Our warmest Congratulations to Brother Edward Gilbreath who, on May 9, graduated from Judson College (Elgin, Illinois) with high honors. He received his B. A. degree in Communication Arts. Louise and I were privileged to attend the Commencement exercises.
    On Tuesday, May 12, Brother Gilbreath started to work at a full-time job. He will be working in the Circulation Department of Christian Life Publishers. A beloved member of our fellowship, we pray God's richest blessings on him as he endeavors to honor the Lord with his life.
    This will be our last opportunity to remind you of the approaching 40th Anniversary Fellowship Meeting with the Landmark Missionary Baptist Church, of Rockford, Illinois, on June 17-19. The first service will begin at 7:00 P.M. on Wednesday evening, the 17th. All day services will be held on Thursday, and we will continue to share a time of singing, prayer, praise, preaching and fellowship in the Gospel through noon on Friday.
    If you have not yet called, or written, to let us know of your plans to attend, please do so at once. We will do our best to provide for your comfort, as well for your spiritual enrichment. Call: Area 815:874-2265. E.G.

    As far back as the Garden of Eden there has been the promise of a coming One through whom the "curse" brought on by man's fall would be lifted and the "serpent" destroyed. In fact, when Cain was born, mother Eve thought that promise had been fulfilled. She said: "I have gotten a (the) man from the Lord", (Gen. 4:1).
    To faithful Abraham God promised a "Seed" through whom all nations of the earth would be blessed, (Gen. 22:18; comp. Gal. 3:16). God told Moses that He would raise up among His people, Israel, a prophet like unto Moses; He would speak God's words and they should obey Him, (Dt. 18:18).
    When King Saul refused to walk in the way of the Lord, David, a man after God's own heart, was anointed to be king over Israel. He led the people in conquest over their enemies. Then there came into his heart a yearning to build a House to the honor and glory of Jehovah, his God. But the Lord would not permit this because he had been a man of war.
    However, in a covenant that he made to David, in his old age, He promised that David's "Son" would be permitted to build a house to the honor of His name, (I Kings 8:19). The

language of the Davidic Covenant is such as reaches far beyond Solomon and the Temple that he built, (2 Sam. 7: 12-13). This "Son of David" would also be his "Lord"; in Him God would, Himself, sit upon David's throne, (Psa. 11O:3, 132.11, Acts 2:30).
    The kingdom consistently set forth in Biblical covenant, prophecy and promise is distinctly promised to the "Son of David", with whose throne Divinity is closely associated. For Jesus Christ the title, "Son of Man" involved far more than a mere acknowledgement of His humanity. It was distinctly His Messianic title - given Him because of His covenanted relationship to the kingdom. This was His favorite designation of Himself while He walked as a man among men. When others addressed Him as the "Son of God", He inevitably responded by referring to Himself as the "Son of Man"!
    Let us keep these thoughts in mind as we read from Daniel 7:13-14.
"I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of

days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." The terminology used by John the Baptist, Jesus and the apostles (relative to the Messianic king and kingdom) is clearly derived from this passage in Daniel 7. This is the same terminology employed by Jesus. Neither He nor His apostles ever gave the slightest intimation that it meant anything different from the commonly accepted Jewish expectation of a literal re-establishment of the Davidic throne: on earth, in Jerusalem, and with the Messianic Son of David reigning as King of the earth! (comp. Acts 1:6)

    What better way to learn the true significance of the expression, "Son of Man", than to consider how our Lord used it of Himself, and how it was employed by New Testament?
    1. When a certain Scribe declared: "Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest", Jesus responded: "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head",(Matt. 8:20; comp. Luke 9:57-58).
    2. When a man, sick of palsy, was brought to Jesus He said: "Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee", The Scribes reasoned within their hearts that Jesus was a blasphemer. Knowing their thoughts He answered: "Whether is easier, to say, thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise,

take up thy bed, and go tin to thine house." And the man arose and departed to his house, (Matt. 9:2-7; comp. Mk. 2:5-12; Lk. 5:24-26).
    3. When Jesus sent forth the 12 on their first, limited mission, He warned them that they would be hated by some. However, He added: "But when they persecute you in this city, flee into another; for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come: (Matt. 10:23).
    4. In likening His contemporaries to "children, playing in the marketplaces", Jesus pointed out their inconsistency: "For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a demon. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!" (Mart. 11:18-19; comp. Lk.7:33-35).
    5. The Pharisees were indignant that Jesus' disciples plucked grains to eat on the sabbath day. But Jesus answered: "Have ye not read what David did, when he was hungry, and they that were with him, How he entered into the house of God, and did eat of the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless? But I say unto you that in this place is one greater than the temple. But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day!" (Mart. 12:3-8; comp. Mk. 2:28; Lk. 6:5).
    6. On another occasion, certain Scribes and Pharisees sought a "sign" from

Jesus. He told them that no sign would be given them "but the sign of the prophet, Jonah; For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth", (Matt. 12:39-40; comp. Lk. 11:30).
    7. In explaining to His disciples the meaning of the Parable of the Sower, Jesus said: "He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man", (Matt. 13:37). He explained, further that "The Son of man shall send forth hi angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them who do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father Who hath ears to hear, let him hear", (Mart 13:41-43). In this connection, it would be well to remember that it is BY CONQUEST that our Lord puts an end to the kings who have united against Him; thus "The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever", (Rev. 11:15).
    8. How much clearer could Jesus' claim to this title be made than when He asked His disciples, at Caesarea Philippi, "Who do men say that I, the Son of man, am?"
    9. In urging men to faithfulness in His service, Jesus said: "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, there be some standing here, who shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom", (Matt. 16:27-28). 10. As Jesus descended from the mountain where He had been transfigured

before His disciples, He charged them saying, "Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man is raised again from the dead", (Matt. 17:9). In response to a question concerning Elijah, He told them: "Elijah is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they desired. Likewise, shall also the Son of man suffer of them", Matt. 17:12; comp. Mk. 9:9-13). And, while they were still in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, "The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men", (Matt. 17:22; comp. Mk. 9:30-32; Lk. 9:43-45).
    11. In Matthew 18:10-11 Jesus urged: "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father, who is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which is lost".
    12. On another occasion Peter said to Jesus: "Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee. What shall we have, therefore?" Jesus replied: "Verily I say unto you that ye who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel",Matt. 19:27-28).
    13. As, for the last time, He journeyed with His disciples toward Jerusalem, Jesus took them aside and said: "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and Shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him. And the third day he shall rise again", (Matt. 20:17-19; comp. Mk. 8:31; 10:33; Lk. 9:22, 44; 18:31-34).
    14. Knowing that some of His closest disciples still sought pre-eminence over their

brethren, Jesus counselled them: "Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you, but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister, And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant; Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many", (Matt. 20:25-28; comp. Mk. 10:45).
    15. In Matthew 24, which is probably the fullest recorded statement of our Lord with regard to events connected with His second coming, He again identified Himself as the "Son of Man". "For as the lightning cometh out of the East and shineth even unto the West, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be". 'Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give its light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" "But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be" … "Therefore be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh",

(Matt. 24:2 7, 29-31, 37-39, 44; Note also: Lk. 17:22-33; 21:25-28, 34-36).
    16. In the Parable of the Ten Virgins, in which five foolish ones failed to make necessary preparation for the coming of the Bridegroom, He came while they were scurrying around trying to GET READY! When they appealed for entrance to the marriage they were denied: He said, "I know you not!" Thus, the Master urged His disciples to "Watch, therefore; for ye know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of man cometh", (Matt. 25:13).
    17. In Matthew 25:31-32 the following words of Jesus are recorded: "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. And before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats." To those on the right He will say: "Come, ye blessed of my Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world". But to those on His left hand He will command: "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels!",(Matt. 25:31-32, 34, 41).
    18. When our Lord had finished His message concerning the "Great Separation", He said to His disciples, "Ye know that after two days is the feast of the Passover and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified", (Matt. 26:2). As He observed the Passover Feast with them for the last time, He said: "He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him; but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It had been good for that man had he not been born". (Matt. 26:24; comp. Mk.

14:21; Lk. 22:22). In the Garden of Gethsemane our Lord made the final surrender: "0 my Father, f this cup may not pass away from me except I drink it, Thy will be done!' Then, coming to His disciples He said to them: "Sleep on now, and take your rest; behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; behold he is at hand that doth betray me!" (Matt. 26:42-46; comp. Mk. 14:41-42; Lk. 22:42-48).
    19. When He stood before the Sanhedrin, the high priest commanded: "I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said unto him, thou hast said; nevertheless, I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven", (Matt. 26:63-64; comp. Mk. 14:61-62; Lk. 22:66-69).
    20. To Nathaniel, who marveled at the mysterious knowledge of Jesus, the Master said: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man", (Jn. 1:51).
    21. The beloved John, who had leaned on Jesus' breast at the last Passover, declares: "No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man who is in heaven", (Jn. 3:13). He alone records the inquiry of Jesus: "What if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?"(Jn. 6:62).
    22. John is also the only one of the Gospel writers who speaks of Jesus as being "lifted up". "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal

1ife", (Jn. 3:14-15). He remembers Jesus as having said to the Jews: "When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things", (Jn. 8:28).
    On another occasion Jesus said: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die. The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth forever; and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of man? Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you; for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not where he goeth. While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be the sons of light", (Jn. 12:32-36).
    23. Numerous plots against Jesus' life failed because His (appointed) hour had not yet come. But, in John 12:23-24 we hear Him saying: "The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit".
    24. Because the Son of Man died a substitutionary death for sinners, He is able to give eternal life to all those who trust in Him - committing their lives into His hands. In John 6:27 Jesus urged: "Labor not for the food which perisheth, but for that food which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you; for him hath God the Father sealed". This life is sustained and nourished through constant communion with Him - symbolized by our "eating his

flesh" and "drinking His blood".
    When the Samaritans refused to receive Jesus, because His face was toward Jerusalem, James and John were outraged and said, "Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elijah did? But he turned and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of; For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them", (Jn. 9:53-56). And, to the self-righteous Jews, Jesus said (with regard to Zacchaeus): "This day is salvation come to this house, foreasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost", (Lk. 19:9-10).
    25. Angelic messengers, who stood by His empty tomb, said to those who had come with spices: "Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how he spoke unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third days rise again. And they remembered his words", (Lk. 24:5-7).
    26. Those who have been redeemed by the Son of man ought to proclaim His goodness everywhere, (Psa. 107:1-2). Jesus said: "Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God; But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God", (Lk. 12:8-9). In Luke 6:22-23 He said: "Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of mans sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy; for, behold, your reward is great in heaven; for in the like manner did their

fathers unto the prophets". But, in Mark 8:38, He said: "Whosoever, therefore, shall be ashamed of me, and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels".
27. Again, "the Son of man is like a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch." And Jesus counsels: "Watch ye, therefore; for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning; Lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, WATCH!", (Mk. 13:34-37). Also note Luke 19:11-27.
    28. As Stephen was being stoned for his faithful witness to the Christ, he said: "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God", (Acts 7:56).
    29. When banished to the Isle of Patmos "for the testimony of Jesus", John (in a vision) saw "one like the Son of man" walking in the midst of the churches, (Rev. 1:13-20).
30. Finally, in Revelation 14:4-16, the Son of man appears coming on a white cloud, with a golden crown on his head. He is coming to reign over the realm that once rejected Him. He will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords!
    As one looks around upon the indifference, cold-heartedness, apostacy and appalling iniquity among men who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ, a question that He once asked is still very much to the point: "When the Son of man cometh, shall he find

(the) faith on the earth?" (Lk. 18:8)
    He IS COMING! He is coming to establish His kingdom and to rule in righteousness.
Or will you be one who blushes from before His majestic and awesome presence (I John 2:28)? -- Eugene L. Gamer
    In James 4:1-3 the author has shown that catering to worldly lusts is the underlying cause of all warfare and strife. Then (vs. 4-10) he submits that every child of God must make a deliberate choice between his Father's "peace" and a life of worldliness. It is never a safe time for the people of God to let down their guard against the world's allurements, distractions and deceptions!
    To actively pursue an alliance of friendship with the world will never lead to real peace! James likens such an alliance, on the part of his brethren, to the reckless abandonment of an unfaithful and adulterous wife, (vs. 4).
    The word "adultress" is not here meant to be taken literally, of physical sexual wantonness, but of spiritual infidelity to one's covenant-God, (Jer. 2:2-5). Since the time that Israel was constituted a nation, at Mt. Sinai, she had been represented as the wife, or bride, of Jehovah-God, (Isa. 54:5; Jer. 3:20; etc.). For such a people to make a covenant with strange gods - offering sacrifice to them, or intermarrying with their devotees - is to "play the harlot", (Ex. 34:15-16; Deut. 3 1:16; Ezek. 16:29-33; Hos. 9:1; comp. Matt. 16:4; Mk. 8:38).

    In this age, the Lord's church is the espoused Bride of Christ, (2 Cor. 11:1-2;

Eph. 5:24-28; Rev. 19:7; 21:9). Such a relationship to Christ is one of gracious privilege that may be forfeited through such a disobedient unbelief as refuses to walk in the way our Lord has appointed. Rebellion, disobedience and unfaithfulness are comparable to the breaking of marriage vows! The relationship between Christ and his faithful church people is one of close intimacy - like that between a man and the wife of his bosom! Thus, to violate this relationship is to sin against LOVE and to break God's heart!
    We need to understand how worldliness manifests itself. The worldly spirit seeks after such self-satisfaction as it expects to find pleasure, position, honor, recognition, popularity and praise. It desires the commendatIon of the world that ignores God, and actively seeks that recognition. To so love (befriend) the world, which crucified the Son of God and Lord of Glory, is to make one's

self the enemy and adversary of God. This is especially true when one forsakes the order of worship God has established in order to follow a more popular, enjoyable or seemingly successful form of religious activity! This is the kind of spiritual fornication that the Scriptures constantly warn against!
    True happiness can never be found in worldliness; the most restless and unhappy people in any church are those who constantly manifest a self-seeking spirit. By way of contrast, an "humble and contrite heart" is one that can know the constant fellowship, peace and joy of the Lord! E.G.