CHAPTER III.
Lucilla could never stay long away from her old home in her father'shouse; she was there every day and often two or three times a day.
"Father," she said, on that first Saturday after taking possession ofthe new home, "mayn't we Sunnyside folks come over here and join yourBible class to-morrow evening?"
"My dear child, it is just what I would have you do," he returned, witha gratified and loving smile. "Don't forget that Woodburn is still yourhome--one of your homes at least--and that you are always welcome andmore than welcome to join us when you will. You are my own daughter astruly as ever you were."
"And just as glad to be as ever I was," she exclaimed, with a bright,loving look and smile. "And to do your bidding at all times, fatherdear," she added.
"Provided it does not interfere with Chester's," Max, who happened tobe present, suggested a little mischievously.
"Hardly any danger of that, I think," remarked his father, with aslightly amused look; "Chester is a reasonable fellow, and I have nointention of interfering with his rights."
"And he thinks almost as highly of my father's wisdom as I do," saidLucilla.
"But not more than Max and I do," said Evelyn, giving the Captain avery filial and admiring look; "and you will take us in as members ofyour class, too, wont you father?"
"It is just what I desire to do," was the pleased reply. "Max hasalways been a member when at home; and you, you know, are now hisbetter half."
Eva shook her head and with a merry, laughing look at Max, said, "Notjust that, father; I should say the smaller partner in the firm."
"That will do, too," smiled the Captain, "since the most costly goodsare apt to be done up in the smallest packages."
"Ah, Eva, my dear, you are answered," laughed Max.
"What is to be the subject of to-morrow's lesson, Captain?" asked Mrs.Elsie Travilla, sitting near.
"I have not decided that question yet, mother, and should be glad of asuggestion from you," he replied in a kindly, respectful tone.
"I have been thinking a good deal lately of the signs of the times,"she said, "and whether they do not show that we are nearing the end ofthis dispensation. That might perhaps be a profitable and interestingquestion to take up and endeavor to solve."
"No doubt it would be," he replied, "and I hope you will come preparedto give us some information as to what the Scriptures say on thesubject, and what are the views of Biblical scholars who have beengiving it particular attention."
"I will do what I can in that line, and hope you, Captain, and otherswill come prepared to take part in considering the subject."
"Certainly a most interesting one," said Violet.
"And one which must lead to great searching of the Scriptures as theonly infallible source of information," added the Captain.
"Yes," said Grandma Elsie, "they are the only authority on thatsubject. And how thankful we should be that we have them."
Sabbath afternoon proved bright and clear, and brought to Woodburnquite a gathering of the relatives and friends; for all loved the Biblestudies they had for years taken together.
Mr. Lilburn, as the eldest, was persuaded to take the lead.
"I understand," he said, "that to-day we are to take up the questionwhether the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ may, or may not, benear. The Scriptures are our sole authority, and you are all invitedto bring forward anything from them which may seem to you to have abearing on the subject." Then turning to Mrs. Travilla, "Cousin Elsie,"he said, "you are, probably, the one among us the most thoroughlyprepared to do so; please let us hear from you."
"I doubt if I am better prepared than some of the rest of you,"she replied, "but I have been very much interested in the subject;particularly of late, and have searched the Bible for texts bearingupon it, some of which I will read. Here in the first chapter of Actswe read that the disciples asked, 'Lord, wilt thou at this time restoreagain the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for youto know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his ownpower. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is comeupon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and inall Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken upand the clouds received him out of their sight. And while they lookedsteadfastly toward Heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood bythem in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Gallilee, why standye gazing up into Heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from youinto Heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go intoHeaven.' And," continued Grandma Elsie, "the Apostle John gives us thesame promise here in the first chapter of the Revelation," turning tothe passage as she spoke, then reading it aloud, "'Behold, he comethwith clouds; and every eye shall see him.'"
"I have heard the idea advanced that death is the coming of Christ tothe dying one," remarked Chester, in a tone of inquiry.
"But we are told," said Mrs. Travilla, "that 'as the lightning comethout of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also thecoming of the Son of Man be.' That description certainly could notapply to the death hour of any Christian, nor to the conversion of anysinner."
"And his second coming is spoken of in the same way in a number ofplaces in the different gospels," said Evelyn. "Here, in Luke, wehave Christ's own words, 'Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and of Mywords, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He shall come inHis glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels.' And againin Matthew 16:27, 'For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of HisFather with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according tohis works.'"
"The disciples wanted to know when that second coming would be,"remarked Violet; "here in Matthew 24:3, we are told, 'And as He satupon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately,saying, "Tell us when shall these things be and what shall be the signof Thy coming and of the end of the world?" And Jesus answered andsaid unto them, "Take heed that no man deceive you."'
"I shall not read the whole chapter, for I know it is familiar to youall; but in the 27th verse he says, 'For as the lightning cometh outof the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the comingof the Son of Man be. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will theeagles be gathered together. Immediately after the tribulation of thosedays shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,and the stars shall fall from Heaven, and the powers of the Heavensshall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man inHeaven: And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and theyshall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of Heaven with powerand great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of atrumpet, and they shall gather his elect from the four winds, from oneend of Heaven to the other.'"
"Many persons," remarked Grandma Elsie, "tell us it is not worth whileto consider at all the question of the time when Christ will comeagain; quoting the text, 'But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no,not the angels in Heaven, but my Father only.' But again and again ourSaviour repeated his warning, 'Watch, therefore; for ye know not whathour your Lord doth come.... Therefore be ye also ready; for in such anhour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh.'"
"I do not quite understand this," said Grace. "Luke says, here inthe 21st chapter, 20th verse--quoting the words of the Master--'Andwhen ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that thedesolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee tothe mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out.'How could they depart out of the city while it was compassed witharmies?"
"There is a satisfactory explanation," replied her father, "in thetwelfth year of Nero, Cestius Gallus, the president of Syria, cameagainst Jerusalem with a powerful army. Josephus says of him: 'Hemight have assaulted and taken the city, and thereby put an end to thewar; but without any just reason, and contrary to the expectation ofall, he raised the siege and departed.' The historians, Epiphanius andEusebius, tell us t
hat immediately after the departure of the armiesof Cestius Gallus, and while Vespasian was approaching with his army,all who believed in Christ left Jerusalem and fled to Pella and otherplaces beyond the river Jordan."
"Every one of them, papa?" asked Ned.
"Yes; Dr. Adam Clarke says 'It is very remarkable that not a singleChristian perished in the destruction of Jerusalem, though there weremany there when Cestius Gallus invested the city.'"
"Papa," asked Elsie, "don't you think God put it in the heart of thatCestius Gallus to go away with his troops before Vespasian got there;so that the Christians had an opportunity to escape?"
"I certainly do, daughter," was the Captain's emphatic reply.
"Had not the earlier prophets foretold the destruction of Jerusalem?"asked Lucilla.
"Yes," said Mr. Lilburn; "even as early a one as Moses. Here in the28th chapter of Deuteronomy he says 'The Lord shall bring a nationagainst thee from far, from the east of the earth, as swift as theeagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand.'"
"The Romans?" Elsie said, inquiringly.
"Yes; their ensign was an eagle and their language the Latin, which theJews did not understand. The prophesy of Moses continues. In the 52dverse he says, 'And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thyhigh and fenced walls come down; wherein thou trustedst, throughout allthy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout thyland, which the Lord thy God hath given thee. And thou shalt eat thefruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters,which the Lord thy God hath given thee, in the siege and in thestraitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee.'"
"Oh, how dreadful!" exclaimed Elsie. "And did all that happen at thesiege of Jerusalem?"
"Yes; it lasted so long that famine was added to all the othersufferings of the besieged. So dreadful was it that mothers wouldsnatch the food from their children in their distress, and many houseswere found full of women and children who had died of starvation.Josephus tells of human flesh being eaten; particularly of a lady ofrank who killed, roasted and ate her own son. And so the prophecy ofMoses was fulfilled."
"Oh, how dreadful, how dreadful!" sighed Elsie.
"Yes," said Mr. Lilburn, "it was the fulfillment of our Saviour'sprophecy as he beheld Jerusalem and wept over it, saying, 'If thouhadst known, even thou at least in this thy day, the things whichbelong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For thedays shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench aboutthee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shalllay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and theyshall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewestnot the time of thy visitation.' That is told us in the 19th chapterof Luke. In the 21st we read, 'And they shall fall by the edge of thesword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalemshall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentilesbe fulfilled.'"
"Have those times been fulfilled yet?" asked Ned.
"No, not yet," replied Mr. Lilburn; "the Turks still have possession ofJerusalem, though the Jews have begun to return to Palestine and theTurkish power grows weaker. But the time of the Gentiles will not befulfilled until the work of the Gospel is finished."
"And when will that be, Cousin Ronald?" asked Ned.
"I cannot say exactly," answered the old gentleman, "but the trendof events does seem to show that we are nearing that time--such afeeling of unrest all over the world, some men--comparatively afew--accumulating enormous quantities of wealth by paying theirlaborers a mere pittance for their work, while the cost of living goeshigher and higher. This is a land of plenty, and but for the graspingselfishness of some, none need lack for abundance of the necessaries oflife."
"I wish nobody did lack for plenty to eat and drink, and wear," saidElsie, "and I want to do all I can to help those who haven't enough."
"I hope you will, daughter," the Captain said, in a tone of pleasedapproval. "And now the important thing for us to consider is what isour duty, in view of the very possible nearness of Christ's secondcoming."
"He has told us again and again to watch and be ready," said GrandmaElsie; "yet we are not to be idle, but to work while it is calledto-day; to occupy till he comes; to be not slothful in business,fervent in spirit, serving the Lord."