October 1927
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
627
should tides run fourteen days or so apart ? In either case the answer lies in the One who keeps both fish and tides. Do fish know dates and times and tides? I think not. They respond faithfully to urgings within and circum stances without, not understanding the laws they obey, not seeing the results of their faith. Obediently and intel ligently they play the part allotted to them in the scheme that calls for exacting co-operation of fish, tides, time, and egg-shell. Let there be one mistake, a faltering of but § FEW days ago while visiting in San Francisco, I beheld the majestic beauty'of the Golden Gate. Many times before I had seen it in picture and in fancy, but little did I realize that it was one of the scenic wonders of the world. ^ .. As I was feasting upon the glory of God’s handiwork and watching the progress of a battleship as it moved slowly into the beautiful bay, it dawned upon me that this magnificent entrance was more than a golden gate in scenic splendor. It was the golden gate into a harbor of safety, into the wealth of a prosperous country, and into the heart of a most populous region. Since my visit I have wondered if there were not some counterpart in the Word of God. I believe I have found it in the truth of our Lord’s return to earth. This hope is indeed the gateway into the wonders and mysteries of divine revelation. The message of our Lord’s second advent is not a new truth. It is as old as the revelation of God itself. What is needed today is a renewed emphasis upon an old truth, one which has been cast aside in many quarters as vision- ary, impractical and outworn. As John Huss revived the truth of the communion table for the people of God, and Martin Luther uncovered the truth of justification by faith alone, so the church of the living God needs min isters who will declare the truth of the imminent coming of our blessed Lord and Saviour. , W hat I s G od ’ s P rogram ? The truth of our Lord’s coming is the golden gate into the mind of God. What is God thinking about? What is His program? What are His plans and purposes? The Bible will give the answer to these questions, for it is the revelation of the mind of God. If we want to know what God thinks we need but turn to His precious Word. The frequency with which a doctrine occurs in the Bible will indicate its relative importance. The subject of divine grace occurs over 400 times upon the pages of the New Testament alone. In this same portion there are 262 references to the Holy Spirit, and something like 12 ref erences to baptism. The message of our Lord’s second advent appears over 300 times,1or at least once on an average of every 25 verses. To my certain knowledge it is mentioned by patriarch, prophet and psalmist, and is included in the revelation of every book of the Bible. Is it not apparent that our Lord’s coming is vital to the mind of God? When the astronomer points his power ful telescope toward the heavens and beholds the universe as it rolls by his vision, he feels that he is thinking God’s thoughts after Him. But that man whose mind and heart 1 are fixed upon the return of Christ to this world is indeed thinking God’s thoughts after Him. What is uppermost in the mind of God should be so in ours. Let us therefore learn to place the emphasis where God does.
one of the steps in the life cycle, and failure results. Re peated failure means extinction—yet thousands upon thousands of generations have reproduced successfully their kind by perfect fulfillment of laws and plans not their own. The intelligence in it all and behind the veil is God:—Maker, Ruler, Sustainer. “By Him were all things made and by Him all things consist.” —Copyright 1927 by the author
The Golden Gate of Scripture B y R ev . R. S. B eal , T ucson , A riz .
The Second Coming of Christ is the golden gateway into the proper interpretation of Scripture. Many have said to me that the Bible is a sealed book to them. They read it over and over, but somehow it does not mean much to them. Is it not evident that such are in need of a key ? This hope, is the needed key, and when used will unlock the. Bible and cause it to live anew in Christian experience. God’s glorious program for the future is positively locked in darkness to the one who knows not the hope of our Lord’s premillennial coming. This doctrine makes plain the prophecies of the Old Testament, and the predictions of the New Testament. The teaching of our Lord’s coming cannot be explained as meaning death, for this is a ghastly anachronism which robs the Bible of its plain sense. It doesn’t satisfy the careful student to say that a sort of spiritual coming is in tended. If we spiritualize this doctrine, then, in the inter est of logic, we must do so with His first advent, and de clare that He did not come in the flesh to give Himself in the shedding of His blood for the sins of the world. There is nothing in all the Word of God about extending Christ’s kingdom, as so many say. The hope of this world is a kingdom set up on earth by the personal advent of the Lord Jesus Himself. What is vital to a perfect under standing of the revealed will of God should not be brushed aside with indifference and looked upon as unworthy of attention. Let us welcome the key which will enable us to understand the Word of God. The hope of our Lord’s coming is the golden gateway into the fulness of a rich Christian experience. What many have thought was too fearful to think about has been intended of God for the comfort, inspiration and encouragement of His people. “Wherefore comfort ye one another with these words,” is the sacred injunction following a passage dealing with the resurrection of the dead and the rapture of the living. In view of His appearing and His kingdom, Paul en courages young Timothy to faithfulness in preaching the Word of God. Because Christ’s coming may occur at any time, all of God’s people are enjoined to holy living, that they be not ashamed in His presence. Surely we must say this is a sanctifying hope! What greater appeal could come to the people of God for abso lute separation from worldliness than the appeal of this hope? “Do business till I-come,” said the soon-coming nobleman in the parable, thus to urge His stewards to go forth to the uttermost parts of earth with the Gospel of saving and redeeming grace. Thus we find this truth a stimulus to the great cause of missions. I ask in conclusion, “Is this truth a vital factor in your own life? Are you ready for that glorious moment when the Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout? In such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh. Let us be ready.”
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