December 1928
736
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
our Lord and o f His Christ.” And after all the conflict and tribulation which its graphic symbolism depicts, the closing words of the book (before the final benediction) are these: “Surely I come quickly. Amen; even so, come, Lord Jesus.” These announcements are quite apart from the symbolical prophecies in Revelation, for they are stated in plain language. When the whole revelation which God has given to man, culminates in this wondrous out look, we can only suppose that it is the intention of the Great Revealer to leave this as the final thought that should remain with us. This hope is not only kept constantly before us as a great coming event, but all future blessing to the indi vidual believer is associated with it. The achievement of our highest ideals takes place at the- coming of Christ; when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3 :2). How is it then that the great majority of present-day preachers have nothing to say regarding this climax of hope, and leave the whole subject to the realms of silence? Many of those who thus ignore the subject, believe that the promises for the future will be fulfilled in some way; and they would not perhaps deny that Christ may return sometime. They have no wish to take their stand in the ranks of the scoffers who say: “Where is the promise o f His coming?” Yet the strange fact remains that large numbers omit entirely from their discourses, a theme which is more frequently referred to in the New Testament than any other doc trine in the Christian religion. The only explanation of this strange anomaly is that it is due to a want of under standing of the true sequence in the plans and purposes of God, by which so many are led to postpone the coming of Christ to “the end of the world,” and thus to suppose that it is too far distant to be of any present interest to us. There are no doubt many also, who go much further than this, and who endeavor to explain away all the references to the personal return of Christ to this world, as having some other meaning. It is very difficult to maintain this view, when there are such numbers of definite statements in the New Testament regarding the coming of Christ; and those who try to explain them away can find no really consistent ground without going to the extreme limit which the higher critics reach. How W il l t h e C han g e T ak e P la c e ? No one who believes the Bible can douht that a better age is to succeed this one; but the main difference in the interpretation of the prophecies of the future, is in answer to the question: How is this age of blessedness to be brought about ? Is it to result from the gradual spread of the Gospel and Christian ideals which will produce an improved world; or is it to be introduced by the personal return of Christ and the establishment of His kingdom upon earth? A decision between these opposite views is of the first importance, as it affects the whole outlook and objective of any organization for the uplift of our fellow beings; and there is the still more serious consid eration whether the efforts that are put forth are in line with the purposes of God. We must therefore look into this with thoughtful care. The testimony of the Scriptures is consistent every where in regard to the manner in which this age will close; and the parables of Christ and His repeated warn ings are all to the same effect. Yet many Christian lead ers seem afraid to accept these plain statements through out the Bible or to preach them openly, because they think that such doctrine would interfere with missionary enter prise. They suppose that if the people believed that
namely, salvation from sin through the sacrifice of Christ, and the return of Christ for the restoration of all things. When the Lord was leaving His disciples, we have also His own plain statement: “I f I go, I will come again”; and to those who were judging Him, He did not hesitate to declare: “Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” (John 4:3; Matt. 26:64). The promise of the Old Testament and its fulfillment in the New, is the great theme of all evangelical preach ing; and it may be summed up in a word as salvation through Christ. Yet this does not complete the Gospel message, and its other half is left out when the great promise of the New Testament is omitted. A Christian is defined as one who has “turned from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven.” The attitude of the believer during the present age, is continually described as looking back in faith to the sacrifice of Christ, and looking forward with hope to His return. This faith and this hope are the two pillars on which the Christian life is built. T h e P lace of T h is D octrine If we subject the doctrine of the Second Advent to the test of merely counting how often it is spoken of in the New Testament, we find that it is more frequently mentioned than any other Christian doctrine. This “hope set before us” is referred to in every one of the epistles; and two whole epistles are written to explain it; namely, first and second Thessalonians. The theme of the last book of the New Testament is the coming of Christ, from its opening to its close. Revelation opens with the an nouncement: “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him.” Its central paean of triumph is: “The kingdoms of this zvorld are become the kingdom of
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