"I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye

CHAPTER II

The Advent Message Proclaimed in the Old World

THE widespread interest in prophetic study that prevailed in England, Germany, and other parts of Europe toward the close of the eighteenth century, was further intensified in the early part of the nineteenth century, and in connection with it various groups of believers were formed, which did much to spread a knowledge of the Scriptures, and to teach in a new setting the vital truths of Christianity. In many places also there was definite preaching in which the second coming of Christ was strongly emphasized, and little bands of faithful watchers were raised up who looked with eager eyes for their returning Lord.

Next to America, the proclamation of the second advent had its fullest development in Great Britain. Edward Irving, a prominent leader in the advent movement in that country, was born at Annan, Dumfriesshire, Aug. 4, 1792, and distinguished himself at an early age by his studious habits. Entering the

University of Edinburgh at the age of thirteen, he was graduated M. A. at seventeen, and after some years of teaching became assistant to Doctor Chalmers in the new people's church the latter was building up in one of the poorer districts of Glasgow.

Irving remained with Chalmers for three years. Then he was called to the pulpit of Caledonian Chapel, in Hatton Garden, London, and having been ordained there, entered upon his duties in the great metropolis. He was then twenty-nine years of age, and of a striking physical appearance. Nearly six feet four inches in height and of fine proportions, with dark locks hanging almost to his shoulders, framing a countenance of great dignity and beauty, he united in himself all the physical qualities which go to make the great orator. Moreover, he had been passing through a deep spiritual experience, in the course of which he had burned up all his old sermons, and his face was set resolutely forward.

Thus endowed, the young preacher took London by storm. He drew all classes, but his preaching made a special appeal to persons moving in high society. Sir James Mackintosh heard him offer prayer for a family of children who had lost their parents and their means of support. He was deeply impressed, and the next day meeting Canning, then Prime Minister, he told him of it. The following Sunday Canning himself was in the audience at Hatton Garden. Other members of Parliament, with their wives, went to hear the celebrated preacher, and it was not long till the little Caledonian church was thronged with the best society of London. So great was the press that strangers wishing to obtain admission to the regular services had to secure tickets six weeks in advance.

The membership of the Caledonian church grew so rapidly that it became possible in two years to erect a large and commodious edifice in Regent Square, one of the finest residential sections of London. This church in turn became crowded to its full capacity, and the influence of the young pastor continued to grow. He was often called upon to preach, and wherever he went, even on the shortest notice, the meeting place would be sure to be filled to overflowing; yet such was the strength and compass of his admirably trained voice that persons standing on the outer edge even of a crowd of eight or ten thousand people, could hear him distinctly.

Meanwhile Irving had become acquainted with a little band of earnest students of prophecy, chief among whom were Henry Drummond, who served a number of years in Parliament, and Hatley Frere. These men, both well educated and of deep spirit

uality, were studying prophecy in the light of the developments of their own time. As they considered the prophetical periods in the light shed upon them by Mede, Newton, and other earlier writers, it became increasingly clear to them that they were living in the closing years of the world's history, and that the kingdom for which Christendom had been praying so many hundreds of years, was soon to be set up.

Irving's intense interest in the Bible, and his growing sense of the lack of earnestness and vitality in the churches, drew him to these devoted men, and they prayed and studied together. His belief in the soon coming of Christ was further strengthened by perusing a work on the subject written in South America by a Jesuit priest, named Lacunza,' who used the assumed Jewish name, Juan Josafat Ben Ezra. The work was entitled, "The Second Coming of the Messiah in Glory and Majesty," and was written in Spanish; but Irving's interest in the subject was such that he soon mastered the language sufficiently, not only to peruse the book for himself, but to get out an English translation of it, to which he prefixed a copious introduction.

While he was putting the finishing touches to his translation of Lacunza, Irving joined other students of prophecy in a conference, the first of the kind, held at the residence of Drummond in Albury Park, Surrey. The Rev. Hugh M'Niel, rector of the Parish of Albury, was the chosen moderator of this gathering, and among the twenty men of every rank and church and orthodox communion who took part in it was Joseph Wolff, the well-known traveler and Orientalist. The conference lasted six full days, taking up in succession the following subjects:

First, the doctrine of Holy Scripture concerning the time of the Gentiles. Second, the duties of Christian ministers and people, growing out thereof toward the Gentile churches. Third, the doctrine concerning the present and future condition of the Jews. Fourth, the duties growing out of the same toward the Jews. Fifth, the system of the prophetic visions and num

1 Lacunza, the son of noble though not wealthy parents, was a native of Chile, South America, and was educated in the college of the Jesuits, becoming a member of the order in 1747. Later he came to Europe and resided in Italy. Some idea of the spirit and purport of his only literary product may be gathered from the following extract: Be it far from me to fear the coming of the Lord in glory and majesty, for I yearn for it with the greatest longing, and pray for it with all the earnestness of which I am capable. . . . The glorious advent of the Lord Jesus is a divine truth, which is as essential and fundamental to Christianity, as His first advent to suffer in the flesh. When that great day has come which heaven and earth await with earnest desire, then will the Lord Himself descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God.' Then, in that moment (as I conceive it), at the Lord's contact with the atmosphere of our earth, this will occur first, the resurrection from the dead, of whom Paul says, And the dead in Christ shall rise first.' In a moment when this first resurrection of the saints of the first order has taken place, then will those few among the living who will be counted worthy of this designation of saints, on account of their wonderful faith and of their righteousness, be caught up together with the sleeping saints who have been resuscitated, and will ascend with them to meet the Lord in the air. All this is very clear, and very comprehensible." —“The Church's Forgotten Hope," by Rev. William Bramley-Moore, M. A., p. 328.

bers of Daniel and the Apocalypse. Sixth, the Scripture doctrine concerning the future advent of the Lord. And last, the duties to the church and the world arising out of the same.”—“ The Second Coming of Messiah in Glory and Majesty," by Juan Josafat Ben Ezra, The Translator's Preliminary Discourse, p. 189.

Though the members of the conference were for the most part strangers to one another, coming from various countries, and from different churches in those countries, yet in the words of Irving," we were so overruled by the one Spirit of truth and love, as to have found our way to harmony and coincidence in the main points of all these questions."

This conference, held in the autumn of 1826, was the first of a series of five such gatherings, held yearly, which came to be known as the Albury Conferences, and were a strong factor in the development of the second advent movement in Great Britain.

The increased emphasis on the prophecies concerning the second advent resulted in a quickening of the spiritual life in the church over which Irving presided. The young men began to devote themselves to evangelistic labor on the streets and in the homes of the poor. The church prayer meetings were fully attended, and were seasons of great spiritual refreshment. Irving was putting out pamphlets and books instinct with warning and admonition in view of the unpreparedness of professed Christians for the impending advent. "For the Oracles of Cod" and "For Judgment to Come appeared in 1823, and three years later one of his most striking and eloquent works, "Babylon and Infidelity Foredoomed," which was a searching arraignment of the easy-going Christianity of the time. There followed in 1828 three volumes of sermons largely on prophetic subjects, and in 1831 an " Exposition of the Book of Revelation."

Meanwhile he continued to preach with increasing unction and power, and wherever he went, the people flocked to hear him. On a trip to Scotland in 1828, he gave a series of early morning lectures on the prophecies, which crowded the largest churches in Edinburgh. In Ireland, where he had gone for a few days' rest, he preached thirteen times in the week to enormous audiences, composed alike of Catholics and Protestants, the churches crowded to suffocation, and the people standing outside and hearing him through the open windows.

The closing years of the great preacher's life were very trying ones. A division arose in his church over certain manifestations of alleged speaking with tongues and prophesyings. Irving was unable to cope with the situation. Fanaticism was

bringing reproach upon the preacher and his work. Complaint was made to the London Presbytery, and adverse judgment rendered. Irving's congregation was divided, and it was necessary for him to leave the beautiful church edifice built as a result of the blessing of God upon his ministry. He was followed by a portion of his congregation, but the incessant labor incident to such a situation told severely upon his strength, and he was brought into a condition of physical collapse. The end came peacefully at the house of a friend in Glasgow, whither he had

gone on one of his evangelistic tours. His last words were characteristic: "If I die, I die unto the Lord."

Among the men who were associated with Irving or who followed him in the proclamation of the advent truth, mention should be made of James Haldane Stewart, a clergyman of the Establishment, whose parish ministry was greatly blessed to the saving of souls. His heart was drawn out in prayer for a spiritual revival in view of the approaching return of the Saviour. He put out thousands of copies of a pamphlet calling upon Christians to unite in earnest prayer to this end, and after some years he resigned his charge in order to give his whole time to this work, in which God abundantly blessed him.

George Stanley Faber, another faithful worker in the advent cause, was educated at University College, Oxford, graduating