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326 RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA Second Advent Secrecy trast of nature and spirit. Personal spiritual exer tions have the value of preserving from absorption in mere nature, but not the promise of ever becom ing reality in the historical sense. Individual postu lates reaching over into transcendent realization are possible, but not a consistent, sustaining certainty. On the contrary the incomparable power of the un constricted New-Testament faith which unites the apocalyptic assurance of actual consummation with the interest in personalities is assured in God and in their community. The combination of the cer tainty of the beyond with the positive worth of personality constitutes the sure ground of life for believers. This certainty is guaranteed through the purely personal activity and experience of Christ who possessed in this world, which rejected him, nothing but his personality assured in God, but de parting with this possession inwardly triumphant to open the outward victory by the resurrection, to assemble his own to his exalted activity, and to raise them in unity with himself as head to God in the other world, and, finally, in his last revelation, to extend the ultimate consequences of the reign of God over the world and his society of the kingdom. The certainty of redemption includes this hope as an essential element, and the conviction that the disappearance of one would mean the loss of entire certainty of redemption engirdling real life, is proof that this subsists not on illusions. Meantime, a self reliant faith has no occasion to indulge the utiliza tion of phenomenal expressions presuming to be "realistic," the forms thence available for the de scription of transcendent realities being obtained from the hither world only. Most significant, how ever, for the ethical judgment of the world by the Christian and his attitude therein is an earnest be lief in the return of Jesus and in the world-compre hending transcendent consummation of his kingdom. From the point of view of the kingdom of God as the "Father's house" for redeemed personalities assem bled in eternity, the purely contingent state of life is judged as mere scenery, "for the fashion of this world passes away" (I Cor. vii. 31). Therefore the Christian emulates not things in the course of this life but persons, not culture but Evangelization. He also does not look for an uninterrupted ethical evolution; all attempts in this direction, which are to be prosecuted because the kingdom of God aims to comprehend all life as one, are ever doomed to violent interruption, so long as the world of sin will stand, in which a progressive revelation of light calls forth a corresponding revelation of darkness. No Church in its outward aspect and no Christian state is therefore an immediate vestibule of the per fect kingdom; on earth there can be only folds to guard the members of Christ mingling with other elements, until his appearing, and with him that of the saints hitherto scattered throughout all his tory, as the everlasting community. ~~, ( E. F. KARL. MuLLER.) BIBLIOGRAPHY- For the doctrine as found in the Bible con sult the literature in and under BIBLICAL THEOLOGY (es pecially the works by Duhm, Smend, Dillmann, Bennett, Davidson, Toy, and Schultz for the O. T.; and by Bey schlgg, Adeney, Holtzmann, Stevens, and Gould for the N. T.); DAY OF THE LORD; and under ESCHATOLOGY. For the doctrine in the apocryphal and pseudepieraphi
literature consult the works under MEsaIAH, MESSIAMSM (especially those by Briggs, Orelli, Stanton, and Woods), and under PBEuD&PIGRAPHA (especially those by Charles, and Drummond). Consult further: W. Burgh, Lectures on the Second Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, 4th ad., London, 1845; D. Brown, Christ's Second Coming; Will it be Premillennialf ib. 1846; S. Lee, Eschatology; or the Scripture Doctrine of the Coming of our Lord, Boston, 1858; D. N. Lord, The Coming and Reign of Christ, New York, 1858; J. Berg, The Second Advent of Jesus Christ not Premillennial, Philadelphia, 1859; E. Luthardt, Die Lehre von den letzten Dingen, Leipsie, 1861; J. F. Demarest and W. R. Gordon, Chrisloeracy; or, Essays on the Coming and Kingdom of Christ, New York, 1867; J. Grant, The End of All Things; or, the Coming and Kingdom of Christ, 3 series, London, 1866-67; w. Weiffenbach, Der Wiederkunfispedanke Jesu, Leipsie, 1873; S. M. Merrill, The Second Coming of Christ Considered in its Relation to the Mil lennium, the Resurrection, and Judgment, Cincinnati, 1879; S. Davidson, Doctrine of the Last Things, London, 1882; G. N. H. Peters, The Theocratic Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, as covenanted in the O. T. and presented in the N. T., New York, 1885; J. C. Rankin, The Coming of the Lord, ib. 1885; R. N. Burns, When will Christ Come? Toronto, 1886; W. Belly, Lectures on the Second Coming and Kingdom of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, London, 1886; T. Kliefoth, Christliche Eschatolopie, Leipsic, 1886; J. S. Russell, The Parousia: a critical Inquiry into the New Testament Doctrine of our Lord's Second Coming, London, 1887; N. West, Studies in Eschatology: or, thousand Years in both Testaments, New York, 1889; C. A. Briggs, The Messiah of the Gospels, New York, 1894; idem, The Messiah of the Apostles, ib. 1895; H. Dieckmann, Die Parusie Christi, Geestemunde, 1898 ; R. H. Charles, Doctrine of a Future Life in Israel, in Judaism, and in Christianity, London, 1899; J. Weiss, Die Predigt Jesu vom Reiche Gottes, Gottingen, 1900 ; E. Cremer, Die Wiederkunft Christi and die Aufpabe der Kirche, Giitersloh, 1902 P. Polz, Jiidische Eschatolopie, Leipsie, 1903; W. Rheinland (F. W. Stuckert), Das Kommen des Hewn, 8th ed., Neumanster, 1904; W. Bousset, Die Religion des Judentums im neutestamenelichen Zeitalter, Berlin, 1906; S. Modalski, Jesu Wiederkunft, Breklum, 1907; M. Kahler, Angewandte Dogmen, pp. 487 sqq., Leipsie, 1908; F. Tillmann, Die Wiederkunft Christi nach den paulinisehen Briefen, Freiburg, 1909; A. D. Fairbanks, Christ's Second Coming, Boston, 1910; Sehilrer, Geschichte, ii. 496 sqq., Eng. trand., II., i. 126 sqq. (gives a good list of literature); DB, i. 741-757. The subject is discussed also in the works on systematic theology (see DOGMA, DOOMATICB).
SECRECY OF THE CONFESSIONAL: When, in the early Middle Ages, the discipline of auricular confession prevailed in the Church, the obligation of absolute secrecy on the part of the confessor followed as a necessary consequence. The secret of the confessional partakes of the nature of the ordinary secret called professional, e.g., that of the lawyer with respect to his client, or of the physician toward his patient, and adds thereto a special religious obligation resulting from the sacramental character of the confession. This obligation, often referred to in the statutes of ecclesiastical law, and expressly formulated in the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), chap. xxi., admits of no exception or attenuation even though the life of the confessor were at stake (cf. Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, v. 888). It extends to all matter strictly pertaining to sacramental confession independently of the circumstance whether absolution be granted or not. Though primarily binding the confessor, the same obligation rests also on other persons whether lay or cleric who by accident or otherwise may have obtained knowledge of the confession. To induce this obligation the confession should be sacramental in character, i.e., it should be made in good faith