The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-03-17
Ghe1ntelLfgenter.
The End OF the World.

The Second AdventistS, not discouFaB-
edby their sad fiasco at Chicago ayear ago.
and ii cir equally ysad one the year preN,'
ons on the shores Of Long Island SoOno'
have picked their flints andHre at l! agar"
A number Of them held meeting In ne"
York CITY last Sunday, and discussed the
probabilities Of a universal wind up oil all
tcuporul affairs this year, on or before
tho Presidential election. One OF the
,nookers, a Mr. Jcrrie, wrote out some
Ggure, on blackboard to prove to the
brethren that the end Of the world, or, as
he expressed il, "the time OF the end"
wa, at hand. lie spoke about the fulfill
pent Of the prophecies contained in the
l2,h chapter Of Daniel.
lie argued that the prophecies foretold
tAe end 1885 years from given time,
tina, il, from "thc time when the daily
sacrifices shall be taken away, and the
abominntion that maketh deSolatc be set
np" This abomination, he said, was the
Church Of Rome, and its setting up oc.
Cured in 5l4, when the Emperor JUS
tinian placed it OH the pinnacle Of its
mower, and in order TO do so overthrow
the Goths. Then followed the period OF
1900 years spoken Of in the prophecy,
bringing the time up TO 1881, when the
allied powers OF Europe, to prevent n con-
tinual war, took away from the Pope just
as much power as Justinian had given
him. To this 1900 years the prophecy
added month and hall, meaning, forty
five years, thus fixing the time Of the end
in 1876. In this view, Mr.. Jcrric said,
science and revelation agreed. He did
not attempt to fix the day or the month
OF the end, which iB to come "Iike thief
in the night"
This demonstration was generally re-
ceived by the audience as satisfactory. 1t
accorded with their own feelings, and all
they wanted was some good excuse for
crcditing almost anything that could be
told them. Next Sunday, perhaps, some
more definite speaker will cipher out the
exact day, and then will commence the
usual preparations for taking leave o!
the world, even, as ut the Chicago fiN'co
to the giving away OF property and the
preparation OF ascension robes.
There is no curing this delusion in the
minds OF u large number Of people. The
mystic language Of the Prophet Daniel
and OF St. John the RevelatoF, have pc
culiar charm for a certain class Of per-
sous who are readily impressed by some
glib commentator who can rattle of q
sermon showing that history has already
recorded the fuIfillment OF all the proph-
ecies that were to precele the Second
Coming. 1t is entirely useless to reason
with this class Of people. For them
science has no charms. They believe
the world to be only six thousand years
old-not quite that even-and the fact
that mankind are only coming into some
slight knowledge of the secrets OF nature
counts for nothing in their estimation.
They regard the revelations OF geology,
chemistry and astronomy with, positive
contcmrt-as snares for the destruction
Of souls-and think it very strange that
men Of education should seize hold upon
such vagaries instead Of studying the
Book Of Daniel. The knowledge
Of this world they hold as dust in
the balance compared with what the
Book OF Daniel contains. 1t is their
rddc mecum. They know all the signs by
heart, even il they are not able to write
them out in good English. They are
thankful that college learning is no
necessary to enable man to understand
the Book OF Daniel, and itmukes no odd
how they spell SO that they only get al
the signs of the last days right in thcil
heads. Their theological iargon jars OF
every body's ears but their own, and the!
are full Of II wherever you meet one O
them.
1t is really lamcntablc to think tha
there arC such number Of prcpostcrou
people in the world. One would thinl
that dclusion so often exploded woult
cease to attract followers. But such il
not the case. One crop disappears ant
another comes on. They remind one o
Gibbons expression about the ancien
Jews-that they much preferred to be
lievc in the traditions Of their ancestors
rather than trust to the evidence OF thei,