Might Jesus Christ
Come Back To-da})?
A Warning Against Some Very Fine Distinctions That Some Students Are Making By KEITH L. BROOKS
at their conclusions by way of the theory that the Gospels and Acts are written to the Jews only, thus ruling out all warning against time fixing as applying to members of the true church. This also leads some to say that the exhorta tions to “ watch” (being found in the Gospels) are to Israel, not the church, for the church, we are told, is never in the Epistles exhorted to watch, but simply to “ wait.” Following this method of reasoning it might be said that water baptism not being mentioned in the Epistles, is not for the church, but only for the JW s , since commanded m the Gospels. Yet it is outside of the Gospels and Acts that we are exhorted to “look for that blessed hope” and to “ watch lest He oome upon us as a thief.” Be ware of such flue distinctions, for the godliest men of the age have found their incentive in daily, yea hourly, expect ing, that Christ might return. We do not believe any saint can look up with fullest joy without the hope of the im minent return, neither can the sinner look up with peace if he knows that Christ might come any moment and his doom would be forever sealed. That is one reason why the Apostles and church fathers preached this truth both to sin ner and saint and the reason why it should still he preached. One writer says, “ Peter knew that he need not expect his Lord at any moment since he was told exactly what manner of death he was to die,”—but have we any such revelation? Was it not Peter who told us to be “ looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God?” It was clearly intimated to the
NE of the writers on the Second Coming called the blessed hope of Christ’s return the pole star of the church. A study of the New Testament must convince any careful student that this it was intended to be. This hope was placed there to cause the blood-bought church to look up, labor on and live as though Jesus might return any time. The church has always gotten itself into trouble when it has attempted to run its course' on a system of dates. It has always been urged that postmillen- nialists by teaching that Christ’s literal coming could not occur for at least a thousand years, robbed the church of the purifying hope. Today we have some teachers who affirm that Christ cannot come until a certain year, accord ing to a system worked out oh the “ year-day” plan (there seems to be con siderable disagreement as to the date), and we recently heard one teacher say, “ I do not look for Christ’s coming today nor tomorrow nor this year nor next year.” It may be that.,Christ will come “ in such an hour as he thinks not.” Here is a writer who says, “ Christ cannot come except at the particular sea son of the feast of trumpets.” This may possibly prove true according to the type, but should we not hesitate to say when Christ cannot or will not come, since one of His parting words was, “ It is not for you to know the times (climaxes or junctures of times) or sea sons which the Father hath put in His own power (competency).” Now, we are aware that some who fix times and seasons in this manner arrive
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