January, 1942
THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NES S Around the King's Table LOUIS ,T. TALBOT, Editor-in-Chief
Beginning 1942 Well How should Christ’s church begin 1942? ‘‘Watch Night, a time of review and preview of the church’s condition and that of the world, is an appro priate time for the church to go down on her knees before God,” reminds the Great Commission Prayer League, of which Ernest M. Wadsworth is the Director. It is not a “social” time or a boasting of prosperity that is needed at the close of this terrible year of the world’s history. This ' is God’s call: “If my people, which are'called by my name, shall humble them selves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14). The Wesleyan Revival was born on a Watch Night, and the great revival of 1857 also was the out growth of special intercession on the part of the Lord’s people.' A tri-color poster and printed copies of a bulle tin on how the revival of 1857 began are available to those who write, en closing postage, to the Great Com mission Prayer League, 808 No. La Salle St., Chicago, 111. What if Christ Should Not Return? That the Lord Jesus will leave the ■ place that He nbw occupies at the right hand of God, to receive His people unto Himself, to sweep the earth clean" with His purifying judg- , ments, to execute justice upon the wicked, and to institute His ever lasting and universal kingdom, is as clearly set forth in the Word of God as is His first advent. Let us consider for a moment the question, If Christ should not return, what then? First —Not a grave would ever be opened. The Wofd of God teaches that a day will come when the dead in Christ shall rise. "The dead in Christ” are everywhere; they are in church yards and marked graves, and be neath the waves of- the sea. We are assured of a coming day when they shall rise, every man in his own order;/and as the stars differ one from another in glory, so shall also the resurrection of the dead be. Every promise in the Word of God that assures a resurrection is bound up with the coming of the Lord. Take away the truth of the Lord’s coming, and you may write “Never more” on every headstone that marks the rest ing place of a child of God.
A Last-Minute Word Most of the contents of this issue were set in type before the world« shaking events of December seventh transpired. Yet the appropriate ness of the messages herein contained is strikingly apparent. You will appreciate especially the comments of Dr. Lockyer (page 5), Mr. Olsen (page 8), Mr. Hanna (page 10), and Mrs. Downing (page 29). THE KING'S BUSINESS belongs entirely to "him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood." Once more, in these pages. He has provided encouragement, comfort, and spiritual instruc«. tion for His people when the special need for these ministrations could not have been foreseen by even the most watchful editor. To His name be all the glory1 Until He Comes, this magazine will con«' tinue to give to the Lord Jesus Christ preeminence In all things. In these times of war and stress, we earnestly ask our Christian readers to respond to the appeal on the back page of this magazine and to provide for their friends a strengthening of spiritual "defenses" which are so greatly needed today. THE EDITORS.
their spears into pruning-hooks, when righteousness shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. But how are these conditions to be brought about? Not by the legislation of men, not even by the preaching pf the gospel, although the gospel will accomplish that whereunto God has sent it; namely, the calling out of the church. Creation’s deliverance can be brought about only by the return of the Lord as the earth’s right ful King. Fourth—If Christ should not return, wicked men may go on living in un righteousness and the most disgusting typés of sin with nothing to fear, for there will be no judgment and there will be no judgment ' day. When the Word of God speaks of a judgment day, it is always in connection with the return of the Lord. Paul wrote -to the Thessalonians: “And. to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall. be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 1:7, 8). Matthew wrote: “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory” (Matt. 25:31).
Second —If Christ should not return, not a child of God will ever be re warded for any service he has ren dered for Him during His absence, for, Christ says, “Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his wôrk shall be” (Rev. 22:12). The Word of God teaches that we are saved to become sons of God. We are to be rewarded as servants of God. Christ has instructed us to occupy till He comes, and has given the assurance that everything done in His name, even to the giving of a cup of cold water, shall be rewarded to the full. If Christ does not come, those rewards will never be given. If Christ fails to return, Paul will never realize the hope he described in writing to Timothy (2 Tim. 4:7, 8). All rewards for believers are bound up with the truth of the Lord’s cording. Third —If Christ should not return, •the creation will never be delivered from all ills which beset her as a result of sin. Thorns and briers will still cover the earth. Wars and rumors of wars shall persist. Famines, pesti lences, and earthquakes will continue to be written into the history of the nations. All the prophets and apostles have spoken of a day when this earth will be delivered from its curse. They saw a day when the nations would beat their swords into plowshares and
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