p. 346 | That Blessed Hope by Colonel Rowlandson

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Nov 20, 1879

"That Blessed Hope."

By Colonel Rowlandson

THE following remarks are taken from an address by Colonel Rowlandson, at the Prophetic Conference in England:—

But this is what many of the Lord's redeemed people say about the "sure word of prophecy," to which they are directed to take heed. Jesus said, "All things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you," and yet there are some who say, "It is a dark subject: I pray thee have me excused." And because there may be a little difficulty in understanding the Revelation, they decline to avail themselves of the privilege of receiving it. The Christian who puts away from him the doctrine of the second coming of the Lord Jesus puts away his strength, and is like a wounded lark, unable to soar to elevated heights. He who looks for his reunion with his Lord only at the hour of death is like the maimed bird, and cannot sing anything but Lenten dirges. It is a sad thing thus to shut out the comfort and joy of this precious hope.

If there were in this village of Surrey a poor cottager living in great poverty, a mere pauper, who had in his little cottage a window looking out on an estate to which he was heir, which was strictly entailed upon him, and must eventually come into his possession, would he not be often looking out at it, and comforting himself in his indigence by the sight of his future inheritance? And in like manner the well-instructed Christian gazes through the window of God's promises upon his future inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away.

Three great doctrines stand prominently forward in the Christian revelation: 1. That Jesus once came and died for the sins of His people, and rose again for our justification. 2. That when Jesus ascended up on high the Holy Ghost descended as the Comforter. 3. That the Lord Jesus is coming again, and from this doctrine great comfort will come if the believer enjoys sweet fellowship with his Lord.

The truth of the Lord's second coming has a double aspect, both sides of which must be kept in mind. It has the aspect of warning to the worldly man, who says, "I know I must die some day," but when he is in health and strength that day may seem far off. But to him it may be said, "Hold, dear friend, you may not die; the Lord may come before you die, and will He find you ready?"

But to God's dear children the aspect of this doctrine is one of comfort and encouragement. The Christian may have a great load on his soul; it may be on his conscience; if it is; let him take it to the blood of Jesus, and reflect that he will soon be presented faultless before the throne of God (Rev. 14:4). Or it may be outward affliction; if so, let him meditate on the near approach of the Lord, who will soon take him out of it, and he will find comfort.

On the subject of the two resurrections the world seems wholly to loose sight of one of them, and to associate the thought of the resurrection only with the judgment day of the great assize. But at the first resurrection, which will consist exclusively of the blessed and holy (Rev. 20:6), there will be for the children of God no condemnation. They are already justified in this life (see Acts 13:38, 39), and it is remarkable that in this and similar passages the present tense should have always been used.

A poor girl in the city of Bath, a short time ago, was lying very ill, and was in great spiritual darkness, when a Christian lady visited her, and explained to her the way of salvation. The girl listened, but no peace came. She said she believed that Jesus had died for her, but it gave her no assurance of hope. At last the lady took her New Testament, and, turning to the passage, Acts 13:39, underscored the word "are" in the passage, "By Christ all that believe are justified from all things," and then left her. At her next visit she found the girl full of peace. "O, ma'am," she said, "that little 'are' has done it. I see it all now."

It was of the first resurrection the Apostle Paul spoke in Philippians 3:7-11, which, in the original, was called the special eclectic resurrection, and is the same which is spoken of in Revelation 20:6, where a clear distinction is made, for it is expressly stated that "the rest of the dead (the unblessed and unholy) live not again till the end of the (millennial) thousand years."

The Holy Ghost taught Paul this truth in that grand chapter, 1 Cor. 15:51, where he says, "Behold, I show you a mystery." The mystery consisted in this, that although all men are appointed once to die as their common lot, and all are to rise, yet there is to be a special, a first resurrection of the righteous from among the dead, and a translation of the living righteous, one thousand years before the resurrection of the wicked. This first resurrection will take place at the Second Coming of Christ.