p. 14 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 29, No. 17. (4/29/1903)

Lesson 7.—May 16, 1903.—The Coming of Christ.

Lesson Scripture, 1 Thess. 4:13-18, A. R. V.

(13) “But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that fall asleep; that ye sorrow not, even as the rest, who have no hope. (14) For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. (15) For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. (16) For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; (17) then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (18) Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

Questions

1. Of what would the Lord not have His children ignorant? What should they not do? Verse 13. Note 1.

2. What is the basis of the hope that those who die in Jesus will rise again? Verse 14. Note 2.

3. What assurance does the apostle give that those who live when Jesus comes will have no preference over those who sleep? Verse 15.

4. What will be the manner of the Lord’s coming? What will then take place? What change will be wrought in those who are raised from the dead? Verse 16. Note 3.

5. Who will then join the risen ones? Whom will they all meet in the air? For how long will they be with Him? Verse 17. Note 4.

6. For what has God given these words to the sorrowing? Verse 18.

Notes

1. Dark and devious as are all sin’s ways, of the final outcome there need be no doubt to the child of God. Satan has endeavored to blind the world to the nature of death, to make men believe that it is something which it is not. To the child of God it is a dreamless sleep, which, were it not for Christ’s power, would know no waking. To those who know not Jesus, whom the apostle here calls “the rest”—those outside the fold of Christ—there is no hope of seeing again those who have died. But over the cloud of His people’s sorrow God hangs the covenant-bow of hope in Him.

2. As SURELY as Jesus died and rose from the dead, just so surely will those who sleep in Him arise. As God brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great “Shepherd of the sheep,” so will He bring the sheep with the Shepherd. Heb. 13:20; 2 Cor. 4:14. Christ, the Head, is not complete without His body, the church. But when He was raised from the dead, His people were in promise raised with Him, and when they are brought from the grave in fact, they are still brought “with Him” in the fulfillment of the promise.

3. AMONG the erroneous theories everywhere prevalent concerning our Lord’s second coming is that one of the Greek words rendered coming (parousia) is said to mean a secret coming, the “secret rapture of the saints,” when Christ will manifest Himself to the elect among His people, and not to the world. But verse 16 of this lesson forever settles as to what shall be the manner of Christ’s coming (parousia, verse 15). “The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout,” with mighty voice, with trumpet. The whole thought of the text is that of grandeur, glory, noise, commotion. It is an event that all the earth shall witness. He shall come “with all the holy angels” (Matt. 25:31), illuminating the whole heavens from the east to the west (Matt. 24:27). And “every eye shall see Him.” Rev. 1:7. It will be “the Lord Himself,” and not another, “this same Jesus,” and not a representative. It will be His own personal, bodily presence; for so the original word means. See 2 Cor. 7:6, 7, where the word is applied to the bodily coming of Titus; and to Stephanas (1 Cor. 16:17), and to Paul (Phil. 1:26). In all cases it refers to manifested, bodily, personal presence.

“Archangel” means chief angel. This is Michael, meaning “who-is-like God,” another name of our blessed Lord. Compare Dan. 10:13; 12:1; Jude 9. Christ is chief over all the heavenly host (Joshua 5:13, 14), and He holds the keys of death and the grave (Rev. 1:18; John 5:28, 29).

The righteous dead do not arise from the grave, then to be judged and changed. They come up immortal (1 Cor. 15:52), showing that judgment has already passed upon their cases, and that they are counted worthy to obtain a resurrection out from among the dead ones (Luke 20:35). The thought in the text is not that the dead in Christ will rise first, that is, before the dead out of Christ arise, tho that is true, but that the dead in Christ arise before the living are caught up to meet the Lord.

4. Our Lord at His coming does not touch the earth. As it rolls to meet Him in the air, it brings all His captive dead, escorted by angels of light. These He takes to the glorious mansions on high (John 14:3), where they reign with Him a thousand years in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 20:4). At the end of that time, Jesus comes, and all the saints with Him. Zech. 14:5. Then His feet will rest upon the earth, a place will be prepared for the holy city (verse 4), sin and its fruits will be forever destroyed, and the long, blest reign of God’s people will begin, never more to end.

LESSON 6.—MAY 10.—THE PLOT AGAINST PAUL.

Lesson Scripture, Acts 23:11-22, A. R. V.

(11) “And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer: for as thou hast testified concerning Me at Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.”

(12) “And when it was day, the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. (13) And they were more than forty that made this conspiracy. (14) And they came to the chief priests and the elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. (15) Now therefore do ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you, as though ye would judge of his case more exactly; and we, before he comes near, are ready to slay him. (16) But Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait, and he came and entered into the castle and told Paul. (17) And Paul called unto him one of the centurions, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain; for he hath something to tell him. (18) So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and saith, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and asked me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say to thee. (19) And the chief captain took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, What is it that thou hast to tell me? (20) And he said, The Jews have agreed to ask thee to bring down Paul to-morrow unto the council, as though thou wouldest inquire somewhat more exactly concerning him. (21) Do not thou therefore yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, who have bound themselves under a curse, neither to eat nor to drink till they have slain him: and now are they ready, looking for the promise from thee. (22) So the chief captain let the young man go, charging him, Tell no man that thou hast signified these things to me.”

Golden Text.—“The Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer.” Acts 23:11.

Note.—The lesson includes the whole chapter. Learn by heart verse 11; Rom. 8:28; and Ps. 2:1-4. Outline for study: The plot to kill Paul; imprisonment at Caesarea; the vision of cheer; the plot revealed; the plot foiled; protection by guards; all ways leading to Paul's destination, Rome.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

(1) The night after Paul's trial before the Sanhedrin, what comforting message came to Paul from the Lord? Who stood by him to deliver the message? What did the Lord tell Paul regarding the future? Verse 11. Note 1. (2) What did the Jews do on the following day? What was the purpose of their banding together? What shows the intensity of this purpose? Verse 12. (3) How many had entered into this conspiracy? Verse 13. (4) Before whom did the conspirators lay their plans? Verse 14. Note 2. (5) Who else did they seek to bring into the conspiracy? What part were the chief priests and elders to take in the matter? What were they ready to do before Paul should reach the council? Verse 15. Note 3. (6) Who heard of the plotting? What did he do? Verse 16. (7) What action did Paul take, and what did he recommend? Verse 17. (8) What did the centurion do? What report did he make to the chief captain? Verse 18. (9) How was the young man received by the chief captain? Verse 19. (10) What statement did Paul's nephew make to the chief captain? Verse 20. (11) What did he urge the captain to do? What reason did he give for this? On what did their action depend? Verse 21. (12) On departing what charge did the chief captain give the young man? Verse 22.

NOTES.

1. “The Lord stood by him.”—The encouragement to Paul was as much in knowing that “the Lord stood by him” as in the words which were said. The fact that the Lord stood by him showed that the Lord approved the stand that he had taken. The Lord always stands by those who are trying to do His will. “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee,” is the Lord's promise to His own people, whatever difficulty may arise. See Heb. 13:5; Joshua 1:5. The Lord will stand by in all times of trouble. The message which the Lord spoke to Paul at this time is a message of approval. The Lord's assurance that Paul must testify of Him in Rome as he had in Jerusalem also showed the Lord's approval of Paul's work there, and must have been an encouragement to Paul, who, so far, seemed to have seen only confusion as a result of his work in Jerusalem.

2. “They came to the chief priests.”—They were doing a similar work to that which Judas did, and they were coming to the same place, and enlisting the same persons in it—the chief priests and the elders. The fact of their putting themselves under a curse shows the unrighteousness of the act which they were conspiring to do. What they did was to invoke a curse upon themselves in case they should fail to do what they had agreed to do.

3. “Signify to the chief captain.”—A bold work of deception. They were to act as though they desired in good faith to inquire further concerning Paul when their purpose was quite different. They were to agree to propose one thing while intending to do another. This is always the part of the hypocrite, the deceiver, the conspirator. The form of words used meant to ask in a formal way for a regular investigation. This would make the ones in authority equally guilty with the actual conspirators in Paul's murder.

Baptism: Its Significance, Its Nature, and the Necessity for It

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Theocratic Government

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Theocratic Government.—It is a great mistake to suppose that in a true theocracy the Church controls the State. This is the National Reform theory, but it is a misconception. Our example is that of the government of Israel before the people demanded a king. There was not a union of Church and State as understood in modern times, for the Church and State were a unit. True, there were men chosen for various duties—the Levites conducted the public religious services, and the princes and captains and magistrates performed other duties. But the Levites were not the Church, nor were the other tribes the State. All the people composed the Church, and all the people composed the State. The Levites did not dictate to the State officials, nor did the latter dictate to the Levites. The Lord gave the laws and regulations for both. That is true theocracy. Now the National Reformers, and, logically, the supporters of their “bureau,” want the Church to say what the State shall do; and they point with pride to what they have accomplished in this line. This they call theocracy, at least they base their prerogative on the theocracy of Israel. But in their desire to have the Church, as represented by them, do the things that God Himself did under the theocracy, they simply try to put themselves in the place of God. But, remembering that even a true theocracy could not hold the people in allegiance to God, what hope is there for the success of an imitation scheme? G.

Physical Exercise in Education

Physical Exercise in Education.—It is generally conceded that the physical functions need exercise in connection with mental education. But leading educators are coming to realize that the excessive athletic sports so popular in college life are really detrimental to useful education. The Sacramento Record-Union quotes President David Starr Jordan as saying that “if instructors demanded the same standard of work from the athletic leaders in colleges as from other students, the requisition would operate to cause the disappearance of the athletic parasite.” How much better it is to have some useful manual exercise connected with every educational institution that will conserve the necessary physical recreation. In all the athletic “sports” there is the gambling, contestant excitement that stimulates over-exercise and detracts from the relish of profitable literary pursuits. But in rational, profitable exercise of the muscles there is not the incentive to overdoing, nor the diversion of the mind from useful study that comes from physical exercise merely as an exciting entertainment. The well-regulated industrial training-school affords the ideal well-balanced education.

The Man to Bear the Burden

The man to bear the burden is the man whom God has placed in the field.

God Sustains Those He Leads

God will sustain the man upon whom He places the burden, if that man will but trust God, will be willing to be led by God. So God led Saul as long as he was little in his own sight.

Changing Life-forms through Chemical Action.—

It is announced in flaring headlines that Prof. W. T. Clark, of the University of California, has been able to change and control life-forms by chemical excitation. The demonstration has been made in the growth of the wings of the rose aphis. But some men have discovered this long ago in respect to man's nose. Surely, in many cases, it has been abnormally developed by chemical excitation; witness, for instance, the huge “rum blossoms” which one meets daily.

Christianity and Civil Prosecution

To persecute or prosecute any man because of his religion is not Christianity. To persecute or prosecute any man because he does not recognize any religion is not Christianity. To persecute or prosecute any man for any reason is not Christianity. Christ was tempted in every way that it is possible for us to be tempted. He was persecuted and prosecuted even to death. He was hindered by every conceivable means—by threats, by intrigues, by assaults, by misrepresentation, by having His meetings disturbed and broken up, and by the opposition of His friends. But He never resented evil in any way, excepting by the power of the Holy Spirit. He never sought protection, or relief, or the advancement of the cause He represented, at the hands of any civil court or legislative body. He gave His Holy Spirit to His church, to be their guide and defense, through the Word. Therefore they were, under all circumstances, to follow Him. His immediate successors in the work followed the same principle, and we have no record of their resisting or resenting evil only as they called the Spirit of God to their aid. Therefore, when we see men prosecuting an enemy by the power of civil law, or invoking the power of civil government to enforce the recognition of any doctrine or dogma, we may know that the Spirit that sustains Christianity is absent.

A Better Service Than War

A sad reminder of a cruel business was brought to light recently in Manila Bay, when the wreck of the Spanish flagship Reina Christina was raised. This was one of the vessels sunk by Admiral Dewey’s fleet, and in its rusty hulk there were found the skeletons of eighty of the Spanish officers and crew who went down with their vessel. The Word of God teaches a sweeter liberty than that for which men fight, the liberty there is in the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, which overthrows hatred in the carnal heart and makes men brothers in a kinder service. The Word of God teaches a higher calling than that for which cannon roar and men seek each others’ lives. It is the calling of God in Christ Jesus—a call to the service of man instead of to the slaughter of men, and a call whose ready answer brings rewards that can not tarnish with the touch of time. When sin and selfishness have run their race, we have the promise of a peace that carnage can not crucify, a haven unmarred by frowning fortresses. In that better service we enlist; to that better land we hasten with better prospects and surer promises and happier hearts than they who seek for glory in the camp of war, or wring their riches from the poor. The Christian is in the world but not of it, ministering to its necessities, serving God in bringing happiness to His children. In this work selfishness and warfare have no part. Neither do they in the eternal reward which that service brings; and that service carries no such cruel mementoes as that of the shattered ship of war with its unconfined dead.

Military Spending and National Bankruptcy

The trend toward bankruptcy of the great nations of earth is manifest in the vast expenditures for army and navy purposes. When a nation spends more for destructive purposes than it does for productive enterprises, the end must be destruction, sooner or later. And that is just what the “world powers” are doing. Taking our own country as an illustration, there is thirty times as much money spent on the War and Navy Departments as on the Agricultural Department. And this difference is small as compared with that of some other countries.

Union Tyranny and the Mark of the Beast

The tyranny of the union was strikingly illustrated in Chicago on April 15 when all the employees of a large restaurant struck because the owner of the restaurant allowed some non-union men to eat at his tables. The proprietor of the restaurant finally signed an agreement not to feed these non-union men again, and his employees went back to work. This is one step nearer to that consummation which the Bible declared would come in the end of the world, when it would be impossible for men to either buy or sell unless they carried some distinguishing mark. In this case the labor union is not only dictating who shall work but whom their employers shall be allowed to deal with. It will soon be carried into every department of trade, just as the Word of God pointed out more than eighteen hundred years ago. It is coming; and we can not afford to be in that condition where we will not understand what these things mean.

Not a Book of Definitions.

The Bible is not a book of precise definitions; life can not be limited by mere words of men. For instance, Heb. 11:1—“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”—is frequently quoted as a definition of faith; but at the most it is but the definition of faith in its future aspect, its forward look. The context of Heb. 11:1 refers to disappointed ones (Heb. 10:32–39), and the exhortation is to hope, to let faith bring the future here. But faith is more than this; it is absolute submission to God in the constantly unfolding present; it is receiving and accepting all the wondrous gifts of grace through Jesus Christ now; it is taking God's word for just what the word says; it is appropriating the power of His word to all present needs; it is belief in operation. Faith is all this and more. It must be exercised to be known.

The Christian’s Warfare Against Satan

The great controversy in which we are engaged is not between us and men; it is between Christ and Satan. The true Christian is simply enlisted as a soldier under the banner of Christ. The tactics that the Commander employed must be the tactics of the rank and file. “We wrestle not with flesh and blood,” because He wrestled not with men. “Learn of Me,” He says, “for I am meek and lowly in heart.” And one who had learned of Him says: “The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” 2 Tim. 2: 24–26.

The Wisdom of the Statutes

The wisdom of the statutes and judgments given to ancient Israel are still manifest to some extent among that people. Notwithstanding their departure from the faith, and their rejection of the Messiah, they are still landmarks of the wisdom of God as a ruler. Bishop Satterlee, of the Episcopal Church, in a recent sermon, said: “The Jews are preserving the home and family better than we Christians are doing. I do not know how to account for this, but I do know it to be a fact.” It is not so hard to account for, if we will only study the laws given to their ancestors by Jehovah, and which, in some respects, still regulate their lives. Notable among their hereditary customs are the integrity of the home and the care of the poor.