THE Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John.
2. Who bare record of the Word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw
3. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
The Master's Coming
By Charles L. Taylor
By Charles L. Taylor
(See article on page 6)
II. His Second Advent a Literal, Personal, Visible Coming
JESUS said, "I will come again." John 14: 3. Is it possible to misunderstand this simple, straightforward, clear-cut promise? Is it possible that the matter of Jesus' return to earth is involved in uncertainty, so that, after all, mankind can not really rejoice in the blessedness of absolute knowledge, and find in its hope the sweet satisfaction of demonstrated revelation?
Reader, just for a moment place yourself among those troubled disciples as they surrounded Jesus that night of betrayal and wo, their hearts filled with sadness at the thought that He was going away, and that soon they would be left to battle alone. Not only stand among them, but really enter into their experiences; and then, while your heart is torn and bleeding, catch those beautiful words, "I will come again," as they fall from His lips. Candidly, do you suppose for a moment that you could possibly gather from them any other thought than that the One who stands before you, the One whom you see, whom you hear, whom you know, whose presence you have felt, with whom you have walked and talked and eaten and drunk, with whom you have held sweet communion — could you gather any other thought than that this same One, this same Man, would come again to you?
His Promise
"I will come again." I have come once, I will come again. The One now in your midst will come and be in your midst again. A real, substantial, corporeal Being, speaking to other real, substantial, corporeal beings, makes a promise; and would it not be a travesty of language to suppose that by some process of spiritualizing or dematerializing, Jesus intended us to believe that the parties interested in that promise were to be changed into invisible, ethereal, non-corporeal beings, whose experiences lie outside the realm of human understanding?
The Jesus who made that promise, died shortly after, was buried in the tomb, and by the power of God was brought again to life. As He came forth from the grave, triumphant and immortal, He still bore the form of the Son of Man. In the presence of His disciples He broke bread (Luke 24: 30), and the same evening came to the eleven in the upper room, saying: "Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself: handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have." And then, to remove absolutely all doubt regarding His personality, He asked for a portion of their evening meal, and ate before them. Luke 24: 38-43.
The Promise of the Angels
The Jesus of the resurrection was the Jesus of the ascension. For forty days after rising from the tomb, He gave His followers "many infallible proofs" of His resurrection (Acts 1: 3), being seen by many different ones in different parts of the land (1 Cor. 15: 5-7; John 21: 3-13); and when all was completed, "He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven." Luke 24: 50, 51. "And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? 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." Acts 1: 10, 11.
Look again over this most interesting story. The Jesus who said, "I will come again," is the same Jesus who came forth from the tomb,—the Jesus who could be seen and touched and handled, who broke bread, who ate and drank, and who as flesh and bone said, "It is I Myself." And this Jesus, this literal corporeal Being, was taken up into heaven. And the Jesus taken up into heaven — the same Jesus — shall "come again." And not only will He come "again," but He will "so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go."
The Testimony of Scripture
The truth of a personal, visible, literal advent of Jesus Christ, is clearly set forth in all the Sacred Writings. The prophets and saints who in olden time looked for and spoke of a literal "Seed" of Adam to appear in humiliation, looked for that same "Seed" to appear later in glory. Thus Enoch believed. Jude 14. Job, in his affliction, found comfort in this blessed hope, "For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and tho after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold." Job 19: 25-27. Certainly there was no question in Job's mind about the fact of a personal Redeemer, a personal coming, and that he himself, in person, in his flesh, would see Him.
David looked for a personal, literal appearing (Ps. 50: 3-5), and Isaiah delighted in the same hope (Isa. 25: 9). All looked for a personal Messiah, a divine Prince, who was to sit on David's throne, and bear rule over all the earth. Ps. 132: 11; 72: 8; Jer. 23: 5, 6; Luke 1: 32, 33. Never was there a question concerning the fact of a visible and actual King who should govern an equally visible and actual people here on earth. Israel was right in this; their only mistake, and that which led them to reject Jesus Christ, was in confounding and making identical His two appearings. The prophecies concerning His second advent, His coming in glory, were made to apply to the time of His humiliation.
Now what the Old Testament writings assert relative to the personal appearing of Jesus at the end of time, is most wonderfully emphasized in the teachings of Jesus Himself and of His apostles. And this is as it should be; for than the second advent of Christ nothing is or can be of greater importance to the people of this generation. It is only natural, therefore, that God should have inspired His servants to view the great subject from every angle, and to make it so grandly plain that no one can be mistaken, except he deliberately deceive himself by closing his eyes.
The Perversion of the True
It is a noteworthy fact that throughout the centuries Satan has sought to counterfeit all the great and important items in the plan of salvation. And inasmuch as the second coming of our Lord is of such mighty import, it is nothing strange that during the centuries since Jesus gave the promise to come again, counterfeit after counterfeit has appeared to lead men astray, and by disappointment and reproach to disgust them with the entire subject. Especially is this true just now, when the great day of His coming is impending.
It was to our own day that Jesus specially looked when He said, "There shall arise false christs and false prophets," who should carry with them such satanic power as, if possible, to "deceive the very elect."7These deceivers would seek to lead men to believe in a secret, mystical, invisible appearing. They would say, "Behold, He is in the desert;" "Behold, He is in the secret chambers." "Believe it not," said He. I will not come in this place, or that; My coming will need no Lo here! or, Lo there! I will come openly and to all the world. "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be." Matt. 24: 23-27.
Not at Death
Such teaching absolutely prohibits a belief in a coming of Christ at the death of each believer. It forever debars us from accepting as truth the thought that His second coming can be found in great spiritual revivals. While He does manifest His presence and blessing among men in the gift of His Spirit, such manifestation of His power is not in any wise the fulfilment of the promise, "I will come again." Spiritual revival, a work of His kingdom of grace, is to prepare His children for the great day of His coming, when He shall rule in His kingdom of glory.
"But," says one, "have not many people, both young and old, as they were dying, seen the Lord Jesus and angels coming for them?" Yes, many have had glorious views of a coming Saviour and angel retinues; but let it never be forgotten that God has granted to many of His saints foreviews of the great day when Jesus will appear to take His people home. But we may not suppose, therefore, that such scenes as loved ones have described actually took place at death; rather, they saw what shall take place in the day of final reward.
A Decided Difference
The doctrine of the second advent as enunciated by Jesus, is the perfect antithesis of all such systems of faith as Spiritism, Christian Science, Mormonism, Theosophy, New Thought, and such like. None of these teach a visible, personal, literal coming.
That Jesus expected to appear openly and literally, is shown by the fact that He spoke of His coming as the coming of "the Son of Man." "Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man." Matt. 24: 30. "When the Son of Man shall come in His glory." Matt. 25: 31. "Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." Matt. 26: 64. He was Son of Man on earth, He is Son of Man in heaven, and Son of Man He will always continue to be. He is the second Adam, and as head of the human race He will come to take His rightful place. And when He comes to reign, He will be corporeal, substantial Man, and will reign over men of like character. He will be truly "this same Jesus."
In Like Manner
The angels said (Acts 1: 9-11) that He should come in like manner as He had gone. When He went, a cloud — an angelic cloud — received Him from sight; when He comes again, it will be with clouds. Rev. 1: 7. Jesus Himself ascended, and the Lord Jesus Himself will descend. 1 Thess. 4: 16; 2 Thess. 1: 7.
"I will come again" — not many times, but once, — "again." The writer of Hebrews describes it as "the second time." Heb. 9: 28. He will come once more. First, He came to offer Himself as man's sacrifice for sin; the second time, He will come "without a sin-offering;" He will come as King.
He will come with salvation "unto them that look for Him." To look for His appearing, is an essential part of Christian experience. "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Titus 2: 11-13.
"Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless." 2 Peter 3: 14.
The True Life
By Delwin Rees Buckner
By Delwin Rees Buckner
BEHOLD the sufferer, weak, wan, and worn,
The bloodless print of Death upon his face;
His restless form moves wearily from place
To place with pains that hardly can be borne;
His ashen cheeks and brow are wrinkle-torn
With lines too deep for Time e'er to erase;
At dawn he watches for the crape-black lace
That drapes the night; at twilight longs for morn,
Yet as the body wastes and wears away,
The stronghold of decay, not strength; the food
For fever now, bound earthward to the sod,
We'll hope the inner man doth day by day
Upbuild and gain new power and fortitude
By clinging to the promises of God.
Esmeraldas, Ecuador.
The Sabbath and Religious Liberty
If we can have a Sabbath sacred in its stillness and its associations, maintained by a healthful, popular sentiment, rather than by human laws, . . . Christianity is safe in this land, and our country is safe. If not, the Sabbath, and religion, and liberty, will die together. If the Sabbath is not regarded as holy time, it will be regarded as pastime; if not a day sacred to devotion, it will be a day of recreation, of pleasure, of licentiousness.—Practical Sermons, by Albert Barnes.
THE LAW OF JEHOVAH
And the Witness of Prophet, Apostle, and Jesus Christ
"Jehovah came from Sinai; . . . from His right hand went a fiery law for them. Yea, He loved the people." Deut. 33:2, 3
"Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart." Deut. 6:4-6
"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Lev. 19:18
"Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matt. 22:36-40
"The works of His hands are verity and judgment; all His commandments are sure. They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness." Ps. 111:7, 8
"Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner; but My salvation shall be forever, and My righteousness shall not be abolished. Hearken unto Me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is My law: fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool; but My righteousness shall be forever, and My salvation from generation to generation." Isa. 51:6-8
"My tongue shall speak of Thy word; for all Thy commandments are righteousness." Ps. 119:172
"Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Thy law is the truth." Ps. 119:142
"Concerning Thy testimonies, I have known of old that Thou hast founded them forever." Ps. 119:152
"My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips." Ps. 89:34
"For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life." Prov. 6:23
"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." Eccl. 12:13, 14
The Ten Words
Exodus 20:1-17
And God spake all these words, saying:
I
I am Jehovah thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
II
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I Jehovah thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments.
III
Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.
IV
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of Jehovah thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
V
Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.
VI
Thou shalt not kill.
VII
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
VIII
Thou shalt not steal.
IX
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
X
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man servant, nor his maid servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's.
Of Christ: "I delight to do Thy will, O My God; yea, Thy law is within My heart." Ps. 40:7, 8
"Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself; but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works." John 14:10
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Matt. 5:17, 18
"And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail." Luke 16:17
"If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love." John 15:10
"Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." John 15:14
"What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." Rom. 7:7
"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law; for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin." 1 John 3:4, 5
"Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish the law." Rom. 3:31
"Thou shalt call His name JESUS; for He shall save His people from their sins." Matt. 1:21
"Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Titus 2:13
"If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well; but if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For He that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty." James 2:8-12
"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:12.
"Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the Tree of Life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Rev. 22:14.
"He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked." 1 John 2:6.
"It is time for Thee, Lord, to work; for they have made void Thy law. Therefore I love Thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold." Ps. 119:126, 127.
"Is Christ a Minister of Sin?"
By Editor
THIS is not a new question. It was asked over eighteen hundred years ago. We can not answer in the affirmative, reader; can you? We are satisfied with the apostle's answer: "God forbid." Nay, Christ can not be a minister of sin.
If anything is made plain in the Scriptures of truth, these facts are:
1. "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Rom. 3:23. "The wages of sin is death." Rom. 6:23. "Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." James 1:15. There is therefore no hope for the sinner in himself. He is literally "without strength," and being "without God," he has "no hope." Rom. 5:6; Eph. 2:12.
2. "Sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4. That law is the Decalogue; "for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." Rom. 7:7. It was the law in which, possessing it outwardly only, the Jews had "the form of knowledge and of the truth," which declares, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," "Thou shalt not steal," etc. Rom. 2:17-23. The same thing is taught by James, in his second chapter, verses 8-12.
3. That law is the expression, in words, of the character of God. "All Thy commandments are righteousness." Ps. 119:172. He demands that His children shall be of the same character as Himself. "Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy." Lev. 19:2; 1 Peter 1:16. The requirement is the same in all dispensations and ages. The God who is "righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works" (Ps. 145:17), could not give for the conduct of His children an imperfect or unholy or unrighteous law. He could not give a law of conduct contrary to His own character.
4. God is unchangeable. "I am the Lord, I change not." Mal. 3:6. "With whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17. God's law is, therefore, as unchangeable as Himself. It reflects the character of His unchangeable government. It can not pass or change without a reflection upon His government; more, without the destruction of His government. Therefore it is divinely declared: "All His commandments are sure. They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness." Ps. 111:7, 8. God through His prophet calls our attention to the most constant and stable things we know,—the bending, star-gemmed, or sun-burnished heavens, and the solid earth,—and declares: "The heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but My salvation shall be forever, and My righteousness shall not be abolished. Harken unto ME, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is My law." Isa. 51:6, 7. The great Jehovah declares His righteousness to be His law, and that it "shall not be abolished," that it "shall be forever." Verse 8. And Jesus but condenses all this in Matt. 5:17-20 and Luke 16:17, in which He declares, "It is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail."
5. Jesus Christ came to this earth, lived the life God requires of man,—the life of obedient faith to all the commandments of God,—and died upon the cross to save man, not in his sin, but from his sins. "Thou shalt call His name Jesus," said the angel, "for He shall save His people from their sins." Matt. 1:21. "Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us FROM ALL INIQUITY [lawlessness, law breaking], and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. These things speak . . . with all authority." Titus 2:14, 15. He Himself declares, "For I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me." John 6:38. "I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love." John 15:10. "Because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us as an example, that ye should follow His steps: who did no sin ["sin is the transgression of the law"], neither was guile found in His mouth." 1 Peter 2:21, 22.
These are all parts of the plain, simple, great Gospel truth. And yet when we try to tell this blessed Gospel to the sin-sick, wandering, discouraged souls, hopelessly stranded on the rocks, or helplessly drifting on the great restless sea of iniquity, doubt, and despair, there are those who tell us that we are not preaching Christ, but the law; that the law is abolished; that it is Jewish; that we are proclaiming Judaism; that we ought to leave the law and preach Christ. Some of these erroneously earnest souls, in their anxiety to get rid of the law, tell us that it was abolished at the cross, and a few sentences further on declare that the law and prophets were only till John the Baptist. That is, the law passed away when John began his ministry, and two or three years later was abolished at the cross!
And we wonder, in sad, amazed wonder, at the kind of mind which could take such conceptions of God—at the kind of redeemer they lift up before mankind! They represent the great, immutable God to be as changeable as the fashions in man's religions; His righteousness, like that of many, as accommodating as a jellyfish, shaping itself to rebellious man's desires, paining the righteous and justifying the wicked. They tell us that Christ came to save the sinner, and that He does this by abolishing the law, which defines the sin! that He honors (?) the unchangeable Father who sent Him by making of no effect the law of God's government! Instead of making Christ the minister of righteousness, delivering souls from sin, that they may, by the endless life of His Spirit, live above sin, be righteous, and do righteousness, Christ forgives, that men may continue in sin; He redeems, that men may transgress; and like Israel of old, they say, "We are delivered to do all these abominations;" that is, transgress God's law. Jer. 7:8-10.
Why will men so deceive themselves, or permit themselves to be so deceived? Why will they so dishonor the Father and Son, who are one? Why will they so pervert Christ's teaching? Why will they so disgrace His name? Why so utterly ignore the example of the only Perfect Man, of whom it is said, "He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked." 1 John 2:6. Why come up to the great day of God with the deceived plea, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works?" and hear the dread words from the lips of Him who died to save from iniquity, "I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity"? Why not now be undeceived by His words, "Why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" Luke 6:46.
Dear soul, astray in sin, come to Jesus, and find Him One mighty to save from sin and sinning; from transgression and transgressing. He is able to save to the uttermost. He will give to the adulterer a clean heart. He will give to the disobedient child a heart to honor his parents. He will give to the covetous a generous heart. He will make the Sabbath breaker know God's rest from sin. And to Him be all the glory.
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Housetop Christians
We very often hear the expressions, "housetop" Christians, or "on the house-top," or "on the pinnacle of the temple," and sundry other terms, to denote, as related to the Christian, great exaltation or happiness; but it is a noteworthy fact that the only time our Lord was on the pinnacle of the temple was when He was taken there by the devil for a special temptation. The promises are to the lowly and humble of heart. If we feel exalted, it is well to inquire what is under us. It is one of the paradoxes of Christian life that the Christian is never so much exalted in God's sight, never so much lifted above the trials of the world, as when he is walking modestly in the valley of humility. God dwells with the humble and contrite; could we ask a higher position?
Abraham’s Seed and the Promise
God promised Abraham the land, and that his Seed should "possess the gate of His enemies." Gen. 22:17, 18. Paul says that this promise included the world (Rom. 4:13), and that the Seed through whom the promise is to be fulfilled is Christ. Gal. 3:16. And, more precious than all this, the seed is not confined to our Lord, or to Him and the Jewish people; but "if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. 3:29. And Christ declares that "whosoever will may come."
