The Manner of Christ’s Coming
By C. P. Bollman
NOMINALLY the whole Christian world accepts the doctrine of the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; but in reality many reject it, by substituting for the Biblical doctrine of Christ’s personal return, some vague theory, as for instance, that He comes the second time at conversion, or at death, or by the descent of the Holy Spirit, or in this or that movement, reformation, or manifestation. But that Christ comes “the second time” in any of these things, can not be true; because there must of necessity be some similarity, something in common, between an event and its repetition. The present king of England never visited the United States, tho his father did when prince of Wales; therefore were George V to visit this country now, or at any future time, it would be absurd to speak of his coming as a second visit. Again, tho Edward, prince of Wales, visited this country when a young man, yet when, as king, he afterward sent an ambassador or personal representative here, it would have been manifestly misleading to speak of the coming of that ambassador as the second coming or visit of Edward VII to this country. There could be a first and a second visit by the same person, no matter how different those visits might be; or there might be a first and a second sending of an ambassador, however different might be the circumstances; but there could be no second without a first, and the second must bear to the first some logical, some reasonable resemblance or feature of identification. Literally Fulfilled in First Advent
The first advent of our Lord was literal and personal. It was prophesied of Him that He should be the seed of the woman. Gen. 3:15. He was literally “made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law.” Gal. 4:4, 5. The prophecy declared, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” Isa. 7:14. This prophecy, remarkable as it was, met a literal fulfilment in the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. See Matt. 1:18-25. And shall the equally literal predictions of His second coming be fulfilled in some way so mystical as to forbid a certain knowledge that they are fulfilled at all? Nay, verily; heaven and earth shall pass away, but the divine Word shall not pass away. See Matt. 24:35. It was foretold of Christ in His first advent that He should be “despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;” that “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities;” “He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter;” “He was cut off out of the land of the living.” All this was fulfilled to the letter; and shall not the prophecies of His glory in His second coming be just as literally accomplished? To this question the apostle makes reply in these words: “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.” Heb. 10:35-37. Must Be Literally Fulfilled at Second Advent
Neither the descent and presence of the Holy Spirit, conversion, death, nor any so-called reformatory movement or wonderful manifestation, without the literal Christ, can possibly be His second advent. He Himself said, “I will come again.” John 14:3. Knowing, before, the deceptions that would come in the last days, both in false, unscriptural theories and in deceptive appearances, our Lord Himself gives us this5gracious warning: "If any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning [or light of the sun] cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be." Matt. 24: 23-27. Compare Ps. 50: 1. The second coming of Christ will be in no sense secret or local; for "every eye shall see Him," Rev. 1: 7. In the temptation the devil took Christ "up into an high mountain," and "showed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time" (Luke 4: 5); and can not the divine Son of God manifest Himself personally and visibly to all the world? There can be but one answer to this question; namely, that He can; and not only has He the power, but He has told us that He will thus manifest Himself. Not only is there assurance in Christ's promise to His disciples, "I will come again," that He Himself will come, personally and visibly; but we have in the words of the angels to the disciples on the occasion of the ascension a most explicit assurance that this will be even so. The Word tells us that as He was talking to them, "while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men [angels] stood by them in white apparel; which also said, 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: 9-11. Could language be plainer? The words, "This same Jesus," could convey to the minds of those eager disciples no other thought than that Jesus Himself would really return in His own proper person. They had seen Him, had put their hands upon Him after His resurrection; they had eaten in His presence, had talked with Him, and had seen Him eat, and had heard and recognized His familiar voice as when they companied with Him daily before His crucifixion; and to them these precious words, "This same Jesus" "shall so come in like manner," could have no occult or hidden meaning; they could only mean what similar words would have meant if spoken of any other person under the most ordinary circumstances of life. Paul Received the Same Faith
The apostle Paul, not being at this time a believer in Christ, was not present to hear either the words of the Saviour, "I will come again," or the cognate assurance of the angels, "This same Jesus" "shall so come in like manner;" but he cherished the same "blessed hope" of himself seeing the very same Jesus who spoke to him and appeared to him on the way to Damascus. To him the second advent was as real as the first; His coming again as literal as His dying upon the cross. "As it is appointed unto men once to die," writes this servant of God, "but after this the judgment: 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: 27, 28. Again, to the Thessalonians the apostle writes, "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God." The words, "The Lord Himself," convey the same idea exactly as the words of the angels, "This same Jesus." But the apostle was not simply repeating in substance what He had heard from others. Doubtless he had many times heard from eye-witnesses those cheering words of angelic assurance, "This same Jesus" "shall so come in like manner;" but of the truth which he taught he testifies, "I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." Gal. 1: 12. Thus in Acts 1: 9-11 and in 1 Thess. 4: 16 we have from the original source of all truth, but through different channels, the most explicit testimony possible to be given in human speech, that Christ Himself will return to this earth, not in some mystical, unreal, secret manner, but openly, literally, and personally. Ever the Hope of the Church
The coming of the Just One, not to die, but to be glorified in all His saints, has been the hope of the church of Christ from that day when "He was taken up; and a cloud received Him out of their sight," down to the present moment, and will continue so to be until His promise, "I will come again," shall be grandly realized by His waiting church. Our Christian songs, as well as the Word of God, and much of our sermonic literature, attest this fact. Charles Wesley wrote:
Whatever ills the world befall,
A pledge of endless good we call,
A sign of Jesus near.
His chariot will not long delay;
We hear the rumbling wheels, and pray,
Triumphant Lord, appear.
A more recent writer sings:
Some day our raptured eyes shall see
He's just the same Jesus.
O blessed day for you and me!
The very same Jesus.
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. PAUL says to Timothy, "Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus." That is the heritage of the soldier. How many sing stirring Gospel songs as tho their heart were aglow with zeal for the Master, but the song has scarce died away before the enthusiasm is gone! A service was held in a college chapel. Phillips Brooks thus described it, says an item in the Sunday School Times: "It was an inspiration to see all those young men singing so heartily. Especially they seemed to throw all their strength into the hymn, 'Am I a soldier of the cross?' Even Dr. X——, the college president, sang as if he caught the contagion of their enthusiasm." "Did Dr. X—— sing that hymn? Does he really believe himself a soldier of the cross?" interrupted a somewhat incredulous listener. "O, no," answered Bishop Brooks quickly, "he was simply asking for information." There is a vast deal of difference between calling ourselves soldiers, and the enduring of hardness as good soldiers.