The Prophetic Bible Conference at Chicago* By CASSIUS E. WAKEFIELD [The following appeared in “ The Michigan Christian Advocate” of March 14, and while in one sense it is a little late for its transfer to these pages, yet from another point of view its value is not diminished by that fact. It was a great joy to us to learn that so many of our Methodist brehtren are “lookng for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13, R. V.). There was a fine representation of them scattered through the Conference referred to.—Editors.] I T is reported that when Dr. Robert F. Horton was coming over to the recent Student Volunteer Conven
that impelled a group of widely known Bible teachers, educators and success ful preachers, in this country and Can ada, to issue a call for the International Prophetic Bible Conference at Chi cago, held the past week. It was a wonderful gathering. Representative men from all parts of the United States and Canada were there at their own charges, keenly, eagerly, in closest comradeship listening to one another and to the most widely recognized Bi ble teachers of the land. Nearly every denomination seemed to be represent ed. Official word came from Dr. Stu art that Prof. Eiselen had been desig nated as delegate from Garrett Biblical Institute. We noted a number of men from McCormick Seminary. Our Dr. Charles Bayard Mitchell led one ses sion in prayer. From beginning to end the discussion presupposed and maintained the premillennial return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Representative topics discussed were, “ The Lord’s Coming the Key to Scriptures,” ‘The Lord’s Coming and Evangelism,” “ The Approaching World Crisis,” “ The Lord’s Coming a Motive for Holiness.” We noted several conspicuous things: markedly the catholicity of the roster of speakers, ranging from a canon of the Protestant Episcopal Church to altogether detached Ply mouth Brethren, and including Bap tists, Presbyterians, Methodists and Congregationalists. O f several of these denominations were representa tives of both the northern and south ern branches. Another feature was the complete harmony of each speak-
tion in Kansas City, he met on ship board a man whose portrait had hung ov.er the cot of his little son while he, the father, was abroad. Morning and night the child would look at the pic ture. One evening he said to his moth er, “ Mamma, I do wish papa would come out of the frame.” . Scarce fast enough could the gre'U Atlantic liner travel to keep pace with the father’s heart racing back to the longing boy. The loyal child of God, weary with his day’s toil, must freshen his strength at eventide with a renewed faith, look at the Master’s face; and even while he does, how yearns his heart with the child’s desire that his Lord would come again. That such is the state of mind which Jesus frankly sought to foster by exhortation and parable every Bible reader knows. It is as clearly His teaching that His actual, visible return would be continuously imminent; im minent in the sense that no other phophesied event should necessarily precede it. It is that for which He commands us earnestly to watch while occupying the vineyard and trading diligently with the talents. And we have been forgetting it; and we have been allowing His flock to forget it, until their hungry hearts have been the prey for false teachers, as always occurs when a distinctive section of truth is overlooked. It was this, not an attempt to pre cipitate controversy over viewpoint, «The Christian WorKers Magazine, May,
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