THE TIME OF CHRIST'S COMING.
By F. M. Wilcox
WHILE the Scriptures of truth throw much light on the coming of the Lord, the spirit of inspiration has not seen fit to reveal the exact date when that event will take place. Our Saviour says, "That day knoweth no man." In supposing that the exact time of the second advent was revealed in the Sacred Writings, serious mistakes have been made by Bible expositors in the past. Such a mistake was made in 1844 by William Miller and his colaborers. Mr. Miller's mistake, however, was not in his compilation of the prophetical periods. The 2,300 days of Daniel 8:14, upon which the movement of 1840 and 1844 was based, did end in the autumn of 1844. The science of neither mathematics nor logic can disprove this fact. The mistake of Mr. Miller and his coworkers was in supposing that the cleansing of the sanctuary, which the prophecy says was to take place at the end of the 2,300 days, was the cleansing of this earth by fire instead of the opening of the investigative judgment in the courts of heaven above. Since that period many fruitless attempts have been made to fix upon some date when the Lord will be revealed; but every effort has proven a failure, and has served to bring discredit upon the subject of the second advent. All such attempts in the future will likewise prove failures. The time when earth's history shall close is known alone to the divine mind. And if He in His wisdom shall ever see fit to reveal it to the human family, we are confident it will not be this side of probation's hour. The day of the Lord is approximately one thousand years in length. Beginning with the close of probation, which but shortly precedes the second coming of Christ, the one great, central event of the day-of-the-Lord period is the second coming of Christ to this earth. The events of the day of the Lord will be taken up more fully in future numbers; hence we make but meager reference to it here. The beginning of this period (i. e., the day of the Lord), the Scriptures plainly declare will come upon the great mass of mankind Upon this point we read in 1 Thess. 5:2, 3: "For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them; . . . and they shall not escape." Please note that the class upon whom the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night, is denominated by the pronoun "they," or those who are crying "peace and safety." But now the apostle turns to the children of the Lord: "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness." The reason why the day of the Lord does not come upon the brethren as a thief in the night, is indicated by the expression found in the first verse of this chapter, "But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you." There was no particular occasion for Paul to address the church regarding the times and seasons of the Lord's coming or of the day of the Lord, from the fact that they regarded the times and seasons relating to these things. They were of the day; and in their soberness and watchfulness, they would pay attention to those indications, while upon the careless multitudes, in their indifference and love of sleep, with the cry of "peace and safety" upon their lips, the day of the Lord would come as a thief in the night. Hence, we must conclude from this scripture that God is willing for His church to know something of the times and seasons. This is further demonstrated in the reference made to this same question by our Saviour in His discourse recorded in Luke 21. In verses 25 to 27 He speaks of the signs of the day of the Lord which would be seen in the heavens above, in the physical world, and among the nations of men. Then He says, "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." This statement He follows with this forcible illustration: "Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand." The conclusion stated in these words is made more forcible as expressed in Matthew: "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it ["He," margin] is near, even at the doors." Then it is the blessed privilege of the children of God to know something about when the Lord Jesus Christ will return to this earth. They may not know the hour, the day, or the year; but as the result of the fulfilment of the signs mentioned, they may know at least in what generation Christ will come. For our Saviour adds in the above chapter cited, "This generation"—that is, the generation which sees these things—"shall not pass away until all is fulfilled." It is for us, in looking at this great question,6to avoid both extremes. We are not to be among those who will run without a message, or who, basing their faith upon mystical interpretations or wild calculations, reach extravagant and fanatical conclusions from their false premises. But while we do not hold fellowship with this wild element, we must be as careful to avoid the stereotyped conservatism which has fastened upon the minds of so many, leading them to believe that it is not for us to know anything of the time when the Lord is to return to this earth. Adopting the medium position, we must study faithfully the Scriptures of truth, depending alone upon the Lord and His Spirit for guidance, and reducing to practise in our experience every ray of light that God sends to us. The Lord will not permit a single trusting, believing soul to be deceived. The promise is that if we do His will we shall know of the doctrine. God will lead every sincere follower aright. May He grant us grace to walk in every ray of light which He shall reveal. By thus doing we shall come to enter the fulness of His salvation. In subsequent numbers we will state more fully what the signs of Christ's coming are and the point we have reached in their fulfilment.