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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