saints should be caught up to meet Him "_in
the air_." Were it not true, its very boldness and apparent
foolishness would be its refutation. And what must be the character of
mind that would even seek to invent such a thought? What depths of
awful wickedness it would bespeak! What cruelty thus to attempt to
deceive the whole race! What corruption, thus to speak false in the
holiest matters, attaching the Lord's name to a falsehood! The spring
from which such a statement, if false, could rise must be corrupt
indeed. But, oh, how different in fact! What severe righteousness!
what depths of holiness! what elevated morality! what warmth of tender
affection! what burning zeal, combined with the profoundest reasoning,
characterize every word of the writer of this same statement! Every
word that he has written testifies that he has _not_ attempted to
deceive.

There is, perhaps, one other alternative: the writer may have _believed
himself_ thus inspired, and was thus self-deceived But in this case
far gone in disease must his mind have been; nor could it fail
constantly to give striking evidence of being thus unhinged in other
parts of his writings. This is a subject with which unbalanced minds
have shown their inability to be much occupied without the most
sorrowful evidences of the disease under which they suffer. Let there
be independence of the Scriptures (as there confessedly is in this
case), and let man's mind work in connection with this subject of the
Lord's second coming, and all history has but one testimony: such minds
become unbalanced, and feverish disquietude evidences itself by
constant recurrence to the one theme. Find, on the other hand, one
single instance, if you can, in which such a mind makes mention _once,
and only once_, of that subject that has so overmastered every other as
to have deceived him into the belief that falsehood is truth, his own
imagination is the inspiration of the Spirit of God!

Have you not wondered why this wondrous word of revelation occurs thus
in detail once and only once? Is it not one of the weapons of those
who contend against this our hope that we base too much on this
isolated Scripture text? Not that that is true, for all Scripture, as
we have said, is in perfect harmony and accord with it; but what a
perfect, complete, thorough answer, this fact gives to the other
alternative--that the writer was self-deceived. This is impossible;
or, like every other se