The Day of The Lord by Joseph A. Seiss, 1861
The Day of The Lord by Joseph A. Seiss, 1861
The Day of The Lord by Joseph A. Seiss, 1861
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THE
SIlE1:3f1iN C S O K ,
'
PRINTERS, PllIlrADd.
'
TIIE
JOSEPIX A.
a m s , 11.n.
IUTI'OIL
"LAST TIIICS,"
"C0SI'I.L
0,'
I S LCTITICUY," "LLCTURCb
09 IIEBRCTS,"
CTC.
PIIIiilDCI~i'IIIA:
AOID DY
1.1T I I L I I ~ X PUBIICATIOV
IIOLSC,
43 N O R ~ IXINTII
I
ST.
1861.
"IN a time like ours, when not only tho gospel of the
cross, but even the most elementary views of God, of riglrt
and light, are foolishness to the Greeks, and often even to
the noblest among them, it is of paramount importance to
be faithful i n the simple and fundamental truths ~vhich,
2 1 o w ~ v ~insignificant
r
they may appear, are the foundation
of a11 the rest, and to give all honor to truth with manly
moral and logical energy, not heeding t h e conten~ptuous
shrugging of slloulders of either friend or foe."-DR.
AUDERLCN.
9" ~"ftLe ~ o Y ~ I ,
A LECTUllE O N 11. PETER
1x1.
3-14.
l L l i n o ~ i n this
g
first, t h a t there shnll come in the last days
scoff'ers, ~valltingafter their own lusts, ancl saying, Where i s the
promise of liis coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things
continue a s they were [ram the beginning of the creation," etc.2 PETERiii. 3-14.
A VERY iinportant portion of Scripture is tliat appointed Sor this day's Epistle, which I have reatl, and
upon which I propose to malie a few observations.
The object of tllesc writings of St. Peter, as stated
by himself, was to furnish a syilopsis of tlic teachings
of both p ~ o y ~ l l e l;L~LI
s
apostlcs will1 respecl Lo thc
great salvation, and to keep his readers specially atlinoiilsliecl as to what tlicy were to expect. And as
doctrine is contnincd in
the substance of evaligelical
liis Epistles in general, so the snbstance of evangelical
prediction is contained in this clinpter in partic~~lar.
I cannot enter into 1111 the details, but will select a
few topics wliicli may profitably engage our meditations.
3
VERY
l'i'
'7
11. A secoiid point I note in the texr, is the prediction that, bq'"o~eC i l ~ i sshnll
~
come ngai~z,a n d
immediately p~ececlingtilut p e a t event, ll~isclocii-ilze
of his r e i u ~ nslzull becolne a subject of cavil, doz~bt,
unbelief, a n d ~evile7r~ent.The apostle urgcs his
rcadcrs to "be mindful of the worcls wliicli wclc
spolten before by the holy propliels, aiid of tlie conlmsndrnent of the apostles of the Lord ancl Savior,
knowing this first, that I h e ~ eslzall come i n the lasL
days scqfers, zuallci71g after their o u n lusts, ancl snying, 'rV1~ereis the p ~ o m i s eof his coming 2 for since
ilic fathers fell asleep all things conlinue as they
were." 1 learn from these words tllal, in the times
to ~vhichihc apostle :111~tdes,the sul!ject oS Christ's
coming ancl ils accomp:~niniciits is to Le agitated
and d~sc~~ssecl;
that there will be nlany who ~villl,c
very unfavorably affected toward it, some of \vliom
will der~yit altogether, sonic rcvlle it as a fool1~11
dream, some agree tliat it is t ~ u g l i tin tlle Scriptures
but to bc undcrstootl alter cz manner very cliffcrcnt
from what the lltcral terms import; ant1 ihni thcre
~villbe a great lzuclcin the miiids of pcoplc generally
of susceptibility to be seriously moved by this subject,
oxeept to rcvilc it and to turn it into rldic~ile. A
scoffer is, properly, an iizsoleilt ricliculcr, s scorner, n
contumelious rcproacher. Hence, IIenry (in loc.)
describes these scorers to be persons who "laugh
s t the very rnention of Christ's seconcl corning, and
do what in them lies to p ~ l all
t oul of co~mtenancc
who seriously believe a ~ i dwait for it ;-who cniinot
deny tllal there is a promise, yet laugh at 11."
10
Professor in Basil.
1I
12
p. 203.
13
14
THE D A Y OF T ~ I ELORD.
"
15
16
17
Jrenceus, whose Cliristiall preceptor was the distinguished I'olycarp, one of those "angels" of the
Churches to wliom the Savior in the Apocalypse
directed one of the seven Epistles, also says, " I n
whatever number of clays the world was created, 111
the same number of illonsands of years it will come
to its consummation. God, on the sixth clay, fillislied
the worlrs which he made; and Got1 rested on the
scveiitl1 day f r o n ~all his works. This is a history of
the past, and a prophecy of the Suture; for the day
of tlie Lorcl is as a tllousaad years."
Victorinzss, Bishop of Pettaw, who was one of
tlse niartyrs in the persecution A.n. 303-313, says,
" The trac and proper Si~bbath
shall bc lrept in the
~ c Lord Lath assigilcd
seventh mlllenni~m: t l l e r ~ f o the
to those FevPlz clays individually a t h o ~ s ~ ycars."
~ld
Lactantius, wlio lived about Ihc snmc period,
says, " Lct the philosophers, therefore, who rcckon
up tlionsallds of ages frorn the beginning ol the
~vorlil,understand that tlie s ~ n ntotal lias not yet
reached tlle six thonsaildtli year; and, whca that
nnnzher is complete, an end must be nlacle of the present st:xtc of things, and thc condition of humanity
be monlcled anew for the bettcr. . . . As, then, all the
~~rorli-s
of Gocl were finisllecl ill six days, the ~vol.ld
mnst co~ltiuuein its present state through six ages,
that is, six thousancl ycars. . . . And again, as, when
his works were finished, he rcstcd oil the seventh
day, and blessed it, it follo~vsthat upon the end of
the six thoasandtll year all evil and wicliedncss
must be wipcd away from the earth, and justice
2
18
-A
19
TIIC PROPIIET.
* Walch's
20
21
any sooncr than a t the end of six thousand yearday?, which arc only now for llie first time ~ ~ c r g i n g
to thcir close.
We may, accorcliagly, lalie this text as ail iutimation that a grcat Sabbath ol' rest nncl glory is in
reserve for this world, ancl that, if no special providcncc slinll come ill to shortci~the tinlc, we may expect it to commence a l the conclusion of the six
thousallcltli year from the creatio11,-which cannot
any longer be far off. May God hasten tlle time !
22
face of the clecp ;" and that Word was, " Let there be
Zigj~t,and there was light." When tliat same Word
hccame jucarnate, and was born into the world as a
man, it was in the night,-while shepherds were
keeping watch over their flocli: by night." And so
his coming in the great day shall also be "in the
night." Whether it sliall be "in the second watch,
or in the thircl watch," whether "at even, or at midnight, or a t the cock-crowing, or in the nioraii~g,"
we kiiow 11ol. This oilly we lcaow,--that it sllall be
in the night," " while mallkiiid is n ~ a p tin sleep,
and svorlclly faiicy fecds on golden dreams." But i11
the figurative, as well ;IS ill the literal, night,-in the
clnrliest hour of the Church and of the ivolld ; wheii
therc will be but little gciiuinc aposbolic f c ~ ~ tand
li
life i11 tlle enrtli, and tlie virgins, both wise and Sooljsl-I, are slumbel.ing and sleeping; wlien the powers
of clarklress have put forth their last and most successfill attempts, and unsanctificd humanity is most
deludecl with dreams of security and progress,--then
tlie clay of the Lord sliall come, and the long-absent
Jcsus be again revealed.
That hour mill also be an uncxpected hour. Tlic
thicf comes uncxpectcdly. H e does not tell the goodman of tlre housc ~vhciilie will come. IIe tries lo
niakc liis approacll with as little intimation of i t a t
tlie time a5 possible. Ai~clso "of tlrat day and hour
kno~vcth no man, no, not tlie allgels of heavcii."
(Matt, xxiv. 36.) " As jn tlle days that were before
the floo(1 thcy v e r e eating and clrinkiilg, niarrying
and giving in marriagc, until the day that Noe
((
'(
23
24
TIIE DAY
OF T E E LORD.
25
26
27
28
noise," also indicates." Tlie additional word rcild e ~ d"dissolved" is of the same general impol t.
I t means to loosen, ~uzbind; as where the B:\vior
says of tlie colt, "Loose him;" and of tlie apostles,
\Yhatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be
loosed in 11c;lvcn." It is used in Acts xsvii. 41
witli reference to the brcaliing away of the hinclcr
]>art of the ship iii which Paul was -cvrecliecl. I t
relcrs liere to the rupture of those illli~~ei~ces
mliicli now hold the v d r i o ~ ~parts
s
of tlic physical
wollcl in cluiet,-lo a, fi-ceing of tlie elements to rusli
ancl clash ahont in destructive commotlol; niicl miresbrainilil fnry, just as the Psalniist clcscribes the
scene :-" Our Goti slinll come ; a fire shall clevonr
belo:-e him, ancl iL shall be v e ~ ytenzpestuous .j.o7~?zrl
about hzn~." (Ps. 1. 3.) Tliis is the ~vholcesteilt of
tlie tcrms conccri~ingthe fate or ihc henvens."
And even in wllnt is said of " tlic earth" tlic ivord
docs not 11cce;;snrily mean the entire globe on wllicll
we clwell. \\re oftell speak of tl~eC ~ T ~~ v/ L
itllo~~t
nieaning the wliole planet. When any violcrlt np
heaval or agitation of the surface of the cart11 occnus
i l l a particular d i ~ t r i c tor country, we say, Li~eeclrtl~
shooli, and call it an ea~thclnalie,-wllcli really it ~ v z s
only the crust of the eartli, and that in oilc limited
locality. It1 the night-time wc say, tlze earth is
wrapped in darliiiess, when it is less tliali one-half
of the earth that is so cnsl~routlcd. The snine worcl
is also frequently trnlislaled ln?zfZ,C O Z L ~ ~ I ~ :xs,
~ / ; tlie
((
((
((
p
p
~
roads, " i n
Y ~ o L ~ ~ ~ Rwith
o v , a noisy r r ~ s l ~ i a g .C r a l ~ m e l . ' Bible
~ I ' Pmnwner of a lenpcst;" Dc Wette, '(vtzt Gel bi~sc7~."
29
30
31
* The Geneva version reads "destruction," instcnd of perdition;" De Wette, " Untergangesn-ove~thmu.
32
33
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35
36
37
38
39
14
~ 1 1 x 4 :
I t I N 1N
PEACE,
WrTHOUT
SPOT, AN11
BT~A~SIELESS.''