eternal issues, lacking in love to God, and to his fellowmen. Moreover, there is no greater joy than that of soul-winning. “He that winneth souls is wise . . . And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever” (Prov. 11:30; Dan. 12:3). And how can a mere mortal point a human soul to the living God, except through prayer and utter dependence upon Him? What do you understand the phrase, “The fear of the Lord,” to meanf I do not like to think of being afraid of God, This is an Old Testament expres sion, meaning “reverential trust.” You are right; we need not be, and we should not be, afraid of God, if we have trusted His atoning work on Calvary for our salvation. In His death and resurrection, our Lord Jesus took away even “the fear of death” (Heb. 2:14,15); and death is Satan’s most powerful weapon. Adam and Eve were afraid of God because they had sinned. But God clothed them with “coats of skins,” having shed the blood of the animal sacrifices, in order to obtain gar ments for His sinning creatures to wear as they stood in His holy pres ence. Even so, no man can stand before a holy God dressed in his own good works, or his own righteous acts. He must be clothed in “the righteousness of Christ.” But having received this covering for his sins, he is no longer afraid of God; he is not afraid of death or the grave. He knows that, in Christ, he is victor over death and the grave. Yea; he longs for the "appearing” of his Saviour; longs to see Him and to be with Him—forever. There is no fear of God to the born-again soul; rather, there is love and trust and worship and praise. Why send missionaries to other countries f They have their religions. Are they not good enough? “There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby
Will the great tribulation begin immediately after the church is translated ? No; it will take place during the last three and one-half years of Dan iel’s “seventieth week” (a period of seven years). As soon as the church is translated, and the restraining in fluence of the Holy Spirit working in the church is taken away, then shall “that wicked one be revealed,” who is the antichrist (2 Thess. 2:7-10). He will seem to the ungodly world to be a great peacemaker. To the Jews he will pretend to be their Messiah. He will confirm a cove nant with them, and will receive al legiance from them until he sets up his image in "the holy place” of the restored Jewish temple, to be wor shiped. Daniel calls this “the abom ination of desolation”1; and Christ quotes Daniel, using these very words concerning this event that is to be. An “abomination” to a de vout Jew is idolatry; the believing remnant of Israel will spurn the pre tentions of the false Messiah. Then the antichrist and all the hosts of Satan will turn upon Israel and per secute her. That will be “the great tribulation,” of which our Lord spoke. (Cf. Dan. 9:27 with Matt. 24:15 and following verses.) The great tribulation will termi nate with the return of Christ. Should we pray for the unsaved? By all means! We find in the Bible a number of such prayers. The Lord has set an example in Luke 23:34 Where He prayed for His own murderers. Stephen also prayed for those who stoned him. We are exhorted'in First Timothy 2:1 to “supplications, prayers, inter cessions, and giving of thanks . . . for aH men.” Paul connects this ex hortation with the definite, all-in clusive truth of verse 4 in this same chapter, saying that “God our Sav iour . . . will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowl edge of the truth.” “All men” surely includes the unconverted. Indeed, the Christian who does not spend much time in prayer for lost souls is selfish, unconcerned about
we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). But note the first clause of this verse particularly: “Neither is there sal vation in any other” ! Peter had just been preaching Christ crucified, and Christ risen from the dead, when he uttered these striking words before the Jewish Sanhedrin. And literally dozens of similar passages might be quoted. It is not enough to be sincere; the Mohammedan is zealously sincere— rabidly sincere, even to the point of the sword. It is not enough to pray; the pagan prays to his false gods— gods of wood and stone. It is not enough to have a moral code; the Confucianist has long had a moral code, but his soul is lost unless he believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Saviour from sin. Do you believe the Jewish temple will literally be rebuilt where the Mosque of Omar now stands? The prophetic Scriptures plainly teach that the Jewish temple will stand on the site where the Mosque of Omar now is. There have already been three temples: Solomon’s, Ze- rubbabel’s, and Herod’s. Then there is to be a temple during the tribula tion, in which the antichrist will set up the “ abomination of desolation,” which is his own image, to be wor shiped. Whether the present build ing on the temple site, which is the Mosque of Omar, will be converted into a Jewish temple for the period of the reign of the antichrist; or whether the Mosque of Omar will be destroyed, and the temple built on that site, I do not know. But Jew ish worship will be restored on that spot. Arab and Jew, both descend ants of Abraham, have contended through the years for Abraham’s land; but God will give it unto the children of Isaac, even as He has promised in His Word. The fifth temple will be the mil lennial temple, and is described in Ezekiel, chapters 40 to 44.
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