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The Presbyterian of the South : [combining the] Southwestern Presbyterian, Central Presbyterian, Southern Presbyterian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1909-1931, October 04, 1922, Image 3

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Persistent link: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/10021978/1922-10-04/ed-1/seq-3/

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Merely to mention, without comment, all
one's impressions would go far beyond the
limits allowed to this article; but we must not
omit the singing, especially the singing in
Chinese of Luther's great battle song. To hear
t lie sound of about twelve hundred voices,
nearly a thousand of them male, thus giving
expression to their heart-felt confidence in God
was an experience not easily to be forgotten.
Again, while admitting that some things said
were doctrinaire, for Shanghai and Peking do
not represent conditions prevailing in hun
dreds of up-country stations, the great out
standing fact remains that this occasion marked
an epoch in the relationship of Missions and
the Chinese Church. Without agreeing to call
tins the time of the birth of that Church, as
some have said, we rather prefer to regard the
Conference as the public celebration of its
"coming of age," and of its passing from a
condition of tutelage and minority to one ol
comparative independence and responsibility.
As one listened to the many speakers, each
with his own point of view often tenaciously
held, one marveled that out of all this variety
of opinion and conviction there should be so
much of unanimity on the great essentials,
yet the very variety of convictions brought out
in strong relief the fact that the balance of
truth is generally to be found, as in nature, by
the interplay of centrifugal and centripetal
forces.
In conclusion, the Conference filled one with
hope. It was John Keats, one of life's mourn
ful ones, who said: "Do not diet your mind
with grief, it destroys the constitution." At a
time when the daily press is full of the world's
sorrows, it is good to dwell upon the hopeful
elements in such a gathering, for it abounds
with promises of good things to come. May it
br% as one of the Chinese delegates from distant
Yunnan prayed, that a double portion of the
spirit of the missionary Elijahs may fall upon
the Elishas of China as they endeavor to take
up, as a consequence of this Conference, the
mantle of their predecessors.
THE SPIRIT OF THE CAMPUS OF UNION
THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
The ideal ministerial character can be real
ized in any measure only by companionship
with Christ. It was so in the first Christian
seminary, for of it we read that our Lord "ap
pointed twelve, that they might be with Him,
and that He might send them forth to preach."
In the same way the Church still seeks to pre
pare her preachers. To the view of a spiritual
church a theological seminary is above all else
a place of growth in ministerial character by
companionship with Christ. Dr. Theron H.
liiee, so recently translated from this campus,
has expressed it in this way: "She covets for
her sons who are to be sent forth to preach at
least three years of quiet life, detached as far
as possible from worldly cares and avocations,
spent in a place where Christ 's presence abides
in unusual measure and power, and occupied
with the study of His truth, and in closest com
munion with the Lord Himself. In order to
make this possible the Church creates her semi
naries. A spot of ground is chosen, sufficiently
retired to encourage study, yet not so far from
the life of men as to make its atmosphere
monastic. Here she erects her buildings and
lays out her grounds, avoiding extravagance
and luxury but seeking refinement and modest
elegance, desiring to imbue the whole institu
tion with the educative power or order, beauty
and 'whatsoever things are lovely.' As the
years go by, the place becomes fragrant with a
multitude of hallowed associations which utter
their appeal to all the sensitive and high
minded young men who tarry within its pre
cincts. The men who teach are chosen from
the Church at large with care and prayer, and
finally the school is laid upon the heart of the
whole Church to be borne aloft to the throne of
grace in constant intercessions. To this place
the sons of the Church are gathered who look
forward to the ministry of the Gospel ; and hav
ing brought them here, she commends them to
Got! and the Word of Ilis grace, which is able
to build them up. Here she trusts that they
will dwell with Jesus till He sends them forth
to preach."
OUR CONFESSION AND THE PREMILLEN
NIAL THEORY.
By Rev. J. P. Robertson, D. D.
"VYe have had much discussion of what the
Scriptures say on this subject, and very prop
erly so, because every loyal follower of Jesus
would turn there for the settlement of his
faith. However, amid the diverse opinions, we
may fittingly ask what the great students of
Scripture had to say, whose rule for deciding
every question was ''only what Is expressly
set down in Scripture or by good and necessary
consequence may be deduced therefrom." My
opinion may not suit the extremists on either
side because there is a manifest tendency to
reject as helpers those who do not subscribe
to every "jot and tittle" of their interpreta
tions. ! \ . '
Now to me it seems clear that postmillen
nialism teaches the more or less steady growth
of Christ's kingdom, till it becomes supreme
over the earth for a thousand years before His
personal or visible return. On the other hand
premillennialism holds that only at and after
JHis second coming will He reign so thor
oughly that "every knee shall bow and every
tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." The
many related but subordinate interpretations
held by either side, however interesting and
helpful, are nonessential, ne is a "Post" who
stands for a second coming after the thousand
years; and he is a "Pre" who says the Lord's
return will precede that period. To dwell ex
clusively on side issues of interpretation, as
some do, is to "darken counsel by words." The
question is not whether the "Pre" is right or
radically wrong, who talks about "the King
dom Age," "the rapture" and his peculiar
"leaven" theory.
Rev. D. P. Wilkinson, in your columns of
August 23d, appears to reject the central posi
tion of Rev. Mr. Martindale chiefly, if not en
tirely, for that reason. This rejecting of pre
millennialism because of the clothing in which
some men array it need not be very surprising.
We sometimes do not succeed in analyzing a
subject sufficiently. The suit that a man wears
often affects our opinion of him. In fact 1
did not announce myself as a "pre" for many
years because preoccupied with other subjects
and the exponents of the belief, so generally as
I heard them at least, seemed to present ex
traneous views as parts of the system, such as
the birth of the Church on the day of Pente
cost, that leaven always refers to corruption
and that, notwithstanding the guaranteed
presence of Christ with His Church "to the end
of the world" and the great things promised
for "the last days" or dispensation of the
Spirit, we nevertheless must expect to see
everything on the scrap heap of utter failure
when Jesus visibly comes again.
Now the framers of our Confession of Faith,
as believers in an infallible Word must always
do, held it as certain that Jesus would return
to reign over the whole world ; but they did
not raise the question of His reigning visibly
for a period of a thousand years, though their
atttitude pointed unmistakably toward the pre
millennial view. It could not have been a post
millennial hope which they cherished. The
Church was clearly not expected to have a
thousand years of perfect triumph before His
return, because the date of it according to them
could not be known beforehand, whereas mil
lenial perfection would be unmistakable in its
clearness, and everybody would thereby know
of it at least a thousand years in advance ol
llis coming. On the very day "the lion and
the lamb" began to live together in peace
everybody would become able to forecast the
blessed date.
But the Confession in its chapter on "The
Last Judgment'' says, "He will have that daj
unknown to men that they may shake off all
carnal security and be always watchful because
they know not what hour the Lord will come
and may be prepared to say, Come, Lord Jesus
come quickly. Amen." Can we conceive of
any clearer statement as possible coming from
this high authority? The second advent must
he expected at any time because none can tell
just when it will be.
Now in the Larger Catechism, question 88, it
says, "At the day of judgment, we shall be
received into Heaven;" but, lest that be inter
preted as giving no comfort to premillennial
ists, we must remember the authors of the Con
fession do not raise, at any point, the question
of where Heaven shall be located. Jesus says
"The meek shall inherit the earth;" and, as
they are far from inheriting it now, was He
not anticipating an earthly reign for these
noblemen when He comes again ? Dr. Vander
meulen's theory of a millennium in Heaven
for martyred "souls." I think, had not then
been invented. So the Confession builders
could not have had that theory in mind. At
any rate the only Scripture on which he bases
his argument ? not forgetting a few passages
which he uses as sidelights ? is Rev. 20:8; and
it yields his theory cold comfort, if we notice
one statement, which to our surprise the great
interpreter did not consider at all. John saw,
"Satan . . . bound a thousand years . . . that
he should deceive the nations no more, till the
thousand years should be fulfilled."
Now, who shall be "deceived no moreT"
Evidently "the nations." Where are these
"nations" located? Up in heaven where Dr.
Vandcrineulen says John saw the martyred
"souls" that lived and reigned with Christ a
thousand years?" No, there is only one nation
in heaven because it has only one King. "The
nations" were located on earth, as John and
every one else has always understood ; and
these "nations" are to be free from Satan and
his deceiving for "a thousand years;" and does
not that wondrously desirable condition spell
Millennium?
I believe the profoundly analytic and logical
minds of the Confession-makers did not wish
to introduce dissensions among themselves over
a question that had divided Bible students for
centuries and had led to many vagaries of
interpretation. It was a time when, to quote
the great Franklin, they knew they "must hang
together or hang separately;" and, knowing
the term ".thousand years" was employed in
the Bible only once in connection with the final
reign of our Lord, they contented themselves
with simply pointing their doctrine in that
direction, an attitude amply warranted by
many passages such as, "Of that day and that
hour knoweth no man, no not the angels in
Heaven." Their attitude is unmistakable as
pointing in that direction because they say,
"He will have that day unknown to men." If
the millennium was to precede the second com
ing everybody could know to a certainty the
blessed date a thousand yearg beforehand. The
(Continued on pag<f 5)

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