The Washington herald., 1918-02-02

them in the clouds, to meet the Lord
IN the air: and so shall we ever be
with the Lord. Wherefore comfort
one another with these words"
Thes 4a7-1S
/ The meeting here mentioned is to
be the greatest meeting the Bible tells
US anything about There have been
some wonderful meetings. but never
has there been one to compare with
this, II was a wonderful meeting the
children Of Israel had on the shore OF
the Red Sea. after Pharoah's pursuing
host had been destroyed in the angry
waters. and Miriam. the prophecies.
with her timbrel. led the people in
singing. Sing ye to the Lord, for He
hath triumphed gloriously; the horse
and rider hath He thrown into-the
sea" CEx. 15:Z.) 1t was a wonder
fnl meeting when Jesus preached the
Sermon on the Mount, and another
when He fed the multitude with FIVE
loaves and two fishes. And that was
cost. when the Spirit came like a
5 Peters preaching about 5000 were
converted.
Early Day Meetings.
All these were great meetings, and
any number of others have been held.
both in former times and in our own
day. Those were great meetings in
the early days Of Methodism. when
Wesley and Whitefield preached to
great multitudes in the fields. But
no meeting has ever been held any
where or in any time that could be-
gin to compare in importance with the
greatest of all meetings that Is to be
held in the air. when our Lord comes
to make up His Jewels. That meeting
Is the one for which all others have
been preparing the way. 1t will be the
crowning meeting OF all history. The
purpose Of all that has been done in
this world up to the present time has
been to prepare for that great meeting
in the air.
We are not told when Jesus viii
come. but We are told that His COM
ing Is sure, and We are charged to
watch for it. Yet the church today
shows as little concern about His COM
ing again as His disciples did about
His going away.
The second coming Of Christ is the
emphatic doctrine of the New Testa-
ment 1t is mentioned and referred
: ~ AAA1AC AAAcLAA 1-Jt NAAlESs ana yet AIe
majority of church members never
heard a sermon on the subject; that
Is the reason they think so little OF
looking into the matter themselves.
The church makes much of baptism.
but in all of Paul's epistles baptism
Is only mentioned or referred to thir-
teen times. while the return of the
Lord is mentioned fifty times. This
certainly shows which he considerd
the most important.
Who would care to travel on a train
where the engineer would never read
bis orders? Who would ride on
ship where the captain never looked at
the compass? You may call it rub
bish. but the disciples called it the.
blessed hope" why call We Ne
Lord. Lord. and do not the things l
say?' If Jesus had said, 81 will not
return for 2.O00 years." nobody would
have begun to look for Him before
the time was near, but He expects His
followers to be always looking for
His return. Just as Simeon and Anna
watched and waited for His first COM
ing, so we should be watching and
waiting for His return. 1t is not
enough to say, "Oh, I'm a Christian;
I'm all right" We are not all right
unless we obey the command to
watch, for it is certainly as much of
command 70 look for the coming of
sfhe Lord as it is to keep the Sabbath
holy. Nothing else will do so much
70 keep us right where we should be
in our religious experience. Knowing
that the bank examiner may drop in
at any moment keeps many a cashier
from becoming dishonest
A ggT
millennium will come first, then Christ
viii come at the end of it" What
people think has nothing to do with
u. but what God says has everything
to do with it. Many have missed
railroad trains because they believed
they would come at a time that did
not correspond to the official time
card. You will see Gods time card
IL you carefully read the Bible. Not
word can be found in the Bible
that gives the slightest hope for the
nellennium before the return of
Christ; but you can find plenty of
verses that tell you to look for the
coming Of the Lord first.
Jesus Makes Millennium.
There can be no millennium until
Jesus comes; 1t is His presence that
makes the millennium. You might as
well talk of daylight not coming un-
til the sun goes down The miIlen-
mum cannot begin until Satan has
been bound in the pit. Nothing is
more certain than that the glory of
God shall cover the earth, but IL will
be after Jesus comes.
Many have an idea the, world win
grow better until the coming of the
millennium, and everybody will be
converted, and you hear that stun
preached. but the Bible does not not
teach any such trash.
Many think and preach that the
millennium viii be brought about BY
the increase Of knowledge, culture,
great discoveries. such as the gaso-
line engine. automobile, electricity.
radium. nquifed air, wireless teleg-
raphy. aIrships. etc. These have
nothing to do with bringing the MIL
lennium- It Is the personal reign of
Christ that brings the millennium.
Those who have been the greatest
blessing to the world were filled with
this hope-and preached It
The word Of God was vitiated and
neutraliZed by the traditions of men
when Jesus first came, and that is
very largely the trouble in present
times. Instead Of going to the Bible
to- ind out what God says, the
preacher Is too apt to go to his books, |
10 see what the great men of his |
church have to say about it, and |
all their preaching and teaching takes
its color from the glasses the rabbis |
wear. Just as was the case in the |
time OF Jesus The fact that Jesus
was not recognized by the high-up |
authorities. but was rejected and cru
ctned as an imposter, shows what a
DANGEROUS and deadlx fhfn, a. 4. q, |