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m s m He reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest." Jeremiah 5:24
/T A ne of the precious truths in the Word of God is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ our Lord. We share the expectancy of the Apostle Paul which he expressed when writing to young Titus: “ Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:11,13,14). And we join the spirit of the Apostle John as he closes the last book of the New Testament, the Revelation, giving testimony to the Lord Jesus Christ: “He which testifies these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20). The question we ask is how can the Lord Jesus Christ come again? Several years ago, there was held in the city of Evanston, Illinois, under the auspices of the World Council of Churches, a series of studies which had to do with the Second Coming of Christ entitled “ Jesus the Hope of the World.” Theologians were gathered from the world around — from Europe and America. The conference was covered by the press, and one who followed the meetings carefully could soon see that there was division among theologians present. The European theologians had no
difficulty in believing that Jesus was the hope of the world, but our American theologians were not so sure. In analyzing the messages, it did not take long to find the reason for their uncertainty. European theologians had no difficulty in believing in Christ’s return simply because the Christ they had in mind was a Christ Who had died, Who was buried and Who had risen again from the grave. But the American theologians were not sure that Christ had risen. Consequently, they did not believe He would return again. There can be no doubt of the fact that there is a vital relationship between the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His return. He Himself sets this relationship clearly before us. In the 14th chapter of John’s Gospel, in his farewell address to His disciples, our Lord Jesus says, “ Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:1-3). This passage is familiar to us all, but the clause that interests us now is that of verse 3. “ If I go away, I will come again.” We must keep in mind that this was spoken by our Lord
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