The Second Coming of Christ by F. M. W.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 28, 1913

The Second Coming of Christ

By F. M. W.

CHRIST will come the second time. No doctrine of the Scriptures is more positively or clearly set forth. Says the apostle Paul: “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Heb. 9:28.

Other apostles and prophets bear similar testimony, and Christ himself, when among men, stated very plainly that he would return to this earth. To the heart of the Christian no Bible truth appeals with greater power. And well may it rejoice the heart, for that event will usher in the long-looked-for deliverance from sin and all its attendant evils of sickness, suffering, and woe. He will come to take his children home, so that they shall be no longer pilgrims, but at home with all the members of the heavenly family. He will come to banish sin and sinners from the earth, and bring in everlasting peace and righteousness. All this is comprehended in Christ’s return. In consequence this blessed truth has been, in all ages of the world,—

The Hope of the Church

It has been the grand objective point of faith, the time of glorious fruition of cherished hope and longing desire. Of this day Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied; and Abraham, the father of the faithful, saw in it the fulfilment of God’s promise through the Seed. It was the comfort of Job in his affliction, and of Jeremiah in his prison pit. Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, David, Solomon, Joel, Zephaniah, Amos, Micah, and Malachi all proclaim Christ’s coming in words of heavenly inspiration. It is none the less the theme of the New Testament writers. The Lord himself promised to return to his waiting ones. The apostles Paul and Peter and James find in this faith inspiration for their labors, while John closes the canon of Sacred Scripture with the earnest prayer, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

Luther believed that the day of judgment

would come within three hundred years of his day. Calvin, Wesley, Alexander Campbell, Richard Baxter, Spurgeon, and hosts of other eminent religious teachers cherished this same faith, and this blessed hope affords joy of heart to Christians in every land at the present day. It has indeed been the hope of the church throughout all the ages of her history.

The Manner of Christ’s Coming

is also plainly revealed. It will not be a local event, known only to a few; it will not be in the secret chamber, nor yet in the desert. Nor will it be in some spiritual manner at conversion or death. His coming will be—

1. Personal. “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14: 2, 3.

2. Literal. He will not come by a representative, he will come himself. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thess. 4: 16-18.

3. Visible. When he ascended from his disciples, a cloud received him out of their sight, and two angels appeared to their astonished gaze. These said: “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: 11. To this truth the apostle John bears witness in these words: “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.” Rev. 1: 7.

Christ Will Come Soon

We may not know the day or the hour. The definite time has not been revealed, hence they deceive themselves who seek by juggling with figures and prophetic periods to determine the definite day. But very plainly the Bible teaches that we may know when the event is near, even to knowing the generation in which it will occur. Matt. 24: 29-32. Several important lines of prophecy clearly indicate that the last generation of men has been reached, that in the lives of many now living on the earth the opening heavens will disclose the coming of the Son of man in power and glory. We find evidence for this faith in the great prophetic symbols of Daniel 7, 8, and 9, in the line of events recorded in chapters 11 and 12 of that book, in the prophecies of the seven churches, seven seals, and seven trumpets of the book of Revelation, and in the thrilling events recorded in Revelation 12, 13, and 14, culminating in the great world-wide movements now in process of fulfilment before our own eyes. The Lord himself gives an unbroken chain of events reaching from his day to the close of time. This chain has been formed link by link, and we are rapidly nearing the end. The apostles Paul and Peter and James tell us of conditions which would exist in physical, political, social, and religious worlds just prior to the coming of Christ. Those conditions exist today. Prophecy and nature and human events combine to point the way to the coming of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Based upon these fulfilling prophecies and signs there will be given the world just prior to the end of all things—

A Message of Warning

Says the Lord through the prophet Joel: “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.” Joel 2: 1. In accord with this is the message contained in Rev. 14: 6, 7, which is to go to every nation, proclaiming, “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come.”

In consequence of this warning and of the great issues involved in the closing days of earth’s history, in the conflict between truth and error—

Two Classes Will Exist on the Earth

To the larger class, that day will come as an unwelcome visitor, cutting short their sinful plans and pleasures, and calling them to account for all their ungodly deeds. To them Christ’s coming will be a day of darkness and distress. Zeph. 1: 14-18. They will cry to the rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of the One who comes with devouring glory. Rev. 6: 15-17. This is the dark picture which sin has made, but there is a brighter scene. To another class, longing for deliverance from sin’s thralldom, that day will come as one of light and gladness. They will look up and say, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” And why should they not rejoice? They have learned to love the Lord. Into all their experience he has entered, bearing their burdens, comforting their sorrows, inspiring their hopes, as their true and tried Friend. They have learned to love him while absent, and they will doubly rejoice in his presence and personal association.

This inspiring truth Satan has ever sought to veil and to enshroud in mystery. The doctrine of rewards and punishments at death, that the world will be converted before the end of time, and other delusive teachings, have served to cast discredit upon the truth of Christ’s second coming. Such views stand in direct antagonism to the inspired word. In the midst of the confusion and babel of tongues in the religious world, the prophetic word speaks with a clear and certain sound. It tells us where we are living in earth’s history, and what we may expect from the conditions now existing around us. May we heed the warning which God seeks to impart to us in the disclosures of fulfilling prophecy. His voice is speaking in the world today; may we recognize it, and heed its pleadings in our behalf. F. M. W.