WE have examined Christ’s discourse on “the last things” (Matthew, chapters xxiv. and xxv.), and found nothing to justify the opinion that He is coming at His second advent to reign personally upon the earth for a lengthened period. Such an event constitutes no part of the divine scheme. What He most explicitly declares is that He is to come personally the second time to perform the work of final judgment in relation to the children of men—to set “the sheep” on His right hand and “the goats” on His left, to say to the righteous, “Come, ye blessed,” and to the wicked, “Depart, ye cursed,” with the solemn result that the latter “shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal.”
We now proceed to consider other places of the New Testament where the Second Advent is plainly referred to. Among these places, the Epistles to the Thessalonians stand out with special prominence. Pre-millenarians seem to have a great delight in studying and discoursing upon these Epistles, and yet we cannot discover one sentence in them that warrants the expectation of a personal reign of Christ upon earth. The fact of His second coming is certainly stated with the greatest clearness. So is also the fact that this great event will be a glorious and happy one for His believing people. Moreover, the exercise of waiting for God’s Son from heaven is commended by the example of the Thessalonians. But these things in faith and practice are in no respect the monopoly of the Pre-millenarians, although they talk as if such were so. All who read the New Testament with intelligence and faith believe these things concerning the Second Advent, and seek to realise the spiritual force of them in their own experience.
Let us now notice the fullest passage on the subject in the First
Epistle to the Thessalonians—chapter iv. 16, 17—“For 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: then 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.” Here the Second Advent is clearly spoken of, and it is stated that “the dead in” Christ and those “which are alive” shall be “caught up to meet the Lord in the air,” with the result that they shall “ever be with the Lord.” There is nothing here to justify belief in the theory of Christ’s personal earthly reign. “To be ever with the Lord” is New Testament language for abode in heaven. Though “the judgment” is not expressly mentioned, its result as regards the saints is, namely, “so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
We pass on to the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians. It appears that after the time at which the First Epistle was sent them, the idea arose in their midst that “the day of Christ” was “at hand,” and some had given up their ordinary daily work as unsuitable in view of such a solemn event. The Apostle makes it plain in his Second Epistle that he had not by word or letter taught them any such thing, but that, when he was personally with them, he had told them things of an entirely contrary nature (2 Thess. ii. 5). They had been deceived by others. He takes occasion, however, to write more fully still on the subject. In his first chapter he thus describes the circumstances of Christ’s second advent: “The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe . . . in that day.” Here we have the passage, already quoted from the First Epistle, amplified. It also conveys to us a distinct echo of Christ’s own personal account of the day of judgment, given in the 25th chapter of Matthew. The day of His second advent is the day of the final condemnation of the disobedient and the final glorification of the saints. Nothing is said concerning a personal reign upon earth. In the second chapter of the Second Epistle, the Apostle explains that “the man of sin” would be revealed before the day of Christ, “that Wicked whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” Some writers who are of our way of thinking take these words in a figurative sense, and consider them to describe Christ’s coming in providence and by His Spirit at the beginning of the Millennium, when there shall be an overthrow of Anti-christ. But as the Epistle dwells so much on the personal advent, may the words not be understood as describing in the first clause what takes place in times of spiritual power, such as the Reformation
and the Millennium—”the man of sin” is consumed by the Spirit and Word that proceed from Christ’s mouth—and then as describing in the second clause, the ultimate destruction of Anti-christ by the brightness of Christ’s coming at the last day? This interpretation coincides with the preceding context relative to Christ’s second coming to judgment. We shall (D.V.) resume the subject in a future issue.
Notes of a Sermon.
Preached by the Rev. D. MACFARLANE, DINGWALL,
on Sabbath, 8th December, 1918.
“I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”—ISAIAH lxii. 6, 7.
THE prophet felt concerned about the Lord’s cause, and as a faithful servant in the Church, he resolved to labour by preaching and praying for its success, and he was encouraged to this by the promises given by God concerning the coming of His kingdom. The Gentiles were to be brought in, and the Church was to be made glorious. She was no more to be forsaken. The Lord Himself was to dwell in her and to delight in her. “Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee and thy land shall be married. For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee” (verses 4, 5). That these promises might be fulfilled, the Lord set up ministers in the Church, as we have in our text. The Church consists of ministers and people, and in order that it might prosper, both parties have their duties assigned to them, and they ought to perform these duties faithfully.
In the text we shall notice the following particulars:—
I.—The watchmen;
II.—They that make mention of the name of the Lord; and
III.—Their work.
I.—The watchmen. Who are the watchmen? Under the Old Testament prophets were watchmen. Under the New Testament the Apostles were watchmen, and after the Apostles left the world, ministers of the gospel were watchmen. All these were set up by God Himself in their office in the Church. They were set up on the walls of Jerusalem. The office of prophets, Apostles, and ministers of the gospel is the highest in the world. It is much higher than the office of kings. As they were set up by God in
the Church, they had the highest authority. There were false prophets who were not set up by God, and there were false Apostles, and these would do no good to the people but much harm. And there were, and still are, men in the office of the ministry who were not set up by God, and in our day these are more numerous than the true ministers of Christ. But the Lord had true ministers in His Church in the past till this day, and He will have such till the end of the world. He will take care of His own cause. This should not hinder people from being anxious about His cause in the world. It is a good sign to see people anxious about their own salvation and about the Lord’s cause.
The difference between prophets and Apostles, and ministers of the gospel now, is that prophets and Apostles were inspired men, while ministers are not now inspired, but they are illuminated by the Spirit and qualified by God for their work. Also the prophets and Apostles had their commission direct from God Himself. There were two things necessary in order to be an Apostle:—
(1) That he had seen the Lord with his bodily eyes; and
(2) That he had his commission direct from Him. Some doubted Paul’s right to be called an Apostle, and in self defence, he said, “Am I not an Apostle? Have I not seen the Lord?” (1 Cor. ix. 1); and it is evident that he had his commission direct from the Lord Jesus. The Lord said to Ananias concerning Saul: “Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake” (Acts ix. 15, 16). “The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth” (Acts xxii. 14). Although ministers in the Church after the Apostle’s time have not seen the Lord with their bodily eyes, they have seen Him by the eye of faith, and that is as sure as if they had seen Him with the bodily eyes; and although they have not their commission direct from Him, they have it from Him through the medium of the Church.
II.—They that make mention of the name of the Lord. These are the praying people. Although these do not occupy the office of the ministry, they have their own place in the Church. And while it is men only that are in the office of the ministry, there are women as well as men in this class of members in it. We shall say more about them when we come to speak of the work of both parties to which we now proceed.
III.—Their work.
- The work of the watchmen. They are to watch day and night, and give warning to the people under their charge when they see any danger approaching, like Ezekiel who was a watchman to warn his people. If he neglected his duty and the people perished, their blood would be acquired of him. But if he warned
them, and if they did not take the warning, their blood was to be upon their own heads. The Apostle Paul was such a faithful watchman that in preaching his last sermon to the Ephesian elders, he said to his hearers, “I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God” (Acts xx. 26, 27). As the office of ministers is the highest office, it is a most responsible office, for they have to give an account of their stewardship to Christ at the last day. In order to be faithful, they must watch and warn. Among men if a sentinel who has to watch and warn, sleeps and neglects his duty, the penalty is death. The jailor at Philippi knew this, and thinking that the prisoners under his charge escaped, while he was asleep, he took hold of his sword to take away his own life, but Paul prevented him by telling him that they were all there. In order to be faithful, ministers must not flatter their people by concealing from them the danger to which they are exposed, but warn them of it. What are they to give warning of?
(1) They are to warn them of the wrath which is to come. All the fallen race of Adam are liable to that wrath. John, the Baptist, as a watchman said, “Who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew iii. 7). By nature we are under the wrath of God, and if we die in that condition, we shall be exposed to His wrath without end. After millions of years are past the wrath of God is a coming wrath. There is no end to it for those that are lost in eternity.
(2) They are to warn them of sin which is the cause of God’s wrath. They are to exhort “The wicked to forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and to return to the Lord who will have mercy upon them and abundantly pardon” (Isaiah lv. 7). If ministers did their duty in this respect, their hearers would be restrained from open transgression from fear of punishment, if the love of God did not actuate them to lead a holy life. They are to warn them not to “neglect the great salvation.” Sin against the gospel is more dangerous than transgression against the law, for it is a sin against the remedy, and if sinners persist in that sin to the end of their life, there is no way of escape from God’s wrath. “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” (Hebrews ii. 3). The Apostle warns himself and others of the danger of coming short of salvation, and enforces his exhortation by what happened to others on account of their unbelief. “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it” (Hebrews iv. 1, 2).
(3) They are to warn their hearers of error in the doctrines to be preached. These doctrines must be scriptural. Paul exhorted Timothy “to preach the word,” that is, the doctrines of God’s
word; and he tells him “that the time was coming when people would not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy iv. 3, 4). That time came after the Apostles left the world, and continued till the Reformation in the sixteenth century. And in our own day it is comparatively few that will endure sound doctrine, and in order to gratify the carnal craving of these, ministers have framed an unscriptural creed and preach the pernicious doctrines of that creed to their people.
(4) They are to give warning of God’s judgments which they see coming upon the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The terrible war that has been raging for several years, and which has now in the Lord’s good providence come to an end, was, among other things, a work of judgment on our own nation and other nations for the prevailing iniquity. Some say the war was the work of the Kaiser, but the Kaiser was only a rod in God’s hand, and when that rod did its work, it was broken to pieces and thrown away, as the German Emperor is now. Faithful ministers were giving warnings of this coming judgment, and Dr. Kennedy in particular gave many solemn warnings of it. Though this judgment has come, it is lamentable to observe that there are very little signs to be seen in our own nation and in other nations that were engaged in the conflict, of turning to the Lord with repentance. God’s goodness in putting an end to the war may lead to repentance, but if not, we may expect another judgment to follow. There were millions of precious lives cut off from the land of the living during the war, some of whom were truly godly and are now enjoying their everlasting rest in heaven, but it is to be feared that the great majority were careless and are now lost in eternity. We sympathize with parents whose sons and other relatives were killed, but parents, who have reason to hope that their sons and other relatives were prepared for death, have no reason “to sorrow like those who have no hope” (1 Thes. iv. 13). God was speaking to us by His works in providence as well as in His written word. “Unto you, O men, I call; and my voice is to the sons of man” (Proverbs viii. 4). If ministers who are watchmen warn their hearers, and if their hearers do not turn from their evil ways, they shall perish in their sins, and those that warn them shall be free from their blood, but if ministers will not warn their people, and their people die in their sins, their blood shall be required of these ministers. Ministers who neglect their duty in this respect shall be punished not only for their own transgression of God’s law, but also for the great sin of being the means of the everlasting ruin of their people. Unfaithful ministers are Satan’s nurses, whom he employs to lull asleep poor sinners by crying, “Peace, peace, to them, when there is no peace.” They are a curse and a plague in the land. The late Rev. Lachlan MacKenzie of Lochcarron said that the time was coming when
unfaithful ministers would be as numerous as the locusts in Egypt, and that the Lord only knew which would be the greater plague of the two.
- The work of the praying people, men and women. They make mention of the name of the Lord. Ministers have to pray as well as to preach, as Ezekiel was commanded to do in order that the dry bones might be brought to life, but their congregations are not set up in the high office of the ministry. They have their own work to do, and among all their other duties they have to pray, and the praying people are as useful in their own place in the Church as ministers. The more numerous these are in any age, the more abundant the blessing comes from above. Although the Lord promised to send down the blessing, He was to do so in answer to prayer. Christ promised to send the Holy Spirit to His people, but they were to tarry in Jerusalem praying for the fulfilment of the promise, and, in due time, the Spirit was sent. There were more in the upper room waiting for the coming of the Spirit than the Apostles; there were many praying people along with them in the upper room. The praying people spoken of in our text were not like the Quakers, silent; they were commanded not to keep silent, but to speak out the desires of their heart. They were to be earnest and importunate in prayer. They were not to give any rest to the Lord till He answered their prayers by establishing and making His Church a praise in the earth. It was not a trouble to the Lord that they prayed to Him so often. He was not like the unjust judge who granted the request of the widow, lest she should by her coming to him so often trouble him (Luke xviii. 5). The Lord gives the Spirit of prayer to His people as the forerunner of a work of revival in His Church on a large scale, but alas, the praying people are very few in our day. Many families go to church who do not keep family worship, and who do not pray that they might receive a blessing in the public means of grace. No wonder although these return home more worldly and harder than before they came to church. But the Lord’s people are a praying people. They pray for themselves, for their minister, for their own families, and for their fellow-sinners, wherever they are in the land of the living. The praying people like the watchmen are not to keep silent day nor night; though they need sleep like other people, they pray while others are fast asleep, and they pray sometimes when they themselves are asleep. The Church said, “I sleep, but my heart waketh” (Song. v. 2).
Concluding remarks.—Ministers, that are faithful in the discharge of their office, warn their people of every evil, and such among us are bound by their ordination vows “to assert, maintain, and defend the doctrines of God’s word as contained in the Confession of Faith and the purity of worship as presently practiced in the Church, and to submit to the government and discipline, and to concur with the same, and not to endeavour directly or indirectly
the prejudice or subversion thereof, but to the utmost of their power, in their station,” to maintain, support, and defend these principles. In addition to this, ministers and other office-bearers of the Free Presbyterian Church are asked at their ordination if they approve of the Deed of Separation, and the same question has been asked parents before they got baptism for their children. And some of the ministers, that have left us, required of parents to promise to abide by the Free Presbyterian Church to the end of their life. These ministers did not do what they made others promise to do. They left the Free Presbyterian Church, not because of any error in the Church, but it is to be feared, for other motives; some for getting a position and honour, and others, because they went so far in advocating Union with a Church, which was not sound either in doctrine or in practice, that they felt that their usefulness in the Free Presbyterian Church had gone, and that they had lost the confidence of their congregations. They thought, at first, that they could carry our people with them into the union, but the people were more steadfast than themselves. We had only two ministers to begin with, and a large number of missionaries, and the people adhered steadfastly to the Church. Many congregations, for several years, were without a minister, and some are so yet. It was, to say the least, a very mean thing for those that left us to have done so without any real cause. In past years there was none louder in their condemnation of the Church of their adoption than they. If they considered themselves bound to enter into the union in order to have the communion of saints, it would not be likely that they would remain long in the Free Church without seeking to unite with other corrupt Churches, on the ground that their people are baptized, according to the latitudinarian view now held. The communion of saints inculcated in the Word of God is a communion of the people of God who are in some degree sanctified or made holy, and not a communion with all that are baptized. Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, addresses his letter, “Unto the Church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints” (1 Cor. i. 2). But in the midst of all changes we should resolve and act like Joshua, who said to the children of Israel, “Choose ye this day whom ye will serve . . . but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua xxiv. 15).
We would warn our people, young and old, to adhere to the faithful testimony raised in defence of God’s truth in 1893, and not to follow the example of ministers who change their position with every wind that blows.
These men have done all in their power to pull down our Church which they had a hand in building up in the past, and vowed to defend. In joining the Free Presbyterian Church, they did not count the cost as the man of whom Christ says, “For which of you intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first,
and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest, haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build and was not able to finish” (Luke xiv. 28, 30). Hence their failure in not continuing in the work which they began to do with us. In changing their position, we are persuaded that outside influences were brought to bear upon them which they failed to resist. Some of them profess to have great happiness in their changed attitude towards our Church, but it is to be feared that their happiness is a delusion, for men cannot have true happiness in doing that which is wrong. These men are now preaching in opposition to us, some of them in our neighbourhood. “But if God be for us, who can be against us?” Notwithstanding all the opposition offered to us for the last twenty-five years, hitherto the Lord hath helped us, and He, that helped us in the past, will help us to the end, and these men who say they have happiness may find out that they may have to sorrow for their inconsistency, before they get to heaven. How often we learn by experience how little confidence we can put in men! But in the midst of all changes, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever.” Let us then adhere to Him and to His truth, although all men would fail us. Let us abide by the testimony we have raised, and it is our belief that that testimony shall be kept up in our Church till the Millennium, “When the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the face of the sea.”