and
to redeem a world. And so His coming concerns the future plans of the
earth and the race.

Yet though His coming has such a broad sweep, it is quite possible to
get a grasp of the few essential items in the programme. And this will
make our footing steadier, our vision clearer, our praying more
confident, and our soul-winning and witnessing warmer and truer. We turn
now to try to get this simple, helpful understanding.

The present is the time of the candlesticks. The Man of Fire is in our
midst unperceived. The unseen Eyes of Flame see. Our Lord Jesus still
waits, and depends on the faithfulness of His Church. The light is still
shining out. The dark places are getting some light. The light has not
yet wholly failed to get out through the human lantern to the crowd in
the dark.

The characteristics of this waiting time, so long prolonged, are plainly
put. In the outer world there will be an increasing lawlessness and
disregard of every sort of restraint, and an increasing power of
organization and centralization. There will be an increasing getting
together for more effective action.

In the Church world there will be an increasing formalism, a compromise
with evil and with the world spirit. There will be a decrease of warm
personal devotion to the Lord Jesus as the controlling motive power. And
there will be a growing inclination to make light of, or ignore, or jeer
at, the idea of the Lord Jesus' return.

As this period wears on toward its close, and so on toward the events to
follow, there will be a coming together of the Jews scattered throughout
the world in an attempt to regain Palestine and reconstitute the Hebrew
nation there with its temple and old sacrificial ritual. These are the
three chief tendencies that will characterize the present waiting time
preceding the group of coming events.

The decisive index-finger, that this present period is actually coming
to its close, will be this movement among the Jews. The movement to
regain control of Palestine may rise and fall back, gain and lose again.
But some day it will come to its head. By some arrangement with the
nations concerned the Jewish nation will actually be set up again in
Palestine, and the building of the temple in Jerusalem begun. This will
be the decisive indication. This is an unfailing index-finger. The hands
of the clock are moving then toward the striking of the hour. Soon the
sands will be run out and the hour-glass turned.

Th