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PrintThe Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (1)
by Frank Wallace
John 14:1-6; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
The coming of the Lord-what a tremendous theme! It is not an idea that is found in some remote place in the Scriptures, but a major theme from Genesis to Revelation. In the Old Testament there are many direct references to it and sometimes there are figures of it. It permeates the New Testament with many, many references. Again I say it is a major theme in the Scriptures and a most important one for us as we come to the end of this great dispensation, the day of grace. But there is one thing that we want to establish clearly at the beginning of these talks and that is that there is a very great distinction in the Scriptures in connection with this matter. The coming of the Lord that believers today are waiting for will take His people out of this scene to Himself. After this He will come to cleanse the earth by judgment, before He brings in His kingdom of righteousness. It is absolutely essential to the understanding of the truth of the coming of the Lord that we distinguish these two aspects of it, otherwise we will fall into confusion about the subject.
To show it distinctly from the Scriptures I want you to turn to a number of passages. The first one is in the Book of Genesis chapter 5 and verse 22, "And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him." I want you to pay particular attention to those last three words, "God took him." If we turn to the New Testament and the corresponding passage in Hebrews 11 verse 5 we read that God translated Enoch that he should not see death. This statement in Genesis 5 means that Enoch was translated into the presence of God, and did not see death. We believe that this is a figure of the coming of the Lord for the church; Enoch, a type of the church, being taken out of this evil world to be with Christ.
Now please turn to Matthew 24 verse 37, "But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not, until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Here is another Old Testament story and it is a picture of judgment coming upon a sinful world. All those who were in the ark, Noah and his family, were safe, while those who were taken away were taken away in judgment. This was in complete contrast to Enoch being taken away to be with God. The dealings of God with these two men illustrate the two distinct aspects of the coming of the Lord.
If that is settled in our minds, and I hope it is, we will turn to John chapter 14. The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His people, for His church, is not dependent on any happenings in this world. It is dependant on the Lord's own words, "I will come again." In this connection two things are impossible: for the Lord Jesus to tell a lie or mislead His people or for Him to be thwarted in what He desires to do. So we have the utmost confidence that the words of the Lord Jesus will be implemented and all that He mentions here will take place.
Who are the people that the Lord Jesus is coming for? Notice in verse 1, "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me." He is saying to the disciples, "Yes, you do have a belief in God. It is connected with the Jewish faith and with all that was delivered to Moses. But I want you to believe in Me. A new day has dawned and those who believe in Me, and all that is bound up in Me, are those for whom I will come and whom I will take to be with Myself." The people that the Lord Jesus is coming for are those who believe He is God manifest in flesh, the Son of God, the Creator. They believe in His death, His resurrection, and His glorious ascension to God's right hand. And so He makes this tremendous promise to His people, and I want to reiterate it, "I will come again."
About a hundred and seventy years ago this great truth was recovered from a mass of superstition and erroneous ideas, and taught clearly. It wasn't a truth merely to be assented to and put in an encyclopaedia of Scripture knowledge. When brethren received this truth in all its fullness and power it made a remarkable change in their lives. They separated from the world and all its evils, and from the ecclesiastical confusion too, and gathered out simply to the Name of the Lord Jesus to worship Him and to serve Him. The coming of the Lord was a glorious reality, as we find in the parable spoken by the Lord that tells of servants waiting for their Master (Luke 12:35-40)-alert, vigilant, serving, and on the tiptoe of expectancy. Is that your experience? Is it mine? We have to confess sometimes how easily we forget that the Lord is coming. We wouldn't want to be involved in something sinful and then suddenly hear the shout of the Lord summoning us out of this world. What a shame that would be. And so the coming of the Lord is not only a teaching to be admired, but something which should have an effect upon our lives day by day.
The Lord says, "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." Jehovah's house might have a sense of fear connected with it. The tabernacle and the temple had separate compartments and only one man could enter into the most holy place once a year. But the Father's house is different. Perhaps Luke 15 gives us some understanding of this, when the son was brought back to share in all that is there-the warmth, the provision, the presence and the love of the Father. There is a body of teaching in the New Testament that tells us that all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are sons, and will be privileged to be in the Father's house and perfectly at home there. They won't be incongruous to it, they will be absolutely right for it. That is the destiny of every true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. What a truth this is, and so calculated to encourage us in the days in which we live. You remember the parable the Lord Jesus spoke about the man not having a wedding garment? Because he was incongruous to that scene he was expelled from it. But that will never happen to true believers because they will be there in all the value of new creation and what God has accomplished in them through our Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. We might have to confess that we are poor Christians in testimony. We are often failing. It is nothing to brag or sing about. It is something to regret and to be ashamed of. But it will have no part in relation to our going into the presence of the Father and into the presence of Christ. All that will be gone for ever when the Lord Jesus takes us to Himself.
The Lord says, "I am going to prepare a place particularly for you who believe in Me and I am coming again so that you will be there in company with Me." Is that not wonderful? What kind of preparation is it? Is it a particular mansion with beautiful furniture more ornate and gorgeous than any other? I don't think that is the idea. The preparation is the Lord Jesus Himself going into the presence of God as a Man. Whatever condition Enoch and Elijah had when they went to glory, I am sure it was not the natural condition that they knew on earth. Flesh and blood does not inherit the kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus goes into the presence of God, a living Man without His blood. He said to His own, "A spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have." A living Man, He ascended out of the presence of His disciples and went right into the presence of the Father. That is the preparation. He is the guarantee that there will be a host of men and women like Himself in the presence of the Father in the Father's house. He goes on to say, "That where I am, there ye may be also." When we read through the Bible we find that some marvellous things have happened. We might like to have been at the Red Sea when the children of Israel passed through it, or beside Elijah when he poured the barrels of water over the offerings and eventually the flames licked it all up, and the offerings too, in contrast to what Baal could accomplish. We might like to have seen the many wonderful miracles that the Lord Jesus did-marvellous to see divine power in operation. But this is the best of all: "That where I am, there ye may be also." In John chapter 17 the Lord Jesus prayed to His Father, "Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me." What a wonderful thing to be in the presence of our Redeemer and Saviour throughout all eternity, to be occupied with His glory in all its distinctiveness. He is infinitely greater than anyone who ever trod this scene, the Son of God in all His greatness and majesty.
He goes on to say, "Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. Thomas saith unto Him, Lord, we know not whither Thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way and the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me." I know that this verse is often used in evangelistic testimony, and one would not decry that for one moment, but the main thrust of these words is not for conversion but rather that the Lord Jesus is the way into the presence of the Father. He is the truth that governs the Father's house and His life is our life in the Father's house. It has particular reference to His coming again.
Now turn over to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. When Paul and his companions preached in Thessalonica they aroused a great deal of persecution against themselves. This arose because, according to those who opposed them, they preached about another King, the Lord Jesus. Thessalonica was under the authority of the Roman emperor and to speak of a king arising in opposition to him was the worst possible kind of treason. Paul and the others had to leave because of the persecution and subsequently some of those who had believed Paul's message died. While he was with them Paul had indicated that all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ will have their part in that kingdom in a living way. So the assembly wrote to him and asked, "What is going to happen to those believers who have died? You told us that everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus will have part in the kingdom, but what about those who have died?" And so this passage in 1 Thessalonians 4 is an explanation of how Christians who have died will distinctly and definitely have a part in the kingdom. We begin with verse 13: "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope." Paul is talking about believers who have died. They are asleep through the Lord Jesus. When the Bible speaks about the believer being asleep it always refers to the body. There is no such thought in the Bible as the spirit or soul being asleep in death. There were those who had fallen asleep in Thessalonica, and they were awaiting the shout that will awaken them and take them to be with Christ, but their spirits were with Christ already. As Paul says, "To depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better" (Phil. 1:23). And notice he says that those of us who sorrow are not like others who have no hope. If there is anyone here tonight who is unconverted we say to you, trust the Lord Jesus Christ, because at the present moment you are without hope and if you do not trust the Lord Jesus and He comes your opportunity will have gone and gone for ever. What an awful thing it is to be without hope. Next Paul says, "If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him." Paul is not saying that if we believe that Jesus died and rose again we will be converted and go to be with Him when He comes. The point is that Jesus died and rose from the dead and if Christians die they too will rise from the dead. That is the assurance and triumph of believing in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. When will God bring those saints with Christ? That is what is called the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, when all those who have died in Christ until the time of the rapture will come out with Christ when He appears in glory. "But," says Paul, "I want to explain how that will take place." "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive, and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent (or go before) them which are asleep (that is, those who have died in Christ). 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 which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." There are those who have died in Christ. Their spirits are with Christ and their bodies are asleep in the grave. The Lord Himself is going to descend with a shout, and that shout will be recognised by every true believer in Himself. It does not matter to which nation they belong, or what language they speak, every believer will recognise that shout and go to be with Christ. It is the voice of the Lord, the Son of God, and He will assemble all His people from every corner of the globe. All true believers, having their sins forgiven and washed in the blood of Christ, will be gathered together. It also says, "The voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God." We understand that Paul is using a figure taken from a Roman military camp. The soldiers are sleeping and suddenly the shout takes place. That is to awaken them. Then there is the voice of the archangel, which is an allusion to the soldiers gathering their equipment together ready to march. Finally, when the trumpet blows, they march. The figure describes movement from one encampment to another, in our case a final one. And so Paul is using this tremendous figure of a shout, a voice and a trumpet to show how those upon earth, the saints who have died and the saints who are living, will all be assembled together. Many thought, "Those who are living are going to take precedence," but this is not the case. Paul says, "The dead in Christ shall rise first."
In John chapter 5 we read about those who are in the grave hearing the voice of the Son of God and coming forth. This could take place now, at this very moment. There is no indication that it will take place in a certain year, in a certain month, at a certain time. It is left to the will of God. I believe it will take place when the church is completed. When the last believer has been secured, then and then only will the church be complete and ready to be translated to heaven. This is a wonderful thing. Think of all the saints that have been laid in the grave, some recently, some many, many centuries ago, some their bodies burnt to ashes at the stake, and yet in divine power the Lord will gather them all together and take them out of the grave. Their bodies that have slept in the grave will be raised and we read about this in 1 Corinthians 15. So here we find a most marvellous thing, that we are all going to be caught up into the air to meet the Lord Jesus Christ there. Then the apostle says, "So shall we ever be with the Lord." Those who are in the grave are raised, those who are living upon earth are changed, and they are all caught up together to meet the Lord in the air. You can understand why Paul says, "Them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him." When it comes to the time of the appearing they will all be there with Him. An intervening period of perhaps seven years will take place between the rapture, what we have been reading about here in 1 Thessalonians 4, and the appearing, which will take place when the Lord comes to judge the earth and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness before He sets up His kingdom. And those who participate in this marvellous exhibition of divine power in being raised out of death, in being changed in their bodies and caught up to meet the Lord in the air, those are the people who will come out with the Lord when He sets up His kingdom. So, says Paul, "Take courage.
Those of your company who have died will have their part in the kingdom. They will come out with Christ when He comes to set up His kingdom." No wonder the apostle says, "Wherefore comfort one another with these words." They can be comforted that their loved ones are not going to miss anything, and indeed, in some respects, they have gained something. They are already in the presence of the Lord in spirit, long before we get there. Someone might say, "How can it possibly take place? Isn't it a fantasy?" Listen to what Paul says in verse 15, "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord." This isn't a peculiar idea that somehow or other took hold on Paul's mind. It is a direct revelation from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. If we hear the definite words of the Master in John 14, "I will come again," we are hearing them again through His servant the apostle Paul. We can have the utmost confidence that what Paul has stated here will be fulfilled in every detail. Many saints have lived their days, waiting, looking, and longing for the coming of the Lord. And let me say again, if there is one here tonight who has not yet trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour, please do so now. The appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ in judgment will be fearful, awesome, awful, for those who are unconverted. This is the word of Scripture in 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, "In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." We trust that no one here will ever be in that awful position but now in the day of grace, accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their own personal Saviour and be with those people who are humbly waiting, watching and longing for the coming of the Lord. May we be encouraged for His Name's sake.
The Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (2)
Romans 13:11-14; 1 Thessalonians 5:8-10; Titus 2:11-14
In Romans 13 we are told that our salvation is nearer than when we believed and in 1 Thessalonians 5 we are told to put on for a helmet the hope of salvation. When Paul says our salvation is nearer than when webelieved is he doubting that his sins were forgiven when he trusted the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus? Is he saying, "I am not quite sure if I am saved. I hope I will be in the end but it is only when I get to heaven that I will really know I am saved?" Paul is not saying that at all. In both of these verses he is referring to the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. His coming will remove us from the very sphere of sin and everything that militates against the Christian testimony in this world. This is the final act of salvation, and we do despite to the Word if we believe that salvation has only to do with the question of our sins. It is quite right to preach salvation to the unconverted in that way, but salvation as presented in the Scriptures has always the complete thought in view. Salvation from the penalty of our sins involves the death of our Lord Jesus Christ and His resurrection. Salvation from the power of sin involves the presence of the Lord Jesus at God's right hand, as we read in Romans 5 verse 10, "we shall be saved by His life." That is not His life of testimony down here but His life now at God's right hand where He represents His people. Final salvation involves the coming of the Lord Jesus to claim His people and give them glorified bodies, saving them from the very presence of sin. And notice that when Paul says in Romans 13, "it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed," he is not talking to the unconverted but to believers.
When the Lord Jesus was here He spoke about the ten virgins and said, "they all slumbered and slept" (Matt. 25:5). But when the cry went forth, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh," those who were real were ready to lighten the bridegroom on his way. That word "cometh" is omitted in the better translations. The text should read simply, "Behold the bridegroom." That voice sounded forth at the beginning of the last century when ministry in relation to the Person of Christ and His coming was revived by the Holy Spirit. Saints were awakened to the fact that the Lord is coming to take His people out of this world. I don't need to tell you how easy it is to fall asleep spiritually-to become lackadaisical and to be occupied with the things of time and sense. It is very solemn to note that when Paul wrote to the Ephesian assembly, where he had given some of the most wonderful ministry that ever fell on human ears, he says, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light" (Eph. 5:14). How easy it is to be lulled into a state of apathy and disinterestedness towards the Lord and His things. In view of this and the salvation that could be realised at any moment through the coming of the Lord, Paul is saying as it were, "Let us awaken and keep out of this sleepy condition in relation to the things of the Lord and see how we can apply our energies and abilities in His service until He comes."
I want to draw attention to the statement in Romans 13 verse 12, "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light." Paul refers first to the night and then to the day. If you turn to the Old Testament you will find that generally the order is, "day and night," and there is a reason for this. In all the dealings of God with Israel, either as individuals or the nation, "the day" began brightly, so to speak, but regrettably declined into the night of declension and apostasy. When you come to the New Testament it says when Judas went out, "it was night," and the Lord Jesus said to those who opposed Him, "this is your hour, and the power of darkness" (John 13:30; Luke 22:53). What darkness descended upon the world when it crucified the Lord of glory and cast out the One who is the Light of the world. But that is not the end of the story. In the New Testament the night gives place to the day, and how wonderful this is. In his first epistle John says: "the darkness is passing and the true light already shines" (1 John 2:8, J.N.D. Trans.). We are moving on to the day, not to the night. The time will come when all darkness will be dispelled and we as children of the light shall enter into the day in all its brightness. In view of this Paul says, "Let us put off all the things which hinder, whatever they might be." We might be occupied with very respectable things and still be asleep. Paul is saying, "Let's be energetic in the things of the Lord. Our salvation is just on the point of being realised through the coming of the Lord-now is our salvation nearer than when we believed." Paul wrote that nearly two thousand years ago so how much nearer it must be now. The coming of the Lord for His church has nothing at all to do with events in the world. It is not connected with times and seasons, but there are many signs today that show us how things are moving in the direction of total opposition to God and to Christ and to the truths of Christianity. That will be full-blown after the church is gone, and what an awful time it will be for the world.
If you read the verses at the beginning of 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 you will find that Paul speaks about times and seasons. These are connected with events on earth and are not directly related to the heavenly calling of the church. In the purpose of God the church existed before time began and it will have its place in glory for ever. The Lord indicated to His disciples in Acts chapter 1 that times and seasons are in the ordering of the Father. Paul says, "the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night" (1 Thess. 5:2). This is another aspect of the coming of the Lord. Do you go to bed at night and keep watch in case a thief comes? Surely not. You have some confidence in the stability of the government and of the neighbourhood where you live. But if you expect a thief to come in the night you will be watchful and perhaps there will be a measure of fear because you know that if he comes he will do something wrong that will affect you adversely. That is not the character of the coming of the Lord that the saints are looking for. When He comes as a thief in the night He comes into this world most unexpectedly. "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). What consternation there will be when the despised carpenter of Nazareth reveals Himself in power and glory. The earth will wonder and tremble and fear. But Paul says, as it were, "you have nothing to fear," and he goes on to show why. "Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that be drunken, are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation." That is the hope that we shall be saved out of this world before destruction and wrath come upon it because of its evil. We believe that the church will never pass through the time of tribulation because the next verse tells us, "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ."
In 1 Thessalonians 5 Paul refers to "the day of the Lord" (v. 2). What does this mean? If you read the prophecy of Joel, or Ezekiel, or any of the prophets, you will find they all refer in one way or another to the day of the Lord. In Isaiah 13 verse 6 we read, "Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty." Verse 9 continues, "Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it." Verse 13: "Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger." That is what Paul is referring to in 1 Thessalonians 5: "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ." That is what we shall be saved from when the Lord Jesus comes for us and takes us out of this scene-the day of wrath when God will deal with Israel and the nations in His fierce anger.
In Titus chapter 2 we find set out clearly the three features of salvation that have been mentioned. First of all, salvation from our sins; secondly, salvation from the power of sin, and then, thirdly, salvation from the very presence of sin. It all hinges on one glorious Person-our Lord Jesus Christ. In chapter 2 verse 13 Paul writes, "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing (or the appearing of the glory) of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." This is an affirmation of the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and links with the fact that He is the Saviour. In the last two verses of Philippians chapter 3 we find a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and again it has to do with the final act of salvation when He shall change our bodies of humiliation and fashion them like unto His own body of glory. If we wonder how this will take place we are shown that it rests upon the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour, who is none other than the great God-omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. Whatever is necessary is found in Him in all the greatness of His Person and power.
The first stage of salvation is referred to in that wonderful statement in Titus 2 verse 14, "Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity." Could He not have wrought all these things by His divine power, without dying? No, He had to die in order that those awful sins of ours should be taken away and that this dreadful thing, sin, that came into the world through Adam's failure and still remains in all its power and opposition to God, might be dealt with once and for all. It is one of the six occasions when the apostle Paul speaks about the Lord giving Himself, and how grateful we are that He did so. He died so we all might be blessed, that our sins might be forgiven and that we might be set free from this awful thing, "iniquity": that He might "redeem us from all iniquity." The word for redemption used here is connected with liberty. Sin can enslave us and bring us into bondage but what a wonderful thing it is to be set free from our guilt and from our sin. But notice what it says in verse 12: "Teaching us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world." We need to be taught and disciplined. Children at school are taught to behave properly and to listen to what their teacher is saying so that they might learn and be equipped to take their place in society. So it is with the Christian: each of us needs to be taught in order to take our place in the Christian testimony. Don't be misled by the reference to "worldly lusts." This simply means "worldly desires." Don't think for a moment that it only refers to depraved things. You can have respectable desires so far as this world is concerned and yet be far away from the will of God. It includes things which men think are honourable but which are wasted desires if they haven't got their centre in Christ and don't promote the glory of God. There is a verse which says that God "gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul" (Psa. 106:15). If you desire a particular object God may allow you to have it in order to prove to you what an empty thing it is. Don't think that it is sufficient just to be free from depraved things. Praise God if we are set free from depraved desires but there are many other things that are placed in the pathway of the Christian to turn him aside from the will of God.
When Paul says that we are to live soberly it means that we are to be free of everything that hinders us from thinking clearly in relation to the will of God. I cannot think soberly for you; you must think soberly for yourself. This has to do with us individually. Then he says "righteously," and this involves all our dealings with men. I am to deal righteously with those with whom I come into contact. I am to be a representative of God and of Christ in view of the coming of the Lord. I am to act uprightly, and that involves living according to the rights of God. And then it says "godly." It simply means acting in a God-like way. Is that possible? Paul said to the Ephesians that we are to be imitators of God, and because we have the Holy Spirit and a new nature, it is possible for every believer in Christ.
Isn't that a wonderful consideration? People not only set free from the guilt of their sins but set free from the power of sin. They don't follow the inclinations of their hearts but refuse those things in the power of the life of Christ and all that He supplies. Are they going to live in a vacuum? Listen to what Paul says: "Looking for that blessed hope"-that is the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His church. The word "blessed" could be translated "happy." We find four adjectives connected with hope and this is one of them: it is a blessed hope. It is not a hope where there is some doubt that it will be fulfilled but we hope that it will be. No, it is an absolutely certain hope. It rests upon the words of the Master Himself: "I will come again." That is the hope of the Christian, and how marvellous that it could be fulfilled at the present moment and every believer would be translated out of this world by the omnipotent power that belongs to the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. Incidentally, three times in this short letter of Paul to Titus we find God referred to as the Saviour, and three times it is mentioned that Jesus Christ is the Saviour. When we think of God as the Saviour we think of the One who is the Source of this great plan of salvation. When we think of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Saviour we think of the One who made it possible by His death for salvation to be available to all without exception, through faith in His Name. Verse 13 continues, "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Are we looking? Not for any miracle to happen but looking, waiting, and watching, for that wonderful moment when the Lord shall come. And it is indeed a happy hope. One day we will be set free from all the difficulties that beset the church here upon earth: its divisions and the erroneous doctrines, strife and hostility that we regret to say so often mark the Christian profession. Individually, we will be set free once and for all from our failures and weaknesses, the flesh, temptation, and all these things. Is that all? It would be a poor thing if that were all. No, the best of all will be to see the Lord Jesus and to be like Him.
You will notice that the verse goes on to speak of "the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." In verse 11 it says, "the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men." The same Greek word is used in both cases and it means "shining out." In verse 11 we have the grace of God that has shone out so wonderfully in the Person and pathway of Christ; in His life, in His death and in His resurrection. There we see the grace of God in all its fullness and wonder. The glorious appearing is the public display of that glory and we have said already that it will be a time of consternation. I wouldn't like to be here when that takes place. I would like to be here when the blessed hope is fulfilled. One moment connected with weakness and failure and the next moment transformed into the likeness of Christ and given a place with Him for ever.
The Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (3)
1 Corinthians 15:51-58
In this chapter we have the first in a sequence of very important events. It describes how the living will be changed and the dead will be raised at the coming of the Lord for His own, but it doesn't go any further than that. We have to turn to 1 Thessalonians 4 to find a description of what we refer to as the rapture, when we are caught up to meet the Lord in the air. In John 14 we go a step further, for there we are conducted by the Lord into the presence of His Father in the Father's house.
"Behold, I shew you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed." I think there are at least fourteen distinct mysteries in the Bible. Certain truths are made known that were not revealed before and these truths have been communicated to Christians through the Scriptures of the New Testament. This is one of them. Of course, it remains true that we have very little conception of the mighty power of God that will be put forth at that moment. All those who have died in faith, in whatever dispensation, will be raised, and they will be changed, together with the living saints.
I have mentioned previously that sleep is simply a figure of death. In John 11 the Lord Jesus said to the disciples about Lazarus, "I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said His disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death." (John 11:11-13). The Bible uses this figure to show us that death is not an eternal sleep. When we go to bed at night we know that it is normal to wake up in the morning. In Luke 7, when the widow of Nain was taking her only son to be buried, the Lord Jesus said to the young man (not "arise," as He said to Jairus' daughter in Luke 8:54, but), "Wake up" (Luke 7:14, J.N.D. Trans). He was sleeping the sleep of death and the Lord Jesus wakened him in resurrection. This is the figure that Paul employs in this passage and in 1 Thessalonians 4. The sleep of the believer is always connected with the body, not with the spirit or the soul. The believer's spirit goes to be with Christ at the moment of death. James tells us that the body without the spirit is dead (James 2:26), and it says of Jairus' daughter, "And her spirit came again" (Luke 8:55). The Lord Jesus, the Creator, called back the spirit into her body and she lived, and this is what will happen at this glorious resurrection. Isn't that a marvellous thing? The burial of an unconverted person is hopeless. There is no hope or comfort because their resurrection will be to judgment. But when a Christian is buried there can be assurance and comfort and joy because the day will come when the body will be made alive and fashioned like the glorious body of the Lord Jesus.
The passage in 1 Corinthians 15 continues, "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump." The last trump here is connected with the trumpets that we read about in chapter 10 of the Book of Numbers. Two trumpets were made of silver and were to be blown when the children of Israel were to encamp and when they were to move on. In 1 Corinthians 15 it is the last trump because it signifies the final move when all the saints will be changed and translated from earth to heaven. This should not be confused with the last of the seven trumpets that we find in the Book of Revelation. The sounding of the last trumpet there introduces the most awful judgment, whereas here it brings the saints into the most wonderful blessing.
"The dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." Most of the references to corruption in the New Testament are connected with the succumbing to temptation. However, here it is the matter of the decomposition of the body once death has come in. In Acts 13 verse 34 we read, "And as concerning that He raised Him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, He said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore He saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption." The Lord Jesus was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, but He saw no corruption. He is the intrinsically holy One, and it was impossible that His body should be subject to this process. But what of the bodies of the saints who have died? No matter what has happened to the body, even if it has been dismembered, or blown to pieces, or burnt to ashes, that will present no difficulty to the omnipotent power of the Son of God.
"Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:28). This verse is not saying that there will be a general resurrection. On the contrary, it distinguishes the resurrection of those who have pleased the Lord from the resurrection of those who have displeased Him. Revelation 20 makes it clear that there is a period of a thousand years between these two resurrections: "The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." After the thousand years the unbelieving dead will be raised, and the dead, small and great, will stand before God and be judged at the great white throne. In 1 Corinthians 15 we have rather the glorious resurrection of the saints who have died. The mighty power of the Son of God will visit their graves, and give them incorruptible bodies like His own, and they will be fit to take their place beside Him. They will be bodies that sin can never taint and which are suitable to the sphere in which we shall live.
"This mortal must put on immortality!" Because of the fall, death has come in and is the portion of all creatures that are born into this world. They are mortal, that is, they are subject to death. The Lord Jesus became flesh-He took humanity-so that He might die. He was sinless and holy, and death had no claim upon Him, but He came to lay down His life. We are presently in a scene of death but when the Lord comes for His own, mortality will give place to immortality. Incorruptibility and immortality will be the portion of all those who are raised from the dead and changed, and it says in view of this, "Death is swallowed up in victory." One of the characteristics of the coming of the Lord is victory, and it all hinges upon the fact that by His death and resurrection He has annulled him that had the power of death. That power was broken once and for all, and though we see it all around us at the present time, it will be removed completely in the eternal state. We read in Revelation 21, "And there shall be no more death" (v. 4). During the thousand year reign of the Lord Jesus it will be rare for a person to die, and a direct result of that person's sin.
On three occasions this word is brought forward, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" and then we read in verse 57, "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." It is right that we should express our thanks to God that this is what will happen when the Lord comes. We don't have to wait till then, but we can thank Him now in the confidence that this teaching gives us. Loved ones who have gone before, the whole host of Christians who have died, will all be raised at His coming. They, and those believers who are alive at the coming of the Lord, will all be changed and death will be swallowed up in victory. And let us never forget how Paul ends, "Through our Lord Jesus Christ." Psalm 29 tells us about the voice of Jehovah and how powerful it is, but in chapter 5 of his Gospel John tells us that the voice of the Son of God is going to awaken the saints out of the grave. In this part of his first epistle to the Corinthians Paul is countering those who denied the resurrection. In a masterly way he describes all the things that are consequent upon the resurrection of Christ, even looking forward to the day when God will be all in all. After this wonderful unfolding of the truth he writes, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." Paul is encouraging the saints. He says as it were, you might feel that you are not doing very much, you might feel that there is not much fruit, but keep at it. Your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Revelation 19:11-21 is a very solemn passage, which brings out the great glory of the Son of God, the One who is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. As He comes forth out of heaven we find Him sitting upon a white horse, the emblem of victory. "And He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge and make war." He is morally qualified to judge in an unsparing way the tremendous evil that exists upon earth. It is always true that before there can be blessing there must be judgment, and this is as much the case in the present Christian era as in any other. The judgment fell on God's own Son in order that blessing might be available. And when we think of our individual blessing before God we know that there has to be self-judgment and the realisation of what we are in sinfulness and hopelessness before any blessing comes into our lives.
The Lord Jesus said at His trial, "Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven" (Matt. 26:64). The high priest accused Him of blasphemy and He was condemned to death because of these words. The representatives of the Jews and of Rome were united in His rejection and crucifixion. Afterwards, Rome was burnt to the ground (69 AD) and Jerusalem was destroyed (70 AD), but these judgments were only partial. Here in Revelation 19 we find the leader of the revived Roman empire, the beast, and the leader of apostate Israel, the false prophet, both cast alive into the lake of fire. In the next chapter we find that the arch enemy of God, Satan himself, is also cast into the lake of fire, after the thousand years reign of the Lord Jesus and the final revolt which Satan leads. The Lord Jesus deals with the trinity of evil, in all the power of their wickedness in organised opposition against God and against Christ.
"His eyes were as a flame of fire." In the Song of Solomon we are told that the eyes of the Beloved are as doves' eyes. They are gentle, loving, feeling and compassionate. Here the emphasis is upon the fact that His eyes can detect evil and that He will deal with it in unsparing righteousness.
"On His head were many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew but He Himself." In Hebrews 2 we read about Him crowned with glory and honour. The word there is the verb connected with "stephanos," the victor's crown. He has gone into death and conquered Satan in all his power. The Lord Jesus is not the King of the church. At the present time He is like David in his rejection. The time when He shall come forth wearing the royal crown, the insignia of royalty, is yet to be, and this is described in Revelation 19. He will take His regal rights and reign from the river to the ends of the earth. He has a Name that no man knows but Himself. I believe this is something connected with His deity and His unspeakable glory. It is something we cannot know and we are wise if we leave it there.
"He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood." This takes us back to the Book of Isaiah when He comes forth from Bozrah with His garment dipped in blood. This is the result of dealing with His enemies in judgment. "His name is called The Word of God." In John chapter 1 we find Him referred to as the Word that was with God. It is what He has ever been in His eternal deity. In the first chapter of Luke we read of those who were ministers of the Word and they were eyewitnesses of what He was here in public testimony. But here we find that as the Word of God, the One who has omnipotent power, He deals with evil in unerring righteousness.
"And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean." Here we have a reference to the heavenly company, of which Christians will form a part. They too are on white horses, coming out in judgment. In 1 Corinthians 6 verse 2 Paul writes, "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?" Paul reproached them that they were going to have a high and dignified place with the Lord Jesus in judging the world and yet they were going to court with one another. In that day the saints will be seen "clothed in fine linen, white and clean." They will be morally suited to take their place beside the Lord Jesus. In another passage we read that the wife makes herself ready. She clothes herself with white linen which is "the righteousnesses of the saints" (Rev. 19:8, J.N.D. Trans). If you take a good concordance and search out the references to fine twined linen you will see that it is very often connected with judgment. For example, the high priest on the great day of atonement went forth in linen garments, not the garments of glory and beauty. There the linen garments speak of the intrinsic righteousness of Christ. Here the fine linen indicates the righteousness that can deal with opposition against God.
"And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." When He was crucified the superscription was set over His head: "This is Jesus THE KING OF THE JEWS" (Matt. 27:37). It was an expression of contempt. But what a wonderful day it will be when the despised Nazarene comes forth as described in Revelation 19. It is an awesome scene, a terrifying scene. What a time in the history of the world when evil is dealt with and the chosen land of Israel and the whole earth is cleansed. He will establish His kingdom because He must reign till He has put all His enemies under His feet. Even when the Lord Jesus sits on the throne evil will raise its head, but it will be dealt with in summary fashion.
Isaiah 35 is a portion of a different character and I think it can speak for itself, "The wilderness, and the solitary place, shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not; behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; He will come and save you." This is a reference to the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, and what is the eventual result? "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped: Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons where each lay, shall be grass, with reeds and rushes. And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called, The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there: but the redeemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." Isn't that beautiful? In Revelation 19 it is judgment, death, and destruction; in Isaiah 35, when the Lord comes, it is nothing but healing and blessing and joyfulness.
If we understand something about the coming of the Lord, it is bound to affect our everyday living. In the last two verses of 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 we read that the Thessalonian believers had, "Turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God; And to wait for His Son from heaven." Not only did they realise that the Son of God was coming for them, but in the intervening period, while they waited for Him, they served the living and the true God. So it should be with each one of us. We may not have any great ability, but there is something every Christian can do and that is pray. Prayer is a vital thing which supports the Christian testimony. We are not to give up. We are to hold fast the truth, particularly the truths of Christianity, until the Lord comes. We have those truths in the New Testament, and we are to hold them fast in our affections because they are connected with the Name of the Lord Jesus.
Another thing we can do, and which the Lord Jesus has asked us to do through His servant Paul in 1 Corinthians 11, is to remember Him in the breaking of bread "till He come." That doesn't require a great deal of spiritual knowledge, but it does require some gratitude in the heart for all that He has done for us.
In Revelation chapter 22, verse 20, we read, "He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly; Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." The Lord will come when the assembly is complete, but how wonderful to hear Him say, "I come quickly." May there be an immediate response from our hearts: "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." May we be encouraged for His Name's sake.
F. Wallace
