Page:The Last Judgement and Second Coming of the Lord Illustrated.djvu/315

 Divine Humanity, some characteristic of which they had been permitted to see in vision, and which, after the resurrection, the other disciples would also be enabled to see, when their spiritual sight should be opened for the purpose. Every one knows that the Lord, at and after His resurrection, was seen by His disciples only; and when they saw Him it was not with their natural eyes, but with a spiritual vision. Hence, it is expressly said, "Their eyes were opened, and they knew Him." Thus His Divine Humanity is such that it cannot become the object of any natural sight, and therefore it is vain to expect that He will ever again make a personal appearance in the physical world. By glorifying His Humanity He withdrew Himself from the natural sight of men, and thus rendered a personal appearance unnecessary to any future ages of mankind. Besides, how could such an appearance be effected without a re-incarnation? an idea for which no one will contend. It is quite true that after His resurrection the Lord was seen personally, on several occasions, by His disciples; but it is equally true that the scene of those appearances was in some region of the spiritual world, and that the sight with which they saw Him was a spiritual sight. If this were not so, why was He not seen by the common people of the times? Still, very few pretend that by those appearances He fulfilled that which He meant by His promise to come again. In that promise the idea of a personal appearing was no doubt included. This seems to be the simple and unforced meaning of the terms of it; but, inasmuch as the Divine Humanity in which the Lord now is can only be seen by the spiritual sight of men, it follows that the natural world cannot be the scene of it. This conclusion seems to be distinctly revealed to us in the