CHAPTER SIX
As we have shown in the last chapter, the
apostles and their converts looked for Christ to return in their own lifetime.
They did not affirm that He would but they believed that He might.
But eighteen centuries have passed since then and yet He has not come. The
question therefore arises, What evidence is there that the second advent of
our Lord is now nigh at hand - that is, nigh as judged even by human
measurement of time? May there not be another eighteen centuries which
must yet run their weary course before the Sun of righteousness arises with
healing in His wings? Have we any means for ascertaining the approximate
period when our Lord may be expected to appear? Have we any good ground for
believing that another long interval will not yet elapse before the Saviour
comes back again?
In connection with other great events which God
has brought about in human affairs, fair warning has been given to announce
their approach. The Flood-judgment, the length of sojourn and the deliverance
of the children of Israel from Egypt, and the time of our Lord's first advent,
may be cited as illustrations. Thus, before each of the marked interpositions
of God in the past, plain intimation of their approach was given. Has then the
time - the approximate time - of the great consummating event of all events
been left shrouded in such secrecy that it is impossible for us to know
anything about it until it arrives? Nay verily. The inspired language of Holy
Writ declares - "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
so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety,
then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child;
and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that
day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and
the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore
let us not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober" (1 Thess.
5:1-6). Words could scarcely be plainer.
God does not desire His people to remain in
ignorance concerning the period when His Son shall return. Just as of old, He
said concerning the impending destruction of Sodom "Shall I hide from
Abraham that thing which I do?" so has God graciously taken the Church
into His counsels and revealed to us a "part of His ways" at least. We do not
know the day or the hour, we are unable to determine the precise year when the
Redeemer shall return, but we do know that His coming is now near at hand. We
know it from the testimony of God's living oracles. He has not left us in
darkness, but has placed in our hands the more sure Word of Prophecy "whereunto
we do well that we take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place,
until the day dawn and the day star arise in our hearts." The prophets of Old
Testament times are commended because that they "searched what manner of
time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when He testified
beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow"
(1 Pet. 1:11); surely, then, a similar "searching" is commendable in us.
As we study the Old Testament Scriptures we
discover that a number of "Signs" were given to herald the first advent of
Christ. There were conditions to be realized and certain events which would
come to pass, and as these conditions were met and as these events occurred
those who "looked for redemption in Jerusalem" (Luke 2:38) saw in these things
so many intimations of the approach of Messiah's advent and His public
manifestation. The Scriptures of Israel revealed the fact that the Redeemer
would be born in Bethlehem of Judea (Micah 5:2); they foretold that He should
be a lineal descendant of David and therefore of the Tribe of Judah (Ps.
132:11); they announced that a forerunner should go before Him make straight
His way (Isaiah 40:3); they went so far as to set forth the approximate date of
His appearing, namely, before the scepter had departed from Judah (Gen. 49:10),
while the Temple was yet standing (Mal. 3:1), and sometime before the
sixty-ninth week of Daniel had run its course (Dan. 9:24-27). In like manner,
the New Testament Scriptures also record certain "Signs" in connection with our
Lord's second coming to the earth. We say "to the earth," for let it be
distinctly understood that Scripture interposes nothing whatever between the
present hour and the coming of Christ for His saints, when He descends into the
air and catches them up to Himself. All the "Signs" recorded in the Word of
God have to do with His return to the earth. But as there will be only a
comparatively short interval between the two stages in the second coming of
Christ, the Signs which proclaim the one announce the other. If the
fulfillment of certain inspired predictions declare that the return of Christ
to the earth is near at hand, then His descent to the air is so much
nearer still. If we know that the end of the Age itself is now almost reached,
then it is doubly certain that the rapture of the saints may occur at any hour.
Yet, we repeat, the various Signs to which we shall call our readers' attention
have to do with our Lord's return to the earth. We repeat this for the sake of
warning, for as another has said, the business of the Christian is not to be
looking for signs but listening for a Shout (Haldeman). Yet, while we ought
not to be looking for signs we may look at them (W. Scott).
As we have said, the Old testament Scriptures
foretold certain things concerning the Lord when He should appear:
fore-announced Signs were to characterize the times of His advent. But the
Jews failed to discern these Signs and the Saviour reproached them for their
failure. Said He, "When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for
the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the
sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky;
but can ye not discern the Signs of the Times?" (Matt. 16:2,3). The
reason why the Pharisees and Sadducees were blind to the significance of the
things which were then transpiring before their eyes, was that they were
ignorant of the contents of that Book in which these Signs were recorded. This
is clear from the words of our Lord on many occasions - "Ye do err, not
knowing the Scriptures" (Matt. 22:29). The reason why they were ignorant
of the contents and real meaning of the Scriptures was because they had
substituted their own "tradition" for the Word of God (Mark 7:13). And history
has repeated itself! We are living in a day when the vast majority of people
are unable to "discern the Signs of the Times," when our religious leaders
"err, not knowing the Scriptures" because they are following their own
"tradition" rather than the Word of God. The Lord Jesus rebuked the
Pharisees and Sadducees because they could "discern the face of the sky" but
would not take the necessary pains to "discern the Signs of the Times." Then
let us beware lest we fall through the same example of unbelief. Let us
approach the Scriptures reverently and prayerfully, seeking to discover our
position on the calendar of prophecy and thus be prepared for the solemn yet
blessed events now so near at hand.
While it is true that the great majority of the
Jews who lived during the days of our Lord's first advent failed to discern the
Signs of the Times and in consequence did not profit by the announcements of
their prophets, nevertheless, there were a few who were "waiting for the
Consolation of Israel" (Luke 2:25), And so it is now. By the grace of God,
there is a remnant today who are reading the Signs of the Times in the light
cast by the prophetic Word. At some of these Signs we shall now look. And