Your ShelfYour Projects

The Coming of Our Lord

3%

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jan 14, 1913

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 40, No. 2.

Read the full edition

The Coming of Our Lord

By Editor

By the Editor

Manner of His Coming

THERE is no event in our Lord’s work which is of more importance than His second coming, and it is safe to say that there is no doctrine of the Bible more ignored, ridiculed, or abused at the present time than this. It is made to mean everything except what it does mean. It is often placed in the great, progressive scheme of God’s providence where it does not belong. It has been in every way perverted, and made the butt of endless jest and jeer. But it is a Bible doctrine nevertheless. On an average, every twenty-fifth verse in the New Testament speaks of it, and it is referred to again and again throughout the Old Testament Scriptures.
He came at His first advent a literal, personal Being. There was no question regarding it. He was born of a woman. He grew to childhood, to manhood. He was baptized, tempted, tried; He preached, He labored, He wrought miracles; He died upon the cross, He rose again. Men talked with Him; their hands handled Him; He sat at their tables and ate; placed His hands upon their sick and healed them. And we have His own words that “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 14:3. And when He ascended up into heaven, and a cloud of angels received Him from the sight of His amazed disciples, He sent heavenly messengers who 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. Again we read, “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him.” Rev. 1:7.
It is therefore a personal, literal coming of our Lord, a coming which will not be to one alone, but to all, a coming whose glory shall enlighten the earth; for “As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matt. 24:27.
Yet we are told that His coming is a secret coming at first, that He will at first come and gather home the elect, and then by and by He will come with this elect to this earth, and here He will reign during the one thousand years. We have growing out of this what is called “the secret rapture.” This “secret rapture” is Christ coming like a thief to take the bride, or first-fruits, home to Himself.

Various Comings

Now there are certain expressions in the Scripture which do indicate a secret coming to something, as, for instance: “For ye know not what hour your Lord doth come [erchomai]. But know this, that if the good-man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come [erchomai], he would have watched. . . . Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh [erchomai].” Matt. 24:42–44. “Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when He cometh [heko, is come] shall find so doing.” Verse 46. “Will come [heko, will have come] in a day when he looketh not for Him.” Luke 12:46.
We have not time to enter into a study of the plan of redemption as revealed in the ancient priests and in the priesthood of our Lord. We simply state in brief that there came a time each year, the last day of the year in the ancient priesthood, when what is called the cleansing of the sanctuary took place. In other words, it was a day of yearly judgment, when all those who had presented themselves before the Lord and been faithful to Him, were acquitted, and those who were not found thus at that day, were cut off from among His people. This was a type of the great judgment-day, the investigative judgment, which will take place before our Lord comes, the closing up of the work of His priesthood. For when He comes, He does not call all before Him, then pass sentence, and then execute it, but He comes to execute judgment. This is shown in two texts: “But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead.” Luke 20:35. This clearly shows that the accounting worthy takes place before the resurrection. Also 1 Cor. 15:51–54 reveals this, that the dead are not raised and then changed, but they shall be raised incorruptible. Their cases have been decided before the resurrection to immortality takes place. The beginning of this time of judgment is clearly marked in the Scriptures by the great period in Dan. 8:14, which ended in 1844; and there began the great assize, or judgment-day, in which all cases shall come before the Lord. The entering in upon this judgment is called the entering in to the marriage ceremony, or the entering in to receive the kingdom, as stated in Dan. 7:9–14. Our Lord then goes in, or comes before the Father, to receive His kingdom. He will not enter upon that kingdom until He comes the second time. That entering in before the Father is sometimes called a coming.
The close of probation, when our Lord shall have completely finished His work as High Priest, is also called a coming, when He shall rise up from His mediatorial throne to enter upon His kingly work. But this time is cut off from the time of His actual coming in the clouds of heaven by the period of time indicated by the word “quickly” in Rev. 22:12, a period covering probably one year, as indicated in the prophecy, during which the seven last plagues shall be poured out. At the close of probation, and before our Lord comes, there goes forth this sentence: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” That is the coming of the day of the Lord, and that is the secret coming which no one shall know. There is no warning event which indicates that it has come. Those found watching and waiting, with garments ready, will receive added glory and strength, and those who have utterly rejected God and His Word will remain unjust and filthy still. These things kept in mind will help us to understand the various passages of Scripture which speak of the second coming of our Lord.
Sometimes all these events are connected together in one, because all have to do with the finishing of the work of Christ and His coming again. Let us repeat; First, there is the coming before the Father to receive the kingdom, in 1844; secondly, the close of probation, when our Lord’s work as Priest shall have been finished and the destiny of all cases sealed; and thirdly, His coming again in the clouds of heaven.

Original Words

Among the original words that are used to express His coming are, first, erchomai and its derivatives. It is defined, “to come, to go, to pass;” and by the combination of this verb with other terms a variety of meanings results, which, however, is due, not to a change of meaning in the verb, but to the adjuncts. Ho erchomenos, “He who is coming,” “the expected Messiah.” Matt. 11:3, et al.—Bagster. (Will say that we use Bagster because his definitions are short.) The word, therefore, simply indicates the act of coming, going, or passing. Whatever other meaning it has is shown by the words with which it is connected. It is not used simply in connection with the coming of our Lord, but in many other instances as well, and is rendered, “go,” “went,” “appear,” “brought,” “come,” “coming,” “enter,” “pass,” etc., etc.
2. The word ephistemi, defined by Bagster: “To place upon, over, close by; to stand by, or near; to come suddenly upon (Luke 2:9; 24:4); to come upon, assault (Acts 6:12; 17:5); to come near, approach (Luke 10:40); to impend, be instant, to be at hand (1 Thess. 5:3); to be present (Acts 28:2); to be pressing, urgent, earnest (2 Tim. 4:2).” See Luke 21:34; 1 Thess. 5:3 for its use in reference to the coming judgments of God.
3. Heko, which is defined to mean “to become, to have arrived.”—Bagster. It is defined by Liddell and Scott, to have come, to have reached a point, to have come back, returned, etc. It simply means that the coming is accomplished.
4. The noun parousia, which is defined as follows: “Presence (2 Cor. 10:10; Phil. 2:12); a coming, arrival, advent (Phil. 1:26; Matt. 24:3, 27, 37, 39; 1 Cor. 15:23).”—Bagster. Liddell and Scott’s Lexicon defines: “A being present, presence, of persons.” See 2 Cor. 10:10, where it is translated presence, and 2 Cor. 13:1, where it is translated coming. It denotes personal presence. It is translated in our Common Version by the terms “coming” and “presence” only.
5. The noun apokalupsis, translated “coming” only in 1 Cor. 1:7. It is defined: “A disclosure, revelation (Rom. 2:5); manifestation, appearance (Rom. 8:19; 1 Cor. 1:7; 2 Thess. 1:7; 1 Peter 1:7, 13; 4:13); met., spiritual enlightenment (Luke 2:32).”—Bagster. “An uncovering, disclosing, making known; a revelation, especially of divine mysteries; revelation; of persons, a manifestation; the Apocalypse, N. T.”—Liddell and Scott. The verb from which it is derived means to disclose, reveal, to uncover, to manifest, and it is rendered, “appearing,” “coming,” “manifestation,” “revelation.”
6. There is another word not translated coming, but “appearing” and “brightness,” namely, epiphaneia. It is defined, “appearance, manifestation (1 Tim. 6:14; 2 Tim.1:10); glorious display (2 Thess. 2:8).”—Bagster. “Appearance, manifestation,” “an apparition,” “the visible surface,” “the mere surface, outside,” “outward show.”—Liddell and Scott.
These are the words used in connection with the coming of Christ; first, erchomai, meaning the mere act of coming, going, or passing; the second, ephistemi, meaning to come suddenly upon; the third, heko, meaning to be come, to have arrived; the fourth, parousia, meaning personal presence; the fifth, apokalupsis, meaning revelation, manifestation, disclosure, appearance; the sixth, epiphaneia, meaning manifestation, appearing, brightness, or glorious display.
In the light of the foregoing, we can understand the meaning of some of the texts which speak of the day of the Lord and the coming of Christ as an uncertain, secret event, such as:
“For ye know not what hour your Lord doth come [erchomai]. But know this, that if the good-man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come [erchomai], he would have watched. . . . Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh [erchomai].” Matt. 24:42–44. See also verses 46, 50; 25:10, 19; Mark 13:35; Luke 12:40, 39, 43; Rev. 16:15. We have also the verb heko, will have come (see Luke 12:46; 2 Peter 3:10; Rev. 3:3).

His Personal Presence

We have also another term in 1 Thess. 5:4, “Are not in darkness, that that day should overtake [katalambano, to come suddenly upon, overtake, surprise] you as a thief.” Now the words rendered “come,” “cometh,” etc., do not imply, in and of themselves, any manner of coming; they simply mean the mere coming, or going, or passing, or that such a fact is already accomplished. Other expressions must denote the kind, or manner, of coming. The one, however, which is used by some to support the “secret rapture” theory is parousia. Here are some passages where it occurs:
“What shall be the sign of Thy coming [parousia]?” Matt. 24:3. “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming [parousia] of the Son of Man be.” Verses 27, 37, 39. “They that are Christ’s at His coming.” 1 Cor. 15:23. “The coming of Stephanas.” 1 Cor. 16:17. “Coming of Titus.” 2 Cor. 7:6, 7. “Unto the coming of the Lord.” 1 Thess. 4:15. It is rendered “coming” also in the following passages: Phil. 1:26; 1 Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 2 Thess. 2:1, 8, 9; James 5:7, 8; 2 Peter 1:16; 3:4, 12; 1 John 2:28. It is rendered “presence” in 2 Cor. 10:10 and Phil. 2:12.
The above is every instance where parousia occurs. It ever means “personal presence” when applied to individuals. At least some passages in which it is found demand that meaning, and no other passage forbids it. When used with the second coming of Christ, it denotes a visible, personal coming, vivid as the lightning flashing from one part of the heaven to the other. How clearly this is shown by its use in 1 Thess. 4:15, 16. If language means anything, it means that the manifestation of Christ’s presence will be by a mighty shout which will ring through creation, by the trump of God, and by all the glorious display which will be then manifested. “We which are alive and remain unto the coming [parousia] of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 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.”—The word parousia, then, means the personal presence of our Lord. There is nothing in it which would demand that that presence shall be glorious, or in any wise different from what it was when He dwelt here upon the earth. It simply means that the Saviour who was once present will be personally present again.
The word apokalupsis—revelation, manifestation, disclosure—applies to this second coming. It is at the time when Christ will be revealed in His awful glory. Men did not see a glorious Christ when He was here. That glory was veiled in human flesh; but when He is disclosed, manifested, then will the children of God see Him as He is, and the sons of God will be made like Christ, sharing His glory. 1 John 3:1–3; Phil. 3:21. The word means a complete showing forth. When the Son of God was upon the earth, it was a coming to earth, but it was not His revelation, or disclosure. He had no form or comeliness, that men should desire Him. Isa. 53:2. He was to many only a prophet, to many more the Son of Joseph and Mary; but when He comes the second time, that coming will be a revelation of all that His people have believed Him to be,—Christ the Power of God and the Wisdom of God, the blessed Redeemer, the Life-giver, the mighty Creator and Re-creator, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Then shall every knee bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
The word epiphaneia, rendered “appearing, and “brightness,” refers, when used of Christ, to His shining forth, or glory which will be revealed when He comes. No longer will that glory be veiled in humanity; it will be disclosed in all the fulness of its inimitable, irreproachable, and unsupportable brightness; and so we read that that wicked will be destroyed with the brightness [epiphaneia, shining forth] of His coming [parousia, presence].
To repeat: Parousia shows that His coming will be literal. There will be His personal presence, which will be overwhelmingly glorious; and this is the revelation of His divine majesty and complete fulness. What the people of God have believed by faith, that glorious coming and presence of Christ will then reveal to all. This coming, therefore, will not be invisible and secret, but personal, literal, visible, with a shout of triumph and the trump of God.
Reader, are you ready for His glorious appearing? Will you meet Him then as a friend? He died to redeem you when He first came, and is coming again to take to His eternal, glorious home all who have yielded to His wondrous love and holy, beneficent rule. Will you not let His glory be revealed in you, that when you may witness it in the heavens it shall be kin to you, and you will rejoice in His coming?