ace tal ting dren raise ell t hting as elie test esser one c elong osto rly ruie othin d. the ther las re belie eemi eveale Bible Repentance and Conversion Versus Modern Sensationalism. 12 pages, 3c per copy; $2. per 100. 7. The Nature of Man. 8 pages, 2c per copy; 6 for 10c; $1. per 100. 8. The Doctrine of the Immortality of the Soul Considered in the Light of the Scriptures and History. 20 pages, 4c each; $3. per 100 9. The Christadelphian Faith. 4 pages, 12 for 10c; 50c per 100. 10. Concerning Infants: Do the Holy Scriptures Teach that In20 pages, 4c per copy; 40c per doz; $3. per 100. fants Will Be Saved? ASSORTED PARCELS I copy of each for 20c; 3 copies of each for 50c. $1. Assortment contains 50 of No. 2 and 6 each of the others. BOUND VOLUMES OF THE FAITH Vols. 1, 2, 3, and 4 may be had neatly bound in cloth, at 60c per copy, postpaid. Address: JOHN W. LEA, 1520 N. Robinson St., Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.A. Acts 1:9-11; Acts 3:20, 21; 1 Cor. 1:7; 1 Thess. 4:16; 2 Tim. 4:1; John 2:28; and so forth). When the disciples had come to understand that their Master must go away they became desirous to know how long .He must remain away and what the signs of His returning should be: "Tell us when these things will be, and what will be the sign of Thy presence, and of the Consummation of the Age?" (Matt. 24:3, Emphatic Diaglott.) The answer of Jesus is, as we should expect, pertinent to these inquiries. He outlines certain events which should precede His appearing and serve as signs of His approach. And He hints at one notable event, which He compares to a flash of lightning bursting upon the obscurity of night, which shall herald His presence in the earth again: "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 on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matt. 24:30). From the language which Jesus employs it is plain that His appearing is to be with electric suddenness at the last: "The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple;" "In such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh.' And it is equally plain that no one who is informed as to the sign of His presence need be in doubt when He actually comes; "If therefore they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: Behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so also shall the coming of the Son of Man be" (Matt. 24:26, 27). Now the point which we wish to determine is as to what this sign is to be. If we cannot determine this, then of course it will be no sign to us; it then can serve as no indication of the presence of Christ. In order to arrive at an understanding of this matter it will be necessary to go to some extent into the symbolism of the Scriptures, for the words of Christ, "And then shall appear the the sign of the Son of Man in heaven," are in symbol, as I trust presently to show. The Bible is rich in symbolism, and its symbols are as definite, and as susceptible of precise interpretation, as its most literal language. And its symbols have a poetical beauty and a wealth of significance which it is almost impossible in prosaic words to convey. The symbols of the Scriptures are sublime ne re be word-pictures, presenting to the imagination many things which are not really stated in words. Nature in all of its phases and phenomena is brought into requisition for our instruction in the divine truths of the Bible. The imagery which Christ employs in His delineations to His disciples as contained in this 24th chapter of Matthew is common to all the Scrip tures. The heavens and earth are commonly used in the following symbolic manner: The sun is made comparable to a king; the moon to a queen or to the religious phase of a government; the stars to the lesser dignitaries of state; the clouds to the lower official class; the atmosphere or firmament to the policies of administration, the civil, social, and spiritual conditions of a nation, as engendered by the form of government. The earth is used symbolical of the subjects of a polity, the masses of the people. The earth, in distinction from the sea, indicates the more stable, conservative classes of subjects. The sea is used indicative of the unsettled, propertyless classes, the classes more given to turbulence and change. A storm is indicative of war, and an earthquake of popular revolution. All that pertains to the rulership of a polity is termed collectively "the heavens," as we speak literally of all that is above our heads as the heavens. With these definitions in mind, let us now observe a few examples of their use. Speaking of the prophets of Israel, it is said in Micah 3:6: "Therefore it shall be night unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them." Taking the sun as a symbol of a royal succession the meaning of this prophecy is rendered instantly apparent. The priesthood survived the royalty of Israel over six hundred years, and it was a dark day indeed for the priestly orders when the last king was dethroned and the sun of regal protection had set, to rise no more for many generations. The priesthood itself became militant and ensanguined in war in defense of the temple and the temple-worship, but was eventually brought permanently under subordination to foreign supervision until the final dispersion. A similar prediction appears in Joel 2:31: "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come." This is applied to Israel by Peter on the Day of Pentecost. The sun of Israel's |