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Overland Monthly / OV222 - Our Lord's Return
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OV222 OUR LORDÂ’S RETURN
BY C. T. RUSSELL Pastor Brooklyn and London Tabernacles
"If I go I will come again."—#Joh 14:3."
THAT our Lord intended his disciples to
understand that for some purpose, in some manner, and at some time, He
would come again is, we presume, admitted and believed by all familiar
with the Scriptures, for, when He said, "If I go, I will come again" (#Joh 14:3)
He certainly referred to a second personal coming.
Quite a number think that when sinners
are converted that forms a part of the coming of Christ, and that so he
will continue coming until all the world is converted. Then, say they,
he will have fully come.
These evidently forget the testimony of
the Scriptures on the subject, which declare the reverse of their
expectation; that at the time of our LordÂ’s second coming the world
will be far from converted to God; that "In the last days perilous
times shall come, for men shall be lovers of pleasure more than lovers
of God" (#2Ti 3:1-4); that "Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived." (#2Ti 3:13.)
They forget the MasterÂ’s special warning to his "little flock": "Take
heed to yourselves lest that day come upon you unawares, for as a snare
shall it come on all them (not taking heed) that dwell on the face of
the whole earth." (#Lu 21:34,35.)
Again, we may rest assured that when it is said, "All kindreds of the
earth shall wail because of him," when they see him coming (#Re 1:7),
no reference is made to the conversion of sinners. Do all men wail
because of the conversion of sinners? On the contrary, if this passage
refers, as almost all admit, to ChristÂ’s presence on earth, it teaches
that all on earth will not love his appearing, as they certainly would
do if all were converted.
Some expect an actual coming and presence
of the Lord, but set the time of the event a long way off, claiming
that through the efforts of the Church in its present condition the
world must be converted, and thus the Millennial Age be introduced.
They claim that when the world has been converted, and Satan bound, and
the knowledge of the Lord caused to fill the whole earth, and when the
nations learn war no more, then the work of the Church in her present
condition will be ended; and that when she has accomplished this great
and difficult task the Lord will come to wind up earthly affairs,
reward believers and condemn sinners.
Some Scriptures, taken disconnectedly,
seem to favor this view; but when GodÂ’s Word and plan are viewed as a
whole these will all be found to favor the opposite view, viz., that
Christ comes before the conversion of the world, and reigns for the
purpose of converting the world; that the Church is now being tried,
and that the reward promised the overcomers is that after being
glorified they shall share with the Lord Jesus in that reign, which is
GodÂ’s appointed means of blessing the world and causing the knowledge
of the Lord to come to every creature. Such are the LordÂ’s special
promises: "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my
throne....And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."
The Apostle (#Ac 15:14) tells us that the main object of the Gospel in
OV223 the present age is "to take out a
people" for Christ’s name—the overcoming Church, which, at his second
advent will be united to him and receive his name. The witnessing to
the world during this age is a secondary object.
My Plans are Not as Your Plans.
A further examination of GodÂ’s revealed
plans will give a broader view of the object of both the first and
second advents; and we should remember that both events stand related
as parts of one plan. The specific work of the first advent was to die
for men; and that of the second is to restore, and bless, and liberate
the redeemed. Having given his life a ransom for all, our Savior
ascended to present that sacrifice to the Father, thus making
reconciliation for manÂ’s iniquity. He tarries and permits "the prince
of this world" to continue the rule of evil, until after the selection
of "The Bride, the LambÂ’s Wife," who to be accounted worthy of such
honor, must overcome the influence of the present evil world. Then the
work of giving to the world of mankind the great blessings secured to
them by his sacrifice will be due to commence, and He will come forth
to bless all the families of the earth.—#Heb 9:24  ,28; #Ac 15:14; #Re 3:21.
True, the restoring and blessing could
have commenced at once, when the ransom price was paid by the Redeemer,
and then the coming of Messiah would have been but one event, the reign
and blessing beginning at once, as the Apostles at first expected. (#Ac 1:6). But God had provided "some better thing for us"—the Christian Church (#Heb 11:40 );
hence it is in our interest that the reign of Christ is separated from
the sufferings of the Head by these eighteen centuries.
This period between the first and second
advents, between the giving of the ransom for all and the blessing of
all, is for the trial and selection of the Church, which is the Body of
Christ; otherwise there would have been only the one advent, and the
work which will be done during the period of His second presence, in
the Millennium, would have followed the resurrection of Jesus. Or,
instead of saying that the work of the second advent would have
followed at once the work of the first, let us say, rather, that had
Jehovah not purposed the selection of the "little flock," "the Body of
Christ," the first advent would not have taken place when it did, but
would have occurred at the time of the second advent, and there would
have been but one. For God has evidently designed the permission of
evil for six thousand years, as well as that the cleansing and
restitution of all shall be accomplished during the seventh thousand.
Thus seen, the coming of Jesus, as the
sacrifice and ransom for sinners, was just long enough in advance of
the blessing and restoring time to allow for the selection of his
"little flock" of "joint heirs." This will account to some for the
apparent delay on GodÂ’s part in giving the blessings promised, and
provided for, in the ransom. The blessings will come in due time as at
first planned; though for a glorious purpose, the price was laid down
longer beforehand than men would have expected. Bide with patience:
they will come.
Different Classes of "Elect.
Those who claim that Jehovah has been
trying for six thousand years to convert the world, and failing all the
time, must find it difficult to reconcile such views with the Bible
assurance that all GodÂ’s purposes shall be accomplished, and that His
Word shall not return unto Him void, but shall prosper in the thing
whereto it was sent. (#Isa 55:11 .)
The fact that the world has not yet been converted, and that the
knowledge of the Lord has not yet filled the earth, is a proof that it
has not yet been sent on that mission.
Glancing backward, we notice the
OV224 selection, or election, of Abraham
and certain of his offspring as the channels through which the promised
Seed, the blesser of all the families of the earth, shall come. (#Gal 3:16 ,29.)
We note also the selection of Israel from
among all nations, as the one in whom, typically, God illustrated how
the great work for the world should be accomplished—their deliverance
from Egypt, their Canaan, their Covenant, their laws, their sacrifices
for sins, for the blotting out of guilt and for the sprinkling of the
people, and their priesthood for the accomplishment of all this, being
a miniature and typical representation of the real priesthood and
sacrifices for the purifying of the world of mankind. God, speaking to
Israel, said: "You only have I known of all the families of the earth."
(#Am 3:2.)
This people alone was recognized until Christ came; yes, and
afterwards, for his ministry was confined to them, and He would not
permit His disciples to go to others—saying, as he sent them out, "Go
not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans
enter ye not." Why so, Lord? Because, he explains, "I am not sent but
to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (#Mt 10:5,6; 15:24.)
All His time was devoted to them until
His death, and there was done His first work for the world, the first
display of His free and all-abounding grace, which in "due time" shall
indeed be a blessing to all. When the called-out company (called to be
sons of God, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ our
Lord—who have made their calling and election sure) is complete, then
this feature of the plan of God for the worldÂ’s salvation will be only
beginning.
Not until it is selected, developed, and exalted to power will the Seed bruise the serpentÂ’s head. "The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly." (#Ro 16:20; #Ge 3:15.)
The Gospel Age makes ready the chaste
virgin, the faithful Church, for the coming Bridegroom. And in the end
of the age, when she is made "ready" (#Re 19:7),
the Bridegroom comes, and they that are ready go in with him to the
marriage—the second Adam and the second Eve become one, and then the
glorious work of restitution begins. In the next dispensation the
Church will be no longer the espoused virgin, but the Bride; and then
shall "The Spirit and the Bride say, Come!
And let him that heareth say, Come! And
let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the
water of life freely."—#Re 22:17.
The Gospel Age, so far from closing the
ChurchÂ’s mission, is only a necessary preparation for the great future
work. For this promised and coming blessing "the whole creation
groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now, waiting for the
manifestation of the sons of God." (#Ro 8:22,19.)
And it is a blessed fact that free grace in fullest measure, not merely
for the living, but for those who have died as well, is provided in our
FatherÂ’s plan as the blessed opportunity of the coming age.
Pre-Millennarians Come Short
Those who can see something of the
blessings due at the second advent, and who appreciate in some measure
the fact that the Lord comes to bestow the grand blessing secured by
his death, fail to see this last proposition; viz., that those in their
graves have as much interest in that glorious reign of Messiah as those
who at that time will be less completely under the bondage of
corruption—death. But as surely as Jesus died for all, they all must
have the blessings and opportunities which he purchased with his own
precious blood. Hence we should expect blessings in the Millennial Age
upon all those in their graves as well as upon those not in them; and
of this we will find abundant proof as we look further into the LordÂ’s
testimony on the subject. It is because of GodÂ’s plan for their release
that those in the tomb are called "prisoners of hope." What is, and is
to be, their condition?
OV225 Did God make no provision for
these, whose condition and circumstances He must have foreseen? Or did
He, from the foundation of the world make a wretched and merciless
provision for their hopeless, eternal torment, as many of His children
claim?
Or has He yet in store in the heights and
depths, and lengths and breadths of His plan, an opportunity for all to
come to the knowledge of that only Name, and, by becoming obedient to
the conditions, to enjoy everlasting life? We read that "God is love,"
and "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish." (#1Jo 4:8; #Joh 3:16.)
Would it not seem that if God loved the
world so much He might have made provision, not only that believers
might be saved, but also that all might hear in order to believe?
Again, when we read, "That was the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (#Joh 1:9),
our observation says, Not so; every man has not been enlightened; we
cannot see that our Lord has lighted more than a few of earthÂ’s
billions.
Even in this comparatively enlightened
day, millions of heathen give no evidence of such enlightenment;
neither did the Sodomites, nor multitudes of others in past ages.
Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death "for every man." (#Heb 2:9 .)
But if He tasted death for the entire race of over twenty billions and
from any cause that sacrifice becomes efficacious to only one billion,
was not the redemption comparatively a failure? And in that case, is
not the ApostleÂ’s statement too broad? When again we read, "Behold I
bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people" (#Lu 2:10),
and looking about us, see that it is only to a "little flock" that it
has been good tidings, and not to all people, we would be compelled to
wonder whether the angels had not overstated the goodness and breadth
of their message, and overrated the importance of the work to be
accomplished by the Messiah whom they announced.
Another statement is, "There is one God,
and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave
himself a ransom for all." (#1Ti 2:5,6.) A ransom for all?
Then why should not all the ransomed have
some benefit from ChristÂ’s death? Why should not all come to a
knowledge of the truth, that they may believe?
Plan of the Ages—The God-Given Key.
Without the key, how dark, how
inconsistent, these statements appear; but when we find the key to
GodÂ’s plan, these texts all declare with one voice, "God is love!" This
key is found in the latter part of the text last quoted—"Who gave
Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." God has a due
time for every thing. He could have testified it to these in their past
lifetime; but since he did not it proves that their due time must be
future. For those who will be of the Church, the Bride of Christ, and
share the Kingdom honors, the present is the "due time" to hear; and
whosoever now has an ear to hear, let him hear and heed, and he will be
blessed accordingly. Though Jesus gave our ransom before we were born,
it was not our "due time" to hear of it for long years afterward, and
only the appreciation of it brought responsibility; and this, only to
the extent of our ability and appreciation. The same principle applies
to all; in GodÂ’s due time it will be testified to all, and all will
then have opportunity to believe and to be blessed by it.
The prevailing opinion is that death ends
all probation; but there is no Scripture which so teaches. Since God
does not purpose to save men on account of ignorance, but "will have
all men to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (#1Ti 2:4);
and since the masses of mankind have died in ignorance; and since
"there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave"
(#Ec 9:10);
OV226 therefore God has prepared for the
awakening of the dead, in order to knowledge, faith and salvation.
Hence His plan is, that "as all in Adam die, even so shall all in
Christ be made alive, but each one in his own order"—the Gospel Church,
the Bride, the Body of Christ, first; afterward, during the Millennial
Age, all who shall become His during that thousand years of His
presence (mistranslated coming), the LordÂ’s due time for all to know
him, from the least to the greatest.—#1Co 15:22.
Thus we see that all these hitherto
difficult texts are explained by the statement—"to be testified in due
time." In due time, that true Light shall lighten every man that has
come into the world. In due time, it shall be "good tidings of great
joy to all people."
And in no other way can these Scriptures be used without wresting. Paul carries out this line of argument with emphasis in #Ro 5:18,19.
He reasons that, as all men were condemned to death because of AdamÂ’s
transgression, so, also, ChristÂ’s righteousness, and obedience even
unto death, have become a ground of justification; and that as all lost
life in the first Adam, so all, aside from personal demerit, may
receive life by accepting the second Adam.
Peter tells us that this restitution is spoken of by the mouth of all the holy prophets. (#Ac 3:19-21.)
They all teach it. Ezekiel says of the
valley of dry bones, "These bones are the whole house of Israel." And
God says to Israel, "Behold, O my people, I will open your graves and
cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of
Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I...shall put my
Spirit in you, and I shall place you in your own land; then shall ye
know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord."—#Eze 37:11-14. To this, Paul’s words agree (#Ro 11:25,26)
—"Blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fullness of the
Gentiles (the elect company, the Bride of Christ) be come in; and so
all Israel shall be saved," or brought back from their cast-off
condition; for "God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew." (#Ro 11:2.)
They were cast off from his favor while the Bride of Christ was being
selected, but will be reinstated when the work is accomplished. (#Ro 11:28-33.)
The prophecies are full of statements of how God will plant them again,
and they shall be no more plucked up. "Thus saith the Lord, the God of
Israel. ...I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring
them again to this land; and I will build them and not pull them down,
and I will plant them and not pluck them up. And I will give them an
heart to know me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be my people, and
I will be their God, for they shall return unto me with their whole
heart." (#Jer 24:5-7 ; 31:28; 32:40-42; 33:6-16.)
These cannot refer merely to restorations from former captivities in
Babylon, Syria, etc., for they have since been plucked up.
Though many of the prophecies and
promises of future blessings seem to apply to Israel only, it must be
remembered that they were a typical people, and hence the promises made
to them, while sometimes having a special application to themselves,
generally have also a wider application to the whole world of mankind
which that nation typified. While Israel as a nation was typical of the
whole world, its priesthood was typical of the elect "little flock,"
the Head and Body of Christ, the "Royal Priesthood;" and the
sacrifices, cleansings and atonement made for Israel typified the
"better sacrifices," fuller cleansings and real atonement "for the sins
of the whole world," of which they are a part.
A Crucial Test—The Sodomites.
And not only so, but God mentions by name
other nations and promises their restoration. As a forcible
illustration, we mention the Sodomites.
OV227 Surely, if we shall find the
restitution of the Sodomites clearly taught, we may feel satisfied of
the truth of this glorious doctrine of restitution for all mankind,
spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets. And why should not the
Sodomites have an opportunity to reach perfection, and everlasting life
as well as Israel, or as any of us?
True, they were not righteous, but neither was Israel, nor we who now hear the Gospel.
"There is none righteous; no, not one,"
aside from the imputed righteousness of Christ, who died for all. Our
LordÂ’s own words tell us that although God rained down fire from heaven
and destroyed them all because of their wickedness, yet the Sodomites
were not so great sinners in his sight as were the Jews, who had more
knowledge. (#Ge 19:24; #Lu 17:29.)
Unto the Jews of Capernaum He said: "If
the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom,
it would have remained until this day."—#Mt 11:23.
Thus our Lord teaches that the Sodomites
did not have a full opportunity; and he guarantees them such
opportunity when he adds (v. 24), "But I say unto you, that it shall be
more tolerable for the land of Sodom, in the day of judgment, than for
thee."
The character of the day of judgment and
its work is shown elsewhere. (See Vol. I., "Scripture Studies," "The
Divine Plan of the Ages.") Here we merely call attention to the fact
that it will be a tolerable time for Capernaum, and yet more tolerable
for Sodom; because, though neither had yet had full knowledge, nor all
blessings designed to come through the "Seed," yet Capernaum had sinned
against more light.
And if Capernaum and all Israel are to be
remembered and blessed under the "New Covenant," why should not the
Sodomites also be blessed among "all the families of the earth?" They
assuredly will be. Let it be remembered that since God "rained down
fire from heaven and destroyed them all" many centuries before JesusÂ’
day, when their restoration is spoken of, it implies their awakening,
their coming from the tomb.
In "due time" they will be awakened from
death and brought to a knowledge of the truth, and thus blessed
together with all the families of the earth, by the promised "Seed."
They will then be on trial for everlasting life.
With this thought, and with no other, can
we understand the dealings of the God of love with those Amalekites and
other nations whom he not only permitted, but commanded Israel to
destroy, saying, "Go smite Amalek and utterly destroy all they have,
and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling,
ox and sheep, camel and ass." (#1Sa 15:3.)
This apparently reckless destruction of life seems irreconcilable with
the character of love attributed to God, and with the teachings of
Jesus, "Love your enemies," etc., until we come to recognize the
systematic order of GodÂ’s plan, the "due time" for the accomplishment
of every feature of it, and the fact that every member of the human
race has a place in it.
We can now see that those Amalekites,
Sodomites and others were set forth as examples of GodÂ’s just
indignation, and of his determination to destroy finally and utterly
evil-doers, examples which will be of service not only to others, but
also to themselves, when their day of judgment or trial comes.
Some, who are willing enough to accept of
GodÂ’s mercy through Christ in the forgiveness of their own trespasses
and weaknesses under greater light and knowledge, cannot conceive of
the same favor being applicable under the New Covenant to others;
though they seem to admit the ApostleÂ’s statement that Jesus Christ, by
the favor of God, tasted death for every man. Some of these suggest
that the Lord must, in this prophecy, be speaking ironically to the
Jews, implying that he would just as willingly bring back the Sodomites
as them, but had no intention of restoring
OV228 either. But let us see how the succeeding verses agree with this idea. (#Eze 16:60-63.)
The Lord says, "Nevertheless I will remember my Covenant with thee in
the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting
covenant. Then thou shalt remember thy ways and be ashamed when thou
shalt receive thy sisters....And I will establish my Covenant with thee
and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; that thou mayest remember and
be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame,
when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the
Lord God."
All Israel Shall Be Saved.
To this Paul adds his testimony, saying,
"And so all Israel (living and dead) shall be saved (recovered from
blindness), as it is written, ‘There shall come out of Zion the
Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my
Covenant unto them when I shall take away their sins....They are
beloved for the fathersÂ’ sakes; because the gracious gifts and callings
of God are not things to be repented of."—#Ro 11:26-29.
How different is this glorious plan of
God for the selection of a few now, in order to be the blessing of the
many hereafter, from the distortions of these truths, as represented by
the two opposing views—Calvinism and Arminianism! The former both
denies the Bible doctrine of free grace, and miserably distorts the
glorious doctrine of election; the latter denies the doctrine of
election, and fail to comprehend the blessed fulness of GodÂ’s free
grace.
The day of trouble will end in due time,
when he who spake to the raging Sea of Galilee will likewise, with
authority, command the raging sea of human passion, saying, "Peace! Be
still! When the Prince of Peace shall "stand up" in authority, a great
calm will be the result. Then the raging, clashing elements shall
recognize the authority of "JehovahÂ’s Anointed," "the glory of the Lord
shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together;" and in the
reign of the Christ thus begun "shall all the families of the earth be
blessed."
BROKEN PURPOSES
"My purposes are broken off; even the thoughts of my heart."—#Job 17:11 .
MY purposes are broken off, So be it, blessed Lord; With wisdom and with wondrous Love Thy purposes are stored.
The thoughts of my poor heart give place To Thy great plan for me; In all Thy ways my soul can trace Thy mercy rich and free.
My purposes are broken off, Dear Lord,
‘tis better so; For higher are Thy ways than mine, Who to the end dost
know .I praise Thee still though broken off My purposes may be; For in
Thy glory I shall know Thy will was best for me.
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