connexion which they bear to each other in the predictions of the
Saviour. We have already noted that the prophecy contained in Matthew,
and recorded by the other Evangelists, refers in its primary application
to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies; but in its more
extensive meaning it points to the state of the Christian church in her
period of decline and corruption, of which Jerusalem in her last days
was a fitting type. With respect to this it is declared "_the sun_ shall
be darkened"--the Divine Love obscured and lost; "and the moon shall not
give her light"--faith and charity shall sink in darkness; "and the
stars"--the knowledge of truth "shall fall from heaven,"--no longer
exist in the minds of her members; "and the powers of heaven"--the whole
internal state of the church "shall be shaken"--shall be thrown into
complete disorder and confusion. This meaning, to which we are led by
the connexion and correspondence of the natural symbols, points to a
time (not when the universe shall be destroyed, but) when true religion
shall have ceased to exist in the church:--"when the love of many shall
wax cold:" when true faith will no longer be found; and when
knowledge--the knowledge of genuine spiritual truth--shall have passed
away. The same things are described in the vision of the apostle. "There
was a great earthquake"--a shaking and disorder in the state of the
church; "and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon
became as blood, and the stars of heaven fell to the earth,"--the
knowledge of truth which once shone in the _mind_, sunk into mere
outward _creeds_ and confessions of faith; "and the heaven departed as a
scroll when it is rolled together"--the whole internal state of the
church was thrown into confusion, and every inward feeling of religion
perished.
The event immediately following is the appearance of the Son of Man in
the clouds, with a trumpet; and since it is confessed that a trumpet
signifies "the call of the Gospel," or as I would express it, the
manifestation of truth; and as the _clouds_ correspond to the _outward
form_ of the Word, the appearance of the Lord in the clouds and attended
by trumpets, must signify the manifestation of spiritual love and truth
in the letter of Scripture: and this is supported by what is afterwards
said to be the consequence; "a new heaven and a new earth,"--a new state
of the church both internal and external, both as regards inward
feelings and outward conduct.
That this interpretation is true, I call upon no one to believe; but
that it is probable will, I think, be confessed by all; and that it is
in perfect harmony with the infinite designs of God toward his rational
creatures, as well as with his character as a Being of infinite Love,
will be equally acknowledged. Whether there has been a period in the
Christian church (as there certainly was in the Jewish) when the above
description was applicable to her; when religion had sunk into mere
formality; when bigotry and intolerance both in priests and people, cut
up charity by the roots; when faith was a mere body from which the
spirit had departed; when the clergy were mere formalists, and the
people were sensualized; when sacred knowledge was neglected by the one
and unknown to the other: whether, I say, such a period _has_ yet
arrived, and if so, whether it was _eighty_ years ago, or eight hundred,
it is not my province now to inquire. My object is to show that the
images used by the sacred penmen have reference to such a state, and to
a subsequent restoration; and this I have shown by the rule or law of
analogy existing between spiritual and natural things, as well as by the
grand design of the Word of God in which those images occur.
And if it be probable that such is really the fact, then the design with
which I commenced my task is completed. If the natural sense of the
words of Scripture is absurd--if the best commentators themselves admit
that in their outward application the words have no reference to the
destruction of the natural world--and if, considered in their internal
meaning, they relate to the church, its decline, and restoration; then
there is no proof in the Scriptures of the dissolution of the visible
universe; but strong evidence that it will never take place.
Let us, however, before leaving the subject, take a hasty glance at the
two doctrines which have been presented. The first declares that after
creating the universe, and endowing it with life and beauty; after
forming man as a candidate for eternal glory, and after raising up a
church which it is said was to endure "for ever," God will at a future
time (for what reason, or to answer what purpose, is unknown,) destroy
the fabric he has created; throw the whole universe into confusion and
reduce it to ashes. That He will, for some reason equally unknown, put
an end to the human race, and no more bring rational creatures to
eternal happiness; that heaven will be closed, and not another candidate
admitted; and that the church will then cease on earth, and never again
be restored. And this supposition is founded on vague and mysterious
texts of Scripture, and on a literal interpretation of figures which the
most learned confess they cannot comprehend.
The other doctrine maintains that God, having created the world and
peopled it with inhabitants, will continue it in existence; and that
though religion will in the "latter ages" decline, yet at length "the
Lord will appear in the brightness of his glory," will destroy evil and
false-hood among men,--restore the world to its first state of purity;
and that it shall then for ever become one vast temple, from which a
ceaseless song of praise shall continually arise; while its inhabitants,
prepared and preparing for a higher state, shall pass in succession into
the eternal rest of God; and that the earth shall therefore be a nursery
for glory,--a place of trial for a continual race of candidates for
heaven.
This is a consummation worthy of the Creator,--worthy of the infinity of
his nature and perfections,--worthy of the plan of redemption which He
became incarnate to effect. It is agreeable to the dictates of the
soundest reason, and in accordance with the hopes and wishes of every
man who has not bowed down his reason to the idol of popular opinion.
While the opposite tenet sets reason at defiance, makes the Bible teach
what is practically absurd, and stands in opposition to the opinion of
some of the most learned among its own advocates.
We cannot conclude this little treatise more appropriately than in the
words of a writer often quoted in these pages.
"The doctrines or principles which I have stated and defended in this
work, I believe to be the truths of God. Those against which I have
argued, I believe to be either false or unproved. The doctrine which
cannot stand the test of rational investigation, cannot be true. We have
gone too far when we have said 'such and such doctrines should not be
subjected to rational investigation, being doctrines of pure
revelation.' I know no such doctrine in the Bible. The doctrines of the
Scripture are doctrines of _eternal reason_; and they are revealed
because they _are such_. Human reason could not have found them out; but
when revealed, reason can both apprehend and comprehend them. It sees
their perfect harmony among themselves, their agreement with the
perfections of the Divine Nature, and their sovereign suitableness to
the nature and state of man: thus reason approves and applauds. Some men
cannot reason, and therefore they declaim against reason, and proscribe
it in the examination of religious truth."
Men may incorporate their doctrines in _creeds_, or articles of faith,
and sing them in _hymns_; and this may be both useful and edifying if
the doctrines be _true_. But in every question which involves the
eternal interests of man, the _Holy Scriptures_ must be appealed to in
union with _reason_ their great commentator. He who forms his _creed_ or
_confession of faith_ without these, may believe anything or nothing, as
the cunning of others or his own caprice may dictate. Human creeds and
confessions have been often put in the place of the Bible, to the
dishonor both of revelation and reason. Let _those_ go away, let these
be retained, whatever be the consequence.
[1] See on this subject, "The Plenary Inspiration of the Scriptures
asserted," by Rev. S. Noble:--a work well worthy the perusal of
every Christian, and which deserves a place in every library.
[2] See Wesley's Sermons. Sermon xv. "preached before the Hon.
Sir Edward Clive, one of the judges of his Majesty's court of common
pleas, in St. Paul's Church, Bedford, on Friday, March 10, 1758."
[3] Dr. Clarke has a very curious note on this passage. He supposes
that the "noise" will be occasioned by the action of electric fire, on
the watery particles of the atmosphere. These, being divided into
their two component _gases_, the one will ascend into the higher regions,
and the other float on the earth's surface. Thus, he says, the
account of the apostle is "philosophically correct." Whether this
be the _apostle_, or whether such account is correct in any degree, let
common sense judge.
[4] This passage in its mere outward application, refers to a
temporal overthrow in the land of Idumea; it has also, however, an
acknowledged relation to the triumphs of the Gospel, and the overthrow
of its enemies. Still, it makes little difference in the strength
of the argument, to which event it is referred. Such descriptions have
been given, they have been fulfilled, yet in no case literally. This is
all that need be proved.
[5] See Sir Isaac Newton,--Locke,--Dr. A. Clarke,--Burkitt, etc.
[6] See Dr. Adam Clarke's remark upon this passage.
[7] Birkitt's Notes on the New Testament.
[8] For further remarks on this text, see "Noble's Plenary Inspiration
of the Scriptures."
[9] Dr. A. Clarke, in loc.
THE END.
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