T HE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S 441 about for a passage to help him to get rid of a literal coming of Christ, he thinks he finds it in the fourth Gospel, and so builds his whole argument on one verse. %“ Jesus’ own interpretation of His second coming,” says the professor, “ is set forth by the beloved disciple in John 14:21-23: ‘ If a man love me he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him.’ ” Thus it is proven that the second coming has already taken place and that it is fulfilled in thé spiritual growth of each individual Christian. But would the professor really have his readers think that this was Christ’s interpretation of His promised second-appearing ? Would he open up his Bible and invite his readers to examine the context? What would become of the argument in that case? We find Christ talking about the sending of the Holy Spirit who, during His absence in heaven, was to mani fest the Father and the Son to all saints. Does the professor invite us to read the opening words in this ^same chapter : “ I go to prepare a place for you, and I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there ye may be also” ? How quietly does the dean pass over those great statements Christ made about His coming again, such as Matt. 24:27-30, or again, the angelic message that accompanied Christ’s ascension in Acts 1 ¡10-11. And the poor, mistaken Apostle Paul—what would the professor have us think of the statement with which Paul prefaces his teaching about the second coming : “ This I say unto you by the authority of the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:15) ? We see how the Apostle John has helped out the professor’s view. Now let us turn to John’s last writing. Surely he will set everything right. And so he does:’ “ Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall mourn because of him” (Rev. 1:7). And so the last book of the Bible carries the same message proclaimed in Matthew, Mark, Luke and the Epistles of Paul and Peter, and then closes with the prayer/“ Even so come, Lord Jesus.” “ He is here already, We do not need to wait for His appearance,” says the professor. / ‘ The Lord is not coming, He has come ; He is now pres ent as a spiritual King,” says Pastor Russell. “ He is here,” says Mrs. Eddy. “ Christian Science is the second coming.” “ He came in 1844,” says Mrs. White. “ Let no man deceive you,” says Christ Himself. “ For as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west; so shall the- coming of the Son of man be. ’,’ —K. L. B. WHERE ARE THE PERFECT MEN? Because we sometimes refer to the sins of believers, some seem to think we are pleading for sin, and the editor of an exchange (a holiness paper) goes after us in a strong editorial. Anyone who believes the Word of God is against sin. Deliverance from sin is legally for all in Christ (Rom. 8:1). Victory over sin is the chief thing in Christian experience (Rom. 6:13). It is the function of the Holy
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