Watchtower: Our Lord's Return, 1925
Watchtower: Our Lord's Return, 1925
Watchtower: Our Lord's Return, 1925
RETURN
1925.
PRINTED IN U. S. A:,
Copyrighted by
mEfu'ifATIONAL
B the foUowmg
npon
facts, to wit: 'rhat about A. D.
1 there was born in Bethlehem a babe, who was
named Jesus; that he grew to manhood's estate;
that he was a great teaeller; that he was crucified on a
cross of wood, and died; ane) that the Christian religion
is based upon the teachings of this great Teacher, Jesus
of Nazareth.
The Bible teachings abundantly prove that JesUs of
Nazareth, at the age of thirty years, was baptized ill
the river Jordan; that he selecteel twelve disciples, who
were his special pupils dUTing the three and one-half
years that followed; that his crucifixion had been foretold by J chovab's prophets; that 011 the third day aftcr
I,is death he was resurrected from the dead; that fOTty
days thereafter he ascended into heaven and ten days
Jater the holy spirit was givell to his faithful disciples,
who we-re waiting at Jerusalem as directed by him; and
that these disciples conndently expected the second com
ing of Jesus Christ, and that later, in their epistles
to the Church, they spoke of his coming again. These
facts m'e cQllceded by aU who believe in the Bible.
Therefore, if the Scriptures conclusively establish the
fact of his second coming, then we should expect to fmd
therein proof as to the manner of his coming, the time
of his coming, and the purpose of his coming the second
time. In this order we examine the Scriptural evidence.
,come again.
O~r
Lora:~ Rdurn
gi ving~pi-rit
in
10
11
The Greek is a more precise language than the English. Our English Bible nses severa L wo rds which relate to t he second coming of the Lord . A.n .xamUIRtion
of the telc'i;s in which these different .vords .ppear, with
reference to the Greek, enables one to get" betier view
of the guestion under examination. There are three
12
"So shall also the presence of' the Son of man be."Matthew 24: 27, 37, 39.
"They that are Christ's, at his presence."- 1 Corinthians 15: 23.
('"What is our hope, or joy] 01' crown of rejo]ci:ng?
Are not even ye, before oUI Lord Jesus Christ at his
presence?"-l Thessalonians 2: 19. R. V_
That '11e may Btablish yom hearts unblameable in
ho!iness before God, even our Fa.ther, at the presence
of our Lord J esus Christ."-l Thessalonians 3 : 13.
'CWe which are alive, and remain unto the presence
of the Lord sllall not prevent (hinder] them which are
asleep."-l Thessalonians 4: 15.
"Be preserved blameless Imto the presence of our
Lord J esus Christ."-l Thessalonians 5: 23.
"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the presence of
,Ur Lord J esus ClITist and by OUI gathering together
wto him."-2 Thessalonians 2: 1.
~'Be patient therefore brethren, :unto the p1:6SeWlil
Of ilia Lord."-J~mes 5 : .'1.
o
Ma""!el' of H ~ Coming
13
15
16
01l~
Lord's Retum
1'1
A text that is often confnsing concerning the manner 'of the Lord's coming is that of Revelation 1: 7 :
"Behold, he cometh with elollds; amI every eye shall
see him!' As heretofore stated, clouds symbolize trouble.
The word here tl'nnslatecl see" is from the Gl'eek word
harM, and is given by Dr. James 'Strong to meau
"discem ": The proper unde1'st;anding of the text, then,
is that as the trouble upou the earth incident to the
time of the preseuce of the Lore1 i.ncreases, t hc people
will discern the presence of the Lord. They will be
informed as to the mealling of the tronble; anll thus
his presence will gradually be made known to them
nntil they. all discern that the t rouble is because of
the fJord's presence and a change of dispensation from
the old to the new older.
18
V Ut L ord'8 Return;
St. P a]ll was :t real Christi~n. He was not a D. D.
who cannot understand, such as are the D. D.'s of this
preseut time. (Isaiah 56: 10, 11) Here the Prophet
says that some who claim to be watchmen will be blind
apd ignorant; and that these would be D. D.'s, sleeping
!!J1d iying down, loving slum~er. He then says that
they a;e greedy, never able to get enough, shepherds
of congregations that cannot understand; that they
lool\. out ouly for themselves, to get gain from their own
congregation. The true watchers are not of tIPs class.
;ri)e Lord had given St. Paul a vision of his p1an, including his second coming. (2 Corinthians 12: 4) Addressing himself to thc true and faithful followers of
Jesus, who diligently seek to know his way of light
and to walk therein, the Apostle said: ''But of the times
and the seasdns, lll'ethren, ye have no need that I write
u nto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day
of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.... But
ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should
overtnke you as a thief. Ye are all the children of
light, and the c~ildren of the day; we are not of the
night, 110r of darkneas. Therefore let us not sleep, as
do others ; but let us watch and be sober. For they
th3t sleep, sleep in the njght; and they that be drunken
are drunken in the night."-l Thessalonians 5 : 1-7.
21
23
sliall lie purlfied, and made white, and tried; bnt tJie
wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall
underftand: but the wise shall understand!'-Daniel
12:8-10.
::rhe Lord had caused Daniel to record specificaDy
what would happen when the time of the end should
begin. The "time of the end" means a specific period
at the end of Gentile dominion. "And at the tinne of
the eral shaD the king of the south push at him: and
the king of the north shall c,ome against him like a
whi,hvind, with charioh, and with horsemen, and with
many ships: and he shall enter into the countries, ancl
shall overflow and pass over, H e shall enter also into
the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown!'-Daniel 11 : 40, 41,
The fulfilment of this prophecy iL"{es the beginning
of the "time of the end" ; for the prophecy definitely so
st.~tes.
The campaign of the great warrior Napoleon
Bonaparte is clearly a fulfilment of this prophecy, as
reference to the historical fnch concerning his campaign
plaiuly shows. 'I'he "I,ing of the south" mentioned ill
the prophecy refers to Egypt; the "king of the north"
means Great Britain, which was then an integral part
of the Roman empire, N apolean was in Egypt, fighting
the Egyptian armies, which were led by Murat Bey, and
which he defeated. His victory struck terror not only
to the Egyptians, but far into Africa and Asia; and
aU the surrounding tribes submitted to tbe great conqueror. While he was doing this; the British in the
north, under the leadership of Lord Nelson, were making au effective attack upon Napoleon's forces at sea.
Napoleon began this Egyptian campaign in 1798, finished it and returned to France in October 1, 1799.
The campaign is briefly, yet graphically, described in
tll~
lltRpqepy,
ver~es
tneFrom
PPl5imljJjg the "time ef tqe end".
the time of the overthrow of 2iedekiah ,( 6QIl
~f
n. C.) '!lUI
The TiAno af H~
Oall~ino
26
S, page 84.
..
Tlie Tim.e of His Oom.ing
2'1
28
30
shoe
submaand
;wireless telegraphy.
The Harvest
1rlie Lord useil the natural harvest to illustrate toe
nar"est of his people at the end of the age. There was
a harvest of certain of the Jews at the end of the
J ewish Age. (Jolm 4: 35, 36) There is a parallel
hlWVest period in the Gospel Age; and since the Lord
used the natural wheat harvest of Israel as a picture
of the harvest of his people, it might not be out of
place here to say that from the time of the beginning
of the Jewish harvest unill Penteco~t was fifty days;
lJ'Tie HMvest
31
32
Scoffers
rt'liese saintly Cliristians, coming togetJie:c from all
Clenominations, have rejoic~d in making proclamation to
the Reople that the kingdom of heaven is at JiantL
,
33
.'
34
The End
at the
World
35
t~dcr
the administration of
36
Q'f ycats. They hael many kil.1gS, somc good and some
bael. Zedekiah was their last king; and because of hi~
wickedncss Gael said concerning him : "Therefore thus
saith the Lord God ; 'Because ye have made your iniquity
to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear;
IleeaUse, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye
~hall be taken with the hand. And thon, profane wicked
prince of I srael, whose ' day is coule, when iniquity
shall have an end, thus saith the Lord God, Remove
the diadem, and take off thc crown; this sball not be
the same : exalt him that is low, and abase him that
is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it; and it
shan be no more, until be come whm~e right it is, and
I will give it [to] him."-Ezekiel 21: 24-27.
In the year G06 B. C. Zedekiah was overthrown; lie
of
mittil1g the Gentiles to have an uninterrupted s",ay
until he shoul d come whose r ight it is. The one "whose
right it is" is the great Messiah, Christ Jesns the Lord.
rt would be reasonable to expect'him to be present some
time before he wouJ!i take unto himself his great power
to reign. H is presence beginning in 1874, he has
38
39
some put into the front ranks of the assaulting army. nne
Christian man, for instance, who refusea to take human
life because of his faith in the Lord, was placed in the
front rank of attack during a: battle. A solclier was
placed on either side of him with gun and ]:>ayonet,
and instructed to kill him if he attempted to escape.
He went through the battle. Most of his regiment was
annihilated, incluiling the two guards by his side. When
the battle was over, this Christian brother had not a
scratch. Again he was put in a similar position; and
again he we.nt through another .battle without injury.
He was then c11R.:rgecl with being insane bee&use he
would not fight, and was placed in an insane asylum
and kept there for a period of time, when he Was turned
out. He then proceeded to proclaim the message of
the Lord's presence and his glorious, incoming kingdom.
The persecution in Great Britain of the same class
of Christians, and in Canada, and in the U nitecl States
-long boasted of as the land of the iree and the home
of the brave-was so teuible that words are inadequate
to describe it. Number 27 of t he GOLDEN AGE magaZine
issued September 29, 1920, gives a detailod descriI,tion
of mauy of these wicked persecutions, wbich mark a
clear tulfilment of these prophetic "tterance. of tbe
T"OTd. The oues who hac! the privilege of passing
through them, and who had the many evielences of the
Lord's blessing, rejoicing because accounted wovt\IY to
suffer as our Lord had suJ'fered, remembmed J csus'
,rords: "The servant is Dot greater than his lord.
If tlley have persecuted me, they will also persecnte
you." -J abo 15: 20.
Jesus furthermore said. "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness
unto all nations: and then .hall the end come." (Mat-
41
:v
Wi~l
43
occasional
44
Tne
Pu~pose
of His Coming
45
46
4!t
4B
OIl'/'
Lord's Eetv.NI
49
groom and the Church his bride at the end of the worlu.
Throughout the entire Gospel Age, from Pentecost
,mtil now, the Lord has been preparing his bride, the
Church. Many have been called, but few have been
chosen, and still fewer will be faithful; but only the
faithiul ones will he receive. Just before his departnre
at the time of his first advent he said: "Ill my Father's
house are many mansions: :if jt were not so, I ,vould
have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. Anll
if I go and prepru'e a place for you, I will come again,
and receive you unto myself; that where I aJU, thertl
ye may be also."-John 14: 2, 3.
Here, then, is one of the positive statements that
one of the chief purposes of the Lord's return is tt>
reccive Ullto himself his bride. Since his appearance,
tberefore, he has been doing the harvest work; namely,
gathering unto hinlseli those who will constitnte the
bride class.
Some of these dear saints, however, have been developed from time to time thronghout the Gospel Age,
beginning with the apostles at Pentecost. These have
waited in death for the rehlm of the Lord. Since
the Scriptures show that the dead know not any tiring
until the resurrection, it would be reasonable to expect the Lord to do somcthing for these who died faithful to their covenant, alld to expect that he would do
something for thcm early in the time of ills presence.
St. Paul says: "For this we say unto you by t he
worel of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain
unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them
which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descenc!
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the tl"UlllP of God" and the dead in
Christ shall rise first: then )ve :willch are alive and
50
Th~
51
53
54
65
uh, .ro,ench. Hollanduh, Hungarian, italian, LIthuanian , Roumanian, Russian, Swuak, Spani.Jh, Sruedish.
,h,
to
801,000 edition.
667 pagesl
Cloth binding, ~O cents.
,!
Court.
Ha
NalitJ1V
Assembled o{ld
Great Fire oj
,f
Nations arc J\&em
..
ry of Peace! Peace!
the Crtat
[or
tM
he
y.
i,reprusibieProposed Remed
- AnBrchism-Single Tax
Hope; The Baflle
Ihe Great Day:
ypilled in Israel's
Fall and in the Freneh Revolution-The Lord's
Great Army-The Time oC Israel's Trouble-Hil
Deliverance and the Discomfiture of the Hosts 0
Louf.t Great ProPhecy: The
II THE ATONEMENT
BETWEEN
GOD AND MAN
637
/iages;
1/ I
'Ulliagesl
;;r
ears
In
each-Persis-
GUts of the Spirit Ceased with their Nccessity\ftmuan's Province in the Oturch' Ordq and Diui~
pJine:
Special Offer
ScRIPTtnlES, by
seven volumes.
THE: H"l;.p Bible Study Course. using_as its text book
"THE: HARP OF Goo" by J udge J . F. Rutherford, a
work of ]84 pages; regular Tuxedo green linen gold
stamped library edition, size 5 x 7U inches, dull finish
paper. Reading assignmcntsconsist of an hour's reading for Sundays. Self-quiz cards containing. twenty
questions on what has been read mailed wecldy. stud.o
ents not required to submit written answers.
It( ....:J