Gospel Herald, 1860-10-13

              Devoted to Christianity, Morality, the Intereste of Sabhath Schools, Sooial Improvement, Temperance, Education, and Oeneral Ne-Ovs.
"BEHOLD,   I   BRING   YOn   GOOD   TIDINGS   OF   GREAT   JOY
ON   EARTH   PEACE, 'boOD   WILL   TOWARD   MEN."
VOL. 17.
DA.YTON, 0., SATURDAY, OCT. 13,1860
NO. 23.
SELECT POETRY.
[selected.] Willie^JDead.
Enter the darkened chamber with  a slow and
noiseless tread, For the idol of our household, onr darling Wil¬ lie's dead; j, Ilia little hands are folded above his peaceful
breast. He's free from pain and  sorrow, his spirit ia at
rest Tho tiny  curls of paly gold cling 'round the
maible brow,   ^ And o'er the eyes so mildly blue, tho  waxou
lids droop low; nis little lisping voice is hushed,  its joyous
tones no more Will greet our ears beside the hearth, or'round
the cottage door, Tho dainty shoes iu which we  used   to oaso his
chubby feet Are lying idly on tho floor beside his cushioned
seat; His pretty toys are scattered about the nursery
floor. His littlo crib is vacant—he will never fill it
more.
He will kneel no mora beside it like some bright
angel fair. And with dimpled hands uplifted breath forth
hia infant prayer; He ueemed like some bright sunboam, strayed
down from heaven above. To fill our lonely home with  light,  our hearts
irith holy love.
Butnow he has returned again to his Father's
home on high. To wear a richer diadem than monarch e'er can
buy; And though our darling's left us,  and our an¬ guish none can tell, We'Hbow subservient to His will "who doeth
all things well." We'll lay him in the church-yard 'neath the
tall and waving grass. Whore daisies lift their modest  heads to greet
us aa wo pass; Ami when our day of life ia spent, and we are
called to go, Wii'll strive to meet our darling in a land that's
free from woo.
ORIGINALITIES.
Written for the Goapel Herald.
The XXIV of Matthew.
W.   B. II.
Thoro ia, perhaps, no other chapter from Genesis to the Apocalypse which has a more momentous signification, and whose true interpretation is more intimately connected with tho destiny of man, than the xxiv of Matthew. It ia a chapter, about which opposite aud antagonistic opinions havo been stren¬ uously advocated and maintained. It is a chapter, which by a modern pop¬ ular interpretation is made to bend to a favorite system, a system which con¬ sist chiefly of one idea, viz: that of devising ways and means to escape a future judgment and accountability; ¦which opinion is promulgated by tju^ nicrous -fly-trap arguments, that are axiously received by thoso wishing to avoid future amenability; a system whose avdoca'tes evidently mistakotho punishment of a wicked and rebellious nation, (consisting of, at most, but a
few millions of souls, a more fragment ofthe human family,) the end of a dispensation,iLnd the destruction of a city, for the end of the w.orld, und final con¬ summation of all things.
The conversation, questions and an¬ swers between tbe Savior and tho class of apostles whom ho was train¬ ing, for the future dissemination of the Gospel; evidently occurred near the close of his ministry; most likely during tho last year of his sojourn on earth. He sat on the mount of Ol¬ ives, and the disciples said, "Toll us when shall those things bo? and what ghall bo tho sign of thy coming and ofthe end of the world," There is evidently embodied in this language, at least two distinct questions: both of which, are answered with as much distinctness and perspicuity, as is us¬ ual in prophetic language.
The Savior begins by warning them to beware of false Christs Ver. 4: 5. Josophus informs us there wero many. Among them, was an Egyptian false prophet, who led thirty thousand men into the desert, who were cut off by Felix, the Eoman Procurator.
Also Dositheus, Simon Magus, Theu- das, &o.
In the Gth verso great commotion and perplexity is spoken of. Tho his¬ torian is awaro of the fact, that imme¬ diately preceding the destruction of Jerusalem tho greatest agitation pre¬ vailed in the Eoman Empire; and that four Emperors, viz: Nero, Galba, Otho aud Vitollius, came to violent deaths within eighteen months, Cali gnla had previously commanded the Jews to put his Statue in tho Temple, which they refused to do, and he threat¬ ened, but his death prevented hia do¬ ing anything.
In the 7tl;. ",;»¦:¦< and rumors of wars aro mention..!. The Jews and Sy rians contended at Cosarea, for the right of the city, and twenty thousand Jows -were slain, and the city cleared of its inhabitants; and the Jews, di viding themselvos into parties, plun dered and burned the neighboring cit¬ ies with immense slaughter, the Sy rians destroying equally, Josephus says, each city was divided into two .armies, Theso things occurred at Scythopolis, Acalon, Ptolomais and the Syrian cities in general, as well as at Alexandria. The samo veiss speaks of famines, pestilences ilfcc. Tho famine predicted by Agabus ( Act XI—28,) and mentioned by Snetonius, Tacitus and Busebius, came to pass in the days of Claudius Cesar, and was so severe at Jerusalem that many perished for want of bread. Josephus coincides, in giving a true exposition of this chap¬ ter; much depends on the ma,nner in which the prououn " You or Ye is used. If we use it specifically, thero aro in¬ surmountable difficulties in the way. In tho the 9th vorse it is said:' "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflic¬ ted, and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.." If we use this word in its specific signiacation,,rit is. scarcely possible to conceive of the fulfillment of this verse: "ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake," since it ia not probable, that all nations did or could hoar of Christ or his apostles in so short a time, inasmuch _as^ the apostles nearly all perished within a'
half century after the crucifixion; therefore, they coidd not hate Christ or his followers.
Again, in tho 15th vorse, "When ye shall see tho abomination of desola¬ tion, spoken of by Daniel the prophet," &c. This abomination was the de¬ stroying armies of Pagan Eome, un¬ der Titus, that surrounded Jerusalem for the final punishment of the Jews, and the abolition of the Mosaic econ¬ omy and tho burdensome templo- worship, to give for Eomo tho new Covenant. Now since two-thirds of the apostles wero dead beforo tho destruc¬ tion of Jerusalem, and never saw this Pagan army and abomination that maketh desolate; therefore, it is in-. compatible with the tru6 prinoiplas of interpretation to use "you" or "yo" specifically.
But if we uso "you" in its generic sense, that is; that when the wSavior spoke to his disciples and said "ye shall be hated of all nations," he evidently meant, not only the few to whom ho was then speaking; but all his follow¬ ers in all time to come.
"Tell UB when shall those things be and what shall be the sign of thy coming, ar.d of the end of the world? Viewing, critically the his¬ torical, social and moral condition of the world, at the time those questions were propounded as well as a minute observation of all the circumstances intimately connected with the siege of tho city of Jerusalem; and its final destruction, no man, whoso mind is not prejudiced, biased in favor oHihat system of intorpretation of tho pro¬ phetic language of this chapter, which makes every thing bend to his predi¬ lection in tho establishment of the one idea, ean foi' one moment bo so illoificar as to claim that it was all fulfilled at tho destruction of Jerusa¬ lem. Signs and wonders, are spoken of as happening simultaneously with tho downfall ofthe Jewish nation, and the scattering of the onco chosen peo¬ ple of God. Lotus see what history says on tho subject. Josephus says, "a remarkable star antl blaKing comet stood over tho, city for a year. At the feast of unleavened broad on the eighth of the month Niban, a great light shone around the altar, and illu minated it with supernatural splendor for the space of half an hour. A hei fer, as she was lod to the sacrifice by tho priest, brought forth a lamb, Tho great gate of the temple, which took twonty men to move it, opened of it self, and was with diflSculty shut again. Chariots and troops of sol¬ diers in armor were seen surrounding cities in the clouds. On the day of Pentecost, as the priest was about to enter the inner court of the temple, at night, thero was a great quaking and an audible voice said,, "Let us go hence." Also, a certain man, named Jesus; tho Son of Ananua, four years before the war commenced, began to cry; woe! woo to Jerusalem, woe to the bride and the bridegroom, woo to people, and although whipped by Al- binus the Procurator, until his bones were laid bare; yet he never complain¬ ed, nor spoke hard words of those who scourged him, and thus continu-1 ed day and night, until near the end of the siege,, when he suddenly cried out, woo to my self, and was instantly kill-1
ed, by a stone thrown from   the  en¬ gines of the Eomans,
These were some of the melancholy indications, and sure evidences, that the visible and glorious symbol of di¬ vine presence, which had so long char¬ acterized the Jewish worship, tho She- ciiiNAii, was about to depart forever. The UriviiiTid Thummini, was no longer, by the supernatural brilliancy ofthe je-vvels in tho breast-plate of tho High Triest, to manifest the approbation of the God of heaven; but for their great wickedness the nation was utterly abandoned to its enemies. Such were the circumstances that accompanied tho destruction of Jerusalem, and such, the end ofthe Mosaic Dispensation.— He who claims these events for tho second coining of Christ, has no evi¬ dence whatever, to sustain the position; for, in tho literal demolition of tho temple, and the abolition of the tem¬ ple, are not to bcfound the signs which were to accompany the return of tbe Savior to the earth the second time. It is said (verse 29) "Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the aun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not givo her light, the stars shall fall, and the powers of heaven shall bo sha¬ ken," Now, since tho sun was not darkened, and the moon d'ldnot refuse to give her light, and the stars did not fall, and powers of the heaven were not shaken, therefore tho immediato harbingers of Christ's coming were NOT given, since it is evident there can bo no misttike about it when it does happen; for the Savior said: "As the lightning which shineth from the east to the west, even so shall the coming of the Son of man be." Also, He shall send His angels with tho great sound of a trumpet, and gather .His elect from tho four winds of heaven. And then, shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then shall all tribes ofthe earth wonder, and thoy shall see the Bon of man coming in tho clouds of heaven with power and groat glory. Who is prepared to say, that all tribes mourned at tho dostructioa of Jerusalem; Or that they (aWfn6eso/f/t« earth) saw the Son of man coming in tho clouds of heaven, with power and great gloiy? No consistent, sane man will make such an assertion. He may, for the sake of maintaining his favorite theory, and of beautifying a fine-spun sophistical hypothesis, say he believes it, and against his own convictions of truth, promulgate such an argument, if by so doing he can banish the idea of a judgment to como. Tho Savior said that neither he, nor the angels of heaven knew of ihat hour, but hia Father only. Eemember the question, "When shall those things be?'
The temple is destroyed, the Jews are dispersed, scattered to the four ¦winds, and Jerusalem is still being trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times .of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Luko XXI: 24. Eighteen centuries havo fled away, and yet the Jews are still in thraldom, Luke says : ''When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift np your heads," Of the apostles, but two or three re¬ mained. James had been slain by tho sword, Peter and Paul had perished during Hero's persecution. The rest, like comets, in eccentric orbits, had wandered far from the focal point, or