BOOK REVIEW

The Second Advent : Or what do the Scriptures teach respecting the Second Coming of Christ, the End of the World, the Resurrection of the Dead, and the General Judgment ?

By Alpheus Crosby
Boston: 1850.

Written By

Henry Mason Baum
The Church Review, v.3 (1850) pp. 61-78

Art. III.—THEORIES OF THE SECOND ADVENT.

The Second Advent; or, what do the Scriptures teach respecting the second coming of Christ, the end of the World, the Resurrection of the dead, and the General Judgment / By AlpheuS Crosby. Boston: Phillips, Sampson & Company, I860.

The subjects which the title of this book comprehends, have excited attention in almost every period of the Christian Church. And, in almost every period, unauthorized and extravagant views have prevailed to a considerable extent. In the Apostolic age, St. Paul found it necessary to guard his Thessalonian converts against an expectation of the Lord's immediate coming, which some had cherished, in consequence of a misapprehension of his meaning, or of certain deceitful attempts on the part of false and unscrupulous leaders. He assures them that most important matters must first take place, and appalling developments be made ; and endeavors to withdraw their minds from tenaciously dwelling on the supposed time of Christ's future advent, and to concentrate their attention on the all-important duty of preparing for it, as an event, the time and season of which were wisely concealed from human knowledge. The controversies respecting the Millenium, which agitated portions of the Church in the second and third centuries, show how strong a hold the speedy appearance and visible reign of Christ had taken in the minds of many of his followers.

But the existing state of things continued. Christianity increased rapidly and extensively. The second personal advent and the visible reign of Christ in the new Jerusalem on earth did not take place, and gradually other topics of discussion superseded that absorbing one. This again took the lead, however, at another period. The end of the tenth century and the beginning of the eleventh develop most extraordinary phenomena. Large portions of the Church are excited almost to a frenzy of superstition on this same point. The thousand years during which the great dragon was to be bound had nearly expired, and the arch apostate was again to be loosed for a short time. Antichrist is about to come; the world is soon to be destroyed; and then the glorious visible reign of the Redeemer is to commence. This impression gained ground, and spread in certain sections of the Church like wild-fire. Domestic, social, civil relations, are deeply affected by the impulse. Property becomes nearly worthless ; buildings, the most noble and venerated, are neglected, and in some cases are allowed to fall into a state ot dilapidation; every means consistent with the limited knowledge and general superstition of the age, are resorted to, in order to propitiate the approaching God. Fanaticism soon reached its height. The belief that the end of the world was at hand, induced many to visit Palestine, the holy land, where it was supposed that Christ would make his public appearance. The pilgrimage could not but have a favorable influence for the good of the soul, and bring the emaciated, devoted, self-sacrificing disciple, near to the glorious Master, shining in all the splendor of the Shechinah or the transfiguration. But not again did " the glory of the Lord shine round about," to enlighten and comfort these enthusiastic expectants; not again did " the heavens open" above the sacred stream of the Jordan. Palestine continued under the iron hand of its oppressors, and Christians and Jews alike sighed out their souls under the hard yoke of Mohammedan tyranny. The few, who, after experiencing the failure of their hopes, were able to crawl back again to their native lands, presented to their fellow Christians exaggerated statements of the most deplorable condition of their Eastern brethren in those very spots which the divine Saviour had hallowed by his touch. European ears were made to tingle at recitals of the horrible condition of the faithful, crushed under the foot of the false prophet. The feeling that they must be delivered, became dominant, irresistible. The imposition must be destroyed. The infamous crescent must be pulled down. The holy cross, blessed emblem of redemption, must tower high in its place. The ancient and venerated city of the God of Israel must be under Christian security and rule. The sacred shrine, the hallowed tomb, that was once honored by containing the divine deposit, the bodily remains of the great Lord of life, must be rescued from sacrilegious grasp. The agitated and heaving ocean of Europe must pour its devastating surges on the cultivated regions of the blasphemer, who had ruined Oriental Christendom by his sorceries and abominations. The holy Sepulchre, the holy Sepulchre, is the watch-word, and hosts of European warriors swell the crusading armies in their Eastern march to vindicate the truth of God!

In time, however, the crusading fever abated. It was found that the period allowed the Gentiles to tread down the holy city had not vet expired. The Turks were ultimately left in undisturbed possession of Palestine, and the expectation of Christ's immediate coming was abandoned. The Christian mind in Europe became engaged with other matters. Aristotle's philosophy had come into vogue. The Stagyrite was lauded by multitudes even beyond the most distinguished of Christian philosophers. Metaphysical keenness was kept on the qui vive by the subtle dialectics, as the Germans would say, the Spitzfindigkeiten, of the Realists and Nominalists. The doctrine of the real presence became a fruitful source of speculation and controversy; and, after the theologico-philosophical disputants had often wearied themselves and perplexed their readers with arguments scarcely intelligible, and language too mysterious for comprehension by persons over whom common sense maintained its influence, it settled, at last, by the help of the fostering care of authority, threat, and persecution, in the absurdity of transubstantiation. Scholastic theology absorbed the thoughts of the contemplative. The more active entered warmly into the controversies between the civil and ecclesiastical powers. The Popes and the Emperors had their respective partisans; and what could not at all be effected by reason, was often most efficiently carried out by force. Then came the minor crusades, (as they may be called, however sanguinary they were, and revolting to humanity,) against the Albigenses and Waldenses; the persecutions of the Lollards ; and other various attempts to inculcate truth by dungeon, fire, faggot, the sword, the iron boot, thumb screws, and various other such logical appliances, intended to enlighten the mind by making strong impressions on the body, which it would be both tedious and disgusting to mention; although it may be well for Christians of the 19th century to think now and then of the means employed by their ancestors to introduce or perpetuate orthodoxy. [To apply Wieland's language of his chivalrous knight daring his interview with his unknown rival: " Sir Huon, whose good soul to hear the wretch is hurt. Draws his devoted sword the heathen to—Convebt.] The magnificent auto defe exhibitions too, must not be forgotten, second in interest only to the gladiatorial shows of old Kome. In them, as the princess of Eboli, in Schiller's Don Carlos, tells Elizabeth, with characteristic naivete, " they burned nothing but heretics ;" and there could be no harm or cruelty in that, surely. The schisms in the papacy, the fall of Constantinople, the revival of learning in Western Europe, the Reformation both on the Continent and in England, with the various civil and religious excitements of which it became the indirect occasion, filled the minds of the thoughtful, and occupied the time of' the active.

Still, however, the idea of the visible millenial reign was not wholly lost; and in our own day it has been brought forward with extraordinary prominence. The time of the second advent has been calculated and settled, and although the ascertained year has quietly passed over like all that preceded it, others have been settled again, on the failure of the former, and with the coolest effrontery imaginable. Some of our own Millerites, in the plenitude of their fanaticism, prepared their ascension robes, their light dresses of gossamer, fitted for aerial flight, and in the agreeable consciousness of their own election, chose for themselves the houses and grounds of their reprobate neighbors, to be occupied on their descent again to dwell on earth in the visible kingdom. [The writer begs leave to say that this is no fancy sketch, but communicated to him on satisfactory testimony.] With some exceptions, however, the saints, unlike many of those of the latter part of the tenth century, held their property at the ordinary market prices, which compels one to doubt whether, after all, they had arrived at the full assurance of faith. But father Miller has passed away, we hope to a better kingdom of God and of Christ than that of his or any other man's formation or modification, and this delusion too is gradually subsiding.

Let not our readers imagine that the extravagances connected with this subject are limited to the weak and ignorant, or uninformed. Men of considerable talent, of much piety and worth, both in England and in this country, seem to have become infatuated on the subject of our Lord's second and visible coming, and of his subsequent reign in the literal Jerusalem. It would seem that something very like a reestablishment of the old Jewish system is contemplated by some, (although expressly disclaimed by others,) with this exception, that all nations are to unite with the ancient holy people in divine worship at the old national altar. The locality of Solomon's temple is to be gloriously distinguished, and perhaps physically elevated; a splendid temple is to be built there, the material of which is to be brought from Mount Lebanon, as formerly by arrangements between Solomon and Hiram ; the feast of tabernacles is to be celebrated there every year, and those who refuse to attend are threatened with condign punishment; the most terrific extirpation of those who are supposed to be hostile to the Messiah, is to be perpetrated by " the saints of the Most High, who are to possess the kingdom," and in this extermination of the ungodly they are to follow the example of the divinely directed and aided conqueror of the Canaanites. Thus is the second advent to be established, and thus is the divine Redeemer to reign gloriously in Mount Zion.

To satisfy our readers that these positions are not gratuitous assertions, thrown out at random, it may be well to substantiate their correctness by referring to some few of the authorities on which they rest. After quoting Isa. ii, 1, ss., Mic. v, 1, ss., and Ps. Ixviii, 15, 16, our author proceeds as follows:

" Some have inclined to interpret this literally, of a real elevation of Mount Zion to a height which shall overtop the mountains around, and command the eight of all the people from afar. And that there will be great changes in the physical face of that country, cannot be doubted, as the prophets have expressly declared it." " Though 1 have been accustomed to give to this passage of Micah, and the correspondent passage of Isaiah, a metaphorical interpretation, as significant of the supreme dignity which shall be given to Mount Zion and the temple of the Lord thereon builded in the age to come, and the willing homage which all mountains and high places of the earth will yield to that where the Lord's glory abideth ; I am far from slighting the more literal interpretation which hath been given to it by Ben Ezra and others, that Mount Zion shall receive a supereminence of elevation far above the mountains around, to hold up to the sight of the nations the holy temple of the Lord. But still I incline to think, that the glory of Zion, in the eye of the prophet, standeth rather in this, that it shall acquire such a celebrity in those days as shall bring low the most noted of the mountains of the earth, and draw the eyes of all men upon it, being the centre of the worship of the whole earth, as is set forth in all the prophets, and most gloriously in the 60th chapter of Isaiah, where all nations, and not only so, but all the natural productions of the earth, come together to beautify her and to admire her beauty." [Interpretations of Old Testament Prophecies quoted in the New ; by a celebrated English divine. First Arner. edit, published by the Rev. Isaac P. Labagh, New York, 1846, pp. 264, 268.]

This English divine is "far from slighting the more literal interpretation of Ben Ezra." But Ben (or Aben) Ezra gives no such literal interpretation. He was a man of great learning for his day, and what is still better, of verygood sense, and his comment on the text is as follows: " There is no doubt that this prophecy relates to the future; therefore he (the prophet) says, in the latter days. And the meaning is this, inasmuch as he mentioned before that the mountain of the house should become high places of the forest, he (now) turns to comfort Israel, for the glory of the house shall again return. It is (well) known that the mountain of the house was not high. But observe that the sense is this: its fame shall be widely extended, and from all corners (of the earth) people shall repeatedly bring offerings to it. It is as if it were on the tops of the mountains, and were elevated above the hills, so that all the inhabitants of the earth might see it." To the same purpose, also, David Kimchi. " After having spoken of the devastations of Zion and Jerusalem, he gives them this consolation. It shall be in the last days : which are those of the Messiah. The mountain of the house of the Lord, which he says shall be as the high places of the forest, shall hereafter be established on the top of the mountains. He does not mean that the mountain shall be raised in bulk, but that the nations shall exalt and honor it, and shall go there to worship the Lord. And, inasmuch as the nations worshiped their gods upon high mountains and hills, he says that there they shall worship the Lord with one consent, and shall exalt this mountain above all others that have ever been exalted and glorified." [* Jewish Rabbies, by Samuel H. Turner, D. D. New York, 1847, pp. 198, 199. f Interpretations, etc., p. 266. $ Id, pp. 267, 268.] No doubt these Jewish Rabbles had extravagant anticipations, but they were not so absurd as some of our modern " celebrated divines" would make them.

" The next thing, after the ennobling of the place above all places of the earth, is the flowing of the people unto it: ' And people shall flow into it'—that is, the people of the Lord, the Jewish people, in contradistinction to the nations, or Gentiles, who are spoken of next." [ It is quite unnecessary to quote any more from a book teeming with extravagant interpretations, and wholly destitute of that calm, deliberative judgment, which alone can give weight to any decisions on subjects of such solemnity and importance.] Now it happens that the original word translated people, is in the plural number, and that in this form it never means the Jewish people, except when the covenant people are placed in the same category with the hostile and irreligious heathen, with whom they may have chosen, by their wickedness, to identify themselves. It cannot, therefore, be put here " in contradistinction to the nations or Gentiles."

It is not surprising that a writer who is so confident, should dogmatically decide that " the man whose understanding of God's Word is so vitiated, as that he cannot see in these superabundant promises the fact of a national restoration to Israel at all, is not in a case to understand any part of Scripture, and will interpret it according to his own prejudices and fancies, or those of the generation he lives in and the men he esteems."

From this writer, let us turn to another, a man of high character as a philologist, a traveler, a theologian, and a pious Christian. The able and learned Dr. Henderson, in his late work on Isaiah, has laid down some very extravagant positions on the subject under review. Strange to tell, he sometimes loses sight of the sublime and beautifully poetic imagery of his author, and dwells on the meagre, prosaic, literal meaning of the burning words and seraphic figures of that lofty genius and divinely inspired prophet. After the splendid and glorious imagery by which this man of God represents the Future spiritual condition of the holy people, the true Israel of converted Jews and Gentiles, under the great king Messiah—when light shall have poured into them—when every thing hostile shall have united in closest affection, or been completely subjugated—when whatever is valuable shall have become their own—when all nature shall have contributed its beauteous and bountiful productions to adorn God's holy house, his spiritual temple—when complete peace shall be enjoyed, expressed by the figure of open gates to lead in the eternally conquered enemy, and to show that no hostile entrance is at. all apprehended ;—oh! how chilling" is the bathos which brings down this most celestial delineation to the matter of factousiness of cutting wood on Mount Lebanon, and transporting it to Jerusalem to build a new temple with—of keeping the gates open, that people in general and travelers may not be hindered from going in and out, even at night! We would not make such a demand on the credulity of our readers, as to expect them to take such a representation on any authority short of the learned writer's own statements.

"The inhabitants of the West, especially those which carry on maritime traffic, hall lay their ships and wealth under contribution, to the accomplishment of the purposes of God relating to the restoration of the Jews to Palestine. Their property as well as themselves, shall be conveyed, free of charge." [* The Book of the Prophet Isaiah, translated, Ac., by the Rev. E. Henderbox, D. Ph. London, 1840; on Isa. i.x, 9. fib. 11. t Ib I:;. flzii, 8, 9. | Ixv, 17, 18.]—" The idea conveyed by the gates never being shut, is that of the continual arrival of the multitudes referred to. Modern travelers greatly complain of the inconvenience to which they are put, when they do not reach Jerusalem before the gates are closed."!—" A literal temple or house of worship being intended, the language nrtist be literally explained. From all that appears to be the state of Palestine in regard to wood, supplies from Lebanon will be as necessary as they were when the ancient temple was constructed."!—"The enemies of Israel having all been swept away by the powerful judgments of God, the most perfect tranquillity shall reign throughout the land, and those who may go up to worship at Jerusalem, shall enjoy unmolested the fruit of their labor."§—" Creation is here to be understood not physically, but in a civil and religious sense. The subject is Jerusalem and the Jews. Their restoration will be like a fresh springing into existence ; and the constitution to be established among them will be entirely different from their ancient economy."]

In Zech. xiv, 16, it is said that " the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles." We have always supposed that this is figurative, denoting a general worship of the true God in his true Church, the figure being taken from a Hebrew joyous festival, as is the case in 1 Cor. v, 8. But our dullness has been enlightened by " the celebrated English divine," whose work was republished by the Rev. Mr. Labagh. After quoting the text he proceeds thus:

" This I consider as the best commentary upon the verse under consideration, [Isa. xii, 3, which, as well as John vii, 37, 38, probably alludes to the practice of pouring out water, as a symbol, at the feast of tabernacles.] and proves that the words are not to be understood in a merely spiritual sense, but in a literal sense ; for no one, after reading this passage, can doubt that it is a real feast of tabernacles to which the nations shall be required to come up."— " There is no hint of their ever refusing to yield the obedience of that ordinance, on the terms of which the Millennial blessedness is held. They shall year by year trip themselves of houses and of possessions," fec. etc.—" Feast of tabernacles, at which all nations are to appear in some way or other, (most likely by deputations of their chief governors;) when, being all assembled in far greater multitudes and from far more various regions than heretofore at Pentecost, the mother and metropolitan Church at Jerusalem might well say unto them," Ac [Interpretations, etc., pp. 208, 210, 212.]

Now, if the language of Zechariah must be understood literally of annual journeys to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of tabernacles, why should not Isaiah be understood literally when he speaks of doing this at every new moon and every Sabbath ? Ixvi, 23 ? We are firm believers in the progressive condition of human nature, although we are by no means disposed to go all lengths with some of our ultra philosophists ; we have observed with amazement the advances of our own age in science and practical knowledge; we have glided on the water in the steamboat, and have been whirled along by the impetus of the thunder-snorting iron horse, at a velocity which, in our younger days, we should have set down to the account of some supernatural influence. Moreover, we do not undertake positively to deny that the time may come when California gold-diggers, or other such enterprising adventurers, shall be wafted through the air to their elysium, although we are quite confident that, as Dominie Sampson says, at the awful idea of mounting on horseback, we shall never put our precious limbs into such imminent peril; yet, notwithstanding all this, we cannot work up our faith to such a pitch as to feel satisfied that the good time's a-coming, when men from distant parts of the globe shall be able to go to church every

Sunday at the Cathedral in Jerusalem. We opine, therefore, that Isaiah must have used this language figuratively. And if so, we want something beyond the ipse dixit of " the celebrated English divine" to satisfy us, that the same may not be true of Zechariah's style. And if this is figurative, why may we not suppose that many other similar representations are figurative ? Consistency would seem to require it; it would be entirely in harmony with the analogy of Scripture; and thus multitudes of difficulties would be obviated.

Dr. Henderson speaks in comparatively mild language of all the enemies of Israel being swept away. We make no objection to the representation, provided we be allowed to explain the language in a spiritual sense. But another distinguished clergyman has employed phraseology well adapted to excite furious zealots to fanatical passion and cruelty, who, " knowing not what spirit they are of," at the same time madly imagine that their " wrath is working the righteousness of God."

" It is copiously predicted, that the cup of the Lord's anger shall continue in the hands of the Jews until the time appointed of the Lord, not merely to take it out of their hand, but also to transfer it into the hands of those who till then will have oppressed them. The language, declaring this, is grounded on the existing circumstances of the nation in the days of the prophets. Edom, who broke the yoke of his brother from off his neck ; the Assyrian, who carried away Israel; and Babylon, who held Judah in captivity, were the great types of all the subsequent enemies of the chosen nation, whether Romans, Turks or professing Christians. The day of Jerusalem's recovery t* the. day of their ruin. In that day, it will be a righteous thing in the servants of the Lord to execute Unsparing Destruction upon hi* and their enemies. In the prophetic anticipation of that day, Psalm cnxvii seems to have been written. The Hebrews were kept iu bondage till the iniquity of the Egyptians was full, and they were delayed in the wilderness till the iniquity of the Amoritee was full. So Dow they are kept in dispersion and degradation till the iniquities of the modern mystical Edom and Babylon shall be full, and then fury shall, be poured forth, and vengeance executed Both By Their Own Hand*, at in the cote of Joihva'f Exterminating Conquests, and by a greater hand than theirs, stretched out to fight for them, as in the case of Pharaoh's overthrow." [Popular Lectures on the Prophecies relative to the Jewish nation, by the Rev- Hugh McNeil, M. A. London, 1838, pp. 69, 70.]

On this passage we add no comment, except what may be suggested to the thoughtful Christian and peace-loving reader by our italics. We will only say, that we should require a system to be substantiated by most solid scriptural evidence, before we could feel ourselves justified in even thinking such an idea, much less promulgating it to others. " Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord."

The influence which long cherished and favorite views exercise on the interpretation of Scripture, is the only^ principle by which we can account for certain expositions maintained by really good and able men. On no other ground can we comprehend how such a man as the writer just quoted could give so distorted a view of the language of St. James, delivered at the council of Jerusalem, as occurs in the same work.

" In that council, Peter referred to the special revelation by which he had been led, some time before, to go and preach in the house of Cornelius, upon which James made the following remarkable comment: ' Simeon hath declared bow God at first did visit the Gentiles, To Take Out Of Them A People Foe His Name.'* Now we have here a distinct declaration of God himself, that the design of tliis dispensation is to take and save a people out of* the Gentiles, which is certainly a very different thing from converting and blessing all the families of the earth."f

But dispensation is undoubtedly the Gospel dispensation, introduced by our Lord and established by his apostles under the influence of the Holy Ghost. Its design, according to the eloquent lecturer, is not to convert and bless " all the families of the earth." St. Peter and St. Paul, therefore, have most strangely and unwarrantably applied the promise of God to Abraham, "in thy-seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed," to " these days," (Acts iii, 24, Gal. iii, 8,) that is, to the very age of our Lord and his apostles, and to the Gospel dispensation as then instituted. The popular and ardent preacher would have us believe that God's purpose was, to select some Gentiles to be the ostensible depository of his covenant blessings, just as of old he had selected Abraham, and not to extend these blessings among " all the families" of man! Credat Judaeus, non ego Christianus! In a note he develops the idea more fully.

" After this I will return! After what ? After a period of desertion, during which the house of David shall be desolate and broken down. After such a period I will return to it and build it up. But during that period, what is to be done ? Is God to be without a people on the earth, while he is turned away from the Jewish people, and until he returns to them ?

" No. In the interim he hath visited the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. To this agree the words of the prophets, who say, after this I will return; and I will build again what.was fallen down. What is it that is thus described as fallen down and deserted for a season, and afterwards built up again as in days of old ? Clearly the Jewish nation, the consequence of whose restoration is immediately added, that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, even all the Gentiles.

"Thus there is first a period revealed, during which the Jews would be trodden down ; and the characteristic of this period is, a people taken out of the Gentiles. Then, secondly, after this, a period at which the Jews will be lifted up again. And, thirdly, a period immediately consequent, when all the Gentiles will call upon the Lord."

Any lengthened comment on this most extraordinary development of St. James' language is unnecessary. It is quite clear that the predictions quoted in the 16th and 17th verses from Amos, are applied by him to the fact which he mentions in the 14th, as having just been stated by St. Peter; in other words, the conversion of the Gentiles and the union of them, then commencing, with the Jews in the Church of Christ, are the verification of the prophecy. To this fact, he says, that the words of the prophets, from whom he quotes an illustration, agree. The tabernacle of David, the royal and spiritual authority of his kingdom promised in 2 Sam. vii, to be permanent, had in a very great degree fallen down. It was then in the act of being built up by numerous Jewish conversions to Christ, and the Gentiles were being built up in connection with it. Of course, this same spiritual reedification is to proceed, and doubtless hereafter with increasing extent and strength. But still it is the growing of the same holy temple in the Lord, and in its progress a further development of the accomplishment of the words of the prophets referred to by both these apostles. The expression, " take out a people," is evidently employed to denote the commencement of the same dispensation, which, in its progress and completion, is to "convert and bless all the families of the earth"

And here we cannot forbear calling the attention of our readers to what we fear is at present in some danger of being overlooked, or to which sufficient prominence at least may not be given. We mean, the fact that very large bodies of the Hebrew nation were in the apostolic age converted to Christ. We know that they were only "the remnant," the "election," the choice few, in contradistinction to the great unbelieving mass. Yet in themselves they were very numerous. The 3000 converts of the day of Pentecost were soon augmented by daily additions of the saved, Acts ii, 47; so that " the num. ber of the men was about 5000," iv, 4. We may be confident that that of the women was not less. And, as the truth became rrtore known, " multitudes of believers were added to the Lord," v, 14, and "the number of the disciples was multiplied," vi, 1. Afterwards (xxi, 20,) we read of "many myriads (Gr.) of believing Jews' in Jerusalem ; on examining St.

Paul's epistles, we find that every Church to which he writes, abounded with Jewish converts ; and St. James addressed his epistles to " the twelve tribes," as a suitable appellation of the vast and dispersed body of believing Israelites. These facts justify the conclusion, that the fallen-down tabernacle of David, the spiritual authority of David's Lord, had been very considerably raised up in the apostolic age. It would be a palpable mistake to imagine that the ancient prophecies of Jewish conversion, and of the reception of Gentiles into the same divine kingdom, had not been at all verified, or, if so, at most, in a very trifling and unimportant degree. The view which Mr. McNeil endeavors to maintain, would seem more effectually to militate against all practical Missionary efforts, as it would be useless to attempt to spread over all the world a system, the whole design of which was nothing more than to make a selection from among the Gentiles of a certain class, to be, for some indefinite period, the depository of God's truth during that "dispensation."

Among the most remarkable and extravagant notions of the Millennium, which it has ever been our fortune to meet with, we must allow a very prominent position to that of Professor Lee, of Cambridge ; indeed, so far as we know, its distinction is wholly the author's, and not shared by any enterprising critic. Dr. Lee is indeed a very extraordinary man ; of great ardor of character, of indomitable energy and perserverance, of very extensive learning, to whom the Church of England is much indebted for having given an impetus to the study of the Old Testament in its original tongue. But he is too much under the influence of theories to be regarded in general as a wise and judicious expositor. The theory to be sustained frequently gives birth to interpretations wholly unsupported by usage of language, or authority that can be confidently relied on ; and this we are compelled to think is the case in the instance now to be adduced. One of his leading principles is, " that the whole of the prophetical Scriptures has long ago been fulfilled." [Six Sermons on the Study of the Holy Scriptures, Ac, and two Dissertations, Ac. By the Rev. 8. Lee, B. D., of the University of Halle, Ac. Ac. Loni, 1830. Pref.p. 88.] It follows, from this theory, that the Millennium has already taken place, and this conclusion the learned Professor avows without any hesitation. " I contend that the thousand years, or Millennium of the Revelations, [The plural form is the author's, and is an error by no means uncommon.] is not a strict chronological period. That it is not necessary to suppose it to be so, the symbolical character of the context is perhaps argument sufficient. My opinion is that by this term is meant that first division of the seventieth, prophetical week already mentioned, in which the Gospel was to be preached, and the Church erected, chiefly by the instrumentality of the Apostles." Pref. p. 36.

Yes, strange as it must appear to our unsophisticated readers of plain sense, the whole Millennium is comprehended within the last three and a half prophetic days of Daniel's seventy weeks ! What the author states in his preface, he attempts, in his own characteristic way, to support in the body of his work. It is sufficient for our purpose, to quote one or two sentences, as our readers would hardly wish us to enter upon any formal refutation of such disconnected statements and unreasonable assumptions. " During the first half of this prophetical week, they" (the two witnesses of Rev. xi,3) "shall give their testimony in sackcloth. The first of these periods, I take to be the Evangelical Millennium ; for in this, the miraculous powers then and then only possessed by the Church, are earnestly and pointedly dwelt upon by St. John : ' If any man will (is willing to) hurt them, (rather to convict them of injustice, which our Lord had declared should not be done) itSixiffu, the very words used by St. John,) fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies, &.c.'; that is, they shall denounce them as destroyed by fire : this is repeated, in order to give the relation the greater emphasis. Similar denunciations occur in the next verse, which appear manifestly to allude to our Lord's words, Matt, xvi, 19 ; xviii, 18—20. This view of the subject seems to be established from the declaration of the third verse, viz: ' / (Christ) will Give Power unto my two witnesses,' the Law and the Gospel: by a metonymy for the preachers of those parts of Revelation which conspired to bear testimony to me. If it be objected, that in so glorious a time as the Millennium is predicted to be, to prophesy in sackcloth would involve an incongruity, I answer : Let it be remembered, the good news of this kingdom is purely spiritual; that those who wear soft clothing are to be found in the houses of temporal kings only; and that this kingdom ever takes its commencement, and secures its establishment principally in the exercise of repentance and faith ; and of the first of these, sackcloth was the usual mark." [Dissertation Second, pp. 362, 868.] Any comment on all this would be superfluous.

A notice of Professor Lee's extravagant and disconnected statements is no unsuitable introduction to Mr. Crosby's little book, the title of which we have placed at the head of this article. The author professes to " present the testimony of the Scriptures. All allusion to any other source of argument, or to the opinions of any particular sect or uninspired writer, will be studiously avoided. It is my wish, as far as possible, to shut myself up alone with the Bible, excluding every sound of theological controversy or speculation, divesting myself of every prejudice, and even forgetting, for the time being, my own most cherished opinions."* We have no reason to doubt his entire sincerity ; and, in all probability, his investigations have been pursued on the same principle. But perhaps there are few points on which a man is more likely to be deceived. It is hardly possible to bring the mind to an examination of what the Bible teaches on subjects of such immense interest and importance as our Lord's second coming, and the events connected with it, perfectly free from impressions already imbibed from education, association, and other similar influences. And, moreover, as the topics must be confessed to be of considerable difficulty, a careful examiner would wish to investigate the views of the great and good men who have gone before him, and not to trust exclusively to his own deductions.

The author lays down several propositions, on which we propose to make a few remarks. The first is, that " the Scriptures often speak of a second, but never of a third coming of Christ."f To prove this, numerous quotations are adduced, which speak of the coming of the Son of Man, the day of Christ, of the Lord, of redemption, of His revelation and appearing. Most of the passages cited do refer to our Lord's final coming, although a few may well be explained of any event to which one or other of the phrases would be applicable. Thus, for example, " When the Son of Man cometh shall he find faith on the earth ?" J may well be understood of any coming of Christ to try the faith and patience of his people ; and " the day shall declare it,"§ of any time of remarkable trial; although in both cases the final coming and day may be the most prominent. Moreover, it would, we think, puzzle the writer to explain some of the texts quoted in harmony with any events which have yet transpired. The reader is referred to Matt, xxv, 31 i Col. iii, 4; 1 Cor. v, 5 ; 2 Pet. iii, 12.

His second proposition is, that "with the second coming of Christ the Scriptures associate the end of the world, the resurrection of the dead, and the general judgment with its awards."* This is undoubtedly true, but the Scriptures evidently mean, as the texts cited show, the second coming by way of distinction, which is quite different from such a spiritual coming as Christ promises his apostles in John xiv, 18-20, 28, xvi, 16, 22, 23. Under this head many texts are ranged, which certainly do sustain the author's position.

The third and fourth propositions affirm that both " Our Saviour" and " the Apostles," announce " the second coming with its associate events," as about to " take place before the death of some then living."f The usual large array of texts is brought forward to sustain the view; but the author enters into no exegetical examination of them. Their relevancy to his theory is assumed, and the replies that have been so often made to his application of them, and the difficulties to which it lies exposed, are very wisely passed over. It is extraordinary that after quoting2 ret. iii, 11-14, "seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved,", he should ask: " Are men waiting and looking for events which they have no expectation will occur till after their death, and it may be thousands of years after ?" P. 66. The persons to whom St. Peter was writing did not know the time of the coming of the day of God. Times and seasons the Father had wisely reserved in his own power. The very uncertainty of the event might be expected to act as an urgent motive for preparation; and this accords with our Lord's reasoning in his exhortation: "Watch, for ye know not when the master of the house cometh." And are not Christians now " looking and hasting for," that is, ardently contemplating Christ's future coming as a fit motive of action ? and even those who have no expectation of his immediate advent?

In this connection we cannot but remark, that the author's application of what is said in the Acts of the Apostles, respecting the early Christians' " having all things common," appears wholly unfounded. He regards the indifference with respect to property thus developed as a proof of the "strength of the expectation" of the proximity of Christ's second coining. We have neither time nor space to discuss the whole subject of what has been called the community of goods. ' Gibbon adroitly attempted to represent it as a lure to draw the poorer classes into the Church by establishing a sort

of equality. Dr. Mosheim's dissertation shows satisfactorily, we think, that the statements made in the Acts do not imply a proper community of goods, but merely express in strong language the fulness of primitive liberality. [De vera natnra communionis bnnorum in Ecclesia Hierosolymitana Com- mentatio. This valuable Discourse may be found in the learned author's second volume Dissertationum ad Historian! Ecclesiasticam pertinentium: Alton, et Flensb. 1743, pp_ 10-53.] Indeed, the narrative of Ananias and Sapphira sufficiently refutes the notion. The real motive, explanatory of the conduct of the early Jerusalem Christians, is to be found in their devotion to their faith, by which they were led to regard with indifference their earthly possessions in comparison with the heavenly inheritance. The same remark applies to many other passages which here, as elsewhere, the author has heaped together, as if their applicability were unquestionable.

Nothing but the principle which we have already stated, (on p. 69, bot.,) can enable one to account for the statement made by its author, on page 95: " There is no promise to believers of Rest at death, but when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven." Had the author, after " he had shut himself up alone with the Bible," forgotten that St. Paul " desired to depart and be with Christ," because it was " far better" than " to abide in the flesh ?" that " we who have believed do enter into his rest ?" that the Saviour promised the dying criminal, that he should participate with himself in the rest of " Paradise that day?" [Phil, i, 28. Heb. iv, 8. Luke rriii, 43.] Did not St. Paul expect to die, when he assures Timothy that he is " ready to be offered and the time of his departure is at hand ?" and when he says, " if our earthly house of this tabernacle be dissolved ?" and, " I am ready to die at Jerusalem ?" [2Tim.iv,6. 2Cor.v, 1. Acts xxi,] Did not St. Peter expect to die when he said, " I must shortly put off this tabernacle," and, " I will endeavor that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance ?" [2 Pet i, 14,15. | Rev. xiv, 13.] And can it admit of the shadow of a doubt, that these friends and servants of the Lord Jesus expected rest as confidently as the penitent thief? Does not St. John promise immediate rest to the departed saints when he says: " Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth?" adding: " Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors."|| Verily, a man may "shut himself up alone with the Bible," and yet fail of appreciating some of its plainest declarations.

Our readers will doubtless be amazed at the quotations we are now about to make. We cannot comprehend the author's views, and therefore wish him here to speak for himself, in preference to any attempt on our part at exposition or condensation.

" The generation addressed by our Saviour and his Apostles has long been numbered with the generations that have passed away. The men who composed it have all been lying in their graves nearly two thousand years. The events, therefore, which were to be fulfilled before that generation should pass away, must have long since taken place. No prediction of our Saviour can have failed by its fulfilment within the predicted time; and any expectation of its fulfilment out of this time, nnlese ignoranlly entertained, must be a presumptuous questioning either of his knowledge or of his veracity. But we have seen both how variously he ihtimated, and how explicitly he declared, that his second coming, with its associate events, would take place before the death of some who were then living; and also how clearly and abundantly the Apostles manifested a corresponding expectation. And a it then possible for us to avoid the inference expressed in the following proposition ?

" Prop. V. The second coming of Christ with its associate events, the end of the world, the resurrection of the dead, and the general judgment, must have already taken place; and all expectation of these events as still future, is forbidden by the Scriptures."

The Sixth Proposition maintains that " the predictions of" the events "must be explained in a figurative or spiritual sense, and such as admits an application to what has already taken place." Pp. 96-99. His remarks on the two last propositions are comprised within a page and a half.

Our author very wisely declines saying " how these events have taken place." He must be a bold man, truly, who will undertake to satisfy sane minds, that such wild assertions are in harmony with some very plain language of the New Testament ; especially such places as Matt, xxv; 1 Thess. iv, 14— 17; 2 Pet. iii, 10-13. Did the end of the world, and the resurrection of the dead, and the general judgment with its awards, actually take place nearly eighteen hundred years ago ? And ever since that time have the " righteous" been enjoying " life eternal," and the wicked suffering " everlasting punishment?" Marvelous hallucination of mind, which could prompt such an exhibition! We say again, wisely does the author decline " any attempt to determine the precise nature and characters of the spiritual sense," which he would give to the predictions.

That the apostles and others expected the second coming of the Lord in their own age, has been repeatedly affirmed by infidel and neological writers, just as it has been stated by that class of men, that Isaiah and Jeremiah predict a glorious state of the Jewish Commonwealth and Church after the Babylonian captivity. And they feel no difficulty in this theory, although the events have proved the expectation and prediction to be chimerical. The only conclusion is, that the apostles and prophets were mistaken. According to Rosenmuller, Isaiah predicts the miraculous birth by a virgin-mother of a Saviour who was to be really and truly God. But what then ? This is a myth, and no more to be believed than the account of some Hindoo Avatar. If the propositions laid down in the book before us be true, and the texts alledged in proof sufficient to establish them, we see not how to vindicate our Lord and his accredited and inspired disciples from the charge, either of willful falsehood or of imbecile superstition. Mr. Crosby does indeed appear to regard their declarations as truly divine, and to consider them as having been actually accomplished long ago. He says :

"I conclude by expressing my fullest conviction, my most assured belief, that the predictions of our Saviour respecting the great events which we have now considered, have been fulfilled in the precise tense which he himself contemplated when he uttered the sublime attestation, " Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not pass away;" and that is no lower or more earthly sense, but the very highest, noblest, heavenliest, of which these words are susceptible."— P. 100.

We confess our utter inability to understand how, when or where, they received their accomplishment; and, in conclusion, feel bound to express our regret, that any statements on topics so important and interesting, and yet so obscure to our imperfect vision, should be promulgated, which, however they may be regarded by their author, must tend, in a greater or less degree, to lessen our veneration for the truthfulness and divine authority of the Sacred Scriptures.

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