VOL.
LIII. September/October 1970 No. 5
Great Truths Are Dearly Bought Memories of the Way
"And thou shalt
remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee The
power of memory is lasting and is influential. A kindness done in secret -how
often has that seed, dropped into the soil of memory, borne fruitage in the
gratitude of years. And again, a harsh word or inflicted injury, flung upon the
memory, too often has rankled there into lawlessness and into sin. No man can
be solitary who has memory. The poorest of us, if we have memory, is richer
than he knows, for by it we can reproduce ourselves, be young even when the
limbs are failing, and have all the past: belonging to us when the hair is
silvery and the eyes are dim. Oh, it is a rare and divine endowment! This is
the faculty which the Jewish lawgiver calls into exercise: "Thou shalt remember." REMEMBRANCE OF FAVOR AND OF JOYAnd
as the people of Israel recalled their history there would be, in the first
place, the remembrance of favor and consequently of joy. What a grand history
and one rich in instruction was theirs! Jehovah's presence had gone with them
through the tangled desert path -by day in guiding cloud, by night in lambent
flame; their raiment had not waxed old upon them, neither their foot swelled
for forty years. He had spoiled their enemies in their sight. In Egypt they
had quailed beneath the very Omnipotence which had delivered them, and they
had crouched trembling at the base of Sinai, while ever and anon loomed through
the darkness the flashings forth of the Divinity within. From the time when
they groaned in bondage and their cry went up unto God until now, when after
forty years' vicissitudes, they stood upon the threshold of the land of Canaan,
each day had its wonder and its lesson. There could not fail to be great and
grateful rejoicing in this remembrance of the loving-kindness of the Lord. Brethren,
our own has also been an instructive history. Do not these "ensamples"
refresh our memories? Do we not recall that loving-kindness which compassed us
since first we knew the Lord, and of his favor that hath made our
"mountain to stand strong" (Ps. 30:7)? Think of the gracious
Providence that in your spiritual journey cared for your infancy and prevented
your doings in youth; think of the unexpected deliverances, the unlooked-for
surprises of blessing with which you have been visited. Pause before the
various stones of help which you have erected in the course of your journey.
Remember the stores of gladness inexhaustible and constantly operating that
have been poured upon you by the bounty of your heavenly Father -- the joy of
your heart, the joy peculiar to yourselves, the joy of meetings, the sweetness
of farewells, and of that which came between, more sweet than each. Remember
the joys of the Church: victory over some besetting temptation; glad seasons of
Christian fellowship which can never be forgotten; sermons that seemed, in
their exquisite adaptedness, as if they had been made for you, to counsel in
perplexity, to comfort in trouble. Recall,
too, the joy that has sprung for you out of sorrow and has been all the
brighter for the contrast; deliverance from danger which threatened to be
imminent; recovery from sickness that seemed as though it were about to be
mortal; the lightnings that have let the glory through the clouds; the flowers
that you have so often plucked from tombs. As we call up the mighty sum of
gladness now with subdued and grateful memory, full well may our lips quiver
and our heart be full as we remember the way which the Lord hath led us
in the wilderness. REMEMBRANCE OF SIN AND SORROWNothing
is more remarkable as a fact, and more illustrative of the depravity of the
human heart, than the frequency with which the children of Israel sinned. Thus
secondly in their history would be the remembrance of sin, and, by
consequence of sin, the remembrance of sorrow. Only three days after the
wonderful interposition at the Red Sea their murmurings began. The miracle at
Marah, although it appeased their thirst, failed to inspire their confidence,
for they tempted God again at the Waters of Strife. They lusted after the
fleshpots of Egypt though the manna fell without ceasing. Their whole history
is a record of perpetual sin, a perpetual lapse, now into jealousy, and now
into sensualism, now into unbelief, and now, alas, into idolatry. These
repeated transgressions of necessity introduced them to sorrow, and they
suffered the strokes of Jehovah's displeasure. And
does not memory recall for us a history that has its sorrowful side also? What
of unfaithfulness since the Lord called you? Your indulgence since your
conversion in things you dared not have done while you were seeking mercy? Your
cherishing of some secret idol; your forbearance to deliver them that were
drawn to death; your efforts for your own aggrandizement and pleasure while the
house of God lay waste? What of that terrible callousness which could so
unfeelingly trample the honest convictions of a fellow in Christ because they
differed from your own; that cruel lack of concern for a brother or sister in
the Lord who so much needed the word in season you could have given and did not
because "they walked not with you"? And what of that blindness, that
unreasoning over-zealousness, which could overstep the Lord's specific
injunction, "Judgment is mine," and would condemn another as
"out of the truth," whether by direct words or by innuendo; that sly
suggestion of moral error within as the only explanation for mental differences
without? What of that smug complacency in the holding of the letter of God's
Word while the spirit thereof was violated? Call up these memories; do not
disguise them; they are necessary to bow us in humility before God. This
is the memory
of the way.
And if by the memory of joy we are impressed with God's beneficence and kept
in cheerful piety; and if by the memory of sorrow we are molded into a gentler
type, taught a softer sympathy, and receive a heavenward impulse; if by the
memory of sin we are reminded of our frailty, rebuked of our pride, stimulated
to repentance, and urged to trust in God-then it will be no irksomeness, but a
heaven-sent and precious blessing, that we thus "remember the way that
the Lord hath led thee in the wilderness." PURPOSES OF DIVINE PROVIDENCELet
us, secondly, notice the purposes of divine Providence in the journey. These
are stated to be three: "To humble thee and to prove
thee"; "to know what was in thine heart"; and "whether thou
wouldest keep his commandments or no." We thus recognize that in all
God's dealings with the children of Israel, there were purposes at work --
purposes of spiritual discipline, intended to induce self-searching and the
improvement of their hearts and lives. The
first purpose that is spoken of is to induce humility --"to humble thee."
Everything in their experience taught them their dependence upon God. Every
event, alike in their deliverance from Egypt and in their passage through the
wilderness, was calculated to show them their own feebleness. What could human
might have effected for them in the way of securing their deliverance from
Egypt? Their spirits were broken by long years of slavery; the iron had not
only chained their limbs, it had entered into their soul. They had not the
heart to strike for freedom; and if they had meditated an uprising, they were a
people of such divided counsels and so distrustful of each other, that it would
have been but a paroxysm of frantic rebellion which would have riveted upon
themselves the yoke of a more bitter bondage. What could human might have
availed for them when on the borders of the Red Sea the giant waves barred
their progress while a host of relentless enemies pressed behind? What
a grand illustration of man's feebleness and of God's eternal power -- six
hundred thousand men, besides women and children, led by divine leadership and
fed by divine bounty for the space of forty years! Brethren,
the dealings of Providence with ourselves are intended to show us our
dependence upon God and to humble us in the dust under his mighty hand. We are
proud, sometimes, and we talk about our endowments, and we boast largely of
what we have done and what we intend to do; but we can do absolutely nothing.
The athletic frame -how soon can he bring it down! The well-endowed
heritage-how soon can he scatter it! The mental glance, keen and piercing -how
soon can he bring upon it the dimness and bewilderment of years! We cannot, any
one of us, bring ourselves into being; we cannot, any one of us, sustain ourselves
in being for a moment. And
so it is with all matters of human glory. The strong man rejoiceth in his
strength, but the Lord bath made him strong; the wise man glorifieth himself
in his intellect and fluent utterance, but these are the bestowments of God.
Ah! why will men "sacrifice to their own net, and burn incense to their
own drag" (Hab. 1:16), when they have absolutely nothing which they have
not received; and when every gift cometh "from the Father of lights, with
whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17) ? And
in the realm of morals and in our spiritual life, our feebleness is the same.
Have you learned this lesson, this deep, hard lesson of humility? Oh! how this lesson must come home to us now, we who have partaken of the message of Present Truth, as we remember the former days -- the days of outward spiritual prosperity as through the ministrations of a man of God we absorbed the letter of the Word spread so abundantly. Yes, there was growth, but alas, how much of it was a delusive growth, a growth of form and not of spirit, the growth of a plant and not of an oak. Enduring things take long to grow and must be deep-rooted; no mushroom like growths can endure the tests of faith. How we needed to receive the chastisements of the Lord that we might learn of the delusiveness of a growth which was so much dependent on a constant learning of some new thing; a spiritual prosperity so dependent upon the presence of a servant of the Lord. But true individual faith could not thrive under those circumstances and how needful it was, as we all realize now, that the Lord separate our hand from the one in whose we had placed it, that the succeeding experiences develop in us a reliance on Christ alone. How painful has been the road, and how humbling to our former spirit of overconfidence and leaning on the arm of flesh. Yet how far more spiritually healthful has been the atmosphere of reliance and trust in His strength and presence alone. Yes, we remember the Valley of Humiliation. God has indeed humbled us and thereby made us strong. THE JOURNEY ALSO PROVES USThe
second purpose of God's Providence in the journey is to prove us. There were many testing
circumstances in the history of the children of Israel. They were tested by
their mercies, as when, feeling the manna insipid, they lusted after the
fleshpots of Egypt; they were tested by their duties; they were tested by their
calamities, as at the Red Sea and in the conflicts with the hosts of Amalek.
They were tested by their companions, as when they formed unholy league with
Midianite idolaters and brought upon themselves that swift destruction which
Balak wished for, but which the cowardly Balaam dared not for his life invoke. Brethren,
God has his crucible still. As we look back upon our past lives, we shall find
circumstances that have tried us, and we shall remember the results of the
trial sometimes with devout gratitude, oftener with unfeigned shame. Our
afflictions have tried us, and we thought we did well to be angry; we have
arraigned the proceedings of God at the bar of our limited reason (solemn
mockery of judicature!) when the reflection of tomorrow would have approved
what the distrust of today was so ready to condemn. Our
duties have tried us. We have felt the shrinking of the flesh, and the result
has been sometimes their reluctant and sometimes their spiritless discharge.
Or people have been unjust or unkind to us: we have met with ingratitude or
with treachery; our own familiar one, in whom we trusted, has betrayed us;
slander has been busy belching out her calumnies against our fair fame; all
these things have tested our patience, our endurance, our meekness, our
long-suffering, and, like Moses, we have spoken unadvisedly, or, like the
disciples, we have had to pray, "Lord, increase our faith," before we
could grasp the large and princely idea of forgiveness to seventy times seven. Often
companionships have tried us, and we have shown how small has been our
self-reliance, and how easily we have taken the hue and mold of the society in
which we were thrown, and how a pointed finger, or a sarcastic laugh, or a lip
scornfully curled, can shame the manhood out of us, and make us very cowards in
resisting evil, or in bearing witness for God. Thus
have we been, thus has God proved us in the wilderness, and if we are in
earnest for heaven, and if we have in any measure profited by the discipline,
we shall be thankful for the trial. Placed as we are in a sinful world, exposed
to its everyday influences, whether of good or evil, we need a piety which can
maintain itself in all circumstances, so we can say with David, "Thou has
proved mine heart; and thou hast visited me in the night; thou has tried me,
and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the
paths of the destroyer" (Ps. 17:3, 4). "KEEP THY HEART WITH ALL
DILIGENCE"
And
then the third purpose of Providence in the journey is "to know what
was in thine heart --whether thou wouldst keep his commandments, or
no." Human knowledge can give us very little acquaintance with the heart;
such knowledge is too wonderful for man; it is high, and he cannot attain to
it. But there is One who knows it, and knows all its tortuous policy, and all
its sinister motive, and he is anxious that we should know it too, and one
purpose of his providential dealings with us is that we may know what is in our
heart. But
whether it be from the deceitfulness of the object of study, or whether it be
from the morbid reluctance, almost amounting to fear, with which men shrink
from acquaintance with themselves, there are few that have the bravery to pray,
"Lord, make me to know myself." Indeed, it were a hideous picture if
it were suddenly unveiled in the presence of us all. When the Lord would show
Ezekiel the abominations of Jerusalem, he led him through successive chambers
of imagery, upon the walls of which were portrayed their loathsome and unworthy
doings. Ah! if our weakness were to be thus tapestried in our sight, who of us
could bear the disclosure? There
was deep self-knowledge and deep humility in the word of the old reformer, who,
when he saw a criminal led off amid the jeers of the multitude to be hanged,
turned around sighing, and said, "There, but for the grace of God, goes
old John Bradford." There is a very affecting illustration of what can
lurk unsuspected in the human heart, in the eighth chapter of the second Book
of Kings. Hazael, the messenger from the king of Syria, is shocked at the bare
mention of the atrocities Elisha prophesies he shall commit, and in indignation
remonstrates with the Prophet. And yet as one has quaintly observed, "The
dog did it after all." Brethren,
"the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jer. 17:9). There lurks this danger in us all; there is no superiority of
character in ourselves; there is no firmer power of resistance to evil. In our
unaided strength we are no better fortified against the evil about us than are
our fellowmen. From a thousand causes of disaster and of shame with which our
experience can furnish us, and which we read in the history of everyday life,
it becomes us, with godly jealousy watching over our own hearts, to guard
against the beginnings of evil. USES OF THE MEMORYIf
these have been your experience in the way that you have trodden, there will be
many uses of the memory of the way. You will know more of God at its
conclusion than you did at its commencement. You will behold both the goodness
and the severity of God - the severity which punishes sin wherever it is to be
found, the goodness which itself provides a substitute and finds a Savior.
Where do you not find him rather? There was the stream gushing forth from the
smitten rock, and the perishing and thirsty Israelites were happy. "They
drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ"
(1 Cor. 10: 4). There was the brazen serpent, the symbol of accepted
propitiation in the wilderness of sin. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in
the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:14,
15). Oh,
as you gather up these memories -the memory of joy, the memory of sorrow, the
memory of sin; as you remember the goodness and the lovingkindness of the
Lord, his faithfulness to fulfill his promises, his tenderness, which your
repeated rebellions have not caused to fail, gather up yourself in one earnest
reconsecration of flesh and spirit, that you may be in truth living temples now
and eventually pillars in the house of God, that shall go no more out forever. "Ye
have seen ... how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto
myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my
covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for
all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an
holy nation" (Ex. 19:4-6). - W.
J. Siekman What the Bible Says About SexBy The Rev. Billy Graham For guidance in this vital
area, the best-known evangelist of our time urges that we look to the most
reliable textbook of all time. Reprinted with permission
from the May 1970 Reader's Digest. Copyright 1970 by The
Reader's Digest Assn., Inc. A
MAN prominent in public life plans the seduction of a beautiful young woman;
repulsed, he rapes her, then casts her off, with tragedy resulting for both. The
wife of a government figure tries in vain to seduce her husband's young
associate--then charges him with attempted rape, causing his imprisonment. The
people of a great city, boasting of their sexual "freedom," turn to
perversion, with both male and female homosexuals flagrantly practicing their
deviations and demanding the right to do so openly. Are
these accounts taken from today's newspaper? Not at all. Though they all have
the ring of today, they are taken right from the Bible. A book that has never
gone out-of-date, the Bible could properly be called the world's most reliable
textbook on sex. No book deals more forthrightly with the subject. As history,
it records without distortion the sexual aberrations of its times. As
biography, it refuses to gloss over the sex sins of its heroes, but details
them and their consequences with straightforward explicitness. As philosophy,
it sets forth the changeless standards of God. In
this day of the "Permissive Society," we hear many voices on the important
subject of sex --most of them confusing. I think it is time we listened once
again to the Biblical admonitions upon which Judeo-Christian moral standards
were built. Sex education is a burning issue in many American communities. I
am convinced that sex education without moral guidelines could be disastrous. One
thing the Bible does not teach is that sex in itself is sin. Far from
being prudish, the Bible celebrates sex and its proper use, presenting it as
God-created, God-ordained, Godblessed. It makes plain that God himself
implanted the physical magnetism between the sexes for two reasons: for the
propagation of the human race, and for the expression of that kind of love
between man and wife that makes for true oneness. His command to the first man
and woman to be "one flesh" was as important as his command to
"be fruitful and multiply." The
Bible makes plain that evil, when related to sex, means not the use of
something inherently corrupt but the misuse of something pure and good. It
teaches clearly that sex can be a wonderful servant but a terrible master;
that it can be a creative force more powerful than any other in the fostering
of love, companionship, happiness -- or can be the most destructive of all of
life's forces. The
"thou shalt nots" of Scripture are not pious prohibitions aimed at
taking all the joy out of life; they are signposts set by God himself to
protect our happiness and to help make our life's journey as tragedy-free as
possible. Every command that God gives is for our good. This
truth gets too little emphasis in these days when a "sexual
revolution" is being proclaimed, when enticements to illicit sex leer from
every side. The flood of "sexploitation" grows daily worse -- in
novels, magazines, movies, TV, advertising. Meanwhile, the church as a whole
remains mute. In
many churches, one can attend services for a full year without once hearing the
word "sin" mentioned. Not a few ministers and teachers of religion
have fallen prey to this permissive thinking, which holds that there are no
absolutes, that the right or wrong of an act depends upon the circumstances of
time and place. As for such acts as premarital or extramarital sex, these are
said to be justified "if the relationship is meaningful" and
"if it hurts nobody else." With even religious leaders talking this
way, it is small wonder that youth is bewildered, and that the church's moral
authority is eroding almost to the vanishing point. To
counter the disastrous effects of this new permissiveness, which is, as has
been said, nothing more than "the old immorality brought up-to-date,"
we need a bracing dose of Biblical morality. Amid our shifting moral standards,
the commandment "Thou shalt not commit adultery" stands as firm today
as when God wrote it on tablets of stone. That commandment has never been
revoked or watered down. No man every really "breaks" it -- though
many have broken themselves upon it. And so have nations. We
of the Western world, on a sex binge never before equaled in modern times,
should be wise enough to heed history's lessons. For history conclusively
teaches that the decay of a nation inevitably follows the decay of its sex
standards. Theologian Paul Tillich, in his book Morality and Beyond, stated
flatly: "Without the immanence of the moral imperative, both culture and
religion disintegrate." And sociologist Pitirim Sorokin has warned that
"the group that tolerates sexual anarchy is endangering its very
survival." To
God's people, living in societies given to the worship of obscene fertility
gods and goddesses, ancient Israel's prophets thundered this commandment repeatedly. And
to Israel's young, her teachers constantly recounted the stories of Biblical
characters caught up in what might be called "sex situations,"
driving home the lesson that sexual sin can only make the strong weak, the
wise foolish, the great ordinary. Illustrating
the nobility of chastity was Joseph, handsome young servant of the Egyptian
ruler Potiphar, who resisted the allurements of Potiphar's wanton wife and who
went to jail rather than betray his ideals. And Daniel, who in Babylon dared to
decry the immoralities of Belshazzar's court and to the ruler's face predict
his kingdom's finish; and who lived to become prime minister under three kings
and two empires -- one of the greatest statesmen of all time. Stories
of the otherwise great who allowed moral weakness to stain their images
included Samson, the strongest of men, whose undoing began with his unbridled
lust and ended in the infamy of Delilah's lap and his own tragic suicide. And
Solomon, who, given wisdom above all others, nevertheless besmirched his life
through lecherous dalliance with innumerable concubines. Most tragic of all,
perhaps, was David, Israel's greatest king, whose guilty anguish over his
adultery with Bathsheba was expressed in the saddest prayer in all literature:
"Have mercy upon me, O God. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and
cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions; and my sin is
ever before me." Tristram
Coffin says in his book The Sex Kick: "Modern lovers have learned
to fornicate but not to love. Contraception and antibiotics have put sex within
the 'safe' area, lessening the fears of pregnancy and venereal disease."
But, as others have said, no one has invented a diaphragm for the conscience.
And so thousands have learned, as David did, that nothing can etch such
indelible scars of guilt as sexual sin. The
New Testament backs up in every way the sex ideals found in the Old Testament.
Jesus endorsed the prophets' strictures on illicit sex -- and went beyond them.
He warned: "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt
not commit adultery. But I say unto you that whosoever looketh upon a woman to
lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." Writing
to Christians in vice-ridden Corinth, the sex capital of the ancient world,
where temple prostitutes accommodated both men and women, St. Paul said:
"Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? He that
committeth fornication sinneth against his own body." There is almost no
aspect of human sexuality that the Bible does not deal with. Even the
"unnatural" acts of sex are portrayed-and condemned with blunt candor
in both the Old and New Testaments. Speaking through Moses, God commanded:
"Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind. It is
abomination." The Apostle Paul said, "Neither the impure . . . the
adulterer . . . the pervert . . . or the foul-mouthed shall have any share in
the kingdom of God." Nowhere
does the Bible suggest that the battle between the flesh and the spirit is
easy. Neither does it suggest that to be tempted is sin, or that it is abnormal
to experience sex hunger. But it does teach, by precept and example, that
there are spiritual resources we can use to overcome our illicit urges. Shining
through the Bible is God's readiness to forgive sin, sexual or otherwise, and
his eagerness to bring peace of mind and heart to the repentant. But the
natural consequences of our sins will have to be suffered. The ugly memories
cannot be forgotten; the illegitimate baby cannot be unborn. David was
forgiven his adultery, but he had to take his punishment. Concerning
sex sin, Jesus always dealt tenderly. There is no more wonderful illustration
of Christ's compassion than his defense of the woman taken in adultery. Ringed
by the self righteous about to stone her, he said, "Let him who is
without sin among you cast the first stone." As he spoke, his finger wrote
some words in the dust. What the words were we are not told. But, seeing them,
the mob of accusers quickly dispersed. Whereupon Jesus said to her,
"Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more." For
all those caught in a web of sexual confusion and guilt, that is still the
Divine word. Great Truths Are Dearly Bought
- Longfellow The Privilege of Prayer"Commit thy way unto
the Lord; trust also in him; PRAYER
implies that the suppliant is on terms of intimate acquaintance with our
loving Heavenly Father, so that he is welcomed into the divine presence and
heart. In accordance with this symbolical representation, the prayers of saints
ascend before him as sweet incense (Rev. 5:8), supplications, a pouring out
which the Heavenly Father is pleased to receive from his humblest child. Only
those who have become God's children by forsaking sin and laying ]hold upon
Christ as their Savior are accorded the privilege of approaching the throne of
grace that "they may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of
need" (Heb. 4:16). In the world, therefore, only those who are accepted in
the Beloved are privileged to call Jehovah by the endearing name, Father --
"Our Father who art in heaven" (Luke 11:2). The attempt to thus
approach God implies (1) a faith in the divine being; (2) a realization of
dependence upon him; (3) a faith that reconciliation has been effected with the
Father through the Redeemer; (4) trust in the fact that the great Creator no
longer condemns the suppliant, but accepts him as his son. In
addition, it implies a recognition of the fact that there are others sons of
God who, like himself, have fled from sin and been adopted into God's family --
hence the petition: "Our Father." Therefore, whoever prays thus
intelligently must have interest in and concern for all the interests of the family of God. Former
selfishness must be eliminated when he comes to the Father, and the believer
must realize himself as merely one of the favored class of sons thus
privileged. In harmony with this thought all the Lord's truly consecrated
people have special joy when permitted to approach the throne of grace together,
whether but two or three or in larger numbers (Eph. 5:19, 20) In
proportion as the Lord's people grow in grace, in knowledge, and in love, they
will grow in appreciation of the great privilege of prayer. Not that prayer
will take the place of study of the Divine Word, but that realizing more and
more from the Word something of the lengths and breadths and heights and
depths of divine mercy and provision,
the true children of God have comfort of heart and joy in going to the throne
of grace to give thanks unto the Lord for all his mercies, to commune with him
respecting their trials and difficulties, and to assure him of their loving
confidence in the gracious promises of his Word, in the exceeding riches of his
grace, and in his wisdom, love, and power to fulfill toward them and in them
all his gracious promises (1 Thess. 5:17, 18). NOT MY WILL BUT THINEThe
more the Lord's people advance in knowledge of him, the more they will
appreciate the fact that the divine arrangement is broader and deeper and
higher than anything they could suggest, so that they are granted liberty to
ask what they will with the assurance that it will be done. The Lord well
knows that this class will ask that his will be done; hence the promise is made
only to those who abide in Christ and who have his Word of promise abiding
richly in them. All such learn, before attaining this station and liberty, that
as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are the Lord's ways and provisions
higher than our conceptions and in every way to be preferred (Isa. 55:8).
Hence, while praying to the best of their ability in harmony with the
provisions of the Word, these would always include the sentiment of our dear
Redeemer, "Nevertheless, not my will but Chine be done" (Luke 22:42). The
heart that is thus continuously in all of life's affairs looking for divine
direction, maintains a prayer attitude (Prov. 3:6; Ps. 37:4). However, we must
not neglect the privilege of a more formal approach to the throne of grace --
on bended knee, privately and alone. Whoever does not embrace this privilege
misses a portion of the great blessing which the Lord has arranged for his
benefit and assistance in walking in the narrow way. Our Lord spent seasons in
prayer alone, and surely his disciples may well follow his example in this as
well as in other matters to advantage. As Jesus sometimes prayed in the
presence of his disciples, as is evidenced by their recording of his words,
so all of his followers are to realize that they have a special privilege of fellowship
in prayer, praying with one another, and in petitions to the throne of grace
(1 Cor. 4:14-17). Once
it is recognized that the privilege of prayer is an exclusive one, the more
those enjoying the privilege will be inclined to use it in a most reverent
manner. In the divine arrangement the merit of Christ not only covers the sins
that are past, but provision is made for our weaknesses and blemishes on our
way to the Kingdom. God could indeed apply the merit of Christ to these
blemishes and excuse us from them, and not require us to mention them at all,
but for our advantage he has arranged it otherwise, that we must make
application for the covering of these debts, for exoneration in the name of
Jesus. In so doing, (1) we learn to keep track of our blemishes and are better
assisted in the future in warring a good fight against them; (2) we are
continually reminded of our dependence upon the merit of Christ, the precious
blood; (3) we are assisted in being merciful, compassionate, and generous toward
others who may be our debtors in matters great or small. Thus
the divine arrangement assists us in pointing out the right direction,
assisting us in the development of character which the Lord can approve and
which would be meet for the inheritors of the Kingdom. Trials, testings, and
temptations are necessary for our development as new creatures, and since of
divine permission, it would not be appropriate for us to pray that the Lord
would spare us from them (Heb. 12:8). LORD, TEACH US TO PRAYSometimes
it is said that no one needs instruction in how to pray, but such a thought is
not borne out by the New Testament. Evidently there are proper and improper
prayers. Mistakes have been made as to who may pray and as to what may be
properly prayed for. Our Lord in Luke 11 outlines a proper form of prayer,
beginning with ascriptions of praise and thanksgiving, and proceeding to expressions
of confidence in God and in the promises of his Kingdom, continuing with
acknowledgements of our dependence upon his provisions day by day, and ending
with expressions of confidence in his power and goodness to protect us and
ultimately deliver us. This is the general form which our Lord commends to us
as proper in approaching the throne of grace. On
the other hand, however, it is interesting for us to note that the Lord does
not wait until we have become proficient in the use of language and in the form
of expressing our petitions to him, but that so gracious and broad are his
arrangements that we may come in imperfection and with stammering tongues to
tell him of our devotion, our appreciation, our confidence, in any manner
that we please (Rom. 8:26). The
Lord wishes us to ask for his blessings in order that we may feel our need,
appreciate the privilege of asking, and look for a response, and in all these
experiences he would develop us as his sons of the New Creation. We are to seek
for God's keeping power in every trouble and his supervision in all of life's
affairs, so that we continually go to him day by day, hourly and momentarily,
watching and praying without ceasing, and in everything giving thanks,
accepting by faith the promises of his Word (Rom. 8:28). To such the blessings
are on the way, sometimes coming in one form and sometimes in another, but generally
in ways not anticipated, and larger by far than anything we had asked. We
know from experience that some of the severest trials and disappointments of
an earthly kind have worked out for us development of character, elements of
the holy spirit, which probably could not have been so well received in any
other manner. Hence, when we pray to the Lord for his blessings, we are to wait
with patience for them, and to seek them and to find them in the various
circumstances of life which his providences will permit. Remembering that the
holy spirit is the spirit of meekness, gentleness, patience, long-suffering,
brotherly kindness, love, we may well ask ourselves how else could the Lord
work out for us these elements of character which we desire, did he not permit
to come upon us the trials and difficulties of life necessary to their development
(Isa. 26:16). The
practice of prayer has various facets, one of which is communion with God. In
our modern day, life is marked by practical efficiency and a splendid
enthusiasm for work, and yet there is also a spiritual shallowness. This
condition seems to be due in part to prayer being an occasional act and not an
habitual attitude (Ps. 63:5-8). Many believers associate prayer with special
postures or the verbal requests for specific wants. To Jesus, prayer was
communion, fellowship with his Father. He prayed with such power that the
disciples requested him to teach them how to pray, because he prayed with such
conscious joy that at times his countenance was changed with the glory of it
(Luke 9:28, 29). Thus
our Lord underscored the thought that true prayer is communion with God,
undisturbed by the problems often confusing us, and bringing to our hearts the
serenity, joy, vision, and peace which abides in God. The same thought is
expressed by Jude (Jude 21): "Keep yourselves in the love of God." DANIEL'S NOBLE EXAMPLEA
striking illustration of this phase of the subject is found in the Old
Testament. In Daniel 6:10-23 we have recorded the Prophet's manner of dealing
with a crisis in his life. His enemies had schemed for the destruction of
Daniel, but even after their new law had received the king's sanction, Daniel
worshiped as before, kneeling three times a day before the Lord in prayer,
thanksgiving, and supplication -- with his window open toward Jerusalem, his
expectations bright with hope in the Lord's promises, and especially with the
thought that the seventy years of Jerusalem's desolation were about fulfilled. Daniel
was not satisfied to merely close his eyes in prayer after he had retired to
rest, as do many people living under the greater light of the Gospel Age and
under greater privileges and opportunities and grander promises. He had a great
God who was worthy of reverence and worship, and he was great enough as a man
to appreciate that it was a privilege to have intercourse and fellowship with
his Creator. He was not only not ashamed to bow the knee to the Almighty, but
was unwilling to assume a less humble position before God than he and others
assumed toward earthly kings. When
the Lord's people become overcharged with the cares of this life, instead of
realizing their danger and seeking the help of the Lord to order the affairs of
life differently, the suggestion comes that they are too weary to pray, or
that another time will be more favorable. It may be they are so fully engrossed that reverence
and acknowledgement to the Lord, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift,
is entirely forgotten: or perhaps sin lieth at the door, and they seek not to
think of the Lord and therefore avoid the throne of grace -- or perhaps
coldness has come in from some other cause and the Lord seems afar off and
prayer becomes a mere formality and is by and by abandoned. The
child of God in proper heart harmony with the Father will not only hear the
Word but also offer thanksgiving and worship, as surely as he desires natural
food and drink for the sustenance of the natural body. In
some instances it may please the Lord to grant a wonderful deliverance, as in
the case of Daniel, while in other instances his providential dealings may
result otherwise, as in the case of Stephen (Acts 7:54-60). To learn both of
these lessons we must come to trust fully in the Lord's provision, be it great
or small. One of our Lord's temptations was to perform a hazardous action for
which there was no necessity-to leap from the pinnacle of the temple.
Frequently the Lord's people are beset by Satan to attempt foolish or
impossible or unnecessary things, simply to show their faith. Such should take
a lesson from our Lord's reply in his temptation: "Thou shalt not tempt
the Lord thy God" (Matt. 4:7). We are not to tempt divine providence, nor
to expect miracles to be wrought in our behalf where the divine arrangement has
not made them necessary. YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER KNOWETHThe
Christian's prayer is not for the purpose of giving information to God, nor
calling attention to matters which he might overlook or forget. On the
contrary, he is enjoined to pray because it will benefit himself. God withholds
many blessings until we approach him in prayer to ask for them, in order that
we may realize our need of his aid and our dependence on him. Our communion
with him is not to induce God to give us things which he desires to withhold
from us, but merely to secure the things which he desires us to have and has
promised to us, and is more willing to give than to withhold. Thus,
in addition to the favors asked and received, the very necessity of prayer
itself has brought us into close harmony with the Lord -- into the enjoyment of
one of our greatest privileges and blessings. Prayer
has another facet, and that is a vital belief in God's care for the individual
(Matt. 18:12-14; Matt. 10:2931). The Bible is preeminently a book of prayer.
Our Father knows all the stars by name (Ps. 147:4); he numbers the hairs of our
head (Matt. 10:30); all the sparrows are remembered (Luke 12:6); he calleth his
own sheep by name (John 10:3); none of his children should perish (Matt.
18:14). These
beautiful suggestions are easy to speak about, wonderful to contemplate, but
can we make real to ourselves that he who sustains the Milky Way, who controls
Orion and the Pleiades, knows us by name? The Psalmist entertained the same
question: "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon
and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man that thou art mindful of
him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" (Ps. 8:3, 4). As
the Lord's children grow in grace and knowledge, they think of our Father as
something like a librarian. To the untrained mind, looking at row after row of
books on all subjects, they appear as vague masses. But the student and lover
of books knows each one by name. Each volume has its special associations,
edition, value, contents, author, and purpose, and so he looks upon books as
units. In
similar fashion our Father is the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. David
has also expressed it: "I will give thee thanks in the great assembly: I
will praise thee among much people" (Ps. 35:18). Once we have satisfied
our minds as to our Father's individual care of his children, we come to the
vital and searching task of laying hold on the experience of that care. We
acknowledge his daily guidance, the consciousness of divine resources, and
the sustaining sense of God's presence as we abide in habitual communion with
him. - A. L. Muir Notice of Annual MeetingAs
announced in our May-June and July-August issues, the Annual Meeting of the
Pastoral Bible Institute, Inc., is scheduled to be held on Saturday, September
19 at 10:00 a.m., in the Central Y.W.C.A., North Carolina and Pacific Avenues,
Atlantic City, New Jersey 08401. While
only members of the Institute may vote (in person or by proxy), all those who
love our Lord Jesus and his appearing are welcome to attend. The
agenda will include a report by the chairman, reviewing the activities of the
Institute for the preceding period. Following his report, the election of
directors for the coming year will take place. Opportunity will also be given
for the consideration of such other matters as may properly come before the
meeting. The
seven brethren now serving as directors are candidates for reelection. Brothers
Laurence lannaccone, Wilbur Twelker, Jr., and Edward Zielinski have also been
nominated. The Question BoxTHE BARREN FIG-TREEQuestion: Will
you please discuss the Barren Fig-tree incident - Matthew 21:18-22; Mark
11:12-14, 20-25? In
your discussion kindly answer the following questions: 1.
Mark 11:13 states that "the time of figs was not yet."
Notwithstanding this, its condemnation was evidently because it had no fruit.
Please explain. 2.
Did this barren fig-tree represent the Jewish nation? 3.
If this fig-tree did represent the Jewish nation, how are we to reconcile the
words of our Lord in Matthew 21:19 and
Mark 11:14 that no fruit should grow on it henceforth for ever, with the
general teaching of the Scriptures that Israel is yet to be restored? 4.
When the disciples noted the withering effect of our
Lord's condemnation of the tree, and called his attention to it, he replied:
"Have faith in God." While we realize it is always proper to have
faith in God, what was there in the circumstances which made his counsel
especially appropriate to the disciples then? Answer: The
first question certainly calls for an answer. On its surface this incident
represents our Lord as acting unjustly. On the one hand it was not the time of
the year when figs should be expected; while, on the other hand, the tree is
condemned for not having any. To
avoid this difficulty which all admit, most scholars conclude that Mark meant
something it is quite certain he did not say. They interpret his statement that ""it was not
the time of figs" to mean that it was not the season for gathering figs, or
that the season for gathering figs had not yet passed. This view is advanced by
Barnes in his New Testament Notes. A similar view, given by Pearce, is quoted
approvingly by Wilson in the Emphatic Diaglott, in an elaborate footnote on Mark 11:13. This
view, as we see it, simply reverses what Mark says. He says the time of figs
was not yet; they say, in effect, that it was. And, of course, if it was, the
question as, to the conduct of our Lord is solved. Such
a viewpoint, however, is certainly not supported in the word-for-word
translation of the Emphatic Diaglott, nor even in the translation given in the
right hand margin. Moreover, none of the other translations we have consulted
differ in meaning from that given in the Authorized Version. The American Revised
Version puts it in these words: "It was not the season of figs." Furthermore,
the context proves the accuracy of Mark's statement, for when our Lord came to
this fig-tree, it was just before the Passover -- that; is to say; in the
spring of the year. According to competent testimony it would not be until late
May or early June that the season for ripe figs would begin. In
view of these considerations it seems clear that the solution of the problem
must be sought in another direction. To
begin with it will be helpful, if we have not already done so, to acquaint ourselves with the manner in which figs
grow. According to an article in Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible, the
branches of the fig-tree are straggled and naked in winter, but when the rains
are nearly or quite over, small green knobs appear at the ends of the twigs.
These are the young fruits -- the green figs. They are thus named in Canticles
2:13. The fruit, then, appears first, before the leaves appear. (This point, by
the way, is correctly noted in the Diaglott footnote, previously mentioned.)
Next the leaf-bud expands and the new pale green leaves soon more or less
overshadow the little figs. When this occurs it is a sign that summer is not
far away. To this familiar sign our Lord referred in Matthew 24:32, when he
said: "Now
learn a parable of the fig-tree: When his, branch is yet tender, and putteth
forth leaves, ye know that summer is
nigh." With
these facts before us let us return to the Barren Fig-tree incident. "It
was not the season of figs" Mark tells us. It was also too early for
fig-leaves, and that is the point generally overlooked. At that time of
year neither leaves nor fruit were naturally to be looked for on a fig tree.
This particular tree, however, unlike all the other fig-trees did have leaves, and
therefore, should have had fruit. Jesus, hungry, saw in the distance a
surprising thing-surprising at that time of year -- a fig-tree in full leaf, as
Weymouth renders it. (Mark 11:13.) Since he was hungry, and since, notwithstanding
the time of year, this fig-tree was so advanced, he went to see, to
quote once more from Weymouth, "whether perhaps he could find some figs on it. When however he came to it, he found nothing but leaves." It
was not the season for figs, but this tree, by putting forth leaves, claimed,
so to speak, to be something more than other fig-trees; claimed, indeed,
(since we have seen. that in the fig-tree the fruit appears before the leaves)
to have fruit on it. This remarkable fig-tree, in the attitude of false pride,
may we say, vaunted itself, claimed to be in advance of other fig-trees, and
challenged the passer-by that he should come and refresh himself with its
fruit. Yet, when the Lord accepted the challenge, and drew near, it proved to
be but as the others, without fruit. It was, in fact, in a far worse state than
the others; for they doubtless had young fruits which needed only the heat of the summer to ripen them, whereas this one had nothing
but leaves. The
fault of this tree, then, was not that in the spring of
the year it had no ripe fruit, but that, having none, not even green figs, it
had clothed itself abundantly with leaves, with the foliage which, according to the natural order
of the tree's development, gave a pledge and a promise that fruit would be
found on it, if sought. In the
circumstances our Lord's conduct is vindicated; the tree was justly condemned. 2.
We come now to the second question: "Did this barren fig-tree represent
the Jewish nation? To our understanding it did, and this is the view held by
most scholars. In
support of this view we offer three considerations: (1)
The fig-tree is used in the Old Testament as representing Israel. - Joel 1:7. (2)
The parable of the fig-tree given by Jesus in Luke 13:6-9 undoubtedly was intended
to apply to Israel. (3)
It accurately symbolized Israel's condition. In itself the fig-tree was neither
good nor bad, morally. When, therefore, Christ condemned it for its deception,
he did not attribute moral responsibilities to it, but he did attribute to it a
fitness for representing moral qualities. And the sin of Israel was exactly
that which the tree symbolized. The true fruit of that people, prior to our
Lord's first advent, would have been to admit its absolute inability to produce
fruit apart from their coming Messiah, to have presented itself before God
bare and naked and empty altogether. But this was exactly what Israel refused
to do. Other nations might have nothing' to boast of, but for themselves they
claimed much. And yet, on close inspection, the substance of righteousness was
as much lacking in their case as in that of the Gentiles, as Paul so abundantly
demonstrates in the second chapter of Romans. Since the characteristics of the
barren fig-tree so faithfully represented those of Israel, we think we are
justified in believing they were intended to do so. 3.
Our third question is answered by reference to better translations. While the
fig-tree itself was withered "for ever," this was not to be in the
case of Israel. The word translated "for ever" really means "to
the end of the age," and is so rendered in the Diaglott and other
translations. As St. Paul explains, it is only until the fulness of the
Gentiles be come in, that blindness in part is happened to Israel-thereafter
there shall come out of Zion the Deliverer who shall turn away ungodliness from
Jacob, and thus all Israel shall be saved. (Isa. 59:20; Rom. 11:2.5, 26.) A day
will come, indeed, when Israel which now says, "I am a dry tree"
(Isa. 56:3), shall consent to that word of its true Lord, which of old it
denied: "From Me is thy fruit found." (Hos. 14:8.) It shall then be
arrayed with the richest foliage and fruit of all the trees of the field. That
time is near, very near, we think. May we once again quote our Lord's words:
"Now learn a parable" (it is more accurately trans. lated
"the" parable) ; "Now learn the parable of the fig-tree. When his branch is yet
tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh; so likewise ye, when
ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."
(Matt. 24:32, 33.) If this be true for Israel, what message has it for the
Church? 4.
We come now to the fourth and last question. The explanation of our Lord's
words, "Have faith in God" is to be found in the astonishment which
the disciples manifested at the rapidity with which the Lord's sentence was
executed. From the account in Matthew it appears that the withering began
almost as soon as the Lord spoke. It was, however, on the following morning, as
we learn from Mark, that the disciples specially noticed its condition.
"Master, behold, the fig-tree which thou cursedst is withered away." It was
as though they had said one to another: "Did you notice the instant
effect yesterday, just when our Lord spoke? The leaves seemed to droop in a
moment. But who would have thought that the withering would have been so
complete in a single day? Verily, he speaks and it is done. How great, how
thorough, how marvelous is his power!" He
will not let the occasion go without its further lesson. What he had done, they
might do, and more. "Have faith in God." Faith in God would place
them in relation with the same power which he wielded, so that they might do
mightier things even than this at which they marveled so much. Listen to his
words in the next verse: "Verily
I say unto you: Whosoever shall say to this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast
into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe ,that what he
saith cometh to pass; he shall have it." Faith
has already removed greater mountains than the Mount of Olives on which our
Lord and his disciples were then standing; and many more shall it yet lift
aloft and fling far out of sight in ;the depths of the sea. What mountains of obstacles
and obstructions! what mountains of prejudices! what mountains of accumulated
evil habits! what "hills of difficulty," apparently insurmountable-inner, outer,
social, political, spiritual, has faith tossed, and is faith still tossing,
away! It is the Almighty God in whom our faith is to rest. If the removal of
Olivet itself is needed, or of any other mountain, material or spiritual, he is still ready and able to put
his finger on its summit, when it will leap from its very socket. Of
course this marvelous promise is conditional. But it is not too large for God
to perform. It has always been fulfilled and always will be, if the conditions
are met. If our wills are truly, immersed into the will of God, so that his
will becomes truly our will, we may ask what we will, and it shall be done unto
us. (John 15:7.) And greater works than Jesus did (including the miracle of
withering the fig-tree) shall we do. - John 14:12. This
lesson was for the disciples then; it has been for the whole Church since; it
belongs to us today. "Have faith in God." -
P. L. Read "Even at the Doors"
What will be the sign of thy presence, and of the
consummation of the age?" IN
recent issues of this journal, writing under this caption, we have expressed
the following convictions: 1.
The object of Messiah's Second Advent is a glorious one - not the destruction
or enslavement of our race, but the salvation of both the Church and the
remainder of mankind (John 14:2, 3; 1 Chron. 16:31-34). 2.
Since the Millennial Age is to be a time of restoration, and since the
retention of Jesus in heaven is to be only until that time, it follows that his
Second Advent must take place before, not after, the Millennium (Acts 3:21;
Rev. 20:4). 3.
Antichrist must first come -- and has; the predictions concerning him having
been abundantly fulfilled in the Papal system (Dan. 7:26; 2 Thess. 2:1-12). 4.
Christ's Second Advent is to synchronize with the end of the Age; any sign,
therefore, which denotes the end of the Age must also constitute evidence of
his presence (Matt. 24:3; Mark 13:4; Luke 21:7). 5.
Our Lord is no longer a man but a great spirit being, partaker, indeed, of the
divine nature; the express image of the Father's person, invisible to human
eyes (Phil. 2:9; Heb. 1:3). If
our Lord were a human being, it could be said of the Church: "Since we are
to be like our Lord, and since he is a human being, it doth even now appear
what we shall be." St. John, however, in 1 John 3:2 writes otherwise.
There, in harmony with the thought of his brother Apostles, he tells us:
"It doth not yet appear what we shall be." 6.
The word parousia is correctly translated "presence"; it does not
have the thought of "being on the way" nor does it refer to a
"moment" of arrival. Its meaning is established in Philippians 2:12
where the period of the Apostle's absence is contrasted with the period of his
presence. Before
leaving our consideration of the word parousia, there are two other points
worthy of special attention. One of these is the importance of distinguishing
the respective shades of meaning which New Testament words have, when referring
to one idea common to them all. For example, the words parousia, epiphaneia and
apokalupsis, while frequently employed in reference to the one subject (the
Second Advent of Christ) are not synonymous terms, but have individual shades
of meaning. An illustration of this point was given in our last issue, taken
from the writings of J. A. Seiss, in reference to 2 Thessalonians 2:8, in which
verse both epiphaneia and parousia are used together "in reference to the
final overthrow or annihilation of the great anti-Christian confederation,
which is said to be by the epiphaneia of his parousia; that is, by the
appearing of his presence; which involves the implication that the presence ...
is not manifested or discernible until then, thus showing that the Advent
involves different phases, stages and times." Again,
on this same point, we referred in our last issue to St. Paul's Epistles to
the Thessalonians by George Milligan. This writer, who with James Hope Moulton
produced for the world of Greek scholarship the monumental lexicon, The
Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, is reputed to have been one of the world's
greatest Greek scholars. In his Thessalonians (a volume of nearly 200 pages, he
devotes a whole chapter to the three words, parousia, epiphaneia, and
apokalupsis, "in order to determine as exactly as possible the different
shades of meaning between them." At the close of the chapter he summarizes
his conclusions as follows: "If
we have been correct in the foregoing distinctions between the three words, it
will be seen that, while all may be used to describe the return of the now
exalted and glorified Lord, they do so from three distinct points of
view." The
other point (this one derived from Vine's Expository Dictionary) is, that while
the word parousia always has the significance of "presence," its
context in some passages emphasizes the beginning of the period (the course of
the period, and its conclusion, being implied). In other passages, the context
emphasizes the course of the period; while in yet other passages, the context
emphasizes its conclusion. To
assist the reader in tracing these points of emphasis, the twenty-four places
in which parousia occurs in the New Testament, are arranged in tabular form on
page 79 of this issue. The
suggestion has been made that differences of viewpoint, as to the meaning of
parousia, might be reconciled, if care be taken to place the emphasis where
the inspired writers intended. 7.
At our Lord's First Advent many failed to learn from the signs which attested
him that Messiah was in their midst. Even the disciples had been slow to
recognize him and had needed a revelation from the Father to enable them to do
so (Matt. 16:16, 17). The possibility that at his Second Advent they might
experience a similar difficulty was probably back of their question:
"What will be the sign of thy presence?" If the indications of his
presence were to be so plain that none could fail to recognize him, there would
seem to be no point to their question; no sign or signs would be necessary. On
the other hand, if there was a possibility of his being present unrecognized, as
had proved to be the case at his first advent, then a sign which would reveal
his presence to them would be most desirable. "What, Lord, will that sign
be?" 8.
Our Lord's reply is seen to be divided into two main sections: (a) a
description of the long interval which must elapse before the end of the Age
and the period of his presence would be reached, and (b) a description of the
end of the Age and period of his presence. 9.
The long interval between the First and Second Advents known as the Gospel Age,
was to be a time of tribulation. In the world it would be marked by wars,
famines, pestilence, and earthquakes. The world would hate his true disciples,
and in many cases they would undergo martyrdom. In the Church a great falling
away would take place. False teachers would arise, deceiving many; and because
iniquity (opposition to God's laws of truth, righteousness, justice, and love)
would everywhere prevail, the love of many (the many, the great
majority) of Christ's professed followers would wax cold. Notwithstanding all
this God's good news would be preached in all the world for a witness unto all
nations (Matt. 24:3-14). After
thus describing the conditions which would obtain in both Church and world
throughout the Gospel Age, and after warning them against false Christs, our
Lord, in verse 27 (Matt. 24) comes to the heart of their question as to how
they shall learn of his presence, and declares: "As the bright shining
cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto; the west, so shall the presence
of the Son of Man be." In
verses 37-39 he adds a further word: "As in the days of Noah, so shall
also the presence of the Son of Man be." The point of comparison, as the
context clearly shows, is not the arrival of Noah and the arrival of our Lord.
It is not even the coming of the flood and the coming of our Lord. The
comparison is between the days of Noah before the flood and the days of the
presence of our Lord before the time of trouble with which this Gospel Age
ends (Luke 17:26). Moreover,
the comparison is not between the respective degree of wickedness of the
people living in the days of Noah and that of those living in the days of the
second presence of our Lord. The point of comparison is the ignorance of the
people. In both periods the people were in ignorance of the coming storms. In
the case of Noah, except for his immediate family, no one heeded Noah's
warnings; in the days of our Lord's second presence, similarly, the existing
order of society will not know. WATCH, THEREFOREThe
first thing, then, to be remembered, from our Lord's own words, is that there
will be no sign at all for the worldly. With this agrees the word of the
Apostle Paul: "The day of the Lord cometh as a thief" (1 Thess.
5:1-3). Not
only will the people of the world be in ignorance of the presence of the Son of
Man, our Lord warns, but unless they are alert, his disciples will be in danger
of being in darkness as to his return. Is it asked: "Where does he thus
warn?" We answer: In verse 42 and those which follow. There he brings this
danger to their attention: "Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour
your Lord doth come. . . . if the goodman of the house had known in what watch
the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his
house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye
think not the Son of Man cometh." In
other words, in reply to their question our Lord cautions them to remain alert,
to be on the watch, and the implication is that when he did arrive, the
watchers would be made aware of it; all others would be taken unawares. With
this word of our Lord the counsel of the Apostle Paul is found once more in
harmony. In 1 Thessalonians 5:4, 5 he says: "But ye, brethren, are not
in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief." Or to
quote from another inspired writer, Daniel the Beloved: "None of the
wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand" (Dan. 12:10). In
the foregoing paragraphs, and in the recent issues referred to in our opening
paragraph earnest effort has been made to present our convictions in a
Christian spirit, with due consideration of others who may view matters
differently. We have made it clear, we trust, that so far as we are concerned,
differences in viewpoint on the various phases and features of our Lord's
Second Advent have not been, nor, please God, will they be, permitted to mar
the sweet fellowship in Christ which should always obtain between the members
of the one Body -- the Church. Furthermore,
we hope it has been made clear that we stand ready at all times to reconsider
our views on this, as on all other matters of faith, and we shall most
certainly abandon our present views should others come to our attention which,
on examination, appear to us to be better supported by the Scriptures and by
sound judgment. Grateful as we are for the light now shining, we nevertheless
recognize with the Apostle that we see but dimly, as through an opaque glass,
compared with the vision which will be ours ere long (1 Cor. 13:12); that if
we imagine we already possess any true knowledge on this as on any other
subject, we have as yet attained to no knowledge of the kind to which we ought
to have attained (1 Cor. 8:2, Weymouth and Moffatt); and that at present, at
the very most, we are but learning bit by bit, whereas then-in only a very
little while ("how short! how short!" - Hebrews 10:37, Rotherham),
we shall understand as all along we have been understood by him (1 Cor.
13:12, Moffatt). In
our own studies we have found it helpful to group the "signs and groanings
promised to precede a second birth," under five main captions, which may
first be stated and then discussed, as follows:
1. GENTILE TIMESNo
one that is at all acquainted with the pages of history, and with the Book of
Daniel, will question the statement that the broad outline of Gentile history,
twice forecast by Daniel twenty-five hundred years ago (ch. 2 and 7), has had
a remarkable fulfillment in the succession, order, and events of the four great
empires, Babylon, MedoPersia, Greece, and Rome. Nor will such question the
statement that the last of these four has been the greatest of them, as Daniel
foretold. Rome,
however, at the time Daniel wrote, was, according to the historian, "a
mere cluster of huts." Its existence was unnoticed and unknown beyond the
limited regions of its neighbors in Italy. Yet Daniel, writing under the inspiration of God, of the
One who calls things which be not as though they were (Rom. 4:17), sees this
cluster of huts made over into a mighty empire, the mightiest of them all --
and tells us what he sees. Now
if this were the only "sign" we had, if no other line of evidence
were available, if this grand outline of fulfilled prophecy were all -- if
Scripture contained nothing else to guide us but this one broad outline of Gentile
Times, would we not even then have real grounds for strong convictions that we
are living in the very end of the Age? Plainly
-- so plainly that he who runs may read (Hab. 2:2) -- it was forecast in these
Daniel prophecies that during the long centuries intervening, until he should
come whose right it is (Ezek. 21:27), four great empires would hold sway in the
affairs of men, four empires governed by Gentile rulers, and that the fourth
should, in its final stage, give place to the Kingdom of God. Do we not find
ourselves living at the close of the fourth world empire? Surely so, and not
only at its close, but at the close of its last form, the Papacy, unless we
greatly err. What then, are we to look for next? What indeed, but the Kingdom
for which so long we have prayed. However,
let us not forget, what we have more than once noted in these pages, that the
great time prophecies of the Bible are not to be measured from any one
particular year to another, but from one era to another. This is so, because
the rise and fall of nations must, in the very nature of the case, cover more
or less extended eras. The fall of Israel and Judah covered a period of 160
years, culminating in the overthrow of their last king, Zedekiah. It should not
surprise us then, if we find their restoration extending over a number of
years, or decades, or even longer periods. What we should be on the lookout for
is not a thunderbolt from the skies, but a noticeable change in the trend of events. We should be
watching and intelligently reading the signs of the times, and noting how they
are fitting in with the prophetic forecasts. (Continued
in next issue) -
P. L. Read Parousia
Arranged
From Vine's Expository Dictionary, Vol. I, page 209 Second Advent Period Beginning Course Conclusion
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