Friday, February 22, 2013

Lesson 7.4 of Bible Interpretation.



Rule 7.4:  Distinguish Between the Two Advents of Christ


This lesson is borrowed from the booklet “Seven rules for Bible Interpretation”, written by REV. M. L. LOWE, D.D. with supplemental material by David W. Holden.
(Words in Bright red, mine)

 


      To his class, Dr. Lowe graphically portrayed “The Mountain Peaks of Prophecy”, making this passage “come alive” to our young minds and hearts:

1Peter 1:11  [The prophets…]“Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it [He] testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.”

            From their distant viewpoint, the prophets could see two mountain peaks!  They could see Mount Calvary, and readily identify that as “the sufferings of Christ” as portrayed in such passages as ISAIAH 53.  They also saw the high peak of the coming Messiah to establish His kingdom!  But from their distant point of view, the prophets saw both peaks as one, and though they did not understand how it could be, they wrote as The Holy Spirit dictated.  It was not revealed to them that between these two magnificent “peaks” there was the “valley” of this present Church Age, a Dispensation of which nothing was revealed to them!  But we, from the “valley” look back at Calvary, and look forward to Christ’s return, “the glory that should follow”!  The dictation continued:

            See also the distinction made by Christ Himself, recorded in Luke 4:18-21.  Reading from Isaiah 61, He ended His reading at a comma, and plainly stated: “This day is THIS Scripture fulfilled in your ears”!  That which follows the comma in Isaiah is yet to be fulfilled at His second coming!  If the Lord Jesus made such a distinction, we will do well not to disrupt His plan by disregarding verse 19!

         Our Lord “came unto His own, and His own received Him not” –and the kingdom He would have established for Israel then was “postponed”.  It shall yet be established; but for now, we who are believers, have but one message to proclaim: the Gospel of the Grace of God!

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