I. THE FACT OF HIS COMING AGAIN. Joh_14:3 — "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." Heb_9:28 — "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." Php_3:20-21 — "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." 1Th_4:16-17 — "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." Act_3:19-20, RV — "Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord; and that he may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, even Jesus: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things whereof God spake by the mouth of his holy prophets which have been since the world began."
First Proposition: Jesus Christ is coming again.
Christ's coming again is not at the death of the believer. He does not come again at death "with a shout" and those who are alive and remain are not caught up at the death of individual believers. ( Joh_14:3 and Thessalonians 4:16-17 manifestly refer to the same event. They are exactly parallel in the three facts stated: (1) the "I will come again" of Jesus, equals "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven" of Paul, (2) the "Receive you unto myself" of Jesus, equals the "Shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord" of Paul, (3) the "That where I am, there ye may be also" of Jesus, equals the "So shall we ever be with the Lord" of Paul. Paul's words are manifestly an inspired commentary on those of Jesus, and the reference of the words of Jesus to His coming at death is thus made impossible.) "Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?
Follow thou me" ( Joh_21:22) shows how utterly impossible it is to make Christ's coming refer to death. "If I will that he tarry" evidently means, "If I will that he remain alive." Now put Christ's coming at the believer's death and you get this nonsense: "If I will that he remain alive until he die, what is that to thee?"
The "coming again" in the verse given above is not the coming of Christ at the coming of the Holy Spirit — that is, in a very real and important sense, a coming of Christ. This appears from Joh_14:15-18; Joh_14:21-23 — "If ye love me keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."
But this coming of Christ is not that which is referred to in the passages under consideration. All of these promises but one ( Joh_14:3) were made after the coming of the Holy Spirit and pointed to a coming still future. Jesus does not receive us to be with Him at the coming of the Holy Spirit. At the coming of the Holy Spirit, He comes to be with us ( Joh_14:18; Joh_14:21; Joh_14:23). He does not at His coming in the Spirit "fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of His glory" ( Php_3:20-21). There is no trump of the archangel, no shout, no resurrection, no rapture in the clouds, at this coming of the Christ. In other words, this coming in hardly any detail conforms to the plain and explicit statements of Christ and the apostles concerning His coming again.
The "coming again" mentioned in the verses above was not at the destruction of Jerusalem. The destruction of Jerusalem was in a sense the precursor, prophecy, and type of the judgment at the end of the age, and therefore in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 the two events are described in connection with each other. But God's judgment on Jerusalem is manifestly not the event referred to in the texts given above. On that occasion those who sleep in Jesus were not raised, living believers were not caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and the bodies of believers were not transformed.
Years after the destruction of Jerusalem we find John still looking forward to the Lord's coming ( Rev_22:20). Joh_21:22-23 says, "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; said unto him, He shall not die; but if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" These words were written years after the destruction of Jerusalem. Not any one of these events, nor all of them together, nor any other event that has yet occurred fulfills the very plain, explicit, and definite predictions of Christ and the apostles regarding Christ's coming again. The coming again of Jesus Christ, so frequently mentioned in the New Testament as the great hope of the Church, is still in the future.
II. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DOCTRINE OF THE COMING AGAIN OF JESUS CHRIST.
First Proposition: The Second Coming of Christ is mentioned 318 times in the 260 chapters of the New Testament and, averaged out, occupies one in every twenty-five verses from Matthew to Revelation.
Second Proposition: By far the greater number of the predictions concerning Christ in the Old Testament are connected with His Second Coming. 1Th_4:18 — "Wherefore comfort one another with these words." (See context.)
Third Proposition: The coming again of Jesus Christ is the doctrine with which God bids us to comfort sorrowing saints.
This is true also of the Old Testament. (Compare to Isa_40:1; Isa_40:9-10- ''Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him." Tit_2:13 — "Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." 2Pe_3:11; 2Pe_3:13 RV — "Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?"
Fourth Proposition: The coming again of Jesus Christ and the events connected with it are the blessed hope and eager desire of the true believer..
The last prayer in the Bible is "Even so, come Lord Jesus" ( Rev_22:20). 2Pe_3:3-4 RV — "Knowing this first, that in the last days mockers shall come with mockery, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation."
Fifth Proposition: The coming again of Jesus Christ is a doctrine which is the particular object of the hatred and ridicule of mockers who walk after their own lusts.
A worldly church and worldly Christians also hate this doctrine. Mat_24:44-46 — -"Therefore be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when he cometh shall find so doing." Luk_21:34-36 — "And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." 1Jn_2:28 — "And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, ye may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming."
Sixth Proposition: The coming again of Jesus Christ is the great Bible argument for a life of watchfulness, fidelity, wisdom, activity, simplicity, self-restraint, prayer and abiding in Christ. (See also Matthew 25.) Luk_12:35-36 — -"Let your loins be girded about, and your lamps burning; and be ye yourselves like unto men looking for their Lord, when he shall return from the marriage feast, that when he cometh and knocketh, they may straightway open unto him."
Seventh Proposition: The coming again of Jesus Christ is the one event for which the disciples of Christ should be looking.
In verse 37, a special blessing is promised to those whom the Lord shall finds watching when He comes. (Compare to Heb_9:28 — "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.")
III. THE MANNER OF CHRIST'S COMING AGAIN. 1Th_4:16-17 — "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." Mat_25:31-32 — "When the son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, s a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats." 2Th_2:7-8 — "For the mystery in iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming." Zechariah 14:4-5 — "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of ()lives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LoP, t) my God shall come, and all the saints with thee."
It is evident from a comparison of the above passages that the coming again of Jesus Christ has various steps or stages:
FIRST STAGE: In the air where believers in Him are caught up to meet Him.
SECOND STAGE: To the earth. In this latter stage His saints come with Him. 1Th_3:13 — "To the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints." Col_3:4 RV — "When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory." 1Th_4:14 "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him."
In the air Christ comes for His own; to the earth He comes with them.
A considerable interval may take place between these two stages of the Lord's coming. (See Luk_21:36 — "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man" and 2Th_2:7-8 — "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way." These verses seem to hint that the whole period of the great tribulation intervenes between the coming of Jesus in the air for His earthly saints and His coming to the earth with His saints.
There are not, however, two comings, but two stages in the one coming.
Bearing in mind the distinction between these two will help to solve many of the seeming discrepancies between different texts of the Bible on this subject.
THIRD STAGE: A succession of events follows His coming to the earth. Act_1:11 — "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." Heb_9:28 — "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." ("Shall appear," literally "shall be seen.") Rev_1:7 — "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. Even so, Amen."
First Proposition: Jesus Christ will come again bodily and visibly. Mat_24:26-27 — "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 cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."
Second Proposition: Jesus Christ will come again with great publicity. (Compare to Rev_1:7 — "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. Even so, Amen.") These "inner chamber" Christs and "obscure corner" Christs have long since been predicted and exploded. Even at His coming for His saints there seems to be a large measure of publicity about it. ( 1Th_4:16-17 — "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.") A "secret rapture of believers" does not seem to be supported in Scripture. Mat_24:30 — "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
Third Proposition: The Son of man ( Jesus Christ) will come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. "In the clouds." Compare to Exo_19:9 — "And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD." Exo_34:5 — "And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD." Psa_97:1-2 — "The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. Clouds and darkness are round about him; righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne." Mat_17:5 — "While he yet spake, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." <19A403> Psa_104:3 — "Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters; who maketh the clouds His chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind." Isa_19:1 — "The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it."
From these passages it appears that it was Jehovah who came in the clouds; therefore, to say that Jesus is coming in the clouds is to say that He is coming as a divine one or in divine glory. Mat_16:27 — "For the son of man shall come in the glory of his father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works." Mar_8:38 — "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." 2Th_1:7 RV — "And to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire."
Fourth Proposition: Jesus Christ will come in the glory of His Father with the holy angels. Rev_16:15 — "Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." 1Th_5:2-3 — "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night."
Fifth Proposition: Jesus Christ will come as a thief — unannounced, without warning, unexpectedly, suddenly.
The world will be taken up with its usual occupations. Mat_24:37-39 — "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."
The attempt to lay out a complete and fully defined chart of events leading up to the Lord's coming loses sight of this clearly revealed fact about His coming. Our part is to see to it that that day does not come upon us as a snare. Luk_21:34-35 — "And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth."
IV. THE PURPOSES OF CHRIST'S COMING AGAIN. Joh_14:3 — "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." 1Th_4:16-17 — "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."