Jesus Is Coming Again
Chapter 1
Reader, do you know that Jesus is coming again.
He said, "I will come again" (John 14:3) and His word
endureth forever, for He is the truth.
The angels said He would come again. "The same Jesus,"
"and in like manner ," and they were not mistaken
when they announced His first coming.
The Holy Spirit, by the mouth of the apostles, hath repeatedly said He would come again. Is not such an event,
stated upon such authority, of vital importance to us?
At His first coming, the world rejected Him. He was the
despised Nazarene. But when He comes again, He will appear as "the blessed and only Potentate, the King of Kings
and Lord of Lords."
He is coming to sit upon the throne of His glory, and
to be admired in 'all them that believed, and to rule, in
judgment and equity, all the nations of the earth.
How glorious it will be to see the King in His beauty.
Perhaps you are not a Christian, and say-
"I Don't Care Anything About It."
Then, dear friend, we point you to the crucified Savior as
the only hope of salvation.
We beg of you to "kiss the Son," lest ye perish from the
way. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.
What shall it profit you if you gain the whole world and
lose your own soul? He is coming, and we know neither
the day, nor the hour, when He may come. What if He
should come now? Would you be found of Him in peace,"
or would you be left behind to endure the terrible things
which shall come upon the world, while the church is with
Christ in the air, and be made at His appearing to
mourn and pray to the mountains and rocks to hide you
from His face?
"Prepare to meet thy God," was the solemn injunction to
Israel (Amos 4:12), and every one of us, both Jew and
Gentile, must meet Him, either in grace or in judgment.
We, then, as ambassadors for Christ, beseech you: be ye
reconciled to God, now, in the accepted time, in the day
of salvation. Do let us entreat you to repent and be
converted, that your sins may be blotted out, and that
you may turn "to serve the living and true God, and to
wait for his Son from Heaven," and be unblamable at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But if you are a Christian, then we point you to His
coming again, as The True Incentive to a Holy Life.
Jesus is coming, therefore mortify your members which
are upon the earth, that you may appear with Him in
glory.
Strive and pray for purity of heart, that You may "be
like Him and see Him as He is." Search the Word, that
you may be sanctified and cleansed thereby, and that your
whole spirit, and soul, and body may be preserved blameless
unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. But possibly
you say, with contempt, "Oh, That's Second Adventism."
Beloved, have you considered that Moses, so David,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Zecariah, all the prophets
and apostles, were believers in the second advent of
Christ? And because some, by setting dates, and other
errors, have brought disrepute upon this doctrine, shall we
east it aside altogether?
But it may be you say (as we have been pained to hear
from so many even earnest Christians):
"Well, I Don't Think It Concerns Me Much, Anyway:
I've always thought that in most cases it meant death, and
if I'm prepared for death, that's enough; and there is too
much speculation about it to suit me; and I don't believe
it's a practical doctrine; and, more than that, I think it's a
mistake to pay so much attention to it."
Yes, even thus do many Christians, who profess to be
members of the body of Christ, end who have been
espoused unto one husband, that they may be presented to
Him -summarily dispose of this precious truth, that
Jesus is coming, to take unto Himself His bride.
0, beloved, do not thus deprive yourself of this comforting truth. Please take your pencil and mark in your Bible
the passages that pertain to it; and see
How Large a Portion of the Word Is Devoted to It.
If the Holy Ghost has deemed it so important, is it not
worthy of our attention? The Word exhorts us to give
attention to it; and the danger of condemnation is to
them who do not.
Again, please to examine the passages cited under the
heading, ((A Practical Doctrine," on page 180 and see how
Jesus and the apostles used this doctrine to incite us to
watchfulness, repentance, patience, ministerial faithfulness,
brotherly love, etc., and then decide whether anything could
be more practical.
Surely no doctrine, in the Word of God, presents a deeper
motive for crucifying the flesh, and for separation unto
God, and to work for souls, as our hope and joy and crown
of rejoicing than this does.
For the whole teaching of it is, that our conversation
(citizenship) is in heaven; from whence, also, we look for
the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our
vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious
body." It awakens groaning for the adoption, to wit, the
redemption of our body.
It gives us a view of the world, as a wrecked vessel,
and stimulates us to work with all our might that we may
save some. Most, if not all, of the evangelists of our day
are animated by this doctrine, and surely their work is
practical.
Again, Peter says, "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" ; and he exhorts
us to be mindful of these words. Therefore we are not
speculating when we prayerfully study prophecy.
