Prediction or Prophecy 73
Prophecy 75
Shall We Look for a Literal Fulfillment of Prophecy? 79
Abraham and the Land Promise 84
The Time of Promise 88
Rebellion of Israel—A Kingdom Born 91
“Neither ... Nor” 94
Future Kingdom Doctrine Reflects on Integrity Of God 100
The Old Testament Prophets and Christianity 102
Future-Kingdom Perversions and Dislocations Of Prophecy 106
Your Faith and Your Confession 116
The Christ of The Future-Kingdom Advocates 119
Is Salvation Now Offered to All? 120
The Coming of the Lord 122
The “Two Stages” Theory Examined 126
Hope of The Lord’s Coming 130
Paul to the Thessalonians on the Lord’s Return 134
Resurrection From the Dead 139
Theory of Two Resurrections Considered 143
Church Ages 147
Philadelphia and The Hour of Trial 149
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream 155
Milligan on Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream 160
A Leading Doctrine of This Current Reformation 163
Is the Church the Kingdom? 166
This Government and Jehovah’s Witnesses 168
The New Testament Word Flesh 173
Future-Kingdom Doctrines 177
A Proposition and Its Proof 187
PUBLISHER’S PREFACE
In editing and arranging the writings contained in this book, I used
some lifted from religious journals and some that was still in
manuscript form. For their courtesy extended to me in allowing me to
lift from their papers the writings of my late father, Robertson L.
Whiteside, for publication in books, I wish to express my deepest
gratitude to the present managements of the: GOSPEL ADVOCATE, GOSPEL
GUARDIAN, and FIRM FOUNDATION.
To the many who have encouraged me in this effort, thanks. Your comments
have been a source of great joy and inspiration.
It is my hope that this “Kingdom of Promise and Prophecy” will, along
with the “Commentary on Paul’s Letter to the Saints at Rome” and
“Doctrinal Discourses,” fill the present need for sound and careful
Bible teaching. To these will be added, as soon as time will permit, a
compilation of questions and answers for which I have had many requests.
INYS WHITESIDE
INTRODUCTION
Robertson L. Whiteside was a native of Hickman county, Tennessee, born
December 27, 1869, died at his home in Denton, Texas—where he had lived
more than forty years—January 5, 1951. Early in his life (17 years of
age), he dedicated himself to the Lord’s service. He was student,
educator, and preacher and was ever on the firing lines in the fight
against innovations and error. The Bible was his standard of faith and
practice. With him, “to live was Christ.” Like Jeremiah of old (a
character he so loved and admired), there was a burning fire in his
heart he could not contain.
I might write a conventional biography as introduction to this book;
however, it seems to me that the following lesson from his pen is more
revealing of the purpose of the life that he lived.
PREACH THE WORD
“I charge thee in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus, who shall judge
the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach
the word; be urgent in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort,
with all long-suffering and teaching. For the time will come when they
will not endure 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. But be thou sober in all
things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill thy
ministry.” (2 Tim. 4:1-5.)
An old theme, do you say? What about it is old? God, Christ, truth, sin,
salvation, duty, destiny—these never grow old. There is something wrong
with one who thinks any Bible theme is old or out of date. If there were
a cure for all fleshly ailments, would it ever be “out of date”? Would
any sufferer say of it, “O, that is too old for this progressive age”?
But there is no such cure known to man.
But man has a nature more important and enduring than his flesh, and
ailments more far reaching in their results than any fleshly ills. And
the gospel of Christ is a sure cure for all spiritual and moral ills. As
long as there are moral evils to be corrected, sins to be forgiven,
sinners to be saved, and downtrodden and discouraged to be inspirited,
sorrowing hearts to be comforted, just that long will the gospel be
fresh and “up to date.” And what else is up to date?
We have made great advancement in material things, but these do not meet
the needs of the soul. Science has made great strides in material
things, but it has no remedy for sin and crime. In fact, it has put
forces into the hands of the world that the world does not know what to
do with. In truth, I think it can be safely said that science has made
crime more plentiful and daring, and has enabled the criminal to escape
a hundredfold more easily. I am not unmindful of the comforts science
has brought to those who know how to use them; it has also done wonders
in combating disease. But it has put powers in the hands of man that he
does not know how to handle. Even now scientists are seeking ways and
means to destroy whole cities with one blast. Science has just about
perfected means by which civilization will destroy itself in the next
great war. It cannot cure one moral evil, nor generate one spiritual
force for the world’s regeneration. And when a scientist tries to become
a philosopher, he becomes a great injury to the world; for he usually
leaves God out of any scheme of philosophy that he tries to construct.
And psychology and sociology, or any of the moral philosophies, are
equally helpless. Jesus is the Great Physician, and the gospel is his
remedy, his only remedy, for the evils that afflict the world.
Nothing is up to date that does not meet the needs of the times. Many
things are up to date in meeting our material needs, but nothing that
man has ever thought out or planned is up to date in a moral and
spiritual sense. Along these lines man’s theories are out of date before
they are announced. The most advanced person in the world along moral
and spiritual lines is the one who adheres most closely to the word of
God and relies most firmly upon it as the one and only remedy for sin
and crime. And the man who says that such a man is behind the times is
himself so far behind that he does not know that any one has gone on
before! The one who faithfully preaches the word is far in advance of
him who preaches something else. And yet the majority of the people have
never wanted the plain truth told. They prefer things that please.
Because some professed Christians would not want the pure word of God
preached is one of the reasons assigned by Paul as to why the word of
God should be preached the more diligently. “Preach the word.... For the
time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.” At first
thought it might seem that this statement was true in Paul’s day; for
did they not persecute and kill preachers then? But Paul was not here
speaking of outsiders. He had in mind the time when professed Christians
would not endure sound doctrine. Growing tired of the gospel they would
long for something else. “Having itching ears,” they “will heap to
themselves teachers after their own lusts; and will turn away their ears
from the truth, and turn aside unto fables.” It is plain that he was
talking about people who would accept the truth, but later become tired
of it, and would employ preachers that would tickle their itching ears.
It is a dark picture, but it is not a new picture.
After God’s people came out of Egypt, they frequently drifted into the
condition Paul here mentions. Read the historical books of the Old
Testament and also the testimony of the prophets, and you will find that
God’s people never remained true to him very long at a time. Against
them Jeremiah testifies: “For my people have committed two evils: they
have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and have hewed them out
cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” (Jer. 2:13.) They
had turned from the fountain of living waters as spoken to them by God’s
prophets, and had procured for themselves false prophets. And that was
their folly and their sin. Isaiah delivers a terrific rebuke: “The ox
knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib: but Israel doth not
know, my people doth not consider.” (Isa. 1:3.) They did not know as
much about where safety and food could be found as did the ox or the
ass.
Is there not a need now for straight gospel preaching? Of course, a
preacher should be a Christian gentleman at all times, but he should not
become too polished to preach the unadulterated word of God. He may
suffer for it, but what of that? And some misguided souls may say that
plain preaching keeps people away and injures the standing of the
church, but the faithful preacher knows that that makes it the more
binding upon him to preach the gospel straight. Because Jeremiah spoke
the word of God faithfully, the people said: “This man seeketh not the
welfare of this people, but the hurt.” (Jer. 38:4.) And yet he was the
best friend the people had. But they wanted smooth things spoken to
them. They wanted him to tell them that no evil would come upon them. It
appears that Jeremiah at times grew weary, and felt as if he might as
well give up the strife, but he could not quit. “I am become a
laughing-stock all the day, every one mocketh me. For as often as I
speak, I cry out; I cry, Violence and destruction! because the word of
Jehovah is made a reproach unto me, and a derision, all the day. And if
I say, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name,
then there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones,
and I am weary with forbearing, and I cannot contain.” (Jer. 20:7-9.)
Jeremiah loved his people, and could not be quiet as he beheld them
plunging into ruin. A more heroic figure than Jeremiah does not grace
the pages of Old Testament history.
These are perilous times. Man’s schemes have broken down and the world
is in chaos. Human wisdom has come up against a blank wall, beyond which
man cannot see. The people are saying to their erstwhile leaders, “Cry”;
and the leaders call back, “What shall we cry?” We have left God out of
our scheme of things. We have dabbled in this monkey business till
conditions have made monkeys out of our wisest men. But there is balm,
there is healing, there is a physician. Preach the word.
We want to convert sinners and edify saints, but there is danger that we
put the main emphasis on the wrong things. We may become so busy as
herdboys that we forget to feed the sheep. We may become so absorbed in
keeping the young folks interested that we forget to fill them with the
word of God. We may become so engaged in building fine meeting houses,
that we forget to build fine Christian characters.
It is a fine thing for a church to have a house suited to its needs, but
a house is not one of the essentials. The early Christians owned no
meetinghouses, but they made the gospel ring throughout the land. It is
a sin for brethren to burden themselves with a church-house debt that
requires all their energies and resources to meet. Some churches have so
burdened themselves with debt that they have ceased any worthwhile
effort to preach the word. It is feared that pride contributed much to
their present humiliation. Some of these monuments to pride or mistaken
zeal will never be paid out, and the church will be discouraged and
weakened, and all because they forgot that their main mission was to
convert sinners and edify saints. In trying to “put things over” they
have gone under. PREACH THE WORD.
Do not worry about science. It has its legitimate field, and in its
field it has done wonderful things. We reap its benefits and are glad.
The average preacher knows little about science, and the average
scientist knows less about the Bible. The claim that science and the
Bible do not agree should disturb no one. What is called “science” is
not static. Each generation brings new light; most of the old theories
have been exploded by scientists themselves. Yet each generation of
scientists boldly announces that science has disproved the Bible. But it
can as easily be proved that science has disproved itself. With all
their dogmatism about the Bible and science, there are few theories that
real scientists are willing to take their stand upon and say: “Here is
ultimate truth; no future discoveries will contradict this.” So long as
they cannot afford to affirm that they have arrived at ultimate truth,
how can they with honor say that science disproves the Bible? Besides,
if the Bible fully agreed with the scientific theories of one age, it
would not agree with the theories of the next age. The Bible is
unchangeable and cannot keep up agreement with that which constantly
changes. Some of the foremost scientists recognize the limitations of
science and are firm believers in the Bible. PREACH THE WORD. No known
truth contradicts the Bible.
But why preach the word? Why did the early Christians preach the word in
the face of such fiery persecution? Why did Paul, then about to be put
to death for preaching the word, urge upon his beloved Timothy a course
of action that was bound to bring suffering? Why do we now sacrifice
that the word may be preached? We notice some reasons why the word
should be preached.
The word of God is the seed of the kingdom. The parable of the sower
sets forth this truth as plainly as language can do so. “The sower
soweth the word.” That parable sets forth the truth that the word of God
is to the spiritual kingdom exactly what seed is to the vegetable
kingdom. The word produces plants in the spiritual kingdom just as seed
produces plants in the vegetable kingdom. If this be not so, then no one
can tell what the Savior meant to teach by this parable.
Life is in the word just as life is in any other seed. If the seed be
not planted, life will not spring up. No matter how well the soil may be
prepared, there will be no life there till the seed be planted. No
matter how much the heart may be prepared by education, culture, sorrow,
or whatever may come, there will be no spiritual life in the heart till
the seed—the word of God—is planted there.
Seed is able under suitable conditions to transform dead elements of the
soil into life. In nature, this is the process of reproduction. Those
who contend for a direct operation of the Spirit in regeneration base
their contention on the fact that the sinner is dead. It is claimed that
dead sinners must be made alive by this direct work of the Spirit before
they can obey the Lord. This is the heart of their contention. Grant
their premise, does their conclusion follow? Is the sinner’s heart any
deader than the soil into which the farmer sows his seed? The farmer
knows that the life inherent in the seed is able to transform dead soil
into a living, growing plant. If the theologians were as wise as the
most ignorant farmer, they would sow the seed, which is the word of God,
knowing that the deadness of the soil—the sinner’s heart—is no barrier
to an abundant harvest. PREACH THE WORD.
There is saving power in the word. An angel said to Cornelius: “Send to
Joppa, and fetch Simon, whose surname is Peter; who shall speak unto
thee words, whereby thou shalt be saved, thou and all thy house.” (Acts
11:13, 14.) “Wherefore putting away all filthiness and overflowing of
wickedness, receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to
save your souls.” (James 1:21.) “I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it
is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” (Rom.
1:16.) Of course, no one thinks there is power in the material of which
the Bible is made. The power that leads men to Christ is the thoughts,
the ideas, the motives, presented in the word of God. There is power in
a thought; and power in a motive. By words men move men, even whole
armies and nations. Men’s thoughts have been powerful enough to
overthrow kingdoms. If we want men to act a certain way, we try to fill
them with thoughts and motives tending to lead them in the direction we
want them to go. We stir up action along certain lines by filling the
people with certain thoughts and motives. In this way we work in people
to induce them to will and do as we think they should. A man lives out
in his life the thoughts he has in his heart. If we can fill people full
of God’s ideas, God’s thoughts, we will induce them to do God’s will. In
this way God works in people to get them to live different lives. This
helps us to understand what Paul says in Phil. 2:13: “For it is God who
worketh in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.”
It is through the mighty power of the word that men are drawn to Christ.
I fear that many preachers will never get forgiveness for the way they
have treated what the Lord says in John 6:44, 45. They so often read
verse 44 and stop for their usual argument on the direct drawing put
forth by the Spirit. Of course, when God draws, he draws by his power.
If they would read both verses, they would defeat their argument made on
verse 44. Is that honest? Is that handling aright the word of truth?
Read both verses: “No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me
draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day. It is written in the
prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. Every one that hath heard
from the Father, and hath learned, cometh unto me.” (John 6:44, 45.) It
is through God’s word that we hear and learn of the Father; in that way
God’s drawing power is brought to bear upon us. The gospel is God’s
power to save, because it draws men to Christ, who alone can save.
It is not necessary to put in much time following the rambling efforts
of the debater to prove man’s depravity. Some years ago I had a
discussion with Mr. Ben M. Bogard. On the Spirit question, he made the
usual arguments on the depravity deadness of the sinner. In my first
reply I made the statement: “I object to Mr. Bogard’s theory because it
limits the power of God. He has the sinner so dead that God could not
make a gospel that would reach him. I object to a theory that makes God
so helpless.” Mr. Bogard, with more than usual bluster, replied: “It is
not a question of God’s power. God can do anything he wants to. He could
have made a gospel that would reach the dead sinner’s heart, if he had
wanted to do so.” I replied: “The sinner is not so dead, then, as we
have been hearing he was. Even this personal contact for which he
contends would not have been necessary if God had made the right kind of
gospel. So the trouble is not in the deadness of the sinner, but in the
inefficiency of the gospel. But God could have made a better gospel, if
he had wanted to. My contention is that he made the very gospel that Mr.
Bogard says he could have made. Why waste further time discussing the
deadness of the sinner?” Of course, I paid due attention to Mr. Bogard’s
total-depravity notions, but he did not recover from his admission. God
made a gospel that is perfectly adapted to man as he is. PREACH THE
WORD.
Pointed Paragraphs:
If you become a little squeamish about denouncing false teachers, read
Jeremiah. If you think people are so hardened in sin that they hate
you for preaching the word, read Jeremiah. A careful study of Jeremiah
is good tonic for anyone.
Jeremiah has been unjustly called the “weeping prophet,” as if he were
a sort of weakling; whereas there was never a more heroic soul.
Nothing turned him aside from his duty. If he wept, it was because he
loved his nation, and his heart was torn with the knowledge of what
was coming to his people. He would have been cold-blooded had he not
wept.