IN the following pages it is our desire to bring before the reader a subject of daily increasing interest to every child of God, and in doing so we most earnestly ask the prayerful and serious consideration thereof which its importance demands.
The return or the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is the subject to which we allude, and in approaching it in company with our readers, we would urge upon them the importance of doing so Bible in hand, and of examining for themselves every passage which may be referred to, in dependence upon the teaching and guidance of the Holy Ghost—that Spirit of truth sent down from heaven at the day of Pentecost by the ascended and glorified Christ, and whose blessed office it is, amongst many other things, to guide us into all truth, and to show us things to come. (John 16:1313Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. (John 16:13).)
It may be, however, that some into whose hands this paper may fall have not yet found “peace in believing.” The great question of their souls’ salvation has not yet been settled, and consequently they have no inclination to look into this subject, for something seems to tell them that they are not ready to meet the Lord if He should come at this very moment.
We would remind all such of the blessed fact that Christ has already been here. His sinless feet have trod this sin-stained earth, and on Calvary’s cross He who knew no sin “once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God.” (1 Peter 3:1818For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: (1 Peter 3:18).) Yes, dear anxious soul, this spotless One has died in your stead, has suffered for your sins, has borne them “in His own body on the tree.” (1 Peter 2:2424Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. (1 Peter 2:24).) He has endured the judgment which you deserved, met every claim of divine justice on your behalf, and eternally glorified God in reference to the question of sin itself. Yes, He has done all this, and infinitely more than tongue could tell or thought conceive. Listen to those peace-giving words to which He gave utterance upon the cross— “It is finished” —words which have been the solid and eternal resting-place of multitudes of sin-burdened hearts.
“Hear the Lord Himself declaring
All performed He came to do;
Sinners, in yourselves despairing,
This is joyful news for you.
Jesus speaks it:
His are faithful words and true.”
Say, beloved reader, can you not rest there If the justice of God has been satisfied in reference to your sins, what more do you need in order to enjoy peace with God?
On the other hand, some who read these lines may be truly converted, may have the forgiveness of their sins, may possess peace with God and the certainty of being in heaven any moment that God may see fit to call them, and yet perhaps feel no interest in this subject. They are not filled to overflowing with the “blessed hope” of meeting face to face that precious Savior who suffered on the cross, and bled and died to save their guilty souls from hell, and to secure for them an eternal title to be in that same glory with and like Himself.
Some time ago we met, while taking a railway journey, with one whose condition was pretty much what we have described above. He was unquestionably a child of God, and seeking to serve His Savior. But on being asked if he was waiting for the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, “Ah, well,” said he, “I do not dive into these matters so deeply as you. This question does not trouble me much. I know that I am ready to go any moment God may see fit to call me. If I were to die on the spot, I have no fear; and therefore it seems to me of very little consequence whether He comes tomorrow or not for a hundred years, for I am ready whenever He comes.”
“Let me imagine,” was our reply, “that you had gone to India to transact some business, and that you had left behind you your wife and family. Though left behind, you do not forget them; they are still the objects of your deep affection. Not a day passes but what your thoughts travel back to those dearly-loved ones, and you long for the time when you will once more enjoy their company. Your business nearly completed, with intense satisfaction you write home to tell them that they may expect you to arrive at any time now. You cannot tell them the exact day, but they may be on the look-out for you. Confident of their love, you imagine that it will cause them as much joy to receive this announcement as it has given you to make it.
“Soon after the receipt of this letter I pay them all a visit, and on inquiring whether they had lately heard from you, I am told, Oh, yes, he has just sent us word that he is soon coming home; indeed, that we may expect him back at any time. But after all it does not much trouble us whether he returns tomorrow or not for another year, for we are quite ready to receive him whenever he thinks fit to come! Would not this,” we inquired, “manifest a lamentable state of things? Where would be the affections of their hearts? Trouble than! I should think not, indeed! If they had any love for you at all it would make their very hearts leap with joy to think of so soon seeing you again.”
And has not the blessed Savior left us here? And though in heaven, dues He not constantly think of us? And is not His love for us now as deep and fervent as it was for His beloved disciples when He walked with them through this world? “Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.” (John 13:11Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. (John 13:1).) And has He not sent us word to say that He may return at any moment? Yes, dear Christian reader, He has. Three times over in the last chapter of Revelation, which furnishes us with His closing communications to His people in this scene, He has made use of those thrilling words, “I come quickly.”
And shall our affections be unmoved by them? Shall our hearts be untouched? We trust not; but rather let our willing voices take up the joyful response, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” (Rev. 22:2020He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. (Revelation 22:20).)
We would now ask the reader to open his Bible at Matt. 25, and to read carefully the first thirteen verses, and let him keep his Bible open at the very page, whilst together we cast our eyes over its contents.
A very little attention will suffice to show that this parable of the Ten Virgins is divided into three parts, which very remarkably coincide with three distinct periods of the Church’s history here on earth.
We would observe in passing, that the history of the Church commenced at the day of Pentecost. Though in the counsels of God, no doubt from all eternity, it was nevertheless “a mystery kept secret” (see carefully Rom. 16:2525Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, (Romans 16:25); Eph. 3:3-73How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 6That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: 7Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. (Ephesians 3:3‑7); Col. 1:24-2824Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church: 25Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; 26Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 27To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: (Colossians 1:24‑28)), and had no actual existence as such in this world until, at Jerusalem, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Ghost came down from heaven (Acts 2:1-41And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1‑4)), and baptized all believers into one body. (1 Cor. 12:12, 1312For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 13For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:12‑13).) It was there, then, and thus that the Church began. We cannot now go into this deeply important subject, but merely make the foregoing remarks, in order that it may be clear to the reader to what especial period we refer; namely, to that which began at the day of Pentecost in Acts 21And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:1‑4), which has continued up to this present moment, and will continue until the Lord descends into the air, and we are caught up to meet Him there. (1 Thess. 4:16, 1716For 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: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16‑17).) Then the Church’s history on earth will be closed.
Part I.
“They Went Forth to Meet the Bridegroom.”
This characterized the Christians at the very commencement. “They went forth to meet the Bridegroom.” He who had just died for them had gone away from them into the glory of God. He, as a Man, was sitting there at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens; but ere going away had left them a promise, that He would return to take them to the same place of glory where He was going Himself. Cheered by this promise, and filled with this hope, they went forth to meet Him. The world, which had just cast out and rejected Him whom their hearts loved, presented no attractions to them. Though in it, they were not of it. (John 17:1414I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. (John 17:14).) They coveted not its glories, they courted not its honors, and they sought not its pleasures. Thoughts of their absent Lord filled their hearts, and they longed for the moment when they should see Him and be with Him.
We lately met a young and ardent Christian. He was seeking to serve the Lord by preaching the gospel, and Hoped ere lung to leave his native shores, and go as a missionary to the heathen.
“Have you ever thought of the coming of the Lord?”
“No,” said he; “I cannot say that I have.”
“Have you never noticed,” we replied with surprise, “how repeatedly the New Testament speaks of it?”
Again he answered in the negative, hinting at the same time that it spoke more of death than of the coming of Christ.
Reader, will you be as surprised as he to learn that death—for the Christian—is not mentioned more than four or five times; whereas the coming of the Lord is treated of in all the gospels, in the Acts, in almost every epistle—in two of these epistles (1 and 2 Thess.) in every chapter—and lastly in the book of Revelation over and over again?
He was quite astonished at this, and promised to search the Scriptures, to see if these things were so.
And now, beloved reader, is it not strange that Christians in the present day should be occupied so much with death, which is but seldom mentioned in the Word in reference to them; while the bright and blessed hope of the Lord’s personal return, which is its constant theme, and shines on almost every page, is ignored, forgotten, or looked upon as one of the eccentric views of a small portion of peculiar Christians? No, dear Christian friend, be assured it is a vital truth of God, given to us as our true and proper hope, and interwoven with our every right affection and duty.
But let us briefly look at a few of the passages which speak of it; we cannot attempt to do more, or this tract would expand itself into a volume. First of all we would turn to John 14:1-51Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? (John 14:1‑5). Here the blessed Lord is about to leave the world. Rejected by men, and knowing that “His hour was come that He should depart out of this world unto the Father” (John 13:11Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. (John 13:1)), He gathers around Him “His own,” whom He was about to leave behind “in the world.” He draws them to His side; for He finds Himself at home with this little company, and He knows that to them He can speak in all the unrestrained freedom of His deep affection for them. Judas too, the betrayer, is gone out, “and it was night.” (v. 30.) How strikingly suggestive of the appalling moral darkness which enveloped the world at that very moment! Jesus, we read, “was troubled in spirit.” (v. 21.)
It was not only the hatred of man, deep and long-felt as it had been, nor was it the treachery of Judas, nor the unfaithfulness of His disciples, bitter as must have been the sorrow caused by all this; it was not only this, we repeat, which oppressed His spirit at that terrible moment. Deeper shadows still were casting themselves across His lonely path. The cross, in all its intense reality, was rising before His soul. The storm of divine judgment against sin was about to break upon His devoted head, and its heavy clouds were now passing before Him. But amidst it all He looks beyond, to the glory which He is straightway about to enter (13:31, 32), and now distinctly communicates to them the sad intelligence that He is going away. He knew what trouble would fill them, and, forgetting for the moment His own deep sorrow, He seeks to lift their poor hearts above this world, by telling them of the Father’s house, where He was going Himself, and where He would prepare a place for them—a place better far than all this world could give.
But how should they reach it? Ah, that is the point! Read, and as you read imagine that you are listening to the blessed Savior Himself: “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (14:3.) What cheering words for them! What comfort for their broken hearts! “I will come again!”
“But did He not, by these words, refer to their death?” some may inquire. Surely not. When they died, they departed to be with Him. (Phil. 1:2323For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: (Philippians 1:23).) He did not leave the Father’s house and come to fetch them. We believe it would have been simply impossible for them to have understood His words in any other sense than that of His own personal return; and, further, we are convinced that it is because His absence is so little felt by us in these days, that the thought of His return, fills us with so little joy. The blank which the absence of a dearly-loved one makes can be filled up by nothing but the presence of that very one. And what friend have we like Jesus? Can we not, in some little measure, say, “Whom having not seen, we love”? (1 Peter 1:88Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: (1 Peter 1:8).)
“True,” we hear some saying; “but did He not return to them after His resurrection? And is it not to this that He refers!” Undoubtedly He did come back after His resurrection, but only for a brief moment. Forgetful of His own words, which assured them that He would rise again the third day, and refusing to accept the combined testimony of Mary Magdalene, and of the two disciples returning from Emmaus, who had actually seen Him alive and spoken with Him, they are filled with fear and alarm when “Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them.” (Luke 24:3636And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. (Luke 24:36).) So unbelieving are they, that they cannot realize that it is in very truth their own beloved Lord and Master once more in their midst. They think it is an apparition, and suppose it to be a spirit. He upbraids them with their unbelief, bids their fears begone, and reassures their trembling hearts by those touching words, “It is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not fresh and bones, as ye see me have.”
Ah, no! His resurrection was no mere spiritual manifestation, but an actual fact. There He stood before their very eyes—a real Man. As truly a Man after His resurrection as He had been before His death, He even asked for food, “and did eat before them.” (Luke 24:4343And he took it, and did eat before them. (Luke 24:43).)
Let us turn aside and look at that wondrous scene described in Acts 1. See that little company gathered around the risen Savior. See their eager faces as they listen to His parting words, bidding them return to Jerusalem, and there await the corning of the Holy Ghost, who in a few days would descend from heaven, and take up His abode with them, and in them (John 14:1717Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. (John 14:17)), and who would thus be their power for service and testimony whilst the Lord was away. “When He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight.” How steadfastly they look toward heaven as He goes up! How eagerly is their gaze fixed upon that cloud that has just hidden Him from their eyes! They scarcely seem to notice the presence of those two angelic messengers. But listen! “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.”
To what did they refer? To death? Most certainly not. By no possible means could these words be so interpreted. No, no, they do but repeat the same blessed truth the. Christ Himself had expressed in John 14; namely, the fact of His own personal return.
We would now briefly consider 1 Thess. 4:13-1813But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16For 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: 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13‑18). By reference to the first chapter, and comparing it with Acts 1713But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people. 14And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still. 15And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed. 16Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. 17Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. 18Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. (Acts 17:13‑18), which gives the historical account of the visit of the apostle Paul to Thessalonica, and of the first preaching of the gospel to that people, we shall see that many of them were nothing but heathen idolaters, but that to them and also to the Jews were announced the wondrous glad tidings of the death and resurrection of Christ. He had died for their sins, been delivered for their offenses, and raised again for their justification. (Rom. 4:2525Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. (Romans 4:25).) At the cross He had stood as the holy spotless Victim, charged with all their sins; and now God had raised Him from the dead, and put Him at His own right hand in heaven. How better could He have proved His entire satisfaction in that sacrifice?
“All His billows rolled o’er Jesus,
There exhausted all their power.”
“Some of them believed” (Acts 17:44And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. (Acts 17:4)), we are told, and no doubt their faith rested on the word of God, but we cannot pass on without noticing a beautiful contrast in the case of the Bereans, their neighbors. Of these last we read, “Therefore many of them believed.” (v. 12.) Why this difference? “They searched the Scriptures daily.” (v. 11.) Ah, there was the secret! And may this earnest spirit be increased a thousandfold in the present day amongst all who desire to grow in the knowledge of God and His truth!
But what a marvelous effect was produced amongst those who did believe at Thessalonica, few in number as they may have been! They “became followers of the Lord,” “examples to all that believe;” and by their changed manner of life, the word of the Lord was “sounded out,” and their faith to Godward “spread abroad.” And having turned to God from their idols, they were waiting “for His Son from heaven.” (1 Thess. 1:6-106And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: 7So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. 8For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing. 9For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; 10And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:6‑10).) Yes, beloved Christian reader, this formed an integral part of their conversion. Not only had they been “delivered from the wrath to come,” not only saved from eternal judgment by His death, but now, He having been raised from the dead and seated in heaven, they were eagerly waiting, not for their own death, but for His personal return.
They were expecting Him to come back even in their very lifetime. They had been taught that at His return, and not at their death, would every desire of their hearts be satisfied; but as the days and weeks rolled on, and still He for whom they were waiting and watching did not return; and as death too began to make its appearance in that little company, they were filled with dismay, imagining that those only who were alive would reap the full joy of His coming, and that those who had passed away would in some way or other be losers. Accordingly the apostle writes the first epistle to revive their drooping spirits and reassure their desponding hearts.
Does he reproach them with ignorance for expecting their Lord so soon to return Does he comfort them by assuring them that they themselves must soon die, and thus follow those of their number who had fallen asleep? Not at all. “Let not sorrow fill your hearts,” he says. “Be not like the poor world which has ‘no hope’ in death; ‘for this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive, and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent (or go before) them which are asleep.’” (1 Thess. 4:1515For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. (1 Thessalonians 4:15).) It was as though he said, “We shall in no wise outstrip them, for (1) the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven... and (2) the dead in Christ shall rise first: then (3) we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.”
It is inconceivable how anyone, who gives the smallest thought to the subject, can imagine that all this refers to death! Do, beloved reader, let your eye rest upon the words of verse 16 “The Lord Himself” (is that death?)— “shall descend from heaven with a shout.” When a saint of God dies does death come down from heaven with a shout? And further, “the dead in Christ shall rise first;” this is resurrection, and not death. At death the body is put down into the grave and there sees corruption; but at the glorious moment of which this passage speaks three events take place, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:5252In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:52)), (1) the Lord Himself descends from heaven into the air, (2) the dead in Christ rise, and, as 1 Cor. 15:4343It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: (1 Corinthians 15:43) tells us, they are “raised in glory,” and (3) the living saints are “changed in a moment” (1 Cor. 15:51, 5251Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51‑52)), and “caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air,” and so to be forever with Him. Blessed hope! Comforting words!
The meeting-place, observe, between Christ and His glorified saints, both raised and changed, is not the earth, nor is it exactly heaven, but in the air.
There it is that we shall meet our blessed Savior. And oh, what shouts of triumph, and what songs of praise, shall fill the vaults of heaven as He takes us back with Himself, and ushers us into the Father’s house! (John 14.) Alas! for this poor world which is left behind, and which will then, for a short while, go on increasing in iniquity with fearful rapidity, until the heavens open and Christ comes forth in majesty and power accompanied with all the glorified saints to execute judgment.
The scriptures which we have thus briefly looked at are, we trust, sufficient to show the reader who desires to be taught of God, and to learn in subjection to the word of God, that the early Christians were expecting the speedy return of the Lord Jesus Christ. He Himself was the first to put the thought into their minds. (John 14.) He had even said of one, “If I will that he tarry till I come” (John 21:22), thus showing that He might, though not positively stating that He would, come back before the death of the disciple to whom He was speaking. The angels, too, after His ascension, took up similar language (Acts 1); and lastly the apostles on many occasions were inspired of God to repeat the same comforting words. Is it any wonder, therefore, that this blessed hope filled the hearts of God’s people then, and that “they all went forth to meet the Bridegroom”! But, alas!
Part II.
“They All Slumbered and Slept.”
At the beginning “they all went forth to meet the Bridegroom.” This, as we have seen, characterized the early Christians. They were not of this world, their “conversation [or citizenship] was in heaven, from whence also they looked for the Savior.” (Phil. 3:2121Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. (Philippians 3:21).) They had taken up their cross to follow Him, and amidst the many trials and persecutions with which their path was strewn, their hearts were cheered by His parting promise— “I will come again, and receive you unto myself.” (John 14:33And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:3).)
But still the Bridegroom tarried. The weeks, months, and years rolled by, and still there was no sign of His return. Had He forgotten His promise? Had He led them to expect what He never intended to fulfill? By no means. Their faith, no doubt, was being tested; but “ye have need of patience,” says the inspired apostle, “for yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” (Heb. 10:3737For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. (Hebrews 10:37).) But, alas! their hearts grew weary of waiting, and their eyes grew heavy with sleep. The world too grew weary of persecuting them, and began to spread out before their eyes its bright and glittering attractions. how quickly the direful effect of all this was felt! The evil servant had no sooner said in his heart, “My Lord delayeth His coming,” than he began “to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken.” (Matt. 24:48, 4948But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; (Matthew 24:48‑49).) He did not say, mark, “My Lord will never return,” but “My Lord delayeth His coming;” in other words, instead of treating it as his daily expectation, his immediate hope, he postponed it to an indefinite time in the far-distant future. Worldliness swept in like a flood, and the Church began to seek her home and portion in the scene from whence her Lord had been cast out.
“We are but strangers here, we would not crave
A home on earth which gave Him but a grave.
His cross has severed ties which bound us here,
Himself our portion in a brighter sphere.”
Instead of breathing such a spirit, “They all slumbered and slept.” Yes, all, without exception, wise and foolish alike—those who were real Christians as well as those who were mere professors. All were fast asleep; for the hope of the Lord’s return was completely forgotten.
Centuries rolled by, and still the slumber of the professing Church continued. Search through the books that were written, and the sermons that were preached, not a mention will you find of that which fills the pages of the New Testament, not an allusion to that bright and purifying hope (1 John 3:33And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. (1 John 3:3)) of the coming of Christ.
Let us not be misunderstood. Warnings of judgment there were no doubt; appeals to flee from the wrath of God, which would eventually be poured out upon this earth when the Lord Jesus should be revealed from heaven in flaming fire; but of His coming into the air to gather His people home to glory, of His descent into the clouds to remove His own in the twinkling of an eye from the earth, which would then, and not till then, become the scene of all those terrible judgments—of this blessed hope not a line do we read, not a word do we hear. Alas, alas! “they all slumbered and slept.” But hark!
Part III.
“At Midnight There Was a Cry Made.”
The midnight hour has arrived, the cry has gone forth. Some fifty years ago, we believe, its first notes began to fall upon the ears of the slumbering Church. The Lord who loved His Church, and still loves her, all-forgetful of Him as she has proved herself to be, at that time led some of His servants to search the Scriptures more attentively, and the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of truth, unfolded before their eyes and revived in their hearts the same blessed hope that had led the Christians at the beginning to go forth to meet the Bridegroom.
Render, has that cry reached you? If not, may God use these few pages to make it ring in your very ears, and reach your very heart.
Behold, the Bridegroom! Yes, beloved reader He is at the door. No time for slumber now “Awake, thou that sleepest!” The history of the Church is about to close, its sojourn on earth is about to cease. “The coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” (James 5:88Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. (James 5:8).) “Then all those virgins arose.” (v. 7.) What a stir was made! The foolish as well as the wise begin to open their eyes; but, oh, what a discovery do they make! They had “no oil with them;” the lamp of an external profession they had, but its light was fast going out. (v. 8, margin— “Our lamps are going out.”) Of what use is a lamp which has no oil? In like manner the outward profession of Christianity is useless without the inward reality which the possession of the Holy Ghost alone can give.
Reader, we would earnestly press upon you the importance of these things—consider them well, we beseech you. We are living in a day of great profession, but God looks for reality. He searches the heart, and how often, alas! does He see that, though He is approached with the lips, the heart is far from Him. (Matt. 15:88This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. (Matthew 15:8).)
It may be that some, upon whose ear this warning note may fall, are resting on the sandy foundation of a Christless and lifeless profession. Baptized, confirmed, and a regular communicant you may be; and yet, reader, have no saving knowledge of Christ. You may be a Sunday-school teacher, a tract distributor, a district visitor, and even a humanly ordained preacher; but if still unsaved, all this is but the oil-less lamp which ere long will go out, and you will be plunged into the awful darkness of an eternal night.
“Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 7:2121Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 7:21).) Oh, Christendom, Christendom, heed these solemn words in time!—words spoken by the lips of him who cannot lie. And again, “when once the Master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and He shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.” And cannot multitudes say this in our day who yet have no real love fur Christ in their hearts, We have taken the sacrament, they can say; we regularly attend our parish church; we are subscribers to many benevolent institutions. All this, beloved reader, may be true of you; but, remember, it is quite possible to be very religious, and yet unsaved, unconverted; and if this is your case you most assuredly will hear those terrible words, “I know you not... depart front Me.” (Luke 13:24-2824Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. 25When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: 26Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. 27But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. 28There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. (Luke 13:24‑28).)
Behold, the Bridegroom cometh! and long had his coming been foretold; many a time, no doubt, had these very words been read, but the blessed truth they contain was unheeded, unnoticed, and unseen. And why? Ah! the professing church was slumbering with the world, the warmth of first love towards Christ had grown cold—she was sleeping instead of watching. But the night is now far spent, yea, the midnight hour is past—
“Soon will the morning break,
In radiance through the sky.”
The cry has gone forth, it is spreading to the remotest corners of Christendom, and multitudes of souls are being awakened to the fact that Christ is about to return. May every soul that reads these lines be stirred up! Professor, see to it that you do not lack the oil! Christian, see to it that your lamp is trimmed; for it is quite possible to possess the oil, and yet the light be very dim!
Let everything be removed that hinders the light of testimony for Christ shining forth; examine your walk, ways, and associations, and give up everything of which you would be ashamed if Christ were to return this very day. When we see Him as He is, we shall be like Him; let us seek to be as like Him now as we can. “Every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself even as He is pure.” (1 John 3:33And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. (1 John 3:3).) Purposely is the moment of His coming left uncertain, in order that we should always be like unto men who are waiting and watching for their lord. If we turn to Luke 12:33-4933Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. 34For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 35Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; 36And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. 37Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. 38And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. 39And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. 40Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. 41Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all? 42And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? 43Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 44Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath. 45But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; 46The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. 47And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. 49I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? (Luke 12:33‑49), we shall see what the Lord Himself desired should be the attitude of the hearts, and the occupation of the lives of all his people, and it is His desire still. Our treasure is in heaven—a treasure inexhaustible, for it faileth, not; no thief can approach it there, and no moth can corrupt it. How unlike everything in this world of fleeting joys and crushing disappointments! Then let our hearts be there also
But if our hearts are in heaven, and through grace they may be, in ourselves and as to our bodies we are still on this earth, a scene of defilement and darkness. We need therefore to gird up the loins, lest our garments should pick up the defilement of the scene through which we pass; and we need to have our lights burning, in order that some little ray of light for Christ may cast itself across the darkness of this world.
And while He tarries we must wait, and wait too with the hand upon the latch of the door, ready to open immediately the first sound of His footstep is heard. Then, “when He cometh,” He will make us sit down within those heavenly courts, in the eternal rest of His own presence. No defilement there. We shall not need to gird ourselves; but, blessed be His name, it will be His delight to gird Himself, and serve us, and thus throughout eternity to minister to our joy.
Oh, what an effect would be produced upon our whole life and conduct if we more constantly remembered that there is absolutely nothing between us and that glorious moment but the twinkling of an eye!
The foolish, who represent the mere professors of Christendom, now begin to understand the gravity of their position. “Give us of your oil,” they say, as they behold with alarm the smoldering embers of their oil-less wicks. But no, this cannot be; for salvation is an individual and personal matter. They now begin to bestir themselves, and with redoubled energies seek to buy, by their own efforts, that which can alone be had as a free gift on the principle of faith.
While thus engaged the bridegroom came, “and they that were ready went in.” Mark these words, reader. Not “they that were getting ready,” or “they that hoped to be ready;” but “they that were ready.” Reader, are you ready? For in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the Bridegroom will come. Then the door will be shut. It will be too late then to knock at the door; for when once that door is shut, it is shut forever.
But perhaps you say, “I desire to be ready. What must I do?” Come as a poor, lost, guilty, hell-deserving sinner to the Lord Jesus Christ, who has died for sinners, and risen again. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” (Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31).) His precious blood alone it is that “cleanses from all sin.”
“Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour.”
Ere closing, we would most earnestly warn the reader against supposing that this earth is the scene of the Christian’s blessedness. When the Lord Jesus comes into the air, He comes not to bless us upon the earth, but to take us to the Father’s house in glory. Our hope is laid up for us in heaven. (Col. 1:55For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; (Colossians 1:5).) It is “an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven” for us. (1 Peter 1:44To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, (1 Peter 1:4).)
It is ever Satan’s effort to drown the truth of God in a sea of error, by which means some of the children of God are frightened away from the study of those particular truths; while others, alas! imbibe those fearful errors to the damage, not only of their own souls, but also of all whom they may influence by their teaching.
Hence, in the present day, the great importance of taking heed what we hear and read; for many are now lecturing, preaching, and writing about such truths as the coming of the Lord, who are in reality saturated with every form of the nineteenth-century infidelity. Some denying the divinity of Christ, and others His humanity; some denying the atonement, others the plenary inspiration of the Scriptures; while multitudes are giving up the deeply solemn truths of the immortality of the soul, and the eternity of punishment.
In such a day, amidst such perils, and threatened by the withering storms of skepticism and infidelity, we most earnestly commend our readers to God, and to the word of His grace. May we search the Scriptures more diligently, prize them more highly, and hold them more tenaciously, “until He come!”
“The night is now far spent,
The day is drawing nigh:
Soon will the morning break
In radiance through the sky.
Oh, let the thought our spirits cheer,
The Lord Himself will soon appear!
“Though men our hope deride,
Nor will the truth believe;
We in His word confide,
And it will ne’er deceive.
Soon all that grieves shall pass away,
And saints shall see a glorious day.
“For us the Lord intends
A bright abode on high;
The place where sorrow ends,
And naught is known but joy.
With such a hope let us rejoice,
We soon shall hear the Savior’s voice.”
We may add that the second coming of Christ has a double bearing, according as we consider it in relation to the Church, or in relation to the world. In the foregoing pages we have confined ourselves exclusively to the first aspect thereof. The Lord willing, we may, on a future occasion, turn our attention to the second.
In the first
Christ comes for His saints.
He comes into the clouds, and we are caught up to meet Him in the air.
He comes as our Savior to take us home to glory.
In the second
He comes with them.
He comes to the earth, and His feet stand upon the mount of Olives.
He comes as a thief in the night to execute judgment upon a careless, Christ-less world.
Though both are spoken of as His coming, yet an interval of time elapses between these two parts of it; and during this interval will be fulfilled all the prophecies concerning the restoration of the Jews, the time of great tribulation, the preaching to the heathen of the gospel of the kingdom (not the gospel of the grace of God, and the glory of Christ, as now offered to the world; we must most carefully distinguish between the two). During this interval also all the judgments described in the book of Revelation from chap. 6 to chap. 19 will take place.
Unless this twofold aspect of the coming of Christ be clearly understood, all will be confusion. Once seen, all is as clear as the noonday sun.
A. H.