lment in the events of the great day of Pentecost. We
conclude, therefore, that of the three reports before us the second and
third, which are practically the same, reproduce more correctly the
words actually spoken by Christ; and that the account given in the first
Gospel was coloured by the eager hope of the early followers of Christ
for their Master's speedy return.[55]

To sum up in a sentence the results of this brief inquiry: Christ's
teaching concerning His return leaves us both in a state of certainty
and uncertainty. "We believe that Thou shalt come to be our Judge"--that
is our certainty; "Of that day and hour knoweth no one"--that is our
uncertainty. And each of these carries with it its own lesson.

II

"Of that day and hour knoweth no one;" and we must be content not to
know. There are things that are "revealed"; and they belong to us and to
our children. And there are "secret things," which belong neither to us,
nor to our children, but to God. Just as a visitor to Holyrood Palace
finds some rooms open and free, through which he may wander at will,
while from others he is strictly excluded, so in God's world there are
locked doors through which it is not lawful for any man to enter. And it
is our duty to be faithful to our ignorance as well as to our knowledge.
There is a Christian as well as an anti-Christian agnosticism. To pry
into the secret things of God is no less a sin than wilfully to remain
ignorant of what He has been pleased to make known. The idly inquisitive
spirit which is never at rest save when it is poking into forbidden
corners, Christ always checks and condemns. "Lord," asked one, "are
there few that be saved?" But He would give no answer save this: "Strive
to enter in by the narrow door." "Lord, and this man what?" said Peter,
curious concerning the unrevealed future of his brother apostle. But
again idle curiosity must go unsatisfied: "If I will that he tarry till
I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou Me." "Lord dost Thou at this
time restore the kingdom to Israel?" But once more He will give no
answer: "It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father
hath set within His own authority." And yet, strangely enough, that
which Christ has seen good to leave untold is the one thing concerning
His coming on which the minds of multitudes have fastened. It says
little, either for our religion or our common-sense, that one of the
most widely circulated religious newspa