The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-08-04
THE SABBATH SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS
FOR AUGUST 8.

Golden Text: John xiv, 3 - Com
mentary by Rev. DIR. Z. NJ. Stearns.
8. "But as touching brotherly love, We
need not that I write unto you, for ye your.
selves are taught Of God to love one another
The epistle is addressed to the church OF
the Thessalonians in God the Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ, those who, having
heard the gospel, received the word and
turned from their idols unto God, to serve
the living and true God and to wait for His
Son from heaven, even Jesus who delivered
them from the wrath to come (chapter l., l,
S, 6, 9, 10Y. He exhorts them to walk
kingdom and glory, and to seek in all
things to please God and not man ~(chapter
H., 5; w., ~.
10. "And indeed We do 1t toward all the
brethen which are in all Macedonia. But
we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase
more and more.' There Is always room
for increase In love and In all the fruit Of
the Spirit, for we can never manifest the
fruit as fully as Christ did, and yet He is
our only example. He Is ever seeking much
more fruit, for 10 branch is bearing oil that
1t might.
IL. "And that ye study to be quiet, and
to do your own business, and to work with
your W hands as we commanded you"
In a later epistle he said that II any would
not work neither should they eat (I Thess.
ill.,, 10Y. The word here translated "study"
,philotimeomai) Is used only three times.
The other two places are Rom. xv., 20; II
Cor. w., 8. The late DR.. A. J.. Gordon loved
TO call attention to the truth that the word
signifies "to be ambitious" or to US ones
Utmost endeavor to accomplish a thing and
hat in these three passages we have a law
iul threefold ambition for every believer
yI1 fn mind, nOn1Q nyrp bI1ctnndd ha tro11
pleasing to God, and preach the gospel
where Christ has not vet been named.
IL. "That We may walk honestly to-
ward them that are without, and that We
may lave lack Of nothing" We are to pro-
vide things honest in the sight Of all men
Rom. Kill, ~, but we should take special
pains to be in every sense upright before
lnbelievers. They will not read the Bible,
out they will and do read people, and they
ought to be able to read something Of the
Bible in the life of every Christian. One
print, clear type Bible that any one can
read easily. Such upright people cannot
lack any good Cps. lxxxiv., ~.
IS. "But I would not have you to be igno-
rant, brethren, concerning them which are
asleep, that we sorrow not even as others
which have no hope" While teaching them
now to live on the earth as Christians
the fact was ever before them that some
were passing away. Death was doing his
cruel work. And what about those who
lie in the Lord2 While Rev. xiv, 10, has
special referencet to those who In the days
Of the manifestation Of satan's greatest
power will rather die than deny Christ, yet
it Is always true, blessed are the dead who
die in the Lord" There Is the gain, and
the very far better (Phil. l., 81, 23).
II. "For IL we believe that Jesus died and
rose again, even 80 them also which sleep
In Jesus will God bring with Him." Todie
Is gain, and to be with Christ Is far better.
But that Is not the whole Of it, for after the
resurrection Of the righteous all the saints
are coming back with Him when he comes
to Judge the Nations, save Israel and begin
His reign On earth.
Is. "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 them which are asleep"
The R. V. says in the last clause Of this
verse, "Shall In nowise precede them that
are fallen asleep" Rotterdam says that
we shall Sin nowise get before" them
which are fallen asleep. It would seem that
the Christians thought that their friends
who had died had lost somewhat by not be-
ing allowed to remain until the Lord should
come, but the assertion here is very em-
phatic that those who are alive on the
earth when Christ shall come shall have
no advantage over those who have died in
Christ, and who have been some time ab-
sent from the body and present with the
Lord.
16. "For the Lord Himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice
OF the a%rchangel and with the trump Of
God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first"
As at the first coming Of Christ, in humilia-
tion, to suffer and die and rise from the
dead, there were many events covering
second coming to reign there will be many
events covering many years. The coming
with Him Of verse IA aud chapter ill.,, 10,
and Rev. XIX, Ills, Is the last stage Of His
second coming and must be preceded by
the events Of verses 16, II. He cannot
bring US with Him until He gets us all with
Him.
II. "Then we which are alive and re-
main shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the
air, and 30 shall we ever be with the Lord"
I like to fancy this az actually occurring,
and often say to my congregations, Let
US now imagine 1t taking place." The
Lord Himself, not an angel, nor the Holy
Spirit, but this same Jesus (Acts l., 11),
shall leave the right hand Of the Father
and descend to the air. Like a mighty
magnet He will attract to Himself all the
members OF His body. The dead In Christ
shall rise. They who have been with Him
absent from the body shall ~reinhabit their
bodies risen from the grave and made like
into His glorious body.
10. Wherefore comfort one another with
these words" I think there is no other
verse Just like this in the Bible. In lisa.
xl., /, 2, the prophet is told to comfort
Jerusalem and Israel, and 1t is In connec-
tion with the coming Of the Lord. II Cor.
l., "a the God Of all comfort comforts US
that we may comfort others with our com
fort, whatever It Is. But here are the very
words with which we are to comfort those
who are bereaved. We are not to say, like
David, I shall 60 to them, but they cannot
come to me. On the contrary, we are to
think Of the possibility Of their bein with
US in their resurrection bodies any mo-
ment, and we instantly changed and
caught away with them to meet and be
forever with the Lord w., l, q. "But Of
the times and the seasons, brethren, ye
have no need that I write unto you, for
Yourselves know perfectly that the day Of
the Lord Sc cometh as a thief In the
night" He 10Y passes to another topic,
or rather another phase Of our Lords
second coming. We do not know Of any
event that must necessarily intervene be-
tween the present moment and the taking
away of the church. But before the COM
ing OF Christ with His saints there must set
In more fully the great apoStasy, and be
manifested the man Of sin referred to in
II Thess. H., 14.-Lesson HelDar.
HEMATITE ORE IN ALABAMA.