Forward
This book is designed mainly
for those who are beginners in the study of prophetic and dispensational truth,
though should it fall into the hands of those who are "looking for that
blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus
Christ" and who have, perhaps for years, been giving earnest heed to the "more sure Word of prophecy," we trust that it
will afford meat in due season and stimulate praise to God for the marvelous
and blessed prospect which His Word sets before us.
Many books have already
appeared before the public presenting in clear and Scriptural
language the various aspects of the subject of our Lord’s Return, and we
hesitated long before we decided to add one more to the number. The different
chapters in this volume have been given by the writer in sermon and lecture
form to numerous audiences both in this country and in England, and it is only
the repeated requests of many of those who have heard these addresses which has
caused us to now set them down in writing, so that they may
be preserved in a more permanent form and obtain a still wider hearing. They
are sent forth with the prayer that the God of all grace will condescend to use
them in blessing to His dear people and in the conversion of lost sinners even
more widely than in their oral delivery.
While it is
true that many books which treat of the Redeemer’s Return have been issued and
widely circulated, yet, there are still great numbers of the Lord’s people who
know next to nothing about this precious theme. Notwithstanding the fact that
the Second Coming of Christ occupies a prominent place in the Holy Scriptures,
nothwithstanding the fact that this subject is a most practical one having, as
it does, some bearing on every phase of our present and
future life, and notwithstanding that it is calculated to awaken a deep
interest in "things to come" and lead to definite heart-searching,
nevertheless, the vast majority of our pulpits entirely ignore the subject and
in consequence great numbers of our church-members are in almost total
ignorance concerning those things which God’s Word declares will shortly come to pass. It is with the earnest desire to reach a
few of these that this book has been prepared and is now sent forth.
We wish it to be clearly
understood that there is nothing in these pages except that which we have
ourselves first received. We lay no claim at all to originality. We have read diligently many works on prophetic themes and have sought
to "prove all things" and to "hold fast that which is
good." It is impossible for us now to do more than make this general
acknowledgment of our indebtedness to other students of the Word. We have
gleaned in many fields, gathering a fragrant flower here and there, and all
that we now attempt is to arrange these in simple form, leaving our readers to admire the products of the labors of others into which we
have entered.