This lecture had referred to the personal return of Christ as taught in the New Testament and went on to say that a war

"Dr. Thomas, and the rank and file of the Christadelphian body, had foreshadowed that many years ago. The Magog of the Bible was Germany; the Meshech of the Bible was Muscovy; Tubal was Toblischa or Siberia; Gomer was modern France; and England was the Tarshish of the Scriptures. England was not one of the ten kingdoms, represented by the ten horns of the beast, symbolizing the Roman empire. England was the friend, Russia the enemy, of the Jews, and the time would come, when Germany, France, and other great nations would be swallowed up by Russia, and when the Czar would fight a great battle in or near the Holy Land with England for an antagonist. Then would come the battle of Armageddon; the return of Christ to the earth, and the overthrow of all earthly monarchs; Jerusalem would be the seat of Christ's glory, and the Jews would then possess their own land. The speaker in conclusion, pressed upon his hearers the gravity of the times, and urged them to be watchful for the return to the earth of Jesus Christ."
Well, Christ did not return in 1885 of course, but as we look at events now, 130 years later, the signs that were looked for by Christadelphians are now more relevant than ever! The words of the prophet Habakkuk are worth noting:
"I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry."
Dr Thomas; who was mentioned in that lecture, had written as follows in his 1849 book, entitled "Elpis Israel":
"The future movements of Russia are notable signs of the times, because they are predicted in the Scriptures of truth. The Russian Autocracy in its plenitude, and on the verge of its dissolution, is the Image of Nebuchadnezzar standing upon the Mountains of Israel, ready to be smitten by the Stone. When Russia makes its grand move for the building-up of its image-empire, then let the reader know that the end of all things, as at present constituted, is at hand. The long-expected, but stealthy advent of the king of Israel, will be on the eve of becoming a fact; and salvation will be to those who not only looked for it, but have trimmed their lamps by believing the gospel of the kingdom unto the obedience of faith, and the perfection thereof in "fruits meet for repentance."
As we now see Russia provoking Britain and behaving aggressively in the Ukraine, it is not only a sign to us that Russia is about to build up its empire - that empire that is described in Ezekiel 38 verses 1 through 7, but it is also telling us to prepare ourselves for the return of Jesus Christ.
The Bible is in the news - it is always in the news, just as it was for John Thomas in 1849, and just as it was for a lecturer in South Wales in 1885. The vision is plainly set forth in the Bible, and though it tarry - though it may seem slow in coming to pass, WAIT FOR IT "because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
This has been Paul Billington bringing you this week's edition of the Bible in the News.