Rapture: December 2017
Table of Contents
Theme
In prayer in the last hours before His death, our Lord Jesus twice says “I will” to His God and Father. First, as a perfect, submissive servant He prays, “Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt” (Mark 14:36). Second, as Son of God, He expresses His will concerning those the Father had given to Him. He prays, “Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory” (John 17:24). The work His Father had given Him to do on earth was now finished, and He was leaving earth to return home the Father’s house. But His disciples were to remain on earth; they had received his words and were being sent into the world to share those words with all men. But in the Father’s time, He would return for them. This issue is about that event, which He daily looks forward to with more desire than we can imagine — the moment when He will fetch us to be with Him forever and begin to see Him in His glory. Let us each and every day of our lives respond to His desire by being “men that wait for their lord” (Luke 12:36).
Our Hope
When Paul first went to preach the gospel in Thessalonica, we know that he encountered persecution very quickly. After being there only “three sabbath days” (Acts 17:2), the Jews instigated an uproar which, in turn, caused the brethren to send Paul and Silas away to Berea. But during their brief time in Thessalonica, there was a great deal of blessing, so that when Paul and Silas left, there was an assembly in that city. Not only had Paul preached the gospel to them, but he had also given them real instruction in the blessed results of their salvation. In all of this, the Lord’s coming was a paramount truth.
His Coming for Us and With Us
Later, when it became evident that there had been some misunderstandings among these new believers, Paul wrote to them, seeking to instruct them further. In the two epistles Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, the Lord’s coming is mentioned in every chapter, but with a different emphasis in each case. Both the Lord’s coming for us (the rapture) and also His coming with us (the appearing) are taken up, showing that these truths are connected and that both are very important to us.
A Living Hope
In 1 Thessalonians, in the first chapter, we find that the Lord’s coming for us is the primary thought, as it is presented as a living hope for the new believer. Having been accustomed to worshipping idols and thus to having no hope, these new Christians had “turned to God from idols ... to wait for His Son from heaven” (1 Thess. 1:9-10). The natural man may speculate about what lies beyond death, but now these believers not only knew where they were going, but they were also looking for the Lord to come for them instead of having to go through death. No wonder they could rise above their circumstances to be occupied with their “work of faith,” and “labor of love.” They could have the “patience of hope.”
An Encouraging Hope
In the second chapter, it is more the Lord’s coming with us that is in view, as Paul speaks about how these Thessalonian believers were an encouraging hope for the laboring Christian. It was wonderful for them to have a real joy in their hearts in expecting the Lord to come at any moment, but this joy would not be limited to that moment when they were raptured. When the Lord comes back in glory and displays us with Him, Paul reminds the Thessalonian believers that they will be His “hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing” (1 Thess. 2:19). They would be part of His reward in that day, and thus they were an encouragement to him and other laborers to go on in spite of opposition. It would be worth it all in that day to see them in glory with him as the fruit of his labor.
A Purifying Hope
In the third chapter, the apostle urges upon his listeners the need for personal holiness. Since responsibility is always connected with the Lord’s appearing, once again the emphasis is on the day of Christ, when we shall be displayed in glory with Him. The expectation of that day of public display is a purifying hope for the believer who is walking through a defiling world. More than this, the afflictions and tribulations through which they were compelled to pass might well cause some to give up and discourage these relatively new believers. The hope of being displayed before God our Father in that day would encourage them to go on and would establish their hearts “unblamable in holiness” (1 Thess. 3:13).
A Comforting Hope
In the fourth chapter, Paul considers the fact that some of their number had fallen asleep, and here is where those dear Thessalonian saints had gotten confused. They feared that those who had fallen asleep, having died before the Lord’s coming for us, would somehow miss out on that momentous occasion. By divine revelation, Paul gives them instruction as to how they would not miss that event, but would, in fact, rise first, before we who are alive are caught up to meet the Lord in the air.
This was a new revelation, given to Paul from a risen Christ in glory, and showing for the first time the exact sequence of events when the Lord comes to take us home. Surely it gives a thrill to our hearts every time we read it, as we consider that at any moment it could happen! But Paul also goes on to say, “Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:18). The Lord’s coming for us is here presented as a comforting hope for the bereaved Christian. If our loved ones are parted from us in body for the present, we shall see them again. Truly the sting of death is taken away, for we shall not only see our loved ones again, but we will see them in all the perfection of Christ Himself, morally and bodily. How comforting indeed all this is, in a time of sorrow!
An Arousing Hope
In the fifth chapter, the apostle bring before us both the rapture and the appearing, as an arousing hope for the sleepy Christian. When the Lord appears to judge this world, He will come unexpected and unwanted, as a “thief in the night.” But we who are of the day should not be lulled to sleep by the wiles of Satan; rather, we should be watching. Instead of being morally drunken, we should be sober, considering the solemn days in which we live. The day of rest is coming, but here and now, it is a time to be putting on our armor and engaging in that spiritual battle that will go on until the Lord takes us home.
A Reassuring Hope
Now we come to 2 Thessalonians, which was written shortly after the first epistle. Again we find the Lord’s coming mentioned in every chapter, but in a different way.
In the first chapter, we notice that faith and love are mentioned, but not hope. Sad to say, the incessant persecution to which the Thessalonians were exposed had clouded the blessed hope of the Lord’s imminent return, and they had lost sight of it. This time Paul brings before them, not a reminder of the rapture, but rather of coming glory. Were they under tribulation in this world? There was a day coming when God would recompense tribulation to those who troubled them. Were they despised and rejected now? There was a day coming when the Lord Jesus would be “glorified in His saints, and admired in all them that believe” (2 Thess. 1:10). Here, then, the Lord’s appearing is presented as a reassuring hope for the suffering Christian.
A Stabilizing Hope
In the second chapter, Paul takes up yet another misconception that had overtaken the believers in Thessalonica. When he was with them, Paul had instructed them as to the tribulation, but the persecution had made life so difficult for them that they had mistakenly assumed that they were, in fact, going through the tribulation. This time, the antidote to the error into which they had fallen was to reiterate the truth of the Lord’s coming for us. He beseeches them “by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him” (2 Thess. 2:1). The day of the Lord could not come until the Spirit of God had been taken away and the Antichrist had subsequently been revealed. Until then, the Spirit of God would restrain the evil, so that what they were experiencing was in no way the tribulation. They might indeed experience tribulation, but what Scripture calls “the tribulation” or “the great tribulation” could not come before the rapture. Here, then, the Lord’s coming is a stabilizing hope in the face of difficulty and a reminder that before the tribulation begins, we must be taken away. When the church is raptured, only then does the Spirit of God cease to be in this world as an abiding presence. Until then, the full development of wickedness and the revelation of the Antichrist cannot happen.
The Patience of Christ
Finally, in the third chapter, we find something very special. In this chapter we read, “The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patience of the Christ” (2 Thess. 3:5 JND). So far in these two epistles, Paul has spoken of our part in both the rapture and the appearing — what they mean to us. But here, in the final chapter, he brings in Christ Himself. Often when the expression “the Christ” is used in Paul’s ministry, it includes Christ and the church, and so it is here.
If we are waiting to be taken out of this world, He is waiting patiently too. Surely His desire to have us there with Him exceeds our desire to be there with Him, for as we have seen in this epistle, our thoughts and expectations can be blurred by circumstances around us in this world. How uplifting, then, to have our thoughts taken right outside of ourselves, to consider His patience, and His anticipation of having us with Him! One of the privileges of believers in this dispensation is to see things from God’s side, from His vantage point. To be continually occupied with ourselves, even in what God has given us, may shorten our vision and even dim our hope. But to see all from God’s aspect is to have an eternal view — one that is not diluted by the things of this world. This is Paul’s ultimate wish for his dear Thessalonian saints — those who were his joy and crown.
W. J. Prost
Waiting for Him
That which should characterize the saints is not merely holding the doctrine of the Lord’s coming, as that which they believe, but their souls should be in the daily attitude of waiting, expecting and desiring His coming! But why? That they may see Himself and be with Him and like Him forever — not because the world which has been so hostile to them is going to be judged, though God will smite the wicked.
It is true that there will be mercy to those who are spared. But we have obtained mercy now, and we are, therefore, waiting for Himself, for what He is in Himself to us, and not because of judgment. That would not be joy to me, though it will be to some on the earth, for “in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the Lord shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps” (Isa. 30:32). This is not our hope, but simply waiting for Himself. The whole walk and character of a saint depends on this, on his waiting for the Lord. Everyone should be able to read us by this, as having nothing to do in this world, but to get through it, and not as having any portion in it but as those who have “turned from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven.” This is thought a strange thing now, but the Thessalonians were converted to this hope — for they belonged to a world which had rejected God’s Son; therefore, they had to turn from these idols to serve the true and living God and to wait for His Son from heaven.
Waiting for the Lord
What I desire to press upon you all and myself too is the individual waiting for the Lord, not as a doctrine merely, but as a daily waiting for Himself. Whatever the Lord’s will may be, I should like Him to find me doing it when He comes. But that is not the question, but am I waiting for Himself day by day? In the second chapter of Thessalonians, the hope is connected with ministry: “What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?” (vs. 19). Then Paul would get the reward of his service to the saints. Then in the third chapter, the hope is connected with our walk, as a motive for holiness: “Unblamable in holiness, before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, with all His saints” (vs. 13). Then in the fourth chapter, the doctrine of the hope is unfolded; the manner of it comes out: “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 shall we ever be with the Lord” (vss. 16-17).
A Present Expectation
Thus we see what a present expectation the coming of the Lord was; therefore Paul says, “WE which are alive and remain.” But why does he say “WE”? Because he expected it then. That was Paul’s character then, that of waiting for the Lord. And does he lose that character, because he, died before He came? No, not at all.
Though Paul had a revelation that he should put off the tabernacle of his body, yet did he daily wait for the Lord’s coming then, and that will be Paul’s character when the Lord does come; he will lose nothing by his death. “Be ye like unto men that wait for their Lord.” The character of their waiting was to be like servants at the hall door, that when the master knocked, they were ready to open to Him immediately. It is a figure, of course, here, but it is the present power of the expectation that is alluded to. And the ruin of the church has come in by practically saying, “My Lord delayeth his coming.” “Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching” (Luke 12:37).
Loins Girded and Lights Burning
“Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning” (Luke 12:35). “Your loins girt about with truth” (Eph. 6:14) for service. You must not let your garments flow loose; that is, you must not let your thoughts and affections flow abroad, but be ready, with your garments well girt up and your lights burning. This is not a time of rest, for it is an exceedingly tiring thing to have to sit up and watch through a long, dark night. But in the spirit of service, the heart, affections, thoughts, feelings and desires must all be girt up. And this requires painstaking not to let the flesh go its own way, for it is a great comfort sometimes to do this, if only for a moment, but if we do we shall surely fall asleep like the virgins. As the virgins went to sleep with their oil in their lamps, so we may go to sleep, those of us who are spared. But we have obtained mercy now and are, therefore, waiting for Himself, for what He is in Himself to us, and not just because of being spared from judgment. That would not be joy to me, though it will be to some on the earth, for “in every place where the grounded staff shall pass, which the Lord shall lay upon him, it shall be with tabrets and harps” (Isa. 30:32). This is not our hope, but simply waiting for Himself. The whole walk and character of a saint depends on this, that is, on his waiting for the Lord. Everyone should be able to read us by this, as having nothing to do in this world, but to get through it, and not as having any portion in it: Turned from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven.” This is thought a strange thing now, but the Thessalonians were converted to this hope — for they had belonged to a world which rejected God’s Son; therefore, they had to turn from these idols to serve the true and living God and to wait for His Son from heaven.
J. N. Darby (adapted)
The Coming of the Lord and Its Practical Effect on Us
When the Lord God, after Adam’s disobedience, called to him in the Garden, He speaks of the coming Seed of the woman who should bruise the serpent’s head. This, then, is the first mention of the coming of the Man Christ Jesus into this world — that Man who will carry out everything for God’s glory and suppress all lawlessness. Yet the church, for the most part, has lost the lively expectation of Christ’s coming and kingdom, when He shall judge the living and the dead. The church is saying, like the evil servant in the parable, “My Lord delayeth His coming.” In consequence, she has become mixed with the world, instead of being a light bearer.
The Distinct Periods
The coming of the Lord is one subject, yet marked by distinct periods. There was His coming when He was cut off and had nothing. His first coming was in humiliation; the second coming is divided into two halves. He breaks His journey (so to speak) in the air to take His own out of the scene on which the wrath of God will be poured out. What should be the effect of this on the character of our souls? The effect it had on the saints at Thessalonica made them the talk of all around, so that Paul had no need to say anything. We read, “Ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus” (1 Thess. 1:9-10). We see the earnestness which marked them then. When converted, they turned to God and away from all they had been brought up in. If that is not true of a converted soul, it is because the gospel is not properly preached or because man’s mind takes the place of God’s Word.
The Work of Faith
In 1 Thessalonians 1:3, we find their “work of faith,” “labor of love” and “patience of hope.” If we turn to Revelation 2:2, where the Lord is seen walking among the candlesticks and He addresses the Ephesian assembly, we find “work” but no mention of faith, “labor” but not connected with love, and “patience” but not of hope. “Patience of hope” is the coming of the Lord. If all is not done with the motivating principle of love, from God and to God, it is not acceptable to Him. It is not much noise and running hither and thither, but that which is faithfully carried out in love to Him that He values — a burning desire for Christ continually dwelling in the heart, and Christ formed there.
Old Testament Prophecies
In the Old Testament, the Lord’s coming is looked at as a single event; the sufferings and the glory are connected together. For example, in Zechariah 9:9 we read, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh unto thee; He is just and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass.” But in Matthew 21:5, where it is fulfilled, “having salvation” is left out, for He was the rejected One then. In Luke 4:21, when the Lord says, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears,” He leaves off in the middle of a sentence (Luke 4:19). There is already an interval of nearly 2000 years between the accomplishments of the two parts of that sentence.
In Deuteronomy 24:5, we read that a man who had taken a new wife “shall not go out to war. ... He shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken.” This shows us the place the church has in Christ’s heart. It sets before us the interval after the rapture and the delight of Christ in His church, for He does not come out as warrior in Revelation 19 till after the marriage of the Lamb. He is hidden and delighting in His church while the vials of wrath are being poured out. He is in the Father’s house in ecstasy of joy. Then when He does go out to war, we shall go with Him, to judge even angels. In Daniel 7, there are thrones, but no occupants. In Revelation 20, after the marriage of the Lamb, the occupants of those thrones have judgment given unto them. It well becomes the saints, who will occupy those thrones, that they should now have intelligence to put aside everything contrary to Him while we wait his coming.
R. E. C. (adapted)
Christ's Work, the Spirit's Power and the Lord's Coming
The Lord’s coming for us entwines itself with all the states, thoughts and motives of the Christian life. In leaving His disciples, the Lord comforts them, first of all, with the assurance that He would come again and receive them to Himself. The last parting word of Revelation is, “Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20). Having Jesus among them again, whom in a personal sense they had lost, was the bright and blessed hope set before them. Every right feeling and motive is connected with it; it is interwoven with the gospel and enters into its whole texture.
I do not go into warnings to the world, because my object is the saints, but His appearing will come upon it as a thief in the night. But we are thoroughly associated with Christ in glory now. As yet our life is hid with Christ in God, but He will appear, and we shall appear with Him in glory. We know that “when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2), and hence the word to us is: He “that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure” (1 John 3:3).
Watching
The Lord’s statement, as to the true character of the Christian (Luke 12), is that he is waiting for the Lord; the blessing rests on those who are found watching. The act of watching is distinguished from service while He is away, and the reward for each is distinct (see vss. 37,43-44). For the watcher, the joy of heaven is ministered by Christ; for the servants, they will rule over all things. “Occupy till I come” (Luke 19:13) was the direction to the servants when He went away. What led to worldliness and ecclesiastical oppression in Christendom was some saying in their hearts, “My Lord delayeth His coming,” and judgment and cutting off as unbelievers and hypocrites was the consequence. Neither the Lord nor His apostles ever speak beforehand of His coming as beyond the life of those concerned. The virgins who fell asleep are the same who awoke; the servants who get the talents are the same as those who were judged.
Our Destiny
We are predestinated to be conformed to the image of God’s Son that He may be the firstborn among many brethren, but this is as He is in glory, not as when He died and His body was in the tomb. We have borne the image of the earthy, and we are to bear the image of the heavenly. We are to see Him as He is, to be like Him when He appears; we are to appear with Him when He appears, having been caught up to meet Him in the air, and then brought with Him in glory.
Holiness
Present holiness is always identified with this likeness to Christ in glory, perfected when we are raised. “We all, looking on the glory of the Lord with unveiled face, are transformed according to the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18 JND). So in John: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is; and he that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure” (1 John 3:2-3). So in 1 Thessalonians 3:13; the holiness now sought is in its true perfectness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints. In Ephesians we read, “Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it by the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing” (Eph. 5:25-27). Holiness is always identified with our correspondence to Christ in glory when He comes — being like Him then.
The Hope of His Coming
Every book in the New Testament but two (Galatians and Ephesians) specifically and distinctly presents the coming of Christ as the known constant hope, characterizing the Christian. It is identified with every element of Christian life and service. The saying, “My Lord delayeth His coming,” is noted as the cause of the church’s worldliness and ruin; the denial of His coming is characteristic of the scoffers of the last days.
The church in general has lost the object, as to what is before us in hope, to which they were converted. Are we walking in the power of the indwelling Spirit, who makes us have our conversation, our living associations, what we belong to, in heaven? The waiting for God’s Son is the normal state of the Christian because he does belong there. Until we are caught up to be with Christ in glory, all is imperfection, for “we have this treasure in earthen vessels” (2 Cor. 4:7). The living presence of the Holy Spirit, and the waiting for Christ, characterize Christianity and the Christian state. Not to be enjoying it is to have lost it.
Bible Treasury (adapted)
My Lord Delayeth His Coming
Matthew 24:48
Satan always seeks to corrupt what he cannot destroy, whether the subject of his evil purpose is the saints of God or any special truth of His Word which has engaged and blessed their souls. The truth of the Lord’s coming as the blessed hope of the believer is no exception to this. Since the Lord has graciously revived it in this closing period of the day of grace, it has taken so firm a hold upon the souls of His saints everywhere, as was never known before since apostolic times, nor was it since those days ever before so generally accepted as it is now.
The Ten Virgins
At the beginning, the virgins all went out to meet the Bridegroom (Matthew 25), but how soon this testimony was given up, and the whole thing sank down to this: “They all slumbered and slept.”
But at midnight there went forth an arousing cry, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him” (Matt. 25:6). How perfectly this has been fulfilled, and how closely these two things — the person of Christ and the outgoing of heart to Himself as the coming One — were connected in the recovered truth! We thank God that the power of the Holy Spirit has so accompanied this testimony that Satan’s efforts will not succeed in depriving Christians of what God has so graciously restored to them. But there is danger, for the finest characteristic which that hope possesses, regarded practically, is its dateless imminence. Satan knows that if he could succeed in removing this peculiar feature — the undefined but ever-present nearness of the Lord’s return, the kernel of the truth would be abstracted. The shell of the doctrine might remain, but it would no longer be an ever-operating power and blessed hope before the soul.
Declension of Heart
Foreseeing this danger, the Holy Spirit furnishes a parable expressly to warn against this snare which the enemy lays for professing Christians (Matt. 24:45-51). The special snare of Satan now is that of the retention of sound doctrine as to the rapture, but mixed with the worldliness and the like which the Lord sets forth in the beating of fellow servants and eating and drinking with the drunken. This violence and wantonness, whether exerted or restrained, are the workings of the flesh and the allowance of the world when developed and displayed.
Therefore would we bring home to our own soul and to those of our readers the real importance of watching against this declension of heart as to the Lord’s return, which is the last snare of our cunning foe. Can we say that having been looking for Him so long, we are more and more convinced that He is near at hand? Are both the desire and the expectation of His coming, by reason of so long a time having elapsed, growing every day stronger within our souls?
One thing is clear, that if the dearly-cherished desire of our hearts has not yet been gratified by the hope of His coming, we have allowed our faith to fail, our desires to cool, and our expectations to falter. Thus the sense of it, as an everyday increasingly “blessed hope,” has escaped from the heart. No wonder that the faithless heart then turns to the world which it has allowed to betray it into declension, saying within itself, “My lord delayeth His coming,” and in consequence giving rein to the flesh and its works. He did not say, “The Lord is not coming,” but he puts it off as a thing not at hand or expected.
The Imminent Hope
How different it is to faith! Are earth’s scenes at their darkest, the poor body brought down to death’s door, as men speak, and life rapidly ebbing away? There is for us no darkness profound enough to be impenetrable to the piercing rays of the “bright and morning star,” no time so short as to preclude His coming in it. If there is time for an eye to twinkle, there is time for Him to come; to the joy of His own heart, the first act of His coming will be to produce its full effect upon the bodies of the untold multitudes of His saints in the same twinkling of an eye! To shift the scene, it is equally the privilege of faith to find the Lord’s coming the very brightest thing in our horizon, engaging our hearts supremely, even when divine favors upon earth are in their most sparkling array before our grateful hearts. And if it is not so with us, we may well challenge our souls whether the person of Christ and the promise of His coming again have ever assumed their unrivaled place in the heart as they should!
The Lord’s Supper
We may also add that we know nothing that is used of the Holy Spirit more powerfully and more refreshingly to revive, from time to time, this precious doctrine and hope in the hearts of the saints than the remembrance of the Lord. And so divinely interlocked are the two things that seldom, if ever, are saints really right about either one if they are wrong about the other.
The Lord’s supper indeed possesses the wonderful and unique property of converging into one focus His death and His coming, bringing back His death as our only yesterday and bringing forward His coming as our only tomorrow, the table being our only today, in which our fellowship is with the Father and the Son, and one with another “till He come.” Our yesterday: Christ in death whom we remember; our today: a glorified Christ to whom we are united; our tomorrow: a coming Christ for whom we are longing, shining upon us as the “bright and morning star,” while we keep vigil through the long night of His prolonged absence.
May the Holy Spirit keep freshly before our souls this “blessed hope,” nor suffer it to be impaired by any of the changing scenes of earth, above all preserving us from ever saying in our hearts, with Laodicean levity and worldliness, “My lord delayeth His coming.”
R. W. (from Christian Truth, adapted)
Happiness
A recent special issue of Time Magazine is entitled, “The Science of Happiness,” focusing on what makes us happy and how we can adjust our thinking and our behavior to have a more joyful life. Needless to say, the issue made for some interesting reading, as it went over the various ways in which scientific research has supposedly shown us how to be happy. The authors are Laura Kubzansky and K. “Vish” Viswanath, co-directors of the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. In the course of the magazine, they explore various reasons why human beings are not happy, and they make suggestions as to overcoming these problems.
As we might expect, their approach is largely secular, yet I found it curious that some of the conclusions they arrived at were those supported by Scripture. We will cite a few of these examples. It is noteworthy that many times the word “happier” is used by the authors, for man’s research consists of “comparing themselves among themselves” (2 Cor. 10:12). True happiness comes only in knowing Christ, in having Him as our Savior, and in walking in fellowship with Him.
Resilience
Realizing that bad things sometimes happen in our lives, the article places a high premium on resilience — the ability to “bounce back” from difficult events that may come our way. Among the ways to develop resilience, they mention the following:
Develop a core set of beliefs that nothing can shake.
Try to find meaning in whatever stressful or traumatic event has happened to you.
Be quick to reach out for support when things go haywire.
For those of us who know the Word of God, it is easy to see how all three of these methods of developing resilience are found there. Since we have received “a kingdom which cannot be moved” (Heb. 12:28), we should not “despise ... the chastening of the Lord,” nor should we “faint” when we “are rebuked of Him” (Heb. 12:5). Rather, we should be “exercised thereby” in order to enjoy “the peaceable fruit of righteousness” (Heb. 12:11) that comes from learning the lesson that God intends for us. In all this we have not only the support of one another, but also the Lord, who has promised, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb. 13:5).
Money
The authors also mention money, pointing out that those who are very poor are not as happy as those who have enough to live comfortably. But it is interesting that beyond this basic level of comfort, they found that more money does not bring more happiness. In the Proverbs we read, “Give me neither poverty nor riches ... lest I be full, and deny thee ... or lest I be poor, and steal” (Prov. 30:8-9).
Marriage and Stress
The article also points out that a good marriage and a supportive family contribute largely to more happiness. Again, the Lord Himself said at the beginning of man’s history, “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18), and Scripture recognizes that the companionship and help of others is a great mercy, especially in difficulties.
Also, a lack of stress and strain in one’s life together with real gratitude for what we do have are promoted as going a long way toward happiness. Again, Scripture tells us that “a merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones” (Prov. 17:22).
There are even several back-handed references to the Word of God in the article, such as, “You can’t put new wine into old wineskins,” and, “A rich man may find it harder to get into heaven than a camel does passing through the eye of a needle.” There is even a quotation from Ecclesiastes: “All is vanity and vexation of spirit” (Eccl. 1:14). But all this is mixed with quotations from false religions, leading to their conclusion that “those with a spiritual practice or who follow religious beliefs tend to be happier than those who don’t.”
Trends
It is revealing to notice that a special issue like this comes out when man is literally at “his wits’ end” and scarcely knows in which direction to turn. Since God and His claims have been given up, men’s hearts are indeed “failing them for fear,” and often this fear takes very irrational forms. But as another issue of Time Magazine has aptly commented, “In a fearful and tribalistic society, we run on emotion, which is the currency of social media.” The level of stress and anger in Western society is rising, which, in turn, causes a rise in crude and violent speech. This then translates into violent actions. For those who are a bit unstable or perhaps feel somewhat marginalized in society, senseless violence is often directed simply at the person or institution that represents their disillusionment. The level of happiness and contentment in this world is rapidly going down, not up, and man feels the need somehow to reverse this trend by focusing on what makes him happy.
Conclusions
While some good conclusions are given in this special issue of Time Magazine, as we might expect, it fails to address the root of the problem. It is man in Cain’s world, seeking happiness in a world that is spoiled by sin, yet leaving God out entirely, except as a nebulous concept that is not founded on any absolute truth. The root of man’s unhappiness is sin in this world, and its effects cannot be reversed by the natural man. He may make himself as comfortable as possible in this blighted world, but eventually he must realize Solomon’s verdict: “All is vanity and vexation of spirit.” One man may, in a temporal way, be happier than another, for sin has introduced inequity and greed into the world. There are those who are relatively comfortable in this life and those who suffer want. But without God, all this comfort is merely “the pleasures of sin for a season” (Heb. 11:25). No matter what we have in this life, it can never give complete satisfaction or happiness. As another has remarked, “Happiness is a state of soul, not a question of circumstances.”
Solutions
Second, the solutions proposed do not rise above man himself. Some of the recommendations given are good and reasonable, yet often there is no power to carry them out. We are told to show more gratitude for what we already have, yet man in his fallen nature always wants what he does not have. We are told to reach out more to others, yet the natural man is selfish and self-centered. We are told to take “time out” from modern technology, yet most people today are addicted to their cell phone, to their music, to Facebook, and to other vehicles of social media. We are told to get outside more and to get more exercise, yet global obesity has nearly doubled over the last thirty years, and especially among children. All of this fulfills the Lord’s words through Jeremiah: “I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jer. 10:23).
Other Alternatives
Third, man’s quest for happiness leads him into all sorts of different pathways, including those that are not merely sinful, but dangerous. Since the world rejected Christ, Satan is its god and its prince, and he rules man by his lusts. As the god of this world, he has masterminded false religions, which are now being sought after by many in countries that formerly were regarded as Christian. There is a strong emphasis in one article on the concept of “mindfulness” — the focusing on whatever we are doing in the present, rather than having our minds concerned with whatever may be next on our agenda. (For a fuller discussion of mindfulness, see the June 2017 issue of The Christian.)
As was pointed out in the article on mindfulness, the concept is rooted in Buddhism, and it can lead unsuspecting people into Satanic influences. The desire for something “spiritual” without Christ has always been a road to demonic superstition, and it may well be today’s precursor of the “strong delusion” that will overtake those during the tribulation period who have rejected the gospel of the grace of God. Since the article levels all religions as being similar, the message is that it does not matter what you place your faith in, as long as you have a “core belief.” This delusion is exactly what Satan uses to lull men into a false sense of security.
True Happiness
But God has told us in His Word that true happiness comes only when man looks outside of himself, to the God who not only loves him, but has provided a way back to Himself through the gift of His Son. In Christ we have an Object that fills our hearts, not only in this world, but for all eternity. Our testimony to the world is our joy in Christ, which is independent of our circumstances.
W. J. Prost
Purpose and Passage
Our passage through this world is no part of God’s purpose; it is part of God’s way, but His purpose is simply to put us in Christ and for us to be perfectly like Christ in the glory which He has as Man.
J. N. Darby
Affections and Activity
There are two things which we may well learn to distinguish: (1) the having a settled consciousness of the affections of those with whom we have to do and (2) the brightness of hope which brings activity into the soul.
J. N. Darby
Progress and Attainment
Our calling is to glory with Christ, we are predestinated to be conformed to His image, and that is the time when Christ will see of the fruit of the travail of His soul; that is to be the measure of everything; there will be progress till then, and attainment in the sense of progress, but not yet full attainment. There must, of course, be the spirit of holiness here, because we are Christians. If we are looking for full attainment to be reached in this world, we shall come short of scriptural holiness, for we are to be conformed to the image of God’s Son.
J. N. Darby
In a Moment
1 Corinthians 15:32
Quite suddenly – it may be in the turning of a lane,
Where I stand to watch a skylark soar from out the swelling grain,
That the trump of God shall thrill me, with its call so loud and clear,
And I’m called away to meet Him, Whom of all I hold so dear.
Quite suddenly – it may be in His house I bend my knee,
When the kingly Voice long hoped for, comes at last to summon me,
And the fellowship of earth — life that has seemed to passing sweet,
Proves nothing but the shadow of our meeting round His feet.
Quite suddenly – it may be as I tread the busy street,
Enduring in His strength, life’s work…its various tasks to meet,
That through the roar of traffic, a trumpet, silvery clear,
Shall stir my startled senses and proclaim His coming near.
Quite suddenly – it may be as I lie in dreamless sleep,
God’s gift to many a sorrowing heart, with no more tears to weep,
That a call shall break my slumber, and a Voice sound in my ear;
Rise up my love, and come away, behold the Bridegroom’s here!
Author Unknown
Our Hope
A shout! A trumpet note!
A glorious presence in the azure sky;
A gasp! A thrill of joy
And we are with Him in the twinkling of an eye!
A glance! An upward look!
Caught up to be with Christ forevermore!
The dead alive! The living glorified!
Fulfilled are all His promises that came before!
His face! His joy supreme!
Our souls find rapture at His feet!
Blameless! Without a spot!
We enter into heaven’s joy complete!
Strike harps! Oh, sound His praise —
We know Him as we never knew before!
God’s love! God’s matchless grace!
‘Twill take eternity to tell while we adore!
A. C. White