FORWARD
This book is designed mainly for those who are
beginners in the study of prophetic and dispensational truth, though should it
fall into the hands of those who are "looking for that blessed hope and
the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ" and who
have, perhaps for years, been giving earnest heed to the "more sure Word
of prophecy," we trust that it will afford meat in due season and stimulate
praise to God for the marvelous and blessed prospect which His Word sets before
us.
Many books have already appeared before the
public presenting in clear and Scriptural language the various aspects of the
subject of our Lord's Return, and we hesitated long before we decided to add
one more to the number. The different chapters in this volume have been given
by the writer in sermon and lecture form to numerous audiences both in this
country and in England, and it is only the repeated requests of many of those
who have heard these addresses which has caused us to now set them down in
writing; so that they may be preserved in a more permanent form and obtain a
still wider hearing. They are sent forth with the prayer that the God of all
grace will condescend to use them in blessing to His dear people and in the
conversion of lost sinners even more widely than in their oral delivery.
While it is true that many books which treat of
the Redeemer's Return have been issued and widely circulated, yet, there are
still great numbers of the Lord's people who know next to nothing about this
precious theme. Notwithstanding the fact that the Second Coming of Christ
occupies a prominent place in the Holy Scriptures, notwithstanding the fact
that this subject is a most practical one having, as it does, some
bearing on every phase of our present and future life, and notwithstanding that
it is calculated to awaken a deep interest in "things to come" and lead
to definite heart-searching nevertheless, the vast majority of our pulpits
entirely ignore the subject and in consequence great numbers of our
church-members are in almost total ignorance concerning those things which
God's Word declares will shortly come to pass. It is with the earnest desire
to reach a few of these that this book has been prepared and is now sent
forth.
We wish it to be clearly understood that there is
nothing in these pages except that which we have ourselves first received. We
lay no claim at all to originality. We have read diligently many works on
prophetic themes and have sought to "prove all things" and to "hold fast that
which is good." It is impossible for us now to do more than make this general
acknowledgment of our indebtedness to other students of the Word. We have
gleaned in many fields, gathering a fragrant flower here and there, and all
that we now attempt is to arrange these in simple form, leaving our
readers to admire the products of the labors of others into which we have
entered.
INTRODUCTION
The Redeemer's Return! Here is a theme
which in this day is regarded by many well-meaning people as an ideal of
visionaries or as the pet hobby of certain cranks. So grievously has the study
of Prophecy been ignored, so little place is given in the modern pulpit to the
exposition of eschatology, and so generally is the daily reading of the Bible
neglected by those in the pew, that it is an easy matter to persuade the
average church-goer that the subject of the Second Coming of Christ is
impractical and one that had better be left alone. Moreover, this
subject has suffered so grievously at the hands of those who are the enemies of
the Cross, that many Christians have been prejudiced against it. Satan has not
been slow to avail himself of the wild and unscriptural teaching of such men as
Irving and Joseph Smith, and more recently, Dowie and Pastor (?) Russell; nay,
he has employed them to cast reproach on those who do seek to search and
interpret the Prophetic Scriptures. Yet, notwithstanding, it is the imperative
duty of every believer to seriously and prayerfully examine the Scriptures for
himself and see what the Word of God has to say about Coming Events. In
that Word we are plainly warned that in the "last days" (of this age) there
should arise those who ridicule and mock at the very doctrine of which we are
now speaking (see 2 Pet. 3:3,4). Therefore we need not be surprised if we hear
and read of those who seek to cast reproach upon this blessed theme; instead,
as the Dispensation draws to a close, we should expect just what we now
hear and see on every side.
The Redeemer's Return! Is there anything
that can be compared with this momentous and stupendous prospect? Excepting
the Cross of Calvary, the greatest event of all in the past history of the
world was the Advent of God's Son to our earth. The Divine Incarnation was the
theme of Old Testament prophecy. The very first promise ever given to fallen
man was that the woman's Seed should come and bruise the Serpent's head (Gen.
3:15). When the Divine revelation was committed to writing, numerous passages
recorded the promised descent of God's Son to this earth. The prophets of
Israel made known the fact that the Coming One was to be of the stock of
Abraham and a lineal descendant of David, and thus for fifteen centuries the
Hope of Israel was the Messianic Hope. And, when the fullness of time was come
God sent forth His Son born of a woman.
It is impossible for us to fully estimate the
tremendous importance of the first Advent of Christ to this earth, The
Divine Incarnation is without a parallel in the annals of the human race.
Heaven itself was stirred at the miraculous birth of the God-Man. Unto the
angels was entrusted the honorous commission of announcing the birth of
the Saviour. Heathendom was affected, the good news being conveyed to
Chaldea by means of a mysterious "star" which heralded the birth of the King of
the Jews. The Coming of Christ to this world changed its chronology,
for all civilized time is now by common consent dated from the Bethlehem
manger. As the result of the first Advent a new era was inaugurated, a new
prospect was set before the sons of men, the door of mercy was flung wide open,
and command was given that the glad tidings should be made known to every
creature.
But wondrous and blessed as was the first Advent
of our Lord in many respects, His Second Coming will be even more
momentous. At His first appearing He was here in weakness and humiliation,
but at His second He shall come in power and glory. When He was here before He
was "despised and rejected of men," but when He comes back again every knee
shall bow before Him and every tongue confess His Lordship. When He was here
before He paid tribute to Caesar, but when He returns He shall reign as King of
Kings and Lord of lords. When He was here before His personal ministry was
confined to the land of Palestine, but when He returns "the earth shall be
filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover
the sea" (Hab. 2:14). Who can comprehend or enumerate the blessings which
shall attend the Return of our Redeemer! Then will it be that the "dead in
Christ" shall be raised from their graves and the living saints "changed," so
that every believer will then be "conformed to the image of God's Son." Then
it will be that the Lord's servants will be rewarded for their labors and those
that were despised and hated by the world shall be recognized and honored by
the Christ of God. Then it will be that Israel shall repent of their sins,
receive Christ as their Messiah and Saviour, and be restored to the Holy Land.
Then will the promise made to the patriarchs be literally and completely
fulfilled. Then it will be that that old Serpent the Devil shall be removed
from these scenes where he has wrought such havoc and produced such misery, to
be chained for a thousand years in the Bottomless Pit. Then it will be that a
groaning Creation shall be delivered from its present bondage, when the Curse
which now rests upon all Nature shall be removed, and when the wilderness and
the solitary place shall be made glad; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom
as the rose (Is. 35:1). And, best of all, then it shall be that Christ Himself
shall enter into His blood-brought inheritance, when He shall see of the
travail of His soul and be satisfied. Therefore, ought not such a subject,
which presents such a glorious prospect, gladden our hearts and secure our most
diligent attention!
God does not desire His dear people to remain in
ignorance of His future purposes concerning them, concerning His Son, and
concerning this earth. Said the apostle as he was moved by the Holy Spirit,
"We have also a more sure Word of Prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take
heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the
day star arise in your hearts" (2 Pet. 1:19). If then we give diligent heed to
the Prophetic Word, if we will prayerfully study that which God has been
pleased to reveal unto us concerning things to come, and if we will
believe in our hearts all that the prophets have spoken, then
shall we be like the Thessalonians of whom it could be said - "But of the times
and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For
yourselves know perfectly that the Day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the
night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction
cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not
escape. But ye, brethren are not in darkness, that that day should
overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the
children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let
us not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober" (1 Thess. 5:1-6).
The Redeemer's Return! This was the great
hope of the early Christians. In the first century of the Christian era it was
the normal and regular thing to find that the expectation of the returning
Saviour filled the vision and hearts of His followers. The apostles themselves
taught their converts to look for the appearing of Christ. Writing to
the Thessalonian saints the apostle Paul reminded them how they had
"turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for
His Son from heaven" (1 Thess. 1:9, 10). Writing to the twelve tribes
scattered abroad, the apostle James bade them be patient and stablish
their hearts, basing his exhortation on the fact that "The Coming of the
Lord draweth nigh" (Jas. 5:8). Writing to "the strangers scattered
throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia "who were in
heaviness through manifold temptations," the apostle Peter expressed the
wish that the trial of their faith "might be found unto praise and honor and
glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 1:7). Writing to his
"little children" (a term of endearment) the apostle John lovingly
exhorted them to abide in Christ so that when He should appear they might have
confidence and "not be ashamed before Him at His coming" (1 John 2:28).
Writing of the apostasy which was to come, the apostle Jude quoted the
prophecy of Enoch, who declared, "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten
thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all" (Jude 1:14, 15). Thus
we find that it was the uniform practice of the apostles to hold up a
returning Saviour before the children of God.
Right at the close of the first century A. D.
when the time had come for the Sacred Canon to be completed, our Lord Himself
sent His angel to communicate a special message to each of the seven Churches
which were in Asia, and in five of them, namely, in the Epistles addressed to
the Churches in Ephesus, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis and Philadelphia (see Rev.
2:5, 16, 25; 3:3, 11) Christ makes distinct reference to His imminent
appearing, while His last words to His loved disciple were, "Surely I
come quickly" (Rev. 22:20).
We have thus shown that this Age began with a
ringing testimony to the truth of our Lord's Return. Each of the apostles, of
whose writings we have any inspired record, taught their converts to look for
their Saviour's appearing. Alas! that this testimony was not maintained.
Alas! that this Blessed Hope should ever have become dim. Alas! that it
should, for more than a thousand years, have been almost totally lost to the
Lord's people. Yet so it was. The immediate successors of the apostles turned
their attention to other things: as it was with the Pharisees in the days of
our Lord, so these tithed anise and mint but "omitted the weightier
matters." Instead of expounding the Prophetic Scriptures and setting
before the Church its one great Hope, the early "Church Fathers," for the most
part, spent their time in wrangling among themselves. Even before the apostles
themselves had left the earth, false teachers crept in and began to
devour the flock, and within three centuries the whole professing Church had
become Paganized. Then followed the Dark Ages - aptly named, for the lamp of
Prophecy had ceased to shine and the prospect of the speedy return of
the Morning Star had completely disappeared. As our Lord Himself had foretold,
the virgins all slumbered and slept: no longer were His people looking
for the Coming of the Bridegroom.[1]
We need not remind our readers it was during this
period known as the Dark Ages that the Roman Catholic Church sprang into
prominence and the power, holding sway over all Europe and binding burdens on
the souls of men which were grievous to be borne. The Bible was withheld from
the laity and the vain traditions of men were substituted for the living
Oracles of God. Instead of proclaiming salvation by the finished work of
Christ, the multitudes were taught that heaven could only be obtained by
penance, legal works, priestly mediation, and purgatorial fires. Instead of
teaching her people that the hope of the saints was the appearing of our great
God and Saviour Jesus Christ, Rome taught that the hope of humanity lay in the
subjugation of the entire world to the imperial rule of the Pope. Instead of
exhorting believers to "look up" (Luke 21:28), the Roman Pontiff sought
to dazzle the eyes of his devotees with the gorgeous ceremonialism of an
earthly ritual.
After a thousand years of spiritual darkness the
Sun of Righteousness shone forth over Europe with healing in His beams. During
the sixteenth century God raised up a number of mighty men who, by the power of
His Spirit, were delivered from the iron shackles of the Papacy and made to
rejoice in the freedom into which, the Lord Jesus brings His people. Under
God, these men brought about what is known as the great Reformation. During
this Reformation the Holy Scriptures were restored to the people and given to
them in their own native tongues. The glorious doctrine of Justification by
Faith alone, was sounded forth throughout Germany, Switzerland, Italy and the
British Isles, and multitudes were "added unto the Lord." Many precious
truths, which for long centuries had lain buried beneath the rubbish heap of
human traditions, were recovered and given out to the masses. But the
Reformation, glorious as it was, witnessed only a partial recovery of long
lost truths. The Hope of the Church was not yet restored! The prospect of
a soon returning Redeemer was not yet set before God's people again. Three
more centuries passed by before the third part of our Lord's prophecy in the
Parable of the Virgins received its fulfillment. It was not until the
nineteenth century that the midnight cry arose "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh;
go ye out to meet Him" (Matt. 25:6). Then it was that God raised up another
band of witnesses, sent forth by Him to herald the approach of His Son. The
result has been that an ever increasing number of the saints have given
studious attention to the prophetic portions of the Word, until, to-day, in
every section of Christendom, there are companies of believers who are eagerly
waiting for the Shout of the Lord which shall call them away from this earth to
be for ever with Him. It is our humble desire to unite with these witnesses of
God in testifying that the Coming of the Lord "draweth nigh." The Signs of the
times speak plainly to those who have ears to hear, and singly and collectively
bear witness to the fact that this Dispensation of Grace is now almost ended.
The prophecies of the New Testament show clearly that we are living in the
"last days" of this Age, and by the help of the Spirit of Truth we would herein
call attention to those Scriptures which make known to us the stupendous events
which shall surely and shortly come to pass.
[1]No doubt the parable of the
Bridegroom in Matthew 25 refers primarily to the Jewish remnant in the
tribulation period as its opening word "Then" indicates, but, like all
prophecy, this has a double fulfillment and unquestionably
applies to the Christian profession.