi-
tion—and inspired with a Satanic zeal, energy and cruelty
unparalleled in the annals of history. The apostate church
laid aside the sword of the spirit, and, grasping the arm of
the empire, turned its carnal weapons with relentless fury
upon every weaker opponent that stood in the way of its
ambition; while it courted, flattered and deceived those in
authority until it gained their confidence and usurped their
place and power.
Both heathenism and heresy then became the subjects of
persecution—especially the latter. The so-called Christian
clergy, says Edgar, “misapplied the laws of the Jewish
theocracy, and the transactions of the Jewish annals, for the
unchristian and base purpose of awakening the demon of
persecution against the mouldering remains of Grecian and
Roman [heathenish] superstition.… They dissolved the
ancient fabric of Polytheism and transferred its revenues to
the use of the church, the state and the army.… Gentilism
was expelled from the Roman territory.… Coercion in
general was substituted for conviction, and terror for the
gospel. One blushes to read of a Symmachus and a Libanius,
two heathen orators, pleading for reason and persuasion in
332 The Time is at Hand

the propagation of religion, whilst a Theodosius and an

Ambrosius, a Christian emperor and a Christian bishop,
urge violence and constraint.”
Upon the accession of Constantine to the sovereignty of
Rome, he was inclined to tolerate all religions, as was shown
by the celebrated edict of Milan, which granted religious
freedom to every individual of the Roman empire. Such a
measure should have been hailed with joy by the Christian
Church, which had so longed for liberty under previous
persecutions; but such was not the case. The true spirit of
Christianity had departed, and now the ambition of the
church was to exalt itself as rapidly as possible by crushing
out every spark of liberty and subduing all things to itself.
Accordingly, says Gibbon,* “His [Constantine’s] ecclesiasti-
cal ministers soon contrived to reduce the impartiality of the
magistrate, and to awaken the zeal of the proselyte; … and
he extinguished the hope of peace and toleration, from the
moment that he assembled three hundred bishops within
the walls of the palace.” The emperor was there persuaded
to declare that those who resisted the judgment of this
clerical body in matters of faith should prepare themselves
for immediate exile. And their decisions were declared to be
of divine authority. This spirit of intolerance soon ripened
into bitter and relentless persecution. Constantine issued
two penal laws against heresy, and his example was followed
by succeeding emperors—Valentinian, Gratian, Theodosius,
Arcadius, and Honorius. Theodosius published fifteen,
Arcadius twelve, and Honorius no less than eighteen of
these statutes. These are recorded in the Theodosian and in
the Justinian codes, to the disgrace of their priestly and
imperial authors.
What Antichrist was pleased to call heresy (much of
which was truth and righteousness endeavoring to hold a
* Vol. II, page 236.
 The Man of Sin 333

footing) was classed as worse than infidelity, and both were

opposed by kings, emperors and theologians; and both
were persecuted, especially the former, by the Inquisition.
When, about the beginning of the thirteenth century, there
came a revival of learning, and men began to awaken from
the sleep and troubled dreams of the “dark ages,” those
from whose minds the truth had not been entirely eradi-
cated were stimulated, and the standard of truth was raised
in opposition to the grosser errors of Antichrist. Then the
persecuting spirit of Antichrist was aroused to furious
action, to crush out the opposition.
Kings and princes who trembled for the security of their
crowns, if they to any extent incurred the pope’s displea-
sure, and whose realms might be laid under a dreaded
interdict, should they or their people refuse to render
absolute obedience to the pope’s commands, were sworn
to exterminate heresy, and admonished to purify their
provinces from heretical perversity, on the pain of having
their dominions wrested from them; and those barons who
neglected to aid in the work of persecution forfeited their
estates. Kings and princes, therefore, were not tardy in their
efforts to comply with the mandates of the Papacy, and the
barons and their retainers were at their service, to aid in the
work of destruction.
Even before this awakening, as early as the year A.D. 630,
the Council of Toledo compelled the king of Spain, on his
accession to the throne, to swear to tolerate no heretical
subjects in the Spanish dominions; and it was declared that
the sovereign who should violate such oath would “be
accursed in the sight of the everlasting God, and become the
fuel of eternal fire.” But the awful import of such demands
was much more fully realized when the awakening began,
and when Antichrist had obtained the maximum of his
power.
334 The Time is at Hand

The Council of Oxford in 1160 consigned a company of

Waldenses, who had emigrated from Gascony to England,
to the secular arm for punishment. Accordingly, King Henry
II ordered them, men and women, to be publicly whipped,
branded on the cheek with a red-hot iron, and driven,
half-naked, out of the city in the dead of winter; and none
were permitted to show them pity or to grant them the
slightest favor.
Frederick, the emperor of Germany, A.D. 1224, sentenced
heretics of every description, alive, to the flames, their
property to confiscation, and their posterity, unless they
became persecutors, to infamy. Louis, king of France, A.D.
1228, published laws for the extirpation of heresy, and
enforced their execution. He forced Raymond, Count of
Toulouse, to undertake the extermination of heresy from his
dominions without sparing friend or vassal.
From the earliest encroachments of the power which by
degrees developed into the papal system, resistance was
made; but that resistance was offered only by a faithful few,
whose influence made little impression on the overwhelm-
ing tide of worldliness that swept in upon the church.
Gradually, as they discerned the error, some quietly
withdrew themselves from the great apostasy, to worship
God according to the dictates of conscience, even at the
risk of persecution. Notable among these were some,
afterward called Waldenses, Albigenses, Wycliffites and
Huguenots. These, though called by several names had, so
far as we can judge, a common origin and a common faith.
“Waldensianism,” says Rainerous (3.4), the noted Inquisi-
tor of the thirteenth century, “is the ancientest heresy; and
existed, according to some, from the days of [pope]
Sylvester, and according to others, from the days of the
apostles.” Sylvester was pope when Constantine was
emperor and confessed Christianity; and thus we see that
 The Man of Sin 335

the truth was not without its adherents from the first, who,
though humble and unpopular, resolutely resisted Papacy
and the papal doctrines of purgatory, image-worship,
invocation of saints, worship of the Virgin Mary, prayer for
the dead, transubstantiation, celibacy of the clergy,
indulgences, mass, etc., and discountenanced pilgrimages,
festivals, the burning of incense, sacred burial, the use of
holy water, sacerdotal vestments, monachism, etc., and held
that the teaching of the Sacred Scriptures should be
received, in opposition to the traditions and claims of the
Church of Rome. They regarded the pope as the head of all
errors, and claimed that the remission of sins is obtained
through the merits of the Lord Jesus, only.
The faith and works of this people were a stand for
reformation, and a protest against error, long before the
days of Luther; and they, and other opposers of Romanism,
were hunted and hated and persecuted with pitiless fury, by
papal emissaries. The Waldenses and Albigenses were the
most numerous bodies of Protestants against Papacy; and
when the literary awakening of the thirteenth century came,
it was mainly from these that the truth shone out, though
reflected and intensified in utterance by Wycliffe, Huss,
Luther, and others. And their doctrines, backed by simplic-
ity and morality, shone out with the greater luster in
contrast to the pompous pride and flagrant immoralities of
the then exalted Papacy.
Then it was that popes, councils, theologians, kings,
crusaders and inquisitors combined their fiendish powers
to exterminate every opponent, and to extinguish the
faintest rays of dawning light. Pope Innocent III first sent
missionaries to the districts in which the doctrines of the
Albigenses had gained foothold, to preach Romanism, work
miracles, etc.; but, finding these efforts unavailing, he
proclaimed a crusade against them and offered to all who
336 The Time is at Hand

would engage in it the pardon of all sins and an immediate

passport to heaven without passing through purgatory.
With full faith in the pope’s power to bestow the promised
rewards, half a million men—French, German and Italian—
rallied around the standard of the cross, for the defense of
Catholicism and the extinction of heresy. Then followed a
series of battles and sieges covering a space of twenty years.
The city of Beziers was stormed and taken in 1209, and the
citizens, without regard for age or sex, perished by the
sword to the number of sixty thousand, as reported by
several historians. The blood of those who fled to churches,
and were murdered there by the holy crusaders, drenched
the altars and flowed through the streets.
Lavaur was besieged in 1211. The governor was hanged
on a gibbet, and his wife was thrown into a well and crushed
with stones. The citizens were without discrimination put
to death, four hundred being burned alive. The flourishing
country of Languedoc was devastated, its cities burned, and
its inhabitants swept away by fire and sword. It is estimated
that one hundred thousand Albigenses fell in one day; and
their bodies were heaped together and burned.
All this rioting in blood and villainy was done in the name
of religion: professedly for the glory of God and the honor
of the church, but really to uphold Antichrist, sitting in the
temple of God [the church], showing himself that he is a
god—a powerful one—able to conquer and destroy his
enemies. The clergy thanked God for the work of destruc-
tion, and a hymn of praise to God for the glorious victory at
Lavaur was composed and sung. The dreadful carnage at
Beziers was accounted as the “visible judgment of heaven”
on the heresy of Albigensianism. The crusaders attended
high mass in the morning, and proceeded throughout the
day to waste the country of Languedoc and murder its
inhabitants.
 The Man of Sin 337

Be it remembered, however, that these open crusades,

against the Albigenses and Waldenses, were undertaken
merely because the so-called “heresy” had gained a strong hold
upon large portions of these communities. It would be a great
mistake to suppose that the crusades were the only persecu-
tions: the quiet, steady crushing of individuals, in the aggregate
numbering thousands, all over Papacy’s wide domain, went
steadily on—wearing out the saints of the Most High.
Charles V, Emperor of Germany and King of Spain and
the Netherlands, persecuted the friends of the Reformation
throughout his extensive dominions. Supported by the Diet
of Worms, he proscribed Luther, his followers and his
writings; and condemned all who should aid Luther or read
his books, to the confiscation of their property, the ban of
the empire and the penalty of high treason. In the Nether-
lands the men who followed Luther were to be beheaded,
and the women buried alive or if obstinate to be committed
to the flames. Though this wholesale law was suspended, the
work of death in all its horrid forms proceeded. The Duke
of Alva boasted of the execution of 18,000 Protestants in six
weeks. Paolo reckons the number who in the Netherlands
were executed on account of their religion at 50,000; and
Grotius gives the list of the Belgic martyrs at 100,000.
Charles, with his dying breath, exhorted his son, Philip II,
to carry on to completion the work of persecution and
extermination of heresy which he had begun—which advice
Philip was not slow to follow. With fury he stimulated the
spirit of persecution, consigning Protestants to the flames
without discrimination or pity.
Francis and Henry, the French kings, followed the
example of Charles and Philip in their zeal for Catholicism
and the extermination of heresy. The massacres of Merindol,
Orange and Paris are forcible illustrations of their zeal in the
cause of Antichrist. The massacre of Merindol, planned by
338 The Time is at Hand

the French king and approved by the French parliament,

was committed to the president, Oppeda, for execution. The
president was commissioned to slay the population, burn the
towns and demolish the castles of the Waldenses, large
numbers of whom resided in that section. Roman Catholic
historians admit that in compliance with this commission
thousands, including men, women and children, were
massacred, twenty-four towns were ruined, and the country
was left waste and desolate. Men, women and children fled
to the woods and mountains for safety and were pursued
and put to the sword. Many who remained in the towns met
the same or a worse fate. Five hundred women were thrown
into a barn which was set on fire, and when any leaped from
the windows they were received on the points of spears.
Women were violated and children were murdered in sight
of their parents, who were powerless to protect them. Some
were dashed over precipices and others were dragged naked
through the streets.
The massacre of Orange, A.D. 1562, was of a similar
character to that of Merindol, and is described with preci-
sion by Catholic historians. The Italian army sent by Pope
Pius IV was commanded to slay men, women and children;
and the command was executed with terrible cruelty. The
defenseless heretics were slain with the sword, precipitated
from rocks, thrown on the points of hooks and daggers,
hanged, roasted over slow fires and exposed to shame and
torture of every description.
The massacre in Paris on St. Bartholomew’s day, August
24th, A.D. 1572, equaled in cruelty, but exceeded in extent,
the massacres of Merindol and Orange. This has also been
detailed by Catholic historians, one of whom, Thuanus,
stigmatizes it as “a ferocious cruelty, without a parallel in all
antiquity.” The tolling of the tocsin at midnight, August
23rd, gave the signal of destruction, and the dreadful scenes
 The Man of Sin 339

of Merindol and Orange began to be reenacted against the

hated Huguenots. The carnival of death lasted seven days;
the city flowed with human blood; the court was heaped
with the slain on which the king and queen gazed with
extreme satisfaction. The body of Admiral Coligny was
dragged through the streets; and the river Seine was covered
with floating dead bodies. Accounts of the number killed
vary from 5,000 to 10,000. The work of destruction was not
confined to Paris, but extended very widely through the
French nation. On the preceding day special messengers
were dispatched in every direction ordering a general
massacre of the Huguenots. The same scenes were accord-
ingly enacted in nearly all the provinces, and estimates of the
number slain vary from 25,000 to 70,000.
In these dreadful scenes of carnage Antichrist found
extreme satisfaction. The pope and his court exulted at the
victory of Catholicism over Waldensianism at Merindol, and
the impious Oppeda was styled “The defender of the faith
and the hero of Christianity.” The French king went to
mass, and returned solemn thanks to God for the victory
over and massacre of the Huguenots at Paris. This carnage,
sanctioned by the French king and parliament and Roman
Catholic subjects, was probably at the direct instigation of
the pope and the Papal Hierarchy. That it was highly
approved, at least, is evident from the fact that at the Papal
Court the news was received with great rejoicing. The pope,
Gregory XIII, went in grand procession to the church of
Saint Louis to render thanks to God for the signal victory.
He at once proclaimed a jubilee, and sent a nuncio to the
French court, who in the pope’s name praised “the exploit
so long meditated and so happily executed for the good of
religion.” A medal was struck by the king in memory of the
massacre, bearing the inscription, “Pietas Excitavit Justitiam”
—Piety Excited Justice.
340 The Time is at Hand

Medals commemorative of the event were also coined in

the Papal mint by order of the pope. One of these is now on
exhibition in Memorial Hall, Philadelphia, Pa. Its face
presents a raised figure of the pope and the abbreviated
inscription, “Gregorius XIII, Pontifex Maximus Anno I,” the
first year of his pontificate, viz., A.D. 1572. On the reverse
side of this medal is a representation of a destroying angel,
bearing in the left hand a cross, and in the right hand a
sword, before whom, prostrate and fleeing, a band of
Huguenots, men, women and children, is represented,
whose faces and figures express horror and despair. Under
this are the words, “Ugonottorum Strages 1572”—which
signifies, “The slaughter of the Huguenots, 1572.”
A picture of the St. Bartholomew Massacre was hung in
the Vatican. It had a scroll at the top, on which was
inscribed, in Latin, words signifying, “The Pontiff approves
the fate of Coligny.” Coligny was a prominent leader of the
Huguenots and one of the first to fall. After he was killed,
his head was severed from his body and sent to the queen
(who had it embalmed and sent as a trophy to Rome),
while his body was dragged by the populace through the
streets of Paris. The king was shortly afterward seized with
the horrors of remorse from which he never recovered. It
is recorded that to his confidential physician he said, “I
know not what has happened to me, but in mind and body
I am shaking as in a fever. It seems to me every moment,
whether waking or sleeping, that mangled bodies present
themselves to me with hideous faces and covered with
blood.” He died in great agony, covered with a bloody
sweat.
In 1641 Antichrist proclaimed a “war of religion” in
Ireland, and called on the people to massacre the Protes-
tants by every means in their power. The deluded people
heard the command as the voice of God, and were not slow
 The Man of Sin 341

to execute their commission. Protestant blood flowed

freely throughout Ireland, houses were reduced to ashes,
towns and villages were almost destroyed. Some were
forced to murder their own relatives, and then to take their
own lives—the last words that fell upon their ears being
the assurances of priests, that their dying agonies were but
the beginnings of eternal torment. Thousands died of cold
and hunger, while endeavoring to emigrate to other lands.
In Cavan, the road for twelve miles together was stained
with the bloody tracks of wounded fugitives; sixty children
were abandoned in the flight, by parents fiercely hunted,
and it was declared that any who should in any way help
these little ones should be buried by their sides. Seventeen
adults were buried alive at Fermanaugh, and seventy-two
at Kilkenny. In the province of Ulster alone, over 154,000
Protestants were either massacred or expelled from
Ireland.
O’Niel, the primate of Ireland, pronounced this “a pious
and lawful war,” and the pope (Urban VIII) issued a bull
dated May 1643, granting “full and absolute remission of all
their sins” to those who had taken part in “gallantly doing
what in them lay, to extirpate and wholly root out the
pestiferous leaven of heretical contagion.”

THE INQUISITION OR “HOLY OFFICE”

To Dominic, the leading spirit in this crusade, is ascribed

the honor of inventing the infernal Inquisition, though
Benedict, who is zealous in ascribing to Saint Dominic the
honor of being the first Inquisitor General, is doubtful as to
whether the idea first suggested itself to Pope Innocent or
to Saint Dominic. It was first established by Pope Innocent
III, in A.D. 1204.
342 The Time is at Hand

St. Dominic was a monster, devoid of every feeling of

compassion, who seemed to find his chief delight in scenes
of torture and misery. During the crusade against the
Albigenses, with a crucifix in his hand he led and encouraged
the holy warriors to deeds of death and destruction. The
Inquisition or Holy Office is today a tribunal in the Roman
Catholic Church for the discovery, repression and punish-
ment of heresy and other offenses against the Church of
Rome.* But in Dominic’s day it had no legal tribunal, nor
were the instruments of torment brought to the perfection
exhibited in later days. Nevertheless, Dominic, without such
machinery, found abundant means of torture, in dislocating
joints, tearing nerves, and lacerating the limbs of his victims,
and in burning at the stake those whose convictions were
unshaken by other means, and who would not renounce
their faith and liberties.
Under his commission from Pope Innocent, to punish
with confiscation, banishment and death the heretics who
would not receive his gospel, Dominic stimulated the civil
magistracy and populace to massacre the heretical Walden-
ses; and he at one time committed one hundred and eighty
Albigenses to the flames. It was for such faithfulness in the
service of Antichrist that he was canonized a saint, and is
today adored and prayed to by Roman Catholics. The
Roman Breviary (somewhat like a Prayer Book), referring
to St. Dominic, lauds “his merits and doctrines which
enlightened the church, his ingenuity and virtue which
overthrew the Tolosan heretics, and his many miracles
which extended even to the raising of the dead.” The Roman
Missal (which embraces the service connected with the
administration of the Lord’s supper) eulogizes his merits,
and prays for temporal aid through his intercession. Thus
Antichrist still upholds and honors its faithful heroes.
* The Chair of St. Peter, page 589.
 The Man of Sin 343

It would be impossible briefly to convey any adequate

conception of the horrors of the Inquisition, or of the
dreadful fear which it inspired among the people. Those not
loud in their praise of Antichrist, or who ventured a criticism
of his methods, were suspected of heresy; and such persons,
without warning or redress, were liable to imprisonment in
a dungeon for an indefinite time until a convenient season
for trial—both the accuser and the accusation often being
equally unknown to them. The proceedings of these trials
were conducted secretly, and tortures were often employed
to extort confessions. The tortures inflicted were almost too
appalling to be credited in this age and land of freedom, yet
their reality is confirmed by evidence which even Catholic
historians cannot deny; and their fruitless attempts to
apologize for them only tend to substantiate the evidence.
Instruments of torture, relics of the Inquisition, are still in
existence which would render denial unavailing. The “Holy
Office” even employed physicians to watch the process of
torture and stop it when death seemed likely to relieve the
sufferer; and the victim was allowed partially to recover, that
the torture might be applied a second or even a third time.
These tortures were not always inflicted as punishments for
the offense of heresy: they were in general for the purpose
of compelling the accused to confess, retract or implicate
others, as the case might be.
Even within the present century, after the Inquisition had
lost many of its horrors, it was still terrible. The historian of
Napoleon’s wars, describing the capture of Toledo by his
army, incidentally mentions the opening of the Inquisition
prison, and says:
“Graves seemed to open, and pale figures like ghosts
issued from dungeons which emitted a sepulchral odor.
Bushy beards hanging down over the breast, and nails grown
like bird’s claws, disfigured the skeletons, who with laboring
344 The Time is at Hand

bosoms inhaled, for the first time for a long series of years,
the fresh air. Many of them were reduced to cripples, the
head inclined forward and the arms and hands hanging
down rigid and helpless. They had been confined in dens so
low they could not rise up in them, and in spite of all the
care of the [army] surgeons many of them expired the same
day. On the following day General Lasalle minutely in-
spected the place, attended by several officers of his staff.
The number of machines for torture thrilled even men
inured to the battle field, with horror.”
“In a recess in a subterranean vault, contiguous to the
private hall for examinations, stood a wooden figure made
by the hands of monks and representing the Virgin Mary. A
gilded glory encompassed her head, and in her right hand
she held a banner. It struck all at first sight as suspicious that,
notwithstanding the silken robe, descending on each side in
ample folds from her shoulders, she should wear a sort of
cuirass. On closer scrutiny it appeared that the fore part of
the body was stuck full of extremely sharp nails and small
narrow knife-blades, with the points of both turned toward
the spectator. The arms and hands were jointed, and
machinery behind the partition set the figure in motion.
One of the servants of the Inquisition was compelled by
command of the General to work the machine as he termed
it. When the figure extended her arms, as though to press
some one lovingly to her heart, the well-filled knapsack of
a Polish grenadier was made to supply the place of a living
victim. The statue hugged it closer and closer, and when the
attendant, agreeably to orders, made the figure unclasp her
arms and return to her former position, the knapsack was
perforated to the depth of two or three inches, and remained
hanging on the points of the nails and the knife blades.”
“Racks” of various sorts were invented, and applied as
means of torture. One of the simplest methods is explained
thus: The victim, stripped of all clothing, had his arms
fastened behind his back with a hard cord, with which, by
the action of a pulley, he was raised off his feet, to which
weights were attached. The sufferer was several times let fall,
 The Man of Sin 345

and raised with a jerk, which dislocated the joints of his arms
and legs, while the cord by which he was suspended pene-
trated the quivering flesh to the very bone.
A reminder of such outrages in the name of Christ came
to public notice recently. A Bible Society’s printing office in
Rome being crowded for space, it rented a large room near
the Vatican. A large and peculiar ring in the ceiling attracted
attention, and inquiry discovered the fact that the room in
which they are now busy printing the Bible—“the sword of
the spirit, which is the Word of God,” by which Antichrist
has already been rendered “powerless” to oppress and wear
out the saints—is the very room once used by the Inquisi-
tion as a torture chamber; the pulley ring having probably
been used to rack many a poor, gagged sufferer.
Those convicted of heresy were sometimes sentenced to
what was called an “Act of Faith.” The ecclesiastical
authority transferred the condemned to the secular power,
while the clergy, in pretense of mercy, implored the magis-
tracy to show compassion to the condemned, and, holding
up the cross, pleaded with the victim to recant and save his
present and future life. The magistrates knew well their part,
and showed no mercy except to recanters; thus gaining the
blessings and titles of “Defender of the Faith,” and “Exter-
minator of Heretics.” The condemned “heretic,” dressed in
a yellow coat variegated with pictures of dogs, serpents,
flames and devils, was led to the place of execution, tied to
the stake and committed to the flames.
Torquemada, another famous Inquisitor General,
furnished a marked illustration of the spirit of Antichrist.
Roman Catholic writers admit that he caused ten thousand
two hundred and twenty (10,220) persons, men and
women, to be burned alive. Llorente, who was for three
years the Secretary General of the Inquisition, and had
access to all the documentary evidences, in his Reports,
346 The Time is at Hand

published A.D. 1817 (4 vols.), shows that between the years

1481 and 1808, by order of this “Holy Office” alone, no less
than 31,912 persons were burned alive, and nearly 300,000
tortured and condemned to serve penances. Every Catholic
country in Europe, Asia and America had its Inquisition.
We cannot here trace Antichrist’s persecutions of every-
thing resembling reforms, liberty of conscience or political
freedom. Suffice it to say, this persecution extended to
every country where Papacy had a footing—to Germany,
Holland, Poland, Italy, England, Ireland, Scotland, France,
Spain, Portugal, Abyssinia, India, Cuba, Mexico and some
South American states. Space forbids our reciting individual
cases which would serve to show that many of the martyrs
were truly saints and heroes, who under the most horrible
sufferings had grace sufficient, and were often enabled,
while dying by inches, to sing hymns of praise and thanks
to the true Head of the true Church, and, like him, to pray
for their enemies who, as he had foretold, persecuted them
for his sake.*
Neither will we, for the same reasons, particularize all the
awful, sickening, soul-harrowing tortures, inflicted upon
some of the Lord’s jewels because of faithfulness to their
convictions. It is estimated, by those who seemingly have
given the subject thorough investigation, that Papacy,
during the past thirteen hundred years, has, directly or
indirectly, caused the death of fifty millions of people. And
it may safely be said that human and Satanic ingenuity were
taxed to their utmost to invent new and horrible tortures,
for both the political and religious opponents of Antichrist;
the latter—heretics—being pursued with tenfold fury.

* To those desiring a fuller account of these awful times and scenes we

commend Macaulay’s History of England; Motley’s Dutch Republic;
D’Aubigne’s History of the Reformation; White’s Eighteen Christian
Centuries; Elliot on Romanism; and Fox’s Book of Martyrs.
 The Man of Sin 347

Besides the common forms of persecution and death, such

as racking, burning, drowning, stabbing, starving and
shooting with arrows and guns, fiendish hearts meditated
how the most delicate and sensitive parts of the body,
capable of the most excruciating pain, could be affected;
molten lead was poured into the ears; tongues were cut out
and lead poured into the mouths; wheels were arranged
with knife blades attached so that the victim could be slowly
chopped to pieces; claws and pinchers were made red hot
and used upon sensitive parts of the body; eyes were
gouged out; finger nails were pulled off with red hot irons;
holes, by which the victim was tied up, were bored through
the heels; some were forced to jump from eminences onto
long spikes fixed below, where, quivering with pain, they
slowly died. The mouths of some were filled with gunpow-
der, which, when fired, blew their heads to pieces; others
were hammered to pieces on anvils; others, attached to
bellows, had air pumped into them until they burst; others
were choked to death with mangled pieces of their own
bodies; others with urine, excrement, etc., etc.
Some of these fiendish atrocities would be quite beyond
belief were they not well authenticated. They serve to show
to what awful depravity the human heart can descend; and
how blind to right, and every good instinct, men can become
under the influence of false, counterfeit religion. The spirit of
Antichrist degraded and debased the world as the spirit of
the true Christ and the power and influence of the true
Kingdom of God would have elevated and ennobled men’s
hearts and actions—and as they will do, during the Millen-
nium. This is to a slight extent illustrated by the advance in
civilization, and the increase of justice and mercy, since the
power of Antichrist began to wane, and the word of God
began to be heard, and heeded, even slightly.
348 The Time is at Hand

Truly, no device of which we can conceive could have been

better calculated to deceive and oppress mankind. Advantage
has been taken of every depraved disposition and weakness
of fallen men; every base passion has been stimulated and
appealed to, and the gratification of those passions rewarded.
The vicious were thus allured and enlisted as its devotees,
while those of nobler cast were engaged by other means—by
an outward and hypocritical show of piety, self-denial and
charity manifested in its monastic institutions, but which
served only to lead many such far from the paths of virtue.
The gay and the frivolous found ample satisfaction in its
parade and show, its pomp and ceremony; the enterprising
and chivalrous in its missions and crusades; the profligate in
its indulgences; and the cruel bigot in its enterprises for
oppressing its opponents.
In horror and wonder we ask ourselves, Why did kings,
and princes, and emperors, and the people at large, permit
such atrocities? Why did they not arise long ago and smite
down Antichrist? The answer is found in the Scriptures
(Rev. 18:3): The nations were drunk (stupefied), they lost
their senses in drinking the mixed wine (doctrine, false and
true mixed) given them by the apostate church. They were
deceived by the claims of Papacy. And, truth to tell, they are
only partly aroused from their stupor yet; for though the
ambassadors of kings, falling before the pope, do not as of
old address him as the “Lamb of God that taketh away the
sins of the world,” nor think of him as “a God with power
over all things on earth and in heaven,” yet they are still far
from realizing the truth—that Papacy has been, and is,
Satan’s counterfeit of the true Kingdom.
While kings and soldiers wearied of such inhuman work,
it was not so with the holy (?) hierarchy; and we find the
General Council of Sienna, A.D. 1423, declaring that the
spread of heresy in different parts of the world was due to
 The Man of Sin 349

the remissness of the Inquisitors—to the offense of God, the

injury of Catholicism and the perdition of souls. Princes
were admonished, by the mercy of God, to exterminate
heresy if they would escape divine vengeance; and plenary
indulgences were granted to all who would engage in the
work of destruction or provide arms for the purpose. These
enactments were published in the churches every Sabbath.
And Roman Catholic theologians and historians are by no
means few who have wielded their pens in the unholy cause
of justifying, recommending and praising the persecution of
heresy. Bellarmine, for instance, declares that the apostles
“abstained from calling in the secular arm only because there
were in their day no Christian princes.” Doctor Dens, a
celebrated Roman Catholic theologian, published a work on
theology in 1758, which is regarded by papists today as
standard authority, especially in their colleges, where it
ranks as Blackstone does on English civil law. This work
breathes the spirit of persecution throughout. It condemns
the patrons of heresy to confiscation of goods, banishment
from the country, confinement in prison, infliction of death
and deprivation of Christian burial.
One of the authorized curses published in the Romish
Pontifical, to be used against Protestants, reads as follows:
“May God Almighty and all his saints curse them with the
curse with which the devil and his angels are cursed. Let
them be destroyed out of the land of the living. Let the
vilest of deaths come upon them, and let them descend
alive into the pit. Let their seed be destroyed from the
earth—by hunger, and thirst, and nakedness and all distress
let them perish. May they have all misery and pestilence
and torment. Let all they have be cursed. Always and
everywhere let them be cursed. Speaking and silent let them
be cursed. Within and without let them be cursed. From the
crown of the head to the sole of the foot let them be cursed.
Let their eyes become blind, let their ears become deaf, let
their mouth become dumb, let their tongue cleave to their
350 The Time is at Hand

jaws, let not their hands handle, let not their feet walk. Let
all the members of their body be cursed. Cursed let them
be, standing or lying, from this time forth forever; and thus
let their candle be extinguished in the presence of God, at
the day of judgment. Let their burial be with dogs and asses.
Let hungry wolves devour their corpses. Let the devil and
his angels be their companions forever. Amen, Amen; so be
it, so let it be.”
This is the spirit of Papacy; and all who possess the spirit
of the true Christ should readily recognize so base a
counterfeit.
Since errors of doctrine lie at the very foundation of all
these errors of conduct, it cannot be doubted that if circum-
stances were again favorable, the doctrines being un-
changed, their bad spirit and bad fruits would shortly again
appear, in similar acts of injustice, oppression, superstition,
ignorance and persecution; and any and all means conceiv-
able would be resorted to, for restoring, upholding and
extending the counterfeit Kingdom of God. In proof of this,
let us cite a few incidents which recently chanced to come
to our attention, as follows:
In Ahuehuetitlan, Guererro, Mexico, August 7th, 1887,
a native Protestant missionary, named Abraham Gomez, and
two assistants, were murdered in cold blood by natives, at
the instigation of a Roman Catholic priest, Father Vergara,
who, when celebrating mass the day previous, is reported to
have urged his people to “make an example of the minister
of Satan” who had come among them; adding, that they
might “kill him” with all safety, counting upon protection
from the chief of police as well as the priest. The priest’s
word was law to the benighted people, and to the civil
authorities. The mangled body of the poor missionary, shot
and hacked to pieces, was dragged through the streets,
subject to all sorts of indignities, a warning to others. For this
no redress could be obtained.
 The Man of Sin 351

The New York Independent having called attention to this

bloody massacre, the following retort was made by the
Freeman, an influential New York Roman Catholic journal:
“They [Protestant missionaries] see honest people kneel,
at the sound of the Angelus, in honor of the Annunciation
and the Incarnation. The Bible, they say, will soon wipe out
such ‘superstition.’ A light burns before an image of the
Mother of God. ‘Ha!’ cries the missionary, ‘We shall soon
teach the benighted to break that symbol!’ and so on. If the
killing of a few missionaries of this kind would keep others
like them at home, we should almost—we Papists are so
wicked!—be inclined to say: ‘On with the dance; let joy be
unconfined.’”
A minister by the name of C. G. Moule tells a painful
story, which has gone the rounds of the press, of the
persecution, in Madeira, of Robert Kelley and the converts
resulting from his labors, who, with their children, nearly
one thousand persons in all, suffered expatriation as the
penalty for receiving a crumb of truth.
In “Protestant Prussia,” so-called, Pastor Thummel has
been arrested for “insulting the Roman Catholic Church.”
He published a pamphlet criticising Papacy, in which one of
the “insulting” remarks was to the effect that Papacy is an
apostasy “built upon superstition and idolatry.”
Recently the Caroline Islands were in dispute between
Prussia and Spain, and the pope got himself appointed
arbitrator or judge, to settle the dispute. (Much in this
reminds one of his former power and policy as arbiter or
supreme judge of nations.) The pope decided in favor of
Spain. A man-of-war, fifty soldiers and six priests were at
once dispatched by Spain; and on their arrival Mr. Doane,
an American missionary, was made a prisoner and cut off
from all intercourse with his converts, without cause, except
that he refused to surrender his mission work and property
to the priests; and because, the islands now belonging to
Spain, and Spain belonging to the pope, none but the pope’s
religion could be tolerated.
352 The Time is at Hand

A gentleman, formerly a Roman Catholic, and a friend of

the writer, states that recently, when traveling in South
America, he was assaulted with stones and obliged to flee for
his life, because he would neither uncover his head nor kneel
with the multitude, when the Romish priests bearing the
crucifix and host passed along the streets. And a similar case,
in which three Americans were struck by the priests,
mobbed by the people and arrested by the police in the city
of Madrid, Spain, for a like offense, is no doubt still fresh in
the minds of many who read the daily papers.
The Converted Catholic quotes as follows from the
Watchman, a Roman Catholic journal published at St. Louis,
Mo.:
“Protestantism! We would draw and quarter it. We would
impale it and hang it up for crows’ nests. We would tear it
with pinchers and fire it with hot irons. We would fill it with
moulten lead, and sink it in hell-fire a hundred fathoms
deep.”
In the light of the past, it is entirely probable that with
such a spirit, if the power were possessed, the Editor of the
Watchman would soon extend his threats beyond “Protes-
tant-ism” to the persons of Protestants.
In Barcelona, Spain, by order of the government, a large
number of copies of the Bible were recently burned—of
course at the instigation of the Church of Rome. The
following, translated from the Catholic Banner, the organ of
Papacy there, shows that they approved and appreciated the
action. It said:
“Thank God, we have at last turned toward the times
when those who propagated heretical doctrines were
punished with exemplary punishment. The re-establishment
of the Holy Tribunal of the Inquisition must soon take
place. Its reign will be more glorious and fruitful in results
than in the past. Our Catholic heart overflows with faith and
enthusiasm; and the immense joy we experience, as we
 The Man of Sin 353

begin to reap the fruit of our present campaign, exceeds all

imagination. What a day of pleasure will that be for us, when
we see Anti-clericals writhing in the flames of Inquisition!”
To encourage another crusade, the same paper says:
“We believe it right to publish the names of those holy
men under whose hands so many sinners suffered, that good
Catholics may venerate their memory:
“By Torquemada—
Men and women burnt alive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,220
Burnt in effigy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,840
Condemned to other punishments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97,371
“By Diego Deza—
Men and women burnt alive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,592
Burnt in effigy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 829
Condemned to other punishments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32,952
“By Cardinal Jiminez de Cisneros—
Men and women burnt alive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,564
Burnt in effigy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,232
Condemned to other punishments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,059
“By Adrian de Florencia—
Men and women burnt alive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,620
Burnt in effigy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560
Condemned to other punishments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,835

“Total number of men and women burnt alive,

under the ministry of 45 holy Inquisitor-Generals 35,534
Total number burnt in effigy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,637
Total number of condemned to other punishments 293,533
“Grand total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347,704

THE PAPAL MILLENNIUM

As the true Kingdom of the true Christ is to last a thou-

sand years, so the Papal counterfeit looks back upon the
period of its greatest prosperity, which began A.D. 800 and
closed in the dawn of the present century, as the fulfilment
of the Millennial reign foretold in Rev. 20. And the period
354 The Time is at Hand

since, in which Papacy has gradually lost all of its temporal

power, suffered many indignities from nations formerly its
supporters, and been greatly despoiled of territories,
incomes and liberties long claimed and possessed, Roman-
ists regard as the “little season” of Rev. 20:3, 7, 8, at the
close of the Millennium, during which Satan was to be
loosed.
And the dates which mark the beginning and the close of
Papacy’s Millennium of ignorance, superstition and fraud
are clearly shown in history. A Roman Catholic writer* thus
refers to the beginning of this religious empire: “The
coronation of Charlemagne as Emperor of the West, by
Pope Leo, A.D. 800, was really the commencement of the
Holy Roman Empire.Ӡ
Although Papacy was organized, as a religious system,
long before, and was even “set up” in temporal power in
A.D. 539, yet it was Charlemagne who first actually
bestowed and formally recognized the temporal dominion
of the pope. As Charlemagne was the first emperor over the
“Holy Roman Empire,” A.D. 800, so Francis II was the last,
and he voluntarily surrendered his title in A.D. 1806.‡ As,
prior to the year 800, Papacy was rising, supported by the

* The Chair of St. Peter.

† “The Holy Roman Empire” was the title of the great political institution
of the middle ages. It had its start in Charlemagne. Fisher’s Universal
History, page 262, describes it thus: “In theory it was the union of the
world-state and the world-church—an undivided community under
Emperor and Pope, its heaven-appointed [?] secular and spiritual heads.”
And, since the popes, as in Christ’s stead, anointed the emperors, it
follows that they were the real heads of it.
‡ “By the battle of Marengo, 1800, and of Austerlitz, 1805, Germany
was twice laid prostrate at the feet of Napoleon. The main result of the
latter defeat was the establishment of the Confederation of the Rhine,
under the protectorate of the French ruler. This event put an end to the old
German or [Holy] Roman Empire, after a duration of a thousand years.”
White’s Universal History, page 508.
 The Man of Sin 355

Roman “beast” (people) and by its “horns” (powers), so

since 1800 it has been cast off from temporal authority over
kings and peoples, and has been torn and pillaged by those
who formerly gave it support. (Rev. 17:16, 17) Today,
though still the recipient of honors, and still possessed of
a wide influence over the consciences of the people, Papacy
bemoans its loss of everything resembling temporal
dominion.
The careful student will note four periods, more or less
distinctly marked, in the development and exaltation of
Antichrist, and the same number distinctly marking its fall.
In its development the four dates are:
1st. In Paul’s day, about A.D. 50, a beginning of the secret
working of the iniquitous ambition was the start.
2nd. Papacy, “the Man of Sin,” was organized as a hierar-
chy; i.e., the church came to an organized condition, and the
popes came to be recognized as the Head, representing
Christ, reigning in the church and over the nations, gradu-
ally, from about A.D. 300 to 494.*
3rd. The time when the popes began to exercise civil
authority and power, as will hereafter be shown, A.D. 539.
(Vol. III, Chap. iii)

* The popedom struggled long for mastery as the head of the church,
and gradually obtained recognition and dominion; and that this dominion
was generally recognized as early as A.D. 494, is clearly shown by the
Romanist writer of The Chair of St. Peter, page 128. After giving in detail
acknowledgments of the Roman Bishop as supreme pontiff by various
councils, bishops, emperors, etc., he summarizes thus:
“These words were written as far back as the year of our Lord 494.…
On the whole, then, it is clear, from the foregoing authentic evidence, that
the primacy of the Chair of St. Peter [the Bishopric of Rome] had so far
developed itself in the fifth century, that the pope was then universally
regarded as the center of Christian unity—the Supreme Ruler and Teacher
of God’s church, the Prince of Bishops, the Final Arbiter of appeals in
ecclesiastical causes from all parts of the world, and the Judge and
Moderator of General Councils, over which he presided by his legates.”
356 The Time is at Hand

4th. The time of exaltation, A.D. 800, when, as already

shown, the “Holy Roman Empire” was formed, and the
pope, crowning Charlemagne emperor, was recognized as
himself King of kings, Emperor of emperors, “another God,
on earth.”
The four periods of the fall of papal influence are as
follows:
1st. The period of the Reformation, which may be said to
have had its beginning about A.D. 1400, in the writings of
Wycliffe—followed by Huss, Luther and others.
2nd. The period of Napoleon’s success, the degradation
of the popes, and the casting aside finally of the title
“Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire,” by Francis II, A.D.
1800-1806.
3rd. The final rejection of the pope as ruler over Rome and
the so-called Papal States of Italy, by the pope’s subjects and
the King of Italy, A.D. 1870, by which Antichrist is left
without the slightest temporal authority.
4th. The final extinction of this counterfeit hierarchy, near
the close of the “Day of wrath” and judgment already
begun—which will close, as shown by the “Times of the
Gentiles,” with the year A.D. 1914.

IS THERE ROOM FOR DOUBT?

We have traced Antichrist’s rise, out of an apostasy or

“falling away” in the Christian Church; we have heard its
blasphemous claim to be Christ’s Kingdom and that its
pope is Vicegerent of Christ—“another God, on earth;” we
have heard its great swelling words of blasphemy, arrogat-
ing to itself titles and powers belonging to the true Lord of
lords and King of kings; we have seen how terribly it
fulfilled the prediction, “He shall wear out the saints;” we
have seen that the truth, crushed and deformed, would have
been completely buried under error, superstition and
 The Man of Sin 357

priestcraft, had not the Lord at the proper moment,

prevented by raising up reformers, thus helping his
saints—as it is written, “They that understand among the
people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword,
and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. Now
when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help.”
Dan. 11:33, 34
In view of all this testimony, is there room for doubt that
it was concerning Papacy that the apostles and prophets
were inspired to write, describing minutely as they do its
prominent characteristics? We think there should remain no
doubt in any unbiased mind that Papacy is the Antichrist,
the Man of Sin; and that no one man could possibly fulfil the
predictions. Papacy’s unparalleled success, as a counterfeit
Christ, deceiving the whole world, has amply fulfilled our
Master’s prediction, when, after referring to his own
rejection, he said, “If another shall come [boastingly] in his
own name, him ye will receive.” John 5:43
It will be observed, no doubt with surprise, by many, that
in our examination of the subject we have in general omitted
reference to villainies, gross immoralities, on the part of the
popes and other officials, and to the dark deeds of “expedi-
ency” practiced by the Jesuits and other secret orders, who
do all sorts of detective work for Papacy. We have omitted
these intentionally, not because they are untrue, for even
Roman Catholic writers acknowledge many of them; but
because our line of argument does not require these
evidences. We have shown that the Papal Hierarchy (even
if it were composed of the most moral and upright of
men—which is not the case, as all history testifies) is the
Man of Sin, the Antichrist, the counterfeit and mis-
representative of Christ’s Millennial Kingdom, skillfully
arranged so as to deceive.
The words of Macaulay, the English historian, serve to
358 The Time is at Hand

show that some without special prophetic light can see

Papacy’s wonderful system—the counterfeit of the most
wonderful of all systems, the Kingdom of God, yet to come.
He says:
“It is impossible to deny that the polity of the Church of
Rome is the very masterpiece of human [we would say Satanic]
wisdom. In truth, nothing but such a polity could, against
such assaults, have borne up such doctrines. The experience
of twelve hundred eventful years, the ingenuity and patient
care of forty generations of statesmen, have improved that
polity to such perfection, that among the contrivances of
political ability it occupies the highest place.”

ANTICHRIST’S FINAL END

We have traced Papacy to the present time, to the Day of

the Lord—the time of Immanuel’s presence. This Man of Sin
has been developed, has done his awful work, has been
smitten with the sword of the Spirit—the Word of God. The
spirit of Christ’s mouth has rendered him powerless to
persecute the saints openly and generally, no matter how
strong the desire; and now we ask, What next? What says the
Apostle concerning Antichrist’s end?
In 2 Thess. 2:8-12, the Apostle Paul declares concerning
Antichrist: “Whom the Lord Jesus will consume with the
spirit of his mouth, and annihilate with the bright shining of
his presence.” The light of truth is to penetrate every subject.
By exposing rights and wrongs it will lead into the great
struggle between these principles, and between the human
exponents of each—causing the great time of trouble and
wrath. In this struggle, wrong and evil shall fall, and right
and truth shall triumph. Among other evils now to be finally
and utterly destroyed is Antichrist, with which nearly every
evil, of theory and practice, is more or less directly con-
nected. And it will be this bright-shining, this sunlight from
the Lord’s presence, which will produce the “day of trou-
 The Man of Sin 359

ble,” because of and in which Antichrist, with every other

evil system, will be destroyed. “Whose presence is with
[accompanied by or during] an energetic operation of Satan
[Satanic energy and action] with all power, and signs, and
lying delusions, and with every iniquitous deception for
those perishing; because they did not receive the love of the
truth, that they might be preserved. And for this reason God
will send to them a deluding power, that they might believe
the error: so that all not believing the truth, but taking
pleasure in iniquity, may be judged” unworthy to share the
Millennial Kingdom as joint-heirs with Christ.
We understand these words to imply that in the time of
the Lord’s presence (the present time—since 1874), through
this Antichrist system (one of the principal of Satan’s
agencies for deceiving and controlling the world), as well as
through all his other agencies, the devil will make a most
desperate resistance to the new order of things about to be
established. He will take advantage of every little circum-
stance, and all the inherited weaknesses and selfishness of
the human family, to enlist their hearts and hands and pens
in this final struggle against liberty and the full elucidation
of truth. Prejudices will be enkindled where, if the truth
were clearly seen, none would exist; and passionate zeal will
be evoked, and partisan unions formed, which will deceive
and mislead many. And this will be so, not because God has
not made the truth clear enough to guide all the fully
consecrated, but because those who will be deceived were
not sufficiently in earnest in seeking out and using the truth
provided as “meat in due season.” And thus it will be
manifested that the class misled received not the truth in the
love of it, but rather through custom, formality or fear. And
the Apostle’s assurance seems to be that, in this final
death-struggle of Antichrist, notwithstanding he shall seem
to gain increased power in the world by new stratagems,
360 The Time is at Hand

deceptions and combinations, yet the true Lord of earth, the

King of kings, in the time of his presence, will prevail; and
shall finally, during the great time of trouble, utterly
annihilate Antichrist and destroy forever his power and
deceptions.
As to the exact form in which this closing struggle should
be expected, we can only make suggestions, based largely
upon the symbolic views of the same, given in Revelation.
We anticipate the gradual formation throughout the world
of two great parties—from both of which the faithful,
overcoming saints will stand separate. These two great
parties will be composed on the one side of Socialists, Free-
thinkers, Infidels, discontents, and true liberty-lovers whose
eyes are beginning to open to the facts of the case as they
relate both to political and religious mis-government and
despotism: on the other side will be gradually associated the
opponents of human liberty and equality—Emperors,
Kings, Aristocrats; and in close sympathy with these will
stand the counterfeit of God’s Kingdom, Antichrist,
supporting and being supported by earth’s civil despots. We
expect, too, that Antichrist’s policy will be somewhat
modified and softened to seek to win back into sympathy
and practical cooperation (not actual union) extremists of
all Protestant denominations, who even now are panting for
a nominal union with each other and with Rome—forgetful
that the only true union is that produced and continued by
the truth, and not by creeds, conventions and laws. Improb-
able as this cooperation of Protestants and Catholics may
seem to some, we see unmistakable signs of its rapid
approach. It is being hastened by the secret workings of
Papacy among its people, whereby such politicians as are
willing to cooperate with Papacy are assisted into promi-
nent positions in governmental affairs.
Laws may be expected soon through which, gradually,
 The Man of Sin 361

personal liberty will be curtailed, under the plea of necessity

and the public welfare; until, one step after another being
taken, it will finally be necessary to formulate some “simple
law of religion;” and thus Church and State may be in a
measure united, in governing the United States of America.
These laws, simple as they can be made, to suit all so-called
“orthodox” (i.e., popular) religious views, will be calculated
to repress and prevent further growth in grace, and in the
knowledge now “meat in due season.” The plea will proba-
bly be, the prevention of socialism, infidelity, and political
eruption, of the lower and the independent classes.
Evidently, in the near future, as a part of its trouble, and
even before the severity of the great trouble of this “day of
wrath” has burst upon the world and wrecked the entire
social fabric of earth (preparatory to the new and better one
promised under the true Christ), there will be a severe hour
of trial and testing of the truly consecrated Church, much
as it was in the days of Papacy’s triumph; only now the
methods of persecution will be more refined and will
comport better with the more civilized methods of the
present day: the spikes and pincers and racks will have more
the form of sarcasm and denunciations, restrictions of
liberties, and social, financial and political boycotting. But
concerning this, and the new combinations which Antichrist
will form in this final struggle against the establishment of
the true Millennial Kingdom, more anon.
In concluding this chapter we desire to again impress our
readers with the fact that Papacy is the Antichrist, not
because of its moral obliquity, but because it is the counter-
feit of the true Christ and the true Kingdom. It is because of
a failure to realize this fact that many Protestants will be
deceived into cooperation with Papacy in opposition to the
true King of Glory.
362 The Time is at Hand

FAITHFUL UNTIL DEATH

“Am I a soldier of the cross,

A follower of the Lamb?
And shall I fear to own His cause,
Or blush to speak his name?

“Must I be borne to Paradise

On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?

“Are there no foes for me to face?

Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vain world a friend to grace,
To help me on to God?

“Sure I must fight if I would reign.

Increase my courage, Lord.
I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by thy Word.

“Thy saints in all this glorious war

Shall conquer, though they die.
They see the triumph from afar,
By faith they bring it nigh.

“When thine illustrious day shall rise,

And all thy saints shall shine,
And shouts of vict’ry rend the skies,
The glory, Lord, be thine.”
 STUDY X
THE TIME IS AT HAND

NOTHING INTERVENES—THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CHRIST’S KINGDOM, THE WORK

NOW IN PROGRESS—THE TESTIMONY OF PROPHECY CONCURS—THE WORLDLY-
WISE SEE MUCH—THE WATCHING SAINTS SEE MORE DISTINCTLY—THE
IMPORTANCE TO ALL, OF OPEN EYES IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

T HE TIME IS AT HAND for the establishment of the Re-

deemer’s Kingdom. This is the concurrent testimony
of the foregoing chapters. Nothing intervenes. We are
already living in the seventh millennium—since Oct. 1872.
The lease of power to the Gentile kingdoms must terminate
with the year 1914. The great antitypical Jubilee, the Times
of Restitution of all things, had its beginning in the year
1874, when the presence of the great Restorer was also due.
The manner of his return and the character of his work up
to the present time are in exact correspondence with the
details of prophecy thus far. The closing features of this
dispensation, now observed, are in perfect accord with those
of its Jewish type. The Elias has come, and is received as
foretold; and the predicted curse—the great time of
trouble—is already impending. The Man of Sin has been
revealed in all his hateful deformity, and has almost run his
predicted course. The establishment of the long promised
Kingdom of Messiah is therefore the great event just before
us. Not only so, but its establishment is now in progress.
The necessary undermining and overturning of the king-
doms of this world under the prince of darkness—“the
prince of this world”—are now visible to some extent even
to the natural eye of the children of this world, but are much
more clearly seen, as they should be, by those who look
upon transpiring events through the field glass of God’s

363
364 The Time is at Hand

Word, which at proper focus brings distant matters and

results close to view, and enables God’s children to recog-
nize the minutiae which the natural eye cannot discern, as
well as the leading features which the world’s statesmen and
philosophers see in but dim outline. Even the worldly-wise
can discern the social trouble fomenting, as the dominance
of ignorance gives place to greater general knowledge and
personal independence. And though they vainly hope for
some unknown and unexpected favorable turn of affairs to
occur, yet, as described in the Scriptures, their hearts are
failing them for fear and for looking after the things coming
upon the earth—because they see the shaking of the
symbolic heavens now in progress, and perceive that with
such a shaking and removal of the power of error, supersti-
tions and religious restraints from the masses of the people,
violence and anarchy must result.
But, from God’s standpoint, from which the waking ones
of the household of faith are privileged to look, not only the
severity of the trouble is more distinct, but also the blessed
results, which under God’s providence it shall subserve by
ushering in the Millennial Kingdom. And this is a comfort,
and more than an offset for all the tribulation, even though
we or our dearest ones may share it.
That we might now have the comfort of this knowledge,
and not be in doubt and perplexity, was but part of the
object in the giving of the time prophecies. Another object
was, that, as the representatives of that kingdom among
men, we should be aware of the great dispensational changes
now in progress, and able to bear testimony before the
world, regarding God’s plan, etc., which, though unheeded
now, will greatly benefit them by and by, and help them the
sooner to recognize the Lord’s presence in the great day of
wrath, drawing on. Another object is, that the faithful, thus
armed and strengthened by God’s Word, may be enabled to
 The Time is at Hand 365

stand firm, when so many will be falling into infidelity and

various other deceptive errors, which will soon sweep over
“Christendom.” Another object is, to give force and point
to the entire Plan of the Ages: for it is a general experience
that, while the first glimpse of God’s gracious plan for
blessing the whole world through the Church, during the
Millennial age, fills the hearts and enlists the zeal of his
faithful children to the utmost, yet as their efforts to
enlighten others are coldly received, and they find that only
a very few, comparatively, have “an ear to hear,” the
tendency is to settle down to the quiet enjoyment of the
precious knowledge, in such a manner as will bring the least
reproach and opposition.
Seeing this, our natural weakness, the Lord has provided
time prophecies as a spur, to quicken and awaken us fully,
and keep us active in his service. Being already in the
“harvest” time, harvest work should engage the time, service
and thoughts of the Lord’s servants, who now, like the
disciples at the first advent, are to do the reaping work.
(John 4:35-38) Let us each seek to do what our hands find
to do, in obedience to the instructions of the great Chief
Reaper. But, with reference more particularly to the time
and order of events in this “harvest,” we must refer the
reader to the succeeding volume of this series, wherein the
conclusions of the foregoing and other time prophecies are
brought to a focus, and the various foretold signs and
corroborative testimonies of the Master’s presence and the
progress of his work are marked, proving—that the “Time
of the End” has come; that the Days of Waiting for the
Kingdom are fulfilled; that the Cleansing of the Sanctuary
is accomplished; that the great Harvest Work is in progress;
that the Regathering of Israel is apparent; that the Battle of
the Great Day of God Almighty is impending; and that the
complete establishment of the glorious Kingdom of God at
366 The Time is at Hand

the time appointed, the end of the Times of the Gentiles, is

an unquestionable certainty; and showing, further, the work
of the saints during the harvest; marking the close of the
“high calling,” and the “change” of those saints who “are
alive and remain;” and showing, also, that the Great Pyramid
of Egypt is one of God’s Witnesses (Isa. 19:19, 20), whose
wonderful message is a full and complete corroboration of
God’s plan of the ages, together with its times and seasons.
MILLENNIAL DAWN
“All things are onward moving! Let the blessed time begin!
The Old is swiftly passing, and the New is coming in!
The golden bells are ringing, and the pageant sweeps along
Like an army that is speeding to the measure of a song.
“Dark theories now are waning: they are weak to build upon;
The light is on the hill-tops, and Truth is marching on:
Many landmarks are but shadows, which now fade and flee away
Before the mighty forces that are coming in today.
“O brother, why this waiting? And sister, why so mute?
Up with the early sunshine! Watch for the golden fruit!
O poet, why this sorrow? O minstrel, why this hush?
And painter, why so long delay the heavenly tint and blush?
“Up with the larks of morning! Up with the rising sun!
Waiting not for noon-day, nor halting when begun!
For everything is moving; let the blessed time begin!
The Old is swiftly passing, and the New is coming in!
“The heavenly light is spreading, spreading at the King’s command!
It is spreading in its glory, speeding onward through the land.
Human creeds are downward tending; let them droop and fade away.
Following in the dawning sunlight, we can see a better way.
“Oh, let us all be ready for the work we have to do,
Toiling late and early, for the laborers are few!
Reaping, as instructed, in the morning light;
Reaping in the harvest field, toiling for the RIGHT!
“All things are onward moving! Let earth’s Jubilee begin!
The Old is swiftly passing, and the New is coming in!
It is coming! Oh ’tis coming! My raptured eyes behold!
The light is on the hill-tops, the Shepherd with his Fold.”
 INDEX
TO
SCRIPTURE CITATIONS
OF
SCRIPTURE STUDIES, SERIES II

GENESIS 16:20, 33 . . . . . . . 130 JOSHUA

1:16 . . . . . . . . . . . . 308 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 10:42 . . . . . . . . . . . 48
1:28 . . . . . . 73, 94, 96 19:5-8 . . . . . . . . . 207 11:23 . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3:15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 19:6 . . . . . . . . . . . 246 14:7, 10 . . . . . . . . . 48
5:3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 20:19-21 . . . . . . . 131 17:12, 13 . . . . . . . 184
21, 25, 28 . . . . . . . 43 33:20 . . . . . . . . . . 132 18:2, 3 . . . . . . . . . 184
7:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 33:20-23 . . . . . . . 131 23:4, 7, 13, 15 . . . 184
7:11, 13 . . . . . . . . . . 48 34:28 . . . . . . . . . . 132
8:13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 34:29-35 . . . . . . . 131
9:11 . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 34:30-33 . . . . . . . 134 JUDGES
11:10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 3:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
20, 22, 24, 32 . . . 44 3:14 . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
12:1, 2 . . . . . . . . . . . 45 LEVITICUS 3:9, 15 . . . . . . . . . . 88
12:1-3 . . . . . . . . . . . 98 23:15, 16 . . . . . . . 175 4:2, 3 . . . . . . . . . . . 89
12:1-5, 7 . . . . . . . . . 45 25:2-13 . . . . . . . . 180 6:11-22 . . . . . . . . 127
12:4 . . . . . . . . 46, 231 25:9 . . . . . . . . . . . 187 10:7, 8 . . . . . . . . . . 89
12:5-7 . . . . . . . . . . . 46 25:10 . . . . . . . . . . 197 13:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
12:7, 8 . . . . . . . . . . . 45 25:10-15 . . . . . . . 177 13:3-20 . . . . . . . . 127
13:14-17 . . . . . . . . 246 26:17, 18, 24, 28 . . 88
13:14-18 . . . . . . . . . 45 26:18, 21, 24, 28 . . 89
18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 26:34, 35, 43 . . . . 192 I KINGS
18:17 . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 26:35 . . . . . . . . . . 188 6:1 . . . . . . . . . . 53(2)
21:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 26:44, 45 . . . . . . . . 90 17:7 . . . . . . . . . . . 256
25:26 . . . . . . . . . . . 231 26:45 . . . . . . . . . . . 92 17:5-9 . . . . . . . . . 256
26:3, 4 . . . . . . . . . . . 45 18:2 . . . . . . . . . . . 256
28:14 . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 18:31 . . . . . . . . . . 246
35:9-12 . . . . . . . . . . 45 NUMBERS 18:40, 45, 46 . . . . 256
46:2-4 . . . . . . . . . . . 45 4:3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 18:41-45 . . . . . . . 256
46:3 . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 10:11-13 . . . . . . . . 48 19:1-4 . . . . . . . . . 256
47:28 . . . . . . . . . . . 231 13:3-26 . . . . . . . . . 48
49:10 . . . . . . . . 81, 86 14:33, 34 . . . . . . . . 91
49:28 . . . . . . . . . . . 213 32:8-13 . . . . . . . . . 48 II KINGS
50:24 . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 33:3 . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 2:9-16 . . . . . . . . . 265
2:19-22 . . . . . . . . 266
4:1-7, 18-44 . . . . 266
EXODUS DEUTERONOMY 5:1-10 . . . . . . . . . 266
3:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 8:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 8:17 . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
12:40, 41 . . . . . . . . . 48 18:15 . . . . . . . . . . 177 9:1-37 . . . . . . . . . 266
12:40-42 . . . . . . . . . 46 26:5 . . . . . . . 213, 217 10:28 . . . . . . . . . . 266
12:40-42, 51 . . . . . . 46 29:29 . . . . . . . . . . . 18 12:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
12:41 . . . . . . . . . . . 231 33:3 . . . . . . . . . . . 157 16:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
12:41-43, 47, 50, 51 46 34:6 . . . . . . . . . . . 130 20:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
12:42, 43, 47, 50 . . . 47 24:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

367
368 Index of Texts

24:8-16 . . . . . . . . . . 52 NEHEMIAH 45:13 . . . . . . . . . . . 67

24:14 . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 2:3-8 . . . . . . . . . . . 67 52:7 . . . 142, 157, 254
25:12, 26 . . . . . . . . . 52 4 ............... 65 52:11 . . . . . . . . . . 240
6:15 . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 53:10-12 . . . . . . . . 65
7:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 62:10 . . . . . . . . . . . 31
I CHRON. 11:1, 20 . . . . . . . . 206 63:4 . . . . . . . . . . . 222
29:27 . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

PSALMS JEREMIAH
II CHRON. 2:8, 9 . . . . . . . . . . 100 1:10 . . . . . . . . . . . 311
9:30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 2:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 16:9-13 . . . . . . . . 216
12:13 . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 2:12 . . . . . . . . . . . 300 16:13-15 . . . . . . . 217
13:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312 16:18 . . . . . . . . . . 217
16:13 . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 8:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 25:9-12 . . . . . . . . 195
20:31 . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 8:4-8 . . . . . . . . . . 309 25:11 . . . . . . . . . . 191
21:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 18:12, 13 . . . . . . . 153 29:10 . . . . . . . 64, 191
21:20 . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 37:1-14 . . . . . . . . 138 31:29, 30 . . . . . . . . 92
22:2, 12 . . . . . . . . . . 50 46:10 . . . . . . . . . . . 78 31:33, 34 . . . . . . . . 92
24:1 . . . . . . . . . 50, 52 47 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 52:1, 3-7 . . . . . . . . 48
25:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 50:5 . . . 104, 164, 230
26:3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 69:22-28 . . . . . . . 215
27:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 72:1-19 . . . . . . . . 138 EZEKIEL
28:1 . . . . . . . . . 50, 52 72:19 . . . . . . . . . . . 99 4:1-8 . . . . . . . . . . . 91
29:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 91:12 . . . . . . . . . . 157 4:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
33:1, 21 . . . . . . . . . . 50 95:8-10 . . . . . . . . . 47 7:17-19 . . . . . . . . 139
34:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 99:5 . . . . . . . . . . . 309 20:49 . . . . . . . . . . . 23
36:5, 11 . . . . . . . . . . 50 110:1 . . . . . . . . . . 157 21:24-27 . . . . . . . . 76
36:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 110:6 . . . . . . . . . . 102 21:25-27 . . . . . 73, 79
36:9, 10, 17 . . . . . . . 52 137 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 21:27 . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
36:11 . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 149 . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
36:17-21 . . . . . . . . 191 149:8, 9 . . . . . . . . 100
36:20 . . . . . . . . . . . 246 DANIEL
36:20, 23 . . . . . . . . . 51 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
36:20-23 . . . . . . . . . 64 ISAIAH 2:34 . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
36:21 . . . . . . . . . . . 195 1:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 2:37, 38 . . . . . 96, 100
36:21-23 . . . . . . . . . 79 2:8-21 . . . . . . . . . 139 2:38 . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
2:19, 21 . . . . . . . . 147 2:44 . . . . . . . . 99, 170
2:21 . . . . . . . . . . . 140 3:19-25 . . . . . . . . 162
EZRA 6:3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . 64, 93
1:1-4 . . . . . . . . . . . 206 8:14 . . . 26, 215, 229, 4:16, 23-26 . . . . . . 90
1:3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 241, 247 4:16, 23, 25, 32 . . . 89
2:70 . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 8:19 . . . . . . . . . . . 126 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
5:13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 9:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 7:8, 11, 25 . . . . . . 305
6:1-12 . . . . . . . . . . . 66 10:22, 23 . . . . 70, 215 7:8, 21 . . . . . . . . . 272
7:7-14 . . . . . . . . . . . 66 13:4 . . . . . . . . . . . 147 7:8, 25 . . . . . . . . . 305
19:19, 20 . . . . . . . 366 7:25 . . . . . . . . 91, 310
26:5-11 . . . . . . . . 138 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
28:17 . . . . . . 102, 139 9:2, 17-19 . . . . . . . 64
40:1, 2 . . . . . . . . . 227 9:23-27 . . . . 9, 63, 64
40:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 9:24 . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
 Index of Texts 369

9:24-27 . . . . . . 58, 91 MATTHEW 23:37 . . . . . . . . . . 247

9:25 . . . . . 66, 67, 235 2:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 23:37-39 . . . . . . . 226
9:26, 27 . . . . . . . . . . 71 2:1-16 . . . . . . . . . 247 23:38 . . . 69, 213, 246
9:27 . . . . . . . . . . . . 234 2:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 24:1-14 . . . . . . . . 160
10:5-8 . . . . . . . . . . 124 2:14-16 . . . . . . 56, 57 24:2 . . . . . . . . . . . 247
11:31 . . . . . . . . . . . 271 2:23 . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 24:3 . . . . . . . . 159(2)
11:33, 34 . . . . . . . . 357 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320 24:15 . . . . . . 270, 271
12:1 . . . 101, 145, 149 3:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 24:15-22 . . . . . . . 160
12:4, 9, 10 . . . . . . . . 15 3:11 . . . . . . . 233, 240 24:23-26 . . . . . . . 160
12:4, 10 . . . . . . 19, 87 3:12 . . . 205, 233, 261 24:23, 26, 27 . . . . 165
12:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 3:16 . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 24:27 . . 144, 155, 160
12:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 4:8, 9 . . . . . . . . . . 293 24:27, 37, 39 . . . . 159
12:9, 10 . . . . . . . . . . 18 5:14 . . . . . . . . . . . 141 24:30 . . . . . . . . . . 143
12:11 . . . . . . . . . . . 271 5:18 . . . . . . . 173, 187 24:31 . . . . . . . . . . 164
9:37 . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 24:37 . . . . . . . . . . 163
9:37, 38 . . . . . . . . 160 24:37-39 . . . 167, 189
AMOS 10:5, 6 . . . . . . . . . 207 24:37, 39 . . . . . . . 160
3:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 10:5-7 . . . . . . . . . 117 24:38, 39 . . . 143, 247
8:11 . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 10:7 . . . . . . . . . . . 236 24:42-51 . . . . . . . 163
10:35-38 . . . . . . . 236 24:45-47 . . . . . . . 165
11:14 . . . . . . . . . . 253 25:1 . . . . . . . . . . . 247
HABAKKUK 11:15 . . . . . . . . . . . 16 27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
2:3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 11:25 . . . . . . . . . . . 29 27:24 . . . . . . . . . . 330
2:14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 12:10, 13 . . . . . . . . 40 28:5-7 . . . . . . . . . 112
13:10-17 . . . . . . . . 27 28:8, 10 . . . . . . . . 112
13:17 . . . . . . . . . . . 23 28:9, 10 . . . . . . . . 112
ZEPHANIAH 13:24-30 . . . . . . . 247 28:18 . . . . . . . . . . 111
3:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 13:24-30, 36-39 . 234 28:20 . . . . . . 105, 203
13:24, 30, 39 . . . . . 15
13:24-40 . . . . . . . 205
ZECHARIAH 13:30 . . . . . . 150, 164 MARK
9:9-12 . . . . . . . . . . 224 13:30, 39 . . . . . . . 233 1:15 . . . . . 25, 78, 236
9:10 . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 13:36 . . . . . . . . . . . 28 4:10 . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
9:12 . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 13:36-43 . . . . . . . 247 4:11, 12 . . . . . . . . 170
12:10 . . . . . . . 72, 130 13:39, 40 . . . . . . . 160 7:1-23 . . . . . . . . . . 27
13:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 14:4 . . . . . . . . . . . 261 7:9, 13 . . . . . . . . . 241
14:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 14:25-32 . . . . . . . 191 11:15-17 . . . . . . . 239
15:14 . . . . . . . . . . . 27 13:32 . . . . . . . . . . 160
15:24 . . . . . . . . . . 207 13:32, 33, 37 . . . . . 18
MALACHI 16:1-4 . . . . . . . . . . 27 14:27 . . . . . . . . . . 111
3:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 17:1-9 . . . . . . . . . 255 14:61-64 . . . . . . . 306
3:1-3, 13-18 . . . . . 249 17:11 . . . . . . . . . . 254 16:1 . . . . . . . . . . . 111
3:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247 17:12 . . . . . . 251, 260
3:17 . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 18:10 . . . . . . . . . . 132
4:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 20:18 . . . . . . . . . . 247 LUKE
4:1-6 . . . . . . . . . . . 249 21:4-9 . . . . . . . . . 225 1:17 . . . . . . . . . . . 253
4:5, 6 . . . . . . . . . . . 249 21:4, 5, 9 . . . 238, 247 1:26 . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
21:5-15 . . . . . . . . 247 1:26, 36 . . . . . . . . . 58
21:43 . . . . . . 119, 225 2:21 . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
23:2 . . . . . . . . . . . 182 2:25-38 . . . . . . . . . 21
370 Index of Texts

2:34 . . . . . . . . . . . . 228 JOHN 20:24 . . . . . . . . . . 116

3:1 . . . . . . . . . . 58, 60 1:12 . . . . . . . . . . . 246 20:24-28 . . . . . . . . 27
3:1-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 1:18 . . . . . . . . . . . 122 20:26. . . . . . . . . . . . 116
3:15 . . . . . 21, 66, 240 1:26 . . . . . . . . . . . 261 20:27-29 . . . . . . . 125
3:23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 1:26, 27 . . . . . . . . 253 21:1-12 . . . . . . . . . 27
4:30 . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 1:45 . . . . . . . . . . . 177 21:3 . . . . . . . . . . . 117
5:4-11 . . . . . . . . . . 118 1:45-51 . . . . . . . . . 27
10:2, 16 . . . . . . . . . 247 2:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
11:36 . . . . . . . . . . . 156 2:19, 21, 22 . . . . . 114 ACTS
12:29, 30 . . . . . . . . 119 3:29 . . . 238, 240, 247 1:4-6 . . . . . . . . . . 119
12:32 . . . . . . 190, 205 4:23 . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 1:6-15 . . . . . . . . . 120
12:37 . . . . . . 171, 196 4:35, 38 . . . . 238, 247 1:7 . . . . . . . . . . 18, 78
12:51-53 . . . . . . . . 236 4:35-38 233, 247, 365 1:7, 8 . . . . . . . . . . 120
13:11-16 . . . . . . . . . 40 5:6-9 . . . . . . . . . . . 40 1:10 . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
13:30 . . . . . . . . . . . 206 5:35 . . . . . . . . . . . 260 1:11 . . . . . . . 144, 153
14:1-5 . . . . . . . . . . . 40 5:37 . . . . . . . . . . . 122 1:14 . . . . . . . . . . . 121
16:17 . . . . . . . . . . . 179 5:43 . . . . . . . . . . . 357 2:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
17:20, 26, 27 . . . . . 143 5:46 . . . . . . . . . . . 177 2:27, 31 . . . . . . . . 129
17:24 . . . . . . . . . . . 156 6:51-58 . . . . . . . . 130 2:36 . . . . . . . . . . . 207
17:26 . . . . . . . . . . . 167 7:19 . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 2:41 . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
17:26-29 . . . . . . . . 162 7:23 . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 3:19 . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
17:28 . . . . . . . . . . . 161 7:30 . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 3:19, 20 . . . . . . . . 211
18:18-30 . . . . . . . . . 27 7:39 . . . . . . . 120, 129 3:19-21 . . . . . . . Title,
19:12 . . . . . . . . . . . 120 8:36 . . . . . . . . . . . 328 175, 188, 254
19:27 . . . . . . . . . . . 300 9:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 3:21 . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
19:40-42 . . . . . . . . 225 10:33, 36 . . . . . . . 306 3:22 . . . . . . . . . . . 303
19:41, 42 . . . . . . . . 226 10:34, 35 . . . . . . . 274 3:23 . . . . . . . . . . . 303
19:41-46 . . . . . . . . 239 12:1-12 . . . . . . . . 224 4:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
19:44 . . . 26, 237, 247 12:1, 12-19 . . . . . 111 4:10-13, 23-30 . . 263
21:22 . . . . . . . . . . . 251 12:12-15 . . . . . . . 225 4:25-29 . . . . . . . . 263
21:24 . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 14:2, 3 . . . . . . . . . 105 5:29-41 . . . . . . . . 263
21:28 . . . . . . . 25, 190 14:3 . . . . . . . . . . . 154 7:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
21:34 . . . . . . . . . . . 158 14:7 . . . . . . . . . . . 122 7:2-5 . . . . . . . 45, 246
21:34-36 . . . . . . . . . 23 14:19 . . . . . . . . . . 154 7:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
21:36 . . . . . . . . . . . 162 14:26 . . . . . . . . . . 110 7:36 . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
22:20 . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 14:30 . . . . . . . . . . 131 7:40, 43 . . . . . . . . 274
23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 15:1-6 . . . . . . . . . 234 9:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
23:14-16, 20, 22 . . 330 16:12, 13 . . . . 110, 120 9:17, 18 . . . . . . . . 133
24:1, 10 . . . . . . . . . 111 16:13 . . . 16, 169, 262 10 . . . . . . . . . . 71, 214
24:13-32 . . . . . . . . . 27 16:22 . . . . . . . . . . 154 10:17 . . . . . . . . . . . 49
24:13-35 . . . . . . . . 113 17:17, 19 . . . . . . . . 22 10:37, 38 . . . . 66, 247
24:22, 23 . . . . . . . . 112 18:36, 37 . . . . . . . . 14 10:40-42 . . . . . . . 124
24:32 . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 19:23, 24 . . . . . . . 128 11:19 . . . . . . . . . . 263
24:33-49 . . . . . . . . . 27 19:30 . . . . . . . . . . . 68 13:19-21 . . . . . . . . 49
24:36-49 . . . . . . . . 115 19:37 . . . . . . . . . . 130 13:21 . . . . . . . . . . . 50
24:45-48 . . . . . . . . 124 20:1, 2 . . . . . . . . . 112 15:14 . . . . . . . . . . . 86
24:48 . . . . . . . . . . . 123 20:2 . . . . . . . . . . . 112 15:14-16 . . . . . . . 217
24:48-52 . . . . . . . . 120 20:5-7 . . . . . . . . . 128 17:23 . . . . . . . . . . 274
24:50, 51 . . . . . . . . 154 20:17 . . . . . . . . . . 113 17:26 . . . . . . . . . . . 78
20:19, 26 . . . 115, 127 19:35-41 . . . . . . . 330
 Index of Texts 371

25:24-27 . . . . . . . . 330 15:8 . . . . . . . . . . . 134 1:24 . . . . . . . . . . . 202

26:2, 3, 28 . . . . . . . 330 15:21, 22 . . . . . . . 107 2:14 . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
26:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 15:23 . . . . . . . . . . 159 2:17 . . . . . . . . . . . 173
15:25, 26 . . . . . . . 106
15:27 . . . . . . . . . . 108
ROMANS 15:42-51 . . . . . . . 133 I THESS.
2:5, 6, 9, 10 . . . . . . 138 15:45 . . . . . . . . . . 107 2:19 . . . . . . . . . . . 159
2:28, 29 . . . . . . 246(2) 15:50, 51 . . . . . . . 128 3:13 . . . . . . . . . . . 159
3:20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 15:52 . . . . . . . . . . 148 4:15 . . . . . . . . . . . 159
4:16 . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 16:17 . . . . . . . . . . 159 4:16 . . . 143, 145, 149
5:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 5:1-4 . . . . . . . . . . . 21
8:2 . . . . . . . . . . 246(2) 5:1-5 . . . . . . . 22, 269
8:14 . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 II COR. 5:4 . . . . . . . Title, 169
8:15 . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 3:17 . . . . . . . . . . . 329 5:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
8:22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 5:16 . . . . . . . . . . . 107 5:23 . . . . . . . . . . . 159
8:29 . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 7:6, 7 . . . . . . . . . . 159
9:6 . . . . . . . . . 86, 205 10:10 . . . . . . 158, 159
9:7, 8 . . . . . . . . . . . 246 11:2 . . . . . . . 238, 247 II THESS.
9:27 . . . . . . . 205, 206 11:13, 14 . . . . . . . 158 1:7, 8 . . . . . . . . . . 143
9:28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 1:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
9:28, 29 . . . . . . . . . 215 2:1, 8, 9 . . . . . . . . 159
9:32, 33 . . . . . . . . . 215 GALATIANS 2:1-8 . . . . . . . . . . 269
10:1-3 . . . . . . . . . . 206 1:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . 320 2:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
11:5 . . . . . . . . 205, 215 3:16 . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 2:3 . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
11:5-12 . . . . . . . . . 206 3:17 . . . . . . . . . 44, 46 2:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
11:7 . . . . . . . 119, 215 4:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 2:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
11:9, 10 . . . . . . . . . 215 4:5, 6, 7, 30, 31 . . 246 2:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
11:20-25 . . . . . . . . 206 5:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 329 2:8-12 . . . . . . . . . 358
11:25 . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 6:15, 16 . . . . . . . . 246
11:25, 26 . . . . . . . . . 92 6:16 . . . . . . . . . . . 204
11:25-27 . . . . . . . . . 90 I TIMOTHY
11:26 . . . . . . . . . . . 217 2:5, 6 . . . . . . . . . . 132
11:27 . . . . . . . . . . . 211 EPHESIANS 2:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
11:28 . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 1:8-10 . . . Dedication 6:15 . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
13:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 3:2, 5, 6 . . . . . . . . 202 6:15, 16 . . . . . . . . 132
14:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 3:4, 5, 9 . . Dedication
15:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 4:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
5:23 . . . . . . . . . . . 202 II TIMOTHY
6:15 . . . . . . . . . . . 157 3:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
I COR. 6:17 . . . . . . . . . . . 101 3:1-13 . . . . . . . . . 259
2:12-16 . . . . . . . . . 123 3:12 . . . . . . . . . . . 138
3:16 . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 3:17 . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3:16, 17 . . . . . . . . . 209 PHILIPPIANS 4:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
8:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 1:26 . . . . . . . . . . . 159 4:3 . . . . . . . . 258, 263
9:27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 2:9 . . . . . . . . 108, 238
10:11 . . . . . . . . . . . 188 2:12 . . . . . . . 158, 159
10:18 . . . . . . 204, 246 HEBREWS
11:18 . . . . . . . . . . . 158 1:3 . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
11:25 . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 COLOSSIANS 1:14 . . . . . . . . . . . 203
15:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 1:18 . . . . . . . . . . . 134 2:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
372 Index of Texts

2:9, 14 . . . . . . . . . . 238 II PETER 13:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

3:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 1:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 13:5, 6 . . . . . . 305(2)
3:5, 6 . . . . . . . . . . . 205 1:16 . . . . . . . . 20, 159 13:17 . . . . . . 259, 263
3:8, 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 1:16-18 . . . . . . . . 255 14:1-4 . . . . . . . . . 171
3:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 1:19 . . . . . . . . 20, 142 14:14, 15 238, 247(2)
4:16 . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 3:3, 4, 10, 12 . . . . 167 14:14, 16 . . . . . . . 150
5:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320 3:4, 12 . . . . . . . . . 159 14:14-20 . . . . . . . 239
5:14 . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 3:8, 10 . . . . . . 40, 168 14:18-20 . . . . . . . 171
7:9, 10 . . . . . . . . . . . 47 16:12 . . . . . . . . . . 209
8:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 16:14 . . . . . . 101, 141
8:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 I JOHN 16:15 . . . . . . . . . . 143
8:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 2:18, 19 . . . . . . . . 281 17:5 . . . . . . . 246, 261
9:1, 2, 9, 10 . . . . . . 208 2:18-27 . . . . . . . . 272 17:5, 6 . . . . . . . . . 208
9:4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 2:28 . . . . . . . . . . . 159 17:6 . . . . . . . . . . . 320
9:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 3:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 264 17:14 . . . . . . 238, 247
9:9, 23 . . . . . . . . . . 209 3:2 . . . . . . . . 109, 128 17:16, 17 . . . . . . . 355
9:11 . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 18:3 . . . . . . . . . . . 348
9:23 . . . . . . . 208, 246 18:4 . . . . . . . 240, 246
9:26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 JUDE 18:7 . . . . . . . . . . . 256
10:1 . . . . . . . 173, 209 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 18:10, 17, 19 . . . . 245
10:4, 5 . . . . . . . . . . 107 19:15 . . . . . . . . . . 100
10:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
10:16, 17 . . . . . . . . . 92 REVELATION 20:3, 7, 8 . . . . . . . 354
11:8, 9 . . . . . . . . . . . 47 1:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 21:8 . . . . . . . . . iv, 153
11:38-40 . . . . . . . . . 20 1:7 . . . . . . . . 138, 143 21:14 . . . . . . . . . . 246
11:40 . . . . . . . . . . . 246 2:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
12:21 . . . . . . . . . . . 131 2:20 . . . . . . . . . . . 256
2:26, 27 . . . . . . . . 100
2:27 . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
JAMES 3:7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
1:1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 3:12 . . . . . . . 209, 239
1:18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 3:16 . . . 235, 246, 247
5:7, 8 . . . . . . . . . . . 159 3:18 . . . . . . . 189, 238
5:17 . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 6:15-17 . . . . . . . . 139
7:1, 2 . . . . . . . . . . 169
7:3 . . . . . . . . 235, 264
I PETER 10:7 . . . . . . . . . . . 149
1:10-12 . . . . . . . . . . 23 11:3 . . . . . . . . . . . 256
1:11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 11:15 . . . . . . 148, 149
1:12 . . . . . . . . 22, 203 11:15-19 . . . . . . . 145
2:5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 11:15, 18 . . . . . . . 149
2:5, 9 . . . . . . . . . . . 246 11:17, 18 87, 101, 239
2:5, 9, 10 . . . 207, 208 12:6 . . . . 91, 256, 329
2:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 12:6, 16 . . . . . . . . 256
2:21 . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 12:14 . . . . . . . . 78, 91
3:18 . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 13:1-8 . . . . . . . . . 271
4:17 . . . . . . . . . . . . 247 13:2 . . . . . . . . . . . 288