MY DEAR BROTHER, —I have to thank you for your kind note, in which you express your intention “prayerfully to weigh over the passages referred to” in my last. I would beg to remind you that each of these passages is a separate, distinct proof of the coming of our Lord at the commencement of the millennium. If I connected them all with “the harvest” in the parable of the wheat and tares, it was only because on that we were pretty nearly agreed. Leave that out altogether, if you choose, and the passages adduced in my last are still as good proofs of the pre-millennial advent as they are when viewed in connection with that parable.
(Of course, it will be understood by this that I mean each passage adduced in proof of the pro-millennial advent.)
My remarks in this communication may perhaps be of a more desultory character; still, I hope you will find them bearing strictly on the question before us.
If I recollect aright, while you admitted that “the harvest” in Matthew 13 is the end of the present age or period, and that the righteous and the wicked will then be separated from each other, the latter being destroyed by the angels, who gather them together and cast them into a furnace of fire,—while you admitted this, I say, you still suggested a doubt whether there would be any great destruction as to the number of those cut off; and intimated also, that the wicked being destroyed by angels, might simply mean that they would be taken away by death and cast into hell, as each impenitent sinner now is, when his mortal career is run. I would now solicit your attention to several passages, which show, first, that a great number will be destroyed; and, secondly, that the judgment by. which they are cut off is a great public event; not the unnoticed death of individuals in the common course of things, but a calamity so fearful and notorious, as to be the object of universal attention, both in heaven and earth.
Let me here ask you to remember, that I am not now proving that the second advent will take place in connection with this judgment. Passages in proof of this were adduced in my former letter, and I may bring others forward, if space allow, in this; but what the following passages are alleged to prove is, that the judgment on the wicked at the period termed “the harvest,” in Matthew 13, is terrible in extent as to the number of those involved in it, and that it is public, moreover, beyond anything which has occurred since the days of Noah or of Lot. If there be such a judgment impending, it is surely to be desired that neither saint nor sinner should be unapprized of its approach.
1.—Joel 3:9-169Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: 10Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. 11Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. 12Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 13Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. 14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. 15The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. 16The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. (Joel 3:9‑16). “Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles: Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears; let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause, thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and Come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision; for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the Lord will be the hope of his people and the strength of the children of Israel.” This passage is so plain as to need no remark; still, just by way of setting down what is in the passage, rather than giving any interpretation’ of it, I would remind you—1. That the period is the same, and described by the same terms as that in Matthew 13 “Put ye in the sickle, for ‘THE HARVEST’ is ripe.”
2. It is followed (as any one may see who reads from verse 16 to the end of the chapter) by the millennium. 3. The angels, who are the executioners of vengeance in Matthew 13, are here also spoken of: “Thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord.” 4. It is not the unnoticed removal of wicked men by death, in the ordinary course of things, but a gathering of God’s enemies into one place, and judgment executed upon them there; “Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about Let the heathen be awakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen. round about.” Just as in Matthew 13, the tares are gathered together and bound in bundles to be burnt 5. It is not a small number of wicked persons who are thus judged. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision. 6. It is the abounding and overflowing of wickedness which brings on the judgment. “Come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.” 7. Every variety of expression almost is used to show the publicity of the event. The assembling of the heathen, the darkening of the sun, and moon, and stars, the Lord roaring out of Zion, the shaking of the heavens and the earth—can all this be the mere removing by death, in an ordinary way, of a few wicked persons? Impossible: If language’ can portray scenes of universal interest and observation, both to heaven and earth, surely it is the language here employed. And can anything be clearer than that all this is at the commencement of the millennium? “For, behold, in those days, and in that time WHEN I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.”
(Verses 1, 2.) Now, is it at the commencement or at the close, of the millennium that the Lord brings again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem? Ponder this question, beloved brother; and remember that the Lord, the faithful witness, says: “In those days, and in that time when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat.” What takes place here we have already seen; and what follows, any one may see by reading the remainder of the chapter. Would you not yourself say that it was a prediction of millennial blessedness? And, if so, is it not most evident that the harvest, which, as you admit, closes the present period and introduces the millennium, is a period of judgment, desolating and terrific beyond expression, and involving in sudden, unlooked—for destruction, not a little few, but vast multitudes of the human race? I would only ask further, whether such declarations as the following do not imply that the Lord is personally present amid these scenes of solemnity and terror? “For there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.” “The day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.” “The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem.” If language like this does not imply that the Lord will be personally present amid those scenes of judgment, I am at a loss to know by what language this could have been expressed.
2.—There is one point in the passage just considered which has not been noticed. It is this: the vintage, as well as the harvest, is used to represent the judgments foretold in it. “Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats— overflow; for their wickedness is great.” This evidently connects the passage with others in which the vintage and the treading of the winepress are spoken of. These passages, as we shall see, treat of the same period of judgment as this in Joel 3, and their testimony is in fullest harmony with what we have seen above, as to the character and extent of the judgment; and this, be it remembered, is the point to which our inquiry at present relates.
1. Let us consider Isaiah 63: 1-6. “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save., Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-fat? I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the people there was none with me; for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.” One remark here in passing as to the amazing accuracy of Scripture. In chap. 61, we have the memorable passage quoted by our Lord in Luke 4, and which he applied to himself in the synagogue at Nazareth “ The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God.” When our Lord quoted this in the synagogue at Nazareth, did he quote the whole of it? Read the passage in Luke 4, “and you will see that he breaks off in the middle of the sentence, leaving out the clause which I have underlined, “to preach the acceptable year of the Lord;” and he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down.... And he began to say unto them “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Now, could he have said that, if he had read the whole passage I did he come then to proclaim the day of vengeance of our God? No, he came then, not to judge the world, but to save it; to endure the wrath of God for sinners, not to execute the wrath of God upon sinners. But this latter is as much a part of this commission as the former. And though, when he was here before, it was but to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord; when he comes again, it is to usher in “the day of vengeance of our God.” And this is what we have in Isaiah 63 “The day of vengeance,” he says, “ is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.” And what is it, let me ask, that is here described? The unnoticed removal by death, in an ordinary way, of some few wicked persons who have failed to be converted by the Gospel? Is this what we have here? No one can suppose so. The prophet beholds in vision a mighty warrior returning victorious from the slaughter of his enemies, his garments red with their blood, and he asks, astonished with the sight, who is this? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Can that be any but Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah? Could any other use such language, and not blaspheme? Hear him further. “I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine auger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.” Some would interpret this of the sufferings of Christ when he was here eighteen hundred years ago. But could anything be more unlike a fulfillment of this prophecy than the sufferings of Christ? He was crucified through weakness. (2 Corinthians 13:44For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. (2 Corinthians 13:4).) Here he travels in the greatness of his strength. It was his own blood (wondrous grace that was thus displayed!) which was shed for sinners, and by (0 sinners when he was here before. In Isaiah 63 he says; “I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.” He says further, “I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.” How anyone can look, one moment on Jesus suffering Without the gate at Jerusalem, like a lamb led unresisting to the slaughter, and the next moment look on this. prophetic vision of the vengeance he will yet execute upon his enemies—how anyone can look on these and say that they are the same, I cannot Understand. And I am so completely at a loss to imagine how anyone can read this passage in. Isaiah 63, so evidently descriptive of the same scene of judgment as Matthew 13:40,41,40As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41The 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; (Matthew 13:40‑41) and Joel Hi., and yet maintain that it is only the quiet, unnoticed removal by death of a few wicked persons, that we are to understand as foretold in these passages, who is this that cometh from Edom? with dyed garments from Bozrah? And in chap. 34: 56 we read: “For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea. In chap. 63 the Lord says: “The day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.” In this chapter, verse 8, we read: “For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.” In Joel 3 we have read, “The sun and the moon shall withdraw their shining.” Here we read, verse 4: “And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.” And what do we learn here, as to the character and extent of the judgment we are considering? Is it a mere taking away by death, in the usual way, of a very few wicked persons? Is it thus undistinguishable from what is passing around us continually? Read the first verse of this chapter: “Come near, ye nations, to hear, and hearken, ye people; let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all the things that come forth of it.” Surely, it is no ordinary, event to which universal attention is thus solemnly called harken, ye people; let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all the things that come forth of it.” Surely, it is no ordinary, event to which universal attention is thus solemnly called this prophetic scene with that portrayed in the other passages we have been considering. It is obvious enough, on the very surface of them, that all describe the same period of judgment. Each one, it is true, presents this general subject in some particular phase or aspect, which distinguishes it from the rest. Still, the general identity of subject I see not how anyone can doubt who reads the passages with ordinary attention. The analogy between the one just quoted and that in Joel 3 is most striking. And what is the testimony of the one just quoted, as to the character and extent of the judgment? Need I give any other answer, then simply to refer you to the passage itself? The last verse, be it ever so figurative in style, surely indicates a most fearful slaughter of God’s enemies. The bare reading of the verse is enough to make one’s ears to tingle. And, be assured, the God of truth gives no false alarms the event will not be found less terrible than the prediction. like saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace; but sudden destruction is coming upon the world of the ungodly, that I should tremble to hold out such a delusive prospect. God, who knows the end from the beginning, has not overstated the horrors of that day of darkness and destruction which is hastening on; and any one seriously examining the Word of God will be amazed to find how large a portion of prophecy relates to this subject, and portrays in colors so dark, that their gloom could not by any means be deepened, the sudden overwhelming destruction which shall overtake the wicked in that day. A few passages have already passed in serious review before us. Many more remain; so many, that all I can do is to select some of the principal among them this prophetic scene with that portrayed in the other passages we have been considering. It is obvious enough, on the very surface of them, that all describe the same period of judgment. Each one, it is true, presents this general subject in some particular phase or aspect, which distinguishes it from the rest. Still, the general identity of subject I see not how anyone can doubt who reads the passages with ordinary attention. The analogy between the one just quoted and that in Joel 3 is most striking. And what is the testimony of the one just quoted, as to the character and extent of the judgment? Need I give any other answer, than simply to refer you to the passage itself? The last verse, be it ever so figurative in style, surely indicates a most fearful slaughter of God’s enemies. The bare reading of the verse is enough to make one’s ears to tingle. And, be assured, the God of truth gives no false alarms: the event will not be found less terrible than the prediction and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.” It would be superfluous to point out in detail the identity of
this prophetic scene with that portrayed in the other passages we have been considering. It is obvious enough, on the very surface of them, that all describe the same period of judgment. Each one, it is true, presents this general subject in some particular phase or aspect, which distinguishes it from the rest. Still, the general identity of subject I see not how anyone can doubt who reads the passages with ordinary attention. The analogy between the one just quoted and that in Joel 3 is most striking. And what is the testimony of the one just quoted, as to the character and extent of the judgment? Need I give any other answer, than simply to refer you to the passage itself? The last verse, be it ever so figurative in style, surely indicates a most fearful slaughter of God’s enemies. The bare reading of the verse is enough to make one’s ears to tingle. And, be assured, the God of truth gives no false alarms: the event will not be found less terrible than the prediction.
I would just remark besides, in passing, that the coming of one like to the Son of man, seated on a cloud, is a part of. this prophetic vision, as it was beheld by the beloved apostle.
4. Revelation 19:11-2111And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 17And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. 19And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. (Revelation 19:11‑21) is another passage in which this treading of the winepress is brought before us. St. John sees heaven “opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.”
From the entire description of this heavenly Conqueror, there can be no doubt as to who it was that the prophet of Patmos saw. “He hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” He is followed by his saints. “The armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.” The fine linen has been explained, in verse 8, to be “the righteousness of saints.” Can anyone fail to be reminded by this of a passage referred to in my former letter? —” The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.” What is the object for which this rider upon the white horse and his heavenly armies appear? “Out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” Need I ask here what is the character and the extent of the judgment foretold in these solemn words? Do not the words themselves supply the answer? If any further be needed, you have it in what follows: “And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather together unto the supper of the great God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all, free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth; and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.” Make what allowance you please for the figurative language here employed, you can never persuade yourself to believe that this is the quiet unnoticed taking away by death, in the usual course of things, of a very few wicked persons who had failed to be converted by the gospel. Here is war, with mighty preparations for it on either hand, issuing in the utter dismal overthrow of the congregated enemies of Christ, who, like grapes in the winepress, are trodden under his feet; “he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” This is the end, beloved brother, of all this world’s greatness and glory; this is the event which is hastening on, and which must surely come to pass before the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
We have now examined five passages, viz. Joel 3, Isaiah 63, Isaiah 34, Revelation 14:14-20,14And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 15And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. 16And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped. 17And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. 18And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. 19And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. (Revelation 14:14‑20) and Revelation 19:11-21,11And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 17And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. 19And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. (Revelation 19:11‑21) to ascertain the character and extent of the judgment spoken of in Matthew 13 as the “harvest,” the end of this age, and which, as you allowed, is succeeded by the millennium. Two of those passages, Joel 3 and Revelation 14, speak of it in the very terms as Matthew 13; they describe it as the “harvest.” Another representation is used besides in those passages, viz., the vintage. This connects them with Isaiah 63 and Revelation 19, where we have the treading of the winepress. The distinct mention of Edom and Bozrah in Isaiah 63 connects that passage with Isaiah 34, where we have more in detail the judgment on Idumea., or Edom, and on Bozrah. It is connected with it by other marks as well, which have been pointed out. We thus have the testimony of five passages clearly speaking of the same general period of judgment as in Matthew 13 is termed “the harvest.” And what is their united testimony? Verily, it is of such scenes of slaughter and desolation as exceed in horror nearly all besides. I might easily have quoted as many more passages. Indeed, all those (or nearly all) quoted in my last, are as full and plain to this point as any others. Surely, it is not for us to be lulling the Church and the world to deeper sleep with dreams of continued peace and increasing blessing, when a crisis like this is to terminate the present age and introduce the period of millennial blessedness and joy. Bright days there are in prospect for this earth, and never would I forget the testimony of God’s holy Word to this. But a dark and dreadful day must intervene; and they entirely mislead the minds of men, who teach them to look for the peaceful spread of truth and holiness till all, or nearly all, the human family are converted. No the harvest, which, as you admit, is the end of the present period or age, is itself a period in which Christ comes to execute vengeance on his enemies; and those enemies are at that time so numerous and stout-hearted, as to be gathered together to battle against the Lion of the tribe of Judah. “These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for he is the Lord of lords and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” (Revelation 17:1414These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. (Revelation 17:14).) And this is the scene towards Which the course of this world is fast tending. Surely, it must be a matter of no small importance for our souls to be awake to this, that we may be enabled, through grace, to stand apart from all that which is hastening on this final crisis, and on which the judgment of that great and terrible day will fall. The Lord grant us, even now, to act as becomes those called, and chosen, and faithful ones, who are to be with him in that day!
3.—We come now to a very important passage, which, with those inseparably connected with it, I have reserved for distinct consideration. I wish now to look at it, both as to the evidence it affords of a pre-millennial advent, and as to the light it throws on the character and extent of the judgment by which that advent will be attended. I now refer to 2 Thessalonians 2., and request your patient consideration of the following suggestions: —
It is worthy to be noted, that, in the first epistle, the coming of the Lord is named in every chapter; and so named, that no doubt can be entertained by any one as to what coming is spoken of. It is, confessedly, the second personal coming of Christ, which is so often referred to in the first epistle to the Thessalonians.
The apostle returns to the subject in the first chapter of the second epistle: “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,” &c. This, I suppose, all will agree, is the second personal appearing of Christ. “When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe.” This also, none will deny, refers to the second personal coming of our Lord.
The second chapter begins thus: “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him.” Is not this the same event that he had been speaking of throughout the first epistle, and the first chapter of the second? No one questions this, that I am aware of a certain term or phrase which occurs more frequently in these writings than in any other, and that this a falling away first, and the Man of Sin be revealed; he reminds them of what he had before told them, that there was something withholding or hindering the revelation of this Man of Sin, and that what was then letting would let until it was removed; “And then,” says he, “ shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” Now, is it another coming that he speaks of here, distinct from that of which he has spoken so immediately before? Throughout the first epistle, and three times already in this, he has spoken of the coming of Christ. In all these instances it is confessed he speaks of the actual personal advent of our Lord. He has not changed his subject; so far from this, he begins this second chapter by beseeching them, by the coming of Christ, and our gathering together to him; and then, in the same paragraph, in the unfolding of the argument which he thus introduces, he speaks of “ that wicked whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” Now, can it be another coming, and another kind of coming, he speaks of here? Would it not be doing the utmost violence to Scripture to suppose such a, thing? Could we understand any other book, if it was to be interpreted on such principles as would lead us to an interpretation of Scripture like this? Suppose a mere human author to write two treatises, the latter intended to throw further light on the subject of the former. Suppose that there is phrase is always used in one fixed determinate sense. Suppose that it has been thus used twelve or thirteen times without one exception, and that this is acknowledged by all who read the writings in question. Here is, however, a fourteenth instance in which this phrase occurs. There is no intimation on the part of the writer that he uses it in a different sense; there is nothing in the immediate context to require that it should be understood in any different sense. Nay, so far from this, it is used in the usual sense at the commencement of the paragraph in which it again occurs in the instance supposed: now, what would you think of anyone who would contend, in a case like this, that the phrase is to be understood in a different sense the fourteenth time of its occurrence, from that in which it is used in all the other instances? Would. you not say that his mind was warped, and that, for some reason or other, he did violence to the sense of the writer? And if you would shrink from thus reflecting on the consistency of a mere human author, ought not reverence for the Word of God to make you shrink from attributing such obscurity and inconsistency to it? Reverence for the Word of God to make you shrink from attributing such obscurity and inconsistency to it?
5. The case before us is even stronger than that just supposed. And it is stronger as read in the original than in our translation. The word translated “coming,” in 2 Thessalonians 2:8,8And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: (2 Thessalonians 2:8) is παρουσία, and the sense of this word will best appear from the invariable rendering of it in those passages where it is not the Lord’s coming at all that is spoken of, but where it is used in reference to others.
The following is the list:
Christ by my coming to you again. (Philippians 1:2626That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. (Philippians 1:26) only, but now much more in my absence. (Philippians 2:1212Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12).) Even him whose coming is after the working of.) Even him whose coming is after the working o: Until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Timothy 6:1414That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: (1 Timothy 6:14).) of these instances the word means an actual coming or presence? This word is used seventeen times in the New Testament with reference to the coming, of the Lord. It is the word translated “coming,” in 2 Thessalonians 2:8,8And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: (2 Thessalonians 2:8) the passage under consideration: Until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Timothy 6:1414That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: (1 Timothy 6:14).) used in this passage. It is not only said “whom he shall destroy by his coming,” but “by the brightness of his coming.” Now the word here rendered brightness is ἐπιφανέια: it occurs five times besides, in the New Testament, and its force you may judge of from the following list of the passages:
Can anyone doubt, who calmly and prayerfully considers these things, that the coming, the appearing of Christ, spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2:8,8And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: (2 Thessalonians 2:8) is a real actual coming or appearing? It does seem to me that, if evidence like this is to be set aside as inconclusive, we have no marks left by which, in any case, the meaning of the sacred text. can be determined; or, indeed, the meaning of any writings or any subject whatever not be revealed, and have his day, and the millennium follow, and then the Lord come at the close of it? No; that cannot be, for it is by the second advent of our Lord, by the brightness of his coming, that that wicked is destroyed. Thus are we guarded by the apostle, as to both ends of this period. The millennium could not be at the former, for the mystery of iniquity was working then, and was to work till it issued in the revelation of the Man of Sin, the wicked one. It cannot be at the latter end of the period, for the wicked one, the Man of Sin exists to the end, and the period closes with his destruction by the brightness of Christ’s coming. Thus are we shut up to the conclusion that there can be no millennium between the time at which the apostle wrote and the second coming of Christ. The mystery of iniquity, the falling away, the revelation and blasphemies of the Man of Sin, fill up the whole period; and if there is to be a millennium, it must be after the second coming of our Lord. It cannot be before. The only way of evading this conclusion is, to say that the coming of Christ, by the brightness of which the wicked one is destroyed, is not his actual second, personal advent. But this I have already shown to be doing violence to Scripture, and adopting a principle of interpretation which, if carried out, would rob all language of any fixed, determinate meaning, and render it impossible to decide what was the import of any statement made by any writer, on any subject whatever. Surely, we cannot adopt such a principle in the interpretation of God’s holy Worde Lord shall consume with the breath of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” For the force of this phrase, “the breath of his mouth,” in the Old Testament, see Job 4:9;159By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed. (Job 4:9)
9What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us? (Job 15:9). 30 Isaiah 30:2828And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err. (Isaiah 30:28) and 33; also Isaiah 11:44But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. (Isaiah 11:4) least. The Man of Sin must not only be weakened, but destroyed, before there can be any millennium. And he is destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming. But then, further, to consume is not to weaken. Αναλίσκω, the word here rendered “consume,” strictly means to take away, to destroy. It is the word used in Luke 9:54,54And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? (Luke 9:54) where the disciples ask our Lord if they may command fire to come from heaven and consume the Samaritans. Surely, it means no gradual weakening there, but utter and sudden destruction. There is another word, δαπανάω, which is once rendered “consume,” (James 4:3,3Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. (James 4:3)) and it does signify to devour, to spend, to waste, and is so translated commonly. But it is not this word that is used here, but another, signifying to take away, to destroy. Neither does the expression, “spirit of his mouth,” signify the Gospel or the influences of the Spirit. Πνεῦμα, the word translated “spirit” in the New Testament, has for its primary meaning, as you are doubtless aware, wind, air in motion, a breathing, breath; and this is marked in the Lexicon before me as the meaning of the word in this passage. “Then shall that wicked be revealed, whom thethen, to that maturity of daring wickedness which is exhibited in the Man of Sin, the wicked one; and this wicked one is to be consumed by the spirit of Christ’s mouth, and destroyed by the brightness of his coming. The day of Christ cannot come, except there come a falling away first, and that Man of Sin be revealed. Well, but may there not be a millennium brought about by the gradual spread of the Gospel, and this falling away come after that—the Man of Sin be revealed after that? No; for he says the mystery of iniquity cloth already work, only he who now letteth will let till he be taken out of the way. And then—yes, what then? A millennium? No, then shall that wicked be revealed. Well, but may he not be revealed, and have his day, and the millennium follow, and then the Lord come at the close of it? No; that cannot be, for it is by the second advent of our Lord, by the brightness of his coming, that that wicked is destroyed. Thus are we guarded by the apostle, as to both ends of this period. The millennium could not be at the former, for the mystery of iniquity was working then, and was to work till it issued in the revelation of the Man of Sin, the wicked one. It cannot be at the latter end of the period, for the wicked one, the Man of Sin exists to the end, and the period closes with his destruction by the brightness of Christ’s coming. Thus are we shut up to the conclusion that there can be no millennium between the time at which the apostle wrote and the second coming of Christ. The mystery of iniquity, the falling away, the revelation and blasphemies of the Man of Sin, fill up the whole period; and if there is to be a millennium, it must be after the second coming of our Lord. It cannot be before. The only way of evading this conclusion is, to say that the coming of Christ, by the brightness of which the wicked one is destroyed, is not his actual second, personal advent. But this I have already shown to be doing violence to Scripture, and adopting a principle of interpretation which, if carried out, would rob all language of any fixed, determinate meaning, and render it impossible to decide what was the import of any statement made by any writer, on any subject whatever. Surely, we cannot adopt such a principle in the interpretation of God’s holy Worde Lord shall consume with the breath of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” For the force of this phrase, “the breath of his mouth,” in the Old Testament, see Job 4:9;159By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed. (Job 4:9)
9What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us? (Job 15:9). 30 Isaiah 30:2828And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err. (Isaiah 30:28) and 33; also Isaiah 11:44But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. (Isaiah 11:4). The Man of Sin must not only be weakened, but destroyed, before there can be any millennium. And he is destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming. But then, further, to consume is not to weaken. Αναλίσκω, the word here rendered “consume,” strictly means to take away, to destroy. It is the word used in Luke 9:54,54And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? (Luke 9:54) where the disciples ask our Lord if they may command fire to come from heaven and consume the Samaritans. Surely, it means no gradual weakening there, but utter and sudden destruction. There is another word, δαπανάω, which is once rendered “consume,” (James 4:3,3Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. (James 4:3)) and it does signify to devour, to spend, to waste, and is so translated commonly. But it is not this word that is used here, but another, signifying to take away, to destroy. Neither does the expression, “spirit of his mouth,” signify the Gospel or the influences of the Spirit. Πνεῦμα, the word translated “spirit” in the New Testament, has for its primary meaning, as you are doubtless aware, wind, air in motion, a breathing, breath; and this is marked in the Lexicon before me as the meaning of the word in this passage. “Then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the breath of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” For the force of this phrase, “the breath of his mouth,” in the Old Testament, see Job 4:9;159By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed. (Job 4:9)
9What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us? (Job 15:9). 30 Isaiah 30:2828And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err. (Isaiah 30:28) and 33; also Isaiah 11:44But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. (Isaiah 11:4).
8. I would consider this last passage a little more particularly. The prophet is speaking of the rod which was to come forth out of the stem of Jesse, and the Branch which was to grow out of his roots. It is of Him he says: “But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.” This is obviously the passage which the apostle quotes in the chapter we have been considering. And what follows this destruction of the Man of Sin, the wicked one, by the breath of Christ’s lips and by the brightness of his coming? Read the remainder of the chapter, Isaiah 11, and you will find that this overthrow of Antichrist is succeeded by the millennium, when “the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Where, is there a child of God who has not rejoiced in the prospect of all this quietness, and harmony, and blessing, which are yet in store for this miserable world? But, how is it that this season of universal blessedness is introduced? “He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.” When does He thus overthrow his daring and blasphemous enemy? The apostle gives the answer. “Then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the breath of his mouth, and shall destroy WITH THE BRIGHTNESS OF HIS COMING.” Yes, it is the coming of our blessed Lord which destroys the Man of Sin, and which introduces that blissful period, of which we have such a glowing description in Isaiah 11. Thus, do the prophet and the apostle confirm and illustrate each other’s testimony. We begin with the apostle in his day, and lie tells us that the mystery of iniquity was working then. He speaks of some hindrance to the full display of this mystery of evil, and of its continuance up to a certain time. He tells us of its being taken out of the way, and of that wicked being revealed, and of his destruction by the breath of Christ’s mouth and by the brightness of his coming. And there lie pauses. It is at this point the testimony of the prophet begins. He also tells us of the triumphs of Jesse’s Offspring, that “he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.” But he leads us onward, and shows us, as the fruit of this victory, a peaceful, holy, happy earth, reposing beneath the scepter of him who is Jesse’s Root as well as Jesse’s Offspring. Can anything be more conclusive than the combined, harmonious testimony of these holy men, who wrote as they were moved by the Holy Ghost?
9. I would notice, too, the harmony between all this and some of the other passages which have been considered. In the parable of the wheat and tares, we are told that he who sows the tares is the devil, and that the tares and wheat are to grow together till the harvest. In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul tells us the mystery of iniquity was working then. The tares had been sown. Were they to be plucked up? Was the mystery of iniquity to cease from working? No: it was to work on, and in the end, when the hindrance was removed, it was to issue in the revelation of the Man of Sin, and he was to continue till his destruction by the brightness of Christ’s coming; in other words, till “the harvest.” In my former letter, it was shown from Daniel 7 how the blasphemies of the little horn, or Antichrist, are the occasion on which the thrones are placed, the judgment set, and the books opened; and how, because of his great words, the beast is slain, his body destroyed and given to the burning flame; and how all this is connected with the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven. So, in 2 Thessalonians 2, it is to consume Antichrist with the breath of his mouth, and destroy him with the brightness of his coming, that the Lord appears. All this is followed in Daniel 7 by the millennium. The kingdom, and glory, and dominion, are given to the Son of man, and with him his saints take the kingdom and possess it. So, as we have just been seeing in Isaiah 11, when Christ has smitten the earth with the rod of his mouth, and slain the wicked (one) with the breath of his lips, he reigns in peace over the whole earth. So also in Revelation 19 and 20. What shows that these together form one strain of prophecy is this, that the destruction of the beast and false prophet in chap. 19: 20 is spoken of in chap. 20:10 as a past event. Let anyone read from the beginning of chap. 19. to verse 8 in chap. 21., and he can hardly doubt that it is one unbroken strain of prophecy, and ought so to be read. And when thus read, how marked the coincidence between it and all the passages we have been examining! As has been already pointed out, we have the coming forth from heaven of the King of kings and Lord of lords, followed by the armies which were in heaven. Then we have the overthrow and destruction of the beast and the false prophet, and their followers. Then follows the binding of Satan and the reign of the risen saints with Christ a thousand years. And when is it that the saints rise 1 All Scripture answers what all saints subscribe to, At the second coining of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then, to show that this is not the final judgment, the judgment of the great white throne, it is said, “The rest of the dead lived not again till the thousand years were finished.” The thousand years expire—Satan is loosed from his prison—he deceives the nations of the earth—they gather together against the beloved city—fire comes down from God out of heaven, and destroys them—Satan, who deceived them, is cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are—(observe this, where they are, for they had been cast there a thousand years before,) a great white throne appears—heaven and earth flee away—the rest of the dead are raised, and all whose names were not in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death. I can conceive of nothing more plain, more straightforward, and more entirely harmonious with all the Scriptures we have been examining, than this comprehensive portion thus read. I say read, for I have not been interpreting or explaining it, but simply pointing out what it contains.
10. There is another point on which I cannot enlarge. A remark or two must suffice. It is allowed by all students of prophecy that the beast and the false prophet, who meet their doom amid the scenes portrayed in Daniel 7, 2 Thessalonians 2, and Revelation 19, are more largely described, as to their character and power and the number of their adherents, in previous passages of Revelation. And what is the testimony of those passages, as to the number of the followers of Antichrist? “And it was given him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (chap. 13: 7, 8.) So much for the beast. As to the false prophet, which is spoken of in chap. 13., as another beast with horns like a lamb, and speaking like a dragon;* it is said of him that “ he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth, by the means of those miracles which he has power to do in the sight of the beast.... And he had power to give life to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he caused all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark,” &c. (Verses 12-17.)
And it is this beast, and this false prophet that wrought miracles before him, that perish by the hand of Him who comes forth out of heaven on a white horse, in Revelation 19 And when they thus perish, they are at the head of the kings of the earth and their armies, who perish with them. See the passage. Surely, dear brother, this is not a few wicked persons cut off by death in the usual way! And depend upon it, with scenes like these hastening on, and the whole course of the world, the religious WORLD, as well as the civil and political, tending towards this point, it is a dangerous delusion to suppose that the world is improving and will improve, till only a few wicked persons are left who have to be taken away by death, and that then there will be none but the righteous on the earth. No; what God has revealed of the closing scenes of the present age shows clearly enough, if we have but ears to hear, that his enemies will then be congregated in immense multitudes under one daring and impious leader, with a false prophet as his ally and his tool, who, according to 2 Thessalonians 2, as well as the passage we have been glancing at, will be permitted to deceive them by the miracles and signs he will be able to produce, they being given up to strong delusion, to believe a lie, that they all may be damned; and on this assembled host, gathered together in haughty defiance of God Almighty and the Lamb, will the thunderbolts of his vengeance fall; the two chiefs in iniquity will be cast ALIVE into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone, and the rest will be slain with the sword which proceedeth out of the mighty conqueror’s mouth. If, instead of believing God’s testimony, and anticipating those dreadful scenes, we are filling our minds with visions of continued and increasing peace, and blessing and prosperity, we shall be, doubtless unconsciously, yet not less surely, helping on those principles and systems which are preparing the professing Church, as well as the openly unbelieving world, for this maturity of wickedness and this ripeness for destruction. Let us remember that the mystery of iniquity precedes the manifestation of the Man of Sin; and if Satan, disguised as an angel of light, can persuade us that the spreading of the mystery of iniquity is the success of the Gospel and the prelude to millennial blessedness, it is easy to see how, with the very desire to—do good and to help onward the conversion of the world, we may be unconsciously promoting the designs of Satan, and preparing the way, for the open manifestation of the Man of Sin. The question before us is thus seen to be a solemn, practical question; and it is only as our expectations of the future are regulated by simple faith in the testimony of God, that our conduct in the present will be in harmony with God’s mind. If see where this world’s course is tending, and what the end of this world’s boastings and exultations will be, I shall not be found sailing down its smooth and rapid current, but in holy separateness from it; separateness from it which will seem madness to any one who is deceived by its fair appearances; I shall be found waiting and longing for is coming, whose return is as full of joy to those who look for him, as it will be of dismay and horror to those who have despised the testimony of his grace, and, are found amongst his enemies when He comes. It is not at all, dear brother, that we are to be always pondering on the gloomy side of the subject, and thinking of the thickening darkness and the approaching judgment. No; but knowing this to be true, because God has said it, we are to wait for him whose coming shall dispel every shade of darkness; and, while he executes these terrible judgments on the wicked which we have been considering, will do this, that he may purge the earth of its destroyers and corrupters, gathering out of his kingdom all that offends and them which do iniquity, that in the peaceful days of millennial rest and blessing which succeed, the righteous may shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. And it is this, the light and joy and blessing of the age which ‘follows, that should be uppermost in our thoughts; and yet the joy of anticipating this, chastened and sobered in our souls by the certain knowledge afforded us in Scripture of the dreadful events which intervene. There is a passage in Romans 8 with which I, would close this communication. We have seen in Isaiah 11 how the overthrow of the wicked (one) is succeeded by those blessed days in which the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, &c. In Romans 8 the whole creation is represented as groaning and travailing in expectation of this. “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.” And when will the sons of God be manifested? “ Beloved,” says John, “ now are we the sons of God, and it cloth not yet appear (it is not yet manifest) 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.” It is when Christ appears that the sons of God will be manifested. And it is for this that the earnest expectation of the creature waits. “For the creature (creation, literally) was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same. in hope; because the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” Isaiah 11 is the exposition of all this. When the destroyers of, the earth have been themselves destroyed, and Christ and his risen, glorified saints reign over the earth a thousand years, the curse will be removed, the bondage of corruption cease, all things, both in heaven and earth, be reconciled, and none shall hurt nor destroy in all God’s holy mountain. “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now; and not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” Thus, the Spirit of God in the saints makes them groan for the adoption—the redemption of the body. That takes place when Christ appears. It is then and thus that the sons of God are manifested. All creation waits for that. Why? Because creation itself shall then be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Blessed, Joyful period 1 What effect has the anticipation of it on our souls? Does it give joy and gladness? Yes verily. But the contrast of all around us and all before us till Christ comes, with that blissful age—the contrast, I say, seen in the light of that glory, makes us groan. That we may all know more of those exercises both of sorrow and of joy, and that by the Spirit, and be more separate from all that will not bear the light of the coming day of Christ, is, dear brother, the prayer of yours in Him, W. T.