Lecture XV
LECTURE XV.
ON THE SECOND ADVENT, THE LAST JUDGMENT, AND THE
PERPETUITY OF CHRIST'S KINGDOM.
Dan. vii. 9—14.
I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, §-c.... The Judgment was set, and the bouks were opened, §c.... I saw in the night visions, and behold one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him.
And there was given Him dominion, §c.... His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, &c.
1. Ws preach not one advent only of Christ, but a second also, far more glorious than the former.
For the former gave to view His patience; but the latter brings with it the crown of the divine kingdom.
For all things, to speak generally, are twofold in our Lord Jesus Christ.
His generation is twofold: the one, of God, before the worlds; the other, of the Virgin in the end of the world.
His descent is twofold: one was in obscurity, like the dew on the fleece; the second is v.Ps.73,
His open coming, which isto be.
In His former advent, Ho gayra' was wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manger; in His ite xii. second, He covereth Himself with light as with a garment. Ps.
104, In His first coming, He endured the Cross, despising the?
Heb.12, shame; in His second, He comes attended by the Angel 2. host, receiving glory.
Let us not then rest in His first advent, but look also for His second.
And as we have said at His first coming, Blessed is He that cometh in the Name Mat.21, of the Lord, so will we repeat the same at His second
< iei: coming; that with the Angels meeting our Master, we may 23, 39.
The first and second coming of Christ.
Lect. worship Him and say, Blessed is He that cometh in the XV: Name of the Lord.
The Saviour comes, not to be judged again, but to judge them who judged Him; He who before was silent when judged, shall arraign those transgressors who did those daring deeds at the Cross, and shall say,
Ps. 50, These things hast thou done, and I kept silence.
Then, He ith. came by a divine disposition, teaching men with persuasion; ajar, but this time they will of necessity have Him for their King, though they wish it not.
; 2. And concerning these two comings, Malachi the Prophet Mal. 3, says, dnd the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to Hts temple; behold the first coming.
And again of the second coming he says, And the Messenger of the covenant whom ye
SeeSept. delight in.
Behold, He shall come, even the Lord Almighty; but who may abide the duy of His coming; and who shall stand when He appeareth?
For He is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's sope; and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. And immediately after the Saviour Himself ver.5, says, And I will come near to you to judgment ; and I ewill be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the false swearers, and the rest.
For
Cor, 8, this cause Paul warning us beforehand says, [/ any man * build on this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man's work shall be made manifest ; for the day shall declare tt, because it shall be revealed by fire.
Paul also signifies these two comings, writing to' Titus and nS 2, saying, The grace of God our Saviour hath appeared unio all
Serie, MEN, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, (bien we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present
Pema world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appeara Rael ing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Thou haciag seest how he has spoken of the first, for which he gives eb, thanks; and of the second, to which we look forward. Wherewr edews fore the words of the Faith we profess, run thus; that we wae. should believe in Him, " who again is ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father, and shall come in glory to judge the quick and dead; whose kingdom shall have no end."
(2.) 3. Our Lord Jesus Christ, then, comes from heaven; and He comes with glory at the end of this world, in the last day.
The visible world perchance will have a resurrection.
'For this world shall have an end, and this created world shall be made new.
For since corruption, and theft, and vots adultery, and every sort of sins, have been poured forth over the earth, and blood has been mingled with blood in the world, therefore, that this wondrous dwelling-place may not remain filled with iniquity, this world shall pass away, that that fairer world may be made manifest.
And wouldest thou receive the proof of this out of the express words of Scripture?
Listen to Esaias, saying, And the heavens shall be rolled 1s.34,4. together as a scroll; and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the Jig-tree.
And the Gospel says, The sun shall be darkened, Ma; and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall?
Jrom heaven.
Let us not sorrow, as if we alone died; the stars also shall die; and perhaps rise again.
And the Lord shall roll up the heavens, not that He may destroy them, but that He may raise them up again more beautiful.
Hear David the Prophet saying, Thou, Lord,in the beginning hast Ps. 102, laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the Bons, work of Thy hands; they shall perish, but Thou rematnest. 10.
But some one will say, Behold, he says plainly that they shall perish.
Hear in what sense he says, they shall perish; it is plain from what follows; And they all shall waz old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt Thou fold them up, and they shall be changed.
For as a man is said to *' perish," according to that which is written, The righteous Is.57,1. perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart, and this, though the resurrection is looked for, so we look for a resurrection, as it were, of the heavens also.
The sun shall be turned inio Joel 2, darkness, and the moon into blood.
Here let converts from the Manichees gain instruction, and no longer make those lights their gods; nor impiously think, that this sun which shall be darkened is Christ.
And again hear Christ saying, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not Mat.24, pass away; for the creatures are not equal in honour with the Master's words.
4. The things then which are seen shall pass away, and there shall come the things which are looked for, things fairer than these; but as to the time let no one be curious.
For it is not for you, He says, to know the times and eae;
Signs of Christ's second coming.
Lecr. seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power.
And XV-_ venture not thon to declare when these things shall be, nor on re the other hand abandon thyself to slumber.
For he saith, * Watch, for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man (3.) cometh.
But seeing that it behoved us to know the signs of the end, and whereas we are looking for Christ, therefore, that we may not be deceived and perish, nor be led astray by that false Antichrist, the Apostles, moved by the divine will, address see' olthemselves by a providential arrangement to the True Teacher, iets, and say, Tell us, when shall these things be, and what shall be
' the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world? We look for Thee to come again, but Satan is transformed into an Angel of light; put us therefore on our guard, that we may not worship another instead of Thee.
And He, opening His divine ver.4. and blessed mouth, says, Take heed that no man deceive you.
And you, hearers, who now as it were see Him with the eyes of your mind, listen to Him saying the same things to you likewise; Take heed that no man deceive you.
And this word exhorts you all to give heed to what is spoken; for it is not a tale of things gone by, but a prophecy of things future, and which will surely come.
We prophesy not, for we are unworthy; but we set before you the things which are written, and tell you the signs.
Observe thou, which of them have already come to pass, and which yet remain; and make thyself safe.
Met 34, 5. Take heed that no man decetve you: for many shall First come in My name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive sign. many.
This has happened in part: for ere now Simon Magus said this, and Menander, and some others of the godless leaders of heresy; and others say it in our days, or shall say it after us.
Becend 6. Thesecond sign. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours Tey. 6.9f wars.
Is there then at this time war between Persians and Romans for Mesopotamia, or no? Does nation rise up against nation and kingdom against kingdom, or no? pos » And there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes eae. in divers places.
These things have already come to pass; edad and again, And fearful sights from heaven, and mighty rec. htaxt stOrweds Watch therefore, he says, for ye know not what
34; hour your Lord doth come.
Hatred and strife between Bishops and between Churches. 187
7. Next we seek our own sign of His coming; we members (4.) of the Church seek the Church's sign. And the Saviour says, ixsageAnd then shall many be offended, and shall betray one Manel another, and shall hate one another.
If thou hear thatio.
' bishops advance against bishops, and clergy against clergy, eae and people against people even unto blood*, be not troubled; for it has been written before.
Heed not the things now happening, but the things which are written; nor even though I who teach thee perish, do thou perish with me; nay, a hearer may even become better than his teacher, and he who came last may be first, since even those of the eleventh hour the Master receives.
If among the Apostles there was found treason, dost thou wonder that even among bishops there is found hatred of the brethren?
But the sign concerns not only rulers, but the people also; for He says, dnd because iniquity Ib.v.13. shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
Will any then among those present boast that he entertains friendship unfeigned towards his neighbour? Do not the lips often kiss, and the countenance smile, and the eyes brighten forsooth,
* S. Cyril here describes the state of ruined by their hasty and rupecter, the Church, when orthodoxy was fora journeys."
Hist. xxi. 16. S. Hilary of while trodden under foot, its maintainers persecuted,and thevarieties ofArianism, which took its place, were quarrelling for the peveridancyGibbon i baniy ivy es, one from a n historian o' ia hy another trent Father of the oictiers thus epeaka of Asia Minor, the chief seat of the Arian troubles; " Itisa thing equally deplorable and dangerous, that there are as many creeds as opinions among men, as many doctrines as inclinations, and aa many sources of blashemy as there are faults among us; ie we make creeds arbitrarily, and explain them as arbitrarily. The Homoousion is rejected and received and explained away by successivesynods. The partial or total resemblanceofthe Father and of the Son is a subject of dispute for these unhappy divines. Every year, Day, every moon, we e new to deecribe invisible mysteries. We repent of what we have done, we defend those who repent, we anathematize those whom wedefended. We condemn either the doctrine of others in ourselves, or our own in that of others; and reciprocally tearing one another to pieces, we have been the cause of each other's ruin." ad
Church, which fully bear out 8. Cyril's words.
What made the state of things still more deplorable, was the defection of some of the orthodox party, as Marcellus, into opposite errors; while the subsequent secessions of Apollinaris and Lucifer, shew what lurking disorders there were within it at the time when S. Cyril wrote. (Vid. infra 9.) The assages referred to are as follows:
'¢ The Christian Religion," says Ammianus, '' in itself plain and simple, he (Constantius) 'ounded by the dotage of superstition.
Instead of reconciling the parties by the weight ofhis authority, he cherished and propagated, by vain isputes, the differences which his vain curiosity had excited.
The highways were covered with troops of Bishops, Constant. ii. 4,5. Gibbon's translations are used, which, though diffuse,are faithfol in their matter.
What a contrest do these descriptions present to Athanasius' uniform declaration, that the whole question wag really settled at N iowa, and no other synod or debate was necessary ! alloping from every side to the assemFlies, which they call synods; and while laboured to reduce the whole eect to their own particular opinions, the public establishment of the posts was almost
Divisions in the Church make way for Antichrest.
Leor. while the heart is planning guile, and plotting mischief with XV: words of peace?
Fourth 8. Thou hast this sign also. And this Gospel of the kingren ,.d0m shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.
And as we see, nearly the whole world is now filled with the doctrine of Christ.
Fifth 9. And what comes to pass after this? When ye therefore Te.
|, shall see the Abomination of Desolation, spoken of by Daniel the Prophet, stand in the Holy Place, (whoso readeth, let him
Ib.v.23. understand.) And again, Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here ts Christ, or, there, believe it not.
Hatred of the brethren makes room next for Antichrist; for the devil prepares beforehand divisions among the people, that he who is to come may be acceptable to them.
But God forbid that any of Christ's servants here, or elsewhere, should side with the enemy! Concerning this matter the Apostle Paul writing
2 Thess. has given a manifest sign, saying, For that day shall not 2, 8-10. come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that heis God. Remember ye not that when
I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth, that he might be revealed in his time.
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work, only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming.
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish.
Thus wrote Paul, and now is the dwervefalling away.
For men have fallen away from the right faith; and some preach the identity of the Son with the pias, Father, and others dare to say that Christ was bronght into iis being, from a substance which had a beginning.
And formerly the heretics were manifest; but now the Church is filled with heretics in disguise.
For men have fallen away » Tim. from the truth, and have itching ears.
Is it a plausible
Satan forestalled the Truth inpaganism,toprejudicemenagainst it.189 theory? all listen to it gladly.
Is it a word of correction? all turn away from it.
Most have departed from right words, 4eéav. and rather choose the evil, than desire the good.
This therefore is the falling away, and the enemy is soon to be looked for: and already he has begun to send forth his forerunners', that being ready, he may then come upon the prey.
Look therefore to thyself, O man, and watch over thy soul.
The Church now charges thee before the Living God; she declares to thee the things concerning Antichrist before they arrive. Whether they will happen in thy time we know not, or whetherthey will happen after thee we know not; but it is well that, knowing these things, thou shouldest be on thy guard.
10. The true Christ, the Only-begotten Son of God,comes (4.) no more from the earth.
If any come seeing visions in the wilderness, go not forth; if they say, Lo, here is Christ, lo, Mat.24, there, believe it not.
Downwards and to the earth look no?® longer; for the Sovereign descends from heaven, not alone as before, but with many, attended by tens of thousands of Angels; nor secretly as the dew on the fleece; but shining v.Ps.72, forth openly as the lightning.
For He hath said Himself, ¢ As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto Mat.24, the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be; and 7" again, And they shall see the Son of Man coming in the Ib.v.30. clouds with power and great glory, and He shall send His
Angels with a great sound of a trumpet; and the rest.
11. But as, when formerly he was to take man's nature, and God was expected to be born of a Virgin, the devil, to create prejudice against this, craftily spread fables beforehand among the idol-worshippers, of false gods, begetting and born of women, that, the falsehood having got possession of the ground, the truth also, as he supposed, might be disbelieved; so now, since the true Christ is to come a second time, the adversary, taking advantage of the expectation of the simple, and especially of them of the circumcision, brings in a certain man who is a wizard, and most expert in the beguiling craftiness of sorceries and enchantments; who sball seize settee uae t! vessels or aay a Aig Spd ponies ore i of the Fathers of the aay id.
Athan. as being ambitious of the title of UniverApol. contr. Arian. fin.
Basil. Ep. 264. sal Bishop, and creating divisions in the Hilar. in Auxent. 5. Hence Pope GreChurch. Vid. Epist. vi 83.
Antichrist a hing; his reign three years and a half. upon the power of the Roman empire, and shall falsely style himeelf Christ; by this name of Christ deceiving the Jews, who are looking for the Anointed, and seducing those of the Gentiles by his magica] illusions.
Lect. xv.
12. But this aforesaid Antichrist comes when the times of the Roman empire shall have been fulfilled, and the end of the world is now drawing near, There shall rise up together ten kings of the Romans, reigning in different parts perhaps, but all about the same time; and after these shall arise Antichrist, the eleventh king, who by his magical craft shall seize upon the Roman power; and of the kings who reigned before him, three he shall humble, and the remaining seven he shall keep in subjection to himself. At first indeed he will put on a shew of mildness, (as though he were a learned and discreet person,) and of soberness and benevolence: and having by the signs and lying wonders of his magical deceit, beguiled the Jews, as though he were the expected Christ, he shall afterwards characterize himself by Abyiss ou a) ouneds. all kinds of excesses of cruelty and lawlessness, so as to outdo all unrighteous and ungodly men who have gone before him; displaying against all men, but especially against us Christians, a spirit murdcrous and ruthless, merciless and crafty.
And he shall perpetrate such things for three years and six mouths only; and then he shall be destroyed by the glorious second advent from heaven of the only-begotten Son of God, our Lord and Saviour Jesus, the true Christ, who _ shall slay Antichrist eth the spirit of His mouth, and shall deliver him over to the fire of hell.
13. Now these things we teach, not of our own ingenuity, but having learned them out of the divine Scriptures of the - Church, and chiefly from the prophecy of Daniel in the text; as Gabriel also the Archangel interpreted it, speaking thus;
The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall surpass all kingdoms. And that this kingdom is that of the Romans, has been the tradition of the Church's interpreters. For as the first kingdom which became renowned was that of the Assyrians, and the second, that of the Medes and Persians together, and after these, that of the Macedonians was the third, so the fourth kingdom now is that of the Romans.
Then Gabriel goes on to interpret, saying,
Antichrist will pretend to miracles; he will abhor idols.
And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that ver. 24.
Shall arise; and another king shall rise up after them, and stg he shall surpass in wickedness all who were before him; (he
Says, not only the ten, but also all who were before him 3) and he shall subdue three kings; (manifestly out of the ten former kings, but it is plain that having subdued three, he will be the eighth king';) and he shall speak great words against v. 25. the Most High.
A blasphemer is he and an outrageous person, not inheriting his kingdom from his fathers, but usurping power by means of sorcery.
14. And who is this, and of what sort of working?
Interpret to us, O Paul.
Whose coming, he says, is after the 2Thess. working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying 2a wonders; implying, that Satan uses him as an instrument, working personally through him: for knowing that his judgaivergement hath now no longer respite', he henceforth wages war" no more by his ministers, as is his wont, but by himself more openly.
And in all signs and lying wonders ; for the father of falsehood will make a shew of the works of falsehood, that the multitude may think that they see a dead man raised, when he is not raised, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing, when the cure has not been wrought.
15. And again he says, Who opposeth and ezalteth himself (6.) above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; (above 2 Thess. every God; Antichrist therefore will abhor the idols,) so'
~ that he sttteth in the temple of God.
What temple?
He means, the Temple of the Jews which has been destroyed. For God forbid that it should be the one in which we are!
Wherefore say we this? lest we should be supposed to favour ourselves.
For since he comes to the Jews as Christ, and desires to be worshipped by the Jews, he will make great account of the Temple, that he may more completely beguile them; making it seem that he is the man of the race of David, who shall build up the Temple which was erected by Solomon'.
And Antichrist shall come at the time when there shall not be left one stone upon another in the Temple,
¢ And the beast that was, aodis | * This was the common opinion of not, even he is the eighth, and is of the the early Fathers. vid. Iren. Har, v. goeth i ition." Rev.
25.30. Greg. Naz. Orat. 47. 14. &c.
97, 11 saa sinastieetions u Cyril srratethis before Julian's attempt Il.
4 Vid. Iren. Huser. v. 26. 2. to rebuild the Jewish Temple.
The persecution under Antichrist.
Lacr. according to the doom pronounced by our Saviour'; for XV. when, either through decay of time, or demolition for the use of new buildings, or ensuing from other causes, every stone shall have been overthrown, not merely of the outer circuit, but of the shrine also, where the Cherubim were, then shall he come with all signs and lying wonders, exalting himself against all idols; at first indeed feigning a philanthropic, but afterwards displaying his relentless temper, and that chiefly
Dan. 7, against the Saints of God.
For he says, And I beheld, and 21. the same horn made war with the saints; and again elsewhere,
Dan.12, and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since
there was a nation even to that same time.
Dreadful is that beast, a mighty dragon, unconquerable by man, ready to devour; concerning whom though we have more things to speak out of the divine Scriptures, yet we will content ourselves with thus much, in order to keep within compass.
16. Wherefore the Lord knowing the mightiness of the adversary, extends his indulgence to the religious, saying,
Mat.24, Then let them which be in Judea flee to the mountains.
16.
But if any man is conscious that he is very stout-hearted, to encounter Satan, let him stand; (for I do not despair of the Rom. 8, Church's nerves,) and let him say, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ.
Thus, let those of us who are fearful provide for our own safety; and let those of us who are of a Mat.24,good courage, remain: for there shall be great tribulation,
31. such as was not since the beginning of the world, no, nor ever shall be.
But thanks be to God who hath confined the v.22, Violence of that tribulation to a few days; for He says, But Sor the elects sake those days shall be shortened; and Antichrist shall reign for three years and a half only.
We speak 4eexgénot from Apocryphal books*, but from Daniel; for he says, fer. f Even 8. Chrysostom, after the awful defeat of Julian's attempt, which was of Antichrist always appeal to the A pocalypee as well as to Daniel. Vid. Iren. v. 26. 1. Hippol. de Antichr. 34. &c.
Cyril then must have intentionally omitted mention of the Apocalypse in treating this subject ; and he here seems to give the reason ofit. Atthe same time he may be alluding to other Apocryphal works, e. g. those of the Millenarians, &o." Ed.
Ben.
The Canonicity of the Apocalypseis sufficiently established by its general reception by the Church inthe century, w er doubts before existed in particular parts of Christendom. attended by a considerable disturbance of the ground on which the Temple had stood, pronounces that the rophecy against '' one stone on ae was yet fulfilled. vid. Hom. 75. in Matt.
- Ben.
& *¢ Some have thought that Cyril here alludes to the Apocalypse." (vid. note a on Catech. iv. 33. p.48. Ibid. note c on 86. p. 51.) '* which is not improbable. .
All those ancient writers, whom he follows in this Lecture, in their description
The Martyrs in the time of Antichrist.
And they shall be given into his hand until a time and times Dan. 7, and the dividing of time.
A time is the one year in which his coming shall have increase; and the fimes are the remaining two years of iniquity, which make up the sum of the three years; and ¢he dividing of time is the six months.
And again in another place Daniel says the same thing, And Dan.13, he sware by Him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a ds time, times, and a half.
And some peradventure have referred what follows also to this; namely, the thousand two Daa.13, hundred and ninety days; and, Blessed is he that waiteth ae and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
For this cause we must hide ourselves and fly; _ for perhaps we shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, Mat.10, till the Son of Man be come. at 17. Who then is that blessed man, who shall at that time
(8.) devoutly witness for Christ?
For I say that those Martyrs excel all martyrs.
For hitherto they have only wrestled with men; but the Martyrs in the time of Antichrist shall do battle with Satan in his own person.
And former persecuting kings aivewgshave only put to death; they have not pretended to raise the """ dead, nor shewed the appearance of signs and wonders.
But in his time there shall be the evil seductions both of fear and of deceit, insomuch that tf it were possible they shall Mat.a4, deceive the very elect.
Let it never enter into the heart of any then alive to ask, " What did Christ more?
By what power does this man work these things?
Unless God had pleased, He would not have allowed them."
The Apostle warns thee and says beforehand, And for this cause God2 Thess. shall send them strong delusion; (send, that is, shall allow to zhi? happen ;) not that they wight be excused, but that they might be damned.
Wherefore? They, he says, who believed not the truth, that is, the true Christ, but had pleasure in unrighteousness, that is,in Antichrist.
But God permits these things, as in the persecutions which happen from time to time, so also then, not because He wants power to hinder them, but because according to His wont He crowns His own Champions by means of patience, as He did His own Prophets and Apostles; to the end that after having toiled for a little while they may inherit the eternal kingdom of heaven, according to that which Daniel saye, And at that time thy people shall Den.12,
The coming of Christ.
Lect. be delivered, every one that shali be found written in the XVBook, (manifestly, the book of life;) and many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt ; and they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament ; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
18. Take precautions then, O man; thou hast the signs of Antichrist; do not merely keep them in mind thyself, but impart them also freely to all.
If thou hasta child according to the flesh, now admonish him of this; if thou hast begotten one through catechising, put him also on his guard, lest he
2 Thess. receive the false one asthe True.
For the mystery of iniquity 2,7. doth already work.
1 fear these wars of the nations; I fear the divisions of the churches; I fear the mutual hatred of the brethren.
But enough on this subject ; only God forbid that it should be fulfilled in our days; nevertheless, let us be on our guard.
And thus much concerning Antichrist.
(9.) 19. But let us wait and look for the Lord's coming upon the clouds from heaven.
Then shall-the Angelic trumpets sound ; 1 Thess. the dead in Christ shall rise first,—the religious persons, who 4,16. are alive shall be caught up in the clouds, receiving as the reward of their labours, more than human honour, inasmuch as theirs was a more than human strife; according as the y.1617, Apostle Paul writes, saying, For the Lord Himseif shall descend from heaven with a shout, wtth the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ
_ shall rise first.
Then we which are left and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the uir; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
20. This coming of the Lord, and the end of the world, was Eccles. known to the Preacher; who says, Rejoice, O young man, in il, - thy youth, and in what follows; Therefore remove anger from marg. thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh; ...and reaera member thy Creator
.... while the evil days come not,...
. ver.9, While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars be not ver.3, darkened, . .. and those that look out of the windows be not ver.6, 24rkened; (covertly meaning the faculty of sight;) or ever the silver cord be loosed ; (he speaks of the assemblage of the stars, for their appearance is like silver ;) and the flower of
The resurrection of the dead.
gold be bruised; (thus veiling the mention of the golden ceed sun ; for this flower is a well-known plant, having many ray-like jie, leaves shooting out round it;) and they rise up at the voice Mdrhipas. o& the bird, and they see from the height, and terrors be ry baal the way.
What shall they eee? Then shall they see the Son tee of man coming in the clouds of heaven; and they shall mourn mee tribe by tribe.
And what shall come to pass when the Lord is iad comef The almond tree shall blossom, and the grasshopper 20
Zooh.12, shail grow in subsiance, and the briar shall be scattered iene abroad.
And as the interpreters say, the blossoming almond Th re signifies the departure of winter; and our bodies shall after, Sept. the winter blossom with a heavenly flower.
And the piarer _ hopper shall grow in substance, (that means the winged soul clothing itself with the body,) and the briar shall be scatiered abroad, (that is, the transgressors who are like thorns shall be scattered.) 21. Thou seest how they all anticipate the coming of the Lord.
Thou seest how they know the voice of the bird.
Let Eccles. us know what sort of voice this is.
For the Lord Himself yc, shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the 2, 16.
Archangel, and with the trump of God.
The Archangel shall shout aloud and say to all, Rise to meet the Lord.
And fearful will be that descent of our Master.
David says, Our God Ps.50,3. shall come and shall not keep stlence ; a fire shall devour before Him, and it shali be very tempestuous round about Him, and the rest.
The Son of Man shall come to the Father, accordDan. 7, ing to the text, with the clouds of heaven, and with a stream
" of fire, which is to try men', following as His train.
Then if : ete any man's works are of gold, he shall be made brighter; if any ~ man's course of life be like stubble, and without substance, he éweéshall be burned by the fire.
And the Father shall sit, having """""
His garment white as snow, and the hair of His head like the P= 7, pure wool.
And this is spoken after the manner of men; wherefore? Because He is the King of those who are not defiled with sins; for, He says, your sins shall be as white as Is. 1,18. snow, and shall be as wool, which is the emblem of the forgiveness of sins, or of sinlessness itself.
But the same Lord Jexipace .
Vi e, (in Pa. 'i 14 Grix enact th ake "the last Hilary, (in Mouth, °° ae 4.) & i ? judgment will be porgatorial in its na-
i96 The Cross the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. peck shall come from heaven in the clouds, who ascended in the Marae ——-_ clouds; for He Himself hath said, And they shall see the Son
30.
'' of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, ith power and great glory.
(10.) 22. But what is the sign of His coming? lest the hostile pete » power dare to counterfeit it. And there shall appear, He says,
% the sign of the Son of Manin heaven.
But Christ's own true Monet sign is the Cross; a sign of a luminous Cross shall go before 41, the King, plainly declaring Him who was formerly crucified:
Zech, that the Jews who before pierced Him and plotted against 12, 10.. Him, when they see it, may mourn tribe by tribe, saying, "This pal is He who was smitten. this is He whose face they spat on, this is He on whom they put chains, this is He whom of old they crucified, and set at nought; whither, they will say, shall we flee from the face of His wrath?"
But the Angel hosts shall encompass them, so that they shall not be able to flee any where.
The Sign of the Cross shall be a terror to His foes; but joy to His friends who have believed in Him,, or preached Him, or suffered for His sake.
Who thenis that blessed man,whoshall be found the friend of Christ? That King, so great and glorious, attended by trains of Angels, the fellow of the Father's throne, will not despise His own servants.
Mat.24, For lest His Elect be confused with His foes, He shall send His Angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds.
He despised not one, even Lot; how then shall He despise many righteous? Come, ye blessed of My Father, will He say to them who shall then ride on chariots of clouds, and be collected by Angels.
28. But some one present will say, " I am a poor man, or again, I shall perhaps be found at that time sick and in bed ;" or, "J am but a woman, and J shall be taken at the mill: shall we then be despised?" Be of good courage,O man; the Judge is
Sept. »5-no respecter of persons; He willnotsudge according to aman's appearance, nor reprove according to his speech. He honours not thelearned before the simple, nor the rich before the needy.
Though thou be in the field, the Angels shall take thee; think not that He will take the landlord, and will leave thee the farmer.
Though thou be a slave, though thou be poor, be not any whit Phil 2, 4.
7. distressed; He who took the form of a servant despises not
Sins after Baptism recorded against the day of judgment. 19% servants.
Though thou be laid sick upon thy bed, yet it is written, Then shall two be in one bed; the one shall be taken, Luke} ', and the other left.
Though thou be of necessity put to grind, whether thou be man or woman; though thou have Hei" children, and sit beside the mill, yet He who by His might v. Exod. bringeth out them that are bound, overlooks thee not. He who Babe
: brought forth Joseph out of ward and bondage to a kingdom, Ps.68,6. redeems thee also from thy afflictions into the kingdom of Rept. heaven.
Only be of good cheer, only work, only strive cheerfully; for nothing is lost.
Every prayer of thine, every v. Acts Psalm thou singest is recorded; every alms-deed, every fast ACSA is recorded; every marriage duly observed is recorded; conbynedtinence kept for Giod's sake is recorded; but the first crowns tu*.i-© in record are those of virginity and purity; and thou shalt hood. shine as an Angel.
But as thou hast gladly listened to the good things, listen without shrinking to the contrary.
Every covetous deed of thine is recorded; every act of fornication is recorded against thee, every false oath of thine is recorded, every blasphemy, every sorcery, every theft, every murder. All these things are henceforth recorded, if thou do them after having been baptized; for thy former deeds are blotted out.
24. When the Son of man, He says, shali come in His glory, (11.) and all the Angels with Him.
Behold, O man, before what Matas, multitudes thou shalt come to judgment.
The whole race of 31. « men will then be present.
Reckon, therefore, the numbers of*,,.,. the Roman nation; reckon the numbers of all the barbarian pod tribes now living, and of those who have died within the last
=~ hundred years; reckon how many nations have been buried during the last thousand years; reckon all from Adam to this day.
Great indeed is the multitude; but yet it is little, for the Angels are many more.
They are the ninety and nine v. Mat. sheep, but mankind is the single one.
For according to the ae extent of universal space, must we reckon the number of its inhabitants.
The whole earth is but as a point in the midst of this one heaven; and the heaven which encircles it contains as great a multitude of inhabitants as it bas extent.
And the heaven of heavens contains unimaginable numbers.
And it is written, Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, Dan, %, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him; not!
~ that the multitude was only so great, but the Prophet could
The last judgment.
Lect. not express more than these.
And then will be present at VY: the judgment, God, the Father of all, Jesus Christ being seated with Him, and the Holy Ghost being with Them ; and the angelic trumpet shaj] summon all of us, bearing our deeds.
Ought we not then now to be sore troubled at this ?
Think it not a slight doom, O man, putting punishment apart, to be condemned in the presence of so many.
Shall we not then choose rather to die many deaths, than be condemned by friends?
(12.) 25. Let us shudder then, brethren, lest God condemn ua; who needs not enquiry or proofs, to condemn.
Say not, in the night I committed fornication, or wrought sorcery, or did any other thing, and there was no man by.
Out of thine own Rom. 3,conscience shalt thou be judged, thy thoughts the mean 16.16. hile accusing or else excusing, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men.
The terrible countenance of the Judge will force thee to speak the truth; or rather, even though thou speak not, it will convict thee.
For thou shalt rise clothed with thy own sins, or else thy righteousness.
And this has the Judge Himself declared, saying, (for it is John 5, Christ who judges, for the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all gudgment unto the Son, not divesting Himself eee, of His power, but judging through the Son; therefore the Cat. ay Son judgeth by the will of the Father; for the wills of the 23.
Father and of the Son are not different, but one and the same;) what then says the Judge, as to whether thou shalt v. Mat. bear thy works, or no? And before Him shall they gather all
35, 82. wations: (for in the presence of Christ every knee must bow, 10.' of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth:) and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the gouts.
How does the shepherd make the separation? Does he examine outofa book which is a sheep and which a goat? or does he distinguish by their plain marks?
Does not the wool shew the sheep, and the hairy and rough skin the goat?
In like manner, if thou hast now been cleansed from thy sins, thy deeds shall be henceforth as pure wool; and thy robe shall remain unCant, 6, stained, and thou shalt even say, J have put off my caat, how shall I put it on?
By thy vesture shalt thou be known for a sheep.
But if thou be found hairy, like Esau, who was rough
How to prepare for the last judgment.
with hair, and wicked in mind, who for food lost his birthright and sold his privilege, thou shalt be among those on the left hand.
But God forbid that any here present should be an outcast from grace, or for bis evil deeds be found on the left hand among the ranks of the sinners!
26. Terrible in good truth is the judgment, and terrible is /(13.) the news of it.
The kingdom of heaven is before us, and everlasting fire is made ready. How then, some one will say, | should we escape the fire? And how should we enter into the kingdom? J was an hungred, He says, and ye gave me Matt.
& meat. learn now the way; there is here no need of allegory, 7"
*" but to fulfil what is said.
J was an hungred, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
These things if thou do, thou shalt reign together with Him; but if thou do them not, thou shalt be condemned.
At once then begin to work these things, and abide in the faith ; lest, like the foolish virgins, tarrying to buy oil, thou be shut out. Be not confident because thou merely possessest the lamp, but constantly keep it burning.
Let the light of thy good works shine before men, and let not Christ be blasphemed on thy account.
Wear thou the garment of incorruption', resplendent with good works; and that which thou hast received from God to dispense as a steward, dispense thou profitably.
Hast thou been put in trust with riches? Dispense them well.
Hast thou been entrusted with the word of teaching?
Be a good steward thereof.
Canst thou bring over to the Church the souls of the hearers?
Do this diligently.
There are many doors of good stewardship.
Only let none of us be condemned and cast out; so we may with boldness meet Christ the Everlasting King, who reigns for ever.
For He reigns for ever, who having died for quick and dead, shall be judge of quick and dead.
And as also Paul says, For to this end Christ both died and rose and fe= revived, that He might be Lord both of the dead and living.
© 27. And shouldest thou ever hear any say that the kingdom (14.) of Christ shall bave an end, abhor thou the heresy; it is another head of the dragon, lately sprung up in Galatia. i Vid. Greg. Naz. Orat, 42, n. 26. Const. Apost. viii. 6.
Christ's kingdom is without end.
Lecr, A certain one* has dared to affirm, that after the end of the _XV. world Christ shall reign no longer; and he has dared to say, that the Word which came forth from the Father shall be ole wart. again absorbed into the Father, and shall be no more; utterene ing such blasphemies to his own perdition.
For he has not John 8, listened to the Lord, saying, The Son abideth for ever.
He 85. has not listened to Gabriel, saying, 4nd He shall reign over Meld the house of Jacob for ever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.
Consider this text.
Heretics of this day teach in disparagement of Christ, while Gabriel the Archangel taught the eternal abiding of the Savionr; whom then wilt thou rather believe? wilt thou not rather give credence to Gabriel? ch eng Listen to the testimony of Daniel in the text; [ saw in the oe night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Mun came with 1S. nt " the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days.... and there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve Him; and His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shal not be destroyed.
Hold fast this in preference, these things believe, and cast away the words of heresy ; for thou hast heard most explicitly concerning the endless kingdom of Christ.
28. Thou hast the like doctrine in the interpretation of the Dan. 2, Stone, which was cut out of the mountain without hands,
45. which is Christ according to the flesh; And [His] kingdom shall not be left to other people.
And David says in one Pe.45,6. place, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; and in Ps. 103, another place, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the 25. &o. ' foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Thy hands; and then, they shall perish, but Thou remainest; and Heb.1, what follows; byt Thou art the same, and Thy years shall
10-12. got fail. Which words Paul has interpreted of the Son.
29. And wouldest thou know, how they who teach the contrary arrived at such madness?
They read wrongly that 1 Cor, good word of the Apostle, For He musi reign, till He hath
15,25. nut all enemies under His feet; and they say, when His enemies shall have been put under His feet, He shall cease to reign, wrongly and foolishly alleging this.
For He who is king before He has subdued His enemies, how shall He * This wae Marcellus, Bishop of Ancyra, Socr. Hist. ii. 19. p99.
In what sense Christ is subject to the Father.
not the rather be king, after He has yotten the mastery over them?
30. They have also dared to say that the Scripture, When (15.) all things shali be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also ) Cor.
Himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him, '" that this Scripture shews that the Son shall be absorbed into the Father.
Shall ye then, O most impious of all men, ye the creatures of Christ, continue? and shall Christ, by whom both you and all things were made, perish? Such a word is blasphemous. But further, how shall all things be made subject unto Him?
Shall they perish, or continue?
Shall then the other things, when subject to the Son, abide, and shall the Son, when subject to the Father, not abide?
For He shall be subject, not because He shall then begin to be accordmeee) ant to the Father, (for He doth always those things that**\", 8, please Him,) but because, then as before, He obeys the 99.
Father, yielding, not a forced obedience, but a self-choven ,,¢.. accordance; for He is not a servant, that He should be'+#subject by force, but a Son, that He should comply of His So free choice and natural love. nee 31. But let us examine them; what is the meaning of evagyig.
"until" or " as far as?" For with this very word will I close with them, and try to expose their error.
Since they have dared to say that the words, #/1 He hath put His enemies under His feet, shew that He Himself shall have an end, and have presumed to set bounds to the eternal kingdom of Christ, and to bring to an end, as far as words go, His never-ending sovereignty, come now, let us read the like expressions in the Apostle: Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam till Rom.
5, Moses.
Did men then die up to this time, and did none if die any more after Moses, or after the Law was there no more death among men? Well then, thou seest that the word
" unto," is not to limit time; but that Paul rather signified this,—" And yet, though Moses was a righteous and wondrous man, the doom of death which was sent forth against Adam, reached even unto him, and them that came after him; and this, though they had not sioned like Adam, in the disobedience concerning the eating of the Tree."
$2, Take again another similar phrase. For until this day 3 vers 3, . when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
Does **'
Exhortation and blessing. pace " until this day" mean only " until Paul?"
Is it not " until - this day" present, and even to the end?
And if Paul say to 2 Cor. the Corinthians, For we are come as far as unto you also
10,14. in preaching the Gospel of Christ, having hope to preach the Gospel in the regions beyond you, thou seest manifestly that "as far as" implies not the end, but has something following it.
In what sense then shouldest thou remember aes Cor. to take that Scripture, tl/ He hath put all enemies under oe Fis Jeet? According as Paul says in another place, But 18.
' exhort each other daily, while it is called to-day ; meaning, we be " continually."
For as we may not speak of the " beginning '" of the days" of Christ, so neither endure thou any one who at any time speaks of the end of His kingdom.
For it is written, a 1, His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. j $3. And though I have many more texts out of the divine
Scriptures, that the kingdom of Christ has no end ever, I will be content with those above alleged, because of the (16.) advance of the day. But thou, O hearer, worship Him only as thy King, fleeing all heretical error.
And if the grace of God permit us, the remaining Articles also of the Faith shall be in good time declared to you.
And may the God of all keep you all, as ye bear in mind the signs of the end, and remain unsubdued by Antichrist. Thou hast received the tokens of that Deceiver who is to come; thou hast received the proofs of the true Christ, who shall openly come down from heaven.
Fly therefore the one, the False one; and look for the other, the True.
Thou hast legrnt the way, how in the judgment thou mayest be found among the company on the 1 ae right hand; guard that which is committed to thee concerning
, Christ, and be conspicuous in good works, that thou mayest stand with a good confidence before the Judge, and inherit the kingdom of heaven:—Through whom, and with whom, be glory to God with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever.
Amen.