The Signs of the Times, vol. 13
September 15, 1887
“‘Whither I Go Ye Cannot Come’” The Signs of the Times 13, 36, pp. 567, 568.
IN the Bible School at Northfield, last month, Mr. Moody preached one Sunday on the second coming of Christ, arguing that Christ will come to earth in bodily form as he left it, and that it is a duty of the Christian to watch for his coming and to expect to meet him when he comes. But to Mr. Moody’s argument some of the attendants at the school made answer:— SITI September 15, 1887, page 567.1
“We expect to meet Christ in death and be with him. What difference can it make in our Christian life and work whether we are always on the tiptoe of expectation to meet him thus, or go to him. In other words, what difference does it make whether we go to a friend or he comes to us, provided we are with our friend?” SITI September 15, 1887, page 567.2
With such an expectation for the premise, then that argument is sound, and as Mr. Moody accepts the premise he could not avoid the conclusion, and therefore in defense of his sermon he could only reply to this that, “we should get great encouragement in our evangelical work by the thought that at any moment Christ may come to help us in that work.” Thus by admitting one error as a premise, Mr. Moody became involved in a dilemma where he had to commit another error to get out. SITI September 15, 1887, page 567.3
Did Mr. Moody teach those young men whom he was there training for evangelical work, that they were to go forward and engage in that work without the help of Christ, and to be constantly on the watch and waiting for Christ, and that their encouragement should be the thought that at any moment he may come and help them in their work? Not at all. Mr. Moody knows the “Great Commission,” and he knows that when Christ gave that Commission, he said to every soul who should ever engage in evangelistic work, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” And that is the only way in which Christ has ever promised to be with anybody to help them in their evangelistic work. When he comes to earth in bodily form, that is, when he comes in his second advent, he does not come to help anybody in “evangelical work,” but to take his people unto himself. When he comes, all evangelical work is done, and he comes to reward the workers and to take vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Revelation 22:12; 2 Thessalonians 1:7. He comes then, not as a priest making reconciliation for the people, but as King of kings and Lord of lords. He comes not then as a Saviour of sinners, but as the Judge of all men, and the Saviour of saints. Therefore, Mr. Moody in answering his young men as he did only set them on further in their erroneous course. Because the very idea of their answer to his statement in the first place is erroneous, that the Lord will come to earth in bodily form. SITI September 15, 1887, page 567.4
They argued, We expect to go to him at death. Then what difference does it make whether we are always watching for and expecting him to come to us or whether we go to him? In other words, what is the difference whether Jesus comes again or not? We say again that that is a valid argument provided the expectation is correct. But the expectation is a deception. It is directly contrary to the plainly expressed word of Christ. In that last night, just after the Last Supper, Jesus said to his disciples, “Whither I go, ye cannot come.” John 13:33. And that there might be no mistake about it, he said, “As I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come.” And what he said to the Jews on this subject was this, Ye “shall die in your sins; whither I go ye cannot come.” John 8:21. We suppose it would be considered by Mr. Moody and these same young men at Northfield, a most presumptuous thing for a man who was about to die in his sins to say, “I expect to meet Christ in death and be with him. I expect to go to him.” And yet it would be no more presumptuous so far as the fact is concerned, than it was or is for these young students at Northfield to say it. For to the men who die in their sins, Jesus says, “Whither I go ye cannot come” and to his disciples Jesus says the same thing, “Whither I go ye cannot come.” “As I said unto” them, “so now I say to you.” SITI September 15, 1887, page 567.5
Now why didn’t Mr. Moody answer these young men in the words of Christ, “Whither I go ye cannot come?” Then they could have seen the necessity of the Saviour’s coming again, and the beauty of the doctrine. For when his disciples were troubled at this saying, Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me... I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” This is Christ’s own word and doctrine on that subject. And the only way in which his children can ever be with him, is by his coming to receive them unto himself. And in that coming “For the Lord himself 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 which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so [in this way, by this means] shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17. SITI September 15, 1887, page 568.1
But instead of believing the plain word of Christ, these young men have their minds full of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, and so according to Satan’s promise at the beginning they expect to be gods as soon as they die, and expect to go to Jesus when they die, although he has told them as plainly as he could possibly do so, that they can do no such thing. And Mr. Moody is wrapped up in the same delusion, and so when his own sermon is disputed from the standpoint of this erroneous expectation, all he can do is to confirm the young men in their delusion, and to add to it another error, by teaching them to expect the coming of Jesus in bodily form only to help them in their evangelical work. If there is any doctrine that was ever taught in this world, that is more thoroughly subversive of the word of God than is the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, we have never heard of it, and we do not think we ever shall hear of one such. And that is the kind of training that young men get nowadays in theological training-schools. Even I Mr. Moody’s which is undoubtedly the best in the nation. SITI September 15, 1887, page 568.2
J.