




                          His Glorious Appearing

                   An Exposition of Matthew Twenty-Four

                                    By

                           James Springer White

                         Revised and Illustrated

       "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the
                            world?"--DISCIPLES.

  "When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the
                              doors."--JESUS.

                            Eleventh Edition.

                     Review and Herald Publishing Co.

                           Battle Creek, Mich.

                                   1895





CONTENTS


Introductory.
Christ's Prophecy.
   Persecution And False Prophets.
   Iniquity Abounds.
   The End.
When Shall These Things Be?
What Shall Be The Sign Of Thy Coming?
   Shortened For The Elect's Sake.
   Lo, Here, And Lo, There.
   The Signs Of Christ's Coming.
   "And The Stars Shall Fall."
   "The Powers Of Heaven Shall Be Shaken."
   "Sign Of The Son Of Man."
   Parable Of The Fig-Tree.
   "The Day And Hour."
   Noah's Time And Ours.
   Peace And Safety.
   The Final Separation.
   Those Who Watch Will Know The Time.
   The Faithful And Wise Servant.
   The Evil Servant.
Conclusion.
Choice Religious Books.






                               [Book Cover]





                              [Illustration]

                          The Light of the World





INTRODUCTORY.


"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his
servants the prophets." Amos 3:7.

No truth of inspiration can be more clearly demonstrated than that God
reveals his designs to his prophets, that men and nations may be prepared
for their accomplishment. Before visiting with judgments, God has
uniformly sent forth warnings sufficient to enable the believing to escape
his wrath, and to condemn those who have not heeded the warning. This was
the case before the flood. The wickedness of the world had become very
great. Every imagination of the thoughts of the hearts of men was only
evil. It would seem that they had forfeited all claims for consideration.
Violence and corruption filled the earth, and the only way to eradicate
evil was to destroy it with its workers. But before doing so, the world
must be warned of the impending doom; and there was found one man who
would engage in the work. Noah had faith in God, and preached for one
hundred and twenty years the message of warning and salvation. His work
also testified with his words.


    "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet,
    moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by
    the which he condemned the world." Heb. 11:7.


At a later period, when the nations had again become sunken in idolatry
and crime, and the destruction of wicked Sodom and Gomorrah was
determined, the Lord said,--


    "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing that
    Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the
    nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?" Gen. 18:17, 18.


And due notice was given to righteous Lot, who, with his daughters, was
preserved; and none, even in that guilty city, perished without due
warning. Lot evidently warned the people; and in thus communing with them,
was "vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked." 2 Peter 2:7, 8.
His righteous life had been a rebuke to them; and we have every reason to
believe that the holy example of Abraham in his worship of the true God
was known to them. He had at one time been their saviour, and rescued
their captives and spoil from the victorious enemy who was carrying them
away. But when Lot warned his friends of the approaching doom, "he seemed
as one that mocked." Gen. 19:14. They, like the antediluvians, persisted
in sin, and drank of the wrath of God.

At a subsequent time the sins of Nineveh rose to heaven, and Jonah was
sent to bear to that proud capital the startling message, "Yet forty days
and Nineveh shall be destroyed." The consciences of those sinners told
them the message was true; and from the least of them to the greatest they
humbled themselves, and the overhanging judgment was averted.

Before Christ commenced his earthly mission, John the Baptist was sent as
the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Prepare ye the way of the
Lord." By this means the expectation of the people was raised, and
doubtless many were through it led to accept of salvation, while the
generation at large was condemned for rejecting the light.

Our Saviour in his time saw the destruction of Jerusalem just in the
future of that generation, and faithfully warned the people, foretelling
signs by which it might be known when the desolation thereof was nigh.
Luke 21:21. Such is the testimony of inspiration respecting the dealings
of God with his people in past ages.

All who accept the Bible as the inspired word of God acknowledge that he
has been very faithful in warning people in past ages of impending
judgments and other events which affected their eternal welfare. Such
having been the divine plan in relation to past events, we would certainly
be justified in anticipating such warnings of Christ's second coming as
would comport with the importance of the event. But when we come to regard
the future, and especially our own immediate future, the incredulity of
very many is at once aroused.

But what are the facts in the case? Can anything be learned from the Bible
relative to the time of the second advent? This is a grave inquiry; and,
from the very nature of the subject, is worthy of close investigation, and
a candid answer. It is a matter of painful regret that many, under the
influence of popular prejudice, have decided that the period of the second
advent is a secret, hidden with the Lord. While these can scarcely be
reached with this subject, as long as they remain under the influence of
those who denounce all investigation of it as prying into the secrets of
the Almighty, there is still, we believe, a larger class who wait for
evidence before deciding.

                              [Illustration]

                      Christ Weeping Over Jerusalem


We accept the Bible as a revelation from heaven. What God has revealed in
that book, let no man call a mystery, or a secret of the Almighty. "The
secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are
revealed belong unto us and to our children forever." Deut. 29:29. If the
sacred Scriptures, in a most clear and harmonious manner, point out the
signs of the approach of that great event, and if there is evidence that
"it is near, even at the doors," the subject at once assumes great
importance.

When the disciples inquired, "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of
the end of the world?" Jesus did not reprove them for inquiring into this
matter, nor tell them that it was purposely hidden from all men; but he
answered their question in the most definite manner.

The simple fact that the Lord mentions signs of his second advent, is the
best proof possible that his people were not to remain ignorant of the
relative nearness of the event. Add to this his injunctions to
watchfulness, and the blessings which he pronounces upon those who are
awake and watching at his coming, and it becomes a certainty that he would
not leave his people ignorant of the proximity of that event. Paul also
says that "unto _them that look for him_ shall he appear the second time
without sin unto salvation." Heb. 9:28. And that a crown of righteousness
will be given "unto all them also that love his appearing." 2 Tim. 4:8.

With these assurances we may look for plain and emphatic tokens of the
Saviour's second coming.





CHRIST'S PROPHECY.


                              [Illustration]

                       Jesus on the Mount of Olives


Probably no other chapter of the Bible speaks more fully, and more
definitely, upon the subject of the second advent, than Matthew 24, in
Christ's own words. We invite the attention of the candid reader to a
brief explanation of the entire chapter.


    VERSE 1: "And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple; and
    his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the
    temple."


Jesus had been addressing the multitude, in the presence of his disciples.
He had reproved the scribes and the Pharisees for their sins, and had
declared, in the previous chapter, the doom of the Jews, their city, and
their temple. The disciples supposed that the temple would stand forever,
and they called the attention of Christ to its magnificence and strength,
and to the great stones that entered into the structure. On this point the
historian of those times, Josephus, says: "Now the temple was built of
stones that were white and strong, and each of their lengths was twenty-
five cubits, their height was eight, and their breadth about
twelve."--_"__Antiquities,__"__ book xv, chap. xi._ If we compute a cubit
at twenty inches, we shall be able to gain some idea of the size and
"manner" of these stones.


    VERSE 2: "And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things?
    Verily I say unto you, There