TEN SERMONS ON THE SECOND ADVENT
I. THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPHETIC STUDY.
"We have also a more sure word of
prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed (as unto a light that shineth
in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise) in your
hearts."- 2 Peter i. 19.
However unimportant the Study of
Prophecy may be in the judgment of men, we learn from our text that it is a
subject of the greatest importance in the sight of God. It is true that the
great majority of professing Christians dismiss prophecy as being at once
unimportant and uninteresting. This may be because instead of allowing God to
mean what He says, each interpreter declares that He means something very
different, and thus the ordinary Bible reader is bewildered with the Babel
around him: or it may be that the belief that Christ will not come till at
least a thousand years, makes it useless to look for Him or to study the
Scriptures which speak of His return: or it may be that the belief that,
practically, Christ comes at the death of each believer, renders it a matter of
little consequence whether He will return before or after the Millenium. Hence
when one and another raises the midnight cry, "Behold the Bridegroom cometh,"
it is treated as the warning of Lot was treated, when "he seemed as one that
mocked unto his sons-in-law." They are confessedly ignorant of the subject, and
this doubtless is the reason of their confidence that the prophecies are
unprofitable, if not dangerous. But we are to consider this great subject
together, because we believe in the importance of the "sure word of Prophecy;"
and our object is to have this importance impressed on our hearts.
Let
us first consider the place which God Himself has given it in His Word. Our aim
ought ever to be to hold all "Truth" in proportion, for Truth out of proportion
becomes error. Not only must we receive God's Truth because it is the Truth,
but we must receive it in the order in which God has revealed it, in the
proportion in which God has given it, and with the emphasis which God has put
upon it. Now look at Prophetic truth in this light. What was the very first
promise in Eden? Was it not a prophecy concerning the seed of the woman, and
His victory over that old serpent the devil? What did the faith of the
Patriarchs rest on but the word of Prophecy? Abel's was faith in the coming
sacrifice, Enoch's was faith in the coming Lord, Noah's was faith in a coming
judgment, Abraham's was faith in a coming heir and a coming inheritance,
Isaac's was faith in "things to come," Jacob's was faith in a coming Blessing,
Joseph's was faith in a coming Exodus, Moses' in a coming "recompense of
reward;" while all looked and waited for "some better thing," and the "better
resurrection." Their faith was based on the "sure word of Prophecy," and in the
strength of faith in this, they suffered and they overcame. The Pentateuch is
filled with Prophetic word and type. The ceremonial law, the Tabernacle and its
ordinances, were all "shadows of good things to come." The Psalms are full of
"the testimony of Jesus" which is "the spirit of prophecy." Of David we read,
that "He being a prophet" - "He seeing this before," spake of Christ. And
besides the Psalms, there are seventeen books (out of thirty-nine) directly and
wholly prophetic. If we come to the New Testament we find that there are 260
chapters; and in them, what one other truth or doctrine will you find mentioned
as this is 318 times? If we take verses instead of chapters, we find one verse
in every twenty-five referring to this great doctrine. If we take its separate
parts, we find that prophecy formed the one subject of John the Baptist's
ministry; that the Discourses of our Lord were permeated with prophecy; that
nearly all the epistles contain prophecy; and that the last book in the Bible
is nothing but prophecy.
As to ourselves, all our hopes are built on
prophecy. The promise of future victory, the pledge of Resurrection, the joys
of Heaven, the hope of glory and all that we know about them is nothing but
prophecy. Surely, if we may judge of the importance of a doctrine by the
prominence given to it in the word of God, then we may say that we have in
prophecy a subject "whereunto ye do well that ye take heed in your hearts." If
we need an example as to our proper attitude with reference to it, we have only
to look at DANIEL. God had made him a prince among prophets. As a scholar, a
statesman, and a saint, he was pre-eminent. He was "a man greatly beloved," and
"highly favoured," with no "howbeit!" Well, how did he treat the "word of
prophecy"? Jeremiah had preceded him and foretold the captivity of his people
in Babylon. Did Daniel say it did not concern him? That it was not important?
No! He "did well" and "took heed in his heart" to the word of prophecy:- "I
Daniel understood by books the number of the years whereof the word of the Lord
came to Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the
desolation of Jerusalem." (Dan. ix. 2) What was the effect of his prophetic
study? See the next verse, "And I set my face unto the Lord God...and I prayed
unto the Lord my God." The study of Prophecy drew him to his God and laid him
at His feet. The same may be said of SIMEON. He was among those who were
"waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Ghost was upon him." He
found his rest in Christ as God's salvation "prepared" to be "a light to
lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of His people Israel." (Luke ii. 25-32) The
same may be said of ANNA: She was among those who "looked for redemption in
Jerusalem," and this looking drew her very near to the Redeemer; for He was the
burden of her testimony - she "spake of HIM." (Luke ii. 38) These saints had
been diligent students of Prophecy, and God honoured them both by a vision of
Him for whom they had waited and looked.
Yes, Jesus is "the spirit of
prophecy," and no study of it can be right, that does not lead to, and end in
Him. You may see the effect of mere head-knowledge, in "the chief priests and
scribes." (Matt. ii.) They knew the letter of Prophecy. When Herod "demanded of
them where Christ should be born," they could take the sacred roll, and put
their finger on Micah v. 2, who prophesied that out of Bethlehem should come
the "Governor." But there it ended. They had no love for that Governor, while
the wise men, truly wise though ignorant of the written word, could not rest
till they found their place in worship at His feet. Thus those who had mere
head-knowledge (that only "puffeth up") placed that knowledge at the service of
Herod to compass the destruction of Jesus; while those who had true heart-love
(which "buildeth up") were Divinely guided and found their happy place at
Jesus' feet.
Surely we should not lightly esteem that part of God's
word to which we are specially exhorted to "take heed in our hearts;" and on
which He has thus specially set His seal. Nor can it be right to speak of those
who "love His appearing" as eccentric! Alas, that they are eccentric is only
too true, but this only shows how far the bulk of professing christians have
drifted from the Divine order and the Divine importance of God's word.
If
this doctrine which holds so large a place in the Bible is neglected, and
unheeded by the majority of professing christians, we need no other evidence
that the Church is departing from the faith, and has entered on the
"down-grade."
If we were asked to name the subjects which are put
forward to-day with the greatest frequency and urgency, we should say, they are
Baptism and the Lord's Supper. But note the place which these occupy, and the
position given to them in the Epistles, which were written specially for the
instruction of the Church. Baptism is mentioned only 19 times in 7 epistles
(the noun 5 and the verb 14), and it is not once name in 14 out of the 21
epistles; and as for the Lord's Supper there are not more than three or four
references to it in the whole of the New Testament. In 20 (out of 21) of the
Epistles it is never once alluded to! From the prominence given to it by man,
one would imagine the New Testament to be filled with it. It is not a question
of one subject being important, and another not; but it is a question of
proportion and relation; and certainly if the Scriptures contain twenty
references to the one subject of the Lord's Coming, to one reference concerning
another, we may say that God has settled for us what He deems profitable for
us, and important.
And is it nothing that the Father has revealed to
us the things which He hath "prepared for them that love Him?" Is it nothing
that Jesus has assured us that He is coming to receive us into that place which
He has gone to prepare for us? Is it nothing that the Holy Ghost has caused
Holy men of Old to write these things for our learning and has been sent on
purpose to "guide us into all truth," and to show us "things to come" (John
xvi. 12, 13)? Alas, alas, the need for these questions shows us the character
of the times: and shows how the Enemy of the Word of God is succeeding in his
one great object. What has been the great device of the Enemy from the very
beginning till now? Has it not been to deny, pervert and hide the Word of God?
What was it that caused the overthrow of the old world? Disdain of the
Prophetic warnings of Noah! They thought Prophecy was of no importance! But "As
it was in the days of Noah....as it was in the days of Lot....even thus shall
it be when the Son of man is revealed" (Luke xvii. 26-30, Matt. xxiv. 37-39).
Israel received warning after warning from God's inspired Prophets; but it was
of no importance they thought; and so men say to-day, but their end will be the
same, and the word that God hath spoken, the same shall judge them in that day.
Note again, the words of our text, "We have a more sure word of
prophecy whereunto ye do well that ye take heed (as unto a light that shineth
in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day-star arise) in your hearts." I
call your attention to the parenthesis in which I place this clause, and
connect the words "take heed" with the words "in your hearts." We have many
examples of such parentheses in the Scriptures.*
* See Eph. i. 19
("according...all in all") to end of chapter. Then ii. 1 takes up the theme. So
that it reads thus: - i. 19, "And what is the exceeding greatness of his power
to usward who believe" .... "even you who were dead in trespasses and sins."
See another illustration in Eph. iii., Sermon No. 5.
An important
example is found in I Cor. xv. where, if verses 20 to end of 28, are put into a
parenthesis, the sense reads on thus If there be no resurrection then
they which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished, and in that case, what is
the good of anyone being baptized into Christ to take the place of those who
have only perished (This is the force of the word translated "for" see Rom. v.
6, 7, 8. Gal. ii. 20. Eph. v. 25. Philemon 13. Heb. ii. 9. I Pet. ii. 21, etc.
where it means instead of, or taking the place of).
We ought to
observe that these parentheses generally arise from introverted parallels in
the structure of the Originals, e.g., Gen. xv. 13, "Thy seed shall be a
stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall
afflict them, four hundred years." Where this parenthesis is disregarded, the
day-dawn and day-star rising in the heart, is usually explained as meaning
conversion. But this explanation infers that prophecy should be well heeded
until conversion, and then it may be neglected; but this clearly cannot be the
meaning! The parenthesis must be observed if we would get any sense from this
passage. No wonder that the verse should come to be taken as though it said
prophecy is a dark place which ye do well to avoid! for people do call it dark
indeed, and most certainly they avoid it. But the Holy Spirit describes this
world as the dark place, and states that this word of prophecy is the only lamp
in it: the only light that can show us where we are and whither all is tending.
Prophecy is the light that shines during this night (which, thank God,
is "far spent") "until the day-dawn and the shadows flee away," until that
"morning without clouds," when the day-star shall rise (Rev. xxii. 16). Then we
shall have the "True Light" itself of which "the Prophets did write." Surely,
if it is written, "whereunto ye do well that ye take heed," we do not well if
we treat it as of little or no importance. Foreseeing all this the Holy Spirit
has pronounced a solemn and emphatic blessing on all who obey the precept of
our text: "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of
this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein" (Rev. i. 3). He
does not say anything about understanding it, but reading, hearing, and keeping
it; in other words, taking heed to it in our hearts. It follows therefore that
those who do not thus heed it, must of necessity lose the promised blessing.
Again it is written (2 Tim. iii. 16, 17) "All Scripture is given by inspiration
of God, and is profitable," etc.* How many treat Scripture as though it were
not "all profitable," as though one quarter at least were not profitable. They
cannot believe that "all Scripture is profitable," without condemning their
confessed neglect of so large a portion of it!
* The Revisers translate
this, "Every Scripture inspired of God is also profitable," etc. But this is
not English, to say nothing of the Greek. For it can no more be "Every
Scripture" than Eph. ii. 21 can mean Every building. The word "also" is
meaningless unless a previous assertion has been made. (Note, and stick to the AV -Ed.)
Heb. iv.
13 is strictly parallel in its structure and in the arrangement of the words,
but the Revisers have emphasized the rendering of the A.V. "are naked and laid
open" and have not said "all things naked are also laid open"! Likewise in I
Tim. iv. 14. They have said "Every creature of God is good and nothing is to be
rejected," and have not said "Every good creature of God is also nothing to be
rejected"! Thus they themselves condemn their rendering of 2 Tim. iii. 16. But
it does not end with neglect; for while most neglect it, many pervert it,
others merely speculate about it and treat what they call "prophetic language"
according to their fancies and imaginations. They thus make the word of
Prophecy of none effect and put it to an open shame. Not that this can form any
excuse for our neglect of that Word. For this treatment of Scripture has
characterized every age of Ecclesiastical History. What important truth or
fundamental doctrine has not suffered from the follies of writers who have
speculated and reasoned about Spiritual truths. All through the ages men have
been "turned to fables" and have "given heed to wandering spirits and doctrines
of demons." Hence the Deity and Atonement of Jesus, Justification by grace, and
nearly every other article of the Christian Faith has been denied or perverted.
But surely this is all the greater reason why we should contend for them and
"take heed" to them; and if the great doctrine of the Second Advent of our Lord
has been covered over and obscured with the teachings of men, there is all the
more reason why we should seek to separate what God has said from what man has
taught, and bend our devout and earnest attention the more earnestly to this
great and important subject.
There is one other consideration which I
might urge, if another be needed; and perhaps it is second to none in its
powerful conclusions. It is the one which is to form the subject of our sixth
Sermon and therefore I need not do much more than mention it here. It is this:
The importance of prophecy as seen in its practical effects on Christian life.
"The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy," and therefore the right
study of it necessarily links us with Jesus, and occupies us with Him. Those
who love Him will long for His appearing, that they may see Him; and this
longing will re-act and increase the love. We are exhorted to wait and watch
for Him, so that nothing may come between our hearts and Himself, and that thus
our character may be formed. "We beholding...are changed into the same image."
No restless efforts, no anxious toiling, but simply "We beholding...are
changed"! Christian life is not molded by precepts, or regulated by ordinances.
The Law which was "holy, just and good," only proved the impotence of the
sinner, in order that he might cast himself on the omnipotence of the Saviour.
Hence we find that the Grace that brings salvation (Titus ii. 11-14) also
teaches us how to live, and what to live for. The Law only commanded, but Grace
"teaches" and gives the ability to learn; and it teaches us to look "for that
blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ who gave himself for us." If any fail to look "for that blessed hope,"
it is clear that they either know nothing of the Salvation which grace brings,
or that they have not learned the lessons which grace teaches.
This
view of the subject lifts it completely out of the region of mere theological
strife, and gives it its true position as the Divine means for the formation of
Christian character. It shows that it is quite as much a question of piety, as
it is of prophecy. And what is more, any theory or system of doctrine which has
the effect of causing those who hold it, not to look "for that blessed hope,"
or to "wait for God's Son from Heaven," is thus shown to be contrary to, and
subversive of, the great lesson which Grace teaches. There are many books from
which this lesson is omitted, but they are not Divine. There are many Sermons
in which you never find it, but they are neither Apostolic nor Primitive. They
are the outcome of fleshly wisdom and human learning; or the products of minds
who do not believe that "all Scripture is...profitable," and who do not obey
the injunction of our text.
Dear brethren, may we give this great
subject the place it ought to occupy, in our minds, in our hearts, and in our
lives, and remember that after all it depends not so much on wisdom in the
head, as on grace in the heart. It is a heart subject. See how it is thus
presented in Titus ii. 13-14 - "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious
appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave Himself for
us," and I Thess. v. 9, 10, speaking of waking or sleeping with reference to
the appearing of Jesus, the Apostle says: "for God hath not appointed us to
wrath but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us that
whether we wake or sleep we should live together with Him," and again: I Thess.
i. 10, "To wait for His Son from Heaven, who He raised from the dead, even
Jesus who delivered us from the wrath to come."
It has been said of a
vast mountain that what is transcendently great, seems constantly near. And we
may say the same of this great doctrine. Oh that this "blessed hope" may be
ever great, and ever near; great in its importance to our minds, great in its
influence on our lives; and ever near in its preciousness to our hearts.