Christian Chronicle (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 6, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 12, 1944 Page: 2 of 4
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July 12, >944
The CHRISTIAN CHRONICLE
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L UNIVERSAL
If only a small per eent of the men who could do this
would move into the virgin fields and establish a nucleus
around which strong churches could be built up during
shall descend from heaven, with
a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of
God: and the dead in Christ shall
rise first - then we that are alive,
that are left, shall .together with
them be caught, tip in the clouds,
Paul also says both the wicked
and the good are to meet the
Lord in judgment when he com-
es. (II Thess. 1:6-10) First, he says
God will recompense affliction to
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THE LAST DAY
By Roy H. Lanier
ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
Each week the editorial article which is adjudged
most timely and valuable will be printed on thia
page of CHRISTIAN CHRONICLE.
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But suppose such a passage
should be found, what would it
do? It would prove that Jesus
did not know what he was talk-
ing about when he said the
righteous would be raised on the
last day. For if there is to be a
thousand years after the resur-
rection of the righteous, the day
Jesus comes again, *that day can
not be the last day. Next, it
would prove that Paul did not
know what he was talking about.
Paul should have known, and I
am sure he did know, thgt Jesus
said the righteous would be raia-
John F. Wolfe, Los Angeles, Calif.
______________ Jim Taj
Joe Malone, Dallas, 1
red as second-class matter July 28, 1943, at the post office at
Texas, under the Act of March 8, 1879.
such men and are looking for
the last day and the coming of
the Lord at any moment. But
some one is ready to say that the
> Bible teaches that the coming of
Jesus is at hand. If it teaches
that now, it taught it 1800 years
ago when it was first written.
But if it taught 1800 years ago
that the last day arid coming of
Christ were at hand, it taught
what was not true. The fact the
Lord has not come yet proves that
his coming was not at hand 1800
years ago. And al^ the fanciful
interpretations of prophecy mon-
gers from the first to the last can
not overthrow or get around that
patent fact. But another says the
apostles confidently expected the
Lord to come during their life-
time. Well, if so, they were dis-
appointed. And if they expected
the second coming of Christ in
their lifetime, it is certain the
Holy Spirit did not lead them to
that conclusion. The conclusion
was false. The Holy Spirit taught
the truth. Therefore the Holy
Spirit did not teach the apostles
to expect the Lord to return in
their day. But Peter did not look
for the Lord’s return in his day,
for the Lord showed him what
manner of death he should die.
(John 21:19) And he wrote let-
ters telling people hbw to live so
they would have such teaching
after his death. (II Pet. 1:13-15).
Neither did Paul look for the
Lord to come in his lifetime. (II
Thess. 2:lff). The subject is far
too big to be covered thoroughly
in such short space, but we will
suggest six things which are to
happen on the last day, and
things not in the realm of specu-
lation.
The Righteous Will Be Raised
“No man can come unto me,
except the Father that sent me
draw him: and I will raise him
up in the last day.” (John 6:44).
Some one is to be raised the last
day. Who? Those who come unto
Jesus, so • the • righteous. This is
one thing that is going to happen
on the last day just as surely as
the Lord told the truth.
Wicked Will Be Judged
“He that rejecteth me, and re-
ceiveth not my ’sayings, hath one
that judgeth him: the word that
I spake, the same shall judge him
in the last day.” (John 12:48).
Some one is to be judged the last
day. Who? Those who rejected
Jesus, and received not his say-
ings. This was addressed to the
people who lived in the time of
our Lord; so the Lord is on record
as saying that the wicked of his
time will be judged on the last
day—the same day on which the
righteous will be raised. Surely
the Lord will judge no one in his
absence. The courts of our land
will, not conduct a trial and con-
demn a man in his absence. This
necessitates the resurection of
the wicked before they are judg-
ed, so we conclude that the
Wicked Will Be Raised
Yes ,the wicked will have to be
raised either on or before the last
day if they, are to be present for
their judgment. But where is the
scripture proof? “The hour com-
eth in the which all that are in
the tombs shall hear his voice,
and shall come forth; they that
have done good, unto the resur-
rection of life; and they that have
done evil, unto the resurrection
4IUUIIU wmcu siiuiifc VIIUIVUGS uuuiu uc uuiit up uumig of judgment.” (John 5:28.29) The
the yean, the preacher problem will be largely met.lhbur cometh. An hour is a frac-
There has been more specula-
tion on the last day and the
things which are to occur on that
day than on any other subject in
the Bible. Men have been guess-
ing when it will be, have been
setting dates, but they have miss-
ed every time. But in spite of
this people still put their faith in
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tional part of a day. In that hour
all, all, shall come from their
tombs. Who are included in that - .—
word all? The good and the evil. “ay. Now he says
So according to Jesus both the *“ “ A “
good and the bad shall come forth
at the same time. The good are
to be raised on the last day.
(John 6:44) Therefore the wicked
will be raised on the last day,
since they are to come forth on
the same day as the righteous.
But some one says there is to
be a thousand years between the
resurrection of the wicked and
that of the just. And where does
the Bible say so? They are still
hunting for the passage. But just
suppose there is a passage some-
where that says the wicked are
to be raised one thousand years
after the righteous. What then?
In the first place it would prove
that Jesus did not tell the truth
when he said all that are in their
tombs shall come forth at the
same time. These are plain posi-
tive words of our Lord. His mean-
ing is not couched in symbols
doubtful of interpretation. It is
even difficult to misunderstand
them. Now if a passage is found
in which a number of symbols
are used, the meaning of which
is at best obscure, we must not
give that passage an interpreta-
tion which contradicts this plan
statement of our Lord.
But if such passage is found
that teaches a thousand years
period between the resurrection
df the good arid evil, the second
thing it would do is to prove that
Jesus did. not know what he was
talking about when he said the
righteous would be raised on the
last day. If there are a thousand
years after the resurrection of the
good, there wilTbe 365,000 days
after their resurrection. Jesus
said they are going to be raised
on the last day. But if the theory
is true, this day on which the
righteous will be raised will not
be the last day, not by 385,000
days. Did Jesus tell the truth
when he said the righteous will
be raised on the last day? Will
the day of their resurrection ac-
tually be the last day? Or will
there be a thousand years after
it? The veracity of Jesus is at
stake here.
Jesus is Coming
The fourth thing to take place
on the last day is the coming of
the Lord. “For the Lord himself
i to meet the Lord in the air: and
so shall we ever be with the
Lord.” (I Thess. 4:16,17). The dead
in Christ are the righteous dead.
But here Paul says they are to be
raised on the last day, and Jesus
comes that day, it follows that
Jesus will come on the last day.
In this passage many think they
have proof of the resurrection of
the righteous a thousand years
before the wicked are raised.
“The dead in Christ shall rise
first.” First, before what? Paul is
talking of two classes of people.
First, those who have died in
Christ; second, those who are
alive in Christ at the time of his
coming. Now, he says the dead
in Christ shall rise first, that is
before the living in Christ are
caught up to be with the Lord.
The wicked are not mentioned in
this passage of scripture; only
those in Christ, the living and the
dead.
But some one is ready to say, I ‘‘All nations.”
know there is to be a period of a
thousand years on this earth aft-
er Jesus comes. And I ask, How
do you know it? The Bible no-
where teaches that such is to be!
Jesus is coming on the same day
the righteous are raised. That is
. equal to saying that Jesus is com-
■_ ing on the last day for it is the
day the righteous are to be rais-
ed, which Paul evidently knew
was the day on which Jesus said .
the righteous will be raised. Since
Paul put the coming of the Lord
on the same day as the resur-
rection of the good, and Jesus
said their resurrection will be on
the last day, it follows that there
can not be a thousand years after
his coming.
The Judgment Day
The wicked are to be judged
on the last day. (John 12:48). ;
Jesus says, “When the Son of
man shall come in his glory, and
all the angels with him, then
shall he sit on the throne of his
glory: and before him shall be
gathered all the nationsf”(Matt
23:31 ff) He continues to describe
the judgment of the good and
the bad. The good are put on his
right hand and are given their •
rewards; the bad are placed on
his left hand and sentenced to
eternal suffering. Jesus says this
will take place when he comes
in his glory. So the wicked are
to be judged when he comes.
Since we have learned that the
wicked are to be judged on the
last day, and this is the final
judgment of the wicked, we must
conclude that this judgment is to
be on the last day.
But some one says, This is the •
judgment of the people living on
earth at the time of the coming
of the Lord. Well, that is a guess;
the Lord does not say so. Is there
^ny evidence that others will be
m that judgment? The evidence
is plentiful.
First, “The men of Ninevah
shall stand up in the judgment
with this generation.” (Matt. 12:41
The men of Nineveh represent
a generation 850 B. C. They are
to stand in the judgment with
the generation in which Jesus liv-
ed. The queen ofthe south will
be in the same judgment with
that generation. (Matt. 12:42) She
She reperesnts a generation 1,000
years before Christ; she lived in
the days of Solomon.
Next, Jesus said it will be’
more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon
in the day of judgment than for
the people to. whom he talked.
(Matt. 11:21,22) They lived about
330 B. C. And it will be more tol-
erable for Sodom in the day of
judgment than for those people
to whom Jesus talked. (Matt. 11:-
23,24) They lived about 1900 years
before Christ. Yet the two gen-
erations will ‘stand up in the
judgment,” “in the day of judg-
ment,” and it will be more toler-
able for one than for the other.
Here are five geneations separat-
ed by long peiods of time, from
five different nation’s, that are to
be in the judgment in the day of
judgment. If these five genera-
tions from 1900 B. C. to 30 A. D.
are to be in the judgment, who
can say that all the generations
from Sodom to Christ will not be
there? And if all these people
are to be in the judgment, who
can say with any show of reason
that all the nations of earth will
not be there? Since Jesus says
“all nations” shall be gathered
before him, and since he names
five nations over a long period
of time that will be in the judg-
ment, we are forced to conclude
that he meant what he said —
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HOW SHALL WE MEET IT?
One of the greatest problems facing us today is that
of finding enough preachers to supply the demands.
With the aroused sense of need among the churches for
carrying out the great commission has arisen a dire
shortage of prepared men to send. We are training
several hundred young men each year in our, col leges,
but still we lack men. We need thousands of men who
can and will “go preach the gospel.”
On the desk before me are a whole sheaf of letters,
many of them from weak, isolated groups, asking for
someone to send a preacher to help them. Others are
from strong churches, stating that they are ready and
anxious to send somep reach er into a certain field—-if
only they could find one available to send. Dow Wil-
son wrote this week from Alaska asking that churches
rally to the challenge and send other men there. Osby
Weaver wrote from Honolulu beseeching the churches
to send other men to help him in the greait work in the
Hawaiian Islands. Harold Thomas is now in Texas
trying to enlist more help for the great work in New
England. Canal Zone brethren are eager to have some
capable preacher sent there to help them in their effort
to establish firmly the church in that sector before too
many of them are transferred away.- From all quart-
ers comes the cry for preachers. How shall we meet it?
It is a most serious challenge. It cannot be ignored,
unless we desire extinction as a religious people now,
and eternal doom in the last day. It is a question we
have to answer, either to our eternal happiness or dam-
nation. It might be of help in answering to try to see
how the great shortage of preachers came about.
It has not been so very long ago since we were preem-
inently a Bible people. Every member in the church
knew more scripture than most denominational preach-
ers. Nearly any brother who had a few^ years exper-
ience in the church was able to preach the truth as any
occasion demanded. And they did not have to send
for the preacher when they got in a tight place. As a
result, during the first fifty years of our great work
during the early Ninteenth Century preachers reached
into every frontier of America and converted people by
the multiplied thousands.
But in more recent times we have become a very re-
spectable people. We have turnd not only all of the
preaching over to the oreachers, but most of the Bible
study also. As a result, we now have hundreds of
members who could not tell an honest sinner seeking the
way of salvation what to do in order to be saved. * If
you think that is a rash statement, try your own congre-
gation out. We are deplorably ignorant of the Bible.
What we need to meet the preacher shortage now is
’ a membership in all our churches which knows the
Bible. . If our men should learn their Bibles, the
preacher question would be settled. When some broth-
er filled with the truth of God and the love of men’s
souls heard that a preacher was needed in some diffi-
cult field, he would rise to the challenge, and say, “Here
am F, send me.”
There are no doubt hundreds of such men rtow who
know good trades or own businesses. To them I would
say: Move into some field where you can help establish
a church or strengthen a weak and faltering one, and
follow your trade of establish your business theft/ It
is seldom wise for a man who has spent a large part of
his life in some profession tQ quit it in order to give
full time to preaching. There are exceptions, but it is
usually better for him to keep his life’s work, but go
into some place where he help a church which is not
able to support him.
If only a small
82.00 Per Annum in Advance
Send all communications and articles to Box 155, Dallas, Texas
OLAN L. HICKS .......- — ~--
•sXVa»-C' '..........
Carter, Kansas City, Kans.
July 12, 1944 No. 6
Weekly at 1019 Hendricks, Dallas, Texas
82.00 Per Annum in Advance ~ ___
.....................Editor and Publisher
Otis Gatewood, Salt Lake City
Dallas, Texas
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Hicks, Olan L. Christian Chronicle (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 6, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 12, 1944, newspaper, July 12, 1944; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1305824/m1/2/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.