LESSON VI.—SABBATH, MAY 6, 1893.
Suggestive Questions and Lesson Scriptures.
1. Review questions:—
(a) Explain how Christ can come as a thief in the night and his people be looking for him when he comes.
(b) Give four texts that prove that Christ's coming is a literal coming.
(c) What difference will there be in the reception of Jesus by the wicked and righteous? 2. To whom is Christ to appear with salvation?
"So Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation." Heb. 9: 28. 3. What are those called who look for him?
"But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief; for ye are all sons of light, and sons of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness." 1 Thess. 5: 4, 5. 4. What is their light?
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and light unto my path." Ps. 119: 105.
"Again therefore Jesus spake unto them, saying, I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John 8: 12. 5. What particular portions of the Scripture give light on the coming of the Lord?
"And we have the word of prophecy made more sure; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts." 2 Peter 1: 19. 6. What is prophecy? See note 1. 7. How was prophecy written?
"For no prophecy ever came by the will of man; but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter 1: 21. 8. What is said of the interpretation of prophecy?
"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of private interpretation." 2 Peter 1: 20. See note 2. 9. If the prophet did not speak according to his own mind, who is responsible for what he says?
"Concerning which salvation the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you; searching what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them." 1 Peter 1: 10, 11. 10. Then who instructed all the prophets what to write? See note 3. 11. Does Jesus make known the definite time of his second advent?
"But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only." Matt. 24: 36. 12. How near does he come to giving us a definite time?
"Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished." Matt. 24: 34. See note 4. 13. What expression does the Saviour use which shows that the term "generation" means but a short period in this connection?
"Even as ye also, when ye see all these things, know ye that he is nigh, even at the doors." Matt. 24: 33. 14. What does Jesus expect his people to be doing when he is at the door?
"Watch therefore; for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh." Verse 42. 15. What will the unbelievers be doing in this generation?
"Knowing this first, that in the last days mockers shall come with mockery, walking after their own lusts." 2 Peter 3: 3. 16. What do they say?
"Where is the promise of his coming? for, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." 2 Peter 3: 4. 17. What is said of their ignorance?
"For this they willfully forget, that there were heavens from of old, and an earth compacted out of water and amidst water, by the word of God." 2 Peter 3: 5. 18. How could they have known differently? 2 Peter 3: 5. By the word of God. 19. What should those who know of the time be doing?
"And this, knowing the season, that now it is high time for you to awake out of sleep; for now is salvation nearer to us than when we first believed. The night is far spent, and the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness; and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and jealousy. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof." Rom. 13: 11-14. 1. PROPHECY is history written before it is made. God, who knows the end from the beginning, speaks through his prophets to the world, that they may know what is coming in the future, and be prepared to meet it. The Saviour often spoke of himself as fulfilling the words of the prophets concerning his work. Had the people given heed to the prophetic Scripture, they would not have rejected him. So in the last days they that study the word of prophecy and believe it, will be in the light, while those who reject this word will be lost. 2. "THAT no prophecy of the Scripture, whether that referred to above, or any other, is of any private interpretation, proceeds from the prophet's own knowledge or invention, or was the offspring of calculation or conjecture. The word 'epilusis' signifies, also, impetus, impulse, and probably this is the best sense here—not by mere private impulse of his own mind."—Clarke. 3. IN 1 Peter 1: 11 we learn that it was the Spirit of Christ that was in the prophets that led them to speak the words they spake. In the opening words of the book of Revelation we are informed that it is a "revelation of Jesus Christ," which he sent through his angel to John. This angel tells John (Rev. 22: 9) that he was the fellow-servant of John and the other prophets before him. Then every prophet was instructed by Christ's angel, and Jesus himself was the authority for all that was spoken. 4. "By some of the ancients a generation was fixed at a hundred years, by others at a hundred and ten years, by others at thirty-three, thirty-five, and even at twenty years. So that there was nothing uniform and settled in this matter."—Cruden. "Genea, birth, race, descent, offspring; it denotes an age, or generation, from the point of view of race."—Bullinger.