Spurgeon on Separation

"I have not much patience with a certain class of Christians nowadays who will hear anybody preach so long as they can say, "He is very clever, a fine preacher, a man of genius, a born orator." Is cleverness to make false doctrine palatable? Why, sirs, to me the ability of a man who preaches error is my sorrow rather than my admiration.

I cannot endure false doctrine, however neatly it may be put before me. Would you have me eat poisoned meat because the dish is of the choicest ware? It makes me indignant when I hear another gospel put before the people with enticing words, by men who would fain make merchandise of souls; and I marvel at those who have soft words for such deceivers.

"That is your bigotry," says one. Call it so if you like, but it is the bigotry of the loving John who wrote—"If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: for he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds."

I would to God we had all more of such decision, for the lack of it is depriving our religious life of its backbone and substituting for honest manliness a mass of the tremulous jelly of mutual flattery.

He who does not hate the false does not love the true; and he to whom it is all the same whether it be God's word or man's, is himself unrenewed at heart. Oh, if some of you were like your fathers you would not have tolerated in this age the wagon loads of trash under which the gospel has been of late buried by ministers of your own choosing. You would have hurled out of your pulpits the men who are enemies to the fundamental doctrines of your churches, and yet are crafty enough to become your pastors and undermine the faith of a fickle and superficial generation." —C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)

Indefectibility

"In all ages this doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints has been opposed and denied. Satan himself believed in the apostasy of Job and had the effrontery to avow it unto Jehovah ( Job 1:8-11). We need not be surprised then to find that the supreme imposture of the religious realm repudiates most vehemently this precious truth and pronounces accursed all who hold it. The merit-mongers of Rome are inveterately opposed to everything which exalts free grace. Moreover, they who so hotly deny unconditional election, particular redemption, and effectual calling, must, in order to be consistent, deny the eternal security of the Christian. Since Papists are such rabid sticklers for the “free will” of fallen man, logically, they must deny the indefectibility of all who are in Christ. If I have by an act of my own volition brought myself into a state of grace, then it clearly follows that I am capable of forsaking the same. If the “free will” of the sinner first inclines him to exercise repentance and faith, then obviously he may relapse into a state of confirmed impenitence and unbelief." —A. W. Pink (1886–1952)

Invalid Distinction

"First and foremost then the inspired Scriptures are profitable for doctrine: that our thoughts, ideas and beliefs concerning all the subjects of Divine revelation may be formed and regulated by their infallible teachings. How that rebukes those who sneer at theological instruction, who are prejudiced against the doctrinal exposition of the gospel, who ignorantly account such “dry” and uninteresting, who are all for what they term “experimental religion.” We say “ignorantly,” for the distinction they seek to draw is an unscriptural and invalid one." —A. W. Pink (1886–1952)

Ignatius Doctrines

I always like to read the early church fathers like Clement of Rome, Polycarp and Ignatius and look for Christian doctrines that were clearly taught in the early church that has been passed down through the ages. In the quote below Ignatius clearly teaches the Incarnation (Jesus is God), The Atonement, the Virgin Birth, Substitution, and a couple subtle hints to the doctrine of Election and the Depravity of Man; also notice what side of the Lordship Controversy he would have sided with and not to mention his utter contempt for false believers. Keep in mind this was a student who sat under the Apostle John.

"For some are in the habit of carrying about the name [of Jesus Christ] in wicked guile, while yet they practise things unworthy of God, whom ye must flee as ye would wild beasts. For they are ravening dogs, who bite secretly, against whom ye must be on your guard, inasmuch as they are men who can scarcely be cured. There is one Physician who is possessed both of flesh and spirit; both made and not made; God existing in flesh; true life in death; both of Mary and of God; first passible and then impassible, even Jesus Christ our Lord.

But some most worthless persons are in the habit of carrying about the name [of Jesus Christ] in wicked guile, while yet they practise things unworthy of God, and hold opinions contrary to the doctrine of Christ, to their own destruction, and that of those who give credit to them, whom you must avoid as ye would wild beasts. For “the righteous man who avoids them is saved for ever; but the destruction of the ungodly is sudden, and a subject of rejoicing.” For “they are dumb dogs, that cannot bark,” raving mad, and biting secretly, against whom ye must be on your guard, since they labour under an incurable disease. But our Physician is the only true God, the unbegotten and unapproachable, the Lord of all, the Father and Begetter of the only-begotten Son. We have also as a Physician the Lord our God, Jesus the Christ, the only-begotten Son and Word, before time began, (Or, “before the ages”) but who afterwards became also man, of Mary the virgin. For “the Word was made flesh.” Being incorporeal, He was in the body; being impassible, He was in a passible body; being immortal, He was in a mortal body; being life, He became subject to corruption, that He might free our souls from death and corruption, and heal them, and might restore them to health, when they were diseased with ungodliness and wicked lusts." —Ignatius of Antioch (also known as Theophorus)(35 or 50-between 98 and 117)

Excerpt taken from "The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians"

Faithfully Press

"O that the modern evangelist would faithfully press upon his unsaved hearers their utter powerlessness to turn unto God of themselves, and their inability to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior until a miracle of Divine grace has been wrought in them. The Lord Jesus (our Exemplar) did not hesitate to plainly say to a promiscuous crowd,

“No man can come to me, except the Father which sent me draw him” (John 6:44).

The Father draws to Christ by the operation of the Spirit. It is written,

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).

Believing is necessary, indispensably necessary, before any sinner receives Divine forgiveness. But Scripture is very emphatic in declaring that no sinner can savingly believe apart from the powerful operations of the Holy Spirit. A miracle of grace has to be wrought in his heart before he is capacitated to lay hold of Christ. This must be so, for the human heart is fast closed against Him and will not come to Him that it might have life (John 5:40). The eyes of our understanding are blind, so that we see in Christ no beauty that we should desire Him. It is with the heart that man believeth unto righteousness (Romans 10:10), and the heart must first be wooed and won by Christ (through the Spirit’s operations) before it will turn to Him." —A. W. Pink (1886–1952)

Good Gospel Preaching

The Narrow Gate

Nothing but Christ

"Look more at justification than sanctification. In the highest commands consider Christ, not as an exacter to require, but as a debtor, and undertaker, to work in you and for you. If you have looked at your resolutions, endeavors, workings, duties, qualifications, etc., more than at the merits of Christ, it will cost you dear. No wonder you go mourning; graces may be evidences, the merits of Christ alone without them, must be the foundation of your hope. Christ only can be the hope of glory.

When we come to God, we must bring nothing but Christ with us. Any ingredients, or any previous qualifications of our own, poison and corrupt faith. He that builds upon duties, graces, etc., knows not the merits of Christ. This makes believing so hard, so far above nature; Hence we see that the great difficulty of believing, lies in the strength of self-righteousness. Ther real difficulty is just the deep unwillingness of the soul to be counted wholly a sinner, and to let Christ be wholly a Saviour. If you believe, you must every day renounce as dung and dross, your privileges, your obedience, your baptism, your sanctification, your duties, your graces, your tears, your meltings, your humbling; and nothing but Christ must be held up. Every day your workings, your self-sufficiency, must be destroyed.

You must receive all at Gods' hand. Christ is the gift of God. Faith is the gift of God. Pardon is a free gift. Ah, how nature storms, frets, rages at this; that all is GIFT, and it can purchase nothing with its works, and tears, and duties; that all workings are excluded, and of no value in the justification of the soul." —Thomas Wilcox (1621-1687)

The Lord's Supper

Tonight at church we took of the Lord's Supper but before that our pastor Jonathan Sims brought forth a very powerful message that pertains to the Lord's Supper and I don't think I have ever heard such a clearer message on the Lord's Supper and the importance of this command from our Lord for the church. You can Download it Here or visit the church website to listen to it.

Get The Question Right!

"Oh!" saith the Arminian, "men may be saved if they will." We reply, "My dear sir, we all believe that; but it is just the if they will that is the difficulty. We assert that no man will come to Christ unless he be drawn; nay, we do not assert it, but Christ himself declares it--"Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life;' and as long as that "ye will not come' stands on record in Holy Scripture, we shall not be brought to believe in any doctrine of the freedom of the human will." It is strange how people, when talking about free-will, talk of things which they do not at all understand. "Now," says one, "I believe men can be saved if they will." My dear sir, that is not the question at all. The question is, are men ever found naturally willing to submit to the humbling terms of the gospel of Christ? We declare, upon Scriptural authority, that the human will is so desperately set on mischief, so depraved, and so inclined to everything that is evil, and so disinclined to everything that is good, that without the powerful. supernatural, irresistible influence of the Holy Spirit, no human will ever be constrained towards Christ. You reply, that men sometimes are willing, without the help of the Holy Spirit. I answer--Did you ever meet with any person who was?" —Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)

Salvation needs a Sinner!

"Salvation needs a sinner as the raw material upon which to exercise its workmanship; the precious blood that cleanses needs a filthy sinner upon whom to show its power to purge; the atonement of Christ needs guilt upon which to exercise itself in the taking of it away; and it is absurd, it is ridiculous, it is unworthy of God, to suppose a scheme of salvation, a work so tremendous as the atonement of Christ, and an aim so splendid as the glorification of God, unless there be sinners to be the instruments of God's glory through being the partakers of God's grace. A moment's thought will be enough to convince us that the whole plan is made for sinners, and that "Jesus Christ died for the ungodly." Indeed, dear friends, it is only when we get this view very clearly before us that we see Jesus in his glory." —C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)

We Believe

What's Your Name?

By no means would I want to turn this blog into a political blog, but I read an article that was quite interesting on the faith of our candidates for the upcoming election. Obama claims to have "a personal relationship with Jesus Christ" and to believe in his "redemptive death and resurrection." Despite such affirmations, Obama admits to doubts and uncertainties, discomfort with some aspects of Christianity, and a belief that there are many paths to God and salvation.

It is not my intent to attack the man but the idea or ideals supported by many in this country. First of all, you are not a Christian if you believe in any other way but through Jesus Christ. Salvation is of the Lord and of Him alone. You are not a Christian because you were born in the United States of America. You are not a Christian because you were baptized as a child. You are not a Christian because your parents were professing Christians. You are not a Christian because you are a member of a local church, teach Sunday school, or even preach from the pulpit.

If you claim the name Christian, you are professing faith in Jesus Christ. Not of yourself or your choice, but because God did a supernatural work within you. He regenerated you so that you would have faith in Him. So do yourself a favor and don't claim to be a Christian if you don't believe He is the only way to the Father. Simply put, if you claim to be a Christian you are taking the name of Christ and all that encompasses; the Bible is the inspired word of God (God-breathed), we have all sinned and fall short of the Glory of God, Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and that none come to the Son lest the Father draw them.

You may say that I can't see your heart, but as Bro. Paul Washer says "I don't have to, I see it in your actions and words."

John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the, truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."

John 6:44 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day."

Abstract of Principles

Just a little reminder of what Southern Seminary was founded on and the document that must be signed even today by every professor at the seminary. This was also the official confession that Southern Baptists endorsed. Titled the Abstract of Principles it was requested by Southern's founder James Boyce to assure all teachers and students would adhere to the truth of scripture and the absolute sovereignty of God.

I. The Scriptures.The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament were given by inspiration of God, and are the only sufficient, certain and authoritative rule of all saving knowledge, faith and obedience.

II. God.There is but one God, the Maker, Preserver and Ruler of all things, having in and of himself, all perfections, and being infinite in them all; and to Him all creatures owe the highest love, reverence and obedience.

III. The Trinity.God is revealed to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit each with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence or being.

IV. Providence.God from eternity, decrees or permits all things that come to pass, and perpetually upholds, directs and governs all creatures and all events; yet so as not to destroy the free will and responsibility of intelligent creatures.

V. Election.Election is God's eternal choice of some persons unto everlasting life -- not because of foreseen merit in them, but of his mere mercy in Christ -- in consequence of which choice they are called, justified and glorified.

VI. The Fall of Man.God originally created man in His own image, and free from sin; but, through the temptation of Satan, he transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original holiness and righteousness; whereby his posterity inherit a nature corrupt and wholly opposed to God and His law, are under condemnation, and as soon as they are capable of moral action, become actual transgressors.

VII. The Mediator.Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is the divinely appointed mediator between God and man. Having taken upon Himself human nature, yet without sin, He perfectly fulfilled the Law, suffered and died upon the cross for the salvation of sinners. He was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended to His Father, at whose hand He ever liveth to make intercession for His people. He is the only Mediator, the Prophet, Priest and King of the Church, and Sovereign of the Universe.

VIII. Regeneration.Regeneration is a change of heart, wrought by the Holy Spirit, who quickeneth the dead in trespasses and sins enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the Word of God, and renewing their whole nature, so that they love and practice holiness. It is a work of God's free and special grace alone.

IX. Repentance.Repentance is an evangelical grace, wherein a person being, by the Holy Spirit, made sensible of the manifold evil of his sin, humbleth himself for it, with godly sorrow, detestation of it, and self-abhorrence, with a purpose and endeavor to walk before God so as to please Him in all things.

X. Faith.Saving faith is the belief, on God's authority, of whatsoever is revealed in His Word concerning Christ; accepting and resting upon Him alone for justification and eternal life. It is wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit, and is accompanied by all other saving graces, and leads to a life of holiness.

XI. Justification.Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal of sinners, who believe in Christ, from all sin, through the satisfaction that Christ has made; not for anything wrought in them or done by them; but on account of the obedience and satisfaction of Christ, they receiving and resting on Him and His righteousness by faith.

XII. Sanctification.Those who have been regenerated are also sanctified, by God's word and Spirit dwelling in them. This sanctification is progressive through the supply of Divine strength, which all saints seek to obtain, pressing after a heavenly life in cordial obedience to all Christ's commands.

XIII. Perseverance of the Saints.Those whom God hath accepted in the Beloved, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere to the end; and though they may fall, through neglect and temptation, into sin, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, bring reproach on the Church, and temporal judgments on themselves, yet they shall be renewed again unto repentance, and be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

XIV. The Church.The Lord Jesus is the Head of the Church, which is composed of all his true disciples, and in Him is invested supremely all power for its government. According to his commandment, Christians are to associate themselves into particular societies or churches; and to each of these churches he hath given needful authority for administering that order, discipline and worship which he hath appointed. The regular officers of a Church are Bishops, or Elders, and Deacons.

XV. Baptism.Baptism is an ordinance of the Lord Jesus, obligatory upon every believer, wherein he is immersed in water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, as a sign of his fellowship with the death and resurrection of Christ, of remission of sins, and of his giving himself up to God, to live and walk in newness of life. It is prerequisite to church fellowship, and to participation in the Lord's Supper.

XVI. The Lord's Supper.The Lord's Supper is an ordinance of Jesus Christ, to be administered with the elements of bread and wine, and to be observed by his churches till the end of the world. It is in no sense a sacrifice, but is designed to commemorate his death, to confirm the faith and other graces of Christians, and to be a bond, pledge and renewal of their communion with him, and of their church fellowship.

XVII. The Lord's Day.The Lord's Day is a Christian institution for regular observance, and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private, resting from worldly employments and amusements, works of necessity and mercy only excepted.

XVIII. Liberty of Conscience.God alone is Lord of the conscience; and He hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are in anything contrary to His word, or not contained in it. Civil magistrates being ordained of God, subjection in all lawful thing commanded by them ought to be yielded by us in the Lord, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

XIX. The Resurrection.The bodies of men after death return to dust, but their spirits return immediately to God -- the righteous to rest with Him; the wicked to be reserved under darkness to the judgment. At the last day, the bodies of all the dead, both just and unjust, will be raised.

XX. The Judgment.God hath appointed a day, wherein he will judge the world by Jesus Christ, when every one shall receive according to his deeds; the wicked shall go into everlasting punishment; the righteous, into everlasting life.

The Ordo Salutis

The Sham (Shack)

Gal 1:6-9 "I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed."

I recently finished reading "The Shack" or as I like to call it The Sham. I normally devour books of this size in about 2 days. This book took me closer to 3 weeks. It was tough to swallow when it got to the main character's weekend with his fictional triune God.

A young lady in my Sunday school class told me she had purchased the book and asked my opinion of it. I immediately told her I thought it wasn't a very good book based on what I had read about it. I have said this about several books in the past without having read them myself, only reviews by people whose opinions I trust. But, as if by Divine Providence, a friend of mine brought a copy of it for me to read the week after I had the discussion with the girl in my class. I begrudgingly submitted myself to the task of reading it, so I could completely defend or change my stance of it.

I attempted to read it with no preconceived notions. By the third page of the first chapter my thoughts of what this book was had surfaced. The main character Mackenzie or Mac for short received a letter from "Papa" telling him he missed him and would like to meet with him if Mac was willing. WHAT?! The Potter asking the clay to meet with Him, through a letter nonetheless.

For more information on the heresies in this book I would refer you to the earlier post with the link to the free download by Dr. Michael Youssef who expounds greatly on this book. I would like to spend a little of your time speaking of this growing trend in the so-called "Christian" book industry. Books such as The Secret, Your Best Life Now, and so on are all on the best-sellers lists and yet full of heresies and blasphemous statements. They attack the very nature of God and just about everything He has revealed about Himself in Scripture. Then again "papa" dismisses Scripture in The Sham anyway.

These authors have the audacity to play on readers emotions and tickle their ears to push their own agendas. The Shack even uses quotes from C.S. Lewis, A.W. Tozer and others. This book has even been compared to John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress". Although Lewis and Bunyan would never depict the Almighty in humanly form as William P. Young does.

Friends this is an extremely popular book; as well as all the new fad "Christian" books that come out every couple of months and downplay the legitimacy of Scripture. It's not that we should purpose to be hated, spit on, and unpopular as Christians; but that is the natural consequence of preaching and expounding on God's true Word. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a condemning and yet loving Gospel. It is about God's grace on undeserving sinners. Yet it is an unpopular, hated and rejected message when presented correctly in light of Scripture.

So with that said I will give this book 2 thumbs down. I fear it will lead many down the wide path that says Heaven, only to realize that wasn't the case. The Lord will not lose any of His sheep, but I fear many will be self-deceived and swept up into the emotion surrounding this book. Possibly doubting everything they have ever heard about God that was taught to them by Christian parents and laypeople. His sheep know His voice and cannot ultimately deny Him, but reading a book like this could lead to much pain and hurt in a young Christian's walk.

The Lord of all creation does not need me to defend Him. But we are called to make a defense of our faith. Jude1:3-4 "Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ."

I could write so much more, but it would be easier for you to download the free message from Dr. Michael Youssef in the earlier post by my brother John and listen and share it with others. Beloved, I pray that you let not your ears by tickled or your emotions played upon.

Merit Mongers

I know I have posted this before but it has been almost two years, this is one of my favorite quotes by A. W. Pink, and I believe it gets at the root of the problem with so many church's today.

"God’s sovereign election is the truth most loathed and reviled by the majority of those claiming to be believers. Let it be plainly announced that salvation originated not in the will of man, but in the will of God (see John 1:13; Rom. 9:16), that were it not so none would or could be saved—for as the result of the fall man has lost all desire and will unto that which is good (John 5:40; Rom. 3:11)—and that even the elect themselves have to be made willing (Ps. 110:3), and loud will be the cries of indignation raised against such teaching.

It is at this point the issue is drawn. Merit-mongers will not allow the supremacy of the divine will and the impotency unto good of the human will, consequently they who are the most bitter in denouncing election by the sovereign pleasure of God, are the warmest in crying up the freewill of fallen man." —A. W. Pink (1886–1952)

Quote taken from The Sovereignty of God by A. W. Pink

The Heart of the Matter

In modern Christianity the number one form of invitation after a lackluster topical sermon seems to be "Jesus is knocking on your heart, won't you let Him in today?" Preachers that use this invitation are sorely missing the mark. They will often use Rev. 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and will dine with him, and he with Me." One of the problems with the invitation given so often is that Jesus was speaking of the lukewarm church Laodicea that bore His name. It was not for professing unbelievers. These people claimed His name for their church but they were "neither hot nor cold".

We are told over and over in scripture that the heart is evil and corrupt. God will "remove your heart of stone and replace it with one of flesh". Why would Christ knock on the door of an evil, cold, stone heart and ASK to come in if He was going to remove it? It is that same corrupt heart that leads us to the pride in thinking that we can either keep Jesus out or let Him in at our own will. Salvation is of the Lord and if His will is to save a wretched sinner (like myself), He by no means needs my permission. He did not need anyone's permission to create the heavens and the earth, nor did He need permission to create you or me. We must remove this heretical teaching from our pulpits and our "hearts".

Pink on Holiness

"Herein we find proof for the Divine inspiration of the Scriptures. The unregenerate do not really believe in the holiness of God. Their conception of His character is altogether one-sided. They fondly hope that His mercy will override everything else. “Thou thoughtest that I was altogether as thyself” (Psalm 50:21) is God’s charge against them. They think only of a “god” patterned after their own evil hearts. Hence their continuance in a course of mad folly.... The fact is that nothing makes more manifest the terrible depravity of man’s heart and his enmity against the living God than to have set before him One who is infinitely and immutably holy. His own idea of sin is practically limited to what the world calls “crime.” Anything short of that, man palliates as “defects,” “mistakes,” “infirmities,” etc. And even where sin is owned at all, excuses and extenuations are made for it.

The “god” which the vast majority of professing Christians “love,” is looked upon very much like an indulgent old man, who himself has no relish for folly, but leniently winks at the “indiscretions” of youth. But the Word says, “Thou hatest all workers of iniquity “(Psalm 5:5). And again, “God is angry with the wicked every day” (Psalm 7:11). But men refuse to believe in this God, and gnash their teeth when His hatred of sin is faithfully pressed upon their attention. No, sinful man was no more likely to devise a holy God than to create the Lake of fire in which he will be tormented for ever and ever." —A. W. Pink (1886–1952)

Excerpt taken form "The Attributes of God" by A. W. Pink

Spurgeon and Eschatology

"Salvation is a theme for which I would fain enlist every holy tongue. I am greedy after witnesses for the glorious gospel of the blessed God. O that Christ crucified were the universal burden of men of God. Your guess at the number of the beast, your Napoleonic speculations, your conjectures concerning a personal Antichrist —forgive me, I count them but mere bones for dogs; while men are dying, and hell is filling, it seems to me the veriest drivel to be muttering about an Armageddon...

I am no prophet, nor the son of a prophet; neither do I profess to be able to explain all the prophecies in this blessed Book. I believe that many of them will only be explained as the events occur which they foretell. Yet there are some things which are plain even to the most superficial reader. It is plain, for instance, that it is certainly foretold that the power of Antichrist shall be utterly and eternally destroyed, and that Babylon, that is to say, the Papal system, with all its abominations, shall be cast like a millstone into the flood, to rise no more for ever. It is also certain that the Jews, as a people, will yet own Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of David, as their King, and that they will return to their own land, "and they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the old cities, the desolations of many generations." It is certain also that our Lord Jesus Christ will come again to this earth, and that he will reign amongst his ancients gloriously, and that there will be a thousand years of joy and peace such as were never known on this earth before. It is also certain that there will be a great and general judgment, when all nations shall be gathered before the Son of man sitting upon the throne of his glory; and his final award concerning those upon his left hand will be, "These shall go away into everlasting punishment;" and concerning those upon his right hand, "but the righteous into eternal life." How all these great events are to be chronologically arranged, I cannot tell." —C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)