THE KINGDOM AT HAND. The Great Comet and what it may Herald.

Waikato Times, Volume XV, Issue 1269, 17 August 1880, Page 3

THE KINGDOM AT HAND. The Great Comet and what it may Herald.

' The following article from the N. V, Mercury will amuse if it does not instruct :—: — There has naturally been great excitement in the ranks of those Christians who are known as Second Adventists since Professor Benjamin Pierce expressed his conviction that the great comet seen by I)r. Gould in South America, recently, and for which an anxious outlook has been kept ever since in this hemisphere, is the comet of 1843, once more visiting the sun. The comet of 1843 was one of the most wonderful ever Reen. It has had an astonishing history. In 1106 it blazed with a brightness that was compared to the sun itself. In 1571 it continued in Cassiopeia's chair for sixteen months and eclipsed the moon. At the beginning of the Christian era it is said to have directed the shepherds and the Magi to the manger at Bethlehem. If Professor Pierce is correct the year, 1880, therefore stands a chance of being for ever memorable in astronomical and religious annals. In 1843 it gave aid and comfort to the Millerites, many of whom in this neighbourhood disposed of their earthly possessions and assembled on Long Island ready to be caught up in the air. If it should return this year with its customary effulgence it will coufirm the faith of these Second Adventists who read in the chambers, stairways, and galleries of the great pyramid, momentous prophecies for the early part of 1881. In the opinion of many thoughtful men the timos are ripe for the promised appearance of the Son of Man. As an expounder of Second Adventist doctrines remarked the other day to the writer : "if I understood His words when Jerusalem cease* to be trodden down by the Gentiles the time of His coming is fulfilled. Now it seems to me that the treading down virtually ceased when the treaty was made between Lord Beaconsfield and the Sultan, over eighteen months ago, by which England guaranteed the integrity of tha Asiatic possessions of the sublime Porte, in consideration of which that Mohammedan potentate agreed to grant equal rights to all religious sects throughout the empire, particularly agreeing to bestow extraordinary priviliges to all Hebrevs in Jerusalem and the surrounding country. Now, if we consider England 'the house of Israel' — a belie* tnatmany endorse — and consequently a nation that can never bo conquered, we cannot avoid the conclusion that the provisions of the treaty will never be violated, and that, therefore, ' the times are ripe.' " Moreover, the Jews virtually own the land of Palestine, inasmuch as the Turkish government is bankrupt and unable to cancel the mortgage given to the Rothschilds. Besides all this, X am credibly informed that they have a building association in Jerusalem renovating • the old wastes, raising up the former desolations, and repairing the waste cities, the desolations of many generations,' as foretold by Isaiah, the Prophet in . chapter sixty-first. It is also undoubtedly true that Jews are returning in large numbers to the Holy City, thus demonstrating te a certaiuty that the day of vengeance, is past, and giving the whole world assurance that the kingdom of God is now nigh at hand, for our redemption draweth nigh. " An Episcopalian, who is not a dyed-in-the-wool Second Adventist, said : "Everywhere, and in all circles and teachings, we hear about the coming man. The idea is treated somewhat jestingly, but it is not a mere fancy, myth, or play upon words. It expresses something which is inlaid in the theories and principles which in one shape or another, are governing the thinking and the expectations of th^ great mass of the most potent existing minds. The feeling and constant implication in the noisiest, as well as in tha most subtle of modern demonstrations, is thai nothing is settled. The great problems of human life including society, government, philanthropy and religion — remain to be solved. What has hitherto been regarded as final authority is not final, nor, indeed, auy authority at all. There remains to be wrought out a thorough reconstruction in all mundane affairs on other foundations than those that have served mankind iv past ages. A new order of the social fabric must be evolved, with new regulating forces In a word, another style of man must be exhibited in all the relations of life. As things now go, what the majority now ordains and determines will be But when the coming man comes lam of the opinion that he can be no other than the very man of sin, the lawless one, the AntiChrist, foreseen and foretold by the holy prophets. The immediate result will be the aorest plague the earth has ever seen or felt. The advent of Anti-Christ, which 1 am persuaded, is in the near future, will bring all the disasters of the last great catastrophe. "Seven years is the Anti-Christ to reign, or, as I understand it, from about 1881 to 18d8. In other words, it will be the last of those seventy-sevens divided out upon Daniel's people and the Holy City. The term begins in the conclusion of a solemn compact between him and many of the Jews — a league of friendship and mutual support in fulfilment of the Saviour's words (John, 5, 43) : 'I am come in mj Father's name and ye receive me not ; if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.' The implication te that under and in pursuance of this league the Jews will return to Jerusalem, as they are returning now, rebuild their temple and restore the old order, which has now been so long interrupted. Those first three years and a half oi the Anti-Christ will accordingly be very prosperous years for the Hebrews in a temporal point of view. The population, wealth and enterprise will be enthusiastically directed toward the old homesteads of their fathers and their Holy City. With a rapidity unprecedented, wonderful improvements may be expected to spring up in Palestine and Jerusalem. The Mediteranean will probably be connected with the Dead Sea, and the City of David will not only become a seaport, but may be transmuted into the greatest centre of interest, wealth, and influence on our globe. I expect," said this hiarhly imaginative Christian in conclusion, "that fiie approaching comet is one of the signs promised in the heavens to announce the advent of those great changes. While glancing over the current religious literature of the day, in search of opinions bearing on this topic, the writer came across the following paragraph in a Western paper : "It is impossible to reai the periodical literature of the present day and not be satisfied, from the general agreement of opinion, that we are on the eve of a most momentous chapter of the history of the world. In the twenty-fourth chapter of the gospel of Matthew there is an indication of coming troubles that should be carefully studied; for though it does not absolutely state that the sign will appear at the first commencement of the troubles, it will most assuredly appear to show whose hand is directing them. The words of the evangelist as having been uttered by Jesus Christ are : ' And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven.' The only sign of which history speaks is the sign that heralded His birth. And if the reappearance of that comet is to be the sign of the coming troubles, can we view its approach from the south without the deepest interests and anxiety ?" It will be seen, from the foregoing that

while differences of opiniou obtain among religious people as to the kind of change to be inaugurated, they all agree that a series of mometous events will befall the earth and its inhabitants in the near future, and that the approaching comet will be the harbinger of tihese events.