NOTES.—“To my mind this precious doctrine—for such I must call it—of the return of the Lord to this earth is taught in the New Testament as clearly as any other doctrine in it; yet I was in the church fifteen or sixteen years before I ever heard a sermon on it. There is hardly any church that does not make a great deal of baptism; but in all of Paul’s epistles I believe baptism is spoken of only thirteen times, while it speaks about the return of our Lord fifty times; and yet the church has had very little to say about it. Now I can see a reason for this. The devil does not want us to see this truth; for nothing would wake up the church so much. The moment a man takes hold of the truth that Jesus Christ is coming back again to receive His followers to Himself, this world loses its hold on him. Gas stocks, and water stocks, and stocks in banks and railroads are of very much less consequence to him then. His heart is free, and he looks for the blessed appearing of his Lord, who, at His coming, will take him into His blessed kingdom.”—_“__The Second Coming of Christ,__”__ by D. L. Moody, pages 6, 7._ “ ‘This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, _shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven_,’ is the parting promise of Jesus to His disciples, communicated through the two men in white apparel, as a cloud received Hun out of their sight. When after more than fifty years in glory He breaks the silence and speaks once more in the Revelation which He gave to His servant John, the post-ascension gospel which He sends opens with, ‘_Behold, He cometh with clouds_,’ and closes with, ‘_Surely I come quickly_.’ Considering the solemn emphasis thus laid upon this doctrine, and considering the great prominence given to it throughout the teaching of our Lord and of His apostles, how was it that for the first five years of my pastoral life it had absolutely no place in my preaching? Undoubtedly, the reason lay in the lack of early instruction. Of all the sermons heard from childhood on, I do not remember listening to a single one upon this subject.”—_“__How Christ Came to Church,__”__ by A. J. Gordon, D. D., pages 44, 45._ 7. At His ascension, what assurance was given of Christ’s return? “And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? _this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven_.” Acts 1:10, 11. 8. How ancient is this doctrine of Christ’s coming? “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, _Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints_, to execute judgment upon all.” Jude 14, 15.