PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Lord's Coming. Miscellaneous Writings of C. H. Mackintosh, vol. II
Mackintosh, Charles Henry, 1820-1896 · 117,606 words · 174 reading sections
C. H. M.
* * * * * "_And I say unto you My friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear Him which after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell;--yea, I say unto you, Fear Him._" (Luke xii. 4, 5.)…
60 wordsSECTION 122THE LORD'S COMING
By C. H. M. _Author of Notes on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy._…
15 wordsSECTION 123INTRODUCTORY
The attentive reader of the New Testament will find in its pages three solemn and weighty facts presented to his view; namely, first, That the Son of God has come into this world and gone away; secondly, That the Holy Ghost has come down to this earth, and is here still; and, thirdly, That the Lord Jesus is coming agai…
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This is the true standard by which to measure the world, and by which to measure the condition of every unconverted man, woman and child in the world. If I want to know what the world is I have only to reflect that the world is that which stands charged before God with the deliberate murder of His Son. Tremendous fact!…
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But let us look at the other side of the picture. Turn to Psalm xxii., which presents the blessed One suffering under the hand of God. Here the result is wholly different. Instead of judgment and vengeance, it is universal and everlasting blessedness and glory. "I will declare thy name unto my brethren; in the midst of…
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II. But we must now glance for a moment at our second weighty fact. God the Holy Ghost has come down to this earth. It is now over eighteen long centuries since the blessed Spirit descended from heaven; and He has been here ever since. This is a stupendous fact. There is a divine Person on this earth; and His presence-…
664 wordsSECTION 127THE FACT ITSELF
In approaching this most glorious subject, we feel that we cannot do better than to lay before the reader the distinct testimony of holy Scripture to the broad fact itself, that our Lord Jesus Christ will come again--that He will leave the place which He now occupies on His Father's throne, and come in the clouds of he…
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Thus, for example, in the case of the penitent thief on the cross, our Lord does not speak of coming to fetch him; but He says, "To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise." We really must remember that Scripture is as divinely definite as it is divinely inspired, and hence it never could and it never does confound two t…
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Is it possible for testimony to be more distinct or satisfactory? Could proof be more clear or conclusive? How can any counter argument stand for a moment, or any objection be raised? Either those two men in white apparel were false witnesses, or our Jesus shall come again in the exact manner in which He went away. The…
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Here we have a fine illustration of the effect of a full clear gospel, received in simple earnest faith. They turned from idols, to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son. They were actually converted to the blessed hope of the Lord's coming. It was an integral part of the gospel which Paul preached; an…
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We shall have occasion to refer to this remarkable passage again, when handling other branches of this glorious subject. We merely quote it here as one of the almost innumerable proofs of the fact that our Lord will come again, personally, really, and actually; and that His personal coming is the true and proper hope o…
235 wordsSECTION 132THE DOUBLE BEARING OF THE FACT
Having, as we trust, fully established, in our last paper, the fact of the Lord's coming, we have now to place before the reader the double bearing of that fact--its bearing upon the Lord's people, and its bearing upon the world. The former is presented, in the New Testament, as the coming of Christ to receive His peop…
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Here then is the scope and theme of prophecy--Israel and the nations. A child can understand this. If we range through the prophets, from the opening of Isaiah to the close of Malachi, we shall not find so much as a single line about the church of God--its position, its portion, or its prospects. No doubt the word of p…
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Thus we reach a position from which we can get a view of the church's proper hope; and that hope is, most assuredly, "the bright and morning star." Of this hope the Old Testament prophets utter not a syllable. They speak largely and clearly of "The day of the Lord"--a day of judgment upon the world and its ways (see Is…
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Now, it is most evident that, if the saints accompany their Lord when He comes in judgment, they must be with Him previously. The fact of their going to Him is not presented in the book of Revelation, unless it be involved--as we doubt not it is--in the catching up of the man child, in chapter xii. The man child is, mo…
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It cannot, therefore, be a question of avoiding that which is our appointed portion in this world, if only we are true to Christ. But the fact is, that the entire truth of the church's position and prospect is involved in this question, and this is our reason for urging it so upon the prayerful attention of our readers…
251 wordsSECTION 137"THE COMING" AND "THE DAY."
We must now ask the reader to turn with us for a little to the two epistles to the Thessalonians. As we have already remarked, these Christians were converted to the blessed hope of the Lord's return. They were taught to look for Him day by day. It was not merely the doctrine of the advent received and held in the mind…
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Here, then, we have presented to us what is commonly spoken of amongst us as the rapture of the saints--a most glorious, soul-stirring, and enrapturing theme surely--the brightest hope of the church of God, and of the individual believer. The Lord _Himself_ shall descend from heaven with a summons designed only for the…
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But it will perhaps be asked, "Of what use, then, is prophecy? If indeed it be true that we cannot find aught about the church on the prophetic page, of what possible use can it be to Christians? Why should we be told to take heed to it if it does not immediately concern us?" We reply, Is nothing of any value to us sav…
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We are intensely anxious that the Christian reader should thoroughly enter into this grand and important distinction. We feel persuaded that it will have an immense effect upon all his thoughts and views and hopes of the future. It will enable him to see, without a single intervening cloud, his true prospect as a Chris…
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Thus, for example, the error of the Thessalonian Christians in reference to their departed brethren was made the occasion of pouring such a flood of divine light upon the Lord's coming, and upon the rapture of the saints, that it is impossible for any simple mind that bows to Scripture ever to fall into a similar mista…
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Let the reader note this carefully. It is not the question of Christians suffering tribulation. They are actually called to it in this world, so long as wickedness has the upper hand. Christ suffered, and so must they. But the point we want to fasten upon the mind and heart of the Christian is, that when Christ comes t…
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Thus, wherever we turn, in whatever way we look at the subject, we are more and more confirmed in the truth of the clear distinction between our Lord's "coming," or "state of presence," and His "appearing," or "day." The former is ever held up before the heart as the bright and blessed hope of the believer, which may b…
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We may have occasion to go more freely into this profoundly interesting point by-and-by. We can only now entreat the reader to study the subject for himself. Let him ponder Revelation iv., v., and ask God to interpret their precious contents to his soul. In this way we feel persuaded that he will learn that the twenty-…
550 wordsSECTION 145THE TWO RESURRECTIONS
It may be that some of our readers will feel startled by the title of this paper. Accustomed, from their earliest days, to look at this great question through the medium of Christendom's standards of doctrine and confessions of faith, the idea of two resurrections has never once entered their minds. Nevertheless Script…
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A moment's just reflection will suffice to convince the reader that the apostle is not speaking here of the great broad truth of "the resurrection of the dead," inasmuch as every one must rise again. But there was something specific before the heart of this dear servant of Christ, namely, "a resurrection from among the…
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How solemn is all this! How real! How soul-subduing! If our Lord were to come to-night what a scene would be enacted in all our cemeteries and graveyards! What tongue, what pen can portray--what heart can conceive--the grand realities of such a moment? There are thousands of tombs in which lie mingled the ashes of the …
815 wordsSECTION 148THE JUDGMENT
There is something peculiarly painful in the thought of having so frequently to come in collision with the generally received opinions of the professing church. It looks presumptuous to contradict, on so many subjects, all the great standards and creeds of Christendom. But what is one to do? Were it indeed a mere quest…
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But, in truth, there is no need of reasoning on the point. One sentence of holy Scripture is better far than ten thousand of man's most cogent arguments. Our Lord Christ hath declared, in the clearest and most emphatic terms, that believers "shall not come into judgment." This is enough. The believer was judged over ei…
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If then it be true that Israel is not included in the judgment of Matthew xxv. then, without proceeding one step further, the idea of its being a general judgment must be abandoned. It cannot be general, if all are not included; but Israel is never included under the term "Gentiles." Scripture speaks of three distinct …
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In short, there is not a single feature in the scene, not a single fact in the history, not a single point in the narrative which does not make against the notion of a general judgment. And not only so, but the more we study Scripture, the more we know of the ways of God; the more we know of His nature, His character, …
478 wordsSECTION 152THE JEWISH REMNANT
We must ask the reader to open his Bible and read Matt. xxiv. 1-44. It forms a part of one of the most profound and comprehensive discourses that ever fell on human ears--a discourse which takes in, in its marvellous sweep, the destiny of the Jewish remnant; the history of Christendom; and the judgment of the nations. …
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Thus much as to the moral condition of Israel, in view of which our Lord spoke those unusually awful words quoted above; and, then, "He went out and departed from the temple." How reluctant he was to do this we know; for, blessed be His name, whenever He leaves a place of mercy, or enters a place of judgment, He moves …
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Now, it is of the utmost importance that the reader should recognize and understand the position of this remnant, and that it is with it our Lord is occupied in His marvellous discourse on the mount of Olives. To suppose for a moment that the persons here addressed were on Christian ground would involve the abandonment…
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Here then we have a most comprehensive sketch of the entire period from the moment in which our Lord was speaking, down to the time of the end. But the reader will need to bear in mind that there is an unnoticed interval--a parenthesis, a break--in this period, during which the great mystery of the church is unfolded. …
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Limited space forbids our entering as fully as we could wish into the remaining portion of this marvellous discourse; but the more closely each sentence is examined, the more fully each circumstance is weighed, the more clearly we must see that the persons addressed are not on proper Christian ground. The entire scene …
274 wordsSECTION 157CHRISTENDOM
What varied thoughts and feelings are awakened in the soul by the very sound of the word "Christendom!" It is a terrible word. It brings before us, at once, that vast mass of baptized profession which calls itself the church of God, but is not; which calls itself Christianity, but is not. Christendom is dark and a drea…
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Such was the solemn result--the awful consequence of man's daring intrusion upon that which was wholly of divine appointment. Has this no voice for Christendom? Assuredly it has. It sounds a warning note in our ears. It tells the professing church, in accents not to be mistaken, to beware of human intrusion upon a doma…
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All this is so clear, so distinct, so palpable, on the very surface of Scripture, that it is only necessary to say, "How readest thou?" And the more we penetrate beneath the surface--the more we are conducted by the Eternal Spirit into the profound and precious depths of inspiration--the more thoroughly convinced we sh…
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May the gracious Lord deliver His servants and His people from all participation in this great wickedness which is perpetrated in the very bosom of that which calls itself the church of God. And, on the other hand, may He lead them to understand, to appreciate, and to exercise that true, that precious, that divine mini…
432 wordsSECTION 161THE TEN VIRGINS
We now approach that solemn section of our Lord's discourse in which He presents the kingdom of heaven under the similitude of "Ten Virgins." The instruction contained in this most weighty and interesting parable is of wider application than that of the servant to which we have already referred, inasmuch as it takes in…
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Such is the true, the divine, the normal idea of the Christian's attitude and state. And this lovely idea was marvellously realized and practically carried out by the primitive Christians. But alas! alas! we are reminded of the fact that we have to do with the spurious as well as the true in Christendom. There are "tar…
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But here the grand distinction--the broad line of demarcation--comes out with awful, yea, with appalling clearness. "The foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps _are going out_" (see margin). This proves that their lamps had been lighted; for had they not been lighted, they could not go out. But …
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We must now draw this paper to a close; but, ere doing so, we shall just for a moment glance at the wise virgins. The great distinguishing feature which, according to the teaching of this parable, marks them off from the foolish virgins is that when starting at the first they "took oil in their vessels with their lamps…
697 wordsSECTION 165THE TALENTS
It only remains for us now to consider that portion of our Lord's discourse in which He again takes up the deeply solemn subject of ministerial responsibility during the time of His absence. That this stands closely connected with the hope of His coming is evident from the fact that having summed up the parable of the …
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And even where it is a question of local charge, as of deacons, in chapter vi., or of elders, in chapter xiv., it is by direct apostolic appointment. In other words, it is divine. A man could not even appoint himself to a deaconship, much less to an eldership. In the case of the former, inasmuch as the deacons were to …
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And what, we may ask, is the next prominent theme? Is it not ministry? Look at the parable of the servant made ruler over the household. How is he to serve? In view of his Lord's return. The ministry links itself on, as it were, to the departing and the return of the Master. It stands between, and is to be characterize…
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It is interesting and instructive to note the difference between the parable of the talents as given in Matthew, and the parable of the ten servants, in Luke xix. In the former, it is a question of divine sovereignty; in the latter, of human responsibility. In that, each receives a like sum; in this, one receives five,…
663 wordsSECTION 169CONCLUDING REMARKS
We must now draw this series of papers to a close; and it is with a strong feeling of reluctance that we do so. The theme is intensely interesting, deeply practical, and abundantly fruitful. Moreover, it is very suggestive, and opens up an extensive field of vision for the spiritual mind to range through with an intere…
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But, it may be, the reader feels disposed to ask--and ask, too, with astonishment, "Have not the four hundred and ninety years expired long ago?" We reply, Certainly not. Had they done so, Israel would be now in their own land, under the blessed reign of their own loved Messiah. Scripture cannot be broken; nor can we p…
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Here then we reach the end of the four hundred and ninety years which were determined or portioned out upon Daniel's people. To attempt to interpret this period without seeing the break and the long unnoticed interval, must of necessity plunge the mind in utter confusion. It cannot possibly be done. Numberless theories…
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All this marks off the Christian's position in the most definite manner possible. His portion and his prospects, too, are thus defined with equal clearness. It is vain to look into the prophetic page in order to find the church's position, her calling, or her hope. They are not there. It is entirely out of place for th…
766 wordsSECTION 173WAITING FOR THE SON
Rev. i. 5-7 In a day like the present, when knowledge on every question is so widely diffused, it is most needful to press upon the conscience of the Christian reader the vast distinction between merely holding the _doctrine_ of the Lord's second coming and actually waiting for His appearing (1 Thess. i. 10). Many, al…
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The verses which stand at the head of this paper present to us the divine basis on which to found all Scriptural knowledge, more especially prophetic knowledge. Before any one can utter his hearty amen to the announcement, "Behold he cometh with clouds," he must, without any question, be able to join in the blessed bur…
566 wordsSource & rights
Public domain in the USA; original historical text digitized by Project Gutenberg.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.