| THE
PROSPECT PLACED BEFORE THE SAINTS.
As we have seen, the Scriptures distinctly
announce the Great Tribulation as the culminating judgment appointed for
apostate Israel. It further appears that Israel will plunge into it in
the ignorance of unbelief. They at least do not know what is in store
for them. The only ones who know of the coming of the Great Tribulation
are the few saints who take sufficient interest in the Return of the
Lord Jesus to search the Scriptures for light upon that event. So that,
if the posttribulation view be correct, only those saints who love the
Lord's Appearing have before them the known prospect and bitter
anticipation of undergoing the judgment expressly pronounced upon Israel
for its apostasy.
But the Scriptures do not so speak. On the
contrary, they clearly and definitely put before the saints of God the
prospect of the resurrection of the dead in Christ incorruptible, the
changing of the living, and the catching away of both to meet the Lord
in the air, without the intervention of any definite period of
tribulation. In the Scriptures there is no confusion in regard to the
two outlooks, that of unbelieving Israel toward the Great Tribulation,
and that of the saints towards the Coming of Christ. Those several
prospects are as different in character as are the two classes of human
beings to which they respectively pertain; one class having rejected
Christ, the other being composed of those who believe on Him and belong
to Him. According to the Scripture there is no more likelihood of the
participation of the saints in the prospect of apostate Israel, than of
participation by apostate Israel in the prospect of the Church. How is
it possible to confuse two things so radically distinct as these? It
amounts practically to saying that, in the exceedingly important matter
of the immediate prospect which the Word of God puts before mankind, it
matters not at all whether men accept Christ, or reject Him.
The very fact that the Tribulation is the
era of the rule of Antichrist, and that its horrors are the fruit of his
rule, would seem to forbid the thought that they Who are Christ's are to
partake of it.
The Lord said to the Jews, "I am come
in My Father's Name, and ye receive Me not: if another shall come in his
own name, him ye will receive" (John 5: 43). That "other"
is Antichrist. And the apostle Peter said: "But ye denied the Holy
One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you"
(Acts 3: 14). The fruit of that choice will be tasted in the reign of
Antichrist. By whom? Surely by those who made that choice. "Say to
the righteous that it shall be well with him, for they shall eat the
fruit of their doings. Woe to the wicked! it shall be ill with him, for
the reward of his hands" (what his own hands have matured)
"shall be given him" (Isa. 3: 10, 11).
It seems, therefore, a strange confusion to
assign to those who have received the Christ of God by faith the
consequences specially visited upon those who rejected Him, which
consequences flow directly from their rejection.
THE
IMMEDIATE PROSPECT OF THE SAINTS.
Numerous passages of Scripture testify
concerning that which is put before the saints as their immediate
prospect. We lay stress upon the word "immediate" because it
has been frequently said that one may be none the less sincerely looking
for and expecting the Coming of the Lord, because he expects the Great
Tribulation to come first. But to that we must reply that the character
and duration of the Great Tribulation are such that no human being could
look calmly through and beyond it to a joyful expectation of the Lord's
Appearing. Made as we are, if Antichrist and the Great Tribulation be
our immediate prospect, then those fearful events must necessarily
occupy us, practically to the exclusion of "the Blessed Hope."
It has even been said that the waiting for
Christ to come after the Tribulation is like waiting for a loved one to
arrive by train, and meanwhile observing the semaphore signal which must
first fall. Such an one (so runs the argument) is none the less eagerly
expecting the coming one because he knows he cannot come until after the
signal falls. But is there any likeness at all between the two cases?
An illustration, to be effective, should
resemble the thing illustrated. The dropping of a semaphore signal is a
very simple affair; but what would be the state of mind of the waiting
one if he knew that, before the expected arrival, he must pass through
years of horrors of such character and magnitude that the world has
never seen the like, and never will again? If that were his immediate
prospect, how much room would there be in his heart for anticipated
enjoyment of the loved one's remote arrival? Could one speak lightly of
the Great Tribulation if he had an idea of what it will be to those who
have to endure its awful experiences?
When we recall the unspeakable cruelties
inflicted by the Romans upon the early Church, and the awful atrocities
of the Inquisition; and when we remember that the Great Tribulation will
exceed those periods of horror, we can but wonder that the Great
Tribulation should be likened to the mere dropping of a semaphore
signal. Thankful we should be that the Lord has given us some tokens to
herald the "times and seasons" of His Coming; and deeply
thankful, that the Great Tribulation is not one of them.
So the important practical question is,
What does the Word of God put before the saints as their immediate
prospect? The answer to this question is involved in no doubt or
uncertainty.
Among the Scriptures that bear upon this
question are the very Scriptures, Matt. 24, Mark 13, and Luke 12 and 21,
which are cited by those who hold the post-tribulation view. We call
attention to the fact that, in the very discourse in which the Lord
foretells the coming of the Great Tribulation in the land of Judea, He
bids His own disciples to watch-not for the Tribulation, but-for
His own Coming. "Watch, therefore: for ye know not what hour your
Lord doth come" (ver. 42). This is in accordance with all
Scripture in placing the Lord's Coming before the minds of the saints as
something for which they are to be ever watching.
The corresponding words in Luke's Gospel
are, "Watch ye, therefore, and pray at every season"
(Luke 21: 36, R.V.). These words are addressed to the common
understanding of common people; and their meaning and purpose are
transparently clear.
Furthermore, in the passage in Matthew, the
Lord says: "But know this that if the good man of the house had
known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched.
. . . Therefore, be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye
think not the Son of Man cometh " (verses 43, 44).
These words give, and plainly were intended
to give, the impression that, as a thief might come at any hour of
the night, without any preliminary warnings of his coming, so the
Lord might come for His saints at any hour of the night of His absence,
without conspicuous signs of His Advent. We say "conspicuous"
signs, for there is a distinct intimation that those who
"watch" will have some preliminary indications of His Coming;
just as a watchful person in the house might hear the faint sounds of
the thief's preparations to enter. It is pertinent to observe that, in
speaking to His own disciples of His Coming for them, the Lord breathes
no word about the Tribulation.
Then follows the solemn warning to servants
concerning the effect of saying in the heart "My Lord delayeth His
Coming?" Why is this warning given just here? We cannot ignore it,
nor the connection in which it is given. For there it stands in
immediate connection with the event which not a few servants of the Lord
are introducing, in their teaching, between the Lord's people and the
expectation of His Coming. We would not for a moment suggest that the
teachers referred to are in the category mentioned by the Lord, for we
are sure they are not saying "in their heart" that the
Lord delays His Coming, much less are they doing the things mentioned in
verse 49. Indeed, we must admit that one might be in fact saying in his
heart, "My Lord delayeth His Coming," even though holding the
view of His Coming as an imminent possibility.
What, therefore, we take to be the purpose
of this part of the discourse is, to point out the consequences that are
liable to ensue through holding any doctrine which causes the heart of
the saint to regard the Lord's Coming as a remote event. We learn from
these words of our Lord that it is exceedingly important in His Eyes
that His servants should ever be expecting His arrival. The heart
-expectation of His Coming will lead to diligent and faithful service.
As written in Luke 12: 36, He wishes them to be always "like
unto men that wait for their Lord." (The writer well remembers the
powerful effect this Scripture had upon him when he first came upon it,
very early in his christian life. The impression has never passed away,
and he earnestly prays it never may, "till He comes.") Upon
such servants as He shall find watching when He comes He pronounces a
special blessing. How could this blessing be gained, especially by such
as pass away from the earth before He comes, except by always
watching for Him-which is exactly what He bids them do? And
how can they be always watching for Him if they expect before His Coming
a period of years which cannot even begin for some time yet?
In the same Scripture (Luke 12: 38) the
Lord intimates that He might "come in the second watch, or come in
the third watch" of the night. How is that compatible with
the view that He cannot come until the arrival of "the day"?
Especially would we direct attention to the
words of the Lord recorded in Mark 13: 32-37:
"But of that day and that hour knoweth
no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but
the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the
time is. For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who
left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man
his work, and commanded the porter to watch."
(Surely this command to watch means that
the servant should do so from the very time of the departure).
"Watch YE, therefore; for YE know not
when the master of the house cometh; at even, or at midnight,
or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning: lest coming
suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto
all, Watch."
It could hardly be said in plainer language
that the Coming of the Lord might be in any one of the four watches of
the night.
So much for the Lord's own teaching
concerning the immediate prospects before His saints. And as the Lord
taught His disciples so have the apostles taught the Church. Always and
invariably the prospect put before the saints has been the Coming of
the Lord. Never, among all the numerous references to that prospect
in which their teaching abounds, is there so much as an intimation or
hint that the saints, or any of them, are to share apostate Israel's
portion, the Great Tribulation. The saints were turned to God from idols
to wait for His Son from heaven, Who delivers us from the wrath to
come (1 Thess 1: 9, 10). They look for the Saviour to come out of
heaven to change the bodies of their humiliation (Phil. 3: 21). They
look for Him to appear the second time, apart from sin, unto salvation
(Heb. 9: 28). Always thus. Never is any other prospect put before the
saints by the inspired apostles.
So we here have that clear guidance which,
as we said at the outset, the Scriptures afford for all practical
purposes; and these are the important purposes.
We may not possess the ability to settle
with certainty by definite Scripture testimony, the sequence of
predicted events. The wish to do that may be merely the prompting of
idle curiosity. But we can, and undoubtedly we should, follow
the example of Christ and His apostles in keeping always before
ourselves and before our fellow saints, the prospect of the Lord's
Coming for us, as an ever imminent possibility, and in admonishing
ourselves and them, to be in instant readiness for Him. Beyond any
doubt, that is, according to the Scriptures, our immediate
prospect.
It needs no deep study of prophecy to
discover what the Lord and His apostles taught as to this; and it is as
evident as anything need be, that those brethren who preach and teach
that the Church must share with Israel the terrible experiences of the
Great Tribulation, and that there can be no Coming of the Lord for His
saints, and no Resurrection or Rapture, until after the career of
Antichrist is ended, have departed, in a matter of great practical
importance, from the teaching of the Word of God.
Thus the discussion brings us, at the
outcome, to the consideration of the practical effect of the
teaching. Those who assume the serious responsibility of instructing the
saints are bound to consider very carefully what will be the effect of
the doctrine upon their hearts and lives of those who receive it. Will
it help them? Will it increase their vigilance, admonish them as to
their walk, and put them on guard against the seductions of the world
and the inclinations of the flesh? Or will it harm them, and tend rather
to make them careless and indifferent in their conduct? If the teaching
be such as cannot be of practical benefit to the saints, but is more
likely to do harm (as I conceive must certainly be the effect of the
teaching we are reviewing), then we are justified in regarding it with
strong suspicion.
Our friends do not (so far as I am aware)
point to any wholesome influence which their teaching could possibly
exert upon the hearts or lives of the Lord's people. They say however,
that, if the teaching be according to Scripture, it must be taught and
accepted, regardless of its practical effect. And to this proposition we
must needs agree. Let the doctrine of God's Word be given to His people
regardless of what the consequences may seem to be. But we cannot
conceive that a doctrine which is according to Scripture could possibly
exert any but a purifying influence upon those who receive it.
Our brother, Mr. White, fully realizes that
the expectation of the immediate Coming of the Lord does exert a most
wholesome influence upon the heart, for he says, in concluding his
pamphlet, "With very many others I long with increasing longing,
for a fuller and deeper consecration to the Lord, both in word and deed.
I believe this to be the one great need of the present time; but
I fear lest, in our anxiety to promote it, we should be found
dislocating the truth of God." We should, indeed, deeply regret to
be found dislocating the truth of God, even though it be done with the
praise worthy motive of promoting what our brother well says is the
"one great need of the present time." We are confident,
however, that there is no danger of "dislocating the truth"
though following the example of the inspired New Testament writers, who
never, in a single instance, intruded upon the outlook of the saints the
horrors of the Great Tribulation. We believe the Holy Ghost, in speaking
of watching for the Lord's Coming, always says "To-day," never
"To-morrow, or the day after."
Therefore we arrive at the end of our
inquiry with the strong conviction that the attitude of "Looking
for the Saviour," in expectation of His possible Coming any day, is
not only most salutary and purifying in its influence upon the
believer's conduct, but also is in full accord with the teaching of the
Word of God.
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