The Raymer enterprise., 1916-09-21

lty dwelt upon TO
such an extent az
this. unless 1t be
the fundamental one Of our redemp-
ton through the cross.
What Does It Mean7
The second coming Of Christ means
personal. In the sense Of visitor
reappearing of one Lord on this earth.
Such seems to be the teaching Of his
own words when. In the presence of
the high priest he said: Hereafter
shall ye see the son Of man sitting on
the right hand Of power and coming
In the clouds Of heaven" This Is re-
corded In the 26th of Matthew ut the
Gath verse. The angels taught the
same truth to the disciples on the
Mount Of Olives when they said, aye
men Of Galllee. why stand ye here gaz-
ing up into heaven? 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" This
is recorded In Acts l IL. And finally
In the last book of the Bible. we find
John exclaiming. Behold, he cometh
with clouds; and every eye shall see
him, and they also which pierced him !:
And all kindreds of the earth shall
wall because of him. Even so, amen"
When Will II Take Placer
This doctrine has been brought into
dlsrepute because many have assumed
to fix dates for the coming Of our
Lord, Notwithstanding that the Bible
warns against it. Jesus himself said
TO his disciples: watch, therefore,
for ye know not what hour your Lord
doth come" There are some who
think that a millennium of peace and
prosperity will be experienced on the
earth before the Lord comes.
There Is also one other fact that
seems to preclude the expectation of a
millennium before Jesus comes; that
is, what the New Testament teaches
as to the moral and spiritual condi-
tions In the world at the end Of this
age. We are all familiar with the
teaching Of Paul In his second 'epistle
to Timothy at the third chapter. where
he says that "in the last days peril
Gus times shall come" He then goes
on to define what he means by that,
adding that "men shall be lovers of
self, lovers Of money, boastful.
naughty, railers, disobedlent to parents.
unthankful. unholy, without natural af-
fection, truce-breakers, slanderers,
without self-control. fierce, no lovers
of good, traitors. high-strung, high
minded, lovers OF pleasure rather than
lovers Of God having form of godli-
ness but denying the power thereof"
All this does not look like a millen-
mum. and yet how much 1t looks like
the times In which we are now living |
Can 1t be therefore that the coming
of the Lord may be nearer than most
Of US expect?
Results Of His Coming.
In the light of the second coming
there are three classes of men to be
considered, which are defined In First
Corinthians at the 10th chapter-as
the Jew. the Gentle. and the church
Of God. To begin with the last-named.
the coming of Christ will mean the
translation of the church to meet him
in the mir. according to First Thes-
salonlans 4:13-18. 1t would seem to
be after this translation that Christ
comes with his saints and his holy
angels to the earth. as Indicated in
the Scriptures previously referred to.
This coming Is for judgment on the
Gentle nations which "know not Gcd
and obey not the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ"
Bringing the Truth Home.
This hope Of the second coming Of
Christ is the great motive for holy
living. Where 1t really takes hold Of
the hearts Of Christian believers II
sestralns them from known sin ms
uOtHliiE eise uUts.
II Ia also the great comfort in dis.
appointment and trial. for our Lord
said that when he came again I'm the
glory Of his father he would bring his
reward with him. Hence what stIm-
ulus to holy endeavor In the face Of
difficulties and discouragements, for
No word he hath spoken
Was ever yet broken.
Finally. how the thought Of his COM
Ing should move men to repentance
md faith In his name! O. those
solemn words which Paul spnke to the
unbelievers and mockers In Athens
God now commander all men every.
where to repent: because he hath ap-
pointed q day In the which he will
Judge the world In righteousness by
that man whom he hath ordained.
whereof he hath given assurance INTO
all men In that he hath raised him
from the dead"