THE SECOND COMING

Evening Star, Issue 19942, 11 August 1928, Page 23

THE SECOND COMING

MR YARLEY’S ADDRESS,

Mr Frank Varley gave the second of his lantern’ talks on the ‘ Second Coming of Christ ’ to another largo and representative audience in the York Place Hall on Thursday, and was listened to with close attention.

After singing and prayer Mr Varley gave a brief resume of the address of the previous week, and again explained what is known to tho student of prophecy as dispensational truth, his chart depicting tho stream of time from tho Creation to the end being shown on tho screen, both as a whole and in sections, that his hearers might get an intelligent view of the varying ways under which God had dealt with men since time began. Mr Varley showed from Scripture that the present w r as the age immediately preceding tho millennium, the 1,000 years of Christ’s personal reign ou earth, and expressed his belief that we were near tho end of this age. He then proceeded with tho special subject for tho evening. ‘Tho Purpose of the Second Coming as Regards the Church.’ The question was asked and answered, “What is the church?” There were many churches bearing different names, and some of them not loving one another very much. It was shown that, except for difference in locality, tho Now Testament revealed only one church, called in the Epistles to Thessalonica and Corinth ‘ ‘Tho Church of God.” . These four epistles were the only ones that were addressed to the Church of God. After these the inscription of tho epistles was to the Saints at Ephesus, etc. These four were the epistles that contain tho most definite teaching concerning the coming of the Lord for the church. They formed a full compendium of what might _ be called church truth. In the Epistle to the Ephesians the church was defined as both the Body and tho Bride of Christ, showing tho mutual life and mutual love between Christ and the church. Tho church, when complete, was to be caught away to meet the 'Lord in the air. This great event to which the church looked lorward was ami always had been imminent. In announcing tho fact of His coming again for His own, tho Lord was silent as to anything that must of necessity happen before His return. He meant His people to live in expectation of His coming; for them at any time. Mr Varley did. not believe in what was called a partial or successive rapture or raptures. He believed the New Testament taught that

all who wore iu the church, both tha dead saint and the living believers, would he together caught away when the Lord came. Mr \ arlcy also believed that the church would not go through the awful period which Scnpturo called the Great Tribulation, when the world at largo would experience the judgment of the wrath of God. Two great and important events awaited believers after they had been taken away to meet the Lord. One was the judgment seat of Christ, when, as a Master with His servants He would deal in judgment for reward with the lives and service of all real Christians. The judgment seat provided a fire test for all service and truth that was called Christian work would go up in smoke to the loss of the workers concerned. The prospect of the judgment seat of Christ was a solemn ons for all Christians. The other event wa* the marriage supper of the LamlT spoken of in the Revelation. _ Then Christ would claim and bo united to His bride, the church. He loved her and gave himself for her. Earthly weddings gave first place .to the bride. It was the bride and bridegroom always. This heavenly marriage reverses tha order. It is the Bridegroom and the bride—He had first place. Mr Varley concluded with the ipen portraits of the Bridegroom and the bnde as given in Psalm xiv.

Nest week Mr Varley’s subject will be ‘ The Purpose of the Second Advent as Regards the World at Large. l