a _
T h e K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
119
March 1930
S e a o v o ~ e
W o ^
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The Fact of Christ’s Coming B y P. W . P hilpott , D.D.
. ^ (Notes o f a Sermon Delivered at the Church o f the Open Door, Los Angeles) | strongest possible incentive to enthusiastic toil for Jesus Christ. It always leads to separation from the world and to zeal in soul-winning. Third, I believe in the Lord’s return because of the many passages in the Bible that cannot be explained apart from this truth. O ld T estament P rophecies There are a great many prophecies concerning the Jewish people and their Messiah that were not fulfilled at “ We have a more sure word o f prophecy; whereunto ye do zvell that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts." — 2 Pet. 1 :19. AM well aware of The prejudice that exists in the minds of many regarding the teaching of the Church concerning the second coming of Christ. This has sometimes been due to the fact that godly and sincere men, in their enthusiasm for this truth, have pushed into forbidden territory, forget ting or ignoring one of the clearest revelations concerning our Lord’s coming again—that is, that the day and the hour of His return are just as uncertain as the fact of His return is cer tain. To one of the last ques tions asked Him by His dis ciples before He ascended, He answered, “ It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power.” Charles Spurgeon, speaking on this subject, referred to this statement of our Lord and in his own quaint way remarked: “ If I were to go into a room where there were a number of packages for different persons, and I knew that in that room there were some for me, and while going over them and look ing for my packages I should find one marked ‘This is not for you, Charles Spurgeon,’ I think that as a gentleman I would not try to investigate what was in that package.” As to the date of our Lord’s return, it is not within your power or mine to state when it it is to be. If you ever feel like trying to fix a date, it would the first coming of Christ. On Christmas morning I preached a sermon here on “ What Man ner o f Man is This?” I at tempted to show that we could hot explain Jesus Christ apart from the doctrine of the Virgin Birth. A day or two later I re ceived a letter from a man who criticized my teaching. He ar gued that Jesus was not the Jewish Messiah, and that He was not what the New Testa ment claimed Him to be, be cause He did not fulfill the prophecies of Isaiah concerning Him. He spoke particularly of those passages that refer to Christ as Immanuel, of the gov ernment r e s t i n g upon His shoulder, of the nations enjoy ing a long period of peace and righteousness under His rule, of their learning war no more, etc. He declared that none of these prophecies were fulfilled in the coming of the Babe of Bethlehem and in those thirty- three years of His life on earth. There was truth in what my critic said; these prophecies concerning Messiah were not fulfilled at the First Advent. It is a great mistake so to spir Satisfied B y H amilton W atts Come, Lord, our thoughts and wills inspire Our inmost beings purify; Give us that faith and right desire That Thou const satisfy. - We have no goodness of our own; In Thy sufficiency we hide; Not with ourselves, with Thee alone, Dear Lord, we’re satisfied. We have not always understood Thy ways, yet know, whate’er betide, They work together fo r our good; And we are satisfied, When we shall see Thee as Thou art, And join Thee as Thy spotless bride, And love Thee with a perfect heart, W e shall be satisfied. O Thou whose touch can make men whole, We would proclaim Thee far and wide, And share the travail of. Thy soul Till Thou art satisfied. be a good thing first to repeat the prayer of the Psalmist, “ Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins.” R easons F or T he B elief There are many Scriptural reasons why I believe that Christ is coming back to this earth in person. First, I accept this as a fact because of the large place given, to this truth in the Scripture. We are told that there are over three hundred references to the Lord’s re turn in the New Testament alone, which means that one of every twenty-five verses deals with this doctrine. Second, I am convinced He is coming back again because in the New Testament nearly every exhortation to purity of life, to fidelity in stewardship, and to sincere faithful Christian service is either bound up with or based upon this doctrine. Instead of “ cutting the nerve of mis sions” and paralyzing Christian service, it is rather the itualize Old Testament predictions as to make them refer wholly to the Church and a present spiritual kingdom. Jesus Himself explained to His disciples that these pro phetic statements were foregleams of His second coming. And just as surely as the predictions concerning His birth, His ministry of healing, His death, and His resurrection, were exactly fulfilled, so these other prophecies concern- ing His glory, His power, His rule of peace and righteous ness, must be just as literally fulfilled. In the fourth place, I believe this truth because it spans the midnight sky with the bow of heavenly promise, lighting up the gloom as nothing else can, and bringing consolation and comfort. To the bereaved, Paul said: I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring
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