Editors’ Journal

But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.—Romans 8:25

As we approach the year 2000 we hear more and more of expectations for the "new millennium." Men everywhere are waiting eagerly for a better day. We join them in that wait but with the real expectation that that better day will truly come. That is why we continue to pray "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

The events that have been happening in the world around us portend that the time is near for the full establishment of that kingdom. With joy we watch the papers, combing them for every additional indication of the fruition of our hopes.

"Seeing," says Peter, "that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness" (2 Pet. 3:11). What a sense of urgency it should create in our lives to be faithful to our consecration vows!

Realizing that each day on earth could be our last, how we need to follow the prophet’s advice, "Prepare to meet thy God" (Amos 4:12). This preparation need not be in fear or dread, for we serve a God of love. But it should be in all reverence and recognition of the highness of the standards he expects from us.

A Sense of Urgency

"A sense of urgency" forms the theme for this edition of THE HERALD. Several articles deal with this theme from a variety of scriptural perspectives.

Focusing on the year just past, the article, Nearer Than When We First Believed, shows how each year that passes not only brings us chronologically one year nearer the kingdom but each year finds prophecies of the establishment of that kingdom being fulfilled before our very eyes.

In The Creation in Travail, the author likens the sense of anticipation that all the world shares with the feelings of a woman in travail, delivering her child.

A Strait Betwixt Two examines a difficult scripture in which the apostle Paul expresses the desires of his heart while in prison in Rome as to whether it would be better to die and be with the Lord or to stay and continue his work among the early churches. The author takes a close look at the translation difficulties in this text in the book of Philippians.

Perhaps the most anticipated event of all times is the second advent of Christ. The impact this should have on the Christian life in creating a sense of anticipation and urgency is examined in Our Lord’s Return—A Sense of Urgency.

Urgency and anticipation have a common foundation. They are based on hope. The author of The Hope looks at the Christian’s expectations and their scriptural premises in depth, analyzing the various aspects of the biblical hopes.

The net effect of all these impending events is to make the true Christian more conscious of his spiritual responsibilities and more energetic in the Master’s service. This forms the theme for the article, Consuming Zeal.

Our regular "Echoes from the Past" feature reprints an article from some fifty years ago by a frequent contributor to THE HERALD of that time, T. Holmes of England. In a six-part series he examined the zeal of service that dominated the life of the Apostle Paul. This article, number five in that series, deals with Paul’s experiences while under house arrest in Rome. It is entitled, As Always, So Now.

The "Verse-by-verse Bible Study" feature is along the same line, treating the 42nd Psalm, a hymn of anticipation. The title is taken from the first verse of that Psalm, As Pants the Hart.

Another aspect of zeal is personal responsibility, a theme that is examined in No Cross— No Crown. Practical ways are suggested to help the Christian in individual cross bearing. The many temptations which slacken zeal are also treated in depth.

Along with all of you, we continue to hope and pray for the imminence of that kingdom. Only then will we reach the goals we have been striving for these many years.