VOL. VI
SEPTEMBER, 1915
No. 9
O NE D O L L A R A Y E A R
5fly* îKinifü HitateBS MOTTO : " I the Lord do keep It, I will water it every moment lest any hurt it, / will keep it night and day."—Isa. 27:3. R. A. TORREY, Editor T. C. H o r t o n , J. H. H u n t e r and J. H. S a m m is , Associate Editors A. M. Row, Manager Organ of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc. Los Angeles, California, U. S. A. Entered as Second*Cïass Matter November 17, 1910, at the postoffice at Los Angeles, California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Copyright by R. A. Torrey, D.D., and Bible In stitu te of Los Angeles, 1915
DIRECTORS
Lyman Stewart, President. William Thorn, Secretary. T. C. Horton, Superintendent. E. A. K. Hackett. J. M. Irvine.
Rev. A. B. Prichard, Vice-President. Leon V. Shaw, Treasurer. R. A. Torrey.
Giles Kellogg. H. A. Getz.
DOCTRINAL STATEMENT We hold to the Historic Faith of the Church as expressed in the Common Creed of Evangelical Christendom and including: The Trinity of the Godhead. The Deity of the Christ.
The Maintenance of Good Works. The Second Coming of Christ. The Immortality of the Spirit. The Resurrection of the Body. The Life Everlasting of Believers. The Endless Punishment of the Im penitent. The Reality and Personality of Satan. visitation and neighborhood classes. (8) Oil Fields, the oil fields. A mission to men on (9) Books and Tracts. Sale and dis tribution of selected books and tracts. (10) Harbor Work. For seamen in Los Angeles harbor. (11) Yoke Fellows Hall. Thoroughly manned. Our Mission for men with Boot Black and Newsboys Class and Street Meetings. (12) Print Shop. For printing Testa ments, books, tracts, etc. A complete establishment, profits going to free dis tribution of tracts. (7) Bible Women. House-to-house
The Personality of the Holy Ghost. The Supernatural and Plenary au thority of the Holy Scriptures. The Unity in Diversity of the Church,1 which is the Body and Bride of Christ. The Substitutionary Atonement. The Necessity of the New Birth. P u r p o s e The Institute trains, free of cost, accredited men and women, in the knowledge and use of the Bible. Departments: (*) The institute Classes held daily exceptSaturdays and Sundays. (2) Extension work. Classes and con ferences held in neighboring cities and towns. (3) Evangelistic. Meetings conducted by our evangelists. (4) Spanish Mission. Meetings every night. (5) Shop Work. Regular services in shops and factories. (6) Jewish Evangelism. Personal work among the Hebrews.
OUR WORK
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THE KING’S BUSINESS
Vol. VI.
SEPTEMBER, 1915
No. 9
TABLE OF CONTENTS Editorial: Unanswered Letters—This Magazine a Month in Advance—The Subtility of the Devil—When Will War Cease?—The Return to Faith—Gods Made by Human Minds—Belligerent Praying—The Return of B. Fay Mills— “Keep to the Right—Keep Moving” —What Makes Right and Wrong?___ ______________ 749 The Second Advent. By Dr. John McNicol._._______ ___ 755 The China Inland Mission. By Rev. F. A. Stevens.______ 760 The Ulster Revival o f ’59 (Continued). By John H. Hunter 761 Signs of the Times. By Rev. French E. Oliver, D.D............ 769 World-Wide Gleanings ...________ _________ J___________ 777 The Truth About Christian Science. By F. G. Huling........... 781 The Righteousness of God. By Prof. W. G. Moorehead...... 783 At Home and Abroad..!_....._,___ ...______ _______________ 787 A Chance to Do Good_________ ______ __:______.._______ 791 Light on Puzzling Passages and Problems..™........................... 793 Hints and Helps_________.....______ _________.....________ _ 795 Dedication of The Lepers’ Church. By W. M. Danner.____ 799 Bible Institute Activities. By the Superintendents....... ........... 803 International Sunday School Lessons. By R. A. Torrey and T. C. Horton _____________ _____ ................. .... .............. 809 Daily Devotional Studies in the New Testament for Indi vidual Meditation and Family Worship. By R. A. Torrey...._..— ____ _____ ____ ___ ________________ 822
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THE KING’S BUSINESS | m - ■ ' — H I Vol 6 SEPTEMBER, 1915 No. 9 m " 1 — i i
E D I T O R I A L
An enormous number of letters, some complimentary, some critical, some even bitter and venomous, are pour- mg in upon us. We wish that we had time to answer them all, but it is impossible. Nor can we print them
Unanswered
Letters
in this magazine, as well worthy of publication as many of them are. They would take up our entire space, and some of them would give rise to endless and profitless discussion and debate. So we simply acknowledge them in this way, thanking our friends not merely for the hearty compliments, but for the criticisms as well. As.a rule we get more help from the criticisms than from the compliments.
Many of dim subscribers livé across the ocean, and we have received some complaints that the magazine did not reach them until one or two Sundays had passed. Thus one or two of the Sunday School Lessons were out of date,'' and several of the devotional studies behind'
This Magazine a Month in Advance
time. We; therefore published the, August number on the first of July. The September number will be out August 1, and hereafter the magazine will continue to be published a full month in advance, so that it will reach our remotest Subscriber in due time for the -first iessoii to be available when needed.
An esteemed layman from an Eastern city was telling us how some students from a well-known theolog- ical seminary had told him that some of their teachers denied the Deity of the Lord Jesus and other funda
The Subtility of the Devil
mental truths. He asked them which teachers, and they named one after another. Then he said, “they told me one of the professors said to the class, ‘Now, boys, you mustn’t tell all this to the people all at once; they wouldn’t stand it. Give them a little from time to time as they will stand it.’ ” We exclaimed, “that is devilish.” “That is just what Blank said when I told him,” the layman replied. And it is dpvilish. , How. long will people who really believe the Bible and accept its great fundamental doctrines^ continue to support institutions when faith in the Bible and the Christ of the Bible is being undermined? How long will they consent to the ordination of men to the ministry, who enter the ministry to undermine rather than foster the faith of the young ? .... .
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THE KING’S BUSINESS We seem no nearer the end of this awful war than we were months ago. All predictions of its close have failed utterly. The day this magazine is mailed will be just a year from the beginning of the war. Scarcely
When Will War Cease?
any one believed then that it could last a year, but the end is not in sight. New nations are constantly being sucked into the vortex of the maelstrom. This particular war may come to a close with unexpected suddenness any day, but war will not cease. Those optimists who a year ago were saying that there could never again be a great war among civilized nations are now saying that this war will result in good by making another war impossible; that it will result in the death of militarism. They had better read their Bibles, where they will learn a true optimism that has some foundation in fact and in reason. In the Word of God they will learn that the Prince of Peace is coming—the same Jesus the Apostles saw ascend from Olivet into Heaven. When He comes there will be peace, permanent peace, and not till then. Even so, come Lord Jesus! A recent article by M. Henri Lavedan, once an atheist, caused the editor of Evangelical Christendom to say in the May-June issue of that publication, that “among the many documents dealing with the effect of the break down of European civilization, none published has been more striking than the article of M. Lavedan.” He says, in part: “I laughed at faith and I thought myself a wise man. When I saw France, bathed in blood, weeping, my laugh gave me no pleasure. I halted in my ways, and I saw soldiers walking calmly to death. I asked myself, ‘How do you do this?’ I considered the sacrifices of our people, and I saw them accepted by those who had faith in their hearts. It consoled me to think of the eternal country. . . . How difficult it is to be an atheist in the presence of a national cemetery! One cannot be so. I deceived myself. I was a fool. All has been a terrible dream. O France, France! return to your faith and to your better days! Separation from God means ruin. I do not know if I shall be alive to morrow. I must tell all my friends that Lavedan cannot dare die an atheist. Hell does not frighten me. This -thought dominates me, ‘God lives, and you are far from Him.’ My soul, rejoice that you have been permitted to see the day on which I, on my knees, learned to say, ‘I believe, I believe in God— I believe!’” “What M. Lavedan has expressed in literary language,” adds the editor of Evangelical Christendom, “has been experienced by thousands in the trenches and in the presence of battle. God is speaking to men in the solem nity of these hours of trial, and many true conversions have taken place. As a distinguished scholar once said, ‘I suddenly awoke to the belief that God is, and I became a changed man. I did not return to the faith I had discarded, because it meant nothing to me. I saw myself in the presence of God, and knew I needed Him, and He proved Himself to be my stay.’ ” The Return to Faith
In some quarters it is fashionable to declare that God did not make man, but that man (and usually it is charged to those theologically termed “orthodox”) made God, and made a poor job of it, too. 1
Gods Made by Human Minds
As a matter of fact, it is not the orthodox but the heterodox that are running the factories. The process seems to be something like this: “If I
THE KING’S BUSINESS 751 were my own ideal man, how would I treat my neighbor ? Then if that is what I would do, that is what God must do.” And more and more of the same kind of argument is employed until the “god” is complete. It seems such a pity to waste time and strength in making a god when God has given us a revelation of Himself in the Word—the Word written, and the Word incarnate. Of course the advantage of it is that every man can produce a god that suits him exactly, (and “there be gods many”), and then too, it does away with a lot of unpleasant things. But what about the god-maker’s ideal ? Where does it come from ? How high is it? What right has it to be recognized as an ideal by him or anyone else? Is there any standard, or is every man a standard to himself? Can we take as much of the character of Christ as suits us for our ideal god, and reject whatever does not strike our fancy? Can we accept as authentic as much of the record of His life as we deem necessary, and reject the re mainder as unhistoric ? When we honestly face the fact that we are indebted to the old book for all that we know of God and of Christ, that to it we owe 'whatever is worthy in our ideals, and that our ideals are unworthy by so much as they deviate from the revelation, then we shall go out of the business of trimming God to suit our ideals; we shall put ourselves lovingly and fearlessly into His hands that we may be conformed unto the image of His Son; and the song on our lips and in our hearts will be, “I shall be satisfied, when I awake with Thy likeness.” daily meetings for prayer are held and happy results have followed. But the revival is more marked in that part of the world that is in the throes of conflict. These facts are due to the troublous times on which we have fallen. As it is written, “In the day of trouble I will call upon Thee.” Man has been called “The praying animal,” a definition no less true because his prayers are mostly mere animal prayers—flesh clamoring for flesh. An English writer lately said, “The Christian consciousness has been slowly awakening to the absurdity of prayer to God that ends with self.’ A good deal of skeptical ridicule has been occasioned by that sort of prayer on the part of leaders in the continental conflict, and no doubt others have begged favors for “us four and no more,” with equal fervency. Apart from the fact that we find no encouragement for the prayers of Gentile powers, as such, in these “times” of their dominating the earth, it is Christianly incredible that God should favor their prayers for His blessing (!) on bolts of human wrath hurled at brother humans, or speed the aim of enemies that lurk for victims in the deep. This, at least, cannot be questioned:! Such prayers are not of the Spirit, any more than they are “in the Spirit,” since the Almighty himself cannot work contradictions, giving victory to both, and would not work such con tradictions in the hearts, ©f His true worshipers. But if men pray as Christ ians, King, Kaiser or common people, they will seek but one and the same Kingdom, and the glory of Him alone who is “the only Potentate,” there There is a revival of interest in the subject and practice of prayer. Numerous books and essays have recently been published on its nature, privilege and power. In our own country, particularly in the East, special and Belligerent Praying
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THE KING’S BUSINESS could'be, then, no. conflict between their prayers, to say nothing of their armies.. And^^there would be no occasion to blaspheme! Jehovah is no respecter of nations., Greek might look to Minerva, and Trojan to Mars-—consistent with their theology. But men who believe in “one God over all”—how can they expect Him to take the British shilling, or covet the Iron Gross! Doctor James Hastings says of such prayers that “They are offered to the wrong God . . . who is not the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is possible for a man to say, “O Lord Jehovah,” while he prays, “O Lord Mars.” A man’s'prayers are the index to his theology. What he asks of God shows what he thinks of Him. Prayers for national and international interests should be addressed to The God and Father of all men.” If so there could be no confusion of tongues. Parthian, Mede and Elamite would agree “as touching anything that they should ask,” and it should be done by the common Father in Heaven and the world would believe. The building up of the first empire was thwarted by the confusion of tongues; what wonder if that of the last fail for the same reason.—P. Last month we published the letter which Mr. Mills wrote to the Fellowship of Los Angeles, of which he was the leader for so many years. Since then two arti cles from his pen have appeared explaining his reasons for returning to the orthodox fold. A third article which has not yet ap peared is to complete the explanation. While we still believe, as we suggested last month, that the church ought to extend all charity to any brother who penitently confesses his sin, yet we must say that in the two explanatory articles which we have read, we miss the note of penitence, and we miss also any suggestion that Mr. Mills’s atti tude toward the Lord Jesus Christ during these years of wandering is recog nized by him as SIN. On the other hand, the articles are apologetic rather than penitent. Have we read them in a wrong tone of voice? We thought we read them sympathetically and with hearts attuned to catch the tone of a heart broken because of a realization of the sin of sins, the denial of the deity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The Return of B. Fay Mills said to have been given by Bishop Wilberforce to a London railway guard, who, recognizing the Bishop as the latter was stepping into the carriage, asked him, “What’s the way to heaven?’ and was told to “Turn to the right and go ahead.” ., What a wealth of good advice the sign contains, and, alas! how many pay jittle or- no attention to it. The disregard of it causes inconvenience, blocking of traffic, delay, and sometimes loss of temper. Were it heeded, it would result in everybody moving along rapidly,- comfortably, good-naturedly, and “getting somewhere” as they. say. ■But more than that, even. Were the deeper meaning of the sign heeded This sign displayed on a temporary sidewalk in front of a new building in this city recalls the witty answer “Keep to the Right —Keep Moving”
THE KING’S BUSINESS 753 (and we often wonder how many who read it see any deeper meaning in it), how it Would revolutionize daily living. “Keep to the RIGHT.” That would involve the careful study of the Word of God to determine what is right. By what means shall a young man learn His way to cleanse, O Lord? By taking careful heed to it, According to Thy Word.-—Psa. 119:7. To follow Conscience is safe, provided conscience is trustworthy. Most men’s consciences, however, are like their watches ; they need to be corrected frequently. The WORD must be to the believer’s conscience what the chro nometer is to his watch. It is not enough to know what is right; there must be the deliberate de cision to choose to do the right. This involves the prayerful waiting upon God for grace to choose. Steadfastness also is involved in the message of the sign “KEEP to the right.” It is not just one act, but a series of acts, so closely related, so quickly following each other that, like the moving picture, it produces the effect of continuity. “Keep moving.” Now and again some one pronounces judgment; “Bet ter living heresy than dead orthodoxy.” It sounds big, but dead orthodoxy is an impossibility. Death is always heretical. The orthodoxy that does not “keep moving” is just heresy in that measure. The religion of Jesus Christ is living, and life-giving, whatever current Christianity may be. “Dead orthodoxy” is a contradiction. Truth gripped and gripping always manifests itself in action, in loving action. “Faith works by love, if true,” said the saintly and sainted McCheyne. “I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart.” God’s law in the heart always mahi rests itself in God’s will in the life. “Keep moving” involves growth as well as activity. “They go from strength to strength.” Each day must see some advance in Christlikeness ; not always, perhaps, perceptibly to us, but always seen and marked by Him. “Add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge,” and keep on adding all that God has made ours in Christ, until the day when we shall see Him, and be like Him, and be satisfied with His likeness. Who keeps to the right and keeps moving will always be a safe, example for others to follow, and will never block the way causing others inconven ience, delay and disaster. “Keep to the right—keep moving.”
This question raised in a Men’s Bible Class recently, elicited an interesting discussion, during the, progress of which it became apparent that such a discussion was necessary to help some of the men to think cor
What Makes Right and Wrong?
rectly on this very important topic. At the beginning of the discussion it was the expressed opinion of many that right and'wrong,were determined by what God said; that what is not wrong morally would have been right had God chosen to say so. And it is safe to say that such a statement,- and nothing deeper, is accepted by many
754 THE KING’S BUSINESS Christian men and women. Is not this partly responsible for the glib criticism of what God does and should, or should not do, that is so prevalent on the part of the thoughtless, even though some of them think themselves thinkers? As the discussion proceeded it was shown that it is not the mere saying so of God that determines what is right and wrong; but that we must go deeper. Back of God’s Word is God’s nature. Things in accord with God’s nature are right, and things contrary to God’s nature are wrong. What God says is governed by what God is. To suppose for a moment that which is impossible, that God were suddenly to say that lying and stealing are right, would that make them right? No! Because they are contrary to God’s very nature. Of course God could not say so, because of the very moral limita tions of His own perfect nature; in other words because He is God. Right is right because it is in harmony with God; wrong is wrong be cause it is out of harmony with God. Being in harmony with God results in happiness; being out of harmony with God results in misery, and God (let us say it reverently) can not decree it otherwise. The great purpose, then, of salvation is not merely to get men to conform to a set of rules laid down by God, but to bring men in their nature into complete harmony with the nature of God.
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DR. WILLIAM EVANS Associate Dean, Bible Institute of Los Angeles
The Second Advent
By Dr. John IVlcNicol Principal of the Toronto Bible Training College
N ote . —Under the title, “The Signs of the Second Advent,” Dr. McNicol attracted marked attention by his address, delivered June 18 last, at Niagara- on-the-Lake. We are pleased to be able to present it to the readers of T he K ing ' s B usiness .—E ditor .
and our Lord began to instruct His disciples in the mysteries of the king dom or the principles of its inward and spiritual manifestation. A little later a new stage in His teaching ap pears when He directs the thought of the disciples to the secret of His own person, and follows it up with the pre diction of His death and resurrection, thus instructing them as to how He came into the world, and how He was going to leave it. Then they are ready for the last stage of His teach ing, that He was coming again in glory to establish His Kingdom. This was evidently in their minds at the time and they desired to know the signs which would indicate the ap proach of this transcendent event. I The occasion of the disciples’ ques tion was a prediction Jesus had made that same day as they were coming out from the temple. A time would come when this magnificent and co lossal structure, the pride of the Jews, a pride in which the disciples also
E have not been left in ignorance or uncertainty as to the signs which will herald the return of our Lord. He Himself has
foretold them in His discourse re corded in the 24th and 25th chapters of Matthew’s Gospel. This discourse was spoken on the Mount of Olives in reply to the question of the disci ples, “Tell us, when shall these things be ? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming and of the end of the age?” It is obvious that Jesus had already been instructing His disciples about His second coming. Nothing had been said about it in the context, yet the subject was in their minds. In the early days of our Lord’s ministry the main theme of His teaching was the kingdom of heaven, which He proclaimed as at hand. But the Jews were not ready for the kingdom; they did not recognize their King. The kingdom, therefore, in its outward, material manifestation was postponed,
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THE KING’S BUSINESS
shared, would be completely de stroyed : “There shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.” The disciples nat urally associated such a catastrophe with the end of the age, when His own return would take place. They doubtless thought the two events would coincide, and so their question took 'la ;two-fold form, ' “When ;shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming?” SIGN OF HIS COMING. In His reply our Lord keeps the two events in view. As He looks down 'the future the destruction of the temple is in the immediate fore ground and His second coming in the distant background. His whole ad dress gives a panoramic view of the period that was to elapse between His departure from the world and His return, and it runs along the follow ing plan. General characteristics of the whole period (ch. 24:3-14). Spe cial predictions concerning the fall of Jerusalem and the temple (ch. 24:13 28). Special predictions concerning His second coming (ch. 24:29-51). Illustrations enforcing the practical lessons of the discourse (ch. 25). Without going into an exposition of the whole of our Lord’s address, let us gather from it, with the help of the parallel account in the 21st chap ter of Luke, some of the outstanding features which are not merely signs of the second coming, but are also signs of the times in which we live. L A national sign. “Ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. | . . For mation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom : and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in divers places” (ch. 24:6, 7). That is. there shall be great national commotions and disasters. These, things do not indicate that the
Lord is immediately at hand. They are rather characteristic of the whole dispensation up to the time of His re turn. There shall be no peace among the nations nor harmony in creation until the Prince of Peace Himself re turns. The Lord warns us against concluding that events such as these are precursors of His immediate re- ,turn, for H.e -iadds, Nall: these things must come to pass, but the- end is not yet.” But while it is to be remem bered that the occurrence of these great disasters in the world at any time is not necessarily a sign of the Lord’s nearness, yet it may perhaps be true to say that as they are symp toms and signs of the world’s need of Christ they may be aggravated and emphasized as the age runs on, and that the greatest wars and the most frequent physical disturbances may be expected immediately before His ap pearance. The present unprecedent ed war, while not necessarily indica tive of the immediate return of our Lord, is at least a manifest sign of the utter failure of the nations and of their urgent need for the speedy com ing of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 2. A religious sign. The wide spread decay of faith and devotion. “And many false prophets shall arise and shall deceive many. And be cause iniquity shall abound, the love of the many shall wax cold” (ch. 24: 11, 12). Mere religious declension in itself is not a sign of the immediate return „of our Lord, for history tells us of several such periods in the past. The character of that religious declension which will immediately precede the coming of the Lord is, more explicitly defined for us by three of the Apostolic writers in subsequent parts.of the.-New Testament. Each of the Apostles, Paul, Peter and John, describes a special feature of the re ligious condition of the last days.
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John adds another feature of the last days in his 1st epistle, the 18th verse of the 2nd .chapter, “Little chil dren it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists : whereby we know that it is the .last time.” Now John is the only apostle who uses the term antichrist, and he defines it for us in the 22nd verse of the same chapter. “He is antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son.” The spirit of antichrist denies the unique relationship between the Fath er and the Son and directly attacks the essential Deity: of our Lord. Christianity declares that God has de scended to man in the person of Je sus of Nazareth: antichristianity teaches that man has been reaching Up to God by a process of evolution. The religion of Christ is the incar nation of God; the religion of anti christ is the deification of man. It is hardly necessary to point out that this antichristian spirit as John defines it dominates a very large part of mod ern religious thought. These three characteristics of the religious declension of the last time as defined by these three apostles are found existing together in the relig- ious condition of our own days. They have never been found existing to gether in any former period of the Church’s history, however dark it may have been. It is evident that that particular form of religious de cay which was to mark the period immediately preceding our Lord’s ad vent has already set in. ONLY ONE GOSPEL. 3. A missionary sign —the univer sal preaching of the Gospel, “This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a wit ness unto all nations” (24:14). Now the Lord comes to a definite and un mistakable sign of His coming, for He adds the statement, “And then
VOID QF. POWER. Paul’s description of this religious declension is in 2 Timothy 3 :l-5. It will be noticed, how this passage dif fers from the description of the state of society in Paul’s own day as given in the first chapter of Romans. There is an absence of the grosser forms of wickedness which characterized that age. The special feature which in Paul’s, description marks the charac ter of the last days is an outward re ligiousness that is; void of inward power. “But know this, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves . having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” There may be much out ward form but little spiritual life: there may be perfect organization and much aggressive effort and yet little achievement, because the Divine .mo tive power is absent. Many thought ful Christian leaders have been call ing our attention during the past few years to such a condition in the Church as exactly corresponds with this feature of the Apostle’s descrip tion of the religious condition of the last days. Peter describes the character of the last days in the 3rd chapter of his second epistle, vs. 3 and 4: “Know ing this first that there shall come in the last days, scoffers walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for, since the fathers fell asleep, all things con tinue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” That is, there shall be a prevailing skepticism as to the miraculous, based on the continued observance of the uniformity of the laws of nature. There has been no miracle or Divine intervention in our experience of nature, therefore it is folly to expect such a supernatural event as the personal return of Jesus Christ. This describes exactly the scientific attitude of the present day.
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whole wide world. And so the Gos pel must first be preached to all the nations. And what a powerful missionary motive this becomes. The second quadrennial report of the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions, in commenting on the watchword of the movement, “The Evangelization of the World in this Generation,”made this statement, “The Volunteers believe this is a duty be cause Christ has demanded it. They believe it is a privilege because it will hasten the appearing of Jesus Christ.” 4. A Jewish sign —the national re vival of Israel and the termination of the long tribulation of the Jewish na tion. In verses 29 and 30 our Lord connects His return immediately with the close of a tribulation which He has been speaking of in the preceding verses. The beginning of this tribu lation is referred to in vs. 21. It was to be a catastrophe without par allel in the history of any nation. This took place at the destruction of Jeru salem and the dissolution of the Jew ish state in the year 70, when over a million Jews were slain and so many captive Jews sold in the Roman slave markets that the price of slaves fell to a mere trifle. But this was not the end of the Jewish tribulation. The Jews have been in tribulation of greater and less severity ever since. They have been literally tossed to and fro among all the nations of the earth. Their tribulation has been unparal leled not only in the terrible severity with which it fell upon the nation at the first, but also in its age-long dur ation. “Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles,” says the par allel passage in Luke, “until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Now our Lord says that “immediately af ter the tribulation of those days,” that is, as soon as it comes to an end, His own return in glory will take place.
shall the end come,” the end of which the Apostles were thinking when they asked their question. What does He mean by the Gospel of the Kingdom? If we turn to Acts 20:24-25, we shall find that Paul uses the term “Gospel of the Grace of God” and “preaching the Kingdom” as synonymous ex pressions. It is therefore clear that in His mind the Gospel of the King dom and the Gospel of the Grace of God are the same. As a matter of fact there is only one Gospel, the good news of redemption, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. It has many relations and many aspects, and so the word is used in the New Testament with dif ferent modifying expressions. It is the Gospel of God because God is its author; it is the Gospel of Christ be cause Christ is its agent; it is the Gospel of the Grace of God because Grace is its origin; it is the Gospel of the Kingdom because the Kingdom is its issue. But it is always the one and the same Gospel, the announce ment of redemption in all its glorious sweep and fullness. Now our Lord declares that this must be made known to the whole world before He comes back again. And this is to be done not that it may result in the conver sion of the nations, but for a testi mony to them. And this is only fair both to the world and to the Lord Himself. It is only fair that before the day of grace ends all the nations of the world should be told that Jesus Christ, God’s Son, has been here and has secured by His cross the world’s redemption. And it is only fair to the Lord Him self that His Church should be com posed of representatives from all the nations. The new Head of the race needs the whole human race to repre sent Him fully and to express Him self through, and the Church, the body of Christ, must be gathered from the
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direct reference from the parable of the virgins in the 25th chapter of Matthew. All the ten virgins, the wise as well as the foolish, are repre sented as slumbering until the mid night cry is heard, “Behold the bride groom cometh: go ye out to meet Him.” This would seem to indicate that a general indifference to the sub ject of the Lord’s return, because of its long delay, would characterize the whole Church, but that just before actual appearing there would be an awakened conviction of His near ap proach. Whatever the midnight cry may mean it would seem at any rate to indicate a revival of interest in the doctrine of the Lord’s return as oc curring shortly before His personal appearance. During, the past century there was a wide-spread awakening among ev angelical Christians to this great hope of the Church. During the last few years even radical criticism had been turning its attention to the New Tes tament teaching about Christ’s second coming. And the momentous events of the past months with their shat tering disappointment of human ex pectations, have turned the hearts of multitudes to the Divine message of prophecy and to the promise of the coming of the King. Never before in the history of the Church have men been so ready to receive this truth, All these signs of the second ad vent gather deep significance from their concurrence with one another in the very days in which we live. They do not declare the hour or the day of His appearing. But they are the sound of His footfall as His approach draws nearer, and they help us, while we work and wait for the Master, to watch for His return and to listen for the coming of His feet.
JEWISH REVIVAL. We are already seeing signs of the revival of the Jewish nation. The Zionist movement began in 1897 with the object of reorganizing the Jews and restoring them to their own land. The present war will almost certainly result in the delivery of Palestine from the Turk and probably in the estab lishment of an independent Jewish state. Thus the momentous events of these days are fast preparing the way for that particular event with which our Lord immediately connects His glorious appearing. 5. A Social sign. In close con nection with the close of Israel’s trib ulation we find in the Gospel of Luke the prediction of great distress and apprehension among the nations (Luke 21:25, 26). “Upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the bil lows : men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are Coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken (R. V.). Do not these words reflect the very feeling of the world today? During the past year the things which men counted solid and secure have gone to pieces, the foundations of civ ilization have been shaken, and the whole social and economic fabric is threatened with collapse. The pres ent world catastrophe simply staggers the mind and no man dare imagine what its ultimate results may be. The world is fast coming to the end of itself and to that state in which it can only wait in utter helplessness for the return of Him who alone can solve its problems and establish the nations in peace and righteousness. 6. To all these signs may be add ed another and final one, which we may call a Christian sign. This is drawn by inference rather than- by
THE KING’S BUSINESS CHINA INLAND MISSION By REV. F. A. STEVENS
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I N THE summer of 1888 Hudson Taylor visited the United States and Canada for the first time, by invitation of D. L. Moody, for Northfie'.d, and Dr. William J. Erdrnau, for the Niagara Bible Conference. As a result, wholly unexpected by Mr. Taylor, God stirred the hearts of His people to give of their money and their prayers,, and to offer personal life service, to such an extent that fourteen young missionaries sailed for China with Mr. Taylor; and a small coun cil, with Henry IT. Frost as secretary, was formed to. deal with other candidates and to represent the mission at home. It is eighteen years since this animal con ference was discontinued, and now, in an swer to much prayer and thought during several years, th e ; China Inland Mission has been led to convene a Jubilee Confer ence for missionary interest and Bible study in the same spot-—Old Niagara, Ontario. Because of the close connection of place and persons and history, the new Con ference, whilst entirely distinct, seems to be the natural heir to all the traditions and affectionate interests, of the old Confer ence. It has been delightful to receive cor dial responses from many of the old friends, and to meet them again on the opening day, June 15. Many memories of departed teachers and friends were recalled by those who had known and loved them. ■ The meetings continued for six days, and we realized a deep sense of being.gathered together to the Lord. * No discordant note was heard, and the fellowship among those assembled was very real. The attendance at some of the meetings rose to nearly 300, about half of these having come from places at a distance. Pittsburg, Philadel phia, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Montreal, Toronto, London, Los Angeles and many other cities were represented, and many friends who could not come sent messages of fellowship, congratulation and prayer. The Bible teachers were all members of
the Council of the mission, and among them we listened to the veteran, Dr. W. J. Erd- man, who at 85 is still vigorous and clear in his teaching ; his son. Prof. Charles Erd- rrian, of Princeton.; Rev. R. Â. Torrey, D.D., Dean of thé Bible Institute of Los Angeles ; Principal T. O’Meara, of Wycliffe College, Toronto ; Principal J. McNicol, of the Toronto Bible College; Dr. F. H. Farr, of Philadelphia, and others; Rev. Henry. W. Frost, the home director, presided throughout the Conference. The missionary speakers- were Dr. and Mrs. F. H. Judd, Dr. and Mrs. F. À. Kel ler, Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Wilcox, Rev. and Mrs. J. Vale, Rev and Mrs. F. A. Stevens, Mrs. Shapleigh and Miss Palmer. The location of the Queen’s Royal Hotel and the pavilion on a bluff overlooking the Niagara River and Lake Ontario; with the historic fort Mississariga, on the Canadian side, and Fort Niagara, at Youngstown, on the American, shore, contributed to afford an enjoyable holiday, along with the op portunities of blessing which- the Confer ence brought to us. From the first, it was felt that the Confèrence ought to be called again for next year, and a unanimous vote of the Mission Council (of which twenty members were gathered together) and then a unanimous vote of the whole Conference, confirmed this purpose. Our hearts are filled with thanksgiving to God as we come down from this high place of privilege and blessing. Offers Orange Grove A young man eager and desirous of ob taining training in the Bible Institute for service in the foreign field would dispose of a valuable piece o f orange land close to Los Angeles,' at very reasonable terms. Money derived therefrom will be used for definite training and field work. Address “Daniel,” care of .Superintendent of the Bible Institute.
Great Re v i va l s and Evang e l i s t s By JOHN H. HUNTER III. ULSTER REVIVAL OF 1859, (Continued) Copyright, 1915, by John H. Hunter
soon entered the school with a beaming face, and, going up to the master, said in his simple way, ‘O Mr. Blank, I am so happy! I have' the Lord Jesus in my heart!’ Strange words,» in cold times! Natural words, when upon the simple and the young the Spirit is poured out, and they feel what is meant by ‘Christ in you the hope of glory,’ and utter it in the first terms that come! The attention of the whole school was attracted. Boy after boy silently slipped out of the room. After awhile, the master stood upon something which enabled him to look over the wall of the playground. There he saw a number of his boys ranged round the wall on their knees in earnest prayer, every one apart. The scene over came him. Presently he turned to the pupil who had already been a comforter to one schoolfellow, and said, ‘Do you think you can go and pray with these boys?’ He went out, and, kneeling down among them, began to implore the Lord to forgive their sins, for the sake of Him who had borne them all upon the cross. Their silent grief soon broke into a bitter cry. As it reached the ears of the boys in the room, it seemed to pierce their hearts, as by one consent they cast themselves upon their knees and began to cry for mercy. The girls’ school was above, and the cry no sooner pene trated to, their room than, apparently well knowing what mourning it was, and hearing in it a call to themselves, they, too, fell upon their knees and wept. Strange dis order for’schoolmaster and mistress to have to control! The united cry reached the adjoining streets, Every ear, prepared by the prevailing Spirit, at once interpreted it as the voice’of those who look upon Him whom they have pierced, and mourn for. Him. One and another of the neigh-
® N THE preceding articles I ” ^.;&ave. endeavored' to give the reader some account of the beginnings of the Ulster Re- vival of ’59, and a general
statement of its progress. This article re lates some incidents that occurred in the city of Coleraine, a flourishing business center in the north of County Antrim, as related by Dr. Gibson. There is one incident so striking, in the commencement of the movement in Cole raine, that it cannot be omitted in any but the most cursory statement on the subject. It is impossible to present it in a better form than has been done by Mr. Arthur, in one of his Tracts on the Revival. After narrating an impressive scene witnessed by one of his brethren, a Methodist minister in the town, he says: “Not far from the spot where this took place stands a large school, belonging to the corporation of London, or that body con nected with it, known as the Irish Society, who are landlords of Coleraine, and of much property around. In it a boy was observed under deep impressions. The master, seeing that the little fellow was not fit to work, called him to him, and advised him to go home, and call upon the Lord in private. With him he sent an older boy, who had found peace the day before. On their way they saw an empty house, and went in there to pray together. The two schoolfellows continued in prayer in the empty house till he who was weary and heavy-laden felt his soul blessed with sacred peace. Rejoicing in this new and strange blessedness, the lit tle fellow said, ‘I must go back and tell Mr. Blank.’ The boy, who a little while ago had been too sorrowful to; do; his work,
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appeals to the consciences of sinners. After a lapse of nearly an hour, it became mani fest that more than one-half of the congre gated multitude could not hear the voices of the speakers on the platform, when it was suggested that the people should separate into distinct congregations or groups, and that a minister should preach to each group. This was immediately done, and some three or four separate audiences were soon listen ing with most marked attention to as many preachers, for all the ministers of all the evangelical churches in the town were pres ent. PECULIAR ATTENTION “I was engaged in addressing a large group of people composed of all ages and of all ranks of the community, from a por tion of Scripture, when I became struck with the deep and peculiar attention which mani festly every mind and heart was lending to what I spoke. As to manner, my address was very calm; as to matter, it consisted of plain gospel truth, as it concerns man’s lost condition on the one hand, and the free grace of God, as displayed in salvation, on the other. I know that the addresses of my brethren were of a like character. I never saw before, in any audience, the same searching, earnest, riveted look fixed upon my face, as strained up to me from almost every eye in that hushed and apparently awe-struck multitude. I remember, even whilst I was speaking, asking myself, How is this? Why is this? And yet, however, the people stood motionless, and perfectly silent; when, about the time at which the last speaker was closing his address, a very peculiar cry arose from out a dense group at one side of the square, and in less than ten minutes a similar cry was repeated in six or eight different groups, until, in a very short time, the whole multitude was divided into awe-struck assemblages around persons prostrate on the ground, or sup ported in the arms of relatives or friends. I hurried to the center of one of these groups, and having first exhorted the per sons standing around to retire, and leave me to deal with the prostrate one, 1 stooped
bors came in, and at once cast tbemselves upon their knees and joined in the cry for mercy. These increased, and continued to increase, till first one room, then another, then a public office on the premises, in fact, every available spot, was filled with sinners seeking God. Clergymen of different de nominations, and men of prayer, were sought, and they spent the day in pleading for the mourners—sweetest of all the toils this earth doth witness, when men, them selves enjoying heavenly peace, labor in in tercession for those who are now, as they were once, broken-hearted by a sight of their sins, and striving to enter in at the strait gate, in order to walk in the narrow way! Thus passed hour after hour of that memorable day. Dinner was forgotten, tea was forgotten, and it was not until 11 o’clock at night that the school premises were freed from their unexpected guests.” ANOTHER ACCOUNT The following statement respecting the movement in Coleraine is furnished by the Rev. J. A. Canning, of that town : “Upon the evening of the 7th of June, 1859, an open-air meeting was held in one of the market-places of the town, called the ‘Fair-Hill.’ The announced-object of the meeting was to receive and hear one or two of the ‘converts,’ as they began to be called, from a district some eight or ten miles south of Coleraine. The evening was one of the 'most lovely that ever shone. The richly wooded banks of the river Bann, which bounds one side of the square in which the meeting was held, were fully in prospect, and there was not a cloud in the sky. Shortly after 7 o’clock, dense masses of people, from town and country, began to pour into the square by all its approaches, and in a short time an enormous multitude crowded around the platform from which speakers were to address the meeting. After singing and prayer, tile converts, a young man and a man more advanced in years, and both of the humbler class, proceeded to ad dress the meeting. Their addresses were short, and consisted almost entirely of a detail of their own awakening, and earnest
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had begun in the market-square was now advancing with marvelous rapidity in the homes of the people. As I approached door after door, persons were watching for me and other ministers, to bring us to deal with some poor agonized stricken one; and when the morning dawned, and until the sun arose, I was wandering from street to street, and from house to house, on the most marvelous and solemn errand upon which I have ever been sent. THE ELDERS JOIN IN “Throughout the following day, the 8th of June, scenes similar to those which I have alluded to continued to occur in pri vate houses in almost every street. In the evening a dense multitude assembled again in the market-place; and again, simultan eously with the preaching of the gospel and prayer, many more than on the pre ceding evening sank upon the ground, and with bitter cries besought the Lord Jesus Christ to come in mercy to their souls. Profiting by the experience of the preceding night, elders of the churches and other Christian people sought now to find some building where the many ‘stricken ones,’ as they began now to be called, from the sur rounding country might receive shelter, and the attention of Christian ministers and others until the morning. Just at this pe riod the New Town Hall of Coleraine had been completed, though it had never yet been used for any purpose. Someone sug gested it as a fitting place of shelter. The suggestion was. at once acted upon, and in the town a solemn interest attaches to the beautiful building, from the fact that the first use for which it was ever employed was to shelter in its halls many, very many poor sinners, whilst they agonized with God for the pardon of sin. “I may here mention that our Town Hall has been the scene and witness, for seven months, of one of the most blessed fruits of God’s gracious work among us. Early in June a meeting for united prayer, by members of all evangelical denominations, began to assemble at half-past nine o’clock, to continue for half an hour. For months
over him, and found him to be a young man of some eighteen or twenty years, but personally unknown to me. He lay on the ground, his head supported on the knees of an elder of one of our churches. His eyes were closed; his hands were firmly clasped, and occasionally very forcibly press ed upon the chest. He was uttering in cessantly a peculiar deep moan, sometimes terminated in a prolonged wailing cry. I felt his pulse, and could discern nothing very peculiar about it. I said, softly and quietly in his ear, ‘Why do you cry so?’ He opened his eyes for an instant, and I could perceive that they had, stronger than I ever saw it before, that inward look, if I might so express it, which indicates that the mind is wholly occupied with its own images and impressions. ‘Oh!’ he exclaimed, high and loud in reply to my question, ‘My sins! My sins! Lord Jesus, have mercy upon my poor soul! O Jesus! come! O Lord Jesus, come!’ I endeavored to calm him for a moment, asking him to listen to me whilst I set before him some of the promises of God to perishing sinners. At first I thought that I was Carrying his attention with me in what I was saying, but I soon discovered that his whole soul wTas filled with one idea—his guilt and his danger —for, in the middle of my repetition of some promise, he would burst forth with the bitter cry, ‘O God, my sins! My sins!’ At length I said in his ear, ‘Will I pray?’ He replied in a loud voice, ‘Oh, yes!’ I en gaged in prayer, and yet I doubt whether his mind followed me. beyond the first sen tence or two. As I arose from prayer, six or eight persons, all at the same instant, pressed around me, crying, ‘Oh, come and see (naming such a one)—and—and,’ until I felt for a moment bewildered, and the prayer went out from my own heart, ‘God guide me!’ I passed from case to case for two or three hours, as did my brethren in the ministry, until, when the night was far spent, and the stricken ones began to be removed to the shelter of roofs, I turned my face homewards through one street, when I soon discovered that the work which
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