PART VII.

There is something peculiarly striking in the fact that out of the

many thousands of Israel, in the days of Gideon, there were only three

hundred men who were really fit for conflict with the Midianites; only

this small band fit for the occasion. This truly is a suggestive and

admonitory fact. There were hundreds of thousands of true

Israelites--truly circumcised sons of Abraham--members of the

congregation of the Lord, who were by no means up to the mark, when it

was a question of war to the knife with Midian--a question of genuine

confidence in God and self-surrender. We are safe in saying that the

men who were morally fitted for the grand crisis in the day of battle

were not one in a thousand. How solemn! Not one in a thousand who

could trust God and deny self.

Christian reader, is not this something worthy of deep and serious

thought? Does it not, very naturally, suggest the inquiry as to

whether it is otherwise at this moment? Is it not painfully evident

that we live in a day in the which little is known of the blessed

secret of confidence in God, and still less of the exercise of

self-surrender? In point of fact, these things can never be rightly

separated. If we attempt to divorce self-surrender from confidence in

God, it will land us in the deep and dark delusions of monasticism,

asceticism, or ritualism. It will issue in nature trying to subdue

nature. This, we need hardly say, is the direct opposite of

Christianity. This latter starts with the glorious fact that the _old

self_ has been condemned and set aside by the cross of Christ, and

therefore it can be practically surrendered, every day, by the power

of the Holy Ghost. This is the meaning of those fine words in

Colossians iii., "Ye _are_ dead, and your life is hid with Christ in

God." He does not say, "Ye _ought to be_ dead." No; but "ye _are_

dead." What then? "Mortify your members which are on the earth." So

also in the profound and precious teaching in Romans vi., "How shall

we that _are_ dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that

so many of us as were baptized unto Jesus Christ were baptized unto

His death?" What then? "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead

indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Here then lies the secret of all true self-surrender. If this be not

understood and practically entered into, it will simply be _self_ in

one form trying to subdue _self_ in another. This is a fatal delusion.

It is a snare of the devil into which earnest souls are in imminent

danger of falling, who sigh after holiness of life, but do not know

the power of accomplished redemption, and the indwelling of the Holy

Ghost--are not built upon the solid foundation of Christianity.

We specially warn the reader against this insidious error. It

distinctly savors of monasticism or asceticism. It clothes itself in

the garb of pietism and sanctimoniousness, and is peculiarly

attractive to a certain class of ardent spirits who long for victory

over the lusts, passions, and tendencies of nature; but, not knowing

how to attain it, are turning their back upon Christ and His cross,

and betaking themselves to the resources of a spurious religion.

It is against this most mischievous and delusive system that the

apostle warns us, in Colossians ii., "Let no man," he says, "beguile

you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshiping of angels,

intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up

by his fleshly mind, and not holding the head, from which all the body

by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together,

increaseth with the increase of God. Wherefore if ye be dead with

Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the

world, are ye subject to ordinances"--such as, "touch not; taste not;

handle not; which all are to perish with the using--after the

commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a show of

wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not

in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh" (Colossians ii. 18-23).

We deem it needful to say thus much lest any of our readers should at

all mistake us on the subject of self-surrender. We desire it to be

distinctly understood that the only possible ground of self-surrender

is the knowledge of accomplished redemption, and our union with Christ

through the power of the Holy Ghost. This is the essential basis of

all Christian conduct. In short, a known salvation is the basis; the

Holy Ghost indwelling, the power; and the word of God, the directory

of all true self-surrender.

But what did Gideon and his companions know of these things? Nothing,

as Christians now know them. But they had confidence in God, and

further, they did not make their own refreshment or comfort their

object, but simply took it up by the way as a means to an end. Herein

they teach a fine lesson even to those whose privilege it is to walk

in the full light of New Testament Christianity. If they, in the dim

twilight in which they lived, could trust God, and surrender self for

the moment, even in measure, then what shall we say for ourselves who,

with all our light and privileges, are so ready to doubt God and seek

our own things?

Is it not painfully evident that, in this our day of light and

privilege, there is but little moral preparedness for the path of

service and conflict which we are called to tread? Alas! alas! we

cannot deny it. There is a deplorable lack of genuine trust in the

living God, and of the true spirit of self-surrender. Here, we may

rest assured, is the deep secret of the whole matter. God is not

practically known and habitually trusted; self is exalted and

indulged. Hence our unfitness for the warfare, our failure in the day

of battle. It is one thing to be saved, and quite another thing to be

a soldier; and we cannot shake off the painful conviction that, in

this day of widely extended profession, the proportion of workmen and

warriors would not be found a whit greater than it was in the days of

Gideon and his companions. The fact is, we want men of faith, men

whose hearts are fixed and their eyes single; men so absorbed with

Christ and His cause that they have no time for aught beside. We

greatly fear that, if the double test which was applied to Israel in

the days of Gideon, were to be applied now to those who stand on the

very highest platform of profession, the practical result would not

differ very materially.

* * * * *

We shall only touch on two more leading points, and then leave our

readers to meditate closely upon the whole subject for themselves.

The close of Judges vii. shews us Gideon and his companions completely

victorious. "The cake of barley bread," and "the broken pitchers,"

proved a match for all the power of the Midianites, although they "lay

along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude, and their camels

were without number, as the sand by the sea-side for multitude." God

was with those represented by the cake of barley bread and broken

pitchers, as He will ever be with those who are prepared to take the

low place; prepared to be nothing, but to make Him their all in all;

prepared to trust Him and to sink self. This, let it never be

forgotten, is the great root principle in all service and in all

conflict. Without it, we can never succeed; with it, we can never

fail. It matters not what the difficulties, or what the numbers and

power of our enemies, all must give way before the presence of the

living God; and that presence will ever accompany those who trust Him

and sink self.

Nor is this all. Not only is firm trust in God and self-surrender the

secret of victory over external enemies; it is also the secret of

overcoming, disarming, and melting down proud and jealous brethren,

though these latter are often far more difficult to deal with than

open enemies. Thus no sooner had Gideon reached the point of victory

over the uncircumcised, than he was called to encounter the petty and

contemptible jealousy of his brethren, "And the men of Ephraim said

unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not when

thou wentest to fight the Midianites? And they did chide with him

sharply" (chapter viii. 1).

All this was most uncalled for and unworthy. Had they not heard the

sound of the trumpet calling Israel to the battle field? Had they not

heard that the standard was unfurled? Why had they not rushed to the

battle at the first? It was an easy matter to come in at the close and

reap the spoil, and then find fault with the one who had been God's

real instrument on the occasion.

However, we shall not dwell upon the unlovely conduct of the men of

Ephraim; but turn, for a moment, to the exquisite way in which Gideon

was enabled to meet them. "And he said unto them, What have I done now

in comparison of you?... God hath delivered into your hands the

princes of Midian, Oreb, and Zeeb; and what was I able to do in

comparison of you? Then their anger was abated toward him when he had

said that."

Here, Christian reader, is the true way to vanquish jealous and

envious brethren. The cake of barley bread and the broken pitcher can

vanquish jealous Ephraimites as well as hostile Midianites. A

self-hiding spirit is the grand secret of victory over envy and

jealousy, in all their odious forms. It is difficult, if not

impossible, to quarrel with a man who is down in the dust, in true

self-abasement. "What have I done now in comparison of you?" This is

the language of one who had learnt something of the real meaning of

self-surrender; and we may safely assert that such language must ever

disarm the envy and jealousy of the self-occupied and self-sufficient.

May we know more of the truth of this!

We must now look at the closing scene of Gideon's remarkable

history--a scene full of admonition for every servant of Christ. From

it we learn that it is easier to gain a victory than to make a good

use of it; easier to reach a position than to occupy it aright. We

shall quote the passage. "Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon,

Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for

thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. And Gideon said unto

them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you:

the Lord shall rule over you."

So far, this was very fine. It was in full keeping with the

self-surrender of Gideon's previous course. Every true servant of

Christ will ever seek to connect souls with his Master, and not with

himself. Gideon would not indeed displace Jehovah as the ruler of

Israel. But, alas! his great victory fills his mind, and he will make

a perpetual glory of it by an ephod (a priestly garment) of gold; and

this, simply because his self-surrender was not complete. There has

been but One whose self-surrender was, and that One must, in all

things, have the pre-eminence. "And Gideon said unto them, I would

desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings

of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were

Ishmaelites.) And they answered, We will willingly give them. And

they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of

his prey.... And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city,

even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which

thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house" (chapter viii.

22-27).

Such is man, even the best of men, when left to himself. Here we see

the very man who had led his brethren on to victory over Midian, now

leading them into dark and abominable idolatry. The earrings of the

Ishmaelites did what their swords could not do; and the love-tokens of

the men of Israel proved far more dangerous than the sharp chidings of

the men of Ephraim. The latter drew out a lovely spirit of

self-emptiness: the former proved a snare to Gideon and to the whole

house of Israel.

Reader, let us remember all this. If Gideon had refused the earrings

as well as the throne, it would have been well for him and for his

brethren; but the devil laid a snare for him into which he fell and

carried all his brethren with him. May we all take warning from

Gideon's fall, and draw encouragement from Gideon's victories. May we

remember that it is one thing to gain a victory, and another to make

good use of it; it is easier to reach a position than to occupy it

aright. May God grant to the reader and writer of these lines, more

simple confidence in Himself, and more of the true spirit of

self-surrender! May such be the result of our meditations upon Gideon

and his companions.

C. H. M.

"My Beloved"

(Cant. 5:9.)

Oh what is thy Beloved?--they oft inquire of me;

And what in my Beloved so passing fair I see.

Is it the heavenly splendor in which He shines above--

His riches and dominions, that won my heart's best love?

Oh no! 'tis not His glories;--He's worthy of them all.

'Tis not the throne and sceptre, before which angels fall!

I view with heart exulting each crown His head adorns;

But, oh, He looks most lovely, _wearing His crown of thorns_.

I'm glad to see His raiment, than snow more spotless white,

Refulgent with its brightness, more dazzling than the light;

But more surpassing lovely His form appears to me,

When stripp'd, and scourged, and bleeding, _He hung upon the tree_.

With warmest adoration I see Him on the throne,

And join the loud hosannas that His high virtues own;

But, oh, most blessed Jesus, I must confess to Thee,

More than the throne of glory _I love that sacred tree_.

I joy to see the diadems upon Thy royal brow,

The state, and power, and majesty in which Thou sittest now;

But 'tis _Thyself_, Lord Jesus, makes heaven seem heaven to me--

_Thyself_, as first I knew Thee, _uplifted on the tree_.

Though higher than the highest, most mighty King Thou art,

Thy grace, and not Thy greatness, first touched my rebel heart.

Thy sword, it might have slain me; Thine arrows drunk my blood;

But 'twas _Thy cross_ subdued me, and won my heart to God.

Thy sceptre rules creation; Thy _wounded hand_ rules me:

All bow before Thy footstool; I but the _nail-prints_ see.

Aloud they sound Thy titles, Thou Lord of lords most high;

One thrilling thought absorbs me--_this Lord for me did die_.

Oh, this is my Beloved! there's none so fair as He:

The chief among ten thousand, He's all in all to me.

My heart, it breaks with longing to dwell with Him above,

Who wooed me first, and won me _by His sweet dying love_.

J. G. DECK

ETERNAL PUNISHMENT

We have received a communication on the deeply solemn subject of

eternal punishment, from a person whose initials are "C. D. S.," and

who would seem to be the exponent of the feelings of a very numerous

class. Our correspondent does not, by any means, write as an objector,

or a caviler, but as an honest inquirer; and we are not sorry to be

called upon to bear a clear and decided testimony on a point of such

grave moment. He asks us to let him know "what the Holy Ghost has

taught us on the subject," and we cheerfully comply.

We believe the Word of God most clearly and fully teaches the eternity

of punishment. The word which is rendered "everlasting," or "eternal,"

occurs about seventy times in the New Testament. We shall give some

examples. "To be cast into _everlasting_ fire." (Matt. xviii. 8.)

"That I may have _eternal_ life." (Matt. xix. 16.) "These shall go

away into _everlasting_ punishment." (Matt. xxv. 46.) And in the same

verse, "The righteous unto life _eternal_." "Is in danger of _eternal_

damnation." (Mark iii. 29.) "They may receive you into everlasting

habitations." (Luke xvi. 9.) "In the world to come, life

_everlasting_." (Luke xviii. 30.) "He that believeth on the Son hath

_everlasting_ life." (Jno. iii. 15, 16, 36; v. 24.) "The commandment

of the _everlasting_ God." (Rom. xvi. 26.) "An exceeding and _eternal_

weight of glory." (2 Cor. iv. 17.) "The things which are not seen are

_eternal_." (_v._ 18.) "A house not made with hands, _eternal_ in the

heavens." (Chap. v. 1.) "They shall be punished with _everlasting_

destruction." (2 Thess. i. 9.) "Hath given us _everlasting_

consolation." (Chap. ii. 16.) "In Christ Jesus with _eternal_ glory."

(2 Tim. ii. 10.) "The author of _eternal_ salvation." (Heb. v. 9.)

"Having obtained _eternal_ redemption." (Chap. ix. 12.) "Who through

the _eternal_ Spirit offered Himself without spot to God." (v. 14.)

"The promise of _eternal_ inheritance." (v. 15.) "Called us unto His

_eternal_ glory." (1 Pet. v. 10.) "Into the _everlasting_ kingdom of

our Lord and Saviour." (2 Pet. i. 11.) "This is the true God and

_eternal_ life." (1 Jno. v. 20.) "Suffering the vengeance of _eternal_

fire." (Jude 7.)

Now, we are aware that the opposers of the doctrine of eternal

punishment endeavor to prove that the word "everlasting" does not mean

everlasting in the Greek; and this is one reason why we have quoted

such a number of passages in which the Greek word αιωνιος (_aionios_)

occurs, and in which the Holy Ghost applies it in such a variety of

ways. The word which is applied to the punishment of the wicked is

also applied to the life which believers possess, to the salvation and

redemption in which they rejoice, to the glory to which they look

forward, to those mansions in which they hope to dwell, and to the

inheritance which they expect to enjoy. Moreover, it is applied to

God, and to the Spirit. If, therefore, it be maintained that the word

"everlasting" does not mean everlasting when applied to the punishment

of the wicked, what security have we that it means everlasting when

applied to the life, blessedness, and glory of the redeemed? What

warrant has any one, be he ever so learned, to single out seven

instances from the seventy in which the Greek word αιωνιος is used,

and say that in those seven it does not mean everlasting, but that in

all the rest it does? They have none whatever. Men may reason as they

will about divine benevolence and goodness--about its being

inconsistent with the mercy of God to permit such a thing as eternal

punishment--as to the strange want of proportion between a few years

of sin and an endless eternity of punishment; a single line of holy

Scripture is amply sufficient, in our judgment, to sweep away ten

thousand such reasonings, even though supported by the learned dogma

that "everlasting" does not mean everlasting in the Greek. "Where

their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." (Mark ix. 46.)

Solemn statement! Let men beware of trifling with it, or reasoning

about it. Let them believe it, and flee from the wrath to come--flee

now to Jesus, who died on Calvary's cursed tree to deliver us from

everlasting burnings.

But not only is the eternity of punishment clearly laid down in

Scripture--as clearly as the eternity of God Himself, or of any thing

pertaining to Him; we believe it also flows as a necessary truth from

other truths which are generally received without a single question.

Take, for instance, the immortality of the soul. Did the fall of man

touch this question? We believe not. Man was made the possessor of an

immortal spirit, by the breath of the Almighty; and we have no

authority whatsoever to say that his fall made any difference as to

this. Immortal he was, as to his soul, immortal he is, and immortal he

must be. Yes, he must live forever somewhere. Tremendous thought! Many

do not like it. They would fain be able to say, "Let us eat and drink,

for to-morrow we die." They would like to pass away as the beasts that

perish; and this very desire, we doubt not, has been, in many cases,

the parent of the notion that punishment is non-eternal. "The wish is

father to the thought." But, ah! man must face that dreadful reality,

_ETERNITY_. Saved or unsaved, there is no escaping that. He must

either deny the immortality of the soul, or admit the eternity of

punishment.

Again, take the doctrine of the atonement. If any thing less than

eternal punishment be due to sin, what need was there of an infinite

sacrifice to give deliverance from that punishment? Could nothing less

than the peerless, priceless, divine sacrifice of the Son of God

deliver any one from hell fire, and that fire not be eternal? Did

Jesus shed His precious blood to deliver us from the consequences of

our guilt, and those consequences be only temporary? We can never

admit any such proposition. Grant us the truth of an infinite

sacrifice, and we argue from thence the truth of eternal punishment.

We attach no weight whatever to the argument drawn from the lack of

proportion between a few years of sin and an eternity of woe. We do

not believe that this is the true way to measure the matter. The cross

is the only measure by which to reach a true result; and we believe

the deniers of eternal punishment offer dishonor to the cross by

lowering it into a means of deliverance from a doom which is not

eternal in its duration.

And now, one word as to the idea of its being incompatible with the

character of God to allow such a thing as eternal punishment. Many

seem to attach great weight to this. They appear to think that eternal

misery could never comport with divine mercy and goodness. But those

who urge this plea seem to forget that there is another side of the

question, which must be looked at if we would reach a sound conclusion

on the point. What about divine justice, holiness, and truth? Are

these things not to be taken into account? Can we base an argument on

some of the divine attributes and leave others out? Surely not. We

must look at them all. The cross of Christ has harmonized them all, in

the view of all created intelligences. In that cross, God has set

forth His perfect love to the sinner; but He also has set forth His

perfect hatred of sin. Now, if a man deliberately rejects that only

way of escape--that perfect remedy--that divine provision, what is to

be done? God cannot let sin into His presence. He is of purer eyes

than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity. Will the deniers of

eternal punishment tell us what is to be done? How is this question to

be settled? They say, by annihilation,--that is, by man's perishing

like a beast. Ah, this will never do! "The Lord God breathed into his

nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul." (Gen. ii.

7.) Was this ever revoked? Is there a shadow of foundation in the

entire book of God for the theory of annihilation? If there is, let it

be produced. We look upon it as a most miserable subterfuge--a

pitiable attempt to get rid of the awful thought of eternity. But it

will not do. Let man but cast his eye on the page of inspiration, and

there he sees that tremendous word, "ETERNITY"! "ETERNITY"!

"ETERNITY"! Let him but lend his ear to the voice that issues from the

depth of his moral being, and he will hear the same soul-subduing

word, "Eternity"! "Eternity"! "Eternity"! He cannot get rid of it; he

cannot shake it off. He is shut up to the stern fact that he must live

forever.

Well, then, what about his sin? That cannot get into God's presence.

God and sin can never be together. This is a fixed principle. God is

good, no doubt, and the proof of His goodness is the gift of His Son.

But then He is holy; and between holiness and sin there must be an

eternal separation; so that we are forced to the same solemn

conclusion, namely, that all who die in their sins--all who die in the

rejection of God's infinite provision for the forgiveness of sins,

will have to endure the consequences of those sins in the lake that

burneth with fire and brimstone throughout the countless ages of

eternity.[23]

[23] Has the reader ever pondered Jno. iii. 36? There is marvelous

power in it. It completely demolishes two special heresies of the day,

namely, universalism and annihilationism. It tells the universalist

that "he that believeth not the Son _shall not see life_," and it

tells the annihilationist that "the wrath of God _abideth_ on" the

unbeliever. If he "shall not see life," he cannot be restored; and if

"the wrath of God _abideth on him_," he cannot be annihilated.

We will not argue the matter further in this paper; but we would most

earnestly beseech the unconverted reader to pause and seriously

consider this most momentous question. Let him not be deceived by vain

words; let him not hearken to a false criticism, which would fain

persuade him that "eternal" does not mean eternal in the Greek; for,

oh, most assuredly, it does mean eternal, whether in Hebrew, Greek,

Latin, or English. "Eternal" can never mean temporal, or "temporal"

eternal, in any language under heaven. And furthermore, let him not

hearken to a false sentimentality, which would fain persuade him that

God is too kind to consign any of His creatures to hell fire. God was

so kind as to "give His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in

Him might not perish, but have everlasting life." But God is too holy

to let sin into heaven; and hence, instead of feeding himself with the

vain hope (if hope it can be called,) of annihilation, let him build

upon the sure Word of God, which tells him of full, free, and

everlasting salvation through the blood of the Lamb. Our God has no

pleasure in the death of a sinner. His long-suffering is salvation,

not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to

repentance. There is no reason why the reader should perish. God waits

to be gracious. Mercy's door stands wide open, and the sword of

judgment is in the scabbard. But the moment is rapidly approaching

when all shall be changed, and then all who die in their sins will

prove, by bitter experience, that, notwithstanding all the arguments

founded upon a false criticism and a false sentimentality, _the

punishment of sin is and must be eternal_.

C. H. M.

* * * * *

"_And I say unto you My friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the

body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will

forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear Him which after He hath killed

hath power to cast into hell;--yea, I say unto you, Fear Him._" (Luke

xii. 4, 5.)

PAPERS

ON

THE LORD'S COMING

By C. H. M.

_Author of Notes on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,

Numbers, and Deuteronomy._

CONTENTS

PAGE

INTRODUCTORY 5

THE FACT ITSELF 13

THE DOUBLE BEARING OF THE FACT 23

"THE COMING" AND "THE DAY" 32

THE TWO RESURRECTIONS 49

THE JUDGMENT 56

THE JEWISH REMNANT 64

CHRISTENDOM 73

THE TEN VIRGINS 81

THE TALENTS 90

CONCLUDING REMARKS 98

PAPERS ON THE LORD'S COMING

INTRODUCTORY

The attentive reader of the New Testament will find in its pages three

solemn and weighty facts presented to his view; namely, first, That

the Son of God has come into this world and gone away; secondly, That

the Holy Ghost has come down to this earth, and is here still; and,

thirdly, That the Lord Jesus is coming again.

These are the three great subjects unfolded in the New Testament

Scriptures; and we shall find that each of them has a double bearing:

it has a bearing upon the world and a bearing upon the church; upon

the world, as a whole, and upon each unconverted man, woman and child

in particular; upon the church, as a whole, and upon each individual

member thereof, in particular. It is impossible for any one to avoid

the bearing of these three grand facts upon his own personal condition

and future destiny.

And, be it noted, we are not speaking of doctrines--though, no doubt,

there are doctrines--but of facts--facts presented in the simplest

possible manner by the various inspired writers employed to set them

forth. There is no attempt at garnishing or setting off. The facts

speak for themselves; they are recorded and left to produce their own

powerful effect upon the soul.

I. And, first of all, let us look at the fact that the Son of God has

been in this world of ours. "God so loved the world that he gave his

only begotten Son." "The Son of God has come." He came in perfect

love, as the very expression of the heart and mind, the nature and

character of God. He was the brightness of God's glory, and the

express image of His person, and yet a lowly, humble, gracious, social

man; one who was to be seen, from day to day, about the streets; going

from house to house; kind and affable to all; easily approached by the

very poorest; taking up little children in His arms, in the most

tender, gentle, winning way; drying the widow's tears; soothing the

stricken and sorrowing heart; feeding the hungry, healing the sick;

cleansing the poor leper; meeting every form of human need and misery;

at the bidding of all who stood in need of succor and sympathy. "He

went about doing good." He was the unwearied servant of man's

necessities. He never thought of Himself, or sought His own interest

in any one thing. He lived for others. It was His meat and His drink

to do the will of God, and gladden the sad and weary hearts of the

sons and daughters of men. His loving heart was ever flowing out in

streams of blessing to all who felt the pressure of this sin-stricken,

sorrowful world.

Here, then, we have a marvellous fact before our eyes. This world has

been visited--this world has been trodden by that blessed One of whom

we have spoken--the Son of God--the Creator and Sustainer of the

universe--the lowly, self-emptied and loving, gracious Son of

Man--Jesus of Nazareth--God over all blessed for ever, and yet a

spotless, holy, absolutely perfect man. He came in love to men--came

into this world as the expression of perfect love to those who had

sinned against God, and deserved nothing but eternal perdition because

of their sins. He came not to crush, but to heal--not to judge, but to

save and to bless.

What has become of this blessed One? How has the world treated Him? It

has cast Him out! It would not have Him! It preferred a robber and a

murderer to this holy, gracious, perfect Man. The world got its

choice. Jesus and a robber were placed before the world, and the

question was put, "Which will you have?" What was the answer? "Not

this man, but Barabbas." "The chief priests and elders persuaded the

multitude that they should ask Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The

governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye

that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas" (Matt. xxvii. 20, 21).

The religious leaders and guides of the people--the men who ought to

have led them in the right way--persuaded the poor ignorant multitude

to reject the Son of God, and accept a robber and a murderer instead!

Reader, remember, you are in a world that has been guilty of this

terrible act. And not only so, but, unless you have truly repented and

believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, you are part and parcel of that

world, and you lie under the full guilt of that act. This is most

solemn. The whole world stands charged with the deliberate rejection

and murder of the Son of God. We have the testimony of no less than

four inspired witnesses to this fact. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all

bear record that the whole world--the Jew and the Gentile--kings and

governors, priests and people--all classes, sects and parties, agreed

to crucify the Son of God--all agreed to murder the only perfect man

that ever appeared on this earth--the perfect expression of God--God

over all blessed for ever. We must either pronounce the four

evangelists to be false witnesses, or admit that the world as a whole,

and each constituent part thereof, is stained with the awful crime of

crucifying the Lord of glory.

This is the true standard by which to measure the world, and by which

to measure the condition of every unconverted man, woman and child in

the world. If I want to know what the world is I have only to reflect

that the world is that which stands charged before God with the

deliberate murder of His Son. Tremendous fact! A fact which stamps the

world, in the most solemn manner, and places it before us in

characters of appalling blackness. God has a controversy with this

world. He has a question to settle with it--an awful question--the

mere mention of which should make men's ears to tingle and their

hearts to quake. A righteous God has to avenge the death of His Son.

It is not merely that the world accepted a vile robber and murdered an

innocent man; this, in itself, would have been a dreadful act. But

no; that innocent man was none other than the Son of God, the beloved

of the Father's heart.

What a thought! The world will have to account to God for the death of

His Son--for having nailed Him to a cross between two thieves! What a

reckoning it will be! How red will be the day of vengeance! How

awfully crushing the moment in the which God will draw the sword of

judgment to avenge the death of His Son! How utterly vain the notion

that the world is improving! Improving!--though stained with the blood

of Jesus. Improving!--though under the judgment of God for that act.

Improving!--though having to account to a righteous God for its

treatment of the beloved of His soul, sent in love to bless and save.

What blind fatuity! What wild folly! Ah, no! reader, improvement there

can be none till the besom of destruction and the sword of judgment

have done their terrible work in avenging the murder--the deliberately

planned and determinedly executed murder of the blessed Son of God. We

cannot conceive any delusion more fatally false than to imagine that

the world can ever be improved while it lies beneath the awful curse

of the death of Jesus. That world which preferred Barabbas to Christ

can know no improvement. There is naught before it save the

overwhelming judgment of God.

Thus much as to the weighty fact of the absence of Jesus, in its

bearing upon the present condition and future destiny of the world.

But this fact has another bearing. It bears upon the church of God as

a whole, and upon the individual believer. If the world has cast

Christ out, the heavens have received Him. If man has rejected Him,

God has exalted Him. If man has crucified Him, God has crowned Him. We

must carefully distinguish these two things. The death of Christ,

viewed as the act of the world--the act of man--involves naught but

unmitigated wrath and judgment. On the other hand, the death of

Christ, viewed as the act of God, involves naught but full and

everlasting blessedness to all who repent and believe. A passage or

two from the divine word will prove this.

Let us turn for a moment to Psalm lxix., which so vividly presents our

blessed and adorable Lord suffering from the hand of man, and

appealing to God for vengeance. "Hear me, O Lord; for thy loving

kindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy

tender mercies. And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in

trouble: hear me speedily: draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it:

deliver me, because of mine enemies. Thou hast known my reproach, and

my shame, and my dishonor: _mine adversaries are all before thee_.

Reproach hath broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness: and I

looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters,

but I found none. They gave me also gall for my meat, and in my thirst

they gave me vinegar to drink. Let their table become a snare before

them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become

a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their

loins continually to shake. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and

let thy wrathful anger take hold of them," etc. (verses 16-28).

All this is deeply and impressively solemn. Every word of this appeal

will have its answer. Not a syllable of it shall fall to the ground.

God will assuredly avenge the death of His Son. He will reckon with

the world--with men for the treatment which His only begotten Son has

received at their hands. We deem it right to press this home upon the

heart and conscience of the reader. How awful the thought of Christ

making intercession _against_ people! How appalling to hear Him

calling upon God for vengeance upon His enemies! How terrible will be

the divine response to the cry of the injured Son!

But let us look at the other side of the picture. Turn to Psalm xxii.,

which presents the blessed One suffering under the hand of God. Here

the result is wholly different. Instead of judgment and vengeance, it

is universal and everlasting blessedness and glory. "I will declare

thy name unto my brethren; in the midst of the congregation will I

praise thee. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed of

Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.... My

praise shall be of thee in the great congregation; I will pay my vows

before them that fear him. The meek shall eat and be satisfied; they

shall praise the Lord that seek him; your heart shall live for ever.

All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord; and

all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the

kingdom is the Lord's; and he is the governor among the nations.... A

seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a

generation. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto

a people that shall be born, that he hath done this" (verses 22-31).

These two quotations present, with great distinctness, the two aspects

of the death of Christ. He died, as a martyr, for righteousness, under

the hand of man. For this, man will have to account to God. But He

died, as a victim, for sin, under the hand of God. This is the

foundation of all blessing to those that believe in His name. His

martyr-sufferings bring down wrath and judgment upon a godless world:

His atoning sufferings open up the everlasting well-springs of life

and salvation to the church, to Israel, and to the whole creation. The

death of Jesus consummates the world's guilt; but secures the church's

acceptance. The world is _stained_, and the church _purged_, by the

blood of the cross.

Such is the double bearing of the first of our three great New

Testament facts. Jesus has come and gone--come, because God loved the

world--gone, because the world hated God. If God were to ask the

question--and He will ask it--"What have you done with my Son?" What

is the answer? "We hated Him, cast Him out, and crucified Him. We

preferred a robber to Him."

But, blessed for ever be the God of all grace, the Christian, the true

believer, can look up to heaven and say, "My absent Lord is there, and

there for me. He is gone from this wretched world, and His absence

makes the entire scene around me a moral wilderness--a desolate

waste."

_He is not here._ This stamps the world with a character unmistakable

in the judgment of every loyal heart. The world would not have Jesus.

This is enough. We need not marvel at any tale of horror now. Police

reports, grand jury calendars, the statistics of our cities and towns

need not surprise us. The world that could reject the divine

personification of all human goodness, and accept a robber and a

murderer instead, has proved its moral turpitude to a degree not to be

exceeded. Do we wonder when we discover the hollowness and

heartlessness of the world? Are we surprised when we find out that it

is not to be trusted? If so, it is plain we have not interpreted

aright the absence of our beloved Lord. What does the cross of Christ

prove? That God is love? No doubt. That Christ gave His precious life

to save us from the flames of an everlasting hell? Blessedly true, all

praise to His peerless name! But what does the cross prove as regards

the world? That its guilt is consummated, and its judgment sealed. The

world, in nailing to the cross the One who was perfectly good, proved,

in the most unanswerable manner, that it was perfectly bad. "If I had

not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have

no cloak for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I

had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had

not had sin; but now have they both seen and hated both me and my

Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that

is written in their law, They hated me without a cause" (John xv.

22-26).

II. But we must now glance for a moment at our second weighty fact.

God the Holy Ghost has come down to this earth. It is now over

eighteen long centuries since the blessed Spirit descended from

heaven; and He has been here ever since. This is a stupendous fact.

There is a divine Person on this earth; and His presence--like the

absence of Jesus--has a double bearing: it has a bearing upon the

world, and a bearing upon the church--upon the world as a whole, and

upon every man, woman and child therein; upon the church as a whole,

and upon every individual member thereof in particular. As regards the

world, this august witness descended from heaven to convict it of the

terrible crime of rejecting and crucifying the Son of God. As regards

the church, He came as the blessed Comforter, to take the place of the

absent Jesus, and comfort by His presence and ministry the hearts of

His people. Thus, to the world, the Holy Ghost is a powerful

_Convicter_; to the church he is a precious _Comforter_.

A passage or two of holy Scripture will establish these points in the

heart and mind of the pious reader who bows in lowly reverence to the

authority of the divine word. Let us turn to chapter xvi. of John's

Gospel. "But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you

asketh me, Whither goest thou? But because I have said these things

unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the

truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away,

the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him

unto you. And when he is come, he will _convict_ (ελεγξει) the world

of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. Of sin, because they

believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye

see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is

judged" (verses 5-11).

Again in John xiv. we read, "If ye love me, keep my commandments. And

I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that

he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the

world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him:

but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you"

(verses 15-19).

These quotations prove the double bearing of the presence of the Holy

Ghost. We cannot attempt to dwell upon this subject in this brief

introduction; but we trust the reader may be led to study it for

himself, in the light of holy Scripture; and we are persuaded that the

more he thus studies it, the more deeply he will feel its interest

and immense practical importance. Alas! that it should be so little

understood; that Christians should so little see what is involved in

the personal presence of the eternal Spirit, God the Holy Ghost, on

this earth--its solemn consequences as regards the world, and its

precious results as regards the assembly as a whole, and each

individual member in particular.

Oh! that God's people everywhere may be led into a deeper

understanding of these things; that they may consider what is due to

that divine Person who dwells in them and with them; that they may

have a jealous care not to "grieve" Him in their private walk, or

"quench" Him in their public assemblies!

We shall, if God permit, enter, in our next paper, upon the third

fact, which is the immediate subject of the series of papers which we

propose to write, namely: The coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus

Christ. May God the Spirit open this most glorious subject in living

power and freshness to our souls, so that we may, in truth and

reality, be waiting for God's Son from heaven.

THE FACT ITSELF

In approaching this most glorious subject, we feel that we cannot do

better than to lay before the reader the distinct testimony of holy

Scripture to the broad fact itself, that our Lord Jesus Christ will

come again--that He will leave the place which He now occupies on His

Father's throne, and come in the clouds of heaven, to receive His

people to Himself; to execute judgment upon the wicked; and set up His

own everlasting and universal kingdom.

This fact is as clearly and fully set forth in the New Testament as

either of the other two facts to which we have already referred. It is

as true that the Son of God is coming from heaven, as that He is gone

to heaven, or that the Holy Ghost is still on this earth. If we admit

one fact, we must admit all: and if we deny one, we must deny all;

inasmuch as all rest upon precisely the same authority. They stand or

fall together. Is it true that the Son of God was refused, cast out,

crucified? Is it true that He has gone away into heaven? Is it true

that He is now seated at the right hand of God, crowned with glory and

honor? Is it true that God the Holy Ghost came down to this earth,

fifty days after the resurrection of our Lord; and that He is still

here?

Are these things true? As true as Scripture can make them. Then just

as true is it that our blessed Lord will come again, and set up His

kingdom upon this earth--that He will literally, and actually, and

personally come from heaven, take to Himself His great power and reign

from pole to pole, and from the river to the ends of the earth.

It may perhaps seem strange to some of our readers that we should deem

it needful to undertake the proof of such a plain truth as this; but

be it remembered that we are writing on this subject as though it were

perfectly new to the reader; as if he had never heard of such a thing

as the Lord's second coming; or as if, having heard of it, he still

calls it in question. This must be our apology for handling this

precious theme in so elementary a manner.

Now for our proofs.

When our adorable Lord was about to take leave of His disciples, He

sought, in His infinite grace, to comfort their sorrowing hearts by

words of sweetest tenderness. "Let not your heart be troubled; ye

believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many

mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a

place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, _I will come

again_, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be

also" (John xiv. 1-3).

Here we may have something most definite. Indeed it is as definite as

it is cheering and consolatory. "I will come again." He does not say,

I will send for you. Still less does He say, "You will come to me

when you die." He says nothing of the kind. To send an angel, or a

legion of angels, would not be the same thing as coming Himself. No

doubt it would be very gracious of Him, and very glorious for us, if a

multitude of the heavenly host were sent, with horses of fire and

chariots of fire, to convey us triumphantly to heaven. But it would

not be the fulfilment of His own sweet promise. And most surely He

will do what He promised to do. He will not say one thing and do

another. He cannot lie or alter His word. And not only this, but it

would not satisfy the love of His heart to send an angel or a host of

angels to fetch us. He will come Himself.

What touching grace shines in all this! If I am expecting a very dear

and valued friend by train, I shall not be satisfied with sending a

servant or an empty cab to meet him; I shall go myself. This is

precisely what our loving Lord means to do. He is gone to heaven; and

His entrance there prepares and defines His people's place. Amid the

many mansions of the Father's house, there would be no place for us if

our Jesus had not gone before; and then, lest there should be in the

heart any feeling of strangeness at the thought of our entrance into

that place, He says, with such sweetness, "I will come again, and

receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also."

Nothing short of this can fulfil the gracious promise of our Lord, or

satisfy the love of His heart.

And be it carefully noted that this promise has no reference whatever

to the death of the individual believer. Who can imagine that, when

our Lord said, "I will come again," He really meant that we should go

to Him through death? How can we presume to take such liberties with

the plain and precious words of our Lord? Surely if He meant to speak

of our going to Him, through death, He could and would have said so.

But He has not said so, because He did not mean so; nor is it possible

that He could say one thing and mean another. His coming for us, and

our going to Him, are totally different things; and being different

ideas, they would have been clothed in different language.

Thus, for example, in the case of the penitent thief on the cross, our

Lord does not speak of coming to fetch him; but He says, "To-day shalt

thou be with me in paradise." We really must remember that Scripture

is as divinely definite as it is divinely inspired, and hence it never

could and it never does confound two things so totally different as

the Lord's coming and the Christian's falling asleep.

It may be well, at this point, to remark that there are but four

passages in the entire New Testament in which allusion is made to the

subject of the Christian passing through the article of death. The

first is that passage in Luke xxiii. already referred to: "To-day

shalt thou be with me in paradise." The second occurs in Acts vii.,

"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." The third is that most familiar and

lovely utterance in 2 Corinthians v., "Absent from the body, present

with the Lord." The fourth occurs in that charming first of

Philippians, "Having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which

is far better."

These most precious passages make up the sum of Scripture testimony on

the interesting question of the disembodied state. There is a passage

in Revelation xiv. often misapplied to this subject: "Blessed are the

dead which die in the Lord _from henceforth_: Yea, saith the Spirit,

that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them."

But this has no application to Christians now, though no doubt all

such who die in the Lord are blessed, and their works do follow them.

The reference, however, is to a time yet future, when the church shall

have left this scene altogether, and other witnesses make their

appearance. In a word, Revelation xiv. 13 bears upon apocalyptic

times, and must be so viewed if we would avoid confusion.

We must now resume our subject, and proceed with our proofs, and in so

doing we shall ask the reader to turn to the first chapter of the Acts

of the Apostles. The blessed Lord had just gone up from this earth,

in the presence of His holy apostles. "And while they looked

steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by him

in white apparel; 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" (verses 10, 11).

This is intensely interesting, and furnishes a most striking proof of

our present thesis. Indeed it is impossible to avoid its force. Alas!

that any should seek or desire to avoid it! From the manner in which

the angelic witnesses speak to the men of Galilee it would seem like

tautology; but, as we well know, there is--there can be--no such thing

in the volume of God. It is, therefore, lovely fulness, divine

completeness, that we see in this testimony. From it we learn that the

self-same Jesus who left this earth, and ascended into heaven, in the

presence of a number of witnesses, shall _so_ come _in like manner as_

they had seen Him go into heaven. How did He go? He went up

personally, literally, actually, the very same person who had just

been conversing familiarly with them--whom they had seen with their

eyes, heard with their ears, handled with their hands--who had eaten

in their presence, and "showed himself alive after his passion by many

infallible proofs." Well then, "He shall so come in like manner."

"He who with hands uplifted,

Went from this earth below,

Shall come again all gifted,

His blessing to bestow."

And here we may ask--though it be rather anticipating what may come

before us in a future paper--Who saw the blessed Lord as He went up?

Did the world? Nay; not one unconverted, unbelieving person ever laid

his eyes upon our precious Lord from the moment that He was laid in

the tomb. The last sight the world got of Jesus was as He hung on the

cross, a spectacle to angels, men, and devils. The next sight they

will get of Him will be when, like the lightning flash, He shall come

forth to execute judgment, and tread, in terrible vengeance, the

winepress of the wrath of Almighty God. Tremendous thought!

None, therefore, but His own saw the ascending Saviour, as none but

they had seen Him from the moment of His resurrection. He showed

Himself, blessed be His holy name! to those who were dear to His

heart. He assured and comforted, strengthened and encouraged their

souls by these "many infallible proofs" of which the inspired narrator

speaks to us. He led them to the very confines of the unseen world,

just so far as men could go while still in the body; and there He

allowed them to see Him ascending into heaven; and while they gazed

upon this glorious sight He sent the precious testimony home to their

very hearts. "This same Jesus"--no other, no stranger, but the same

loving, sympathizing, gracious, unchanging friend--"whom ye have seen

go into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go

into heaven."

Is it possible for testimony to be more distinct or satisfactory?

Could proof be more clear or conclusive? How can any counter argument

stand for a moment, or any objection be raised? Either those two men

in white apparel were false witnesses, or our Jesus shall come again

in the exact manner in which He went away. There is no middle ground

between those two conclusions. We read in Scripture that, "in the

mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established;" and

therefore in the mouth of two heavenly messengers--two heralds from

the region of light and truth, we have the word established that our

Lord Jesus Christ shall come again in actual bodily form, to be seen

by His own first of all, apart from all others, in the holy intimacy

and profound retirement which characterized His departure from this

world. All this, blessed be God, is wrapped up in the two little words

"_as_" and "_so_."

We cannot attempt, in a brief paper like the present, to adduce all

the proofs which are to be found in the pages of the New Testament. We

have given one from the Gospels and one from the Acts, and we shall

now ask the reader to turn with us to the Epistles. Let us take, for

example, the First Epistle to the Thessalonians. We select this

epistle because it is acknowledged to have been the earliest of Paul's

writings; and further, because it was written to a company of very

young converts. This latter point is valuable, inasmuch as we

sometimes hear it stated that the truth of the Lord's coming is not

suitable to bring before the minds of young believers. That the

Apostle Paul did not think it unsuitable is evident from the fact that

of all the epistles which he wrote not one contains so much about the

Lord's coming as that which he penned for the newly converted

Thessalonians. The fact is, when a soul is converted and brought into

the full light and liberty of the gospel of Christ, it becomes

divinely natural for such a one to look for the Lord's coming. That

most precious truth is an integral part of the gospel. The first

coming and the second coming are most blessedly bound up together by

the divine link of the personal presence of the Holy Ghost in the

church.

On the other hand, where the soul is not established in grace; where

peace and liberty are not enjoyed; where a defective gospel has been

received, there it will be found that the hope of the Lord's coming

will not be cherished, for the simple reason that the soul is, of

necessity, occupied with the question of its own state and prospects.

If I am not certain of my salvation--if I do not know that I have

eternal life--that I am a child of God--I cannot be looking out for

the Lord's return. It is only when we know what Jesus has done for us

at His first coming that we can with bright and holy intelligence look

out for His second coming.

But let us turn to our epistle. Take the following sentences from the

first chapter: "For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but

also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance.... So

that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.

For from you sounded out the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia

and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread

abroad; so that we need not to speak anything. For they themselves

show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye

turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and _to

wait for his Son from heaven_, whom he raised from the dead, even

Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come" (verses 5-10).

Here we have a fine illustration of the effect of a full clear gospel,

received in simple earnest faith. They turned from idols, to serve the

living and true God, and to wait for His Son. They were actually

converted to the blessed hope of the Lord's coming. It was an integral

part of the gospel which Paul preached; and an integral part of their

faith. Was it a reality to turn from idols? Doubtless. Was it a

reality to serve the living God? Unquestionably. Well then it was just

as real, just as positive, just as simple, their waiting for God's Son

from heaven. If we question the reality of one, we must question the

reality of all, inasmuch as all are bound up together and form a

beauteous cluster of practical Christian truth. If you had asked a

Thessalonian Christian what he was waiting for, what would have been

his reply? Would he have said, "I am waiting for the world to improve

by means of the gospel which I myself have received? or, I am waiting

for the moment of my death when I shall go to be with Jesus?" No. His

reply would have been simply this, "I am waiting for the Son of God

from heaven." This, and nothing else, is the proper hope of the

Christian, the proper hope of the church. To wait for the improvement

of the world is not Christian hope at all. You might as well wait for

the improvement of the flesh, for there is just as much hope of the

one as the other. And as to the article of death--though no doubt it

may intervene--it is never once presented as the true and proper hope

of the Christian. It may, with the fullest confidence, be asserted

that there is not so much as a single passage in the entire New

Testament in which death is spoken of as the hope of the believer;

whereas, on the other hand, the hope of the Lord's coming is bound

up, in the most intimate manner, with all the concerns and

associations and relationships of life, as we may see in the epistle

before us. Thus, if the apostle would refer to the interesting

question of his own personal connection with the beloved saints at

Thessalonica, he says, "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of

rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at

his coming? For ye are our glory and joy."

Again, if he thinks of their progress in holiness and love, he adds,

"And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward

another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you; to the end he

may stablish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even our

Father, _at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ_ with all his saints"

(chap. iii. 12, 13).

Finally, if the apostle would seek to comfort the hearts of his

brethren in reference to those who had fallen asleep, how does he do

it? Does he tell them that they should soon follow them? Nay; this

would have been in full keeping with Old Testament times, as David

says of his departed child, "I shall go to him, but he shall not

return to me" (2 Sam. xii. 23). But it is not thus that the Holy Ghost

instructs us in 1 Thessalonians--quite the reverse. "I would not," he

says, "have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are

asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if

we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which

sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by

the word of the Lord, that [not they which shall be, but] _we_ which

_are_ alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent

[come before or take precedence of] them which are asleep. For the

Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of

the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall

rise first. Then _we_ which are alive and remain shall be caught up

together with them in clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so

shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with

these words" (chap. iv. 13-18).

It is impossible for any proof to be more simple, direct, and

conclusive than this. The Thessalonian Christians, as we have already

remarked, were converted to the hope of the Lord's return. They were

taught to look out for it daily. It was as much a part of their

Christianity to believe that He _would_ come, as to believe that He

_had_ come and gone. Hence it came to pass that when some of their

number were called to pass through death, they were taken aback; they

had not anticipated this; and they feared lest the departed should

miss the joy of that blissful and longed-for moment of the Lord's

return. The apostle therefore writes to correct their mistake; and, in

so doing, he pours a fresh flood of light upon the whole subject, and

assures them that the dead in Christ--which includes all who had or

shall have fallen asleep; in short, those of Old Testament times as

well as those of the New--should rise first, that is, before the

living are changed, and all shall ascend together to meet their

descending Lord.

We shall have occasion to refer to this remarkable passage again, when

handling other branches of this glorious subject. We merely quote it

here as one of the almost innumerable proofs of the fact that our Lord

will come again, personally, really, and actually; and that His

personal coming is the true and proper hope of the church of God

collectively, and of the believer individually.

We shall close this paper by reminding the Christian reader that he

can never sit down to the table of his Lord without being reminded of

this glorious hope, so long as those words shine on the page of

inspiration, "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup,

ye do show the Lord's death till"--when? Till ye die? Nay; but--"_till

he come_" (1 Cor. xi. 26). How precious is this! The table of the Lord

stands between those two marvellous epochs, the cross and the

advent--the death and the glory. The believer can look up from the

table and see the beams of the glory gilding the horizon. It is our

privilege, as we gather, on each Lord's day, round the Lord's table,

to show forth the Lord's death, to be able to say, "This may be the

last occasion of celebrating this precious feast; ere another Lord's

day dawn upon us, He Himself may come." Again we say, How precious is

this!

THE DOUBLE BEARING OF THE FACT

Having, as we trust, fully established, in our last paper, the fact of

the Lord's coming, we have now to place before the reader the double

bearing of that fact--its bearing upon the Lord's people, and its

bearing upon the world. The former is presented, in the New Testament,

as the coming of Christ to receive His people to Himself; the latter

is spoken of as "The day of the Lord"--a term of frequent use also in

Old Testament Scriptures.

These things are never confounded in Scripture, as we shall see when

we come to look at the various passages. Christians do confound them,

and hence it is that we often find "that blessed hope" overcast with

heavy clouds, and associated in the mind with circumstances of terror,

wrath, and judgment, which have nothing whatever to do with the

_coming_ of Christ for His people, but are intimately bound up with

"The _day_ of the Lord."

Let the Christian reader, then, have it settled in his heart, on the

clear authority of holy Scripture, that the grand and specific hope

for him ever to cherish is the coming of Christ for His people. This

hope may be realized this very night. There is nothing whatever to

wait for--no events to transpire amongst the nations--nothing to occur

in the history of Israel--nothing in God's government of the

world--nothing, in short, in any shape or form whatsoever, to

intervene between the heart of the true believer and his heavenly

hope. Christ may come for His people to-night. There is actually

nothing to hinder. No one can tell when He _will_ come; but we can

joyfully say that, at any moment, He _may_ come. And, blessed be His

name, when He does come for us, it will not be with the accompanying

circumstances of terror, wrath, and judgment. It will not be with

blackness and darkness and tempest. These things will accompany "the

day of the Lord," as the Apostle Peter plainly tells the Jews in his

first great sermon, on the day of Pentecost, in which he quotes the

following words from the solemn prophecy of Joel, "And I will show

wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood and

fire and vapor of smoke: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and

the moon into blood, before"--what? the coming of the Lord for His

people? Nay; but before "_that great and notable day of the Lord_

come."

When our Lord shall come to receive His people to Himself no eye shall

see Him, no ear shall hear His voice, save His own redeemed and

beloved people. Let us remember the words of the angelic witnesses in

the first of Acts. Who saw the blessed One ascending into the heavens?

None but His own. Well, "He shall so come in like manner as ye have

seen him go into heaven." _As_ was the going, _so_ shall be the

coming, if we are to bow to Scripture. To confound the day of the Lord

with His coming for His church is to overlook the plainest teachings

of Scripture, and to rob the believer of his own true and proper hope.

And here perhaps we cannot do better than to call the attention of the

reader to a very important and interesting passage in the second

Epistle of Peter: "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables

when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus

Christ, but were eye-witnesses of his majesty. For he received from

God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him

from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well

pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were

with him in the holy mount. We have also the word of prophecy more

sure [or confirmed], 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" (chap. i. 16-19).

This passage demands the reader's most attentive consideration. It

sets forth, in the clearest possible manner, the distinction between

"the word of prophecy" and the proper hope of the Christian, namely,

"the morning star." We must remember that the great subject of

prophecy is God's government of the world in connection with the seed

of Abraham. "When the Most High divided to the nations their

inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of

the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the

Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance"

(Deut. xxxii. 8, 9).

Here then is the scope and theme of prophecy--Israel and the nations.

A child can understand this. If we range through the prophets, from

the opening of Isaiah to the close of Malachi, we shall not find so

much as a single line about the church of God--its position, its

portion, or its prospects. No doubt the word of prophecy is deeply

interesting, and most profitable for the Christian to study; but it

will be all this just in proportion as he understands its proper scope

and object, and sees how it stands in contrast with his own special

hope. We may fearlessly assert that it is as utterly impossible for

any one to study the Old Testament prophecies aright who does not

clearly see the true place of the church.

We cannot attempt to enter upon the subject of the church in this

brief paper. It has been repeatedly referred to and unfolded

elsewhere, and we can now merely ask the reader to weigh and examine

the statement which we here deliberately make, namely, that there is

not so much as a single syllable about the church of God, the body of

Christ, from cover to cover of the Old Testament. Types, shadows,

illustrations, there are which, now that we have the full-orbed light

of the New Testament, we can see, understand, and appreciate. But it

was not possible for any Old Testament believer to see the great

mystery of Christ and the church, inasmuch as it was not revealed. The

inspired apostle expressly tells us that it was "_hid_," not in the

Old Testament Scriptures, but "in God," as we read in Ephesians iii.,

"And to make all men see what is the fellowship [or rather the

administration] of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world

hath been _hid in God_, who created all things by Jesus Christ" (verse

9). So also in Colossians we read, "Even the mystery which _hath been

hid_ from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his

saints" (chap. i. 26).

These two passages establish the truth of our statement beyond all

question, for those who are willing to be governed absolutely by the

authority of holy Scripture; they teach us that the great

mystery--Christ and the church--is not to be found in the Old

Testament. Where have we in the Old Testament a word about Jews and

Gentiles forming one body, and being united by the Holy Ghost to a

living head in heaven? How could such a thing possibly be, so long as

"the middle wall of partition" stood as an insuperable barrier between

the circumcised and the uncircumcised? If one were asked to name a

special feature of the old economy he would at once reply, "The rigid

separation of Jew and Gentile." On the other hand, if he were asked to

name a special feature of the church, or Christianity, he would as

readily reply, "The intimate union of Jew and Gentile in one body." In

short, the two conditions stand in vivid contrast, and it was wholly

impossible that both could hold good at the same time. So long as the

middle wall of partition stood, the truth of the church could not be

revealed; but the death of Christ having thrown down that wall, the

Holy Ghost descended from heaven to form the one body, and link it, by

His presence and indwelling, to the risen and glorified Head in the

heavens. Such is the great mystery of Christ and the church, for which

there could be no less a basis than accomplished redemption.

Now we entreat the reader to examine this matter for himself. Let him

search the Scriptures to see if these things be indeed true. This is

the only way to get at the truth. We must lay aside all our own

thoughts and reasonings, our prejudices and predilections, and come,

like a little child, to the holy Scriptures. In this way we shall

learn the mind of God on this most precious and interesting subject.

We shall find that the church of God, the body of Christ, did not

exist, as a fact, until after the resurrection and ascension of

Christ, and the consequent descent of the Holy Ghost on the day of

Pentecost. And further, we shall find that the full and glorious

doctrine of the church was not brought out until the days of the

Apostle Paul (compare Rom. xvi. 25, 26; Eph. i.-iii.; Col. i. 25-29).

Finally, we shall see that the actual and unmistakable boundary lines

of the church's earthly history are Pentecost (Acts ii.) and the

rapture or taking up of the saints (1 Thess. iv. 13-17).

Thus we reach a position from which we can get a view of the church's

proper hope; and that hope is, most assuredly, "the bright and morning

star." Of this hope the Old Testament prophets utter not a syllable.

They speak largely and clearly of "The day of the Lord"--a day of

judgment upon the world and its ways (see Isaiah ii. 12-22 and

parallel Scriptures). But "the day of the Lord," with all its

attendant circumstances of wrath, judgment, and terror, must never be

confounded with His coming for His people. When our blessed Lord comes

_for_ His people there will be nothing to terrify. He will come in all

the sweetness and tenderness of His love to receive His loved and

redeemed people to Himself. He will come to finish up the precious

story of His grace. "To them that look for Him shall He appear

(οφθησεται) the second time, without [that is, apart from all question

of] sin, unto salvation" (Heb. ix).[24] He will come as a bridegroom

to receive the bride; and when He thus comes none but His own shall

hear His voice or see His face. If He were to come this very night for

His people--and He may, for aught we know--if the voice of the

archangel and the trump of God were to be heard to-night, then all the

dead in Christ--all who have been laid to sleep by Jesus--all the

saints of God, both those of old Testament and New Testament times,

who lie sleeping in our cemeteries and graveyards, or in the ocean's

depths--all these would rise from their temporary sleep. All the

living saints would be changed in a moment, and all would be caught up

to meet their descending Lord, and return with Him to the Father's

house (John xiv. 3; 1 Thess. iv. 16, 17; 1 Cor. xv. 51, 52).

[24] The clause "Them that look for him" refers to all believers. It

does not mean, as some suppose, those only who hold the truth of the

Lord's second coming. This would make our place with Christ at His

coming dependent upon knowledge, instead of upon our union with Him by

the presence and power of the Holy Ghost. The Spirit of God, in the

above passage, most graciously takes for granted that all God's people

are looking, in some way or another, for the precious Saviour; and

verily so they are. They may not see eye to eye as to all the details.

They may not all enjoy equal clearness of view or depth and fulness of

apprehension; but, most surely, they would all be glad at any moment

to see the One who loved them and gave Himself for them.

This is what is meant by the rapture or catching up of the saints, and

has nothing to do directly with Israel or the nations. It is the

distinct and only proper hope of the church; and there is not so much

as a single hint of it in the entire Old Testament. If any one asserts

that there is, let him produce it. If there be such a thing, nothing

is easier than to furnish it. We solemnly and deliberately declare

there is no such thing. For all that respects the church--its

standing, its calling, its portion, its prospects--we must turn to the

pages of the New Testament, and, of those pages, mainly the Epistles

of Paul. To confound "the word of prophecy" with the hope of the

church is to damage the truth of God, and mislead the souls of His

people. That the enemy has succeeded in doing all this, throughout the

length and breadth of the professing church, is, alas! too true. And

hence it is that so very few Christians have really Scriptural

thoughts about the coming of their Lord. They are looking into

prophecy for the church's hope--they confound "the Sun of

righteousness" with "the Morning Star"--they mix up the coming of

Christ _for_ His people, and His coming _with_ them--they make His

"coming" or "state of presence" to be identical with His "appearing"

or "manifestation."

All this is a most serious mistake, against which we desire to warn

our readers. When Christ comes with His people, "every eye shall see

him." When He is manifested, His people will be manifested also. "When

Christ our life shall appear [or be manifested], then shall ye also

appear with him in glory" (Col. iii. 4). When Christ comes to execute

judgment, His saints come with Him. "Behold, the Lord cometh _with_

ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all" (Jude 14,

15). So also in Revelation xix., the rider on the white horse is

followed by the armies in heaven upon white horses, clothed in fine

linen, white and clean. These armies are not angels, but saints; for

we do not read of angels being clothed in white linen, which is

expressly declared, in this very chapter, to be "the righteousness of

saints" (verse 8).

Now, it is most evident that, if the saints accompany their Lord when

He comes in judgment, they must be with Him previously. The fact of

their going to Him is not presented in the book of Revelation, unless

it be involved--as we doubt not it is--in the catching up of the man

child, in chapter xii. The man child is, most surely, Christ; and

inasmuch as Christ and His people are indissolubly joined in one, they

are most completely identified with Him, blessed for ever be His holy

and precious name!

But, clearly, it does not at all lie within the scope of the book of

Revelation to give us the coming of Christ _for_ His people, or their

being caught up to meet Him in the air, or their return to the

Father's house. For these blessed events or facts, we must look

elsewhere, as, for example, in John xiv. 3; 1 Corinthians xv. 23, 51,

52; 1 Thessalonians iv. 14-17. Let the reader ponder these three

passages. Let him drink into his very soul their clear and precious

teaching. There is nothing difficult about them, no obscurity, no mist

or vagueness whatever. A babe in Christ can understand them. They set

forth, in the clearest and simplest possible manner, the true

Christian hope, which--we repeat it emphatically, and urge it upon the

reader as the direct and positive teaching of holy Scripture--is the

coming of Christ to receive His people, all His people, to Himself, to

take them back with Him to His Father's house, there to remain with

Him, while God deals governmentally with Israel and the nations, and

prepares the way, by His judicial actings, for bringing in the

First-begotten into the world.

Now, if it be asked, "Why have we not the coming of Christ for His

people in the book of Revelation?" Because that book is pre-eminently

a book of judgment--a governmental, judicial book, at least from

chapter i.-xx. Hence even the church is presented as under judgment.

We do not see the church in chapters ii. and iii. as the body or the

bride of Christ; but as a responsible witness on the earth, whose

condition is being carefully examined and rigidly judged by Him who

walks amongst the candlesticks.

It would not, therefore, comport with the character or object of this

book to introduce, directly, the rapture of the saints. It shows us

the church on the earth, in the place of responsibility. This it gives

us, in chapters ii. and iii., under the head of "the things that are."

But from that to chapter xix. there is not a single syllable about the

church on earth. The plain fact is, the church will not be on earth

during that solemn period. She will be with her Head and Lord, in the

divine retirement of the Father's house. The redeemed are seen in

heaven, under the title of the twenty-four crowned elders, in chapters

iv., v. There, blessed be God, they will be, while the seals are being

opened, the trumpets sounded, and the vials poured out. To think of

the church as being on the earth, from Revelation vi.-xviii.--to place

her amid the apocalyptic judgments--to pass her through "the great

tribulation"--to subject her to "the hour of temptation which shall

come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth"--would

be to falsify her position, to rob her of her chartered privileges,

and to contradict the clear and positive promise of her Lord.[25]

[25] We shall have occasion, in a future paper, to show that, after the

church has been removed to heaven, the Spirit of God will act both

among the Jews, and also among the Gentiles. See Revelation vii.

No, no, beloved Christian reader; let no man deceive you, by any

means. The church is seen on earth in Revelation ii., iii. She is seen

in heaven, together with the Old Testament saints, in chapters iv., v.

We are not told, in the Revelation, how she gets there; but we see her

there, in high communion and holy worship; and then, in chapter xix.,

the rider on the white horse comes forth, _with_ His saints, to

execute judgment upon the beast and the false prophet--to put down

every enemy and every evil, and to reign over the whole earth for the

blissful period of a thousand years.