Amidst all the disorder and disappointment which is and will be produced by the willful opposition of man to the gracious purposes of God, it is profitable to remember that there is a Church chosen unto salvation, which He “who loved it and washed it from its sins in His own blood” will surely present unto himself in glory. There is nothing more dangerous than carnal presumption, but while this is unequivocally condemned, the scriptures as plainly recognize and encourage that meek and humble confidence which is peace and strength, because it rests with holy self-renunciation upon the love of one whose name is “Faithful and true” — “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord: He also shall confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless, in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 1:8, 98Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Corinthians 1:8‑9).) Accordingly, the gracious command of our Savior is— “Let not your hearts be troubled;” and He presently after adds, “Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth; but I have called you friends, for whatsoever I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” This then, is the right position of believers—to have their hearts fixed, trusting in the Lord, that so they might be at leisure to interest themselves in those things which concern the glory of the Lord, and which have been revealed for their comfort and instruction.
In the former dispensation, they who were best enabled to understand “the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow,” were best prepared to estimate the real character of the dispensation in which they lived; and so at present, they only who have profited by the light which scripture sheds on “the world to come,” (Heb. 2.) will form a right judgment on the things which ARE. “Prophecy is a light shining in a dark place, whereunto ye do well to take heed.”— “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that understand the words of this prophecy.” (Rev. 1)
And when we consider what prophecy is, that it developer, with an exactness which few anticipate, the future prospects of the world and of the Church, the character and nature of the reign of peace, and the final overthrow of Satan’s power, it is no wonder that He whose bruising is made the subject of the first prophecy of scripture, is anxious to cast a veil over the future, and to throw stumbling blocks in the way of those who inquire. He endeavored to discredit the reformation by the fanaticism and licentiousness of wicked men. He has now endeavored to drive us back from the future, and make us lock up again what we have seen, by pushing forward the rash and carnal speculations of some, as if they were the legitimate fruits of every attempt to examine the things “that are to be.” Nevertheless “the things that are revealed belong to us and our children;” and they who are wise will not accredit the lie of Satan, nor believe that God has given us anything but “what is profitable for growth and instruction in righteousness.”
1.—That scripture is its own interpreter, and supplies its own links of connection by verbal or moral correspondences.
2.—That by recording the fulfillment of past prophecies, it teaches us the mode of fulfillment to be expected in future. For example:— the Messiah was to be the seed of the woman, (Gen. 3:1515And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15))—The seed of Abraham, (Gen. 12:33And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 12:3)) of the tribe of Judah, of the family of David, (2 Sam. 7:13-1613He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: 15But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. 16And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. (2 Samuel 7:13‑16); Isa. 93Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. (Isaiah 9:3); 6; 7.) and to be born of a virgin, (Isa. 7:1414Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14); Matt. 1:2323Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matthew 1:23)) All these prophecies have been literally fulfilled. So also with respect to the following things:— His birth-place—Bethlehem, (Mic. 5:22But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. (Micah 5:2); with Luke 2:15,1015And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. (Luke 2:15)
10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. (Luke 2:10).)— His flight into Egypt, (Hos. 11:11When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt. (Hosea 11:1) with Matt. 2:1515And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son. (Matthew 2:15))—His mean appearance and poverty, (Isa. 53:2, 32For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:2‑3); Matt. 2:2323And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene. (Matthew 2:23))—the scene of His ministry, (Isa. 9:1, 21Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations. 2The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. (Isaiah 9:1‑2); Matt. 4:13-1613And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: 14That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 15The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; 16The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. (Matthew 4:13‑16))—His parabolic language, (Psa. 78:22I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: (Psalm 78:2); Matt. 13:33And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; (Matthew 13:3))—His miracles. (Isa. 53:44Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. (Isaiah 53:4); Matt. 8:11When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. (Matthew 8:1).)—His quiet deportment, (Isa. 42:22He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. (Isaiah 42:2); Matt. 12:1717That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, (Matthew 12:17)) His entrance into Jerusalem, and the beast on which he rode, (Zech. 9:99Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. (Zechariah 9:9); Matt. 21:44All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, (Matthew 21:4)) and especially the circumstances of His crucifixion—that He should be betrayed by one of His companions, (Psa. 55:1313But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. (Psalm 55:13))—sold for thirty pieces of silver, and the use to which the money should be applied (Zech. 11:12, 1312And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. 13And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord. (Zechariah 11:12‑13); Matt. 27:3-93Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. 5And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. 6And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. 7And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. 8Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day. 9Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; (Matthew 27:3‑9))— His being smitten upon His trial, (Mic. 5:11Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. (Micah 5:1); Matt. 27:3030And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. (Matthew 27:30))—the vinegar and gall given Him to drink, (Psa. 69:2121They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. (Psalm 69:21); John 19:2727Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. (John 19:27))—His dying words, (Psa. 22:11<<To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.>> My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? (Psalm 22:1); Matt. 27:4646And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46))—that they should pierce His hands and His feet, (Psa. 22:1616For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. (Psalm 22:16))—and that not a bone of Him should be broken, (Ex. 12:4646In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof. (Exodus 12:46); Psa. 34:2020He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. (Psalm 34:20) with John 19:3636For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. (John 19:36))—His being numbered with transgressors, (Isa. 53:1212Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:12); Luke 22:3737For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end. (Luke 22:37))—the casting lots upon His vesture, (Psa. 22:1818They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. (Psalm 22:18); John 19:2424They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did. (John 19:24))—His grave with the rich, (Isa. 53:99And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. (Isaiah 53:9); Matt. 27:5757When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: (Matthew 27:57)) and the resurrection of His body, (Psa. 16:1010For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Psalm 16:10); Matt. 28:77And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you. (Matthew 28:7)) All these things, and many others which God hath showed by the mouth of His holy prophets, He hath so fulfilled; (Acts 3:88And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. (Acts 3:8)) that is, literally fulfilled. (See Tyso’s inquiry into prophetic truth, p. 25) But if they were still presented to us as unfulfilled, and we were to interpret in conformity with our recent principles, we should nullify the greater part by figurative explanations. We should say that Egypt meant the Egypt of sin, and that Zechariah’s prophecy respecting the ass, was merely a figurative description of the lowliness of the Messiah’s character. The fulfillment, however, was minutely literal, and so in every recorded instance; whether the prophecy has been symbolical, as in Dan. 78I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. (Daniel 7:8) figurative, as in Isa. 53:22For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. (Isaiah 53:2) or simple, as in Isa. 53:66All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6) the event predicted has been literally fulfilled.
The “time of the restitution of all things,” (Acts 32And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; (Acts 3:2)) hath been spoken of by the mouth of all the holy prophets, which have been since the world began, for it involves the happiness of creation, the blessedness of the Church, and the glory of Christ. It is variously termed “the times of restitution,” (Acts 32And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; (Acts 3:2)) “the kingdom of heaven,” the “regeneration,” (Matt. 19:2828And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Matthew 19:28)) “the world to come,” &c. (Heb. 210Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. (Hebrews 3:10)) The vision of Jacob marks the character of its blessedness to be the renewal of holy and blessed intercourse between earth and heaven, and the words of our Lord connect this blessedness with his own personal manifestation, when he says, “Hereafter shall ye see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” It is called by the Apostle Paul, “the world to come,” οικουμενη μελλουσα as contrasted with the age that now is. The present age commenced at the flood, for the “last days of the age” commenced when “God spoke to us by His Son.” (Heb. 114Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; (Hebrews 2:14)) “On us the ends of the age are come.” (1 Cor. 10:22And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; (1 Corinthians 10:2).) In this age or dispensation, the history of the children of Israel has afforded the constituted proof of the long-suffering, love of God, and of the baseness and ingratitude of man. When the covenant God of their fathers came to them saving, “Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more,” they received Him not, but said “away with such a follow from the earth, for it is not fit that He should live.” But, as has been already said, the last days of the age commenced with his mission, and that of His forerunner, And they both preached, saying “repent, for the kingdom of heaven draweth nigh.” (Matt. 311Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. (Matthew 4:11) & 4.)
If there could have been a law given which could have given life, righteousness should have been by the law; and so also if Jerusalem had known the time of her visitation, and if it had not been needful that one man should die for the people—the kingdom of heaven would have commenced then. Enough had been done by God. The kingdom of God in the person of Jesus was come upon them—and they had the full responsibility of rejecting it. “But His own received Him not.” The glory of the kingdom was shown only to three, of whom it was said, “they should not taste of death until they saw the Son of man coming in His kingdom.” (Luke 9:2727But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God. (Luke 9:27) compared with 2 Peter 1:1616For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. (2 Peter 1:16)) it was then withdrawn again, and He taught His disciples to wait, saying “the Son of man is as a man going into a far country, to receive for himself a kingdom and to return;” (Mark 13:3434For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. (Mark 13:34)) referring, perhaps, as he did explicitly afterward, when standing before the High Priest, to the passage in Daniel, which describes Him as being brought to the “Ancient of days,” to receive his kingdom.
During His absence, be left the Church, that it might through the Spirit, witness by separation from the world, to the truth of the world’s condemnation, and their own translation into “a kingdom which cannot be moved.”—Need we say that now it has failed. The splendor of secular greatness and the love of present influence, or to speak scripturally, the allurements of Babylon, have drawn the Church aside, and it has grieved the Spirit—.the result has been darkness; and I do not know that any more fearful proof can be given, than the disposition which still prevails to deny the distinctness of the present and future age, which is in reality to deny that there is any “world (οικουμευη) to come.” Hence too has resulted an inability “rightly to divide the word of truth,” and the awful warnings of future judgment have not infrequently been interpreted as declarations of fulfilled mercy.
And yet what dispensations can he more definitely marked with distinctness?
1.—In the present, “the children of Israel are abiding without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without teraphim.” (Hos. 3:44For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: (Hosea 3:4)) “They are sifted in a sieve;” (Amos 9:99For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. (Amos 9:9)) “they are made a hissing and a reproach among all nations.” In the next— “Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited;” (Zech. 14:1111And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. (Zechariah 14:11)) “the manifested glory of the Lord shall return;” (Ezek. 4311And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, show them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. (Ezekiel 43:11)) “the name of the city shall be, from that time forth, the Lord is there;” (Ezek. 48:3535It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there. (Ezekiel 48:35)) “He will plant them in their own land, with his whole heart and with his own soul;” (Jer. 32:44And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; (Jeremiah 32:4).) and thus they who have hitherto witnessed to His righteousness, will hereafter witness to His grace and faithfulness, and show that “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” (Rom. 114But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. (Romans 11:4)) “The children of Judah AND the children of Israel shall be gathered together and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land, and great shall he the day of Jezreel.” “In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground; and I will break the bow, and the sword, and the battle out of’ the earth, and will make them to lie down safely. And I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness, and thou shalt know the Lord.” (Hos. 14And the Lord said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. (Hosea 1:4) & 2)
2. — The “whole creation is now groaning and travailing in pain together.” (Rom. 8:2222For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. (Romans 8:22)) “The earth languisheth.” (Isa. 24:44The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. (Isaiah 24:4)) In the next, “it shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” (Rom. 84That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:4)) “Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad, let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein; then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord, for He cometh, for He cometh to rule the earth; He shall rule the world with righteousness, and the people with His truth.” (Psa. 96:1111Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. (Psalm 96:11)) “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as a rose.” (Isa. 35:11The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. (Isaiah 35:1)) Moreover, in this dispensation, “nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there shall be wars and rumors of wars.” (Matt. 24:77For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. (Matthew 24:7).) In the next, “nation shall not rise up against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” (Isa. 2:44And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2:4). Mic. 4:11But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. (Micah 4:1).) In the present it is said to the Gentiles, “beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears.” (Joel 3:1010Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. (Joel 3:10).) In the next, “the sword shall be beaten into the plowshare.” (Mic. 410Be in pain, and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies. (Micah 4:10)) “Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations He hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the ends of the earth; He breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; He burneth the chariot in the fire.” (Psa. 46:77The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. (Psalm 46:7).)
3. —In this dispensation, Satan is not only the god of this world, but he is also the prince of the power of the air—working or energizing (ενεργωυ) “in the children of disobedience,” (Eph. 2:22Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (Ephesians 2:2)) and he is in heavenly places, (Eph. 6:1212For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12). επουραυιοις.) The last two descriptions plainly show that his power is not limited to this earth, and is I believe, exercised over the whole of those things whose creation is described in Genesis, and of which Adam was constituted the federal head. In the next dispensation, this power shall be taken from him. “In the day when the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the world for their iniquity, He will punish with His great sore and strong sword, Leviathan the piercing serpent, even Leviathan that crooked serpent.” (Isa. 2712And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel. (Isaiah 27:12)) “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand; and he laid hold on the dragon that old serpent which is the devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up.”
4.—The Lord Christ is at present crowned with glory and honor, (Heb. 2) but He has not yet received the kingdom. He has sat down on His Father’s throne, but has not sat down on His own throne. (Rev. 3:2121To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. (Revelation 3:21).) This is a thing of which the world is careless, and the Church have not recognized it as they ought; but it is true. The world to come (οικουμενη μελλουσα) which is referred to in the 8th Psalm, shall be put under Him; but by the testimony of the apostle himself, it is not put under Him yet. The same remark may be applied to Psa. 979Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity. (Psalm 98:9), 98 and 50; Isa. 2421And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. (Isaiah 24:21), 25 and numerous other passages. But it is observable that in all these chapters, destroying judgments are spoken of, as preceding or accompanying the introduction of the kingdom of the Son of man. Indeed, Christ can exercise no authority except in strict righteousness. He can, as He has done, divest Himself of authority, and appear in the form of a servant, so as to say, “I come not to judge;” and it is the blessedness of the believer to know Him thus, in love without judgment. But the very characteristic of His reign is repeatedly declared to be His “ruling the world in righteousness, and the people with equity,” and hence arises the necessity for destroying judgment upon all evil. He knows this, and His love has long delayed the assumption of His mighty power, “for He is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance:” and His long-suffering is salvation to many. But the day is coming when the cup of the world’s iniquity shall be full, and because of “the great words against God, and the blasphemies,” “the ancient of days shall sit, and the Son of man shall be brought nigh before Him. And there shall be given unto 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.” (Dan. 7:9-279I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. 10A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. 11I beheld then because of the voice 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. 12As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time. 13I 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. 14And 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. 15I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. 16I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. 17These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. 18But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. 19Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; 20And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. 21I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; 22Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. 23Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24And 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. 25And 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. 26But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. 27And 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. (Daniel 7:9‑27).)
Surely, if any event can mark the introduction of a new age, it must be such event as this. And the saints also, whose portion it is to suffer now, shall share this authority of blessing; for it is likewise said, that “the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom and possess the kingdom, even forever and ever.” And this is the promise of our Lord to him that overcometh— “he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers; even as I received of my Father.” (Rev. 2:26, 2726And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: 27And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. (Revelation 2:26‑27)) 149th Psalm is similar.
The saints, therefore, must be raised, in order that they may share this glory; and accordingly it is written, that they who have been faithful to the witness of Jesus, “shall live and reign with Christ a thousand years but the rest of the dead shall not live again until the thousand years are finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who hath part in the first resurrection, on such the second death shall have no power; but they shall he priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” (Rev. 20:66Blessed 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 shall reign with him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6).)—Here then is the last great distinction which I shall now notice between the present and the future dispensation. At present, the living saints are called to suffer, and the bodies of the saints who sleep are mingled with the dust, and Christ only has been “raised the first fruits of them that slept,” that in this sense also He might be “the beginning of the (new) creation of God.” But, at the introduction (see Isa. 25:88He 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)) of the “World to come,” they will be “raised in bodies incorruptible,” at to inhabit the heavenly places, and from the heavenly Jerusalem shall rule over the earthly Jerusalem and the whole earth. The type of Jacob’s ladder has been already referred to, and if it is no unworthy office for the holy angels now to visit this sinful world as ministering to the heirs of salvation, surely it will be altogether worthy of the risen saints to be the channels through which Christ’s blessed power is extended over a “restored” and “regenerated” earth, for they are taught to delight in seeing others blessed, and in seeing the will of their heavenly Father done in earth as it is done in heaven.
But now does the present dispensation end? If our replies are grounded on our own short-sighted estimate of passing facts, we may answer in a hundred different ways, and each will walk by his own judgment at last. But there is one plain intelligible answer returned by the scripture of truth—It shall end first, in the full development of Babylon arrayed in all the glory of her haughty power: and next, in the kings of the earth with their armies being gathered together to fight against the Lord. (Rev. 19:1919And 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. (Revelation 19:19).) Allow what we may for figurative language—differ as we may in the detail of interpretation—yet still this one plain awful fact remains unchangeably written in language which none but the willful can misunderstand. This is the point to which the moral and physical energies of the world are tending—the completion of a fabric, glorious and excellent in human sight, but grounded upon the might and power of men and not resting upon the Spirit of the Lord. It was this glory which he Lord refused, but Satan lied not in saying that it was committed unto him, for what is worldly glory but the result of the concentrated energies of men? and that wicked one “in whom the world lieth,” “the Spirit which worketh in the children of disobedience,” can cause them to concentrate their energies upon “whatsoever he pleaseth.”
We do not here stop to inquire into the nature of that providential control which the Lord exercises over the agency of Satan. It appears to be sometimes administered by angels, as in Dan. 10:1313But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. (Daniel 10:13) and 23, and it is probably some such minister of God’s restraining power that is referred to by the apostle in the 2nd of the 2 Thess. as still impeding the last great effort of Satan in the manifestation of the man of sin—“He that hindereth will hinder until he be taken out of the way, and then shall the Wicked One be revealed, whose coming is after the working of Satan.” But not to pursue this further, it is manifest that this secret controlling agency is something very different from that manifested power of government which God formally exercised among the Jews, but which He has now withdrawn altogether from the earth. This suspension of government is many times referred to in the scriptures. The Lord is said to have gone that He may consider in His place, (Isa. 18:44For so the Lord said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. (Isaiah 18:4).) to have retired into His place, (Hosea 5:1515I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early. (Hosea 5:15).) to be asleep (Psa. 78:6565Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine. (Psalm 78:65).) until the day when He cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. (Isa. 26:2121For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. (Isaiah 26:21).) The resumption of His government in the person of His Son will be marked by the immediate exercise of righteous judgment on the iniquity which shall then abound: “for as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be when the Son of man is revealed.” (Matt. 24:3737But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Matthew 24:37).)
Until that time, the Church is the only sphere in which the Lord Jesus as the Son of man, exercises the direct authority of government. He stands in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, clothed in the priestly garments which He assumed at His ascension, and tries the Churches “with eyes as a flame of fire searching the reins and the hearts.” In this character He judges and disciplines not the world, but the Church, in order that they who have the blessed privilege of this judgment may not be condemned with the world, but that they may be purged, (John 15:22Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. (John 15:2).) and bring forth fruit, and “have an abundant entrance administered unto them into His kingdom,” instead of being “saved as by fire.” (1 Cor. 3:1515If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. (1 Corinthians 3:15).) And hence results the blessing of being brought into a position in which the Lord can so-far acknowledge us as to exercise over us this authority. It would be an interesting and important question to consider how far the Church, as a body, have irrevocably thrown themselves off from this ground of present blessing. Whatever the answer may be, one thing is certain, that so far as we identify ourselves with the world, we surrender our claim to the peculiar and distinctive privilege of the Church, we lose the present discipline and the future reward, and plant ourselves in a world which, though not neglected, but often visited with goodness, remains still a barren field in the sight of God, and necessarily inherits judgment at the last. “For the day is coming when the Son of man shall be revealed as king of kings and lord of lords.” “His eyes will be as a flame of fire,” They will be fixed upon the world then, which He will visit, not in the administration of corrective chastisement, but “with fire and with His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire.” (Isa. 66:1515For, 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 66:15).) It is true, that they who have really built upon the one foundation shall be delivered but their works may be burned, they may lose their reward and be saved only as by fire. Like Lot, who chose the fair and watered plain of Sodom, they will escape with loss and discomfiture of spirit, whilst others, like Abraham, who was content to be a pilgrim any where, will only behold the destruction afar off.
But to return. We have shown from scripture, that the present circumstances,
1.—Of the Jews,
2.—Of the Creation,
3.—Of Satan,
4.—Of the Church,
5.—Of the Lord Christ,
are not only altered, but, in the first four instances, reversed in the next dispensation; that its introduction is a time of unequaled judgment, so that it is continually termed the day of the Lord. (Isa. 2:1-21The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 2And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. (Isaiah 2:1‑2)) The day of the Lord’s recompence, and these judgments are administered by the Son of man Himself. (Isa. 631Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. 2Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat? (Isaiah 63:1‑2); Rev. 19:1111And 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. (Revelation 19:11).) These things have been proved by scripture, and we therefore again repeat that such changes, effected by such means, do mark it as a dispensation entirely new.
If it be asked what practical advantage is derived from attention to these things, it would be sufficient to reply that they are the revealed instructions of God; but we will farther say, that they who have neglected them, will be found to have fallen, not only into loose and vague interpretations as well as false applications of scripture, but there will also be found in them an imperfect apprehension of the relation in which the Church and the world stand towards each other and towards God; a total blindness as to the coming judgments— which are the great subjects of scripture warning; and an indifference with respect to the coming of the Lord, which is the wee prescribed object of hope, We shall find arguments drawn from the state of the Jews when God was their king, applied to the state of the nations now, who have not God for their king; and we shall hear descriptions of blessedness which belong to Jerusalem in her future glory, perverted to flatter and deceive the Gentiles who are to be cut off. (Rom. 11)
We trust that these things are not written in a spirit of harshness or self-complacency. We see plainly that the members of the Church of Christ have wedded themselves to the world, and disunited themselves from each other: and we believe that a more clear apprehension of the quickening objects of the faith, and a habit of interpreting the scriptures more simply, may tend to lead them back in unity of understanding and unity of hope towards their lost position. It should be a position of testimony. Instead of the scripture being gradually exhausted by advancing time, its light is daily converging and becoming more and more concentrated as we approach nearer the latter day; a light, which like the fiery pillar of the Israelites, will be in the last times, security and joy to those who have it for their own; but confusion, and darkness, and error, to all besides. On those who have this light now, the responsible privilege is devolved of witnessing against everything that is inconsistent with the coming kingdom of heaven. It should cause us to feed on the paschal Lamb in haste, “with our shoes on our feet and our staves in our hands,” remembering that by deliverance we lose the supplies of Egypt, and for the present gain a wilderness.
Blessed are they who are preserved from coveting the goodliness of the land of their bondage—who prefer to fight with the pebble from the brook, rather than with the armor and sword of Saul. Let the Church learn from the type of Sampson. While Sampson retained the sign of his Nazarite separation to the Lord, he was strong —he relinquished it, and He became not weak only, but BLIND.