Thomas Williams

“ We must make up our minds to obey the foregoing injunctions, not for discussion’s sake, but for truth’s sake, and for the sake of deluded fellow men, and we must not shirk nor be cowardly, but press the battle, giving no quarters, and fully convinced that truth can never surrender to, retreat from, nor compromise with error. ”

“ Christ’s kingdom is not a worldly kingdom, but a heavenly kingdom. Its great plan was conceived in heaven, and the revelation concerning it came from heaven. It is a heavenly or heaven-like kingdom to come, that God’s will might be done on earth as it is in heaven. Had Christ’s kingdom been of that world represented by Pilate it would have been one kingdom of that world contending against another, and in that case his servants would have fought that their king might not be delivered to the Jews. ”

“ Well, there are not many texts needing such careful, critical investigation, and if one is as much in earnest about the meaning of a clause in his title to eternal life in the kingdom of God as he would be about that of a title to a worldly estate he would not consider it too much trouble to go critically and deeply into the investigation of the apparently difficult texts of the Bible. "But what do common people know about Greek and Hebrew?" we are asked. They need not understand Greek and Hebrew to critically examine these matters. ”

“ By this verse there is an attempt to sustain the theory of a church-kingdom. It is claimed that John meant that he was, when he wrote these words, in the kingdom as well as in tribulation, etc. This is a very short-sighted view of the text, and its misuse in bolstering up a theory goes to show how hard-pressed that theory must be for support. If to be in the kingdom is a fact when one is in "tribulation," it cannot be a great boon to be in the kingdom. The general teaching of Scripture is that to be in the kingdom is to have passed beyond the reach of tribulation. ”

“ When the kingdom of heaven in answer to the prayer, "Thy kingdom come," is established and the redeemed will inherit it, having been invited to that honor in the words, "Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world," the position of the very least there will be a high and glorious one. ”

“ When this kingdom is established, the least in it will be greater than John the Baptist was in his humility and suffering. Not that the least in the church now is greater than John the Baptist; for John was surely a greater man than many in the church. The kingdom to which the Saviour refers, therefore, is the glorious kingdom to come, in which the lowest position will be higher and the least honor will exceed anything attributable to John in this life, honorable and great though his office was--that of being a messenger to prepare the way of the Royal Majesty of the Heavens. ”

“ Those who would "study to be workmen that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth," should always be on guard not to apply one scripture in a way to contradict other scriptures. To say of the verses we are considering that they mean that the kingdom of God had come nigh in the sense of being set up is to array them against the teachings of Jesus when he corrected the mistake of his disciples in supposing that "the kingdom of God would immediately appear" (Luke 19: 11) . ”

“ We are commanded to "Prove all things and hold fast that which is good," and to "Try the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world." It is our duty to "earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints;" ”

“ The writer has learned from experience that it is not only necessary to set forth the truth in a clear and conclusive manner in these days when a false theology has bewildered the minds of the people; but it is also necessary to anticipate and remove what difficulties arise in the readers’ minds concerning a few texts which, superficially viewed and sophistically presented by theologians, appear to be at variance with what has been set forth herein. ”

“ Most of the "orthodox" representatives, when pressed to state the time when such a remarkable event as the establishment of God’s kingdom took place--an event which must have been a marked epoch in history if it took place in the past--will answer that it was when Christ had triumphed over death and hades. So with all such the question is still pertinent, How could every man press into the kingdom from the days of John? ”

“ Let us not be driven from our duty in this matter by the taunts of some that we are controversialists and always ready to discuss for the sake of discussion. This is one of the tactics used to enable the enemy to escape the test of truth. ”

“ In building a great railroad, after the plan is conceived and arranged, the first thing necessary to the accomplishment of the purpose is to make it known--to preach it. In doing this the name the railroad is to have when complete is used in making known the enterprise. ”

“ Let us ask our opponents a few questions and give the answers which they give--and let it be remembered we give substantially the answers representative men have given in this case. Let us ask, then, Do you believe that the covenant spoken of in verse 8 is the same covenant, relating to the same time and the same extent as that wherein God said to Abraham, "For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it and to thy seed forever" (Gen. 13: 15) ? Ans. Yes. Then you make the Bible contradict itself; for if you apply Nehemiah’s words to the covenant of Gen. ”

“ He has had ample opportunity during thirty-two years of his life of observing the methods employed in endeavoring to sustain the popular theories, and has had considerable experience in defending the truth of the Bible against the different tactics of representative men of the various sects of Christendom, both in private conversation and public discussions. ”

“ It would be a very foolish thing to infer from these expressions that the friend must be in prosperity and adversity at the same time, or that the comrades would be at home the same time they would be on the battlefield. ”

“ To accomplish this great work Christ will come as a man of war and then his servants will fight for divine rights; for they are to "execute vengeance upon the nations and punishment upon the people; to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron ”

“ He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel," etc. (Luke 1:51-54) . We give this word of caution here because many are very apt to put too much stress upon the tense of a verb, when a careful observance of the context and the subject in hand would show that the future was meant when the present tense was used. ”