St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-05-25
The Coming of Christ.
MIR. MOODY AT THE TABERNACLE

l don't know of anything that will so
quicken the church of to-day as this
precious doctrine of our Lords return
ing. If | read my bible carefully, our
Lords return is referred to upward of
fifty times, so that it is no unscriptural
idea. Peter 3: 10: ave have also a
more sure word of prophecy; whereuntO
We do well that We take heed, as unto
light that shineth in dark place, until
the day dawn, and the day-star arise in
your hearts," knowing this first, that no
prophecy of the scripture is of any pri-
vate Interpretation" "For the prophe-
cy came not in old time by the will of
man but holy men of God spake as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost"
Gabriel came down to announce the
conception of Christ, angels came to
announce his birth, angels came to an
nounce his resurrection, and angels came
to announce his return. When the dis
ciples stood gazing up into heaven, two
angels dropped by their side and said {:
aye men of Galilee, why stand We gaz-
ing up into heaven This same Jesus
which is taken up from you into heaven
shall so come in like manner as We have
seen him go into heaven"
Thank God, he is coming just as he
went We are going to see him in per-
son he that left this earth blessing it
for that is the way he lett-is coming
back to build his own church he is
coming back to receive them that have
looked for him, and have waited for his
return. In the twenty sixth chapter of
Matthew and the sixty-fourth verse,
you will find that it was this very thing
which caused his death. When the high
priest asked him who he was, and if he
was truly the Messiah, what does he
say? ''Jesus saith unto him, thou hast
said: nevertheless, | say unto you, here
after you shall see the Son of Man sit
ting at the right hand of power, and
coming~in the clouds of heaven" That
is enough the moment they heard that
they accused him of blasphemy, and
condemned him to death because he
said they should see him coming again.
Let me say that believe this doe
trine has suffered good deal from those
who profess to be its friends, and
don't know any who have done it Il
greater injury than those, because they
have set time and dates. We read in
Matthew "a: SO, "But of that day and
hour knOweth no man no, not the
angels of heaven, but my Father only.n
the time trying to counterfeit these
precious truths so that the mass of
Christians will not believe them. 1t is
very clearly taught that the day and
the hour knOweth no man, not even the
angels of heaven and when man tells
you Christ is coming next year, or in
1870, or at such date, you may know
that he hasn't got the word of God for
it, because it is distinctly taught by the
Master himself that the day and the
hour knOweth no man. If we knew the
hour we would not be watching for his
coming, and all through scripture We
are told to watch. Not only that, but
we are taught in this same chapter that
he is coming unexpectedly "Therefore
he ye also ready for in such an hour
as We think not, the Son of Man cOmeth."
Some of you say ''Yes, he comes to
us all when we die,n but that is not
what is taught here-death is not the
coming of Lord.
The thought | want to call your at
tentiOn to is this, that the disciples did
not look upon Christ's coming as death
at all they kept that distinct. The
coming of the Lord is one thing, and
death is another. You OF l may be
summoned away by death before Christ
comes, but we are not taught anywhere
in scripture to look for death that is
not the hope of the church. | am taught
to look for the Lord, and it is something
much sweeter to me to look for his re-
turn than to look for death.
And there is a distinction between
death and his coming. | think we have
made great mistake in saying that is
the coming of the Lord. Death is one
thing and the coming of the Lord is
another. Why, the year of Jubilee will
burst upon this world by -and-by, and
the Lord himself shall return to this
world and that is distinct and separate
from death. There is no death when
he comes; 1t is all life, and then all
shall be changed in the twinkling of an
eye. As EnOch went up to represent
the first dispensatiOn, and as Elijah
went up 10 represent the second, so
Christ went up to represent the third
and when he comes again these vile
bodies will be changed as Enoch was
changed and Elijah was translated, and
we are not going to die. If we remain
or tarry until Christ comes we are not
going to taste of death death has been
conquered, and by-and-by--I don't
know when-in the fullness of time, he
will return to this earth and reign, and
set up his kingdom on earth. As we
read in the prophecy of Daniel, that
stone cut out of the mountains without
hands is growing, and is going to fill
the whole earth, and his kingdom is
going to be over the whole of the sons
of men God has decreed it.
In the first epistle of Thessalonians,
Paul is writing to young converts about
the Lords coming, thus: "For the Lord
himself shall descend from heaven with
shout, with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trump of God and the
dead in Christ shall rise first" "Tbeu
we which are alive and remain, shall De
caught up together with them in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air
and so shall we ever be with the LOrd.n
Wherefore, comfort one another with
these words.n
That is the comfort of the church
not that we are to die, but that the
Lord may come at any time and take
us away into that bridal chamber. Dean
Afford says he must insist that Christ's
coming in the air, and bis coming with
ten thousand saints to Judge the world,
are two distinct and separate comings
that he is coming in judgment to dash
the nation to pieces that will not obey
his gospel, that is one thing; and his