The Watchtower, March 15, 1902
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ZWT - 1902 - R2929 thru R3124: R2971 (081) - March 15, 1902
SEMI-MONTHLY.
VOL. XXIII. MARCH 15, 1902. No. 6.
CONTENTS.
Truth "Wounded in the House of
its Friends"................................ 83
The Parousia of our Lord Jesus and
His Subsequent Apokalupsis and
Epiphania at His Second Advent.............. 85
For What are We Watching?..................... 85
Proofs of His Presence........................ 88
Israel's Experiences were Prophetic........... 90
The Jubilee Prophecy.......................... 90
"Behold the Bridegroom"....................... 91
Presence Gradually Revealed................... 92
"Cometh not with Observation"................. 93
"Knew not the Time of Their
Visitation"................................. 94
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We are preparing a very large edition of this issue, and tender free to each reader as many copies for his friends as he may see fit to order. We trust that as a result of your efforts and ours, under the Lord's guidance, many will read this paper carefully and prayerfully, and receive therefrom a blessing. All such will surely feel a hunger and thirst for more, and we are glad to announce that we have more spiritual food for them; prepared, we trust, under the divine direction and out of divinely prepared ingredients--"meat in due season for the household of faith." We will be glad to have all such as subscribers to this journal,--free, if unable to pay; but we urge upon all as of still greater importance, the reading of the five volumes of the MILLENNIAL DAWN series; "The Plan of the Ages," "The Time Is at Hand," "Thy Kingdom Come," "The Day of Vengeance," "The At-one-ment Between God and Man." These are advertised in the adjoining column. The prices are extremely low--25c per volume, postpaid. No other books of the kind are sold at the price. Nevertheless, for those who hunger for the truth, and who have not the wherewithal to purchase, we are glad to offer the loan of these books free, one volume at a time, on application. Do not delay! Write to us at once, for our encouragement and for your profit.
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MILLENNIAL DAWN
--THIS IS-- THE GENERAL TITLE OF A SERIES OF BOOKS BY THE EDITOR OF ZION'S WATCH TOWER
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TRUTH "WOUNDED IN THE HOUSE OF ITS FRIENDS."
"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your plans my plans, saith the Lord; for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my plans higher than your plans, and my thoughts than your thoughts."--`Isa. 55:8,9`.
THOSE who claim that the second advent of Christ means the end of probation, the burning up of this world, and the death-knell of hope for poor, fallen humanity, are responsible in a very large degree for the intense prejudice which exists on this subject. Amongst those who thus hold, are some who are thoroughly conscientious and are, after a fashion at least, Bible students, but study not according to knowledge. They love the Lord, not because of his character, exemplified in his plans, but in spite of their misconception of his plans and, therefore, of his character. They have looked at certain passages of Scripture from the wrong standpoint, and have failed to discern which are its symbolical and which are its literal statements. We hope that this paper will come to the attention of many of this kind, and that it will come also to the attention of many of those who, because of these misrepresentations of the divine plan, are thoroughly out of sympathy with the promises of the second coming of the Lord, but desirous, rather, that he should not come at all, and especially that he should not come soon. We hope that all of this class who are earnest, honest, and spiritually minded, will, with the presentation we are about to make, be able to see the Lord's character and plan from a different standpoint, and thenceforth to long for it and to pray in the language of the Apostle, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" realizing the blessings that are due to come with that blessed presence--flooding the world with the light of the knowledge of the goodness of God as it shines in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord, and bringing to mankind in general all the blessing which divine grace has prearranged, and which divine mercy and truth have declared for the consolation and encouragement of God's people.
"THE EARTH ABIDETH FOREVER."
Notwithstanding the Scriptural statement that "The earth abideth forever" (`Eccl. 1:4`), all the creeds of Christendom take the same view of this subject that is entertained by our Second Adventist friends; except that the latter expect the burning of the world soon, while the majority of Christendom presume that it will be in the remote future. We do not charge intentional misrepresentation of the divine plan upon any of our Christian brethren. Rather, we say, in the language of our text, that their conceptions are not God's conceptions, and their plans are not the divine plans--they have misunderstood, unintentionally, to their own detriment, the testimony of God's Word on this subject. They have read of the burning of the world, and have remembered in the same connection the account in the Lord's parable, of the burning of the "tares," and have entirely overlooked the fact that these fires are figurative and symbolical, as are the fiery trials which now try us, as God's people, and the furnaces of affliction in which, by divine permission, we have sometimes been refined. (`I Pet. 4:12`. `Isa. 48:10`.) In the brief space at our command we cannot take up this subject thoroughly and discuss every text of Scripture bearing upon it, but we will briefly call attention to one, which will serve as a key to others.
We quote from the Prophet (`Zeph. 3:8`): "Wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy." This is certainly as graphic a picture of the burning day as could be asked for, even by the most zealous advocates of that theory; and they consider that it is quite sufficient to overbalance the other statements of Scripture, to the effect that the "earth abideth forever." They assume, of course, that this burning day will incinerate not only the earth itself, but all of its inhabitants. But a careful reading of the Prophet's succeeding words will make clear to us that this is not the case; but that after the burning day has passed a population will still remain in the earth, and that for a blessing. We read (`verse 9`): "Then will I turn to the people [not consumed, but alive and capable] a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent." Who could question, in the light of this further statement by the Prophet, that the fire and devastation previously mentioned are figurative--not, however, unreal, but real in another sense, in a figurative sense, instead of in a literal sense.
This burning day, so frequently referred to in the Scriptures, will, to our understanding, be more than a twenty-four-hour day--the day of wrath will be a period of several years' duration, so far as the intensity of its burning is concerned;-- a period whose burning will not entirely cease until the close of the Millennial age, by which time it shall have destroyed, root and branch, everything that is evil--everything contrary to righteousness, truth and goodness. This fire of God's jealousy or zeal for righteousness will, we understand, burn in a very natural manner as regards humanity and its affairs. In
the present time God is letting the light of truth shine in the world marvelously; not that light only which is shining upon the path of the just, leading God's people onward to the perfect day, but a light is also being reflected now upon the path of the world, opening its eyes to human rights and prerogatives, liberties and privileges, to which formerly it was blinded through ignorance and superstition. As the light now comes in, the result is unrest; and thus the Lord seems to purpose, that the very blessings of this time, the end of this Gospel age, the very condition of things which, rightly received, should be bringing men happiness, is bringing more and more of discontent, and thus leading them step by step into the great period of anarchy which the Scriptures distinctly show will be the fire of trouble in the end of this age, which will consume church and state, religious, political and financial institutions, and reduce the whole world to a general level--"a time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation." --`Dan. 12:1`.
This trouble is coming as the direct result of the blessings of our day, the increased enlightenment which we enjoy, and which selfishness does not permit to take its proper course and to bring proportional blessing for the world as a whole; but, rather, attempts to corral and to apportion merely to the great, the wise, the efficient, allowing the burdens of life to fall with disproportionate weight upon the masses, until the groaning creation shall not only cry out in despair, but will also arise in despair, bringing in the anarchy and disarrangement foretold,--the fire of God's jealousy, which shall consume the whole earth (society in general, in its every department). After this symbolical fire shall have consumed present institutions, on their ruins shall arise the triumphant Kingdom of God, so long foretold--the same for which the Master himself taught us to pray, "Thy Kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven." The Prophet, as we have seen, declares that then the Lord will turn unto the people "a pure language"--literally, a pure word. In the past and at present the people as a whole have been unable to discern the pure Word of God. They have heard various creeds and theories, more or less reasonable, and the effect of so many "voices" has been to them as a Babel in which they were unable to discern the voice of God. But when the promised day shall have come, and present institutions, religious as well as secular, shall have succumbed to the fierce burning wrath of the people, with all of its attendant miseries and injustices, the mists and fogs of prejudice and superstition will clear away, and the bright orb of truth will shine forth to give mankind a clearer and a better comprehension, not only of the divine character and the divine plan, but of the rights of men, and of the proper course of action and dealing one with another. The results will be blessed, however awful will be the cup of divine wrath which the world will have drunk to its dregs previously; figuratively called "the fire of God's jealousy."
Altho, as thus seen, the fire of God's jealousy will burn itself out quickly in the close of this age, other Scriptures give us to understand that it will not entirely cease until the close of the Millennial age--that it will burn against everything that is contrary to the pure, the good, the true, the right, the just. Evil of every kind shall be burned up root and branch, so that ultimately "all the proud, yea, all that do wickedly, shall [figuratively] be as stubble and as ashes under the feet," in full subjection to the righteous, who shall then have been brought into full accord with the Lord, and have his blessing unto eternal life.
THE REAL OBJECT OF OUR LORD'S RETURN.
If the real object of our Lord's return could be clearly understood by all of his true people, unquestionably every sincere Christian would be longing and waiting for that event, as the glorious realization of their best hopes and desires, the one without which all others would be valueless, meaningless. The second coming of our Lord is closely related to the first advent as respects the divine plan of salvation. The entrance of sin into our world six thousand years ago (commonly called "original sin") brought to us as a race mental,
moral and physical degeneracy (commonly called "the fall"), the culmination of which is death. According to the Scriptures this death would have been an interminable one, an everlasting one, had God not, in his mercy, provided for our succor-- provided a ransom-price in the Lord Jesus and his sacrifice. This redemption provision was accomplished by our Lord at his first advent. We were "redeemed with the precious blood of Christ."
But there is a difference between our redemption and our deliverance, as there is a difference between the purchase of any article and the delivery of it. The world has been purchased with the precious blood; but the world has not been delivered; it is still laboring and heavy laden, under the curse, under original sin, under its weights and difficulties and disadvantages of every kind. What is necessary now? We answer, with the Apostle, that "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God"--through whom the deliverance is yet to be accomplished. (`Rom. 8:19-22`.) And when will these sons of God be manifested? The answer is that these sons of God are the elect Church of this Gospel age, who in the present time are being tried and tested; not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit, according to their will, their desires of heart. These sons of God are such as, after the Lord's disciplines and chastenings are passed, will be found in heart "copies of God's dear Son," however imperfect they may still be respecting their flesh. These are to be the first who will experience deliverance at the second coming of the Lord. They are variously designated in the Scriptures as "the royal priesthood," under the great high priest; as the members of the body of Christ, under Jesus, as their Head; as the "Bride, the Lamb's Wife." These are the "Jewels," whose number the Lord is to make up in the first resurrection, who shall be his, and joint-heirs with him in the Kingdom. It is for the manifestation of these that the world is waiting, as the Apostle declares,--"waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God," and they will not be manifested until the second advent of their Master. "When he shall appear, we also shall appear with him in glory." We see, then, that so far as the Church is concerned she is waiting for the completion of the elect number which constitutes her membership--in all, "a little flock," to whom it is the Father's good pleasure to give the Kingdom. (`Luke 12:32`.) We see also that the world of mankind, altho redeemed, must wait still longer--a little longer; for it will not be long after the elect Church shall have been glorified with their Lord, and become his joint-heirs in his Kingdom, until they, with him, as the Sun of Righteousness, shall shine forth with healing in his beams, to bless the world, to scatter its night, to dispel its fogs of superstition and its miasms of error.
From this standpoint it will be seen that the second coming of Christ means, not only the blessing of the Lord's faithful in the First Resurrection, but the blessing of all the families of the earth, even as the Lord promised to father Abraham, saying, "In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." The great mass of mankind have gone down into the prison-house of death unblessed--ignorant of God and of the only name given under heaven or amongst men whereby they must be saved. Even of those who are now living, only a small fraction have ever heard of the great Redeemer and of the great redemption which he has already accomplished in the sacrifice of himself, and of the great deliverance which he is about to effect, through the establishment of his Kingdom of righteousness, and the subjugation of evil and sin, and the binding of Satan. Not only the living nations, to earth's remotest bound, must all know, that the Year of Jubilee has come, returning ransomed sinners home, but all those who have gone down into death, the great prison-house which now contains approximately fifty thousand millions of our race--all these also must hear the good tidings, for it is to be, according to the angel's promise, "Good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people." It is to be, according to the promise made to Abraham, a blessing "to all the families of the earth." Thank God for the redemptive feature of his plan; and thanks also to him for the deliverance feature, shortly to be effected, even tho the introduction of that deliverance be accompanied by a time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation--a time of fiery indignation which shall eventually devour all the adversaries of righteousness, and bring in that blessed condition respecting which we are assured that every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess, to the glory of God--the disobedient and unwilling being destroyed in the Second Death, from which there will be no recovery. --`Isa. 45:23`; `Phil. 2:10`; `Acts 3:19-23`; `2 Thess. 1:9`.
THE PAROUSIA OF OUR LORD JESUS
AND HIS
SUBSEQUENT APOKALUPSIS AND EPIPHANIA
--AT HIS SECOND ADVENT.--
"Watch, therefore; for ye know not the day* your Lord doth come." What I say unto you, I say unto all [believers], Watch."
--`Matt. 24:42`; `Mark 13:37`.
WHATEVER the character of the watching, and whatever the thing to be looked for, there can be no question that the exhortation to watch for an event whose precise time is not stated, implies that when the event does take place, the watching ones will know it. Watch, because ye know not, in order that at the proper time ye may know, is the thought; and the intimation clearly is, that those who do not watch will not know: that the events which are to be known in due time to the Watchers, will be recognized by them, and not recognized by others, at the time of accomplishment.
This, the only logical interpretation of our Lord's exhortation, is fully corroborated by several of the apostles. The Apostle Paul urges us, saying: "Yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night; for when they [the world, unbelievers] shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief" (`I Thes. 5:2-4`); because, being children of the light ye, brethren, will be watching and be enlightened and taught of the Lord. The Apostle Peter suggests the means by which the Lord will teach us, and informs us respecting our location upon the path of "the just which shineth more and more unto the perfect day." He shows that it will not be by miraculous revelations, nor by dreams; but through the Word of testimony, the Bible. He says, "We have a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light which shineth in a dark place, until the Day dawn, and the Day-star arise in your hearts."--`2 Pet. 1:19`.
The united testimony of these Scriptures teaches us that, altho it was neither proper nor possible for the Lord's people to know in advance, anything definite, respecting the exact time of the second presence of the Lord Jesus, and the establishment of his Kingdom, yet when the due time would come the faithful ones, the watchers, would be informed,--would not be left in darkness with the world. It is vain to urge, as contradicting this, our Lord's statement, "Of that day and hour knoweth no man; no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." (`Mark 13:32`.) Those who use this Scripture to prove to themselves and to others that no man will ever know anything respecting the time of the second advent, find it to prove too much, and thus spoil their own argument; for if it means that no man will ever know, it must similarly mean that no angel will ever know, and that the Son himself will never know. This, evidently, would be an absurd construction to place upon the passage. The Son did not know at the time he uttered this statement; the angels did not know then; and no man knew then; but the Son certainly must know of the time of his own second advent, at least a little while before it takes place; the angels also, must know a little while before it takes place; and the true children of God, the "watchers," as we have seen above, are to watch in order that they, too, may know at the proper season and not be in darkness, in ignorance, with the world; and that their watching shall be rewarded is guaranteed:--"None of the wicked shall understand; but the wise [in heavenly wisdom] shall understand."--`Dan. 12:10`.
FOR WHAT ARE WE WATCHING?
This is an important question. Many of God's people have been offended, "stumbled," as respects the doctrine of the second coming of our dear Redeemer, by reason of peculiar, extravagant, unreasonable, illogical and unscriptural views on the subject, presented by some, who professedly love the Lord's appearing, known as Second Adventists. But this is all wrong; we are not to reject one of the grandest and most prominent doctrines of the Scripture, simply because some fellow-Christians have erred egregiously respecting the matter, and brought a certain amount of worldlywise contempt upon everything connected with this subject. On the contrary, this doctrine, as a glorious gem, should be given the first place
*Thus read the oldest Greek MSS.
among the precious jewels of divine truth, where it can cast its halo and splendor and brilliancy over all connected and related promises and blessings. It should not be left in the imperfect setting which hides its glory and beauty, but should be recovered, remounted, set in its true place, to the glory of God and to the blessing of all who are sincerely and truly his people.
We need offer no apology for the interest which we feel in this grand subject, which is the center upon which all the testimony of divine grace, through all the holy prophets, is focused. Rather do they need to apologize who, knowing that next to the doctrine of the atonement for sin, the second coming of the Lord and the resurrection of the dead hold the most important places in the Scriptures, have nevertheless neglected this, while they have quarreled, skirmished, fought and bled over trifling things of no real importance, doctrinally or otherwise.
Our watching is to be for the second coming of him who redeemed us; who said, "If I go, I will come again and receive you unto myself." The watching is to be specially with the thought that our Lord Jesus comes at his second advent, in the majesty and glory of the Father, King of kings and Lord of lords. The watching includes not only the thought of the second presence of our Lord, as King, but it has attached to it the wonderful results which are promised to flow from the coming of the King; for the coming of the King means the coming of the Kingdom for which he taught us to pray, "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven." And the coming of our Master, the King, and the establishment of this glorious Kingdom mean the fulfilment of the long-waited-for promise made to the seed of Abraham; the promise which Israel after the flesh was not found worthy to inherit; the promise for which God has been selecting the members of the Bride of Christ during this Gospel age, to be with the Lord Jesus, and his joint-heir in carrying out his beneficent provisions; the promise which is sure, but which has never yet had, in any sense of the word, a fulfilment; the promise which reads, "In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed."
Watching implies hoping, and it also implies waiting. We are waiting for what the Apostle terms "that blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," who shall transform his Church to his own spiritual image and likeness, in order that we ("changed") may be like him, see him as he is, and share his glory, and be associated with him in his great work of bringing in the Millennial blessings to the world of mankind. Nevertheless, this waiting time and hoping time is a time of more or less tribulation, not only on the world, which still lies under the yoke of sin, and under the blinding influences of Satan, but also to the waiting, hoping and watching Church, of whom the Apostle says, "We ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the deliverance [from death] of our body"--the body of Christ, of which we are members in particular.--`Rom. 8:23`.
HOW ARE WE TO WATCH?
Our watching consists not in looking up into the sky,-- "stargazing;" for those who study the Lord's Word to any purpose soon learn that "the day of the Lord so cometh as [like] a thief in the night," and that its dawning cannot be discerned with the natural eye. If the Lord's people could discern anything by watching the sky with their natural eyes, could not the world discern the same thing? If the second advent of our Lord were to be an open, outward manifestation, would not the world know of it just as soon as the saints, the watchers? In such event it could not be true that the day of the Lord should come as a thief, as a snare, unawares, upon the world, while the Church would have foreknowledge thereof --not be left in darkness.--`I Thes. 5:2-4`.
We are to watch the signs of the times, in the light of the Lord's Word, our lamp; as the apostle declares, "We have a more sure Word of prophecy,...as a light shining in a dark place,--until the Day dawn." The Gospel age has been a
night-time; and the Lord's people have been waiting for the dawn of the Millennial morning, with the promise ringing in their ears, "God will help her [the Church], and that right early [in the morning]." (`Psa. 46:5`.) The Word of the Lord, through the prophets, has been the lamplight all through this Gospel age, upon the Church's pathway; as the Lord expressed it through the Prophet David, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, a lantern unto my footsteps." (`Psa. 119:105`.) The lamp of the truth of revelation has guided all the faithful, watchful pilgrims in their journey toward the Celestial City--the Heavenly Kingdom. Oh, what a comfort it has been, and how dreary would have been our pilgrimage without it!
"Looking back, we praise the way
God has led us, day by day!"
Those who have taken heed to the landmarks, pointed out by the Lord through Daniel and Isaiah and Jeremiah and all the holy prophets, realize that we have come already a much longer journey than was expected by the Church when first she started out; but we realize also from these landmarks, that we have approached very close to the end of the journey; very near to the time when the great blessing, for which God's people have so long waited and prayed, is at hand. For instance, the Watchers have noted the Lord's testimony through the Prophet Daniel that "the time of the end" would be a period of time (more than a century), and that in this "time of the end" there would be a great increase of travel, running to and fro throughout the earth, and a great increase of general intelligence, increased knowledge, as it is written, "in the time of the end many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."--`Dan. 12:4`.
Watching carefully respecting our whereabouts, hopeful and solicitous respecting the gracious things which God has promised, none of the Watchers is indifferent to these fulfilments of prophecy, which are to be seen on every hand today. All men discern these things, but not all alike: the faithful, the Watchers, discern them not only as facts, but also as fulfilments of prophecy; as proofs that we are already in the period termed "the time of the end." Further investigations and applications of the prophetic measurements prove to the watchers that we have been in "the time of the end" since 1799, and that it is also termed "the day of his [Jehovah's] preparation." Looking about them, they see the preparation that Jehovah God is making for the Kingdom of his dear Son. They see the lifting of the curtain of ignorance, and the letting in of the light, and that thus God is using mankind at the present time to make ready, in a natural way, the mechanical and other arrangements and conveniences which ultimately shall be so great blessings to the world;--when the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in his beams, and the Millennial Day shall be ushered in, with all its multiplied blessings and mercies and opportunities;--"the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began."--`Acts 3:21`.
Watching intently, earnestly, interestedly, because they know of the good things God hath in reservation (`I Cor. 2:9-13`; `I Pet. 1:4`), the Watchers note that Daniel's prophecy further points out that, as the increase of travel brings the increase of knowledge, so the increase of knowledge will bring an increase of discontent to the world of mankind in general; and the result will be, as prophetically stated, that "there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation." The Watchers, seeking to note whether these things have yet had a fulfilment or not, look about them and behold on every hand discontent, unhappiness; much more than when the world enjoyed far fewer of the mercies and blessings of heaven. These latter day gifts of Providence (preparations for the Millennial age), instead of provoking thankfulness, gratitude and love to God, and generosity to man, produce in unregenerate hearts ambition, greater avarice, selfishness, envy, hatred, strife, and other works of the flesh and of the devil. Yes; the Watchers can clearly discern the approach of the great climax of human trouble, in which the Scriptures distinctly declare that all the present human institutions shall go down in anarchy, in confusion, in chaos. But the Watchers do not lose sight of God and his providence. They see that the approaching social and ecclesiastical catastrophe will be the natural result of the operation of selfishness under highly favored conditions; nevertheless, they remember that God is at the helm, and that he is able to cause the wrath of man to praise him, and the remainder of man's wrath (which would not praise him) he will restrain.--`Psa. 76:10`.
The Watchers look not merely at the outward signs, as seen in the world. They scrutinize carefully and repeatedly their "chart," the Bible's prophetic outline of the world's history furnished by the King himself. It is because they see the time of trouble outlined in the prophetic chart that they know that it is sure to come, and are able in advance of others to "discern the signs of the times," and not to be in darkness respecting the "things to come." It was in respect to this that the Lord promised the Watchers that the holy spirit should guide them into all truth, as each feature became due, and would show them things to come--future things--in advance of the world's knowledge, and in advance of the facts themselves. (`John 16:13`.) But the same chart which shows the downfall of all earthly institutions, political, social and ecclesiastical, shows also that their fall is so timed in the great plan of Jehovah that it shall be the very hour in which he will establish his kingdom in the hands of the elect Church (who then shall be a royal priesthood glorified,--priests upon their
thrones,--the religious as well as the civil rulers of the world), whose exaltation shall be to the glory of God and to the blessing of every creature.
The Watchers remember well that the King gave them an outline of the history of the Gospel age at the very time that he told them to watch; intimating to them that they were to watch for the things which he therein noted. The Watchers are those who are in harmony with the King, and who have respect to his promise, and they, therefore, do not neglect the words which he spoke. And as they note this very prophecy in connection with which he tells them to watch, they see in it clearly that the day of the Lord will be ushered in at the close of this Gospel age, secretly, quietly, unobtrusively, "as a thief in the night,"--unawares to the world, and known only to the Watchers.
PAROUSIA VS. EPIPHANIA, APOKALUPSIS.
Because not heedless, careless, indifferent servants of the King, but faithful and earnest ones, the Watchers have scrutinized every little particular which fell from the lips of him who spake as never man spake; and all the messages which he has sent them through his faithful apostles and prophets. And discriminating carefully, they discern that there are three words of distinctly different signification, used in respect to the Lord's second advent; namely, parousia and epiphania and apokalupsis. Parousia is used in respect to the earliest stage of the second advent, while apokalupsis relates to the same advent later;--not that apokalupsis and epiphania relate to another, or a third advent, but merely to a later feature of the second advent. These Greek words, it is true, are somewhat obscure or hidden in the Common Version of the Bible, and undoubtedly for a purpose. The Lord's purpose evidently was to keep the world and the wicked in ignorance of his gracious plan until his due time; nor did he wish the particulars to be understood by the Watchers until near the time of the fulfilment. But now we are "in the time of the end," in "the day of his preparation," in the time in which it was foretold that then "the wise [not the worldlywise, but the humble Watchers who are wise enough to take heed to the Word of the Lord] shall understand." (`Dan. 12:10`.) And hence, since many of the Watchers are not Greek scholars, God has made gracious provision through valuable helps (such as Young's Analytical Concordance and the Emphatic Diaglott), so that the very humblest of his people may have a clear and discriminate understanding of the meaning of certain features of his Word which, hitherto, have been kept hidden under imperfect translations; and these matters God himself has been bringing to the attention of his people, through MILLENNIAL DAWN, ZION'S WATCH TOWER, and the OLD THEOLOGY TRACTS. The Watchers all over the world are being reached by these "Helping Hands for Bible Students," which the Lord himself is extending to them.
By these helps, the Watchers are rapidly coming to see that the word "parousia," in our Common Version translated "coming," does not mean what our English word signifies; namely, to be on the way, approaching; but that on the contrary it signifies presence, as of one who has already arrived. The Watchers note also that the Scriptures predicate certain things respecting the Lord, and respecting his parousia
(his presence) which clearly intimate that he will be present and doing his work, his great work (of setting up his Kingdom and smiting the nations with the sword of his mouth) wholly unknown to the world,--as a thief in the night. The Watchers also notice that the Scriptures clearly indicate that after the Lord has done certain things during his presence (parousia) and unknown to the world, he will later make a manifestation of his presence;--a manifestation which will be discerned by all mankind: and this outward manifestation is designated his "epiphania" which signifies "shining forth" or "bright shining."
The Watchers keep separate these two thoughts (presence and manifestation) respecting the Lord's second coming; that altho really present a spirit being (like the angels who, we are told, encamp round about them that fear God and deliver them, and who are "all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation," and whose ministry is an invisible one) our Lord, now a glorious spirit being, of the divine nature, will not be manifest to the natural eye during his presence--his parousia.--`Psa. 34:7`; `Heb. 1:14`. Hence the necessity that the Lord's faithful ones shall "watch," because they, no more than the world, can discern a spirit being with their natural eyes. The Watchers in due time are to discern the presence (parousia) of their Lord by the eye of faith. The sleepless eye of faith will in due time take note of the "sign of the Son of Man,"--the indications of the presence of the King.
During the period of the parousia (presence) preceding the epiphania (shining forth) a certain work will be accomplished, unknown to the world, unknown to the nominal Church, known only to the Watchers. Ah, how important to us the words of our Master, exhorting us to be Watchers! And, by the way, this watching includes a watching of our own hearts as well as of the Lord's Word and the outward signs--to insure our worthiness to be continued in the light, and under the instructions of the great Teacher. "If any man have not the spirit of Christ he is none of his;" therefore if any man lose the spirit of Christ he ceases to be his; and hence we all need to "watch" that we may, as the Scriptures direct, "Keep our garments unspotted from the world;" and "keep ourselves in the love of God, while looking for the grace [aid] of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless in the presence of his glory with exceeding joy." (`Jude 21,24`). For whoever has the spirit of Christ may be a Watcher, and as a Watcher may know of the gracious things connected with the great "salvation which shall be brought unto us at the revelation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ;" but whoever ceases to have the spirit of Christ must, of necessity, cease also to be a Watcher, and shall be in ignorance of the things of the day of the Lord, like the world, of which he would then probably be a part.
As the light by which the eye of faith may discern the parousia, we have the "more sure word of prophecy to which we do well to take heed." It has shone upon the pathway of the Watchers all along through this night; but now its various prophetic rays have focussed and clearly indicate that we are already living "in the days of the Son of Man," while, as he expressly foretold, the world in general goes on as usual, in utter ignorance of his presence and of his harvest work and of the beginning of the Day of the Lord; it continues as usual--eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, planting and building. It is a mistake to suppose that our Lord, in giving this information respecting the events of the time of his presence, meant us to understand that it would be wicked for the world to eat, drink, plant, build and marry; these are not improper things, and any such interpretation is strained and faulty, and results from an utter misconception of the subject. Our Lord wished merely to show that the world would be in ignorance of his presence "in the days of the Son of Man," and in utter ignorance of the great time of trouble, or "Day of Vengeance" which the inauguration of his Kingdom will signify to the kingdoms of this world, which are to be dashed to pieces as potters' vessels. The ignorance of the impending trouble here will be similar to that of the people who lived in the days of Noah. "As it was in the days of Noah, so also shall it be in the days of the Son of Man."-- `Luke 17:26`.
As "the days of Noah" were not days before Noah's time, neither are "the days of the Son of Man" days before the Son of Man's presence. The days of the Son of Man are the days of his parousia, or presence,--invisible and unknown to the world; known only to the Watchers and seen by them only with the eye of faith. "As in the days that were before the flood they were eating, drinking, marrying,...and knew not,... so shall also the [parousia] (presence) of the Son of Man be:"-- the world will simply go on about its usual affairs, and know not of the Lord's presence.--`Matt. 24:38`.
But why should our Lord be thus present? What will be his work during the period of presence preceding his epiphania or manifestation to the world?
THE LORD'S WORK FORESHOWN IN HIS PARABLES.
His work is clearly outlined in various of his parables, which were given that the Watchers might know--might not be in darkness. The parable of the wheat and the tares shows this period of the parousia (presence) preceding the epiphania (manifestation), and represents it as the "harvest" time of this age. The Son of Man sowed the good seed, and his servants followed, doing work in the field down through the age; finally the end of the age comes when the full crop of wheat is ripe, and then the harvest is reaped. The parable shows the separation of the two classes of the nominal church during the "harvest." For be it noted that the wheat-field is not the entire world, but merely the professedly Christian part of the world--Christendom: much of the field is not yet sown. And the parable relates only to the wheat-field, and particularly to the wheat. The tares (spurious Christians) are dealt with only incidentally. The tares choke the wheat, yet, nevertheless, the Master will obtain a sufficiently large crop, for--"All his purposes shall be accomplished."
The separation of the tares from the wheat, and the gathering of the wheat into the garner of heavenly conditions, precedes the work of cleansing the wheat-field of its symbolic tares
by symbolic "fire;" and this entire harvest work is to take place during the parousia (presence) of our Lord, before his epiphania (manifestation). He is the Chief-Reaper, and all the under-reapers will work under his direction and eye; and every kernel of true symbolic "wheat" will be gathered into the glorious symbolic "garner" by resurrection and "change."
The sickle of truth will be the separating medium; and not until the separation is nearly complete and the "wheat" nearly all garnered into the glory of the heavenly nature, will the "fire," the great time of trouble mentioned by the Prophet and by our Lord, burn and consume, symbolically, all the "tares:" so that thereafter none will make false professions of being Christians while really of the world, and possessed of its spirit.
The parables of the Pounds and of the Talents cover this same period of time. In both of these the Lord represents himself as a great householder and heir to a throne, who has gone into a far country to be invested with kingly powers, and to return to use those powers. Departing, he left with his servants various riches of grace and privilege, "to every man according to his several ability," saying to them, "Occupy till I come." The return of the nobleman of the parables, unquestionably, represents the second coming of our Lord and Master. Now note the work due first to take place upon his return as King, as shown by these parables. He does not first deal with the rebellious world,--those who would not have him to rule over them; but, first calls "his own servants," and reckons with them--rejecting some from further service because of unfaithfulness, and accepting others to a participation in the joys of the Kingdom, which he at once establishes.
This reckoning with the servants signifies a reckoning with the Church first, after his return; and corresponds to the separating of the wheat and tares, in the other parable. It is comparatively easy for anyone to realize that this part of the Lord's work at his second advent is the work which precedes the epiphania or manifestation to the world. It is during this period that the Watchers are to be aware of the presence (parousia) of the Lord, and of his scrutiny, or judgment of them, which will then be in progress. Only the faithful will know, however;--only they will be "accounted worthy to stand before the Son of Man" in that judgment;--all found unworthy shall "stumble." "The wicked [and slothful servants] shall not stand in the assembly of the righteous." (See `Psa. 1:5`.) It is of this period of Christ's presence, and this feature of his work, that the world is to be in total ignorance, and "know not," until, having finished reckoning with his servants, and having glorified the faithful, the judgment of the world shall
begin with "a time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation." That trouble is symbolically pictured as a fire, and we are told by the Apostle that our Lord shall be revealed (apokalupto--uncovered, disclosed, made manifest) in flaming fire (judgments), taking vengeance.
All who are Watchers, all who have taken heed to "the more sure word of prophecy," including the Master's description of the events of "the days of the Son of Man," can readily discern that the world would not go on in its usual routine-- eating, drinking, planting, building, marrying, etc.--if they knew of the Lord's presence, and the progress of the "harvest" of the Gospel age. If they knew of the Lord's presence, and that the reckoning with the servants had commenced, and that the next thing in order would be judgments upon themselves, they would change their usual order of affairs considerably; they would be in great trepidation; because only those who are in sympathy with the Lord and the righteous government which he is about to establish, when he shall lay judgment to the line, and justice to the plummet--only these can in any degree be ready to welcome him: all others have the spirit of fear, and are under the blinding influences and misrepresentations of Satan. "The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the glorious light of the gospel of Christ...should shine unto them." Because of ignorance, therefore, the world would be in great fear, if they knew the fact of the beginning of the day of the Lord, which is to be to them the "day of vengeance."* Very evidently, therefore, this reckoning with the Church and the reward of the faithful will precede our Lord's apokalupsis, or revealing. To use one of his own figures, we might say that his day or time of presence --"the day of the Lord"--will come "as a thief in the night;" and in this time he will gather his virgin Church, discriminatingly, and take her as his Bride to himself,--changing her from earthly nature and conditions to spiritual or heavenly conditions, to be like him, see him as he is, and share his glory. And since the saints have always been "the salt of the earth," we may readily discern that the taking away of the salt of the earth would leave mankind proportionately in a deplorable condition, in which corruption would spread rapidly: and this is exactly what the Scriptures indicate.
We are not, however, to understand that the Lord will take the Church away to heaven, and then come back again, and make his epiphania or apokalupsis; for that would be a third advent, which is nowhere even hinted in Scripture. The "change" of the Church from earthly conditions and nature to heavenly, spirit conditions and nature, will be first in order; and then they twain, the Bridegroom, Christ, and the Church, his bride, thus made one in nature and in heavenly, or spirit power, will commence the work of putting down all rule and authority contrary to the divine rule;--bringing all things into subjection to the heavenly Kingdom, the Millennial Kingdom. Our Lord and his Church will not be absent from the earth during the period of the world's tribulation; but, on the contrary, will continue present, but invisible, bringing upon the world the tribulation foretold in the Scriptures, which will result in the humbling of the hearts of mankind, that they may say, eventually, "Come, let us go up to the mountain [Kingdom] of the house of the Lord, that he may teach us of his ways, that we may walk in his paths."--`Isa. 2:3`.
This fact is abundantly proved by the Lord's statement of what shall be the reward to the overcomers, a part of which is, "He that overcometh, and keepeth my words to 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 in pieces: even as I have received of my Father." (`Rev. 2:26,27`.) Again, the same matter is mentioned by the Prophet David, saying, "This honor have all his saints,--to execute the judgments written."
This, however, need not be understood to mean that none of the faithful members of the body of Christ will be in the flesh during the trouble. The majority will have gone beyond the vail--by First Resurrection change to spirit conditions; but others may remain in the flesh for a time, to serve further on this side the vail. True, our Lord has said, "Watch ye; that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass" (`Luke 21:36`); but we may not be too certain which way he meant we should escape; and we well know that there are two ways. We might escape by avoidance of the trouble, or by being kept from feeling its poignancy, by "grace sufficient" to enable us to rejoice in tribulation. In which ever way it may be the Father's pleasure the Lord will keep his own--out of the furnace of affliction, or in the furnace heated seven times.--`Dan. 3:27`.
THE TIME OF THE PAROUSIA.
It will doubtless surprise many to learn that there is much Scripture proof that we are already in the time of the presence (parousia) of the Son of Man,--that we are already living "in the days of the Son of Man." At first some will be inclined to say, "Where is the promise of his (parousia) presence, while all things continue as they were from the beginning?" Peter foretold that some would thus question, being surprised at the information that we are living in the days of the Son of Man, while there is as yet no outward manifestation of his presence, but the affairs of the world continue in their ordinary channels. (`2 Pet. 3:4`.) The answer to the question is, as we have already pointed out, our Lord's own declaration that in the days of his presence the world would be eating, drinking, planting and building, and know not. That is "the promise of his presence" while "all things continue as they were." Could it be more explicit? A totally different question, however, is--
WHAT ARE THE PROOFS OF CHRIST'S PRESENCE?
This is a reasonable inquiry. We would not be justified in believing upon any slight evidence that the Lord is present; even tho we know in advance that he is a spirit being, whose presence would be invisible without a miracle;--and even tho we know in advance, from the parables, that he will be present, but invisible, in the harvest time of this age, in the time of reckoning with his servants preparatory to their glorification. We have a right to expect clear, reasonable ground for faith, before accepting any matter which implies so much. We are not, however, to ask or to expect evidences to natural sight: if we are of the Watchers, who have "the eyes of their understanding" opened to see wonderful things in the divine Word, then these eyes of our understanding must also be the eyes of our faith. Hence, the true Watchers are to expect reasonable, satisfactory evidence for faith, and not ocular demonstrations of an invisible parousia. As the Apostle
*See MILLENNIAL DAWN, VOL. IV., "The Day of Vengeance."
explains, "We walk by faith, not by sight."--`Eph. 1:18`; `2 Cor. 5:7`.
To our understanding there are strong proofs that our Lord's parousia began in the Autumn of 1874. We have seen nothing with our natural eyes; only with the eyes of the understanding, only in the light of "the more sure word of prophecy," do we know this, which we sincerely believe and affirm, and which is important news to all who claim to be Watchers. The fact that any Watcher should have remained in ignorance of this important event for now more than twenty-seven years, would seem of itself to be an indication that he had not been properly awake to the use of his privileges and opportunities--that he had not been sufficiently watchful of the sure word of prophecy to which he was instructed to take heed; and that therefore he had been left at least partially ignorant of the important things transpiring throughout the world during these years. To this extent, many of the Lord's people have been with the world and are similarly ignorant; and yet we may reasonably assume that the Lord did not expect all of his watching servants to discern the matter at the same instant of time. True, those who saw early have had special blessing for the longer time; but, as we saw above, the preparation for the knowledge of the time lies largely in the right attitude of heart--in its humility and possession of the various graces of the spirit of Christ.
Lest we should get a misapprehension respecting this matter of the discerning the Lord's parousia, we do well to take heed to the parable of the ten virgins, which evidently was given to throw special light upon this point. That parable shows a false announcement of the arrival of the Bridegroom in 1844, which brought to the subject considerable reproach, but which, nevertheless, was of great advantage, as stirring up the "virgin" class (the pure, the consecrated) to fresh trimming of the lamp of truth--investigating the sure word of prophecy. The parable shows, also, that the "virgins" in general fell asleep; yet, nevertheless, in due time all would be reawakened by the prophetic knocking, and the knocking of the signs of the times, which would indicate the Bridegroom's
presence. And the parable shows that the result will depend upon how much oil (holy spirit) the "virgins" may have in their vessels (in their own hearts), as well as in their lamps (the Scriptures). Applying this parable, then, we may reasonably suppose that some of the Lord's true people have temporarily fallen asleep on this subject of his second coming: and that the sleeping ones will include some who have his spirit in their hearts, and who will be fully ready to welcome the Master when they shall awake; and whose lamps will be duly trimmed and burning and ready to enable them to discern the signs of his parousia, when once their attention is brought to the subject. In harmony with this we find that many who now get awake on this subject, come into the clear light of present truth much more rapidly than did some in the past: doubtless partly because present truth can now be presented to them through the printed page more concretely than ever before. It is in the interest of this true "virgin" class that we now write: we have no desire to awaken the worldly; this knocking of the prophecies announcing the parousia is not for them;--besides, the worldly are so sound asleep that it will require the terrific crashing of present institutions, and the earthquake shakings of social revolution to awaken them thoroughly to a realization of the presence of the great Judge --Immanuel. The true Watchers, on the contrary, if they slumber at all, sleep lightly, being on the qui vive of expectancy and hope for the long-waited-for Bridegroom. We would merely whisper in the ears of this class the one word, "Parousia!" assured that all true Watchers (and the Lord alone knoweth them that are his) will be aroused by that word, and trim their lamps on the subject.
Is the question asked,--What portions of the sure word of prophecy indicate that the presence of our Lord began in the Autumn of 1874? We answer that there are several lines of prophecy which interlace and corroborate each other in this testimony; but, as might be expected, since the entire matter was to be hidden from the world, and "none of the wicked," but only the "wise" were to understand (`Dan. 12:10`), and these wise only to understand when the due time would come,--it must be evident to all that these prophecies, while clear and forcible and positive, are nevertheless somewhat under cover. We cannot here attempt to give a complete and comprehensive statement of these prophecies; that has already been done in five volumes aggregating twenty-three hundred pages.* Here we can only give a very brief resume, leaving it for the true Watchers to seek that they may find; to knock if they would have the door of divine revelation opened to them; to use the keys which God has provided, if they are interested in penetrating into "the deep things" of the divine Word, now due to be understood; to eat of the meat of present truth, "things new and old," if they hunger and thirst after righteousness and true knowledge.
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