The Coming of Christ by Editor

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park, Washington, D. C. · Jan 2, 1913

The Coming of Christ

By Editor

WE are on the eve of great and important events in the history of this world. Startling changes will take place in this our day. This is indicated by

conditions which exist on every side; by signs in the physical, social, commercial, political, and religious worlds; and it is not alone the denomination represented by this journal that believes this. The idea has taken possession of many minds; thinking men and women everywhere feel that just ahead are striking and marked developments.

But few have a clear idea as to what lies in the future. Without a knowledge of the prophecies relating to this time, they could not, of course, discern the meaning of the events taking place. Many ministers in other churches believe that we have reached the closing days of earth's history. They believe that the coming of the Lord draws near. As to just what is involved in that coming, as to the precise manner in which he will make his second advent, their ideas are more or less hazy.

Recently in Denver, Colo., considerable discussion was drawn out among the clergymen of that city over this question. The Rocky Mountain News of October 7 presents in brief form the views of more than a dozen of the pastors of that city regarding the days in which we are living. For the benefit of our readers we present herewith a symposium of their statements:—

The Early Church Right

The Rev. Joshua Gravett, pastor of Galilee Baptist Church, believes that Christ's coming is near, and that he will transform the spiritual natures of men and women. His subject yesterday was "The Millennium and Evolution." He said, in part:—

"Before Constantine, the church generally held that the Lord would return and reign in harmony with their literal interpretation of the Jewish prophets. To them Jesus was a rejected King, and they, pilgrims and strangers on earth, waiting for his return to take them home.

"We grant that they may have misread some of the signs, but we are confident that they were right in looking toward heaven for their Deliverer.

"'So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.'"

The Testimony of the Apostles

In his sermon on "The Blessed Hope," the Rev. George W. Arms, pastor of the North Presbyterian Church, bitterly assailed the clergymen who have ventured publicly to deny the literal second coming of the Christ and the approaching end of the world. In part, he said:—

"There is not a single writer of the New Testament but tells of the second coming of Christ. That this was the hope of the early church is a fact that even the higher critics admit; for it is simply a matter of history. Scoffers may deny the fact of the coming, but they can not deny the fact that in the New Testament it is there painted as the hope of the church.

"But whether we are as mockers who say, 'My Lord delayeth his coming,' the fact remains that it is the hope of the New Testament church.

"Those who have been the greatest blessing to the church of Christ are those who have been filled with this hope.

"You may be indifferent to this hope. But remember so was the world to the first coming of Jesus. You may call it 'rubbish,' but Paul did not call it rubbish, nor did Peter, nor James, nor John. They called it 'the blessed hope.'"

The Pole-Star of the Church

"The Practical Value of the Doctrine of the Premillennial Return of Our Lord" was the angle from which the Rev. M. A. Stone, pastor of the Corona Presbyterian Church, discussed Christ's second arrival and the millennium. He declared the return of Christ to be the only satisfactory interpretation to the whole scheme of Scripture. In part, he said:—

"This doctrine has been 'the pole-star of the church.' There have been two great events in the history of the world,—the creation and Calvary. And there is another great event yet future, Christ's coming.

"I believe in the personal and premillennial return of Jesus Christ to earth to set up a temporal kingdom on the throne of David. And the event that precedes that is the time (described in 1 Thess. 4:13-17, and elsewhere) when those asleep in Christ shall be raised, and all believers on Christ who are still alive shall be translated, and together shall be caught up to be with him."

Not a New Doctrine

The signs of the times, such as political unrest, wars, rumors of wars, great disasters by sea and by land, and the presence of false prophets, were some of the signs alluded to yesterday by the Rev. E. Shupe, pastor of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as fulfilment of the old prophecies and foretelling the second approach of the Christ and the end of the world. He said, in part:—

"The second coming of Christ is not a new doctrine. To the close student of the Bible and of events happening in the social and the political world, there is but one conclusion to reach, and that is: There must be a halt sooner or later. The world can not go on very much longer as at present.

"Men's hearts are failing them for fear, looking after those things that are coming upon the earth.

"The conditions pictured by the apostle James are everywhere manifest. Riches are corrupted. Your gold and silver is cankered.

"There must be made manifest a higher power than that of man, in order that justice may reign supreme.

"The Scriptures plainly teach that Christ shall come and take up his abode on earth. The righteous are to be made kings and priests, and reign on the earth a thousand years.

"The land of Palestine was promised by the Lord to Abraham and his posterity for an everlasting inheritance. That promise is yet to be made good.

"Yes, Christ will come in bodily form, to gather his saints and reign with them on earth."

A Twofold Purpose

The signs of the times, the apparent approach of the great apostasy, and the increased unrest were declared to indicate the imminent end of the world and the coming of the Christ, by the Rev. F. W. Evans, who spoke at the Montview Boulevard Presbyterian church last night on "The Return of Our Lord."

He quoted passages from the Bible to show that Christ would return to the earth.

"There are some who say that he has come back," he declared. "Have they seen him returning? The Word declares that every eye shall see him. These glorified clouds in which he and his saints will return, will be beyond description. Ah, we shall know he is back from glory when we see him and his saints and the encircling glory.

"His coming has no fixed time. The only light we have upon his return is in certain things which are to antedate it. The gospel must be proclaimed throughout the world so that the Lord's body, the church, may be completed. That which now restrains evil, the Holy Spirit, must be taken out of the world. The man of sin, the lawless one, must be revealed and give himself up to unrestrained activity. The falling away, the great apostasy, must take place. As to when these things may be said to be fulfilled no man knows, although the signs of the times in which we live make their fulfilment seem imminent.

"The purpose of our Lord's return is twofold,—to get his bride, the church, and to consummate his kingdom."

The Premillennial Reign

Christ must come to earth to fulfil the promises made in the Bible, which can not be doubted, declared the Rev. Ralph C. Byers, from the pulpit of the North Congregational church. It is his belief that the second coming of the Saviour is not far distant. His sermon follows, in part:—

"The word millennium, while not in Scripture, is rightly used to express this reign of Christ. Premillenniumists teach that Christ must necessarily come to earth before he can reign upon earth. Postmillenniumists teach that there will be a reign of peace of a thousand years before he comes. They ignore the prevalence of sin, and point to the attempts being put forth to evangelize and reform the world. The fact is that even in this day of great missionary effort the unbelieving population of the world is increasing more rapidly than converts to Christianity are being secured.

"Since part of the disciples' prophecy was literally fulfilled, there is no sane law of interpretation which can deny the literal fulfilment of what remains. Then Christ must yet save his people, and reign, on David's throne, over the nations of the earth. Isa. 9:7 says he will do so.

"Paul says in many places that he will come.

"'But of that day and hour knoweth no man.' Matt. 24:36. 'What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.' Mark 13:37."

Energizing and Regenerating

The Rev. A. J. Finch, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, prophesied glorious salvation in Christ's coming. "The one thing needed to-day to energize and regenerate a decadent church is a living faith in a living, coming Lord," he said.

"To doubt the second coming of Jesus Christ is to call in question the validity of the inspiration of the Scriptures.

"All that has to do with the Christian life revolves around this great central truth.

"Unfortunately, it is a doctrine that in the past has been seized upon by fanatics, and thus brought into disrepute. But taken by itself, it becomes a mighty spiritual force. In considering this, look at it from three points:—

"1. As to its influence upon the life of the church. In primitive Christianity it was the one all-absorbing theme. In these pages of history you may read the stories of the most sublime heroism, of the purest faith, and of the greatest self-abasement. With the loss of their hope vanished their power. 'Where there is no vision, the people perish.' The one thing needed to-day to energize and regenerate a decadent church is a living, coming Lord.

"2. As to its influence upon the life of the individual. Christianity is individualistic. Whatever social message it may have for the world, the individual is never lost sight of. As the individual, therefore, studies his relation to God and the divine kingdom, he recognizes the importance of personality. The culmination of this purpose of God is found in the second advent of our Lord.

"3. As to the place of the second advent in the plan of redemption. Jesus Christ is the architect of the ages. Not only all things were made by him, but all the dispensations were planned and predestined by him. 'Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.'"

The Second Advent As Sure As the First

Dean H. Martyn Hart told his congregation at St. John's cathedral yesterday morning that while Christ's coming was sure, he was convinced that it would not take place within the present generation.

"If we knew the exact date of his coming," he said, "we should lose the incentive to keep ourselves in a condition of humility, and be tempted to walk in the pride of our hearts."

In part, Dean Hart said:—

"Although the fact that the King will come again to reign in righteousness is so often declared in the only book of revelations we possess, still there are numbers of our profession—Christians—who hesitate to believe in so astonishing a happening as the arrival in the empty sky above us of such a display of tremendous life—as must be conceived—when the Son of man shall come in his glory and all his holy angels with him.

"The second advent is as sure as the first. It is impossible to conceive that all the wrong and suffering, the sin and destruction, the tears and woe, which mar the fairness of this beautiful creation, can be according to the will of a bountiful and beneficent Creator, who is powerless to prevent it. Impossible!

"The Word of Revelation asserts over and over again that 'a King shall reign in righteousness:' that 'the day of the Lord will come,' when tears shall be wiped off all faces, and there shall be no more crying, for the former things shall pass away, the earth shall once more blossom as the garden of God the Lord, and we shall be the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty."

The Cry of the World

The Rev. M. M. Nelson, pastor of the Highlands Christian Church, in his sermon yesterday illustrated the universal call of the world for redemption by the story of the woman of Samaria whom Christ met at Jacob's well.

"The cry of this woman is the cry of the world," he said. "It is the call in the soul of every man. He may try to put it forever away from him. He may try to drown it in the satisfying of the lusts of the flesh and the sins of the world, but it is still there."

Multiplied Signs

The throwing off of the old order, the increase of crimes, wickedness, and unrest of all kinds, were pointed out as fulfilments of the old prophecies pointing to the second coming of Christ and the setting up of his kingdom upon the earth within the coming generation, by the Rev. Perry V. Jenness, at the Twenty-third Avenue Presbyterian church last night. The subject of his sermon was, "Increasing Indications of Our Lord's Return to Earth." He said, in part:—

"Why should it be thought unreasonable that Christ should come again? Grant that he is the Son of God, born of a virgin, and the miracle of his human birth is harder to understand than any second appearing will be.

"Our reasons for believing that the time is approaching are many and varied, but chiefly because the New Testament gives a clear picture of conditions which will exist in the age just before his appearing.

"Some of these are: Denial on the part of professed followers that he will ever come; the last days characterized by great disturbance of nations. All former world movements have been local, while the present transformation includes in its sweep practically every nation and every continent; unrest everywhere; changes so rapid that only a close student can keep pace with them.

"A most significant sign is the universal demand of the masses for power. Lawlessness is also a characteristic of the days before the Master shall come again. One needs only to look around with an eye half open to observe that the oldest laws of the race are being defied as never before. The Sabbath and marriage laws have come to us from Eden, yet men are throwing off their restraint everywhere. Nothing is sacred or venerated. Judges have forfeited our respect, and courts have become the tools of rich and powerful interests. Christ alone can establish righteousness.

"Commercial signs, political signs, social signs, and above all, spiritual signs, all conform to those conditions which we are told shall precede the Lord's return. We do not know how long he will tarry. We fix no date for his coming. We only say, 'Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing.'"

The Meaning of His Coming

That a thorough reading of the Bible, with an open mind on the part of the reader, is almost certain to produce a conviction that Christ will soon return to the earth, was the opinion expressed by the Rev. F. W. Starring, of the Judson Memorial Baptist Church. He said, in part:—

"What will Christ's return mean to the world? It will mean, first of all, that when he descends from heaven with a shout, every true believer in the world will be instantly taken up to meet him in the clouds. Homes will be rent in twain, husbands robbed of godly wives (of whom they have been unworthy), parents separated from their children, where the one or the other has not previously been converted to Christ.

"At the same time those who have died in the faith will be raised, and be caught up together with the living to be with Jesus.

"But his coming will mean more than this to the world. For after the righteous are taken out by the Saviour and before he descends to the earth itself for the establishment of his glorious kingdom, terrible disasters in quick succession will deplete the ranks of men, overturn great governments, strike terror to the hearts of rich and poor, peasants and kings, and pave the way for the final purging which must take place when Jesus takes up the sceptre."

The Hope of the Church

The Rev. S. T. McKinney, pastor of the Ohio Avenue Congregational Church, yesterday declared the belief in the second advent of Christ to be the great purifying doctrine of the church. In part, he said:—

"'If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.' '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.'

"One could go on for hours quoting passages from both Old and New Testaments that refer to a coming again of Christ. Turn to the Old Testament and we find that the larger part of the passages that refer to a coming of Christ have not yet been fulfilled. If Isaiah 53, which speaks of his suffering on the cross, was literally fulfilled, shall we not expect that Zechariah 14, which speaks of his coming to reign, shall be as literally fulfilled?

"When we turn to the New Testament, we find references to this second coming everywhere. A student has said that it is mentioned three hundred eighty times in the New Testament; that one verse in twenty-five has reference to his coming again; that whereas Paul speaks thirteen times of baptism, he speaks fifty times of the Lord's coming again. This coming is not the end of the world, and must not be confused with that, but is a personal, definite coming of the Lord.

"The question is, 'How?' And the answer is: 'For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven,' etc., and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. He shall come, and those who have died believing in him, together with the living believers, shall be caught up to meet him in the air.

"When shall this be? The answer is (Mark 13:32): 'Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not even the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.' No one can set a day for his coming. The belief that Christ will come again is the great comforting doctrine of the church."

All the Denver clergymen, however, do not believe the coming of the Lord to be imminent. The News, in its issue of October 5, quotes some of the leading ministers of that city as characterizing the belief in the near advent as "rubbish,"

"ridiculous sensation," etc., and expressing the conviction that the preaching of this doctrine "discredits Christianity," and gives to religion a "bad standing."

The world is ripe for the third angel's message. The hearts of men and women are being stirred. Inquiry has been awakened in nearly every quarter. We should see in these openings opportunities for labor. It is to be deplored that many who believe the Lord's coming near should be so greatly confused as to the nature and time of the event. To us is afforded the blessed privilege of placing before them, and before all who will listen, the light which shines from the prophetic word. Let us be faithful to our commission. F. M. W.