The Coming of Our Lord by Eugene W. Farnsworth

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Mar 3, 1914

The Coming of Our Lord

By Eugene W. Farnsworth

He Tells of Signs That Will Precede His Coming—He Also Predicted the Complete Destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem—No One Sign Alone to Be Taken as Conclusive Evidence

By EUGENE W. FARNSWORTH

IN this article, I shall try to give a few Bible reasons which show that the second advent of Christ is near at hand. This doctrine is not the belief of one class or denomination only, but there are a great many of God's people throughout all churches and denominations who believe that "the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."

The fact is, if a man really and sincerely believes that Jesus is coming soon, that great truth will color every plan of his life, and will affect all his actions. The man who thoroughly believes that Christ will come in a little while will be less inclined to build an expensive house, and greatly enlarge his bank-account, than he would if he expected to live here many years.

SOME SIGNS TO PRECEDE HIS COMING

God has made known through His word some of the signs that will precede Christ's second coming. These are described in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, the thirteenth chapter of Mark, and the twenty-first chapter of Luke.

In the last verses of the twenty-third chapter of Matthew, the Saviour ends His discourse this way: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord." Verses 37-39.

Those were the last words of the Saviour in the temple as a teacher. He spoke a few words when on trial; but as the great Teacher of the people, these were the last words He uttered,—"Your house is left unto you desolate." When He left the temple that day,

He left it forever, and any temple without a Saviour is a desolate place.

THEY ASK A FULLER EXPLANATION

Proceeding to the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem and overlooking the city, the disciples came to Jesus, and asked Him to explain more particularly the meaning of His words. "And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." Matt. 24:2.

Apparently they thought His explanation harder to be understood than His previous statement. It seemed to them incredible. As they looked at the massive stones that formed the foundation of the temple, it seemed an impossibility for these to be overthrown; so they tried to convince Jesus that He had made a mistake. "And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?" Verse 3.

They really asked two distinct questions: Tell us when the temple and the city shall be overthrown. When will it come to pass that one stone shall not be left upon another? And, further, what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world? One question relates to the destruction of Jerusalem, the other to the destruction of the world at the end of the Christian age.

HE ANSWERED BOTH QUESTIONS

It seems reasonable that both these questions were answered by the Saviour. Christ told them when the city would be overthrown, and He also told them when they might expect the return of their Lord.

In answer to their inquiries, in the following verses Christ first took a survey of the whole Christian dispensation, and told them what was to take place in a general way. After that He took up the destruction of Jerusalem, and then the signs of His second coming. "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." Verses 4, 5.

TWO DOZEN FALSE CHRISTS

Twenty-four persons professed to be the Messiah, within a few years after the crucifixion of Christ. The Saviour saw what would come, when He said, "Let no man deceive you." This prophecy was not confined to the years just after His return to heaven. Since that time, many have claimed that they were the Messiah, and that the second coming of the Lord was seen in them. It would seem that by this means the enemy designs to throw contempt on the idea that the Lord Himself will ever return. He wishes to deceive the people. That is his business. He would turn their minds from the true coming of the Messiah.

WAR, EARTHQUAKE, AND PESTILENCE ALONE ARE NOT SIGNS

"And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet." Verse 6. All through the Christian dispensation, there would be wars and rumors of war. Strife and commotion have abounded, "but the end is not yet." The disciples were not to think, as soon as they heard of war, that it was a sign of Christ's second coming. "The end is not by and by," according to Luke. Notwithstanding war, earthquake, or pestilence, Christians were not to think from these alone that Christ's coming was near at hand.

"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for My name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another." Verses 7-10. Not a very encouraging picture! Yet that would be the end of His people down through the ages.

MANY FALSE PROPHETS

"And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 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." Verses 11-14. In these scriptures we have a general survey, a panoramic picture, of prevailing conditions down to the end of time. Having given a general idea of what we might expect, Christ then took up the first question, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, and answered that very clearly.

This question will be considered next week.