The Return of the Lord Jesus.
By E. P. Goodwin
DO THE Scriptures teach this? And, if so, in what sense? Is he to come personally, visibly, in a human form and at a definite time, or is he to come spiritually, invisibly, at no particular time, but manifesting himself by the Holy Spirit in the hearts of his disciples whenever they earnestly desire, and especially at death? Let us notice first the language of Scripture. Take such passages as these: Luke 19:13, "Occupy till I come." 1 Cor. 1:7, "Waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Cor. 11:26, "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come." Col. 3:4, "When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." 1 Thess. 1:10, "And to wait for his Son from Heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come." No one, it is perfectly safe to say, reading these passages without preconceived opinions, would ever think of understanding them in any other way than as teaching the literal, personal return of the Lord. But these are representative texts on this subject. On its face Scripture language gives as much reason for believing in the literal, personal second coming of Christ, as in his first coming. Let any one go through the prophecies setting forth how and where Jesus was to be born, what sort of a life he was to lead, and how he was to die and be raised from the dead and taken up into Heaven, and then read those relating to his second coming, and the facts connected therewith, and he will see that the same principle of interpretation which requires him to take the first set of prophecies as literally fulfilled, requires him to take the second likewise. It is simply impossible to argue, for example, with a Jew, that the prophecies respecting the birth, humiliation, and sufferings of Jesus Christ are absolutely literal, but that those respecting the return, and exaltation, and glory of this same Jesus,—which are given by the very same prophets, are equally minute and specific, and appear side by side with their witness as to the humiliation,—are not literal, but figurative. Take the familiar passage in Luke 1:31-33, for illustration: "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." No one questions that what is taught here is a literal birth, with a literal name for the child, and with a literal greatness to be his portion as the Son of the Highest. By what principle, then, can the second half of the prophecy be made figurative and no real throne of David be meant, no real reign, no real house of Jacob, no real, personal manifestation of the Son of God in his glory? There should be, obviously, most express Scripture warrant for any such interpretation. But other scriptures are very express in setting forth this coming of Christ as literal, visible, personal. Take the three words most used in the Greek of the New Testament in connection with the second advent of Christ. One is the word apocalypsis. It occurs in eighteen passages and is translated "to lighten," "revelation," "manifestation," "appearing," "coming." 1 Cor. 1:7, "Waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ;" 2 Thess. 1:7, "When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed with his mighty angels;" 1 Peter 1:7, "At the appearing of Jesus Christ." Whoever will examine carefully these and other passages in their connection, can hardly fail to be convinced that whatever else they mean, they teach and emphasize a visible disclosure of the Lord. Another word is epiphaneia. Together with the verb from which it is derived, it is found in ten New Testament passages. These need not be cited. The word itself is sufficiently emphatic. It denotes an external, visible, resplendent appearance. Titus 2:13, is a good illustration: "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." No New Testament word in the Greek more precisely and unambiguously denotes the visible, bodily appearing of the Lord. But the word oftenest used is parousia. It occurs in twenty-four texts. In two of these it is translated "presence" and in the rest "coming." The revisers have left the translation unchanged, but have put in the margin wherever it is rendered coming, the word presence. Whatever the sense in some of the passages, in others it admits of no doubt that a literal, personal coming is what is meant. 1 Cor. 16:17, "I am glad of the coming of Stephanas, and Fortunatus, and Achaicus." 2 Cor. 7:6, "Nevertheless, God . . . comforted us by the coming of Titus." Phil. 1:26, "That your rejoicing may be more abundant . . . by my coming to you again." Of a piece with these are the passages respecting the coming of Christ: Matt. 24:3, "What shall be the sign of thy coming?" 1 Cor. 15:23, "But every man in his own order, Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming." 1 Thess. 2:19, "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?" Let any one try to read these and kindred texts, and dissolve out everything objective, visible, personal, and he will see what utter nonsense it makes of Scripture. But there are those who think the Scripture teaching of the Lord's coming refers to his coming for believers at death. Those who hold this view cite our Lord's words to his disciples in John 14:2, 3: "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." No doubt our Lord meant his disciples to understand that he would return again; but clearly he did not mean that this would take place at death. The Scripture doctrine as to death makes it our greatest foe, but Jesus Christ is our greatest friend. Surely he who rides upon the pale horse, after whom death and hades follow, who has power to kill with the sword, and with hunger and death, and who is finally cast into the lake of fire—surely, he is not the same as He who rides upon the white horse, wearing many crowns, called Faithful and True, and followed by the armies of Heaven! But the Scriptures nowhere speak of the Lord's coming to believers when they die. True, Stephen saw the face of Jesus when the mob gnashed upon him in their hate, and forthwith stoned him to death. But his own words are, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." And a little later he said, "Lord Jesus receive my spirit." Jesus Christ was revealed to him as in the heavens, and not as coming for him upon the earth. . . . Our Lord himself sets the question at rest in his reply to Peter concerning John. "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me." And John adds significantly, "Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die; yet Jesus said not unto him, he shall not die; but, if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" Which, surely, if words can make anything plain, makes this so, that our Lord never intended to have his coming identified with death; not even that of his most beloved disciple.483 But do not the Scriptures mean that the descent of the Holy Spirit, and his indwelling in the hearts of true believers, constitute this return, or coming of Christ? This is the favorite idea with many. But the Scriptures never confound the indwelling of the Spirit with the coming of the Lord. The Spirit is another Comforter; his office is to glorify Christ by taking the things of Christ and showing them to his disciples. He is the representative of Christ, taking his place in the world, and doing his work. It is true that through him Jesus Christ is spiritually with and in his believers, in their life, has his image formed within them. But all this, not as personally present with them in the same sense in which he is personally at the right hand of God, but in the same spiritual sense in which God the Father is so present in their hearts. Jesus Christ is potentially there, there by his Spirit to teach, guide, comfort, help, purify, empower for service. This is what the Spirit was sent into the world for by Jesus Christ, who ever since his ascension has been literally, personally visible in Heaven at the right hand of God, and not on the earth. The very coming of the Spirit was conditioned upon his own departure: "For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." John 16:7. And the testimony about himself which our Lord immediately adds, shows that his own coming was not to be confounded with that of the Spirit. "And when he is come he will reprove the world of righteousness. . . . because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more." That is to say, the Spirit should become the comforter of believers by making them know the things of Christ, by revealing in them the life that flows from him, so that they may have spiritual oneness with him as he with the Father. But his proper, personal, visible self was not to be on the earth disclosed to his disciples, but to abide in Heaven, at the right hand of God until the time of his literal return. Hence the prayer which follows this promise of the Spirit, after asking for this very thing,—viz, that all who should believe on him "may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee"—goes on to say, "I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am," i.e., Jesus wills that they be carried through their trials and conflicts, and ultimately come up into the glory which the Father and himself have in common in Heaven. If there were any doubt as to the correctness of this putting of the matter, the testimony of the Spirit himself sets it at rest. When he has come and has taken charge of the church as its supreme sovereign in the absence of Christ, he immediately testifies that the Lord Jesus is in Heaven at the right hand of God, and is to remain there until the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, and he shall send Jesus Christ whom the Heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, when God shall send him to set up his throne and fill the world with his glory, Acts 3:20, 21. And from the day of Pentecost through all the days of the Spirit's management of the church, no witness is more explicit and emphatic, nor more frequently given, than the witness which makes the doctrine of the literal, personal, visible return of the Lord Jesus the great hope which inspired apostles, evangelists, teachers, and the whole church. They exhorted one another to be patient, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh; to comfort one another with the anticipation that soon the Lord would come for them, and they should be caught up to meet him in the air; to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; to be diligent, watchful, zealous, that when the Chief Shepherd should appear they might receive a crown of glory. Such passages might be multiplied indefinitely. If now the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, or his manifestations in the hearts of believers, were meant to be regarded as the coming of Christ, such testimony as this would be impossible. The Spirit who knows the deep things of God, and who came expressly to reveal the things of Christ, would never have inspired such utterances. They are only possible upon the supposition that the spiritual presence of Christ in the heart is one thing, and his personal presence in the day of his great appearing another. And so the sum of Scripture teaching on this subject is simply the unfolding of the witness of the angels to the disciples at the time of the Lord's ascension. "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." "Even so, come, Lord Jesus"—E. P. Goodwin, D. D., in the Advance.