WE have now completed our examination of the reasons advanced by Mr. White in support of the post-tribulation view. After carefully weighing those reasons, we find that they fall far short of what would be required to carry conviction to the unbiassed mind; and we find further that the very Scriptures, cited to support that view, tend rather to refute it.

      We come now to the affirmative side of the discussion, and would inquire if there be any reasons fairly deducible from the Scriptures for expecting the Lord to raise up the sleeping saints and catch them up with the living ones into the air, before the occurrence of the Great Tribulation; or, in other words, as an every-day possibility. [61]

      The teaching of Scripture concerning the Judgment seat of Christ, before which every saint must stand to give an account of himself, and to receive of the deeds done in the body, whether "good or bad," has a direct bearing on our subject. We refer to it at this point because it connects closely with the last topic discussed above. For it furnishes another and strong reason why the Scriptures so often direct the thoughts of the saints to the time of the manifested glory of the Lord. The reason is that, at that time, as we understand the Scriptures, the session at the judgment seat will have been concluded.

      In Rom. xiv. 10, 12 we find these important words: "But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the Judgment seat of Christ..  . . So then, every one of us shall give account of himself to God."

      Again it is written: "For we must all appear before the Judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (2 Cor. v. 10).

      This session at the judgment seat, which will be an affair of great magnitude and solemnity, must necessarily take place after the Resurrection, for it is expressly said that "we shall all stand," "we must all appear" before Christ's Judgment seat. Hence "all" must be raised in order to appear there. The apostles themselves must be judged as to their acts, words, and works; for Paul says "We shall stand," "every one of us shall give account of himself."

      The trial of the believer's works by fire, described in 1 Cor. iii., is spoken of primarily in regard to the works of the apostles. "Every man's work shall be made manifest; for the day will declare it" (ver. 13). This verse definitely locates the judgment of the works and conduct of saints in "the day." The next chapter (1 Cor. iv. 1-5) is even more definite. In it Paul declares that, as a servant of Christ and steward of the mysteries of God, he is not to be judged by the Corinthian saints, "or of [63] man's judgment" (literally "man's day," which is this present age). "But," he says, "He that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore, judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come" (lit. shall have come).

      This Scripture, therefore, definitely places the judgment of saints after the Lord shall have come to raise the dead and change the living.

      There are, moreover, strong reasons for believing that this solemn session at Christ's judgment seat will take place before the Appearing or Revealing of the Lord with His glorified saints.

      In the first place, it is of some importance that the word for "come" in 1 Cor. iv. 5 is not one of the Greek words that signify revealing, or manifestation, or unveiling. It is (and this is significant in our opinion) the same word used in 1 Cor. xi. 26, "Ye do show the Lord's Death till He come." The Scripture does not say, Ye shall show the Lord's Death till He be revealed. Had it said that, it would show that the Church would be commemorating the Lord's Death up to the very [64] time of His Revealing. Whereas the use of the word "come" points to an earlier time. The word employed in both these passages is just that word which would be used if the saints of this dispensation were to be removed from earth to be with the Lord before His Revealing. Again, the word used in 1 Cor. iv. 5, telling when the judgment of saints will take place, is not the word used in 2 Thess. i. 7 to describe the Revealing of the Lord in judgment on the wicked. Hence, so far as this Scripture (1 Cor. iv. 5) speaks to the point (and in our opinion it speaks very much to the point), it declares that the judgment of the saints will be after the Coming of the Lord, but before the Revealing.

      Again, in 1 Pet. iv. 17 occurs this statement: "For the time (is come)¹ that judgment must begin at the house of God; and if it first begin at us, what shall the END be of them that obey not the Gospel of God?" This verse connects closely with 1 Thess. i. 7, 8, which contains the answer to Peter's question; for there [65] we learn what shall be "the end" of them "that obey not the Gospel." We have seen that the judgment of them that obey not the Gospel will take place "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven." But the passage in 1 Pet. iv. 17 expressly says the judgment of the house of God precedes the judgment of them that obey not the Gospel. Hence it precedes the Revealing of the Lord Jesus in flaming fire.

      In fact, it is impossible to conceive of any other time than the interval between the Rapture of the saints and their Appearing with the Lord in glory, when the matters that await judgment between the Lord and His people, and between saint and saint, could be disposed of judicially.

      That assize at Christ's judgment seat must necessarily be on a stupendous scale; for the words and acts of the saints, including all sins which have not been brought to self-judgment, will be reviewed and appropriately recompensed. And let it not be forgotten that there is not only "the recompense of reward" for faithfulness and obedience, which Moses had [66] in view (Heb. ix. 26), but also that there is "a just recompense of reward" for "every transgression and disobedience" (Heb. ii. 2, 3). For the saints are, every one, to receive "the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether good or bad."

      We know it is quite common, and alas! exceedingly popular, in this lax and easy-going day, either to ignore, or actually to set aside, this solemn and salutary warning concerning the judgment seat of Christ. Saints are quite willing to hear about receiving recompense for the things done in the body that are "good"; but are disposed to close their ears to the warning that they are to receive equally for the deeds that are "bad." But there stand the words of God, and we dare not set them aside, or water down their very clear meaning. Who can say to what extent the present low spiritual condition of the saints is due to the prevailing tendency, on the part of those who assume to teach and instruct them, to disregard or blunt the edge of the sharp warnings of Scripture, of which there are many, or to explain them away, or to assign them to others [67] than the children of God, for whose benefit they are given?

      Manifestly the proceedings at Christ's judgment seat will require much time; and we may be sure that the Lord will not hurry through an affair of such solemnity and importance. All His acts are done deliberately and impressively. Hence there must needs be a long interval between the Rapture and the Appearing; and we find in the Scriptures we have examined, ample warrant for concluding that this interval will coincide with the career of Antichrist and the Great Tribulation on earth.

      It is safe to assume that the session of the judgment seat will be a private affair, so far as the world is concerned; for, of course, the conduct of the saints would not be investigated in the presence of the ungodly. It is also to be inferred that, when the saints appear with Christ in glory, each will have been assigned to the position he is to occupy in the Kingdom. Hence the need of a long period of time for the Lord apart with His saints, [68] before He comes to earth with them in manifested glory.

      The Old Testament prophecies concerning the Coming of Christ exhibit the same peculiarity as those of the New Testament, in that they foretell many distinct events, but do not usually state the order of their occurrence, or the length of the interval between them.

      The students of Old Testament prophecy who sought to fix the time of the Coming of the expected King would have pondered such passages for example, as Zech. ix. 9: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold THY KING COMETH UNTO THEE. He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass." Also Isa. ix. 6, 7; xxxii. 1; Psa. xlv. 1-7, etc. And in the attempt to fix the order of His Coming in relation to other predicted events they would, of course, have noted particularly Isa. xl. 3: "The voice of him that crieth in the [69] wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord"; and Mal. iii. 1: "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me; and the Lord Whom ye seek shall suddenly come to His Temple"; and Mal. iv. 5: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord."

      From these prophecies the expositor might have insisted, and with a show of reason, that the Lord could not "come" to His Temple until the messenger should first appear to prepare the way "before" Him; and that they who looked for Him to appear before the predicted messenger were indulging a vain expectation.

      Yet the fact is that the Lord came to His Temple thirty years before the predicted messenger appeared to announce Him; and He was seen by Simeon (the "hearer") who was led by the Holy Spirit, by Anna, who waited upon the Lord in the Temple, by the shepherds who were keeping their flocks by night, and by the wise men from the East, who saw His star, and hence must have been watching [70] in the night; and, Moreover, His Coming was made known "to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem" (Luke ii. 38).

      No one will pretend that there is anything like such strong proof for the post-tribulation Coming of the Lord for the waiting saints, as the Old Testament afforded to those who might have contended that the "Coming" of Christ could not be until after the "predicted signs," particularly the advent of the forerunner. Hence those saints who are now seeking to obey the Lord's injunction to look up, and lift up their heads, believing that the season for expecting the promised "redemption" has arrived, would be very unwise to abate that expectation through giving heed to the doctrine that the Lord cannot come to take them to Himself until Antichrist shall have appeared, and the Great Tribulation shall have run its dreadful course.

      The opening chapters of Luke's Gospel show us a little company of obscure people who were "looking for redemption in Israel," and some others who were watching in the night. The closing chapters point to another [71] company who likewise will be watching in the night, and who will give seasonable heed to the Lord's exhortation, looking up, and lifting up their heads, in confident expectation that their "redemption draweth nigh." Surely the resemblance here pointed out is not a mere coincidence; and surely it contains a lesson for those who are able to receive it.

      It is desirable, for the purposes of our inquiry, to refer to the several passages which expressly mention the Great Tribulation. The first clear reference to that period of unparalleled trial is found in Jer. xxx. 4-9. We there read of it, "Alas! for that day is GREAT, so that there is NONE LIKE IT; it is even the time of Jacob's Trouble; but HE shall be saved out of it."

      From this we learn that the Great Tribulation, so "great" that there is "none like it" (cf. the Lord's words in Matt. xxiv. 21, "great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever [72] shall be"), is a part of the national history of apostate Israel, and is the culmination of God's punitive dealings with that people for its rebellion and apostasy.²

      Again in Daniel xii. 1 we read, "And there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation (i. e., a nation of Israel) even to that same time: and at that time THY PEOPLE shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the Book." This was part of a prophecy given to Daniel by the mighty angel who said, "Now I am come to make thee understand what shall BEFALL THY PEOPLE in the latter days" (Dan. x. 14).

      We have, then, the most solid reasons for saying that the Great Tribulation is the portion of the unconverted apostate nation, Israel, and has no relation whatever to the Church of Christ. It is expressly for those who departed from the Lord before His First Coming, and by whom He was despised and rejected at His Coming. Most assuredly it is not for those who received Him, believed [73] on His Name, and were made members of His own Body. What conceivable reason could there be why those who accept Christ when preached to them, should share the punishment of those who despised and rejected Him?

      There is positively no sounder reason for holding that the Church is to partake of the Great Tribulation than for holding that it is to partake of the wrath of the Lamb.

      The fact that the Lord mentions the Tribulation in speaking to His own disciples, and that the latter formed subsequently the nucleus of the Church of Christ, affords not the slightest ground for saying that the Church must experience the Tribulation. In Luke xxi. 24 the Lord, speaking also to His own disciples, stated that the Israelites should be led away captive into all nations. If our friend's argument were valid, it would equally well prove that the Church was to partake of that captivity among the nations.

      The reference to the Great Tribulation in Matt. xxiv. has been sufficiently noticed, and its bearing upon our inquiry pointed out. We [74] therefore need only call attention to the further fact that the Lord, in speaking of the Great Tribulation, said nothing to broaden the scope of that period of judgment, so as to include in it others than Israelites, or to extend its area beyond the land of Judea. On the contrary, the words "then let them which be in Judea flee to the mountains" fix the locality of the event.

      Finally, the Great Tribulation is named in Rev. vii. 14. The literal rendering of that verse is "these are they who come out of the Tribulation, the great one." This chapter throws light on our subject.

      It is a significant fact that, in the forefront of the chapter of this prophecy which speaks of the Great Tribulation, there are presented to view the entire Twelve Tribes of Israel. So far as the Book of Revelation discloses the state of things on earth at the approaching end times, the Church disappears entirely from view after chapter iii. Then, at chapter vii., Israel appears again on the scene; all the Tribes being put before us as composing one nation, for the first time since the rebellion of [75] Jeroboam. And this is the introduction to the subject of the Great Tribulation. The disappearance from view of the Church and Churches, and the re-appearance under the Eye and Hand of God of all the Tribes of Israel, just prior to the Great Tribulation, furnishes another reason, and to our mind a weighty one, for concluding that the Tribulation is the portion of Israel, as distinct from the Church.

      After the sealing of 12,000 out of each of the Tribes of the children of Israel, a great multitude is seen standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white garments, and having palm-branches, the emblems of victory, in their hands (ver. 9).

      John, an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, is not one of that company, and does not recognize them, but needs to be told who they are. The elder, who also is not one of them, informs him that these are they who came out of the Great Tribulation.

      From this it appears that the multitude who shall be saved out of the Great Tribulation constitute a distinct company, separate from all other companies of saved human beings. [76] Moreover, the recorded conversation between John and the elder indicates quite clearly, in our opinion, that this multitude is not the Church.

      Verse 9 gives some support to the view that the Great Tribulation will extend over all the earth, for it says that the saved multitude was "out of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues." This, however, is not conclusive. The multitude may be composed entirely of Israelites, for they will have been gathered out of all nations and lands. A similar expression is found in other Scriptures, speaking of Israel. For example, "Whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy; and gathered them out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south" (Psa. cvii. 2, 3). On the Day of Pentecost there were at Jerusalem, "Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven" (Acts ii. 5). But whether or not this saved multitude is composed only of Israelites, it seems quite clear that it is distinct from the Church.

      Furthermore, at a time considerably anterior [77] to the appearance of the tribulation-saints, which occurs after the sixth seal (which seal marks the beginning of the "great day of wrath"), there is seen in heaven a redeemed company, the four-and-twenty elders, seated around the Lamb, "clothed in white raiment," and "having on their heads crowns of gold." We are not disposed to insist that those "elders" represent the Church. That point is too much disputed to permit the drawing of inferences from it. But after making all reasonable allowances for uncertainties of the text and its interpretation, it seems clear that these elders are redeemed human beings; for they have the white garments significant of the righteousness of the saints, and they sing the song of redemption. Since these are in heaven long before the Great Tribulation begins (even before the opening of the first seal) there must have been a Resurrection and Rapture before the Tribulation.

      As we have seen, the Scriptures distinctly [78] announce the Great Tribulation as the culminating judgment appointed for apostate Israel. It further appears that Israel will plunge into it in the ignorance of unbelief. They at least do not know what is in store for them. The only ones who know of the coming of the Great Tribulation are the few saints who take sufficient interest in the Return of the Lord Jesus to search the Scriptures for light upon that event. So that, if the post-tribulation view be correct, only those saints who love the Lord's Appearing have before them the known prospect and bitter anticipation of undergoing the judgment expressly pronounced upon Israel for its apostasy.

      But the Scriptures do not so speak. On the contrary, they clearly and definitely put before the saints of God the prospect of the resurrection of the dead in Christ incorruptible, the changing of the living, and the catching away of both to meet the Lord in the air, without the intervention of any definite period of tribulation. In the Scriptures there is no confusion in regard to the two outlooks, that of unbelieving Israel toward the Great [79] Tribulation, and that of the saints towards the Coming of Christ. Those several prospects are as different in character as are the two classes of human beings to which they respectively pertain; one class having rejected Christ, the other being composed of those who believe on Him and belong to Him. According to the Scripture there is no more likelihood of the participation of the saints in the prospect of apostate Israel, than of participation by apostate Israel in the prospect of the Church. How is it possible to confuse two things so radically distinct as these? It amounts practically to saying that, in the exceedingly important matter of the immediate prospect which the Word of God puts before mankind, it matters not at all whether men accept Christ, or reject Him.

      The very fact that the Tribulation is the era of the rule of Antichrist, and that its horrors are the fruit of his rule, would seem to forbid the thought that they who are Christ's are to partake of it.

      The Lord said to the Jews, "I am come in My Father's Name, and ye receive Me not: [80] if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive" (John v. 43). That "other" is Antichrist. And the apostle Peter said: "But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you" (Acts iii. 14). The fruit of that choice will be tasted in the reign of Antichrist. By whom? Surely by those who made that choice. "Say to the righteous that it shall be well with him, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe to the wicked! it shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands" (what his own hands have matured) "shall be given him" (Isa. iii. 10, 11).

      It seems, therefore, a strange confusion to assign to those who have received the Christ of God by faith the consequences specially visited upon those who rejected Him, which consequences flow directly from their rejection.

      Numerous passages of Scripture testify concerning that which is put before the saints as [81] their immediate prospect. We lay stress upon the word "immediate" because it has been frequently said that one may be none the less sincerely looking for and expecting the Coming of the Lord, because he expects the Great Tribulation to come first. But to that we must reply that the character and duration of the Great Tribulation are such that no human being could look calmly through and beyond it to a joyful expectation of the Lord's Appearing. Made as we are, if Antichrist and the Great Tribulation be our immediate prospect, then those fearful events must necessarily occupy us, practically to the exclusion of "the Blessed Hope."

      It has even been said that the waiting for Christ to come after the Tribulation is like waiting for a loved one to arrive by train, and meanwhile observing the semaphore signal which must first fall. Such an one (so runs the argument) is none the less eagerly expecting the coming one because he knows he cannot come until after the signal falls. But is there any likeness at all between the two cases? [82]

      An illustration, to be effective, should resemble the thing illustrated. The dropping of a semaphore signal is a very simple affair; but what would be the state of mind of the waiting one if he knew that, before the expected arrival, he must pass through years of horrors of such character and magnitude that the world has never seen the like, and never will again? If that were his immediate prospect, how much room would there be in his heart for anticipated enjoyment of the loved one's remote arrival? Could one speak lightly of the Great Tribulation if he had an idea of what it will be to those who have to endure its awful experiences?

      When we recall the unspeakable cruelties inflicted by the Romans upon the early Church, and the awful atrocities of the Inquisition; and when we remember that the Great Tribulation will exceed those periods of horror, we can but wonder that the Great Tribulation should be likened to the mere dropping of a semaphore signal. Thankful we should be that the Lord has given us some tokens to herald the "times and seasons" of His [83] Coming; and deeply thankful, that the Great Tribulation is not one of them.

      So the important practical question is, What does the Word of God put before the saints as their immediate prospect? The answer to this question is involved in no doubt or uncertainty.

      Among the Scriptures that bear upon this question are the very Scriptures, Matt. xxiv., Mark xiii., and Luke xii. and xxi., which are cited by those who hold the post-tribulation view. We call attention to the fact that, in the very discourse in which the Lord foretells the coming of the Great Tribulation in the land of Judea, He bids His own disciples to watch--not for the Tribulation, but--for His own Coming. "Watch, therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come" (ver. 42). This is in accordance with all Scripture in placing the Lord's Coming before the minds of the saints as something for which they are to be ever watching.

      The corresponding words in Luke's Gospel are, "Watch ye, therefore, and pray at every [84] season" (Luke xxi. 36, R. V.). These words are addressed to the common understanding of common people; and their meaning and purpose are transparently clear.

      Furthermore, in the passage in Matthew, the Lord says: "But know this that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched. . . . Therefore, be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh" (verses 43, 44).

      These words give, and plainly were intended to give, the impression that, as a thief might come at any hour of the night, without any preliminary warnings of his coming, so the Lord might come for His saints at any hour of the night of His absence, without conspicuous signs of His Advent. We say "conspicuous" signs, for there is a distinct intimation that those who "watch" will have some preliminary indications of His Coming; just as a watchful person in the house might hear the faint sounds of the thief's preparations to enter. It is pertinent to observe that, in [85] speaking to His Own disciples of His Coming for them, the Lord breathes no word about the Tribulation.

      Then follows the solemn warning to servants concerning the effect of saying in the heart "My Lord delayeth His Coming?" Why is this warning given just here? We cannot ignore it, nor the connection in which it is given. For there it stands in immediate connection with the event which not a few servants of the Lord are introducing, in their teaching, between the Lord's people and the expectation of His Coming. We would not for a moment suggest that the teachers referred to are in the category mentioned by the Lord, for we are sure they are not saying "in their heart" that the Lord delays His Coming, much less are they doing the things mentioned in verse 49. Indeed, we must admit that one might be in fact saying in his heart, "My Lord delayeth His Coming," even though holding the view of His Coming as an imminent possibility.

      What, therefore, we take to he the purpose [86] of this part of the discourse is, to point out the consequences that are liable to ensue through holding any doctrine which causes the heart of the saint to regard the Lord's Coming as a remote event. We learn from these words of our Lord that it is exceedingly important in His Eyes that His servants should ever be expecting His arrival. The heart-expectation of His Coming will lead to diligent and faithful service. As written in Luke xii. 36, He wishes them to be always "like unto men that wait for their Lord."³ Upon such servants as He shall find watching when He comes He pronounces a special blessing. How could this blessing be gained, especially by such as pass away from the earth before He comes, except by always watching for Him--which is exactly what He bids them do? And how can they be always watching for Him if they expect before His Coming a period of years [87] which cannot even begin for some time yet?

      In the same Scripture (Luke xii. 38) the Lord intimates that He might "come in the second watch, or come in the third watch" of the night. How is that compatible with the view that He cannot come until the arrival of "the day"?

      Especially would we direct attention to the words of the Lord recorded in Mark xiii. 32-37:

      "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch."

      (Surely this command to watch means that [88] the servant should do so from the very time of the departure).

      "Watch YE, therefore; for YE know not when the master of the house cometh; at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning: lest coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto all, "Watch."

      It could hardly be said in plainer language that the Coming of the Lord might be in any one of the four watches of the night.

      So much for the Lord's own teaching concerning the immediate prospect before His saints. And as the Lord taught His disciples, so have the apostles taught the Church. Always and invariably the prospect put before the saints has been the Coming of the Lord. Never, among all the numerous references to that prospect in which their teaching abounds, is there so much as an intimation or hint that the saints, or any of them, are to share apostate Israel's portion, the Great Tribulation. The saints were turned to God from idols to [89] wait for His Son from heaven, Who delivers us from the wrath to come (1 Thess. i. 9, 10). They look for the Saviour to come out of heaven to change the bodies of their humiliation (Phil. iii. 21). They look for Him to appear the second time, apart from sin, unto salvation (Heb. ix. 28). Always thus. Never is any other prospect put before the saints by the inspired apostles.

      So we here have that clear guidance which, as we said at the outset, the Scriptures afford for all practical purposes; and these are the important purposes.

      We may not possess the ability to settle with certainty by definite Scripture testimony, the sequence of predicted events. The wish to do that may be merely the prompting of idle curiosity. But we, can, and undoubtedly we should, follow the example of Christ and His apostles in keeping always before ourselves and before our fellow saints, the prospect of the Lord's Coming for us, as an ever imminent possibility, and in admonishing ourselves and them, to be in instant readiness [90] for Him. Beyond any doubt, that is, according to the Scriptures, our immediate prospect.

      It needs no deep study of prophecy to discover what the Lord and His apostles taught as to this; and it is as evident as anything need be, that those brethren who preach and teach that the Church must share with Israel the terrible experiences of the Great Tribulation, and that there can be no Coming of the Lord for His saints, and no Resurrection or Rapture, until after the career of Antichrist is ended, have departed, in a matter of great practical importance, from the teaching of the Word of God.

      Thus the discussion brings us, at the outcome, to the consideration of the practical effect of the teaching. Those who assume the serious responsibility of instructing the saints are bound to consider very carefully what will be the effect of the doctrine upon the hearts and lives of those who receive it. Will it help them? Will it increase their vigilance, admonish them as to their walk, and put them on [91] guard against the seductions of the world and the inclinations of the flesh? Or will it harm them, and tend rather to make them careless and indifferent in their conduct? If the teaching be such as cannot be of practical benefit to the saints, but is more likely to do harm (as I conceive must certainly be the effect of the teaching we are reviewing), then we are justified in regarding it with strong suspicion.

      Our friends do not (so far as I am aware) point to any wholesome influence which their teaching could possibly exert upon the hearts or lives of the Lord's people. They say however, that, if the teaching be according to Scripture, it must be taught and accepted, regardless of its practical effect. And to this proposition we must needs agree. Let the doctrine of God's Word be given to His people regardless of what the consequences may seem to be. But we cannot conceive that a doctrine which is according to Scripture could possibly exert any but a purifying influence upon those who receive it.

      Our brother, Mr. White, fully realizes that [92] the expectation of the immediate Coming of the Lord does exert a most wholesome influence upon the heart, for he says, in concluding, his pamphlet, "With very many others I long, with increasing longing, for a fuller and deeper consecration to the Lord, both in word and deed. I believe this to be the one great need of the present time; but I fear lest, in our anxiety to promote it, we should be found dislocating the truth of God." We should, indeed, deeply regret to be found dislocating the truth of God, even though it be done with the praiseworthy motive of promoting what our brother well says is the "one great need of the present time." We are confident, however, that there is no danger of "dislocating the truth" though following the example of the inspired New Testament writers, who never, in a single instance, intruded upon the outlook of the saints the horrors of the Great Tribulation. We believe the Holy Ghost, in speaking of watching for the Lord's Coming, always says "To-day," never "To-morrow, or the day after." [93]

      Therefore we arrive at the end of our inquiry with the strong conviction that the attitude of "Looking for the Saviour," in expectation of His possible Corning any day, is not only most salutary and purifying in its influence upon the believer's conduct, but also is in full accord with the teaching, of the Word of God.

[LFTS 61-94]