Page:The Last Judgement and Second Coming of the Lord Illustrated.djvu/246

 tion of what is evil. The raising of many false prophets and their deception, signifies the invention of numerous false doctrines and their seductions. The abounding of iniquity, is the multiplication of falsehoods in lieu of faith; and the love of many waxing cold, is the cessation of charity. Each keeps pace with the other, and they live or expire together: where there is no true faith, there can be no genuine charity; and when there is not this charity, there cannot be that faith. Hence it is so strongly written, "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." He, however, "that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved;" that is, those who resist such temptation will be blessed with all that light and virtue which may be necessary for their salvation. The declaration, that when "this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, then shall the end come," denotes that when these truths shall be made known to the Church and be brought home as a testification of the evils which prevail therein, then shall the Son of man be revealed. Of this revelation we shall treat in another place.

From this summary of the signification of that first group of events which the Lord described as the occasion for His second coming, we may easily perceive that they refer to conditions which would arise in the Church, and which would aid in the overthrow of its genuine teachings. We might have dwelt upon those expositions, and extended them to a considerable length by ilustration and argument, but we think there is sufficient evidence in the summary which has been adduced, to carry some conviction to the minds of the thoughtful. We shall, therefore, pass on to that other group of circumstances to which the Lord also referred as the occasion for His second coming, and treat them with an exposition equally brief.