Earlier text: WE MUST AWAKEThe Coming of Christ.—No. 6.
I WILL now pass to consider that series of discourses commencing in the 24th chapter of Matthew and continued through the 25th chapter. These chapters contain a graphic description prophetically of the utter destruction of the Jewish nation politically, and including its civil, political and religious polity or arrangements; an end of that dispensation; and also the establishing of the Christian dispensation, the kingdom of Heaven; the principles by which its administration was to be conducted, and its results in separating the tares from the wheat, the righteous from the wicked; and the final destiny of each class; and the coming of the Son of Man in their accomplishment. The language of these discourses is most sublime, and the imagery employed has seldom been excelled although much used by the ancient prophets of the Jewish nation. In prophetic language, great commotions upon this earth are often represented under the notion of commotions and changes in the literal heavens. The fall of Babylon is represented by the stars and constellations of heaven withdrawing their light; and the sun and moon being darkened. See Isaiah 13. The destruction of Egypt is portrayed by the heaven being covered, the sun enveloped in a cloud, and the moon withholding her light. See Ezekiel 32. The destruction of the Jews by Antiochus Epiphanes, by casting down some of the host of heaven and the stars to the ground. See Daniel 8. And the destruction of Jerusalem, by showing wonders in heaven and in earth, darkening of the sun, and turning the moon into blood. See Joel 2: 30, 31, and Acts 2. Lightfoot says, “The Jewish heavens shall perish, and the moon of its glory and happiness shall be darkened, brought to nothing. The sun is the religion of the church: the moon is the government of the state; and the stars are the judges and doctors of both.” In the 23d chapter, Christ had pronounced the most terrible maledictions upon the Jewish nation, especially upon the scribes and Pharisees, and denounced the most severe judgment as about to fall upon them, affirming in the most solemn manner that those judgments shall come upon that generation. Verse 36. In verse 38, Christ told them that their house, their temple was left desolate. God had departed from them, and hence utter ruin was their portion. The disciples who had been listening to those terrible denunciations evidently saw that if those predictions were ever realized it would involve the utter destruction of their nation and their temple. Such a catastrophe to them seemed impossible, when they looked at the solid foundation upon which the temple was built, and the durable materials of which it was constructed. Therefore, as they were leaving the temple, they called the attention of Christ to that fact: “Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here,” as if it were impossible that his predictions could be fulfilled. But in his answer Christ but increased their wonder by saying that there should not be left one stone upon another, that should not be thrown down. 24: 2. These were the last words the Lord spoke in the temple, into which he never again entered. With his disciples he ascended the Mount of Olives, from which they had a full view of the temple. Filled with amazement at their Lord’s predictions, the disciples asked him to tell them “when these things should be; and what should be the sign of his coming, and of the end of the world.” Mark says, “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?” Luke, “Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?” Now, nothing is plainer than that the disciples’ questions all related to those maledictions and predictions which Christ had been uttering against the nation and the temple. For he had not said a word about the destruction of the world, the earth, but had denounced the nation of the Jews. The disciples therefore asked him only concerning the calamity, and nothing else. They wished to know by what signs they might know when all those things should be fulfilled, the things of which Christ had been speaking, viz., the destruction of that temple and nation. This was the end of the world, to which they referred in their question, the end of that dispensation, the end of that age. For the word in Greek there used is (αἰῶνος) aionos meaning age—there, the Jewish dispensation. From the last verse of the preceding chapter the disciples doubtless inferred that a coming of the Lord was connected with the dire calamities which Christ has been predicting. But according to their use of Scripture language, they would understand that coming as referring to the providence of God in the overthrow of their nation. That such is the general meaning of the Old-Testament Scriptures when speaking of the coming of the Lord, seems to me cannot be seriously questioned. When, therefore, Christ declared in chapter 23: 39, “Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,” the disciples if they understood that expression as a prediction of a coming of the Lord, would understand it as predicting some special providence of God indicative of the divine displeasure against that people. Hence, Christ proceeded to answer their interrogations accordingly, viz., when that calamity would take place, and what would be the sign of his coming in that divine providence by which the end of this dispensation would be consummated. In verse 4, Christ warned them against being deceived. “Take heed that no man deceive you,” the disciples, those to whom he was then speaking. As his coming was near at hand, and as they had desired to be informed how they might know when he would come, he cautioned them against their being deceived. “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” It would therefore be necessary for them to be cautious, be on their guard, carefully question every event and phenomena, and compare them with what he told them. Whoever will read the history of the time just preceding the culmination of those direful calamities, in the overthrow of the nation, knows that many did come in the name of Christ—many of those false Christs appeared of which Jesus warned his disciples, and deceived many. How truly was that sign fulfilled to those to whom it was addressed, and for whose benefit it was spoken, the history of those times abundantly proves. In verses 16, 17, 18, “Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.” Such language is absurd when applied to the second advent, but is literally applicable to the siege of Jerusalem. After mentioning various events that would transpire, indicating the near approach of Christ, he again most solemnly cautions the disciples in verse 25, “Behold I have told you;” and then in verse 27 announces his coming as sudden and unexpected, “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be;” and verse 28, both the time when the coming would take place and where, “For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together.” That carcass was the Jewish nation, especially Jerusalem. Hence the time of the coming of the Son of man was at the end of that dispensation, called the end of the world. tion, called the end of the world. That our Lord in his great prophecy recorded in the 24th of Matthew, refers to the destruction of Jerusalem and the overthrow of the Jewish nation, we know of none who are disposed to deny; but that he refers to no more than that, there are very many who cannot easily be persuaded to believe. The question of the disciples, in verse 3, seems to embrace two points: 1. “When shall these things be?” including all he had said respecting the overthrow of the temple, so that not one stone should be left upon another, and 2. “What shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?” another and a subsequent event, respecting which our Lord and his disciples had evidently had some unrecorded conversation. In his answer, following a frequent prophetic style, Christ goes over the field of his discourse several times, following one line of thought down through to its termination, then going back and taking up another. From verse 3 to verse 15 he takes us once down through this dispensation. This cannot all refer to the destruction of Jerusalem. See verse 7: “Nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.” How was it at the destruction of Jerusalem? There was virtually but one nation. All the world (all that portion of it which included nations of sufficient strength and importance to war against each other) lay prostrate beneath the iron heel of Rome. After the breaking up of that empire into different kingdoms this verse could be fulfilled, but not before. Again, verse 14: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations and then shall the end come.” The end of what? Not the end of that dispensation which introduced this gospel to the nations, but the end of that dispensation which this gospel itself introduced. The gospel invitation was itself to go to all the world, its benefits to be proffered to all nations, for a witness, and then its offers were to cease and the end to come. Going back in verse 15 to the siege of Jerusalem, he again takes up the line of thought from that point to verse 28, embracing the overthrow of the Jewish nation, verses 15-20, the long ages of persecution against the church from that time on through the period during which the papal power should wear out the saints of the Most High, verse 21; Dan. 7: 25; Rev. 12: 14; 13: 5, 7, the shortening of the persecution by the great Reformation, verse 22; Rev. 12: 16, the arising of false christs who would show great signs and wonders (a work which was not done before the destruction of Jerusalem, but which is being fulfilled to the letter in modern spiritualism), verses 23, 24, the literal and personal coming of Christ as startling and visible as a gleam of lightning shining from the east to the west, verse 27, and finally, the destruction of the living wicked at that time, upon whom the judgments of God will light, as eagles upon their prey. Again he goes back in verse 29 to a point just subsequent to the persecution before mentioned, and takes up the signs in the physical heavens which should herald his coming, and after assuring us that all the tribes of the earth should behold him coming in power and great glory, and mourn because of him, and the great sound of a trumpet should be heard, and the angels should gather the elect, not from Judea only, but from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other, he takes us forward beyond that point even at which the heavens and earth shall pass away. Verse 35. Such is a synopsis, in brief, of this part of the chapter. When persons endeavor to quibble around the fourth commandment by asserting that it only means one day in seven and no day in particular, we sometimes ask them how God should have worded it, if he had meant the definite seventh day. So we ask on the chapter before us, if Christ had meant to assert that the things he mentions would literally take place, how should he have worded it? Let us now see how Bro. G. “telescopes” this chapter to save his theology. With him the darkening of the sun and moon, and falling of the stars, denote the casting down of persons in places of authority and power among the Jews; in other words, the overthrow of the Jewish nation. The coming of the Son of man, and the threatening tribulation, denote the same thing. But how does our Lord locate these events? First we have the tribulation (which according to Bro. G. is the overthrow of the Jewish nation); and “after the tribulation,” expressly says the record, the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars fall (which is again the overthrow of the Jewish nation); and after these commotions in the heavens, the Son of man comes (which is still again the overthrow of the Jewish nation). Thus the Jewish nation is overthrown not once only but again and again, and thus Bro. G. runs three lengths of the telescope into one, and throws the record into inextricable confusion. That the signs in the sun moon and stars are entirely distinct from any movements among men, Luke, in his record of this very discourse of our Lord’s very clearly shows. In chapter 21: 25, he says: And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring.” Here the signs in the sun moon and stars, which are beyond question the same as mentioned in Matt. 24: 29, are one thing and the calamities of nations on the earth, quite another thing. Verily if this language means anything, it means what it says. For a thorough refutation of the Universalist view that Matt. 24 was all fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem, we refer the reader to an eminent Baptist work of nearly 500 pages, entitled, “Harmony and Exposition of our Lord’s Great Prophecy,” by Rev. D. D. Buck, with an Introduction by J. R. Graves, editor of the Tennessee Baptist. We have room for only one paragraph instead of the pages we would be glad to quote. On p. 257, he says:— “This loose and fanciful method of expounding this [Matt. 24: 30], and other similar portions of the Scriptures, is most evidently the source of theoretic Universalism, and other forms of semi-infidelity. And it occasions a lack of intensity in the impressions which these portions of the Bible were evidently designed to produce. The injury is incalculable and ordinarily incurable. This painful truth meets us at every point, and probably eternity will disclose an extent of injury from this source that will be absolutely appalling. Great must be the necessity then, that should justify any departure from literality in expounding such passages as this. It ought to be ascertained, first, that a literal interpretation is absolutely impracticable, that it either clashes with other portions of the Bible, or with indubitable facts. Nothing less than this should be deemed sufficient to warrant us in concluding that the Lord did not mean just what he said, in a discourse intended for the common mind.
“But are there any such reasons for wresting this passage from its literal and natural import? No; there is not one. If men should reason so loosely and unphilosophically on almost any other subject, they would be in danger of losing their reputation for common intelligence. And why the world has so long tolerated this superficial method of explaining away the most solemn and literal teachings of Inspiration, is really wonderful.”
ADMIRAL SIR THOMAS WILLIAMS, the founder of the Royal Naval Female School for the education of naval officer's daughters, was in command of a ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean. His course brought them within sight of the Island of Ascension, at that time uninhabited, and never visited by any ship except for the purpose of collecting turtles, which abound on the coast. The island is barely seen on the horizon; but as Sir Thomas looked at it, he was seized with an unaccountable desire to steer toward it. He felt how strange such a wish would appear to his crew, and tried to disregard it; but in vain! the desire of the straightforward and excellent commander became more and more urgent; and seeing that they were fast leaving the island behind them, he told his lieutenant to prepare to “put about ship,” and steer for Ascension. His lieutenant ventured respectfully to represent to Sir Thomas that changing their course would greatly delay them; that just at that moment the men were going to their dinner; that, at least, some delay might be allowed. But these arguments seemed to increase the captain's anxiety, and he gave the word of command which is never resisted. He saw in the countenances of his officers an expression of wonder and even blame, as strong as is ever shown on an order from the captain; but he was obeyed, and the ship was steered toward the uninteresting little island. All eyes and spy-glasses were immediately fixed upon it, and soon something was perceived on shore. “It is white—it is a flag—it must be a signal!” were the cries which at intervals broke from the excited crew. When they neared the shore a painful spectacle met their view. They found that sixteen men, wrecked on that coast many days before, and suffering the extremity of hunger, had set up a signal, though almost without hope of relief. The shipwrecked men were taken on board, and the voyage completed. What a proof we have in this of the power of the divine Arm to save when all hope seems to have vanished! and what an encouragement it should be for us always to pray and not to faint! Political Maneuvering Ahead of the Papal Conclave
The Berlin correspondent of the London times, writes, respecting the next papal conclave. . . . “Looking upon these moves and counter moves, which are thus early being made on the political chess-board in expectation of the approaching conclave, it is easy to foresee that the election of the next pope will be a political count of immense consequence, and perhaps may give rise to a fresh grouping of the powers.”—Providence, R. I., Journal. Blessings by the Way.
By N. F. Heald
GRATITUDE is one of the sweetest emotions of the soul; and a thankful heart is a happy heart. We lose much of life's sweetness, its glimpses of heavenly joy, by a spirit of ingratitude, murmuring, and discontent. We forget the daily blessings that distill upon us like the dew upon the flowers, and are as constant as the air we breathe. There are many precious blessings by the way, if we were but watchful to gather and treasure them up. But wayside blessings like wayside flowers often pass unnoticed. The Giver of all good is ever mindful of his children, and his tender mercies are over all his works. We see the evidence of his goodness on every hand. The delicate and varied hues of the flowers show forth his skill, wisdom, and benevolence. They silently whisper, “God is love.” Their fading petals remind us of, and bid us long for, those flowers that never fade. The sky is a source of beauty and blessing. It is always beautiful, and its bright beauty is for all to enjoy. Who can behold the varied forms, the white peaks, and silver-edged clouds, that gild the horizon at noonday; or, watch the ever changing scenery of the heavens at sunset, or at early dawn, and not feel to exclaim, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork.” The changing seasons as they pass, are loaded with his benefits, and replete with the lessons of his providence. If our hearts respond with love to God, we may recognize through all a loving Father's hand; and why not be content since he orders our lot? He knows what spot in all the earth, what surroundings, and just the circumstances that are best fitted for each one. He, in infinite wisdom, has planned our lives, and placed us just where we can best fulfill his plans and develop Christ-like characters, fitted to dwell in his own blessed presence. Every day brings fresh proofs of his watchful love that shapes our course. “Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Shall we repay such love with ingratitude? Will it not grieve Him if we murmur, and are discontented at our lot? Yet how often we do this, and manifest a selfish and impatient spirit. How often we allow the daily discipline of trials and annoyances to chafe and fret the soul till we grieve away the good angels and lose the blessing we might have obtained. It is by watchfulness and prayer that we can overcome and obtain the sweet grace of patience. It is the spirit of gratitude that will enable us to appreciate the blessings by the way. God is pleased with a thankful heart. “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High.” Paul says, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” The privilege of meeting with those of the same precious faith, on the Sabbath or at other times, is one for which we should be deeply thankful; especially when we are favored with the labors of God's faithful ministers. These tried soldiers of the cross are spending their energy and strength to edify the body of Christ, and help us on in the way to Heaven. Our opportunities of listening to the faithful preaching of the word are to the scattered ones doubly precious. Like refreshing showers, in a dry and thirsty land, they cheer and refresh the soul. May we wisely, and with deep gratitude, improve these precious seasons as they pass, and at the end of our pilgrimage find rest, and a home in Heaven. N. F. HEALD. The Rich Man and Lazarus.
LAST week’s investigation of this subject left us with the problem on our hands whether it were better to try to overthrow all that Moses and the prophets have written respecting sheol and the condition of those who enter therein, for the purpose of sustaining the common view of the rich man and Lazarus, or to try to account for the use of the language used in that narrative, in harmony with what Moses and the prophets have said respecting that place. In the first place we cannot set aside what Moses and the prophets have written; for Christ in the very case under consideration endorses them and refers us to them for instruction. How then can we account for the fact that the rich man is represented as conscious, intelligent and active, in hades, when Moses and the prophets have taught us that hades is a place of darkness and silence, without knowledge, wisdom or device? If the record of the rich man and Lazarus is a parable, the use of such language is at once accounted for; for if it is a parable the language is allegorical; and in allegory, life and action are often attributed to inanimate objects, for the sake of enforcing or illustrating some particular truth. Some notable instances of this style of writing are furnished us in the Old Testament. In Josh. 9: 7–15 the trees are represented as going forth to anoint a king over them; and they appealed to the olive tree and the fig tree and the vine, and received answers from them, declining to leave their stations of usefulness to be promoted over them. Finally they appealed to the bramble, and the bramble accepted the trust. Now this representation was not designed to teach that trees ordain civil government, walk about, and converse together; but it was to illustrate the folly of the men of Shechem in electing Abimelech king. Again in 2 Kings 14: 9, we read that the king of Israel sent to the king of Judah saying, “The thistle in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife.” This is not to teach that thistles and cedars have sons and daughters who unite in marriage, but to illustrate the contempt which the king of Israel felt for the proposition which the king of Judah made to him. Landis, p. 188, claims that it makes no difference whether the case of the rich man and Lazarus is a parable or not, since a parable should not be so worded as to convey a wrong impression to the mind, which this would do, if the soul is not conscious in death. We reply, it makes all the difference in the world; for if it is a parable, the life and action attributed to the inanimate inhabitants of hades, is not to teach anything respecting their real condition, any more than the life and action attributed to the trees and brambles in the cases referred to, is designed to teach what their condition is; but this intelligence and action are attributed to these inanimate objects, to illustrate some great truth which the speaker wishes to enforce. In the case of the rich man and Lazarus what was the object in view? Answer: To rebuke the Pharisees for their covetousness (“And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things; and they derided him verse 14”); to show to them, since they thought that riches in this life was a mark of the divine favor and would secure God’s blessing in the next, that if they gave themselves up to the sensual enjoyment of their riches, neglecting and oppressing the poor, they would in the future meet God’s wrath instead of his favor; and that the poor whom they despised and oppressed, might attain to that very state of felicity, set forth under the figure of Abraham’s bosom, of which they thought themselves so sure. *That this is a parable seems abundantly evident. 1. It stands in connection with a long list of parables. The preceding chapter, Luke 15, contains three. This chapter opens with the parable of the unjust steward; and there is no intimation of a change from parable to literal narration in this case. 2. It is said that this cannot be a parable because it is introduced by a direct assertion. “There was a certain rich man,” &c. But others which are parables, are introduced in exactly the same manner. Thus, verse 1, “There was a certain rich man which had a steward.” &c. And chapter, 15: 11: “A certain man had two sons,” &c. 3. The prophets, to whom we are referred, speak of the dead in sheol, in the nether parts of the earth, as conversing together, taunting each other, weeping bitterly, refusing to be comforted, &c., representations exactly similar to those made in the case of the rich man and Lazarus, and full as striking, but which no one can regard as setting forth the actual condition of the dead.* Thus in Isa. 14: 9–20, it is represented that when the King of Babylon is overthrown, he goes down into sheol, and the DEAD (for there are no others in its dark domain) are stirred up to meet him. The kings that had been destroyed by the king of Babylon, are represented as having thrones in sheol beneath, and when the king of Babylon joins them in their dark abode, they rise up from their thrones, and mock him with feigned obeisance, as in life they had rendered him real homage. And they say, “Art thou become weak as we? Art thou become like unto us? Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms?” No one can suppose that they literally act or speak thus. But all this is a striking figure to represent that death would reduce the king of Babylon to the same level with his subjects and prisoners. Again in Eze. 31: 15–18, and 32: 17–32, Pharaoh and his host, slain in battle with the king of Babylon, is set forth in the same manner. The strong among the mighty are represented as speaking to him out of the midst of sheol, as he enters therein. And this sheol, in “the nether parts of the earth,” full of graves and of the dead, is contrasted with the land of the living. These victims of slaughter went down to sheol with their weapons of war, and their swords they “laid under their heads”; and when Pharaoh, lying among them, saw the multitude of his enemies that were slain also, he was comforted at the sight. Another case, perhaps still more remarkable, is that of Rachel. Jer. 31: 15–17; Matt. 2: 17, 18; Gen. 35: 17–20. Long ages after Rachel had died, and entered into sheol, a dreadful slaughter took place among her posterity. Thereupon she is represented as breaking forth into lamentation and bitter weeping, and refusing to be comforted because her children were not. And the Lord says to her, “Refrain thy voice from weeping and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded saith the Lord.” No one can suppose that Rachel literally wept at the murder of her children nearly 2000 years after her death, nor that the slaughtered Egyptians put their swords under their heads as they were lying in sheol, and conversed together in the nether parts of the earth, some being comforted and others ashamed; nor that the kings overthrown by the king of Babylon rose up from their sepulchral thrones in mock solemnity, and taunted him with becoming weak as they. But these were all figures to set forth great and salutary truths. May not our Lord then for once be permitted for a like purpose to use a like figure, so largely employed by the prophets, and so well known to his hearers, by personifying persons in hades to perform actions which were not there literally to occur? We have certainly as good reason to suppose that Rachel, the Egyptians, and the king of Babylon were real personages, and their descent into sheol and the accompanying circumstance as related by the prophets, veritable history, as to suppose that Dives was a real character, and his torment in hades and his conversation with Abraham, a real transaction. Those who held in their hands the Old Testament scriptures were perfectly familiar with such figures. There the “trees of the field” rejoice and “clap their hands,” the “floods” lift up their “voice,” the hills and mountains “sing,” stones from the wall “cry out,” and beams “answer,” the blood of Abel finds a “voice,” and “cries out from the ground,” and dead men rejoice over the fall of their rivals, slain by the sword. In a volume abounding with such figures, cannot for once a rich man, representing a class of living persons, be endowed in hades with life and speech? must this one figure of personification be singled out from all others, as a rigidly literal narrative, and be made to sustain the weight of the most terrific doctrine of which the mind of man can conceive? Sufficient evidence has been produced to show that this is a parable. And now we invite the attention of the reader to the testimony of two eminent authors respecting the use which should be made of parables. Dr. Clarke (note on Matt. 5: 26) says: “Let it be remembered that by the consent of all (except the basely interested), no metaphor is ever to be produced in proof of a doctrine. In the things that concern our eternal salvation, we need the most pointed and express evidence on which to establish the faith of our souls.” And Trench in his work on parables, lays down this very important rule:— “The parables may not be made first sources of doctrine. Doctrines otherwise and already grounded, may be illustrated, or indeed further confirmed by them, but it is not allowable to constitute doctrine first by their aid. They may be the outer ornamental fringe, but not the main texture of the proof. For from the literal to the figurative, from the clearer to the more obscure, has ever been recognized as the law of Scripture interpretation. This rule, however, has been often forgotten, and controversialists, looking round for arguments with which to sustain some weak position, one for which they can find no other support in Scripture, often invent for themselves supports in these.” But some persist that this is not a parable, but a literal narrative; and not to seem captious, we will consider in this light. If this is veritable history, all the particulars must be taken literally. Then the wicked, tormented in the flames of hell, are within sight and speaking distance of the saved in Heaven. In other words Heaven is but the shore of hell, and on that shore the redeemed can sit and watch the damned in their fearful contortions of agony for which there is no name, and listen to their entreaties for relief and their shrieks of fathomless despair, to an extent, it would seem, sufficient to satisfy the fiercest vengeance and the most implacable revenge. If this be so, our friends must certainly abandon the argument they build on Rev. 6: 9, 10, where they have it that the souls of the martyrs, disembodied and conscious, cry to God to visit vengeance upon their persecutors. If they were where they could look over into the fiery gulf, and behold their persecutors vainly battling with its flaming billows, or if not already there, destined in a few short years to be plunged therein, let no one say of the holy martyrs that they would, under such circumstances, cry impatiently to God to hasten or intensify his vengeance. The arguments based on the narrative of the rich man and Lazarus, and Rev. 6: 9, 10, must, one or the other of them, be given up; for they devour each other. Let the advocates of the popular theory look to this. The beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. Let it be noted that the persons themselves, as a whole, are spoken of, not any of their essential elements, or immaterial appendages. Nothing is said of the soul of either the rich man or Lazarus. As we are now considering this as a literal transaction, a question vital to the argument is, When do the angels bear those who have died, as persons (for there is nothing anywhere said about the angels carrying their souls), into Abraham’s bosom or the state of the blessed? Such scriptures as Matt. 24: 30, 31; 1 Thess. 4: 16, 17, answer this question very explicitly: “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.” When? At the second advent of the Son of man in majesty and glory; for then it is that the voice of the archangel, ringing through the long galleries of hades, shall wake the righteous dead from their silent slumbers, and angels bear them upward on wings of light, to be forever with the Lord. The rich man dies and is buried; and his next experience is the suffering of torment in consuming flame. How long after his burial he finds himself in this torment, we are not directly informed. But he has bodily organs; for he has eyes to see, and a tongue to be cooled; but these the dead are not usually considered to possess till the resurrection. This drives Landis, p. 191, to the unusual admission that the soul retains the human form, with its corresponding organs, hands, feet, eyes, tongue, &c. Again, the rich man sees Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom; but, as we have already seen, Lazarus is not literally borne there by the angels till the resurrection. As a literal transaction, the scene is inevitably located, by the concurrent testimony of all Scripture, beyond the resurrection. How then it can be said to transpire in hades we leave those to decide who believe that it is a literal transaction. Certain it is that no such scenes can really occur in hades, if the representations of that place given us by Moses and the prophets, are correct; while analogous scenes will really take place beyond the resurrection: there the righteous are rewarded, and the wicked punished in devouring fire; there the Lord told the impenitent Jews that they should see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of God, and they themselves thrust out, and that then there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Luke 13: 28. One view, only, maintains harmony between this and other portions of the sacred writings; and that is the one which is here, imperfectly it may be, but yet sincerely, advocated: that Christ, following the example of the prophets, through the figure of personification, anticipates as transpiring in the grave, scenes which substantially occur beyond the resurrection; and that the object of the parable was to rebuke the Pharisees for their covetousness by indicating the fate that awaited a life of avarice and oppression here, however sumptuous that life might be. That it does not teach the existence of conscious souls between death and the resurrection, is forever settled by the fact that Lazarus could return only by a resurrection from the dead. When the rich man requested that Lazarus might be sent to warn his brethren, Abraham replied that they had Moses and the prophets, and if they would not hear them, they would not “be persuaded though one rose from the dead.” The conversation did not therefore relate to the coming back of the immortal soul of Lazarus; and indeed no mention is made of any such thing in the whole transaction. Therefore, interpret it as we may, it cannot be reasonably or scripturally used to prove the entrance of man’s naked unclothed spirit into bliss or woe at the hour of death.