A Present to His Royal Highness - The Prince of Wales — Page 15
15 with the virgins that are ready and shut its doors on us, and leave us to wailing and the gnashing of teeth. ∗ The signs which Jesus has related concerning his second advent show that it will not take place till the beast which the Jews abhorred to such a degree that they did not like even to mention its name is sacrificed in Jerusalem. This indicates that his second advent would not take place shortly after his first advent, but was appointed for a much later period. Jesus says that if anybody claims to be the Messiah before that period, he is a false prophet and should be rejected. But when nations rise against nations and famines, wars, earthquakes, pestilences and iniquity abound, and the sun and the moon are darkened and the stars fall from heaven and the powers of heaven are shaken, then shall the sign of the Son of Man appear in Heaven and he shall come from heaven in great glory. Now every one who thinks over these signs will understand that all of them have been fulfilled. Plague has appeared and caused such devastation as never had occurred before over such a large area. The Earth has been shaken by tremblings so severe that the like of them had never been felt before. In spite of irrigation canals and facilities for the carriage of commodities, for instance, railroads and steamships, the world has passed through famine so severe that they have made the lives of men miserable. Iniquity abounds to such a degree that not only a brother betrays a brother but finds pleasure in the act. ∗ Matthew xxv: 1-13.