Hastening the Coming of Christ
By Arthur G. Daniells
THE greatest controversy in the world to-day is the controversy between Christ and Satan. The greatest movement in this world is the work of God; the most important questions for each one to ask himself are, How do I stand related to this controversy? What is my influence in the work of God? Am I advancing that work, or am I retarding it? The Scriptures plainly teach us that it is our privilege to hasten the work of God, and so hasten the coming of the day of God. “Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.” 2 Peter 3: 12, margin. This shows that it is in the power of humanity to hasten the coming of Jesus Christ. The converse of this is also true. What is our attitude toward this work? What is our influence on this work? Is it such as to hasten the day of God? When we think what the coming of Christ means, we shall get some idea regarding the great responsibilities that rest upon us who have power either to hasten or to delay the event. The coming of Christ means the end of the reign of sin, and the beginning of the universal and eternal reign of grace. It means the end of human suffering, sorrow, and woe, and the beginning of the unspeakably glorious reign of joy and peace and love in the hearts of men. Am I contributing toward the progress of this work, or am I blocking the wheels, and hindering it? O that the Spirit of God would make this a searching question with each one of us! In “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. VI, pages 437, 438, there is a paragraph on this subject: “The upbuilding of the kingdom of God is retarded or urged forward according to the unfaithfulness or fidelity of human agencies. The work is hindered by the failure of the human to co-operate with the divine. Men may pray, ‘Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven;’ but if they fail of acting out this prayer in their lives, their petitions will be fruitless.” “Ye churches of the living God, study this promise, and consider how your lack of faith, of spirituality, of divine power, is hindering the coming of the kingdom of God. If you would go forth to do Christ’s work, angels of God would open the way before you, and prepare hearts to receive the gospel. Were every one of you a living missionary, the message for this time would be speedily proclaimed in all countries, to every people, nation, and tongue. This is the work that must be done before Christ shall come in power and great glory.” One may ask, How can mortal man hinder the work of God? Is it not written, “None can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest thou”? or on the other hand, What can a man do that will hasten the work of God, and thus hasten the day of God? Men are hindering the work of God by failing to co-operate with Him in the work. Who Is Responsible for the Delay?
It is not the open sinner that is hindering the work, or that is delaying the coming of Christ. There is not an infidel on this earth who can do that. No band of men can rise up in positive, open opposition to God, and stay His hand, or delay His work. A nation cannot do it. No power can rise up and make human laws that of themselves, or by the power of the nations, can hinder the work of God, and delay that great day. No; it is the professed follower of God alone that has power to do that. The Lord has chosen men and women through whom to teach the principles of heaven to this fallen world. He does not send angels in their glory and power and wisdom as the visible agencies in teaching the gospel. He chooses human instrumentalities, and commits the work to them, and He says to them, You go and teach the gospel of the kingdom, and I will go with you and bless you. The Lord has sent out angels into all parts of the world to exercise a controlling influence over the nations of the earth. They are commissioned to check these nations and hold them under control, that they may not bring the final crisis before it ought to come. While they are holding the nations, another angel is seen bearing God’s last message to the world, to prepare its inhabitants for the final crisis. This last call is represented in the seal of the living God: “Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” When every person in the world has taken a decided stand for or against the work of God, then the angels will cease to hold the winds, and the controversy will be quickly ended. “All over the world men and women are looking wistfully to heaven. Prayers and tears and inquiries go up from souls longing for light, for grace, for the Holy Spirit. Many are on the verge of the kingdom, waiting only to be gathered in.” God will not let the end come while there are honest souls abroad in the world, looking up to heaven, stretching out their hands, praying for light. These seeking ones will find what they long for, and God sends us to search them out. “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Matt. 24:14. When Christ shall be made King of all, He will set aside the kingdoms of this world. He will smite them with a rod of iron, and in the territory He will establish His own kingdom. The whole world shall be full of the glory of God. “And when He was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation [“not with outward show,” margin]; neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17: 20, 21. The fact is, the kingdom of God must be in a man before that man can preach the gospel of the kingdom as a witness to other men. That is the secret of the delay in the proclamation of this message. The kingdom of God is not established within us as it must be to make us true witnesses of that kingdom to the world. “I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” There is the capital of that kingdom. “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God himself will be with them, and be their God.” There is the King. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” There is the kingdom of God. But do you know that every person who becomes a subject of that kingdom must have that whole experience in himself? The throne of his heart must be the throne of the King. A Complete Surrender Is Necessary
The difficulty is that it is so hard for us to surrender and let God be all in all. The flesh wars against the spirit, so that we may not do the things we would. We want to be both lord and servant. Are you willing to make the unqualified surrender of yourself to God? Are you willing to give up your own way and let Him have His way altogether? He asks that every passion of the flesh be surrendered to Him, to be destroyed. Let each one say, Lord, take the foolish pride out of my heart; give me the love and gentleness of Jesus. Many people are to-day holding on to a cruel, wicked temper because they are not willing to surrender to God. How many homes are darkened, how many hearts are broken and sad, because of irritability in the family! How many children’s lives are made wretched and like a frightful nightmare because they are scolded by father and mother! As God’s own people, we must be delivered from these things. There is nothing that will more quickly betray the shallowness of a Christianity that is only a veneer than a manifestation of bad temper, impatience, or fretfulness. “Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, and knowest His will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.” Rom. 2: 17. This is certainly a high position for anybody to occupy. “Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?” What does one’s personal experience do for what he teaches?—If it is a bad experience, it nullifies his best efforts. On the other hand, let a person’s teaching be the experience of his heart, be truly the expression of himself, and there is power in his preaching. The peace, hope, and gladness that will fill your heart when you make a complete surrender are worth ten thousand times all the things that your heart longs for in this world. It does not matter what you are aspiring to, if it is wrong, God will sweep it away when you submit to Him, and He will give you something unspeakably better in its place. What does your heart say to you on this question? Do you not hear it saying to you, Submit to God; consecrate all to His service? What do you say?