thenism or Judaism; but since there will always be a mixture of hypocrites with true saints, it is but some of them who are raised to life, to whom、 the Gospel is a savor of life unto life; but others will be raised by it to shame and contempt." Dr. Campbell says, "The word rendered resurrection does not primarily signify rising from the dead, but from obscurity to eminence."

Hence the circumstance, that a resurrection iş spoken of at the coming of Christ, does not prove, that it did not occur A. D. 70. Jesus says, "For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man; but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all men should honor the Son, even even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father which hath sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my words, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live." John v. 21-25. Observe these expressions, "For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will"; "passed from death unto life"; the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live." Thus there can be a resurrection without a literal rising from the grave.*

* See Lecture V., where this subject is more fully explained.

But we must close. It is not necessary, that we should refer to all the places where Mr. Miller has misapplied those Scriptures which speak in relation to the coming of Christ. The reader can easily detect his misapplications, if he will only bear in mind what we have proved beyond the possibility of dispute, that Christ's second coming was at the destruction of Jerusalem.

Some of the signs by which Mr. Miller attempts to prove, that Christ's coming is now near at hand, are as ludicrous as his reasonings are false and absurd. One is, that many shall run to and fro (p. 268), which he thinks means the rapid travelling by railroads and steamboats of the present day!! Now I know, that in dissenting from such a learned illustration of Scripture, I shall subject myself to the charge of wilful ignorance, but our author must excuse me from believing, that the prophets foretold the invention of steam engines. Besides, it seems but little like the arrangements of God, to burn up the world, just as such a valuable discovery has been made.

Another sign is the great increase of riches. Our author is sadly mistaken here. Times were never worse than they have been for a few years past. There have been thousands and thousands of failures, and people, instead of growing rich, have been growing poor.

These, reader, are a fair specimen of Mr. Miller's signs. "He looked for a sign, but no sign was given him.”

1

LECTURE II.

HOW, AND FOR WHAT, DID CHRIST COME AT THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM ?

"For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily, I say unto you, There be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." Matt. xvi. 27, 28.

HAVING proved, in our first Lecture, that Christ came at the close. of the Jewish dispensation, I am this evening to consider a supposed difficulty, arising from such a position. The texts which I have quoted speak of his coming in the glory of his Father; coming with power and great glory; being seen in the clouds, and of his coming to judge the nations. They also say, at this coming the sun shall be darkened; the moon not give her light; the stars fall, and the powers of

the heavens be shaken.

Now the question is, Did these things occur? In order to satisfy ourselves on this point, we must inquire,

I. How did Christ come? - And

II. For what did he come?

In answering the inquiry, How did Christ come, we must be guided wholly by the language

of Scripture. That he did not come personally, Personally he has never been seen since his ascension to the Father.

we know.

Here, then, is the difficulty. We have it three times stated in the New Testament, that he should come during the natural lives of some who heard him preach. We have it three times stated, that he should come before the generation living in his time, passed away. Besides, we have various other expressions, such as the Lord is at hand, and he will come in a little while, to prove that he should then come. And yet there was no personal coming! Now, what is to be done? Shall we say, he came in no sense, and try to keep in the dark, as the author of the Lectures has done, those passages which it is impossible to reconcile with the idea that he did not come? Would it not be much more fair and candid to inquire, whether there is any other sense, in which he could come?

Suppose we turn, for a moment, to the Old Testament, and see what light we can gather from there. No sooner do we open that, than all this supposed difficulty is vanished; for there we read often of the coming of God, and yet no one pretends that he ever came personally. The only sense in which he has come is by the great exertions of his power, either for the salvation or the destruction of nations. Hear what God says to his people. "An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings, thy sheep and thine oxen; in all places where I record my name, I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee." Exod. xx. 24. Here God said

he would come to his people; and yet he only came by his blessings, by the exertions of his power in their behalf.

The Psalmist says, "I will sing of mercy and judgment; unto thee, O Lord, will I sing. I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way.

O when

Thus

wilt thou come unto me?" Psal. i. 1, 2. that manifestation of God, that blessing which David expected, he calls the coming of God. "O when wilt thou come unto me?"

Isaiah says, "Behold the Lord God will come with a strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him." Is. xl. 10. Here God is said to come; and yet, there was no personal manifestation; he came with a strong hand.

Hence, to call the redemption of his followers and the destruction of his enemies, a coming of Christ, is only to follow the language of the Old Testament, when speaking of divine manifestations and interpositions.

Perhaps it will be said, the language used respecting the coming of Christ is much stronger than what we have quoted; that he is said to come in the clouds. True; and similar language is applied to God; thus in Deuteronomy, it is said, "There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky. The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee: and shall say, destroy them. Israel then shall dwell in safety alone; the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down