The Promises of His Coming
By W. A. S.
THE assurances that Christ will come again are among the “exceeding great and precious promises.” “Unto you . . . which believe,” says the apostle, “He is precious.” That makes the promise that He soon is coming precious indeed to every heart that loves Him. It is a glorious doctrine of Scripture—this doctrine of the soon coming of Christ. But it is more than a doctrine; it is a stupendous fact. The Lord Jesus is coming, and His word shows that He is “even at the door.” The fact of it comes with a challenge to every soul to be ready and to watch. What things the prophets have written by the Spirit concerning the first and the second coming of Christ—of “the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow”— they themselves studied earnestly, and even the angels have desired “to look into” these things and watch the fulfilling Word. 1 Peter 1:12. Therefore the apostle Peter appeals to us to give heed also: “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Verse 13. Now, more than ever before in the history of man, should earnest heed be given to the promises of the coming of the Saviour in glory. The promises never grow old. The nearer the event, the more precious they are, the more comfortingly come the words of assurance as we read them over and over. Each one is a message sent anew to us by One who loves us, and desires us to be ready when He comes. How this theme of Christ’s second coming runs through all Holy Scripture was testified to by the apostle Peter in his sermon and exhortation following the day of Pentecost. “By the mouth of all His prophets” the Lord had foretold “that Christ should suffer”; and the apostle pointed out that every word concerning the first advent had been “so fulfilled.” Just so, he declared, the promises regarding the second coming would be fulfilled: “And He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.” Acts 3:20, 21. As iniquity first began to abound in the world, God sent the message and the promise that Christ’s second coming would end the reign of sin: “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all.” Jude 14, 15. The promise of Christ’s coming was the “blessed hope” in the patriarchal age. In Job’s dark hour of trial, his heart clung to the promise, and he was kept from despair. “For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; . . . whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.” Job 19:25, 27. “Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him.” Ps. 50:3. And the prophets of later times were unceasingly moved upon to talk of the glory of that coming, of events preceding it, and of the preparation for it. “I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence. . . . Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.” Isa. 62:6, 11. The promise of His coming is to be heralded to the ends of the earth; for it is good tidings of great joy to every one who will receive it. On that last night with His disciples, before the crucifixion, when His heart was sorrowful, even unto death, as the burden of all our iniquities was about to be laid upon Him, Christ’s love for His dear ones made precious to Him the thought of His second coming to gather them home at last, safe beyond all sin and trouble, and He said: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. 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 14:1-3. There the heart finds rest. O the preciousness of the promise, “I will come again!” And “for you,” for me, He is coming. “I am coming for you,” He says. “Yes, Lord,” we reply; “we will wait, and watch, and be ready, by Thy grace.”