This volume "The Approaching Advent of Christ," is one that I have been waiting to see reprinted since I first came in contact with it, which was about fifteen years ago. After ransacking and pillaging used theological bookstores on both sides of the Atlantic for a few years, I concluded that it was virtually impossible to find a copy of this most valuable book. It is with great personal delight that I now write this Foreword commending the book without hesitation or reservation to the entire Christian world as one that should be read and studied by every student of Bible prophecy.

This volume was originally printed in 1937. Only 3,000 copies were printed and sold with the exception of 90 which were destroyed after the outbreak of World War II in the "blitz" of London. Due to the paucity of the number which have been made available, most of those who have sought to locate and acquire a "used" copy have been unable to find one.

The author was for many years a Presbyterian Missionary in Brazil, who after 20 years of intensive study of prophetic theories and writings, herein attempts to refute the views he held and propagated from his youth. This he does in a masterful, scholarly, and exhaustive way.

As is evidenced in this volume, the author has thoroughly examined, with painstaking care, the writings of the most eminent and competent prophetic teachers representing the various schools of prophetic interpretation, comparing their conclusions with the evidence of the best translations of the Scriptures, outstanding and popular commentaries on the Scriptures, and other works of the foremost Biblical scholars. The author beautifully presents his material and thesis in a carefully arranged, fully developed and attractively logical order. Relative to the progressive development of the book, the author makes the Resurrection of the saints his starting point. In Chapter 2, he brings to light the teaching of the Old Testament relative to the Resurrection. Hence, he proceeds to point out the teaching of the Gospels, the Epistles, and the book of Revelation on the subject.

One of the most outstanding features of the book is the author’s convincing evidence that the "rapture" and "revelation" are the same day. He makes a strong case (Chapter XV, section "The Second Coming of Our Lord in the Gospels and Epistles) that the teaching of our Lord in the Gospels and the teaching of Paul and Peter in the Epistles are in harmony, presenting the "rapture" and "revelation" as the same event transpiring the same day. He obviously denies that there is a coming of Christ "for His saints" at the "rapture" before the tribulation and then a coming of Christ "with His saints" at the "Revelation" after the tribulation. He does not separate the two events by an intervening period of seven years as many do.

There is no doubt that the author avidly attempts to bring the Premillennialist back to the "historical" view which he believed to be the Biblical one and the one held by every Premillennialist until the second quarter of the nineteenth century. In pursuing his goal he thoroughly examines and scholarly answers the "Dispensationalist" theory which advocates the second coming of Christ in two stages, separated by seven years. He denies that the Church will escape the "Tribulation," and that the Lord’s coming will be a secret and silent one.

It is the opinion of the writer that no greater book has ever been written which sets forth and defends so convincingly the "historical" Premillennial position. Furthermore, a greater has yet to be written which more thoroughly, scholarly, and convincingly answers the tenets of a "pre-tribulation" or "dispensational" Premillennialism, which not only was so prevalent and popular in his day, but is in our day as well. It is most unfortunate that most Premillennialists and some anti-Premillennialists mistakenly identify a "Pre-tribulation" coming of Christ as a necessary part or fundamental ingredient of a Premillennial eschatology. Such does not have to be and should not be.

Concisely and simply stated, here is a "classic." It is remarkable that almost any book the writer has read on prophetic subjects, printed since 1938, has either referred to or quoted from this book, which indicates the value, respect, and recognition the book has received. This somewhat proves that it is a "classic" in its field.

The writer esteems it a great privilege to have been asked to write this Foreword. He enthusiastically commends the reading of this book to every student of Bible prophecy and recommends it to be an invaluable aid to help those who are searching for a more

William R. Crews
President