THE COMING OF CHRIST

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Feb 7, 1906

THE COMING OF CHRIST.

Is it not most reasonable, in the light of the promises of God's Word, for Christians to believe that Jesus Christ is coming again? We thus read: "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.

Christ came the first time heralded by the prophets, by signs, and by special messenger. He "emptied Himself" of His glory with the Father, came down to this sin-cursed earth, took upon Himself the nature of fallen man, stooping to the very depths of human wo, the greatest weakness of human nature, and became obedient unto death. Phil. 2:5-8; Gal. 4:4; Heb. 2:10-18. This He did that He might lift fallen man up to God. After His victory over death, which was also triumphant victory over sin, Christ ascended to heaven to plead the virtue and power of His sacrifice and victory for fallen man; for the raising of Christ from the dead was the manifestation of God's power over sin "full-grown" (James 1:15, R.V.), and therefore it means hope and victory for every one who will ally himself with Christ. This is the power which the apostle Paul desires that we may know. He says:

"That ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; and hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all." Eph. 1:18-23.

Christ is now a priest-king, "after the order of Melchizedek" (Heb. 5:10), on His Father's throne (Heb. 8:1), and in that capacity He is gathering out of the nations of earth a people to serve Him forever in His everlasting kingdom (Zech. 6:12, 13; Eph. 2:19-21). But His work as priest will sometime be over. He will finish His ministration for fallen man. Every soul who will have heeded the message of mercy will be eternally sealed and saved, and from those who have rejected the message, Christ will turn with reluctance, but with justice. They rejected righteousness and life; they preferred sin and death; and sad as it is that they have so chosen, Infinite Love gives them their choice. Then, when all has been done that could be done, will the eternal fiat go forth: "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." Rev. 22:11, 12. Christ, therefore, will come again when His priestly work is ended.

How He Will Not Come.

Christ's second coming will not be by His Spirit; for His Spirit is the manifestation of Christ's presence in His personal absence. Said Jesus:

"But now I go My way to Him that sent Me. . . . But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter [the Holy Spirit] will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you." John 16:5-7.

This is certainly positive testimony that the sending of the Spirit of God is not synonymous with the coming of Christ.

Christ's coming is not death, nor at death. This is evident from the following scripture:

"Peter seeing Him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man [John] do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou Me. 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?" John 21:21-23.

The disciples knew that death was not Christ's coming; and therefore they knew that if John tarried till Christ came again, he would not die at all; for Christ's coming means life (Col. 3:3, 4). It meant life to Lazarus (John 11), and so it will to all who sleep in Jesus. Death, instead of being a friend, or coming in the stead of our best Friend, is an enemy, "the last enemy that shall be destroyed." 1 Cor. 15:26.

How He Will Come.

Christ's coming is not any of these; it is a personal coming. Read the testimony of two of the heavenly messengers, who escorted Him on His triumphal return to heaven, spoken to the disciples from whom He had just separated:

"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? 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.

"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout." 1 Thess. 4:16.

These are conclusive proofs that Christ's second coming will be personal, His own personal presence.

His Coming Visible and Glorious.

His coming will not be a secret coming, known only to a few elect ones. True it is that He shall appear to those who look for Him (Heb. 9:28), but the emphasis is not on He "shall appear," but He shall appear the second time unto the salvation of those who look for Him. He will not come as a sin-offering, bearing the iniquities of the world; He will not come in the likeness of sinful flesh, but in His own glorified person, "the Lord Himself," "this same Jesus." And He will be seen of all who are upon the face of the earth.

The wicked will see Him and perish in the brightness of His glory. They rejected His presence when He was Priest before He came, the presence of His Spirit, by which He longed to dwell with them here, by which He would have cleansed them from all sin, and strengthened them in all righteousness. They will not endure His presence here; they can not endure it when He comes. Says John:

"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.

"And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, . . . said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb." Rev. 6:15, 16.

"And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness [forthshining] of His coming [presence]." 2 Thess. 2:8.

The righteous will see Him and will rejoice, for "He shall come to be glorified in His saints." 2 Thess. 1:10.

"For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming [presence] of the Lord, shall in nowise precede them that are fallen 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; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:15-17, R.V.

Glad day to the child of God! The promise of the Master will be realized to the sorrowing disciples: "I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:3. "Blessed hope" it is indeed, "the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Titus 2:13. We enjoy the personal presence of those whom we truly love. We desire them with us; we delight in their companionship. So also if we know Christ, if we love Him, we shall love and long for His second coming, His personal presence. It means to the child of God, home, rest, peace, joy, life, and unalloyed bliss forever, of which the presence of the Spirit of Christ has given us the "earnest," or foretaste, here.

His Coming Near.

And His coming draweth near. (1) Not less than twelve distinct lines of prophecy in the books of Daniel, Matthew, Mark, Luke, 2 Thessalonians, and the Revelation, proclaim that Christ's coming is near at hand. (2) A score of special signs of the last days show that Christ's coming is near. The Word of God tells us that these omens would come in "the last days," showing that the end of the age was near, that Christ was about to come and take to Himself His own kingdom and reign. These signs would be hung out before the world, where all could see them. They would be seen in the sun, moon, and stars, in aerial disturbances, in sea and land, in wind and wave, in the social, financial, political, and religious world. There would be increase of knowledge, increase of riches, increase of sin, of drunkenness, of wickedness in high places and religious circles. The church would unite with the world, and God's people would be persecuted. All these things and more are told in numerous scriptures, and their fulfilment and fulfilling may be seen by the eyes, felt by the hearts, and perceived by the minds of this generation. And so our Lord tells us that the generation which witnesses all these things will not pass away till He shall come, and that when they see them all they may know that Christ's coming is near, even at the doors. Matt. 24:32-35. The very scoffers themselves are a proof that the last days are here and Christ is near to come. 2 Peter 2:1, 2; 3:3, 4. The prophecies may be set aside by man, the signs may be scoffed at, but Jesus says, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away." Matt. 24:35.

How can Christians—those who believe, know, and love Christ—not love His appearing? May the writer and reader be among those who shall say in that day when "He shall swallow up death in victory?" "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." Isa. 25:9. "He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Rev. 22:20.