The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-04-26
THE ADVENT.

tentlon, created more excitement, or af
forded larger opportunities for airy specu-
latlon than that which relates to the second
and glorious appearing of the risen Messiah.
Periodically some religious crank arises
who by multiplying together ga time, times
and the dividing Of time,n with curious
mathematical manipulation of weeks and
days, by which they are made to represent
years and fractions of years. fixes at last
the exact time of the coming of the Son of
Man to reign in righteousness on the earth.
Such man has lately arisen from a most
unexpected quarter He is detailed at
present as professor of military science and
tactics at the Sheffield scientific school of
Yale university. Under the shade of the
elms OF Yale is the last place one would
look for millennium prophet and ores
establishment is increased the more when it
is discovered that he is lieutenant of artil-
lery; yet such is the case. Lieutenant
CHARLES A. l.. ToTTEN, while teaching the
science and art of war, is looking stead
lastly for the coming of the kingdom of
peace. He fixes the date for the Messiah's
glorious coming to reward every man &C
cording to his works." to take place in
March, 1S99 Lieutenant ToTTEN does not
confound the coming of the Messiah with
the end of the world. The latter event he
puts off in his calculations for a million
years; the coming of CHRIST in 1899
will be, in his view, the introduction
of that reign of peace and
rest so confidently looked forward
to by the Saints il all generations since
the glorified and risen Redeemer departed
in cloud from his disciples from the sum
mit of Mount OIvet, and the white-robed
messengers of heaven said: "Ye men of
Gallilee, why stand We gazing up into
heaven? This same JESUS which is taken
up from you into heaven shall SO come IN
like manner as We have seen him go into
heaven"
To that promise, so clearly given in the
text quoted, the Christian has chung with
loving devotion and trust from the time it
was uttered until to-day; but more espec-
tally in seasons OF disaster and persecution
and trial of the Christian church. Nor
does the glorious advent prediction rest
alone on the text just given. A hundred
might be cited in its support, among which
the following are prominent
The son OF MAI S1lll come III Ifl6 glory OF
his father, with his angels; and then shall he
reward every man according to his works.
Jesus.
And then shall appear the sign of the Son OF
Man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of
the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of
Man coming in the clouds of heaven with
power and great glory. And he shall send his
angels with great sound of a tunnel. and
they shall gather together his elect from the
four Winds from one end of heaven to the
other.-.JeSuS.
For this we say unto you by the word of the
Lord the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with shout, with the voice of the
archangei and with the trump of GOD; and the
dead in CHRIST shall rise first Then we which
are alive and remain shall be caught up to-
gether with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air; and SO shall we ever be with
tie Lord.-P0W.
Behold we cometh with clouds; and every
eve shall SEE him, and they also which pierced
him; and all kinds Of the earth shall wall be-
cause of him.-.john
SO all through the scriptures of the New
Testament are to be found passages de-
claring in the most positive terms this
awe-inspiring fact. Nothing is made more
emphatic than this in holy writ. To the
Christian these statements are the word of
Con. He does not, he cannot doubt them.
It is verify in the Christian religion. If
it fail. then the Christian faith and hope is
vain, and JESUS CHRIST is only one of the
many vile impostors who have arisen to
taunt mankind with expectations that may
not be realized, the world would be still in
its sins, and man but Knocked with life and
hope by cruel creative force.
But what has given rise to much of the
ri6icule and mockery in resyect to this item
of Christian faith and hope is not
the fact that men believe it, and
confidently expect that it will be fulfilled
but because every now and then scme
oyer-zealous fanatic without sufficient data
to 90 upon proceeds to make wild specula
tions as to the exact time of the advent
which up to date. with all due respect tc
lieutenant ToTTEN's learned calculations
have failed; and that failure has not only
brought the good-natured badinaee of the
world upon the would-be prophet but upor
the promised glorious return Of the Mes
siah itself, until to mention it. even amons
Christians, is to excite ridicule.
The fact in the case is that the scripture
itself in the most positive terms informs vi
the time of the Lords coming is not kn own
When the disciples of JESUS, on the occasion
of his ascension, asked him if he would al
that time re:tore the kingdom unto Israel
he replied: sit is not for you to know tn.
times or the seasons, which the Father hatl
put in his own power"
And again, in speaking of his coming ant
he events and signs to precede it, the Mas
ter said: "But of that day and hou
knoweth no man, no, not the angels which
are in heaven, neither the Son, but tn
Father. Take We heed, watch and pray; TO
ne know not when the time is."
Gould language be palmer! Yet in tn
face of it how many well meaning men hav
arisen. and we fear among them Lieutenan
ToTErN. TO foretell that which GoD has de
creed is not known! In other words, the
bcve become the candidates for ridicule
and exhibit wonderful ambition for dis
grace.
Let the Christian hold fast to the prom
lse that the Lord will return, for it is
glorious hope, this expecting a time TO com
when crime and sin and want and miser,
lhaIl cease out Of the land; a time when mi.
government and oppression shall be sue