For the Time is at Hand

For the Time is at Hand

By Al Stoner

“Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand” (Rev. 1:3).

In the first part of verse 3 the Apostle we are apprised of the absolute necessity of giving heed to the words that are written here in order to one’s preservation unto eternal life.  Taking up the words of Paul in Hebrews we must give heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let the words slip, tragically resulting in our faith no longer being able to take firm hold of them.  The reading, hearing, and keeping of these words are all essential labors, unto which men must constantly give themselves in order to receive the divinely intended profit from them.  The words must be “mixed with faith” in the ones who hear them.

For the Time is at Hand. The eternal God is speaking here from the perspective of eternity.  The time is at hand.  From God’s perspective, the outworking of this purpose is extending over six or seven days.  “One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”  “For a thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night” (Ps. 90:4). 

Similar Apostolic Expressions.  It is the last time. “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time” (I Jn. 2:18).

The appearance of antichrists in the first generation became a reasoning point for the Apostle that it is the last time.  God has sent forth His Son, who is the express Image of the Father, and the Fulfillment of all that holy Prophets had prophesied of since the beginning of the world.  God has given the Greatest and the Best that He has to give in the Person of His Beloved Son.  And John correctly reasons that the major satanic assaults against God’s Greatest and Best are a demonstration that it is the last time.

In the first century there were several major assaults against the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ by those who professed to be of Christ. 

1) Those who denied the Father and the Son. “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also” (I Jn. 2:22-23).

Those who denied that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (I Jn. 4:1-4).

“They went out from us, but they were not of us.”  These major assaults against the faith of Christ were coming from those who were once among the camp of the saints.  The faithful and uncompromising adherence to the proclamation of the truth, as it is in Christ, will ultimately drive such ones out. 

2) Those who held and taught the doctrine of the Nicolaitans (Rev. 2:6, 15), which encouraged indulgence in fleshly lusts. (The evil proponents of this error reasoned with their hearers that fleshly lusts were given to them of God, and therefore it is proper to give expression to them.) The church at Ephesus was commended by the Lord Jesus for their hating of “the deeds of the Nicolaitans”.  And here is graphically demonstrated that doctrines that are taught and embraced by men will indeed affect their manner of living before God, either for weal or for woe.

3) Those who held and taught the doctrine of Balaam, “who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication” (Rev. 2:14).  The doctrine of Balaam is also associated with prostituting the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ to become a means of monetary gain (as can be seen in Numbers 23 and 24).

The time is short.  “But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away” (I Cor. 7:29-31).

Our salvation is nearer than when we (first) believed. And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light” (Rom. 13:11-12).

A short work shall the Lord work upon the earth.  “Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth” (Rom. 9:27-28).

For the elects’ sake the days shall be shortened. “For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be. And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days” (Mk. 13:19-20).

The Proper Understanding of Such Utterances as are Found in Matthew 24. And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? (Mt. 24:3).

In the Lord’s Matthew 24 discourse, He is answering all three of these questions, not systematically, as the carnal mind would desire, but rather from the perspective of God’s eternal purpose, and from a perspective that ministers to faith.  The New Covenant era is the time when the just shall live by faith.

Epochal Events in History.  History is divinely marked by certain epochal events, particularly, the flood, the calling Abraham, the giving of the Law, the first coming of Christ into the world, the resurrection and ascension of Christ, the enthronement of Christ, and finally the second coming of Christ. “Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world.”

Other significant events in earth’s history would be the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel (though this was a severe judgment on the part of the Most High, yet it resulted in the birth of different nations, and in the scattering of peoples all over the face of the earth. These were nations from which God would draw a people for His Name’s sake, and a bride for His beloved Son). 

We see from this word in Deuteronomy that the scattering which took place at the Tower of Babel was not a random scattering, but rather one characterized by Divine purpose.  “When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance” (Deut. 32:8-9).

Another noteworthy event in earth’s history was Israel’s wilderness trek, and their consequent entrance into the land of Canaan with Joshua and Caleb being the only two of the original adults who actually entered into the Promised Land. What wonder and sobriety for succeeding generations to consider!  “For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?” (Rom. 3:3), Paul reasons in this connection in his letter to the Romans.  Also, in First Corinthians 10 and Hebrews 3 and 4, he brings forth his strong arguments with those who were out of step with the manner of the New Covenant.

And still other significant events are God’s dealings with “Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim” (Deut. 29:23), cities that God overthrew because of their indulgence in base sinful lusts.  We also could not leave out the angels that sinned, in this connection, as both Peter and Jude cite their wicked examples as a warning against the consequences of rebellion against the Most High.

How the Holy Spirit Summarizes History and Time.  From Adam to Moses.  “(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come” (Rom. 5:13-14).

The Time of Law and the Time of Grace and Truth.  “John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (Jn. 1:15-18).

When the Time of the Promise Drew Nigh.  “But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph” (Acts 7:17-18).

When the Day of Pentecost was Fully Come. Fifty days after the Passover.  “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:1-4).

In these Last Days. “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds;” (Heb. 1:1-2).  God has nothing greater to reveal of His own Person and purpose than what He has revealed in His beloved Son.

“He is coming. He is actually on the way. The train of events which will bring him to us has long ago begun to move; and only, only as we recognize this do we understand the meaning of the dispensation under which we live. Of old, whether men knew it or not, every event was made subservient to the first appearing; and now every event is being so guided and controlled as to prepare the way for the second. Not a moment is being lost.” –The Pulpit Commentary

The Time is at Hand. What shall be our conclusion drawn from the consideration that two millennia of time have passed since the Savior first came into the world?  The time is at hand.  What shall be our response to the mockers in the last time who say, Where is the promise of His coming?  The time is at hand.  With what words shall we encourage one another as we approach the end of this ungodly age?  The time is at hand. And what shall we say when we behold the fig tree, when her branch is yet tender, and she is putting forth her leaves?  The time is at hand.

 

The Waiting God

His Longsuffering Waits in Our Day Too!

 

The Waiting God

By Timothy McCulfor 

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (II Pet. 3:9). 

God Waited in the Days of Noah. Scripture declares that “once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing” (I Pet. 3:20). What was God waiting for? God had already pronounced judgment saying to Noah, “The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth” (Gen. 6:13). Was He waiting for Noah to finish building the ark? Certainly God could have destroyed the earth immediately and carried Noah away in chariots of fire. Clearly man needed to be punished, for God saw that “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). God’s justice demanded that the rebels be destroyed, and yet, their sin continued and God waited.  There was no reason for this delay but the great mercy of God. But this is the very situation sinners are in today. They are continuing in sin and God is waiting. 

The Testimony of God’s Abundant Mercy. God is not willing that any should perish. If one sheep wanders off, He leaves the ninety and nine and seeks the lost one. The Son of man came to “seek and to save that which was lost.” This is the heart of our great and merciful God. It has been His pattern to delay punishment, while offering forgiveness to sinners. 

“But to Israel He saith, All day long I have stretched forth My hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people” (Rom. 10:21). Here God was waiting for Israel while they continued in sin.  To the church at Thyatira, Jesus said that He had given that woman Jezebel “space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not” (Rev. 2:21). Jesus was waiting for Jezebel while she refused to repent. In one of His parables Jesus described a fig tree to which the owner of the vineyard came seeking fruit three years and found none. “Cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?”, was his verdict. But the dresser of the vineyard interceded, willing to extend even more effort to see fruit on this tree, and the judgment was delayed yet another year (Lk. 13:6-9). 

God is waiting for people to respond to Him and bear fruit and He is working to see it accomplished. “I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee” (Jer. 31:3). “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (Jn. 12:32).  “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy” (Ps. 103:8). These all demonstrate God’s deep desire that none should perish. We see somewhat of His ever enduring mercy and should be constrained by His love. 

God is Waiting. God is waiting in this day of salvation. He is waiting for the sinners to repent and believe the gospel. The wrath of God is ready to be revealed. Justice demands that those who “know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” be “punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord” (II Th. 1:8-9). The natural creation, the holy angels, and God’s own holy nature are calling for the day of judgment. God’s beloved martyrs cry out for vengeance. His precious saints are suffering persecution and yet His longsuffering is waiting.  Oh, how He wants people to repent! 

Judgment Will Come. Though God is now in a stance of waiting, the day is coming when He will judge the earth. Though now mercy rejoiceth against judgment, there will come a time when mercy is brought to fruition, having perfectly finished its work, and the time for judgment will have come. “Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all...” (Jude 15).  People should not marvel that God will bring fierce judgment one day. The great marvel is that it hasn’t happened yet. The spectacle is that it has been delayed so long. 

Many people can not fathom the thought of a loving God sending people to hell, yet all the while they are rebelling against His outstretched arms.  All the while they are indifferent to His Word; they don’t like His people, and they mock His gospel. This loving God sent His only Son to die in their place so they could escape the fire of hell. God gave His best and if people refuse His Son He has nothing else to offer. 

In a very real sense God is not sending people to hell. Their sin has already condemned them to all the agony of hell poured out forever. God is actually seeking to stop them from going there. The cross of Christ has been planted squarely in the pathway to hell providing a way of escape and anyone who goes to hell must get around that cross. “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (II Cor. 5:20). The full extent of God’s love is now offered to all freely through the preaching of the cross. The full extent of His wrath will then be poured out upon all who rejected His mercy; to some few stripes and to some many (cf. Lk. 12:47-48). 

A Sin against Mercy. Every second of delay brings the sinner closer to the unleashing of God’s wrath against him. Until the final shutting of the door of salvation, every second is one in which God is waiting. His mercy is staying the hand of the reaper and all the while the cry for justice grows in intensity. The justice that is called for is not for the mending of the breach brought about by breaking God’s law. This injustice has been fully atoned for in the sacrifice of Christ. Rather the cause for judgment of the sinner is an even greater debt, for it is the continual rejection of Christ’s outstretched hands and His putting away of their sins. Those who refuse have trodden under foot the Son of God. They are guilty of a persistent rebellion against God’s mercy.  

Behold My Servant

Behold My Servant

"Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; Mine Elect, in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My Spirit upon Him:

He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench: He shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

Thus saith God the LORD, He that created the heavens, and stretched them out; He that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; He that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the LORD have called Thee in righteousness, and will hold Thine hand, and will keep Thee, and give Thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house" (Isa. 42:1-7).

The LORD Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth here exhorts, and even commands men to behold His Servant, to consider His Servant, to give the more earnest heed to His Servant, to look at His Servant, to look unto His Servant, and to draw nigh unto God through His Servant. His Servant is none other than His Christ, His Elect, His Chosen One, His Anointed One, the Lord Jesus Christ, Him Who is the Resurrection and the Life, Him Who is the first-begotten from the dead, Him, Who did lay down His life a ransom for many, and Who is the Savior of all men, specially of those who believe.

The Necessity of Suffering for the Saint

 

The Necessity of Suffering for the Saint

By Fred O. Blakely

It is disgusting to hear breezy, but superficial, preachers proclaiming abundance of everything and freedom from all sickness and pain for all who have enough faith in God. Such a message has a compelling appeal to the flesh a6nd the carnal mind, and today ensnares many. It represents, however, “a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Prov. 14:12). The expectation of utopian existence in the flesh produced by this kind of doctrine cannot but result in acute disappointment and frustration in the faith life, which can ensue in actual shipwreck of the faith itself. 

It is a gross fallacy to assert or imply that all suffering is caused by personal sin. It is true that in a given case, this may be so; but it would take a person endued with special revelation from God to identify that case. Lacking such enduement, we should refrain from assuming it. Actually, the exact opposite of the charge of sin has been demonstrated to be the true situation in renowned instances of affliction. 

The experience of Job is the classic example of this. His calamitous miseries did not come upon him for anything wrong that he had done. In fact, he is presented to us be Scripture as “perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil” (Job 1:1). Yet it pleased the Lord to permit Satan to bruise him severely.

Because he was sinful? No! To demonstrate in the Patriarch the complete sufficiency of Divine grace, and so to glorify God. It was the same with the blind man whose sight Jesus restored, recorded in John 9:1-7. The nosy disciples asked the Lord, “Who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind” (v. 2). That was the dogma of affliction-because-of-sin raising its presumptuous head. Christ crushed it with His unequivocal answer: “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him” (v. 3). 

It must be recognized that suffering---in whatever way God may choose for us---is the normal, not the abnormal, lot of His saints. We are expressly told that we have been “called” and appointed thereunto (I Pet. 2:21; cf. Acts 14:22; I Th. 3:3; II Tim. 2:11-12). Our Lord Himself was made perfect by “the things which He suffered” (Heb. 5:8-10), and we are to be perfected in the same way. It is written, “He that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin” (I Pet. 4:1). In view of the good purpose served by our suffering “according to the will of God” (I Pet. 4:19), we should be able to say with Paul, “Most gladly will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (II Cor. 12:7-10).

“There is something about suffering of any kind that brings the world and the flesh into its proper perspective. Suffering makes us understand things as they really are. By suffering we see the worthlessness of all the passing vanities of earth, and by it we are weaned away from the vain deceits that concern a purely physical world. Suffering thus tends to cause us to be done with the transient affairs of this present age and inspires us to anchor all our hopes ‘within the veil, whither the Forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus . . .” (Heb. 6:19-20).”

The Witness of Israel's Gathering

The Witness of Israel’s Gathering

“And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel” (Ezek. 20:42).

By Fred O. Blakely

A Testimony to Scripture’s Integrity. To those who know and believe the holy Scriptures, and have not been blinded by the pseudo-wisdom of the world, the present gathering of the Jews in the Lord’s land (Hos. 9:3) is a thrilling and exciting spectacle. It is the greatest single piece of collateral testimony to the integrity of the ancient prophecies that the world has witnessed for centuries. Indeed, since the establishment of the State of Israel in Palestine in the year 1948—which event was predicted by Bible scholars more than a hundred years previously—we of today have witnessed the beginning phases of the literal fulfillment of numerous foretellings by the Hebrew Prophets.

As the twentieth-first century begins, we may well expect in the decades immediately ahead to see sharp acceleration of this assembly of Israel in the holy land, and such other epochal events related to it as we probably at present are incapable of conceiving. The increasing clamor of the vociferous clerics, more schooled in the learning of earth than that of heaven, who wholly dissociate the contemporary Jew from the purpose and working of God, should not be allowed to dissuade those who are given to discern the stupendous signs of the times.  Nevertheless, perhaps the recurring rabid anti-Semitism extant in our day is actually God at work behind the scenes providing a tangible incentive for many Jews to return to the land of Israel. 

“As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes,” declared Paul to Gentile believers: “but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes” (Rom. 11:28). Let us who are of the day remain spiritually alert and perceptive of God’s manipulation of the Jews in our very midst, therefore, that we may magnify His Name and be in a state of constant readiness to fall quickly into step with the unfolding of His eternal counsel in Christ.

The Witness of the Prophets. That Israel is to be reassembled in their land is a subject, not of one, but of many pronouncements by Jehovah through His holy Prophets. What is more, it is made equally plain and emphatic that they are to turn from their unbelief and embrace the Lord Jesus, their Messiah. The gathering, it seems, is in order to that blessed end, which the power of God is committed to achieve. Among the many Scripture passages which proclaim the gathering of Israel, the beginning stages of which we are now beholding, we give you the following twenty-two specimens: Isa. 2:2-5; 19:24-25; 25:6 - 26:2; 30:18-19; 59:20 - 60:22; 65:17-25; Jer. 31:10-12; 46:27-28; Ezek. 20:33-44; 34:11-31; 36:8- 15; 37:20-28; 39:25-29; Joel 3:1-2, 17, 20-21; Amos 9:9-15; Obad. 17, 21; Mic. 2:12-13; 4:3-7; 7:18-20; Zeph. 3:19-20; Zech. 8:1-8; 10:6-12.

“Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles,” remarks the Apostle with reference to Israel’s blinding and the subsequent dispatch of the word of salvation to the heathen; “how much more their fulness?” And “if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world,” he goes on to elaborate, “what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?” (Rom. 11:12-16).

“The restoration of the Jews to a state of favour with God to which Paul refers, and which is too plainly intimated by the spirit of prophecy to admit of a doubt, will be a most striking event. Their being preserved as a distinct people is certainly a strong contemporary proof that they shall once more be brought into the church of God. And their conversion to Christ will be an incontestable proof of the truth of divine revelation. Doubtless it will become the means of converting multitudes, who will see the prophecies of God, which had been delivered so long before, so strikingly fulfilled in this great event. We need not wonder, if a whole nation should then be born in a day.”

The Close of the Gentile Era. As we stand on the verge of this grafting of Israel back into its own olive tree, it ought to remind us of a gravely sobering circumstance. It is evidenced by this imminent event, that we are in the fast-closing days of the Gentile era. “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles,” declared the Lord Himself,” “until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Lk. 21:24). “Blindness in part is happened to Israel,” asserted the Apostle, “until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Rom. 11:25).

The Day is Far Spent. As concerns this dispensation of God’s grace, it is indeed “toward evening, and the day is far spent” (Lk. 24:29). “The shadows of the evening are stretching out apace upon us, and the signs of the eventide are very manifest, and will shortly appear yet more.” Let us, therefore, improve the great favor bestowed upon us by God, being good stewards of His manifold grace. At the same time, let us give glory to Him as we are given to behold the lighting down of His glorious arm upon the Jews, in execution of that which He aforetime said that He would do. —THE END—

Behold, He Cometh with Clouds!

Behold, He Cometh With Clouds! 

By Timothy McCulfor 

In Like Manner. “And when He had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:9-11).

When Jesus ascended to His Father He was taken up into a cloud. When He comes back He will come in like manner: with the clouds! We sing about the unclouded day for which we are longing, but there must come a day of clouds and judgment before that new day dawns! 

The Concurrence of the Prophets. “For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen (Ezek. 30:3).  Consider how Daniel saw visions of this very event: “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (Dan. 7:13-14). 

The Putting Down of All Rule and Authority. The Son of man coming with the clouds signals the time when Jesus will “put down all rule and all authority and power” (I Cor. 15:24) receiving everlasting dominion over all people, nations, and languages.  Jesus used the same language to identify Himself as the Son of man who would return to judge the earth: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Mt. 24:29-30). 

The Judgment of Wicked Men. When the Son of man comes in the clouds of heaven, He will be coming to judge the wicked. It is a time when the heavens are, so to speak, torn apart.  Jesus will then be revealed to the world as the One who has been given all power in heaven and in earth (Mt. 28:18) and who has received honor and glory from the Father (II Pet. 1:17). He will also be seen by the world, to their horror, as the One with whom they have to do. Jesus even told Caiaphas, the high priest, that he would see this day. In that day the tables will be turned and Caiaphas will see Jesus coming to sit in judgment upon him. 

“But Jesus held His peace. And the high priest answered and said unto Him, I adjure Thee by the living God, that Thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” (Mt. 26:63-64). 

Obviously, if Caiaphas will see Jesus coming in the clouds, there will be a resurrection of the dead at that time. This is confirmed by John's writing in the Revelation: “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen” (Rev. 1:7). 

They that had pierced Christ will be raised from their place of torment to see Jesus coming with clouds. In fact, every soul that has ever lived will witness this great coming. And every soul is accountable to this One who will come to judge the quick (living) and the dead (I Pet. 4:5). This will be the cause for great wailing by those who are yet in their sins. This will be the time for reaping the earth. 

“And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for Thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle of the earth; and the earth was reaped” (Rev. 14:14-16). 

All of these descriptions of Christ coming in the clouds point to a time of judgment for the wicked. But what about the righteous?  Where will they be at this time?  “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” (I Th. 4:16-17). 

His Coming’s Climactic Nature. When Jesus comes in the clouds we will be caught up to meet Him. The righteous dead being raised is here tied to Jesus coming in the clouds and the resurrection.  Daniel wrote of the time when those who “sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Dan. 12:2). Paul gave his testimony that there will be “a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust “ (Acts 24:15). And Jesus also witnesses, thus establishing the matter, saying, “the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (Jn. 5:28-29). 

There will be one physical resurrection of the wicked and the righteous when Jesus comes in the clouds. It will be as it was in the days of Noah and of Lot when judgment and deliverance came on the same day (Lk. 17:26-30). This view is consistent with Jesus’ description of the sheep and the goats (Mt. 25:31-46), the wheat and the tares (Mt. 13:37-43), and the fish and the net (Mt. 13:47-50). Whatever view of Christ's coming we take must be consistent with this clear teaching of Scripture. ─Tim McCulfor

 

Benefits Proceeding from Believing God

Benefits Proceeding from Believing God

By Al Stoner

Believing God always makes for advantage to the believing ones. There is always personal spiritual benefit, especially, that will be derived from simply believing the Scripture. For example, consider the following:

The Reception of Salvation. With regard to the reception of salvation and the deliverance from condemnation Jesus said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mk. 16:16).  Let us continually put one another in mind of the direct connection of believing and having been baptized with being saved: that is, being saved from the wrath to come, saved unto life eternal, saved with a great and everlasting salvation, just to name a few of the blessed involvements. While these things may already be believed by us, yet, in the time of temptation and affliction, there is a vital need for men to be persuaded anew and afresh of these things and of this vital connection. As Jude declared, "I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this" (Jude 3). We ought ever to give thanks for sacred memories which may be stirred up and drawn upon for strength in the day of evil. 

The old serpent would seek to convince us that these requirements (faith and baptism), given by the Lord Himself, either are not enough for the obtainment of salvation, or at another opposite extreme, that they are not of such great consequence. Let us not be ignorant of his devices! 

The Word to Nicodemus. And again, speaking of the same benefit, the Lord declared to Nicodemus, "He that believeth on Him (the Son) is not condemned" (Jn. 3:18). That is marvelously good news to the individual who has been convinced by the law that he has sinned and come short of the glory of God! May such affirmations of the Savior as this ever be given room to sink down into our ears! O the blessedness of receiving them and pondering them. Let us hang all of our hopes upon His Word and believe upon Him with all of our hearts!  O hear again, and believe the glad tidings: He that believeth on Him (Christ) is not condemned!

A Blessing and a Curse Contrasted. Another similar affirmation of the Savior reads as follows: "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" (Jn. 3:36). Here the wonderful blessedness associated with believing and the very severe consequences for not believing are set in juxtaposition to each other. We can come to appreciate more the glorious benefits that are inextricably tied to believing by beholding contrasts of this sort.

Rivers of Living Water. "He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly [or, from within him (ASV)] shall flow rivers of living water" (Jn. 7:38). Believing on the Savior not only benefits the believer, but enables him or her to be of great profit to those all around.  The rivers of living waters speak of the knowledge of both the Father and the Son given to believing men by the Holy Spirit.

"Rivers of living water" also speak of an abundance of the life-giving water that may flow out of the believer in Christ to those round about him or her. This living water may have the ministry of nourishing other brothers and sisters in Christ, or it may have the effect of convincing the sinner of his or her absolute need for the Savior. Also, it is a blessedly joyous experience to have the living water flowing out to others from within oneself. Let us continually draw near and make ourselves available to the Savior to be used of Him in this manner! 

The Possibility of All Things. "Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth" (Mk. 9:23). It is good for us to continually cast all of our cares upon Him, with whom all things are possible (cf. Lk. 1:37). While we remain in this present evil world, we shall frequently be confronted with situations and obstacles which appear to be jeopardous and seemingly out of control. But when those times come, let us seek to "glorify" "the Lord" even "in the fires" (Isa. 24:15) of adversity and trial. And though we may be sorely tempted to fret and to reason things out with the carnal mind, let us ever remember that "all things are possible to him that believeth!" "The Lord God Omnipotent" (Rev. 19:6) is "for us" (Rom. 8:31), and He will make all things work together for good to those who love Him, and who are the called according to His purpose (cf. Rom. 8:28). 

The Satisfying of Man's Inward Hunger and Thirst. "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst" (Jn. 6:35).  While we remain here in this world as strangers and pilgrims, we shall, according to the measure of our faith, continue to hunger and thirst for the Savior and for the living God. We long to be forever uninhibitedly in Their Presence. But we are no longer hungering and thirsting aimlessly and without purpose. Our hunger and thirst have been partially satisfied even now through the knowledge of the Father and the Son that we have by faith. We shall be completed satisfied when we arrive safely in the presence of God and of the Lamb. “I shall be satisfied, when I shall awake with Thy likeness,” the Psalmist declared.  In the present time we are waiting for the hope of righteousness, and living in prospect of being fully conformed to the image of God’s Son.

The Promise of Life. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life" (Jn. 6:47). We ought to give thanks for the great plainness of speech with which the Savior affirms this promise. It is declarations such as these that have the ability to sustain us in the hour of temptation. Let us let these words sink down into our hearts' affection! Let us seek to triumphantly glorify God by our faith in His beloved Son!

Faith and the Power of God. "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith" (Rom. 1:16-17).

This power is not exerted upon men from without, but rather it is power that is summoned into action from within as men believe the record which God has given of His Son. It is power that is operative wherever there is faith in God's Son, to enable them to live godly, to perfect holiness in the fear of God, and to set their affection on things above. It is power that is unto salvation.

Faith and the End of the Law. "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" (Rom. 10:4). Faith is not the beginning of lawlessness for the believer in God's Son, but it is the end of the law's requirement as being the condition of salvation. For those who are in Christ, obeying the gospel and continuing in the faith are the conditions that must be met for the reception of salvation. Those conditions are certainly doable to those who have an honest and good heart, and we ought to give thanks to God continually for this blessed arrangement and benefit. 

The Benefit of Unashamedness. "Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded" (I Pet. 2:6).  There are often times when the people of God are confounded and put to shame in this world by rebuffs from the ungodly. But shame and consternation shall not be their ultimate portion. When they are at last inducted into the "everlasting habitations" (Lk. 16:9), they shall never again be "confounded world without end" (Isa. 45:17).

The Benefit of Overcoming. "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" (I Jn. 5:5). We must overcome the world in all three of its essential elements: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (2:15-16). 

Some of the most notable of the sons of earth have sought, in their own way, to overcome and conquer the world. From God's perspective, however, they all failed, and the world, with all of its sinful lusts, actually overcame them. But every one who has believed that Jesus is the Son of God, and who continues in that confidence unto death, or until His appearing, they shall, without question, overcome the world! By their faith they shall have been the victors over the world's lusts, pride, and corruption, and they shall be "accounted worthy to obtain that world" (Lk. 20:35).

The Witness in Ourselves. "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son" (I Jn. 5:10). It is one thing to be an heir to the benefits of salvation, and it is quite another to know, of a certainty, that these benefits are ours. It is by means of this witness within us that we know that we have eternal life (I Jn. 5:13), and that "we know that we know Him" (cf. 2:3). --Editor

The Evil Day in Which We Live

 

The Evil Day in which We Live

By Al Stoner

“The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come” (Isa. 57:1).  “Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment” (Isa. 59:15).

To anyone today with enough courage to speak a word in behalf of the LORD and His Christ, the increasingly common response of those of this wicked generation is that which was summarized by the Prophet Isaiah: “Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us” (Isa. 30:11).  Jesus said, on the eve of His betrayal and crucifixion, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you” (Jn. 15:18).  And John, echoing the words of the Master, wrote, “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you” (I Jn. 3:13).  Those who are in Christ are not to be seeking the world’s hatred as proof of their association with Him.  Rather, all who are faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ will eventually find themselves becoming the objects of the world’s scorn and hatred, because they belong to Christ. 

The love for righteousness and the hatred of iniquity are at the very center and core of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, because of who Christ is in His essential Person.  He uncompromisingly loves righteousness and hates iniquity, and those whom He is reconciling to God have, in their measure, the same mind that He does with regard to good and evil.  Therefore, marvel not, if the world hate you. (Any purported “christ” that minimizes the issues pertaining to righteousness and unrighteousness, good and evil, is a false christ.)

Evil Men are Waxing Worse and Worse. “The Psalmist lamented, “I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree” (Ps. 37:35).  This is an exceedingly grievous phenomenon that is witnessed in every generation, except where the grace of God has taken hold of men, and turned them from darkness unto light, setting them on the upward pathway to glory. 

Spreading himself like a green bay tree.  Like a tree planted in its native soil.  The wicked, in their brazen disregard for, and hatred of, the LORD, and His Christ, often seek to extend their evil influence over other men while they are here in the shortened time alloted to them.  But let righeous men and women take heart and be of good courage.  The meek shall indeed inherit the earth.  And of the poor in spirit, and to those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, the blessed Savior made this pronouncement: “Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  Let the righteous take courage, knowing that “the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment” (Job 20:5).

Men Declaring their Sin as Sodom. The indictment brought by the Lord against Jerusalem, and Judah, in Isaiah’s day is equally applicable to today’s evil generation. “The show of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves” (Isa. 3:9; see Gen. 19:1-29).  The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are indelibly associated with base lewdness that is shamefully loathesome to speak about.  “It is a shame to speak of those things which are done of them in secret” (Eph. 5:12).  To those engaged in such shameful acts, someone must rise up and boldly declare to them, “How can ye escape the damnation of hell?”

Perilous Times are Now Upon Us. The assaults against those “which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 12:17) are multilayered and multifaceted.  Some are deceptive and underhanded, while others are straightforward in their intent.  But all are proceeding from “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” (Rev. 12:9).

Some Current Day Examples of this Peril.  The present day phenomenon of evil men seeking legal acceptance among fellow men, with all the rights and privilege associated therewith, is a jeopardy to good men, and particularly to those who are living by faith in Christ. Wherever “mischief” or wickedness becomes framed by the laws of the land (see Ps. 94:20), this creates a circumstance of trial and proving for those who “will live godly in Christ Jesus” (II Tim. 3:12). The law, which they once considered to be protecting them, has now, in many instances, become contrary to everything that they have believed and stood for.  Laws written by men in the present day are seeking to redefine what is morally right and wrong, even to the point of legalizing that which is against nature, and contrary to nature: yes, even legalizing that which at one time was universally regarding as criminal, and against the law.

There are also assaults against those professing faith in Christ which are very apparent.  In many parts of the world those professing faith in Jesus are being persecuted, even mercilessly put to death, simply because of their faith in Jesus.  This past week in Kenya at least 147 people, mostly university students, were executed because of their faith in Christ. Their murderers asked them, “Are you a Christian?” If they answered “yes”, they were put to death.  If they said they were Muslim, they were let go.

The Church, the Pillar and the Ground of the Truth.  The church (that the Scripture speaks of) is “the pillar and ground of the truth” (I Tim. 3:15). We are speaking here of the truth of God, truth that is the faithful representation of all things, and the truth, which gives expression to God’s eternal purpose in Christ.  The truth faithfully represents the things which God loves, and the things that He hates.  The world is certainly not that pillar, but rather is bereft of the truth, except where God has left an indelible witness.  If the world is going to hear the truth, it must hear it from the church.

Wherever “the truth of Christ” (II Cor. 11:10) is proclaimed in the power of the Holy Spirit, methinks, that shockwaves reverberate throughout the kingdom of darkness, putting them in mind once again that they have but a short time.  When the Savior was yet here in the world “in the days of His flesh”, it will be recalled that the demons “cried out, saying, What have we to do with Thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art Thou come hither to torment us before the time?” (Mt. 8:28-29).

Apart from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who Himself is the embodiment of the truth (cf. Jn. 14:6), men have no moral compass with which to navigate safely through this present evil world.  The real issues of life have not to do with wealth or poverty, sickness or health, education or lack of education, but rather they have to do with “good and evil” (Heb. 5:14), and particularly, the issue of acceptance with God through the means which He Himself has provided in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.  The real issues were well expressed by John Wesley, when he said, “This one thing would I know: how to get to heaven, and how to make it safely to that happy shore.”  “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still” (Rev. 22:11).

Two Views of Redemptive Order

The Works of God are Precise in Every Detail!

 

Two Views of Redemptive Order 

By Fred O. Blakely 

From an overall view of the situation, two contrasting orders of the unfolding of redemption’s plan are apparent. These, of course, are in no sense contradictory of each other. They simply portray the case as regarded from different perspectives. It is a good exercise of the spirit to consider them.

The Priority of the Natural. The first presents what might be termed the priority of the natural creation in the scheme of things, and is set forth by Paul in First Corinthians 15:42-47. He points out the order of the development of God’s purpose, as shown in the respective federal heads of the race—Adam and Christ. “That was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual,” he observes.

His reference is to the fact that the “first Adam” came before the “last Adam” [Christ]. Hence, the natural body which came from Adam the first is our first tabernacle, but, after it is cast off by death, comes the “spiritual body,” which Adam the last gives. He concludes with the blessed assurance that “as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly,” i.e., Christ, our resurrected body being “fashioned according to His glorious body” (v. 49; cf. Phil. 3:21). 

The Grand Scope Envisaged. The Apostle here envisages the grand outworking of God’s eternal purpose in Christ. Insofar as bodily salvation is concerned, that purpose will ultimate in the complete undoing of the curse of corruption and mortality brought by Adam’s sin, as Romans 5:12-21 develops more fully. 

This is what was declared earlier in First Corinthians 15:20-22: “Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the Firstfruits of them that slept [not only of the justified, but also of the unjustified; see John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15]. For since by man came death, by Man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” “But every man in his own order,” it is added: “Christ the Firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming” (v. 23). 

The Two Orders of Resurrection. Only two orders of resurrection are here mentioned—that of our Lord’s and that of the general resurrection “at His coming.” The term, “they that are Christ’s,” must, in its broader sense, refer, not to His church exclusively (though by it the Apostle for the moment may have specifically meant that), but to all mankind. This is because Christ, as we have seen, is here generally contemplated as the federal Head of humanity (as regards bodily resurrection), just as the first Adam was so in the old creation. 

This must be the inclusive scope intended by “they that are Christ’s”; otherwise, the Apostle contradicts himself by saying that Christ is “the Firstfruits of them that slept,” and that resurrection by Christ is as certain and extensive as death was by Adam. Such a contradiction, of course, is unthinkable, as it is impossible that it should exist. 

The First Place of the Spiritual. It is noteworthy that, in one view of the situation, there is a reversal of the redemptive order set forth above. From this aspect, “that which is spiritual” is first, then “that which” is bodily, not the other way round, as regarded in First Corinthians 15:46. 

The Edenic “transgression” (I Tim. 2:14) was essentially spiritual, although physical activity was involved in the taking and eating of the proscribed tree’s fruit (Gen. 3:6). Accordingly, the immediately-effective part of God’s punishment of death for the sin was also spiritual. He had warned Adam that the day in which he should eat of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” he should “surely die” (ch. 2:15-16). And “it was so” (ch. 1:11), he being that day alienated from his Creator, with whom he apparently had previously enjoyed close communion, which spiritual separation is death. It was 930 years later that he paid the penalty of physical death. 

The Parallel in Redemption. And so it is, when contemplated from this angle, with “the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24). Man is first redeemed spiritually through his acceptance by faith and baptism of God’s saving grace. He, thus, lives unto God in his spirit before his bodily redemption becomes effective. The latter will take place “in the resurrection” (Mt. 22:30), at Jesus’ second coming. Not until then shall he experience “the redemption” of the body (Rom. 8:23-25; Eph. 1:13-14), realizing the consummate salvation from the condemnation and death into which the first Adam, by sin against God, plunged the human race. 

Meanwhile, those who have now “received the atonement” for sin wrought by Christ (Rom. 5:11) live unto God through Him, and “rejoice in hope” of the bodily salvation “ready to be revealed” when Jesus appears (Rom. 5:2; I Pet. 1:5). As the first Adam sinned, experienced the spiritual phase of his death sentence, so they who have obeyed Christ now have spiritual life in Him. And as Adam later tasted of the physical part of the death penalty, so they, too, shall, by and by, have their corruptible bodies replaced by incorruptible ones, and be given to live forever in full fellowship with and service of the gracious Father, as completely redeemed beings. 

So does the order of redemption, as thus viewed, parallel that of the curse’s application as a result of the fall. First the spiritual is experienced, then comes the bodily, of which the former is an earnest and pledge. Great and marvelous, of a truth, are the works of our God, and precise in every detail as to their correspondence. —The End—