Dr. Louis T. Talbot, BIOLA Chancellor, will be happy to answer your question concern ing any portion of the Word of God which may be perplexing you. A free booklet of questions and answers is available upon re quest. This month's questions largely con cern the return of Christ.
DR. TALBOT’ WHAT ARE THE SIGNS OF CHRIST'S COMING Q. If we cannot tell when the Lord will return, then what is meant by the signs of His coming? A. That there have been and will be signs of the prophetic events related in the Word of God there can be no doubt. Matthew 24 and the book of Daniel and many other Scriptures make this clear. They are the shadows of the events of the last days. Some of them are the apostasy of the churches, the return of Israel to her land, the develop ment of the national federations, the rise of Russia, etc. But I repeat they are only shadows of the full- fledged political and religious move ments which will develop after the Lord comes to take His church unto Himself. I say these things are signs of the revelation not the rapture but since only seven years are to elapse between those two events, what is a sign of one indirectly is a sign of the other. I think that is why our Lord says in Luke 21:28: “ And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemp tion draweth nigh.” And the last prayer in the Bible — Revelation 22:20 is “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” CHRIST'S COMING Q. Doesn’t “Christ’s coming” mean His coming for the Christian at the time of death? A. Nowhere in Scripture is death ever referred to as “ coming for us.” In fact, death is called our enemy and it is not a welcome visitor, even when we are the Lord’s and are ready to go to be with Christ. When the Christian dies, he goes to be with Christ. His spirit goes to be
with the Lord, and his body is laid in the grave until the resurrection when spirit and body are reunited. The coining of Christ is quite another matter. The generation of believers who are living when Christ comes will never undergo death. Their bodies will be trans lated in the twinkling of an eye. Christ’s second return will be just as real, just as visible, just as per sonal, as was His first coming. Only this second time He will not come as a babe in a manger, in humilia tion, in order to take upon Himself a body that He might die on the cross for us. This time He will come in the glory that He had with the Father before the world was, in that resurrection body in which He ascended. You remember that at His ascen sion while the disciples “ looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel [evidently angels]. Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” Now Luke wrote this in Acts and he was one of the eye-witnesses and he makes it plain that His coming back will be just as visible, just as real, just as personal, as His going away was. John 14:3, which is so often read at funerals, has no refer ence whatever to death; Jesus said to His disciples just before He was arrested in the Garden of Gethsem- ane: “ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that whore I am, there ye may be also.” When death comes, it brings sor row; but when Jesus comes, our mourning will be turned into joy.
CHRIST'S TWO APPEARANCES Q. I have been told that the Bible teaches three appearings of Christ. This puzzles me for I thought there were only the first and second com ings. Please explain. A. I am not surprised that people are sometimes confused about this matter. Generally we do just speak of two appearings and that is all there are — only the second com ing is divided into two parts. Of course the first coming refers to Christ’s incarnation, His birth, His life on earth, His death, His resur rection and His ascension. But at Christ’s second coming there will first be the rapture and then the revelation; the first is Christ’s com ing for His church; the second His coming with the church to set up His kingdom. SALVATION BY WORKS Q. What is the meaning of Phi- lippians 2:12, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” ? A . Mark you, this verse does not say, “Work for your own salvation, “but work out your own salvation.” It is your own salvation that you are to work out. The text is best explained when considered in connection with the verse which follows: “ For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” The entire passage means that the Christian is to manifest, or show forth to the world, his salvation by a godly and careful walk. This he cannot do in his own strength; he can do it only by the power of God. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (Zech. 4:6).
THE KING'S BUSINESS
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