MY DEAR BROTHER,—The desire you have evinced to inquire impartially into the subject of our Lord’s second advent, combined with the truly Christian kindness and courtesy you have invariably manifested in our recent conversations on this subject, emboldens me to address you thus, in the hope that, by the Lord’s blessing, we may further prosecute the inquiry in such a manner, as ultimately to see eye to eye; and not only so, but likewise to see what the mind of God on the subject. really is. Unity of judgment, to be desirable, must be unity in the truth. Diversity of sentiment is better than unity in error.
Better one have the truth than neither; best of all, for all to see alike by all seeing aright. Never may we forget, however, that sweet and reconciling word in Philippians 3:15,16: “Let us, therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded; and if in anything we be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.” Practical union of heart and life, as far as we are agreed, with patient forbearance of one another wherein we differ, is the course in which we may look to God to reveal to any of us that of us that of which we are ignorant. It is His to reveal His own truth to His own children; still, brotherly intercourse is what He often uses for this end. O that we and all God’s children might feel that we have no end to gain but to glorify Him by learning and doing His blessed will; and would that we all had more confidence in one another, as heirs together of the grace of life-members of the same family of love-learners in the same school of holy, gracious discipline and instruction!
Our last conversation was on the parables in Matthew 13, more particularly on that of the wheat and tares. As to the interpretation of that parable, or rather, the sense in which we are to understand our Lord’s interpretation of it, we were agreed in the following particulars: First, —That the parable represents the state of things in the present dispensation.
Secondly, —That good and evil, the wheat and the tares, continue to be mixed together to the end of this present period or dispensation.
Thirdly, —That the harvest is the end of this age, period, or dispensation.
Fourthly, —That the period which follows, when the Son of man has gathered out of his kingdom all that offends, and those which do iniquity, when the righteous shall shine forth as the sun, is the millennium, that period of universal holiness and happiness on the earth which all Christians are expecting.
Fifthly, —That the offenders are gathered out at the harvest and cast into a furnace of fire, and that this terrible judgment on the wicked is executed at that crisis by the instrumentality of the angels.
If I remember aright, you distinctly stated your concurrence in the above interpretation of the passage, but you objected to it as a proof of the pre-millennial advent, that the advent is not mentioned in the passage. Had time permitted, I should have rejoiced to have gone with you into the consideration of several passages which indisputably refer to and describe the same era or crisis as in this parable is termed “the harvest,” and in which it is distinctly stated that the advent or coming of Christ will then take place. Lack of time hindered this at our last interview; and as it may be that another may not take place soon, I am desirous in this communication to draw your attention to this point.
I would first explain a little the kind of proof which is gathered from thus comparing one part of Scripture with another. No one passage of Scripture contains all that is taught in Scripture. If anyone verse, chapter, or even book of Scripture, contained all that is revealed in Scripture, the rest—that is, all the other verses, chapters, and books of Scripture—would be superfluous; and that, I am sure, you would be very far from saying. Indeed, no one could say this who believes the Scriptures to be the word of God. So, as to any given subject treated of in the Scriptures. It is not usually in any one passage of the Word that we can learn everything that relates to the subject. On most topics of importance, we have instruction in many different passages; one affording light on one part of the subject, another especially treating of some other branch of it; and yet there must be marks of identity between the passages as to their general subject, or else we could never understand that they are different branches of the same theme, and therefore could not receive from them the instruction they contain. To illustrate this. We have not one account only, but four accounts of the crucifixion of Christ. Had these accounts been perfectly identical as to all their details, three of them would have been superfluous, except indeed as distinct testimonies to the fact; though, even in this light, they would have been of little value, but for their characteristic differences in detail and yet, if there had not been marks which infallibly identify them as to their general subject, they would have been equally unavailing. Nay, they would have tended to mislead; for we might have supposed that they spoke of different persons, or of different eras in the life of the same person. But as it is, in the provident wisdom and goodness of God, they have enough in common to show that it is the same event, viz. the crucifixion of Christ, which they narrate to us; and yet they differ so much in detail, that one informs us of circumstances in that event of which the others had left us ignorant. And it is only by a careful comparison of all, that we can learn all the circumstances of that solemn and important crisis in the history of our Redeemer. Thus, if I open John 18:6-8,6As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. 7Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. 8Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: (John 18:6‑8) I find a fact stated which is recorded by none of the other evangelists. If someone (acknowledging, of course, the authority of Scripture, and therefore of all the four Gospels) should dispute this fact, and allege that Matthew says nothing of it, and Mark says nothing of it, and Luke says nothing of it, how should I have to answer him? Clearly, by proving to him that John is speaking of the same blessed Person, and of the same solemn period in his history, and that he states it. I should have to remind him of the features common to all the four narratives, which identify them as to their general subject; —they all speak of the same persons, Jesus, his disciples, his betrayer, and the officers and others into whose hands he is betrayed. They all lay the scene in the same place, the garden of Gethsemane.
They all speak of the same period, that immediately succeeding his conversation with the disciples during and after supper, and immediately preceding his examination before the high priest. They all relate other circumstances which occurred to those persons in the place and at the time specified, such as the cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant by Simon Peter. Can anyone doubt, who considers these things, that the general subject of John’s narrative is the same as that of the other evangelists? And if so, it proves, that when John tells us that the officers went backward and fell to the ground, this circumstance did actually occur at that time, in that place, to those persons; and it does not in the least invalidate this proof to say that the other evangelists do not record the circumstance. I give this illustration as a very simple one, and yet most conclusive as to our title, nay, our duty, to compare Scripture with Scripture; and where the same subject is treated of in different passages, to receive the testimony of each, not only to corroborate the rest, but also to gather from one those details of instruction which are not afforded in another. I have not selected the above example as the best, but it was the first that occurred to my mind, and I think you will yourself allow that it is sufficient.
It may be said that great caution is needed in examining Scripture thus. This is admitted at once; but it is no reason for neglecting to search the Scriptures in this manner. We do need the utmost self-diffidence in searching and handling the Word of God; we need, too, the light and guidance of the Holy Spirit; but, depending on that light and guidance, and sincerely distrusting ourselves, we have every encouragement to expect that we shall be kept from the paths of error, and be led into all truth.
Let due care be taken that the passages referred to are really identical as to their general subject. Let them be thoroughly and patiently examined, before we conclude that this is the case; but, if they have so much in common as to put this beyond doubt, then let us not fear to regard the details of one as equally belonging to the subject, with all that is contained in the others.
As to the passages I have now to bring forward, I have two things to prove. First, that they relate to the same subject as the concluding part of the parable of the wheat and tares. And, secondly, that they state that the Lord will come in connection with what is there termed “the harvest.”
How is it to be determined that any other passage speaks of the period termed in this parable “the harvest?” There can be but one way of determining this; that is, to ascertain what distinguishes “the harvest” in this parable, and then inquire whether the marks by which it is distinguished are to be found in the passages in question. Of course, when I speak of its distinguishing marks, I mean those which essentially distinguish it from everything besides, and not any minor circumstance. If these be found in another passage, though some of the minor circumstances be wanting, we should certainly be authorized in concluding that the subject treated of in both passages is the same.
Does not the following definition of “the harvest” embrace all that essentially distinguishes it from everything besides? It is that solemn act of judgment by which the righteous and the wicked are separated from each other at the close of the present mixed state of things, and at the commencement of the millennium. There are three distinguishing marks of “the harvest.”
1. It is at the end of this present age in which the wheat and the tares grow together. “The harvest is the end of the age.” So shall it be in the end of this age.
2. It is at the commencement of the millennium—the period of universal holiness and happiness on the earth. “Then”—when all things are gathered out of the kingdom that offend, and they which do iniquity—” then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”
3. It is the time at which the righteous and the wicked are separated from each other by destroying judgment on the wicked. “As, therefore, the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this age. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
In whatever passage of Holy Scripture we find these three things, there we find “the harvest.” There cannot be more than one end or close of the present age; there cannot be more than one commencement of the millennial period. And the judgment which separates the wicked from the righteous at the close of the present age and introduction of the millennium is “the harvest.”
One word more before quoting the passages we are to consider. As to those quoted from the Old Testament, we must not expect to find in them what is the special subject of Matthew 13, viz., “the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.” It is during “this age” that these mysteries have their existence; and “the end of the age” is a great public crisis spoken of in the Old Testament as well as the New. But in the Old Testament it is spoken of more with respect to Jews and Gentiles, than with respect to true and false professors of Christianity. In Matthew 13, the wheat represents true Christians—the tares, false professors. The great fact is, that they grow together till the end of the age, i.e., till “the harvest.” Evil exists till “the harvest.” But it exists in other ways as well as the mixture of false professors with true Christians. It exists in the unbelief and sufferings of God’s ancient people Israel, and also in the oppression of that people by the Gentiles. But “the harvest” puts an end to ‘all evil of all kinds. It is then that all things which offend, and all which do iniquity, are gathered out and destroyed. And in many passages, both in the Old Testament and New, is this harvest spoken of, this judgment which terminates the present mixed state, and introduces millennial blessedness. And in those which I shall now adduce, it is stated that at that time the Lord will come.
1. Let us look at Isaiah 26:20; 27: 620Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. (Isaiah 26:20). Here we have a fearful, desolating judgment, “to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,” when “the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more conceal her slain.” This judgment is a separating or discriminating judgment between the righteous and the wicked; for while the wicked are thus punished and overthrown, to the righteous it is said, “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself; as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be over-past.” This solemn judgment, which thus severs the righteous from the wicked, is at the commencement of the millennium. “In that day the Lord, with his sore, and great, and strong sword, shall punish leviathian the piercing serpent, even leviathian that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.” Now, whatever may be said of the dragon that is in the sea, and which is slain, we know who the crooked, piercing serpent is. Genesis 3:1,1Now the serpent was more subtile than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (Genesis 3:1) 2 Corinthians 11:3,3But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:3) and Revelation 12:9,9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelation 12:9) make that plain enough. And we all know too that it is at the commencement of the millennium that Satan, that old, crooked, piercing serpent, is punished by being bound and cast into the bottomless pit. (Revelation 20:1-21And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, (Revelation 20:1‑2).) So that this judgment is in the day when Satan is bound, which we are all agreed is at the commencement of the millennium. But there is further evidence in the passage that this judgment is succeeded by the millennial period; for it is said, “He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root; Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.” Verses 12 and 13 also connect the whole with the restoration of the children of Israel, “who shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem.”
We have, then, in this passage a terrible judgment on the wicked; the righteous preserved from that judgment; and consequent upon it, “in that day,” the punishment of Satan, the restoration of Israel, and Israel caused to blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit; in other words, the millennium. The passage does not say that all this is at the end of this age, of the present mixed state of things; but then, a moment’s consideration will satisfy any one, that as day cannot begin without the ending or passing away of the night, so the millennium, or state of universal blessedness, cannot begin without the present mixed state of good and evil coming to a close. So that we have all the marks of “the harvest” expressed in this passage, excellent one, and that one evidently and necessarily implied. And what else have we? The coming of the Lord. “For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity.” If it should be said that this is figurative, I ask for the evidence of this. Should it be urged that the Lord is everywhere, and everywhere alike, and that therefore it must be a figure to say that “the Lord cometh out of his place,” my answer is, that the objection proves just the contrary of what it is urged to prove. As God, the Lord is omnipresent, and so to him in that sense all places are alike; he fills both heaven and earth. But the Lord Jesus Christ is man as well as God. And it is specially as “the Son of man” that he is spoken of in many passages, with respect to his second coming. And is there not a place where the glorified humanity of Christ now dwells? And will he not come out of this place whenever he comes to judgment, whether at the commencement of the millennium or at its close? I conclude then, from the very language employed; that the coming here spoken of is a real personal coming, a leaving one “place” and coming to another; and the whole context proves that it is at the time of “the harvest,” at the close of the present age and the introduction of the millennial period, that this coming takes place.
2. Let us now turn to Isaiah 59:16,60 If you glance at chap. 59, down to verse 16, you will see that it describes an evil state of ‘things? I have no doubt myself that it is the Jewish nation during this their long dispersion that is thus described: but the passage is only too applicable to a vast number of professing Christians. We are all agreed, however, that evil continues up to “the harvest.” So we are taught here. In verse 15, the Lord is displeased because there is no judgment. In verses 16, 17, he undertakes the work himself in the garments of vengeance. In verse 18 we read, “According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.” And is this action of his in judgment and vengeance at the time of “the harvest?” Let us see whether the distinguishing marks of that crisis are not found here. The first we have already seen. It is at the close of the period during which evil is permitted to remain. But is it followed by the millennium? Let us examine. What says verse 19, the verse immediately following the one last quoted? “So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” And the whole of chap. 60 follows on in the same connection, and it has long been known to the Church as one of the most magnificent predictions of millennial blessedness to be found in the Word of God. Thus, have we the three distinguishing marks of “the harvest.” It is at the end of this age. It is at the commencement of the millennium. It is a desolating judgment inflicted at that time on the enemies of God. “According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence. So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the sun.” But have we anything of the advent here? Yes, for it immediately follows: “And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord.” The apostle quotes this passage in Romans 11 And with what period does he connect it? Any past period? No; but with the future conversion of the Jewish nation. Is that at the consummation of all things? No; all agree that it is at the commencement of millennial blessedness. So that in this passage, applied and interpreted by the apostle in Romans 11, we have a plain proof that the advent of our Lord is at the time of “the harvest”—that it is in connection with the judgments which close the present period, in which good and evil are mixed together, and which introduce the period of universal holiness and joy.
36. Let us now turn to Isaiah 66 The fifth verse shows us that the events spoken of are at the end of that state of things in which the righteous and the wicked, good and evil, are mixed together. “Hear the word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word; your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name’s sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified; but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.” The result of this appearing is the thorough separation of the righteous and the wicked. “The hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.” (Verse 14.) It is by terrible judgments on the wicked that God thus— discriminates between them and the righteous; “for by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh; and the slain of the Lord shall be many.” (Verse 16.) This terrible judgment, which thus concludes the present state or age, is also introductory to the millennium. (See from verses 20 to 23.) And have we not also in this passage a most distinct prediction of the coming of the Lord? of his coming, too, in connection with this judgment, which terminates the present and introduces the millennial age? Not only are we told in the verse already quoted, “He shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed,” but in verse 15 we read, “For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots, like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.” You may say perhaps, as has been said, that “any signal and evident interposition of Christ, as governor of the world, for the accomplishment of his purposes, is called his coming, and his day;” and you may thus seek to evade the force of all the passages, however plain, which may be brought to prove the pre-millennial advent. But ought we not to beware, dear brother, how we thus set aside the plain and evident sense of Scripture? Let me ask you, if the coming of the Lord here spoken of is not a real personal coming, where is there a passage which can prove a real personal coming at any time? Take the passages uniformly brought to prove it, and place this, and others like this, beside them, and say whether the one be not as plain and literal as the other. I will place, on one side, two passages universally understood to refer to the real advent of Christ, and which, you would say, will be at the consummation of all things. On the other side I will place the passage we are now considering, and another of like import, and standing in a similar connection, and you shall judge yourself whether, if the one be figurative, the other is not also—whether, if the one be literal, the other is not so likewise.
All Christians are agreed, that the following scriptures. speak of the actual personal coming of Christ to judgment: And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when 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 the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. (2 Thessalonians 1:7-97And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; (2 Thessalonians 1:7‑9).)
Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. (Jude 14,1514And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, 15To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. (Jude 14‑15).)
The following passages are proved, by their contexts, to be at the harvest—the end of the present, and the commencement of the millennial age: The hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies. For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. (Isaiah 66:14,1514And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies. 15For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. (Isaiah 66:14‑15).)
Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives.... And the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. (Zechariah 14:3-53Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. (Zechariah 14:3‑5).)
Consider these passages, dear brother, and say, if these in the one column can be proved to be mere figures, whether those in the other are not mere figures also. And if all these be figures, where can you find a passage which speaks of a personal advent of Christ at all? Is the Lord Jesus to he revealed from heaven, in flaming fire, according to 2 Thessalonians 1? The passage in Isaiah 66 declares that the Lord will come with fire. Is the Lord Jesus to be attended by his mighty angels, in 2 Thessalonians 1? In Isaiah 66 he comes with his chariots, like a whirlwind. And we are told, in Psalms 68:17,17The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. (Psalm 68:17) that “the chariots of God are twenty thousand, thousands of angels.” Do we read in 2 Thessalonians 1,
“To you who are troubled, rest with us?” In Isaiah 66 we are told that “the hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants;” and, in a former verse, “he shall appear to your joy.” Does he come, in 2 Thessalonians 1, to take vengeance on them that know not God? In Isaiah 66 he makes known his indignation toward his enemies, and renders his anger with fury. Does he, according to 2 Thessalonians 1, punish the wicked with everlasting destruction? In Isaiah 66 he renders his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. And in the last verse of that chapter, after describing the. state of universal blessedness which is to succeed this terrible judgment, after speaking of all flesh coming to worship before the Lord, it is said, “And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched.” These are the words employed by our Lord himself to set forth the eternity of the punishment of the wicked. So as to the other two passages. Does the prophecy of our Lord’s second advent, recorded by Jude, speak of his coming with ten thousands of his saints? And all acknowledge this to be his real, personal advent. We read, in Zechariah 14, “ The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.” And in this passage the very spot of earth on which he shall stand is specified; the very place where the angels said to his disciples, “Why stand ye here gazing up into heaven? 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.” This very place is here named as that on which he shall again appear on the earth. “His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives.” And how anyone who reverences the Word of God can attentively read this chapter, and not see that the judgment therein described is identical with that termed “the harvest “ in Matthew 13, I cannot tell.
4. But let us examine this chapter (Zechariah 14), and see whether the three marks by which “the harvest “ is distinguished are not to be found in it. Is it not at the end of the present age or period, during which the wheat and the tares grow together, the period in which good and evil, the righteous and the wicked, are mixed together? Verses 7-9 of the preceding chapter, which are evidently connected with this, treat of a period commencing with that all-important transaction in which the sword of Jehovah’s justice awoke against the man who is Jehovah’s fellow, in which, the Shepherd being smitten, the sheep were scattered. It speaks of fearful sufferings on the part of the guilty nation who were the instruments of his death, and of a remnant being brought through the fire. “It shall come to pass that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.” Chapter 14 opens with the circumstances of this remnant, this third part, just prior to their deliverance. “Behold, I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity; and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.” Here I pause to make two remarks. 1. This cannot be the assault of Gog and Magog on the beloved city (in Revelation 20), just prior to the consummation of all things. There is not a word there of the city being taken; but as soon as the nations of the earth came up against the camp of the saints and the beloved city, fire comes down from God out of heaven and destroys them all. Besides, the Gog and Magog of Revelation 20 make their assault after the loosing of Satan at the end of the millennium. The conflict here, in Zechariah 14, is, as we shall see, introductory to the millennium. 2. Much less can it be any past event that is foretold in Zechariah 14 The only past event which any have supposed to be indicated by it, is the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans 1 would put it to any simple-minded Christian, who, when he reads God’s Word, trusts in God to teach him by his Spirit what it means, whether this passage can possibly be made to mean the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans? 1. It is well known, that when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem the city was completely demolished: a plow was passed over the foundations, and the miserable residue of the Jews, who were spared from the sword, went all of them into captivity. But Zechariah 14 speaks of a siege of Jerusalem, in which the city shall be taken indeed, and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, but the residue of the people shall not be cut of from the city. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the residue, that is, the other half, shall not be cut off from the city. Was this the case, I ask, at the destruction of Jerusalem, by Titus? 2. When Jerusalem was taken and pillaged and destroyed by the Romans, the victors returned in unmolested triumph to Rome, and the Roman empire continued to flourish for centuries afterward. But in Zechariah 14 all nations are gathered against Jerusalem to battle: the city is taken, half of the inhabitants go into captivity, and the other half are not cut off from the city; and “ then” —,while half of the inhabitants remain in the city,” then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.” Did this occur to the Romans at the destruction of Jerusalem? In verses 12-15, where we have a more detailed account of the judgment on those nations, what do we read? “And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. And it shall come to pass, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold everyone on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor. And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance. And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.” Was all this fulfilled on the Roman armies which destroyed Jerusalem? Did they, and their horses, and camels, perish by this plague? Did their flesh consume away from their bones, and their eyes from their sockets, and their tongues from their mouths? Were the Jews also instrumental in destroying the Roman armies, after those armies had completely vanquished them, and reduced their city to ashes? “Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem.” In chapter 12., where the same events are unquestionably treated of, we read: “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all people round about, when they shall he in the siege, both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stare for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.” (Verses 2, 3.) “In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left; and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.” (Verse 6.) And if anyone should call in question whether these are the same events as are foretold in chapter 14., the ninth verse is a full answer. “And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.” Compare this with verses 3 and 12 of chapter 14, and I think you can hardly have a doubt that they both treat of the same events. And were all these predictions fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans? 3. But again, it is not only said, “ Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle;” but also, “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley.” Now, did this take place at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans? It avails nothing to say, that Christ sat and taught his disciples on the mount of Olives. This was forty years before the destruction of Jerusalem. And how could Christ, sitting on the mount of Olives, telling his disciples that Jerusalem should be destroyed, be the same thing as Christ standing on the mount of Olives to fight against those nations who took Jerusalem? Besides, did the mount of Olives cleave in the midst and form a valley, either when Christ sat upon it teaching his disciples, or at the destruction of Jerusalem forty years afterward? Has this disruption ever taken place to this day? 4. Did the Lord my God come, and all the saints with him, at the destruction of Jerusalem? The literal coming of. Christ in humiliation was seventy years prior to this event. And, should it still be said that his coining here is a strong figure of speech, or that it was his coming to set up his spiritual kingdom, I ask, in what sense did all his saints come too? Is that a figure likewise? And as to his coming to set up his spiritual kingdom, did he do that at the destruction of Jerusalem? Was not his spiritual kingdom set up long before? At least, so long before as the day of Pentecost? The living waters flowing out of Jerusalem are often explained as the going forth of the gospel from Jerusalem. But was it never till Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans that the living waters flowed out in this sense?
Nay, did they ever, in this sense, flow out of Jerusalem after it was destroyed? 5. Finally, did the millennium commence at the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans? Has the Lord been King over all the earth since then, and has there ever since been but one Lord, and his name one? (Verse 9.) Was all the land turned to a plain, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem? Has it been lifted up and inhabited in her place, ever since that time, from Benjamin’s gate to the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s wine-presses? (Verse 10.) Have men dwelt in it, and has it been safely inhabited, ever since its destruction by the Romans? Has there been no more utter destruction since then? (Verse 11.) Alas! what else has there been from that day to this? And what is it now? A scene of desolation and ruin, as all bear witness who have beheld it. And yet to suppose, as some do, that this chapter begins with its destruction by the Romans, and that the remaining predictions find their fulfillment in the course of the present dispensation! Has it been ever since the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans that every pot in Jerusalem has been holiness to the Lord, and all they that sacrifice and seethe therein Has there been since that day no more Canaanite in the house of the Lord? (Verse 21.) Alas I my brother, the fulfillment of these predictions is not to be found in the past or present, but in the future.
It is not the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, but “the harvest,” the end of this age, that is pointed to in this prophecy— “the harvest,” which ends the prey sent period of evil and of sorrow, and introduces the millennial age, when all the blessed things here foretold shall be actually fulfilled. And if language has any fixed, determinate meaning, we are told in this chapter, that at that time, “the harvest,” the end of this age, the commencement of the millennium, “the Lord my God will come, and all his saints with him.”
5. Let us now turn to Daniel 7, and see if we shall not there also find all the distinguishing marks of the crisis termed “ the harvest,” in Matthew 13, and whether we have not there a distinct prediction of the coming of the Lord. Daniel sees four great beasts, which are interpreted to him as follows, in verse 17: “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.” The fourth beast, as he describes it in verse 7, “was—dreadful, and terrible, and strong exceedingly... and it had ten horns.” I am not aware that any sober-minded Christians, who have considered these things at all, doubt the general meaning of this to be, that these four beasts represent the same four empires or kingdoms which, in chap. 2, are represented by the image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. That the fourth kingdom is that of Rome, and that the ten horns of the beast, like the ten toes of the image, represent the division of the Roman empire into ten kingdoms or states. But here we read of a little horn who does great things; and the divine interpretation of this, in verses 24, 25, is as follows: “And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most. High, and think to change times and laws; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” All who pay any regard to the prophetic scriptures are, I suppose, agreed that this little horn is Antichrist, whether, as some believe, that be Popery, or, as others believe, that Antichrist is a person yet to come. This little horn is Antichrist. And what does the apostle John say? (1 John 2:1818Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. (1 John 2:18).) “Little children, it is the last time; and as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are there many Antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.” So that the period had commenced in John’s day, of which the distinguishing mark was, that Antichrist should come in it. The great Antichrist had not come, but there were many Antichrists, many enemies similar in principle and working to him, whereby, says the apostle, we know that it is the last time. Just as Paul, speaking of the same subject-the corning of Antichrist-says, The mystery of iniquity cloth already work. And just as, in the parable of the wheat and tares, the tares are sown by the wicked one, they were to grow on till the harvest, thus characterizing the whole period from the moment when they were sown to the harvest, when they are gathered in bundles to be burnt. Well, it is of the close of this period that Daniel 7:2626But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. (Daniel 7:26) treats. After speaking of the actings and blasphemies of the little horn that should arise, and of its continuance through a certain specified period, the passage thus proceeds: “But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.” Can this be anything but “the harvest” in Matthew 13? Is not the judgment here spoken of at the close of the present age or period described by John as the last time, and known to be the last time by this very mark, that in it Antichrist has his existence and reign? And this judgment is to destroy Antichrist. Is it not followed, too, just as “the harvest” in Matthew 13, is by the millennium? Read verse 27: “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.” Surely this is language too plain to be mistaken. Even to minute details, there is a most marked parallel between the judgment in this chapter and “the harvest” in Matthew 13 What becomes of the tares in the latter passage? Are they not cast into a furnace of fire, where there is wailing and gnashing of teeth? And what becomes of the body of the beast in Daniel 7? “I beheld then because of the great words which the horn spake; I beheld, even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.” And what occurs besides, at the time of this judgment? “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” (Verses 13, 14.) This passage is quoted by our Lord himself in Matthew 24:30,30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:30) and 26: 64. It is evidently referred to by him in Luke 19:12-1512He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. 13And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. 14But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. 15And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. (Luke 19:12‑15).) It is quoted in Revelation 1:7: And in every one of these instances it is his coming that is spoken of.
6. But let us examine Luke 19:11-2711And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear. 12He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. 13And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. 14But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. 15And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. 16Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. 17And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. 18And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. 19And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. 20And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: 21For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. 22And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: 23Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? 24And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. 25(And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) 26For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. 27But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. (Luke 19:11‑27) a little more particularly. The three marks by which we have seen that “the harvest” is distinguished from everything else are, that it is at the end of this age, that it is at the commencement of the millennial period, and that a destroying judgment is at that time inflicted’ on the wicked, by which all who offend and do iniquity are gathered out of Christ’s kingdom. Have we not all these marks in the passage before us? Have we not the end of this age or period? The disciples thought that the kingdom of—God was immediately to appear, and our Lord spake a parable to correct this idea: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.” And what occurs during his absence? His servants occupy, some faithfully, others unfaithfully, till he comes; his citizens hate him, and send a message after him, saying, “We will not have this man to reign over us.” Can anything be more. evidently descriptive of the present period, during which the tares and the wheat grow together? What takes place at the close of this period? The unfaithful servant is punished, the faithful are rewarded, and the enemies of Christ, who would not that he should reign over them, are slain. Is not this just what takes place at “the harvest?” And what follows? Clearly the time when the kingdom of God appears, for it was to show what must occur up to that time that the parable was spoken. Yes, the kingdom—not in mystery, as at present, with tares and wheat growing together, but in open manifestation, according to the testimony of Daniel 7, already considered—is what follows upon this judgment. And it is worthy to be observed, that while Daniel 7 gives us the general fact that the saints shall possess this kingdom—not Christ only, but his saints along with him—Luke 19 shows us that the degree of authority and honor which each one shall have in the kingdom is in proportion to the faithfulness with which he now occupies in the Master’s absence. And when is it that the judgment takes place? When is it that the faithful servant is made ruler over ten or five cities, as the case may be? When is it that the enemies are slain? It is when the nobleman returns. It is when Christ descends from heaven with clouds, as all the passages we have considered with one consent declare. And thus is it indubitably established that the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is at the time of “the harvest”—at the end of this age—at the commencement, not at the close, of the millennium.
7. Many other passages Might be brought forward, in addition to those which have been adduced. But let me solicit your attention to one point in the parable of the wheat and tares. You distinctly allowed the other evening, that the kingdom of the Father, in which the righteous shine forth as the sun, is the millennial kingdom. But have you considered the meaning of those words, “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun?” If Scripture is to be the interpreter of Scripture, where must we look for the meaning of this passage, but to such other passages as the following? Matthew 17:2,2And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. (Matthew 17:2) where we read of the Savior that he “was transfigured before them, and his face did shine as the sun.” Also, Revelation 1:16,16And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. (Revelation 1:16) where we read of the same blessed person, when he appeared in his glorified body to John in the isle of Patmos, that “his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.” And is it not said, “that when he shall appear, we shall be like him?” (1 John 3:22Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2).) Is it not said, that “as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly?” (1 Corinthians 15:4949And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. (1 Corinthians 15:49).) Nay, are we not told that Christ “shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself?” (Philippians 3:2121Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. (Philippians 3:21).) And when is it that we shall thus be changed into the image of our glorified Lord? All Scripture declares, and all Christians agree, that it is when the sleeping saints are raised, and that both the resurrection of those who sleep, and the transformation of those who are alive and remain, take place at the coming of the Lord. “When he shall appear, we shall be like him.” “Every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his corning.” (1 Corinthians 15:2323But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. (1 Corinthians 15:23).) “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body,” &c. (Philippians 3:20,2120For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. (Philippians 3:20‑21).) “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we be ever with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 1716For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16‑17).) And how exactly this harmonizes with Revelation 20:4-6: “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again till the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they shall reign with him a thousand years.” Now simple and conclusive is the testimony of God’s Word, when we allow it to speak for itself, and compare one part of it with another! And who does not see, that if it is in the sense these passages point out that the righteous are to shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father (which you allow to be the millennium), then Christ’s coming must be at the commencement of the millennium for it is at his coming, and by his coming, as all allow, that the saints, whether asleep or awake, are changed, and made to resemble in the radiance and incorruptibleness of his glorified body, yours in him, W. T. more passage on this subject which must touch upon, and it will show you that the proof just advanced does not rest—merely upon the sense attached to the Words “shine forth as the sun,” in Matthew 8 no, nor even on the plain statements of Revelation 20 These are certainly sufficient, amply sufficient, to support the argument based upon them. But turn for a moment to 1 Corinthians 15:51-54: “Behold, show you a mystery; we Shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory.” Now, let me ask you, where is this saying written, and in what connection does it stand? It is only in one place, and that Isaiah 25:8,8He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. (Isaiah 25:8) that this saying is written. The context proves beyond controversy that the fulfillment of it is in connection with what is called “the harvest,” in Matthew 13 Isaiah 24 contains throughout predictions of a most awful, desolating judgment, such as has never been inflicted on the earth from that day to this, and such as answers to nothing but “the harvest,” as portrayed in the several passages we have been considering. It concludes thus then the moon, shall be confounded and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in. Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.” I suppose it will be allowed that this is the millennium. Chapter 25:1-5 seems to be a song or strain of thanksgiving offered up by the prophet in anticipation of these wonderful events; verse 5 resumes the prophecy, where it breaks off at the close of the former chapter. There we read of Mount Zion, and of the Lord of hosts reigning there, and here the prophecy proceeds: “And in this mountain (Mount Zion) shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth for the Lord hath spoken it.” The swallowing up death in victory is thus connected here with the removal of the vail that is spread over all nations—the making a feast for all nations of fat things, &c. —and with the taking away the rebuke of God’s people Israel from off all the earth; in other words, with the introduction of the millennium. And the apostle tells us when this prophecy shall be fulfilled. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, —and this mortal shall have put on immortality, THEN shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. And it is only at the coming of the Lord, as all admit, that this corruptible puts on incorruption, and this mortal puts on immortality. How then can the conclusion be evaded, that it is at the commencement of the millennium that the second advent of our Lord takes place, Yours in him, W. T.
Brother, referred you to eight distinct passages of Scripture, in which I have shown you every distinguishing mark of what is termed “the harvest” in the parable of the wheat and tares; and in every one of these it is connected with a plain—prediction of the second advent of our Lord, or, as in the last case, with events which we all know and agree will take place at his coming. And it was admitted, when we last conversed, that “the harvest” is at the end of the present age or period, and at the commencement of the millennium. If so, the coming of the Lord is at that crisis also. Let me entreat you to weigh these passages. Let me remind you, too, that there has not been one single passage adduced to prove that the Lord will not come then; or that the world will be converted before his coming. The passages last touched upon may serve also as one answer to the question you proposed, what good would the Lord’s coming do? Surely, the resurrection of all who sleep in Jesus, the change into his glorious image of both them and the living saints, to say nothing of the restoration and conversion of God’s ancient people, and the filling the whole earth with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, are events desirable enough to make us long for the coining of him, at whose coming all these things will be accomplished. But I hope to answer this question more at large in another communication, as also to furnish further proofs from Scripture of the pre-millennial advent.
Meanwhile, with sincerest respect and affection for you as a brother in the Lord, I remain,
Yours in him, W. T.