124 The Fundamentals lives of the early Christians, surely it is unfair to banish it from the Church today. I t is unfair to the world, for this truth is part of the Gospel which should be delivered to the world. It is unfair to the Church, for it deprives the people of Christ of one of the most powerful motives' for spiritual life and service. It is unfair to Christ Himself, for it ob- scures the reality of His personal presence within the heav- enly veil and substitutes for it the thin air of a mere spiritual influence. The hope of the second coming of our Lord has an im- portant bearing upon Christian life and doctrine. It has a vital relation especially to some points of our faith which are being attacked or obscured by the subtle tendencies of modern thought. . 1. I t is'bound up with belief in the supreme and infallible authority of the Holy Scriptures. I t would never be adopted on rationalistic grounds. Those who receive it rest their be- lief wholly on the authority of Scripture, believing that therein God has spoken in a way that can be trusted. They accept the Bible as the record of God’s revelation to man, and be- lieve that in prophecy He has disclosed His purpose concern- ing the future of the world. I t is a protest against the ten- dency within the Church to exalt the human reason above the .Word of God, and to reduce inspired prophecy to the level of merely human foresight. 2. I t bears testimony to the presence of God in human history. The tendency of our times is to explain away the supernatural element in history whether in the past, the pres- ent, or the future. To this tendency those who accept the doctrine of the second coming refuse to yield The history of the world is controlled by God; His hand is on the affairs of men. In the person of Jesus Christ He has already super- naturally intervened in the course of human history. It is believed, on the authority of His Word, that He will super-
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