The Second Coming of Christ by F. M. W.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Feb 10, 1916

The Second Coming of Christ

By F. M. W.

It is interesting to note the increasing agitation which is going on in religious circles regarding the proximity of the second advent. This has been particularly marked since the beginning of the war in the Eastern world. Much of the discussion of course is based on a very superficial knowledge of the Bible, and is very far from representing the teaching of the Scriptures. It is the more gratifying, therefore, to find in Home Life for the month of January, an article on this subject from J. Wilbur Chapman, D. D., which very clearly represents the Scriptural view. With two slight omissions where in our judgment Dr. Chapman wanders from the teachings of the Word, we take pleasure in reproducing his article entire, as it appeared in that journal:—

When St. Paul wrote his epistle to the Corinthians, he said: “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,” and now that St. John is writing his epistles, he is expressing the wish that he might be so faithful to Jesus Christ and to his teaching that he would not be ashamed before him at his coming. See 1 John 2: 28.

The second coming of Christ is one of the most important and inspiring subjects presented in all the Bible, and at this particular time it is proper that we should study the subject carefully. There are many persons who believe that we are approaching the last times, if indeed we are not already in them, and that there are the clearest indications that we may at no far distant date find him coming for his saints. It has been said that this subject has been mentioned no less than 385 times in the New Testament, but this would include the Revelation, and I do not refer to the verses in this book because of its entirely prophetic character. But the second coming of Christ is mentioned forty-eight times in the Gospels, nine times in the Acts, seventy-four times in the Epistles, making a total of one hundred and thirty-one, and as a matter of fact, taking the New Testament as a whole, one verse in twenty-five refers to this great event.

We make very much of baptism and rightly so, but St. Paul says far more about the Lord’s return than about this great doctrine. More is said concerning his return than concerning his deity. He must have meant exactly what he said, when he declared that he was coming back. Some have said that his second coming means death, or that he came at the destruction of Jerusalem, or on the day of Pentecost, or that he will come at the end of the world; but if you take the verses referring to his second coming and insert the word “death,” or the words which have to do with the great events I have mentioned, in the place of the expressions which tell of his coming again, these scriptures will all lose their meaning.

The Bible is very plain and explicit concerning this great day, as for example, Acts 1: 11: “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.” I have always been interested in the remark of a little girl who said: “If Jesus did not mean what he said, why did he not say what he meant?” and I can imagine one who has been indifferent to the Lord’s return meeting him, and having the Master say to him, “But did I not say that I was coming back?” and the indifferent one replying, “Yes, but I thought—,” and before this sentence could be finished, I can quite imagine that one standing before him would be exceedingly ashamed.

As a matter of fact, the evangelical denominations are agreed as to his coming back again, but in the manner of his coming, and the time, and the attendant circumstances concerning these things we differ. It is not my purpose in my message to take up the disputed points. I shall not discuss the question as to whether the church is to pass through what is known as the “tribulation,” but I shall certainly strive to make it plain that he is coming back, and that he may come soon.

To me it is not a matter for argument; certainly it is not a question to divide Christians. I have always been much impressed with the words of St. Paul in 1 Thess. 4: 18, where he says, “Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” To me the doctrine is a great comfort and a great cause for cheer.

His coming personal. Heb. 9: 28: “Unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” He, himself, is coming back, this same Jesus whom children loved and men and women adored, and we shall see him, O glorious day!

His coming visible. Rev. 1: 7: “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” Some day the skies will brighten beyond the brightness of the sun, and we shall see him face to face; and then, when we remember the words of the prophet, that he is the chiefest among ten thousand, and the one altogether lovely, we shall realize how inadequately language describes him. O wonderful vision!

I should like to tell you why I believe as I do. I did not always hold to this precious doctrine. I did not think it made any difference to me as a preacher. I knew that many people had advocated this truth, and had become extremely fanatical; but the following, when I became thoughtful, made a deep impression upon me:—

1. I came in contact in my study and observation with some of the great men of the church. I read John Wesley closely, and found that this was his belief and the inspiration of his preaching. I became familiar with the teaching of John Calvin, and was inspired when I found that he, too, was looking for the Lord. Charles H. Spurgeon, the greatest preacher of his day, stood in the same class. D. L. Moody never lost an opportunity to declare his belief in the second coming of Christ; while Dr. A. J. Gordon of Boston inspired me beyond measure in his messages concerning the second coming. I found that God had used or was using these men in a great way, and soon I came to accept this truth, which revolutionized my thinking, increased my love for the Bible, and helped me to be truer to humanity and to Christ.

2. I was always troubled about the question of the judgment. I could not understand how there could be a general judgment, and all who hold to the second coming of Christ believe that there are many judgments, as, for example, the judgment of the cross, where the sin question is settled; the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5: 10), where Christians are judged for the way they have used their time and talents; the judgment of the nations (Matt. 5: 22), where there is nothing spoken of the dead, but all of the living; and the judgment of the great white throne (Rev. 20: 11-15), where there are no living, but only the dead stand before God.

3. The world didn’t seem to me to be growing better, but rather worse. The two views held by the church may be described as follows: First, the postmillennial, i. e., the world will grow better and better, until at last the millennium will be ushered in, and then the Lord will come; second, the premillennial view, i. e., the world will not grow better until Christ himself comes, and he will usher in the thousand years of peace. My view is the premillennial. Surely no one could look upon the world at war today and say the world is getting better. I think I should be utterly discouraged did I not believe that all these wrongs could be righted by the return of Jesus. Read Second Timothy, second [third] chapter, the first five verses, and you will find a description of these days. . . .

The Time

No one knows when he is to come; it may be soon, but I beseech you be ready for his coming; God pity you if you are not.

The attending circumstances. Read 1 Thess. 4: 16, 17. When he comes, the tombs of the righteous dead shall be opened, and our loved ones shall be caught up to meet him in the air,—your mother and mine, your child and mine; then we which are alive shall be taken up. We sometimes speak of a thing as being as sure as death, but death is not sure.

“O joy, O delight, should we go without dying, No sickness, no sadness, no dread, and no crying; Caught up through the clouds with our Lord into glory, When Jesus returns for his own.” . . . The times in which we live are exceedingly

serious; the wars and rumors of wars startle us from day to day. Surely we are facing a world crisis of some sort. I would suggest that all Christian people give themselves most diligently to the study of the prophecy. As for myself I have not the slightest question but that we are approaching the last days. I do not mean that Jesus may come today or tomorrow; it may be that he will delay his appearing; but surely these great events, the like of which the world has never known, ought to make us very serious, and ought to impel us to turn away from frivolity and sin, and seek in every way to please him, lest we be ashamed at his coming.

The minds of men have been mightily stirred during the last few months as to the portent of things which are now taking place on the earth. This is in God’s order, and affords us an opportunity to give to these inquirers a knowledge as to the time in which we are living and the meaning of these startling events. Mordecai told Esther that God had brought her to the kingdom for just such a crisis as arose in her experience. We verily believe that God has given us a knowledge of the truth for this time that we may spread it abroad. Let us be faithful to the trust reposed in us. Let us seek by every consistent means in our power, by the circulation of literature, by cottage meetings, by Bible studies, and by personal labor, to give our fellows a knowledge of the truth of God especially applicable to the times in which we live. Failing in this, we shall be recreant to our trust. Engaging in this labor, we may become workers together with God in the salvation of a lost world.

F. M. W.