When Christ comes again

Front matter

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Contents

Chapter Page

I. Approach to the Doctrine 7

II. True Place of the Theme 23

CHAPTER I APPROACH TO THE DOCTRINE This is a plain book for plain people

It was conceived in prayer and born of a desire to be helpful to the souls of men.

Many devout persons are troubled about the second coming of our Lord. They are eager to know what they ought to believe, rather than to be told what they ought not to believe.

The author of this little book has spent many years in the pastorate, and has been near to the people. He has written what he believes they need, and he asks God to bless his message to their spiritual profit.

He has no selfish purpose to serve. He does not care for reputation. His only concern is truth. He writes from a deep conviction. He feels himself goaded to his task by the Holy Spirit.

One of the greatest thinkers among men admitted that "he regarded as his best friend the man who robbed him of his dearest error and put despised truth in its place." The surest way to bestow this favor is to set the truth openly before the face of error. Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." 1 This is a principle which applies not only to the truth which saves from sin, but also to the truth which liberates the mind from falsehood.

Therefore this little book is built upon the Scriptures, and not upon the imagination of man. It also takes into account the facts of human experience, which never contradict the Scriptures, if both are accurately understood. "For we did not follow cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2

Men may be very brilliant, and at the same time very misleading. Every writer on religious themes should regard the warning of Saint Paul : "Take heed lest there shall be any one that maketh spoil of you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." 3

Right Use of the Bible

The Bible must be used frankly, nothing being taken away from it which belongs to it, and nothing added to it which does not belong

3 Colossians 2. 8.

to it. Teachers of the Scriptures must be able to say with Saint Paul : "We have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully/' 4

The Bible is the most abused book in the world. It receives its worst treatment from certain persons who call themselves its friends. It has nothing to fear from its open enemies. "For

All flesh is as grass,

And all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower f alleth : But the word of the Lord abideth forever. And this is the word of good tidings which was preached unto you." 5 "The word of God is not bound" 6 by those who willfully seek to hem it in. The infidel cannot harm the Bible. No science can upset it. The vain philosophy of men cannot disturb it. "For seeing that in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom knew not God, it was God's good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save them that believe. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men ; and the weakness of God is stronger than men." 7

But the influence of the Bible can be injured

* 2 Corinthians 4. 2. 6 2 Timothy 2. 9.

by those of its alleged friends who either purposely or unwittingly pervert its teachings. There are in it "some things hard to be understood, which the ignorant and unstedfast wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction." 8 But the learned also fall into this grievous wrongdoing, forgetting "that no prophecy of scripture is of private interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man : but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit." 9 Human wisdom is not capable of making additions to inspired Scripture which are not guaranteed by express and unquestionable revelations of the Spirit ; and what one might fancy to be an inspiration from God is to be tested by his known and certified disclosures. "Which things also we speak," says Paul, "not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth ; combining spiritual things with spiritual words." 10 Even the great apostle candidly said when he was discussing certain subjects, "I have no commandment of the Lord." 11 Surely, teachers in our day should be equally scrupulous and guarded.

The advice given long ago through Jeremiah is still good : "The prophet that hath a dream,

8 2 Peter 8. 16. " 1 Corinthians 2. 13.

let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully." 12 It is a sad and mischievous thing that even good people in our day will mix up their dreams with the word of the Lord. When a man puts his theory, even if he thinks it is from God, on the same high plane with the words of Scripture, he is guilty of a serious impropriety, to say the least. His act may do great harm to simple-hearted people. Everyone who ventures to teach divine things should pray earnestly that he may be able to present himself "approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth." 13

Many theorists write into the word of God what is not there. We cannot say that in all cases they do this knowingly or willfully, but the result is just the same. Every passage of Scripture should be examined in the most prayerful spirit, and by the aid of the best and most devout scholarship that can be obtained. With even painful self-denial, he who writes about a Scripture text should make sure that he has not put into it the least thing it does not actually say.

But even this care is not enough. He must

Jeremiah 23. 28. » 2 Timothy 2. 15.

now compare the text with every other scripture which bears on the same truth. In doing this he must be certain that the passages he uses for comparison are really written on the same subject. He must not be deceived by a similarity of words. This is the peril of all who go dredging through the Bible for proof texts, and are not careful to see that the texts selected are what they seem to be on the surface. Great harm has been done to religion by forgetting this caution. If every student of the Bible would ask, "Who wrote this sentence? When did he write it? To whom did he write it?" a great amount of danger would be avoided. The Holy Spirit has spoken through a great variety of persons and under a great diversity of conditions, and for many different people. All these things, if they are remembered, and if they are given their true value, will keep us from seriously misunderstanding the Bible.

Christ Himself the Test of Doctrine

We should fill our minds with the word of the Lord. Many of the things taught to-day about the second coming of Christ have no standing in the Scriptures. Yet those who proffer these stones in the place of bread strive to make their followers believe that the texts they quote are divinely inspired proofs of their wrong opinions. Careful Bible students are not cheated in this way, but the unwary are often thus deceived. Reader, let no man dazzle you by an array of texts into accepting his theories, on the supposition that he must be right because he names chapter and verse for his doctrine. Sift his texts for yourself. Do not take his word for their meaning. Study them in their connections. See what goes before and follows them. If you do not feel able alone to get at the exact truth, go to some Christian minister who has spent many years in patient and scholarly searching of the Scriptures and obtain his help.

Here is a test, however, which the humblest Christian can apply for himself: bring everything to the touch of the mind of Christ. He said, "Ye search the scriptures, because ye think that in them ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of me." 14 He is the real key to all prophecy and all doctrine. Every piece of writing in the Bible must be judged by the light of his character and teaching. The Spirit of Christ we may have in our own hearts, and "if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." 15

It is by obeying God that we enter into the Christ life. "If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching/' 16

Now, when a theory is brought to us with a great show of authority, let us ask whether it is a teaching which corresponds with the spirit of the Christ who speaks in the Gospels, and whom we know because we have him in our hearts. Perhaps some one will quote from Paul, or Peter, or James, or some other writer, giving an interpretation of the text which fits his own theory. Let us then ask ourselves whether this representation of what these inspired men wrote is in accord with what we know Christ said, and with what we know he is. If any man puts forward a teaching which is hostile to our Lord's recorded way of speaking on the same subject, we may be sure it is wrong. If prophecy is made to mean something contrary to the spirit of Christ as you know him by a living experience of his life, then you may be certain either that it has been misinterpreted or that it does not refer to Christ at all. Believing this to be the only safe way in which to study the Scriptures, emphasis is laid in this book, first upon Christ's own words, then upon the words of his apostles. Out of these it is possible to reach the meaning of prophecy. To begin the other way around, starting with ancient prophecies which are very obscure, moving on to apostolic writings, and finally using both to fix a doctrine before we have learned precisely what Christ taught, is to follow an uncertain lead, to say the least.

Things Which Are Hidden

If we find difficulties which we cannot explain (and the greatest minds have been compelled to admit that some things in the Bible are too deep and mysterious for them to fathom), we need not lose our confidence. It is not necessary for us to work out all the puzzles of the Scriptures. This is one of the temptations which beset earnest Bible students. They are led away by the fascination of a difficult passage. They become more interested in it than in some spiritual truth. This is the defect of some who are carried away by the strange figures in the Bible, so that they have no time or energy for real Christian service. They worry and weary themselves over the beasts in Daniel's visions or in the book of Revelation, while they neglect to do Christian work that would overcome the beasts of iniquity in our day. We do not need to explain every dark saying in the Scriptures, but we do need to show forth Him who is the light of the world. We should not blink the difficulties in the Bible. We should frankly admit them. But we need not feel compelled to invent a theory to fit them.

Moses truly said, "The secret things belong unto Jehovah our God ; but the things that are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." 17 It is quite enough for us to act upon what is plainly revealed. There is no profit in stretching our minds upon the rack of questioning about things hidden from us by God's wisdom. Jesus uttered a caution which contains a widely applicable principle when he said to his disciples, "It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father hath set within his own authority." 18

The only honest way with the Bible is to examine all scripture first, and build the doctrine upon a careful study. Many persons begin the other way. They concoct a doctrine, and then go through the Scriptures to find texts which will support it. The Bible is so wonderful that you can prove anything in it ^ I I if you omit what you do not want for your purpose and take what you do want. That y i

17 Deuteronomy 29. 29.

is a method pursued by some who write and speak upon the question of the second coming of our Lord. Not only is this improper and misleading, but it has driven many thoughtful persons away from a truth which is of great value. No true Christian can be anything but glad over the prospect that Christ will return. But he may be led to feel that the promise of his coming is doubtful if it is hedged about with unscriptural and unreasonable theories of the time, the manner, and the purpose of his return.

False Prophets

Jesus warned his disciples against false prophets, and especially those who should arise in connection with the expectation of his return. 19 The apostles were equally anxious that Christians should not be led astray by evil teachers. Referring to the past and looking for a repetition of history, Peter said, "There arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies." 20 John is just as anxious, for he says, "Many false prophets are gone out into the world." 21

We must remember that there are several kinds of false prophets. Some of these are intentional frauds. Of these Jesus said, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves." 22 These are to be tested by their works, not by their appearance.

But many false prophets are not willful impostors. They are deeply religious, but they have unwittingly allowed themselves to be made victims of spiritual pride. They have become wise in their own conceits, 23 a peril against which Paul frequently warned his readers. They are swollen with egotism, which betrays them into the folly of substituting their own fancies for the explicit word of the Lord. 24 They do not mean to be false prophets, but they run ahead of the Lord's revelation or commandment, and thus become deceivers.

Coleridge said, "He who begins by loving Christianity better than the truth will proceed by loving his own sect or church better than Christianity, and will end in loving himself better than all." People who think Christianity means a theory they have invented are often guilty of this self-love, though they may not know it.

Then there are other false prophets who

22 Matthew 7. 15. 23 Romans 12. 16. 24 Garatians 6. 3.

have become such by permitting themselves to put more emphasis upon certain minor aspects of truth than upon the truth itself. They are eccentrics. They bulge too much on one side. They force a subordinate thing into undue prominence. This fault is found among some conscientious persons who are earnestly proclaiming the second coming of our Lord. They make more of the time, the manner, and the circumstances of his coming than of the sublime truth involved in his return, and the inspiring reasons for his final advent, as revealed in the Scriptures. Hence they give their imagination loose rein, or they press unwarranted interpretations of Scripture prophecy. They hold attention to dramatic accompaniments rather than to plain facts and their necessary results.

The consequences to the victim of false or misleading teachings are just the same, whether the prophet is sincere and conscientious, or purposely deceitful. In any case our Lord's words are applicable : "Whosoever shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it were better for him if a great millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea." 25 By adhering closely to what is certainly known in the word of

26 Mark 9. 42; see also Luke 17. 2.

God, after careful comparison of all scripture, and the total rejection of all purely human admixtures, we shall avoid the terrible fate of those who prophesy wrong things.

Troublesome Talk

Teachers of religion, however sincere, should pray to be delivered from the spirit of unprofitable discussion, "that they strive not about words, to no profit, to the subverting of them that hear." 26 It is not helpful to right thinking that we should enter into noisy battle with erroneous thinkers. The obligation to rebuke false teachers is constant. But, as Paul says, "The end of the charge is love out of a pure heart and a good conscience and faith unfeigned: from which things some having swerved have turned aside unto vain talking; desiring to be teachers of the law, though they understand neither what they say, nor whereof they confidently affirm." 27 Error fails in the presence of simple truth. We need not smite false teachers with the arm of flesh. "The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God," 28 is quite sufficient. Facts of human experience, which can never contradict the

28 Ephesians 6. U.

word of God, are also a defense against error. Let things be stated as they are, and not as theorists may fancy them to be, and truth will prevail.

We are now to take a square look at the doctrine of Christ's second coming. The writer has no theory to construct. He has no plan of the ages to prove. He has no program for Christ to choose. He comes to his task, as he firmly believes, without a prejudice except his fondness for truth. He has determined to go as far as the Bible goes, but no farther. He will follow where the Scriptures lead without hesitation or reluctance. But when the Scriptures give no leading he will not venture to speculate. Revelation is enough. Speculation is more than enough, which means that it is useless and unhelpful. If God had w r anted to give us more knowledge about certain mysteries, he could easily have inspired men to write additional revelations. There are many things about which we desire knowledge. Among them are queries which God has not seen fit to answer. When men tell us they have additional revelations from God, we should be very chary about accepting them. Saint Paul's prediction has often been verified : "The time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts ; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables." 29 "Ye therefore, beloved, knowing these things beforehand, beware lest, being carried away with the error of the wicked, ye fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him he the glory both now and forever. Amen." 30

Chapter II True Place Of The Theme

At the close of his life John Selden, one of the most learned men in England during the seventeenth century, said to Archbishop Usher, "I have surveyed most of the learning that is among the sons of men, but I cannot recollect any passage out of all my books and papers whereon I can rest my soul, save this from the sacred Scriptures: 'For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us, to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world; looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a people for his own possession, zealous of good works.' ,n

There is a sweeping splendor in this passage which justifies the devout scholar's confidence. It begins by tracing the source of salvation — "the grace of God" ; it continues by affirming the universality of this grace — "bringing salvation to all men" ; it declares the duty of man in view of this revelation — to "live soberly and righteously and godly" ; it keeps the mind on the practical bearings of religion — "in this present world" ; it directs the soul to the high incentives of a godly life — "looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour" ; and it presents the object of Christ's atonement — "that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a people for his own possession, zealous of good works." If we keep these words in mind we shall the more easily put a true valuation on the doctrine of our Lord's return, which fills so prominent a place in this noble passage.

Every time a Christian recites the Apostles' Creed he affirms his belief that the Lord is coming again "to judge the quick and the dead." Every time he partakes of the Lord's Supper he should recall the words of Paul: "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord's death till he come." 2 At all times he should remember that Christ, "having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation." 3

2 1 Corinthians 11. 26. 3 Hebrews 9. 28,

In the service for the burial of the dead, as recited by Christian ministers of various sects, it is declared in language hallowed by centuries of use that the body is committed to the earth, "looking for the general resurrection in the last day, and the life of the world to come, through our Lord Jesus Christ ; at whose second coming in glorious majesty to judge the world, the earth and the sea shall give up their dead/' etc. 4

In many confessions of faith adopted by Christian bodies there is agreement with the doctrine set forth in the Articles of Religion of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the following words: "Christ did truly rise again from the dead, and took again his body, with all things appertaining to the perfection of man's nature, wherewith he ascended into heaven, and there sitteth until he return to judge all men at the last day." 5

An Ancient Belief

These quotations represent the conviction of the Christian Church from the earliest centuries, though it has been held with varying degrees of certainty and with a diversity of

4 Methodist Episcopal Discipline, Protestant Episcopal Prayer Book, and many liturgies. 'Article III, opinions concerning the time, the circumstances, and the results of Christ's second advent. It had a place of prominence in the thought of the earliest Christians. The writers of the four Gospels gave large space to it in the teachings of Jesus. The apostles made it conspicuous in their preaching, as we learn from the Acts of the Apostles, and more especially from the epistles which grew out of their work in establishing churches. In his earliest letters Paul dwells fondly upon it, and leaves traces of it in nearly all of his writings. It is given significant reference in the Epistles of Peter, James and John. It is mentioned in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and shines through the book of Revelation.

It is evident that the apostles of Christ and the converts whom they first made were confident that their Master would speedily return to the earth, and most of them supposed he would come back during their lifetime. This conviction doubtless had much influence with the church immediately after Pentecost, and probably explains in part the willingness of the Christian community to set aside individual ownership of property for the common good. 6 They parted with their possessions under the impression that they would soon have no need for them, since the Lord was quickly coming back to judge the world and begin his visible reign among men. They thought the words of Jesus concerning his coming again could bear no other meaning, as was natural enough.

In the centuries immediately following the apostolic period Christian teachers were deeply moved by the same considerations. Gradually it became evident that the expectation of an early return of our Lord was not to be fulfilled. Hence it was thought necessary to alter the construction put upon Christ's words. The discussions of theologians as the centuries moved on, accompanied as they were by very novel and unconvincing theories about the second coming of Christ, produced in the Christian world a spirit of weariness respecting the doctrine, and finally it became the general opinion that the teaching was so obscure that, while the promise of Christ's return must be regarded as genuine, the date of his coming was so indefinite that the whole question might be set aside as one of the insoluble mysteries of religion.

Modern Opinions

Revivals of interest in this subject have occurred at intervals, but unscriptural and unreasonable theories pertaining largely to the date and circumstances of the second advent, reached through mechanical interpretations of prophecy, have interfered with its acceptance by thousands of Christians. In more recent times there has been a decided reawakening on the subject, accompanied by a new examination of the Scriptures, and also, it must be confessed, by the invention of crude theories relating to the order of events which may be presumed to take place at the second coming of Christ, and to the probability that this advent to judgment is near at hand. A considerable interest has thus been provoked, though the Christian world is far from agreement on the matter. We may distinguish broadly the following classes of thinkers on this question :

First, those who claim that the whole subject is of comparatively no importance. Their number is, unfortunately, very large. They vaunt themselves as exceedingly practical people. They ask, as was predicted of their sort, " Where is the promise of his coming? for, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." 7 If they do not reject the doctrine out of hand, they at least question its

»? Peter 3. 4 f value. They say there is no need to bother one's soul over a thing which is a mere matter of speculation, and on which there is no agreement among scholars and theologians. Furthermore, if Christians were united in their opinion of it, the doctrine has no strong bearing, they say, on the making of character. There are many other essential doctrines about which the church is sure, and these are both necessary to salvation and helpful to spiritual development. Let us center our thought upon these teachings and put aside the discussion of Christ's return as a thing of utterly subordinate interest. To this criticism we shall give large attention later, but we may pause here to insert the fact that in the thought of Paul and other apostles there is much worth in keeping before one's mind the second coming of our Lord, as a means of shaping behavior to good ends. This passage, among several which might be quoted, is an instance in point : "When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory. Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry/' 8

8 Colossians 3. 4, 5.

The Topmost Truth

The opposite extreme is represented by those who make the second coming of Christ almost, if not quite, the entire gospel. They find it taught everywhere from Genesis to Revelation; in the poetry, prophecy, history, and even the statistics of the Bible. They see it in almost every speech of our Lord recorded in the Gospels, in almost every utterance of the apostles. They find it foreshadowed or intimated in passages where the average student of the Bible would never expect it. Christendom has long been familiar with this style of biblical interpretation. There was a time in this country when controversy on the mode of baptism was foremost in the thought of Christians. Then advocates of various positions found proof texts for their favorite theory in every part of the Scriptures. There was also a time when a narrow doctrine of sanctification was heralded by noisy enthusiasts, who found substance for their pet convictions in every part of the Bible regardless of the connection or purport of the passage. Such gross abuses of Scripture have not entirely disappeared. The method is now being used to substantiate theories concerning the second coming of Christ. The Bible is regarded as a great bin full of texts, all of equal authority and appropriateness, if they can be made to set up or strengthen a position already taken. It is as if the pieces of a picture puzzle had been thrown into a heap, from which it was the task of the skillful solver of difficulties to draw out those which could be combined to fit the pattern. The Bible is searched from one end to the other with a view to selecting those sentences from writers covering a period of at least fifteen hundred years which, when matched together by the hand of a cunning artificer, will produce a representation of a theory which he has already conceived. This is a dishonest way of treating the Scriptures. But, unfortunately, theology has been cursed by this bane almost from the beginning of the Christian Church.