THE BOOK OF ACTS
The
hope of the apostolic church concerning Christ's second coming was
founded in the very teachings of Jesus, Who made it perfectly clear
that He was indeed going to come again and deliver His believing ones
out from this world and take them to a heavenly home. There are some
who believe that Jesus taught two second comings; one for His
believers, and one for the nation of Israel. Such a distinction is
found only in the academic maneuverings of these people rather than in
the plain and simple language of Christ's words. By comparing passages
from the Old Testament and the gospels, it can be shown that there is
only ONE second coming, but that there are TWO phases to it. The first
phase is the ARRIVAL phase, which is the appearing of Jesus in the
clouds of the sky in power and great glory with the angels of God in
attendance. From this initial event, several things occur which take
place over a period of several months and culminate with the DESCENT
phase, which is His physical descent to the earth onto the Mount of
Olives to defeat the rebel armies of the world at the battle of
Armageddon. A huge confusion exists because many attempt to make this
physical descent to the mount of Olives to be the SECOND ADVENT in
contrast to the coming of Jesus in the clouds. Hopefully this study
will establish the fact that the ONE and ONLY second coming occurs
when Jesus arrives in the clouds of the sky and that the physical
descent refers ONLY to a second phase that takes place several months
after the SECOND COMING.
As an extension of the teachings that
the apostles received from Jesus, on the very day that He ascended up
out of their sight into a cloud, two angels confirmed the promise of
His second coming by saying, "This Jesus who has been taken up
from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have
watched Him go into heaven," (Acts 1:11).
This SAME WAY, most certainly refers
to the cloud, for there is nothing else of significance that such
emphatic language could focus on. The idea of VISIBLE is a natural
factor and does not need emphasis, nor does the PHYSICAL factor need
emphasis. Both however, would certainly be included with "just
the same way," but the record seems to make a point of "a
cloud received Him out of their sight." Having seen Him go up
into a cloud, and having the angels tell them that He was coming back
in the SAME WAY, would also remind them of all that Jesus had been
teaching them during His 40 day resurrection ministry, "speaking
of the things concerning the kingdom of God," (Acts 1:3), as well
as what He taught before the crucifixion.
Since we have no record of what Jesus
taught during His resurrection ministry, we have to appeal back to
what was spoken just a few days before the crucifixion when Jesus told
them, that all the tribes of the earth would "see the Son of Man
coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory,"
(Matthew 24:30). Luke prefers to use cloud in the singular for when he
records this promise he renders it, "they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory," (Luke 21:27). With
this comparison, it is possible that when Jesus ascended after His
resurrection ministry, that He ascended into the CLOUDS, which of
course follows that He would return IN THE CLOUDS. One of the key
promises provided by the apostles is found at 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18.
At verse 17 we learn that when Jesus comes back, He will come IN THE
CLOUDS and there "in the sky," all the believers will be
joined with Him. This is exactly what Jesus taught would happen at
Matthew 24:30-31, and what the two angels taught would happen at Acts
1:11. Furthermore, when John writes the Book of the Revelation, he
addresses the very same promise TO THE CHURCH when he writes,
"Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him,
even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn
over Him," (Revelation 1:7).
According to the teachings of Jesus,
the two angels, and John, the second coming of Jesus will be physical,
visible and be an arrival in the clouds. With this in mind, I shall
let the apostolic teachings, and the Greek words that they use, give
us further understanding.
In
the book of Acts, there are only six possible references to the second
coming, and only one is a direct reference.
1. Acts 1:11, which we have already
seen, and is a DIRECT reference to the return of Jesus.
2. 2:14-21
Here Peter quotes from Joel 2 about
the signs that precede the Day of the Lord. This then, is an indirect
reference to the second coming of the Messiah for we know that the Day
of the Lord begins at that time, by comparing Joel 2 with Matthew
24:29-31 where the same SIGNS in the sun, moon and stars occur.
3. 3:18-21
Verse 20 reads, "and that He may
send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, Whom heaven must receive
until the time of the times of restoration of all things."
This refers to the DESCENT phase of
the second coming, and not the same thing that is in view at Acts
1:11.
According to the sequence of
events, Israel as a nation will not embrace Jesus until after His
arrival in the clouds. Then, after the judgment of the beast's
kingdom, Jesus will rescue the nation and lead them into His earthly
kingdom. This is not teaching that when these individuals believe,
Jesus will come back, but rather, when the NATION, as a collective
unity embraces Jesus as the Messiah, then God will send Him to
rescue them from the reign of the beast. This SENDING of Jesus
refers to His physical descent at Armageddon, but not the second
advent proper, which occurs several months earlier, when He comes in
the clouds of the sky. This should not be considered a SECOND ADVENT
passage, but rather a promise of a future deliverance for the nation
of Israel, that will be triggered when the nation collectively
trusts in Jesus as the Messiah.
Peter makes it clear so that there
is no misunderstanding, that Jesus MUST remain in heaven until the
time of restoration of all things. This is taught in the Old
Testament as the earthly kingdom of the Messiah. When it is GOD'S
TIME for the kingdom, then He will send Jesus - but ONLY those who
have trusted in Him as the Savior will be recipients of blessing.
Others will be the recipients of judgment. The application to the
Jewish believers who are addressed, is that they are informed that
when the nation as a collective unity embraces Jesus as the Messiah,
then He will come to them (physical descent) and set up His earthly
kingdom.
1. and that He may send Jesus: This
"sending" of Jesus is technically, NOT the second coming
proper, but rather the physical descent of Jesus at Armageddon to
rescue the Jews who have trusted in Him since the second coming.
However, that physical descent is based on the fact that first,
Jesus will come in the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.
At this time, He will rescue believers through the rapture, and then
begin to pour out His wrath on the kingdom of the beast through the
trumpet and bowl judgments. At the end of this time of judgment,
when the nations of the world are gathered in Megiddo, Jesus will
descend from His cloud (Rev. 14:14; 19:11) and after destroying
them, will set up His earthly kingdom.
2. the Christ appointed for you:
The focus is on the nation. Paul writes at Romans 11:26 that there
will come a time when all Israel will be saved, and then makes
reference to Isaiah 59:20, "The Deliverer will come from Zion,
He will remove ungodliness from Jacob." When Isaiah speaks
about this, he has both the ARRIVAL phase and the DESCENT phase
combined, as is often the case with the Old Testament prophets.
Paul's reference is specifically to the DESCENT phase, when Israel
as a nation will be delivered and then cleansed before entering into
the kingdom.
Acts 3:21
1. whom heaven must receive: This
refers to the ascension of Jesus which Hosea makes reference to at
Hosea 5:15,
"I will go away and return
to My place
Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me."
See Topic: Ascension
and Session of Christ
2. until {the} times of restoration
of all things: this refers to the TIME PERIOD when the final
eschatological events will take place. It is DURING this "end
times" context that Jesus will return in the two phases already
described. It refers to the 2nd set of God's purpose for the 490
years allotted to Israel listed at Daniel 9:24. The first set of 3
purposes was fulfilled at the Messiah's first advent through His
sacrifice for sin on the cross. The second set will be fulfilled at
the end of the 70th week of Daniel when God will (1) bring in
everlasting righteousness (Messiah's righteous reign), (2) seal up
vision and prophecy (fulfill God's prophetic plan for the world),
and (3) anoint the most holy (establish the new temple in the
Messiah's kingdom).
When it is TIME for these things to
BEGIN to take place, then Jesus will come back, "which He (God)
will manifest at His own time" (1 Tim. 6:15).
The nation does not receive the
benefit of Christ's ARRIVAL phase because they are still
COLLECTIVELY in unbelief. But that arrival will generate a positive
response from the nation (initiated by the conversion of the
144,000) so that several months later, when Armageddon takes place,
they will be rescued by the physical descent of Jesus and be ushered
into His earthly kingdom.
For Complete study of this passage,
see: Acts 3:18-26
4. 10:37-43
At verse 42, Peter says that Jesus
has been "appointed by God as judge of the living and the
dead." This too is an indirect reference to the second coming,
for it is through the second coming that Jesus will fulfill His role
as judge.
5. 17:30-31
This passage mentions the same idea
that Jesus is the One appointed by God to judge the world, so it too
is an indirect reference.
6. 24:14-15
Here, Paul mentions the hope
"that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the
righteous and the wicked." Again, this happens through the second
coming so is an indirect reference.
Beyond this, Acts tells us nothing
about the second coming, but verse 1:11 is key to connecting what
Jesus taught as recorded in the gospels, with what the apostles taught
in their letters.
THE
REVELATION OF JESUS
I will begin at 1 Corinthians 1:7
where we find a description of the Corinthian believers concerning
their attitude toward the promised second coming of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 1:7-8,
"awaiting eagerly the
revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who shall also confirm you to the end,
blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."
We first notice that a functional
Christian life includes an eager expectation of Christ's return. The
believer should live in anticipation of Christ's second coming and not
only the deliverance for the church that Jesus will bring, but also
the judgment upon the oppressive unbelievers that Jesus will
administer when He gets here (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10).
This same attitude of expectation is
described by Peter as, "looking for and diligently advancing the COMING of the day of God," (2 Peter 3:12). This
term, "day of God," is only used here, but clearly it refers
back to the term, "day of the Lord," which occurs in verse
10.
And it is quite reasonable and
hermeneutically precise to identify this day of the Lord with the term
at 1 Corinthians 1:8, "the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." It
is this DAY that is described as THE END, and that can only refer to
the end of the church age, when the Lord returns and resurrects all
believers at that time. This is the COMPLETION stage of our salvation,
which Paul calls "the redemption of our body" (Romans 8:23)
and, according to Jesus, will occur at the last day (John 6:39-40, 44,
54), which refers once again to the second coming of Jesus at the Day
of the Lord. Here, Paul uses a different term, but it still refers to
the very same moment in time.
The day of Christ, the day of the
Lord, the day of God, the day of our Lord Jesus Christ - all refer to
the very same event; the second coming of Jesus in the clouds of the
sky with power and great glory.
Next, we find our first mention of
the word "revelation," which is the Greek word, apokalupsis.
This noun occurs 18 times and 5 times specifically for the 2nd coming
of Jesus for His church. The verb occurs 26 times, but only ONE time
for the second coming of Jesus, and that occurs at Luke 17:30. The
word group clearly indicates a visible manifestation of one thing to
another. In this case, it is the visible manifestation of Jesus to the
world that sees Him coming on the clouds of the sky with power and
great glory. In fact when Luke uses this verb to describe the second
coming, it is associated with verse 17:24, "for just as the
lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the
other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day."
Walvoord makes a serious compromise
with hermeneutical honesty, when he writes, as quoted by Pentecost in
Things to Come, page 157:
"A survey of those passages in
which the word is used in relation to Christ demonstrates that in a
number of instances it is used of the second coming of Christ (1
Pet. 4:13; 2 Thes. 1:7; Lk. 17:30). . .
In other passages, however, it is
clearly used in reference to the coming of Christ in the air for His
church (1 Cor. 1:7; Col. 3:4; 1 Pet. 1:7, 13)."
Each
of the five occurrences in the epistles refers specifically to the
arrival of Jesus for His church. The reason for the compromise in the
pretrib camp, is because of the mention of a VISIBLE return at 1 Peter
4:13 and 2 Thes. 1:7, and the pretrib position cannot have a visible
return of Jesus in GLORY at a pretrib rapture. But that does not
change the facts of the context in both of those passages, which I
will develop in detail when we get to them.
There is a less vital error in Mr.
Walvoord's research, and that is that Colossians 3:4 does not even use
the word group apokalupto, but phaneroo in the passive voice, which
means to be manifested.
At this time, instead of continuing
sequentially through each of the books and covering the references to
the second coming, I will jump ahead and clarify the four other places
where the noun apokalupsis occurs in the apostolic writing.
The next occurrence is 2
Thessalonians 1:7.
Here we learn that the church, as
represented by the Thessalonian believers, will be given relief from
tribulation WHEN "the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven
with His mighty angels in flaming fire."
This COMING of the Lord is further
described in verse 10, as "when He comes to be glorified by His
holy ones (angels) on that day, and to be marveled at among all who
have believed."
This very same SECOND COMING of Jesus
is identified in 2 Thessalonians 2:1 as "the COMING (parousia) of
our Lord Jesus Christ and our GATHERING together to Him."
And then once again at verse 8, it is
described as "the appearance (epiphaneia) of His coming (parousia)."
It is very clear that Paul sees ONE
visible and glorious manifestation of Christ's presence as the second
coming, and that the Thessalonian believers are going to understand
that Paul is talking about the very same SECOND COMING that he wrote
about at 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, where "the Lord will descend
from heaven . . ." and the believers "will meet the Lord in
the air."
The
last 3 occurrences of apokalupsis are all in 1 Peter.
1Peter 1:7
that the proof of your faith,
{being} more precious
than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may
be found to result in praise and glory and honor
at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
It is suggested by some pretrib
advocates that this REVELATION of Jesus is a visible appearance to the
church only, and invisible to the rest of the world. By others, it is
taken out of the context of the rapture entirely and assigned to the
coming of the Lord at Armageddon. But clearly, 2 Thessalonians and its
context indicates that the manifestation of Jesus when He comes for
His church will be attended by "His mighty angels in flaming
fire" (2 Thes. 1:7), and can refer to nothing except a worldwide
manifestation as is described at Matthew 24:29-30. Accordingly, there
is no conflict in seeing the rapture at 1 Peter 1:7, at which time all
believers will be taken to heaven, and have their works evaluated at
the justice seat of God, and will receive "praise and glory and
honor" for all the works that brought glory to God while on the
earth (1 Cor. 3:10-15; 2 Cor. 5:10).
1
Peter 1:13
Therefore, gird your minds for
action, keep sober {in spirit,}
fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought
to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
This is a promise to the church. The
"grace to be brought" in context refers to the resurrection
body as explained in verses 3-5. At the rapture of the church all
believers will receive a resurrection body, which is described at
Romans 8:23 as the "redemption of the body." This is the
second stage of our salvation and will occur at the last day (John
6:39-40, 44, 54), which refers once again to the second coming of
Jesus at the Day of the Lord. When it is recognized that this is a
reference to the coming of Jesus for the church, then it is
hermeneutically compelling to see the very same coming of Jesus in the
previous verse, 1:7.
1 Peter 4:13
but to the degree that you share
the sufferings of Christ,
keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory,
you may rejoice with exultation.
Again, the church is being addressed
and is promised the possibility of great joy when Jesus comes back.
This great joy is based on consistency of endurance. If the believer
is "in fellowship" with God (1 John 1:5-7); enduring the
pressures and hardships of this life while focused on the character
and plan of God, "fixing our eyes on Jesus," (Hebrews 12:2),
and abiding in Him (1 John 2:28), then that believer will have
confidence at His coming (parousia) and not shrink away in shame.
But more important to our subject is
the fact that this coming of Jesus for His people, is described as the
REVELATION of His GLORY. Again, a visible and glorious arrival of
Jesus, just as our "blessed hope" proclaims, "Looking
for the blessed hope, and the appearing of the GLORY of the great God
and of our Savior, Jesus Christ," (Titus 2:13).
THE
COMMUNION SERVICE ANTICIPATES
The next mention of Christ's coming
within the context of 1 Corinthians is at verse 11:26 in connection
with celebrating the communion ritual.
"For as often as you eat this
bread and drink this cup,
you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes."
The communion service is to be a
regular ritual observance for the church as long as it is on the
earth. The ritual itself, along with several other things, is a ritual
of expectation. That is, it is a ritual that carries within it through
Paul's words, the promise of Christ's second coming to take His
believers to Himself, just as Jesus taught to the disciples at John
14:1-3. The COMING of Jesus as it is mentioned here clearly refers to
the SECOND COMING that Jesus Himself promised on several occasions and
is the ONLY coming that Jesus taught about. The verb, comes, is the
standard word for an arrival of some kind or another (erchomai), and
is used to emphasize the idea of a physical presence that results from
leaving heaven and coming TO the earth in the clouds of the sky.
THE
PAROUSIA
The next reference to Christ's second
coming is at 1 Corinthians 15:23, and uses another common word for the
second coming, parousia, which means to be (or exist) beside or AT THE
SIDE of something or someone.
This word is used 13 times in the
epistles and every time refers to the ONE and only second coming of
Jesus for His church. But in that connection, it is described as a
visible, physical presence of Jesus in the sky with GLORY. This word
also occurs four times in Matthew 24 to refer to the very same second
coming as an unexpected event (any day or hour) within the context of
the SEASON of the tribulation (Matthew 24:3, 27, 37, 39).
At 1 Corinthians 15:23, we learn that
there will be a general resurrection of the righteous at the time of
Christ's coming.
"Christ, the fruits, after
that those who are Christ's at His coming."
This refers to those who will be
resurrected DURING the time period that constitutes His presence. The
word, parousia, again indicates not just an ARRIVAL, but an abiding
presence after that arrival.
This extends from the Day-of-the-LORD
arrival of Jesus until, at least, the beginning of the kingdom, for
the next event in this short chronology, is when Jesus delivers up the
kingdom to God, after He has neutralized all rule, authority and
power, which takes place at the end of His 1000 year earthly reign.
The resurrection of "those who are Christ's at His coming"
includes 3 groups that fit into the window that Paul's chronology
provides for us.
(1) All Old Testament and New
Testament believers are raised up at the rapture (1 Thes. 4:13-17; 1
Cor. 15:50-51).
(2) Believers who died between the
rapture and Armageddon (Rev. 20:4).
(3) Believers both dead and living
at the end of the Millennial reign.
The use of this term by Paul actually
gives us a very important interpretation factor, for it allows us to
recognize the PRESENCE (parousia) of Jesus as embracing an extended
time period, rather than just the exact moment of His arrival in the
clouds of the sky.
The next occurrence of parousia is at
1 Thessalonians 2:19.
"For who is our hope or joy or
crown of rejoicing?
Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His
coming?"
This indicates that at the arrival of
Jesus, Paul will be joyful when these believers will be present with
Him. This is what happens, as is described at 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17,
when the living and dead believers are joined with Jesus in the sky
when He comes back at the Day of the Lord.
THE
PAROUSIA IS WITH ANGELS
1 Thessalonians 3:13,
"So that he may establish your
hearts un-blamable in holiness before our God and Father
at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His holy ones
(angels)."
Paul's desire is that these believers
continue to advance in growth so that at the time that Jesus comes
back, IF it is during their lifetime, they will be found reflecting
Christ's love consistently. The reason for this is, because if they
are NOT in this manner, abiding in Him, then they will be embarrassed
and ashamed when He comes back (1 John 2:28).
We have an additional factor provided
here, and that is the presence of "all His holy ones." Some
suggest that this refers to all the BELIEVERS that Jesus brings with
Him. However, although Jesus does in fact bring with Him all the
believers of all ages, He ALSO brings with Him, His angels, as is
clearly taught at Matthew 24:31; 25:31; Mark 8:38; 2 Thes. 1:7, 10;
and Jude 14. One could of course, GENERALIZE the term, HOLY ONES, to
refer to ALL of God's HOLY creatures, which would include both
believers and angels. This in fact, would not violate any truth and
would more accurately represent exactly what will happen, but there
are no other passages that make such a COLLECTIVE reference, so I
prefer to see this as referring to angels.
THE
RAPTURE
1 Thessalonians 4:15,
"We who are alive, and remain
until the coming of the Lord,
shall not precede those who have fallen asleep."
This, of course is the standard
rapture passage and indicates that the believers who are alive on the
earth at the time that Jesus comes back, will not receive resurrection
bodies BEFORE the ones who have died throughout history. There will be
believers alive on the earth at the time that Jesus returns, and these
will be removed and will meet with the Lord in the clouds, along with
all believers who have died.
At 1 Corinthians 15:51, Paul tells us
that "we shall not all sleep (die physically), but we shall all
be changed."
What is significant here, is that in
Paul's next letter, just a few months later, at 2 Thessalonians 1:7,
He identifies this very same coming of the Lord as "when the Lord
Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming
fire." And then identifies that REVELATION as the parousia in 2
Thessalonians 2:1.
1
Thessalonians 5:23,
"May your spirit, soul and
body be preserved complete,
without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
This is the same concept as we saw at
1 Thessalonians 3:13, where the believer is encouraged to grow and be
consistent in application of God's truth in his life. Here Paul is
expressing his desire that these believers remain consistently in
fellowship with God right up until the time that Jesus comes back.
This is not talking about the preservation of salvation, but the
maintenance of fellowship and service.
2
Thessalonians 2:1-2,
"Now we request you brethren,
with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and our gathering together to Him."
Here, Paul identifies the glorious
appearing (parousia) of the Lord as the same event that will bring
about the gathering of His people at the rapture. The fact that this
is the "glorious" appearing of the Lord is established based
on 2 Thessalonians 1:7, where the return of Jesus for His people is
described as, "When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven,
with His mighty angels in flaming fire. This is a visible, physical
and judgment-bringing return of Jesus, and it will not occur until
AFTER the man of lawlessness is revealed. In other passages, this is
identified as "the revelation of His glory" (1 Peter 4:13)
and the appearing of the glory of . . . our Savior, Christ Jesus"
(Titus 2:13).
JUDGMENT
ON THE BEAST
When Jesus comes back, at the very
same coming that is in view with every mention of it in the apostolic
writings, He will initiate judgment on the man of lawlessness that
will result in His physical destruction via the day-of-the-Lord
judgments which culminate at the battle of Armageddon.
2 Thessalonians 2:8,
"And then that lawless one
will be revealed whom the Lord will take away with the breath of His
mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;"
Here, parousia is clearly to be
understood as a PRESENCE, because the word, APPEARANCE (epiphaneia)
describes it. It is not the appearance of His appearing, but rather
the appearing of His presence. This indicates a visible manifestation
of Christ's presence that will then initiate judgment on the man of
Lawlessness. The word, epiphaneia (appearance) occurs four other times
in reference to the second coming; three for the actual arrival of
Jesus, and one for the appearing of glory (Titus 2:13). These will be
developed later.
The language here does not demand
that the removal of the man occur immediately when Jesus appears, but
that it occurs IN ASSOCIATION with His coming. Right after Jesus comes
back, He will begin to administer justice (ruin at 1 Thessalonians
5:3) upon the beast and his kingdom through the trumpet and bowl
judgments, which culminate with the physical descent of Jesus to the
earth in Palestine to defeat the world's armies that are gathered
there to fight against God (Revelation 19:11-19). It is thus, THROUGH
(or by means of) His arrival that the rule and kingdom of the man of
lawlessness (the beast) are destroyed.
THE
BOOK OF JAMES
The next two occurrences of this
word, parousia, are found in James.
James 5:7, "Be patient
therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord."
James 5:8, "You too be
patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is
near."
Both of these refer to the expected
return of Jesus in the lifetime of these believers, and in a context
of severe persecution type pressure (verse 5:6). They are to
"hang on" and endure the persecution pressure as long as it
takes, "until the coming of the Lord." And then, they are
given the promise that this COMING is NEAR.
We know that the COMING of the Lord
did not occur, and in fact, it was not even NEAR. This means that the
promise is to be understood in a different way or that the promise was
empty and useless. Since choice number 2 is not a viable option to
those who accept the book of James as inspired and accurate, we must
look for a different focus in his words.
The first possibility is what we have
previously seen at 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10, where those believers were
told that it would be righteous for God to judge their persecutors,
and give the believers relief, "at the revelation of the Lord
Jesus with His mighty angels in flaming fire."
This recognized the possibility that
the persecution that they were going through, could have escalated
into the persecution by the man of lawlessness, in which case, they
would be rescued by the coming of the Lord. It is this same idea that
could be in view at James 5:6-8.
However, another possibility is that
it could be the focus of James that the coming of the Lord was NEARER
to them than when they first believed. Even though the right
grammatical construction does not occur here, this concept is found at
Romans 13:11-12. There we learn that Paul exhorts the believers to
consistent Christian living BECAUSE "now our salvation is nearer
to us than when we believed." This refers to the final completion
of our salvation, which is resurrection, which Paul describes as
"the redemption of the body," at Romans 8:23. Certainly this
is an obvious point, but one that would elicit great encouragement
when repeated in the face of various temporal pressures.
It must also be noted that most of
the believers addressed by James are living in relative peace, and are
able to conduct their worship services in freedom (Verses 2:1-4), and
able to travel in freedom (Verses 4:13-17). This tells us that the
persecution pressure was not universal, but restricted. And yet, the
promise of deliverance was real to them, whether it be viewed as a
very real possibility of deliverance in their lifetime; or simply a
GENERAL promise of future deliverance knowing that God's plan is
moving ever closer to that specific time when He will bring about the
second coming of Jesus (1 Timothy 6:14-15).
There is one other option for
understanding this language. It is the preterist view of Bible
prophecy. Basically, that view teaches that all the second coming and
judgment passages were fulfilled in 70 AD in connection with the Roman
destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. This view has a considerable
following, but must reject the LITERAL system of interpretation, and
must symbolize to the text to a gross excess in order to FIT all the
passages with that 70 AD historical context.
WHAT
JESUS SHOWED PETER
The next three occurrences are found
in 2 Peter.
2 Peter 1:16,
"When we made known to you the
power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
This refers to the time when Jesus
showed Peter, James and John, the way He would look when He comes at
His return. This very coming is the one that is mocked by the
unbelievers (verse 4, "Where is the promise of His
coming?"), and the one that is viewed as what the church is to be
looking for (verse 12, "looking for and diligently advancing the
coming of the day of God."). It is identified as the Day of the
Lord, and the Day of God. This also establishes clearly that the term
Day of the Lord, which occurs at 1 Thessalonians 5:2 and 2
Thessalonians 2:1-2 refers to the very same second coming of Jesus
that the church is to be looking for. As believers remain in
fellowship with God and function effectively as ambassadors for
Christ, they are actively involved with ADVANCING the progress of
God's plan in the world, as that plan moves ever closer to the arrival
of Jesus.
For Details: See commentary on 2
Peter 1:12ff
ABIDE
IN HIM
The last occurrence is at 1 John
2:28, which we have already seen quite often because of its warning to
be abiding in Him so that when He appears, the believer would have
confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at his COMING.
The word, coming, is parousia and
refers to His physical presence in the vicinity of the earth. As we
have seen, this physical presence is in the clouds of the sky (Matthew
24:32; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Acts 1:11; Revelation 1:7).
THE
MANIFESTATION OF JESUS
There is another word used at 1 John
2:28 to refer to the second coming of Jesus.
The word "appears" is
translated from the verb phaneroo, which means to make manifest. But
here it occurs as an aorist PASSIVE subjunctive. The passive voice
means that the subject receives the action of the verb. In this case,
then, the subject (Jesus) RECEIVES manifestation, and it should be
translated as, "when He is manifested." This verb is used 3
other times for the second coming of Jesus (Colossians 3:4; 1 Peter
5:4; 1 John 3:2).
It is used the same way with the same
form, at 1 John 3:2,
"We know that whenever He
shall be manifested, we shall be like Him."
It is also used at 1 Peter 5:4,
"And when the chief shepherd
is made manifest,
then you shall receive the unfading crown of glory."
This MANIFESTATION of Christ refers
to a visible and physical manifestation of Jesus to the world, and NOT
just to the believers.
Every time that this verb occurs (49
times) and every time that the adjective, phaneros, occurs (21 times),
it always refers to a visible event or concept. The same applies to
the adverb and noun.
The pretrib camp insists that this
manifestation is only to the church for whom Jesus will come at the
rapture. However, even though this verb does not require an
"every-eye-shall-see-Him" manifestation, when compared with
the many passages that describe the coming of Jesus as a visible,
physical and GLORIOUS revelation of His very person, then the
manifestation factor is easily applied to "every eye shall see
Him," (Revelation 1:7).
Our
next reference is Colossians 3:4,
"When Christ, who is our life,
shall be manifested,
then you also will be manifested with Him in glory."
At the Day of the Lord, Jesus will
come in the clouds of the sky in power and great glory, and through
that revelation, He will be visibly manifested to all people.
However, when the believers are made
manifest WITH HIM in GLORY, this may or may not be seen by the people
left on the earth. We know that Jesus will be seen COMING in the
clouds in power and GREAT GLORY (Matthew 24:30; Rev. 1:7), and that
the believers are gathered up TO HIM in the clouds (Matthew 24:31; 1
Thes. 4:13-17), but there are no other passages that directly suggest
that either the gathering itself or the gathered group in the clouds
will be visible.
At the same time, it is understood
that bodies will be raised up out of the graves, and living believers
will be changed, and there is likewise no passage that suggests this
event will be INVISIBLE. In fact, at Romans 8:18-23, "the glory
that is to be revealed in us," as a reference to the glory of
RESURRECTION, will be revealed at the time of the rapture, and is
called "the revealing of the sons of God." But this passage
alone does not establish the VISIBILITY factor. One might speculate as
to the reason for being "revealed with Him in glory," if it
is not as a testimonial impact to the world. The language seems to
suggest a more involved idea that simply being with Jesus at that
time.
These passages, then, seems to be the
ONLY ones that address the visibility factor, and might be the only
ones needed to establish the fact that the church will share in the
visible REVELATION of Jesus at the Day of the Lord.
The word, GLORY, needs to be
understood in the specific context of the return of Jesus, and not an
idea of simply being with Him in heaven. The word, GLORY, is used only
four times in reference to the second coming of Jesus and the
gathering of His believers to Himself (1 Pet. 4:13; Titus 2:13;
Matthew 24:30-31; Col. 3:4), and I see nothing that militates against
a VISIBLE manifestation of the church to the world below as the
believers are gathered up for the meeting with the Lord in the sky,
but there is certainly no passage that requires it either.
There is one other possible reference
to such a visible share in Christ's day-of-the-Lord GLORY, and that is
2 Thessalonians 1:10.
"When He comes to be glorified
in (by) His HOLY ONES,
and to be marveled at among all who have believed."
However, I believe that the HOLY ONES
here are angels, because they are seen as a different group than
"those who have believed," and I only mention the passage
here for completion in trying to answer this question about the NATURE
and EXTENT of the glory involved at Colossians 3:4.
THE
DAY OF THE LORD
The next passage to consider is 1
Thessalonians 5:2 which reads,
"For you yourselves know
accurately
that the day of the Lord comes (will come)
just like a thief in the night."
This idea that the day of the Lord
will come (is coming) suddenly and unexpectedly "like a
thief" gives us two very important correlations.
First, the image of "a
thief" takes us back to the teaching of Jesus, Who originated the
use of the image in reference to His personal second coming "in
the clouds of the sky with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:30,
43).
Second, the image that is used makes
the event of the second coming of Jesus, the same event that begins
the day of the Lord. For BOTH occur unexpectedly like a thief.
Furthermore the special signs in the sun, moon and stars are directly
connected with the ARRIVAL of the Lord and the beginning of the Day of
the Lord, as is indicated by Joel 2:30-31 and Matthew 24:29-30.
The signs actually precede the
physical arrival of Jesus in the clouds, which is the arrival of the
day of the Lord, but not by a large amount of time, and they serve as
the announcement of both His arrival and the judgment (wrath) that is
about to be poured out on the world. This is indicated by the fear and
mourning at both Matthew 24:29-30 and Revelation 6:15-16. Also, the
signs at Revelation 6:12-13 indicate that the SIXTH seal represents
the coming of the Lord and the beginning of the Day of the Lord.
This
brings us to 2 Thessalonians 2:2, and the use of the verb, enistemi,
which means to be present, on the scene, standing in one's presence.
It occurs only here in reference to the coming of the Lord, and has as
its subject, THE DAY OF THE LORD.
Now we request you, brethren,
with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and our gathering together to Him,
that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure
or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message
or a letter as if from us, to the effect that
the day of the Lord HAS COME.
The verb occurs as a perfect active
indicative, which communicates the idea of an established presence and
NOT an arrival. The perfect tense expresses the idea that some action
has occurred ALREADY (in the past) and the results of that action are
presently a reality. IN this case, the day has arrived at some point
in the past, with the results that the action of that arrival is a
present reality, so that the day IS right now, present. Thus, another
translation is, "that the day of the Lord IS PRESENT."
The concern here is IN REFERENCE to
the coming of the Lord AND our gathering together to Him. If the day
of the Lord were now present, then that would mean that both the
coming of the Lord and the gathering of the saints had occurred. Paul
quickly assures them that the day of the Lord was not present, because
it would not arrive until after the apostasy and the revealing of the
man of lawlessness, AND those two things had not yet occurred.
A very significant factor with this
passage is that both the coming of the Lord and the gathering
(rapture) are directly connected with the day of the Lord. The
conclusion is then, that these three events are actually all referring
to the same moment in time. That is, the very moment of time that the
Lord arrives in the clouds of the sky, and gathers his saints, IS the
inception of the day of the Lord.
Accordingly, in the same way that we
are exhorted to be watching for the coming of the Lord, so also are we
to watching for the arrival of the Day of God. It is not reasonable to
me that we would be instructed to watch for an event that would not
begin until AFTER we are gone. It seems more reasonable that at the
very moment that Jesus arrives and removes the church from the earth,
it is at that time that the Day of the Lord begins.
There is another important
correlation here. The mention of these three UNIFIED events point back
to the very same second coming that Paul mentioned at 2 Thessalonians
1:7, when he comforts the persecuted believers with the POTENTIAL of
deliverance, "when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven
with His mighty angels in flaming fire."
This is also mentioned at verse 10,
"When He comes to be glorified in His holy ones (the angels of
verse 7) on that day and to be marveled at among all those who have
believed."
Then at 2 Thessalonians 2:3, The
Greek says, "for UNLESS the apostasy comes first (before) and the
man of lawlessness is revealed."
The construction assumes an
understanding that the event just mentioned is in view and thus means
that this three-pronged event mentioned in verses 1-2 will not occur
until there is a time of apostasy and the man of lawlessness is on the
scene. According to what the bible teaches about this, the apostasy
occurs in connection with the great persecution from the man of
lawlessness (the beast), and not before. So the intent of this passage
is not to place an ORDER to the apostasy and the revealing of the man.
I suggest that the two ideas are equated into one, and that that ONE
situation of human history will occur BEFORE the coming of the Lord,
the gathering of the saints, and the Day of the Lord.
There are some who think that the
word, apostasy, should be rendered DEPARTURE, and refers to the
rapture. They thus suggest that the Day of the Lord will not occur
until FIRST the RAPTURE (departure) comes and then the revealing of
the man of lawlessness. However, this is not a valid understanding
concerning the Greek word that occurs here.
The verb, aphistāmi
translated as "fall away," means to take a stand away from
something. It can refer to a physical departure from a location or a
person; or it can refer to an ideological departure from political or
religious viewpoint. In fact, the primary use of the verb is to
indicate a "physical" removal from something. It is for this
reason that sometimes the argument is made that "apostasy"
at 2 Thessalonians 2:3, means "departure" and has in view a
physical departure of the saints from the earth via the rapture.
However, the meaning and use of a verb is not always the determinative
factor for establishing the meaning of a noun that derives from it.
Many times a noun develops a specialized meaning based on usage. It
seems that just such a case has occurred concerning the noun,
apostasia, which occurs only at 1 Thessalonians 2:3 and Acts 21:21 in
the New Testament.
Every time the noun is used in the
LXX, it carries the meaning of ideological departure (Josh. 22:22; 2
Chron. 29:19; 33:19; Ezra 4:19; Jer. 2:19). Its only other use in the
New Testament (Acts 21:21) indicates an ideological departure. It is
therefore, determined by this writer, that the contemporary use of the
noun in connection with an immediate context, that certainly
recognizes the dangers of "apostasy" for believers (verse
15), that the word, apostasia, was used by Paul to speak of that
specific "end times" apostasy which will occur in connection
with the revealing of the man of lawlessness and the placement of his
image (abomination of desolation) in the Holy Place at the beginning
of the tribulation (midpoint of the 70th week) just as Jesus taught at
Matthew 24:9-26.
Furthermore, as already mentioned, 10
years later, Paul used the verb aphistemi at 1 Timothy 4:1 to refer to
the very same apostasy of the tribulation that he referenced in 2
Thessalonians and that Jesus taught about at Matthew 24.
See Commentary: 2
Thessalonians 2
HEBREWS
The second coming is mentioned
specifically only one time in the book of Hebrews.
"So Christ also, having been
offered once to bear the sins of many,
shall appear a second time for salvation without {reference to} sin,
to those who eagerly await Him (Hebrews 9:28).
The verb here is horao as a future
passive indicative. It means to see, to take notice of, to recognize.
In the passive voice, it means that the subject RECEIVES notice or
manifestation. Here, it should read, "shall become seen or
visible." The object of this APPEARANCE are the believers who are
alive on the earth, but this does not mean that unbelievers will not
see Him, for in fact, other passages make it clear that "every
eye shall see Him" (Rev. 1:7).
This passage is used by some to teach
a partial rapture. That is, that those who are not eagerly watching
for Him as is evidenced by their holy living, will not be raptured
with those who are watching. This theory, however, does not represent
the true biblical perspective and violates the doctrine of salvation
security.
What the passage does teach, is that
Jesus returns FOR those who are waiting for Him simply because they
ARE the ones who are expecting Him. The ones who are not expecting Him
will be caught off guard, and be ashamed at His presence (1 John
2:28), but they will still be gathered together with all other
believers at the rapture.
See Topic: Partial
Rapture
Hebrews
10:25 Provides a possible reference to the second coming.
"Not forsaking our own
assembling together,
as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another,
and to a greater degree as you see the day drawing near."
The term, THE DAY, probably refers to
the arrival of the day of the Lord, which is also the arrival of
Jesus.
As we have seen, the early church
lived in expectation of the Lord's coming. That coming would be
portended by certain events of a specific nature. The instruction here
speaks of an urgency for public assembly worship in view of the
progress of historical events that would suggest a soon arrival of THE
DAY. If indeed, the believers of that time, or of any subsequent
generation, were to find themselves living in the right historical
context, then they are here instructed to be extra diligent in meeting
together for normal worship and study. This does not lessen the
importance of such worship activity at other times in history, but
simply gives greater emphasis in view of the HABIT of believers to
neglect and de-emphasize public assembly worship.
THE
APPEARANCE
The next word to look at is
epiphaneia, which means appearing or appearance. It occurs only 6
times and five in reference to the second coming.
As I mentioned earlier, "the
appearance of His presence," at 2 Thessalonians 2:8, indicates
that there is a visible manifestation of Christ that initiates
judgment on the man of lawlessness.
At Titus 2:13, the word is used to
indicate the appearance of GLORY in association with the second
coming. The corrected translation here is,
"looking for the happy
expectation and appearing of the glory
of the great God and of our Savior, Christ Jesus."
Here,
the second coming of Jesus FOR the church is seen as an appearing of
GLORY; glory of God (the Father) AND glory of Christ. This is
perfectly consistent with what Jesus taught in the Olivet discourse
when He said, "and they will see the Son of Man coming in the
clouds of the sky with power and great glory" (Mat. 24:30).
The
next three occurrences of epiphaneia are found in Timothy.
1 Timothy 6:14.
"that you keep the commandment
without stain or reproach
until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ."
This is clear enough a reference to
the coming of Jesus for the church.
2
Timothy 4:1
"I solemnly charge {you} in
the presence of God
and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living
and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom."
Here the appearing of Jesus is
directly connected with His kingdom.
This is not because the kingdom begins AT His appearing, nor is it
because this is a reference to His physical descent at Armageddon. But
rather, it is because His kingdom is directly connected with His
arrival, for the arrival initiates the events of the day of the Lord
which culminate in the establishment of His kingdom.
2
Timothy 4:8
"in the future there is laid
up for me the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day;
and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His
appearing."
Here, His appearing is again a
reference to Christ's return for the church, in connection with which,
believers will be rewarded for their works. The attitude of LOVING
refers to placing value on the HOPE of being with Him, as He has
promised. The expression of this attitude is evidenced through
consistent Christian living. This is the attitude and the WORKS that
will be rewarded at the judgment seat of Christ, which will occur
after the arrival of Jesus.
See Topic: JUDGMENT
SEAT OF CHRIST
The
important point here, is that there is no basis for making this word
refer sometimes to the return of Jesus for the church, and sometimes
to the physical descent of Jesus at Armageddon (what is traditionally
called the second coming). Pentecost again quotes Walvoord on page 157
of Things to Come, to summarize erroneously,
"As used of the return of the
Lord, two instances are found where it refers to the rapture of the
church and two instances seem to refer to the second coming of
Christ . . . it would seem sound exegesis to classify 1 Timothy 6:14
and 2 Timothy 4:8 as referring to the rapture . . .
In 2 Timothy 4:1 and Titus 2:13,
however, there seems to be reference to His second coming."
I
am appalled that these men would interpret Titus 2:13 as a reference
to the descent of Jesus at Armageddon rather than to the return of
Jesus for the church. It is not "sound exegesis" to apply
the use of this word in these places to anything other than the one
and only second coming of Jesus which is the focus of all the
apostolic writings.
The HAPPY hope of the church is NOT
the physical descent of Jesus at Armageddon, what is erroneously
entitled as the second coming, but that hope is the return of Jesus in
the clouds when the living believers will be resurrected and be given
relief from the persecutions leveled against them.
THE
BOOK OF ROMANS
There are a couple of indirect
references to the second coming of Jesus in the book of Romans. We
know that these references involve the second coming only because of
comparison with other books, but none of them address issues of timing
or sequence of events.
Romans
2:12, 16,
"For all who have sinned
without the law will also perish without the law; and all who sinned
in the sphere of the law will be judged by the law; (verses 13-15)
on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets
of men through Christ Jesus."
Man will be judged at the great white
throne at the end of the 1000 year millennial reign of Jesus (Rev.
20:7, 11-15). But often the DAY of judgment is closely associated with
Christ's second coming, even though there are many years between that
coming and the last judgment.
Romans
14:10-12
"For we shall all stand before
the judgment seat of God. For as it is written, 'As I live, says the
Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give
acknowledgment to God.' So then each one of us shall give a word
concerning himself to God.
This is referring specifically to the
believer, who will undergo evaluation of his Christian life after
Jesus returns (1 Cor. 3:12-15; Rev. 22:12; 1 Pet. 1:7). The judgment
seat of God (Christ, 2 Cor. 5:10) for the Christians occurs sometime
between the rapture and the physical descent of Jesus at Armageddon
(Rev. 19:7-9).
Romans
8:18-25
These verses speak of the promise of
resurrection, the redemption of the body, as "the revelation of
the sons of God." It relates the removal of the curse on creation
to that time of resurrection, but does not specify the exact sequence
of events that is involved. In actuality, the removal of the curse,
although an extension of the hope of resurrection, does not happen
until the final stage of human resurrection, which does not occur
until the end of the millennium.
See Topic: RESURRECTION
Romans
11:26
And thus, all Israel will be saved,
just as it is written, THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL
REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB. AND THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM
WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.
This verse quotes from Isaiah
59:20-21, which refers to the second coming of the Messiah without
distinction between His initial arrival in the clouds, and his later
physical descent to the earth at Armageddon, as it is described at
Revelation 19:11-16. We consistently see such JOINING of the two
phases of the second coming throughout the Old Testament, and only a
diligent comparison of all the passages involved will allow us to see
the distinction between them. Israel as a nation is not SAVED until
during the events of the Day of the Lord, that is, AFTER the arrival
of Jesus in the clouds of the sky. During that time there will be a
large number of Jews who trust in Jesus as the Messiah all over the
world. Many of these will be living in Palestine and will be rescued
from the armies of the beast at the battles of Jerusalem and
Armageddon, when Jesus descends to do battle with the armies. However,
since the physical deliverance at Armageddon is dependent upon and an
extension of the initial arrival in the clouds, it is indeed, the
SECOND COMING that brings about Israel's deliverance. During the Day
of the Lord presence of Jesus, the Jews will be undergoing a purging
process which is summarized at Ezekiel 34:17-22. As a result, the
unbelievers (fat sheep) will be separated from the believers (lean
sheep) and the believers will go alive into Messiah's earthly kingdom,
and participate in the covenant of Isaiah 59:21. This covenant is
based on the salvation forgiveness that each one possesses based on
trust in Jesus. Jeremiah describes this covenant and then indicates
the basis for it as being the forgiveness of sin (Jer. 31:33-34).
The quote is not an accurate
representation from the Hebrew, but from the LXX (septuagint), and
even then, Paul changes the preposition from HENEKEN to EK to clarify
the relation to Zion. He uses, EK, which indicates OUT FROM and tells
us the SOURCE of the Messiah. He comes OUT FROM Israel rather than TO
or even FOR Israel. The LXX, HENEKEN, indicates FOR or IN THE CAUSE
OF. The Hebrew here has the preposition, LE, which indicates
basically, FOR or IN REFERENCE TO. Thus, A Redeemer will come FOR or
IN REFERENCE TO Israel (Zion). The nature of that REFERENCE TO Israel
is determined by each particular context that speaks of Messiah's
arrival.
Although the LXX is not inspired, its
use in the New Testament is to be considered divine commentary and
amplification. Paul's use of the preposition EK (out from), does not
violate the Hebrew but simply explains the REFERENCE to Zion. That is,
the Messiah will come OUT FROM Zion (Israel) as a SOURCE. Paul
probably has in mind the human SOURCE of the Messiah as being
"born of a descendant of David according to the flesh" (Rom.
1:3). Isaiah's focus is that the Messiah comes IN REFERENCE TO Israel,
and TO, or more accurately, FOR (same preposition, LE), those who have
trusted in the Messiah. Paul's focus is that He will come FROM Israel
and PURGE the nation of any unbelievers, so that all who are left,
that is ALL ISRAEL, who are left, will be those who have trusted in
the Messiah and will be entered into the Messiah's earthly kingdom.
The mention of the COVENANT at
Isaiah, applies to the relationship that Israel will have with God
during Messiah's earthly kingdom. As I indicated above, this is based
on the reality of salvation forgiveness. To focus on this, Paul adds
the reference to the removal of sins that Jeremiah mentions at
Jeremiah 31:33-34, "when I take away their sins."
In the Old Testament, there is a
blending of the covenant of salvation provided by the work of Jesus on
the cross, and the covenant of kingdom living based on salvation. It
is not until the New Testament that we see the distinction and the
many years that will occur in between the two realities (Heb. 8;
10:1-18). AT the second coming Jesus applies the forgiveness provision
to the nation of Israel as He sets up His earthly kingdom (Jer.
31:23-40; Ezek. 37:22-28).
Isaiah
59 summarizes God's plan of salvation.
Verse 1: God's character and intent
Verses 2-15a: General indictment on the nation of Israel with
application to the whole world (Romans 3:15-17).
Verses 15b-17a: Provision of
salvation at Messiah's first advent
Verses 17b-20: Judgment and deliverance at the second advent
Verse 21: Establishment of the Messiah's earthly kingdom
See Topic: Armageddon
All the Jews who accept Jesus as the
Messiah between the rapture and Armageddon will constitute "all
Israel" and will go alive into the 1000 year kingdom to
experience the earthly blessings promised to Abraham. This will
involve the majority of the Jews, but there will still be many who
reject Jesus as the messiah. Accordingly, after Armageddon, Jesus will
separate the believers from the unbelievers (Ezek. 34:17-22), and take
all the believers (all Israel) into His earthly kingdom (Ezek.
34:23-31). Of course, any Jews who trust in Christ before the rapture
will be part of the church and be raptured at his arrival in the
clouds.
MESSIAH'S
FIRST COMING
Romans 15:12, however is not a
reference to the second coming, but rather to the first coming, at
which time the Messiah will pay the ransom price for salvation and
extend the promise of everlasting life to all the world. However, the
arrival of "the root of Jesse" at the first advent is
obviously a necessary preliminary to the second coming.
This is not a direct quote from the
Hebrew, at Isaiah 11:10, but from the Greek of the LXX.
The Hebrew reads,
"It will come about in that
day, that the nations (Gentiles)
will resort to the root of Jesse,
Who will stand as a sign for the peoples;
and His resting place will be glory.
The Greek of the LXX reads: And there
shall be in that day, the root of Jesse, and One who rises to rule the
nations (Gentiles); in Him shall the nations hope, and His rest shall
be honor.
The Greek at Romans 15:12 is
identical except that it leaves out, "in that day."
And again Isaiah says, THERE SHALL
COME THE ROOT OF JESSE,
AND HE WHO ARISES TO RULE OVER THE GENTILES,
IN HIM SHALL THE GENTILES HOPE.
Although the LXX is not inspired,
when the apostles quote it through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
that particular quotation thus becomes inspired. It is then necessary
to incorporate any LXX quotes in the New Testament into one's
interpretation of the respective Old Testament passages.
The DAY of Isaiah 11, is the day of
the Messiah, which begins at the first coming and extends into the
kingdom. The prophets see that ENTIRE DAY as a whole unit without
distinguishing many times between the SALVATION work of the Messiah at
the first coming, the JUDGMENT work of the Messiah at the second
coming, and the RULERSHIP work of the Messiah in the earthly kingdom.
Accordingly, many passages will group together various factors
concerning the ENTIRE period of time. It is only through the hindsight
of New Testament revelation that we can separate these various EVENTS
of the DAY into their right chronological order. This is NOT, however,
the day of the Lord. That term is not used with any references to the
first coming.
The subject of Isaiah 11 and 12 is
the coming of the Messiah in general.
It begins with His arrival on the
earth through the virgin birth (verses 11:1); continues through His
teaching ministry (verses 2-4a); to His second coming in judgment
(verses 4b-5); and into the earthly kingdom (verses 6-9).
Verse 10 is a summary verse
concerning the Gentiles. It embraces both His first coming and His
second coming. Only details found in both Testaments will show us the
difference. Thus, Paul is right in quoting this verse in reference to
the arrival of the Messiah as the Savior of the Gentiles, for that
FIRST ADVENT activity is included in the reference at Isaiah. The
Messiah is indeed the source of HOPE (salvation) for the Gentiles.
They shall look to Him from the time of His ministry forward until His
second coming, "for there is no other name under heaven, that has
been given among men by which we can be saved" (Acts 4:12); then
after the rapture, the Gentiles will need to look to Him in faith in
order to qualify for entrance into His earthly kingdom. And finally,
during the kingdom, the central location for worship activity by all
the nations, will be Jerusalem, where Jesus will reign (Isaiah 2:2-4;
60:14-16; Zech. 14:16).
THE
BOOK OF THE REVELATION
In John's Revelation, the second
coming of Christ is referenced directly, only with the English verb
COME. There are only three possible indirect references to the coming
of Christ. The first one is at Revelation 6:16-17, which does not
refer to the actual coming, but rather to the effects that result from
that coming, for it reads,
"hide us from the presence of
Him who sits on the throne,
and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath
has come, and who is able to stand?"
It is the day of the Lord,
characterized by divine wrath, that is in view at this passage. But
that day is initiated by the return of Jesus "in the clouds of
the sky with power and great glory" (Mat. 24:30-31), so we know
that the second coming does in fact occur at that time of the 6th
seal.
The second possible indirect
reference is at verse 14:14.
This, however, is not referring to
the ARRIVAL of Jesus, but to WHERE He can be found after His arrival.
He will come in the clouds and will remain located in the clouds, and
from there, sitting on a cloud, He will administrate the judgment of
reaping the unbelievers on the earth through the trumpet and bowl
judgments.
The third one is at Revelation
19:11-16, which is a reference to His physical descent at Armageddon
and not to the second advent proper, which is when He comes in the
clouds of the sky.
COMING
There are 12 POSSIBLE references to
the coming, using the verb COME.
Eleven, use the verb erchomai and one
uses hāko.
In three places we have the
construction, "was, is and is to come."
Each time it refers to God the
Father, the one who is sitting on the throne as John's vision unfolds
(Rev. 1:4, 8; 4:8). Some suggest that this 3-fold description is
idiomatic for ETERNITY (past, present and future). This seems most
likely since, even though the Father's wrath is associated with the
second coming (Rev. 6:16-17), the Father Himself is NOT the one who
physically comes back at that time, but it is the Son.
The "is to come" idea COULD
refer to the arrival of God's presence in and through the person of
Christ rather than His own physical and visible manifestation. We know
that no MORTAL man shall see the essence of the Godhead as represented
by The Father, and live (Ex. 33:20). So, this is either (1) idiomatic
to teach the eternity of God, or (2) it refers to a representative
presence of the Father through Christ.
If one chooses to treat this as a
direct reference to the COMING of God the Father, then it still does
not provide any information as to the time of the coming or the
sequence of events involved with that coming.
At Revelation 1:7, we have a direct
reference to the second coming of Christ stated as a promise TO THE
CHURCH and FOR the church. There is no reason to make this
proclamation at this point unless the information in the proclamation
is pertinent to the ones being addressed. Furthermore, the
proclamation is perfectly consistent with what Jesus taught and what
the apostles taught, that the second coming would have Jesus coming in
the clouds visibly and with great glory.
Revelation
2:5
"Remember therefore from where
you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or
else I am coming to you, and will remove your lamp stand out of its
place - unless you repent."
This is not a reference to the second
coming, but to the VISITATION of Christ in discipline upon those
believers who will not change their minds about proper Christian
living.
Revelation
2:16
"Repent therefore; or else I
am coming to you quickly,
and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth."
This also refers to a VISITATION in
discipline rather than the second coming. Although the language is
similar to what we see at Revelation 19, this does not refer to the
arrival of Jesus at the battle of Armageddon, for the church will be
long gone via the rapture, when Jesus comes in the clouds of the sky
with power and great glory. The only thing that seems reasonable is
the visitation of judgment through discipline on believers who do not
change their minds (repent) about their disobedient life style.
Revelation
2:25
"Nevertheless what you have,
hold fast until I come."
In this case, it does seem to refer
to the second coming. And in fact, here and the next two references in
the letters to the churches, the second coming is in view. Throughout
the New Testament, we have several warnings and exhortations to remain
faithful UNTO the coming of the Lord, for such faithfulness will
provide great blessing through reward. Those who do not "hold
fast," are those who do not "abide in Him," and will
"shrink away in shame at His appearing" (1 John 2:28).
Revelation
3:3
"Remember therefore what you
have received and heard;
and keep it, and repent.
If therefore, you will not wake up, I will come like a thief,
and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you."
The verb for "come" here is
hāko, where erchomai occurs in each of the other passages. However,
there is no apparent reason for the change; both words mean the same
thing.
This could refer to the same idea
that we saw at Revelation 2:5 and 16.
But it is more likely that here we
look beyond temporal judgment through discipline to the possibility
that in the midst of erring from the truth, the Lord could come and
catch that believer off guard as is suggested at 1 John 2:28.
The language of "like a
thief" is used, and although that does not mean that it has to
refer to the second coming, each of the other four occurrences refer
to the second coming (1Thes. 5:2, 4; 2Pet. 3:10; Rev. 16:15).
This idea is supported based on 1
Thessalonians 5:1-8, where even though, the believer will not be
JUDGED at the Day of the Lord, he can still be caught off guard and
the arrival of Jesus be like a thief to him, if he does not WAKE UP
and walk in the light instead of in the darkness. But because of the
believer's security IN CHRIST, the arrival of Jesus unexpectedly will
not threaten their salvation, but bring shame and embarrassment as per
1 John 2:28.
Revelation
3:11
"I am coming quickly; hold
fast what you have,
in order that no one take your crown."
This refers to the possibility of
losing reward by failure to maintain consistent fellowship with God
and obedience while living here on earth.
See Topic: REWARDS
Since rewards are to be meted out
after the return of the Lord, our maintenance of Christian
faithfulness is an issue while we live here on earth in expectant
anticipation of the arrival of Jesus.
John reflects this same idea at 2
John 8, "Watch yourselves, that you might not lose what you have
accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward."
The possibility exists for the
believer to live an unfaithful Christian life and as a result lose all
or part of his reward for service. However, as Paul teaches us, this
has no effect on the status of one's salvation, for no matter how
minimal his reward may be, "yet he himself shall be saved"
(1 Cor. 3:15).
The word, "quickly," is
tachus, which means either in a RAPID manner, or SOON. The idea of
SOON in the apostolic writings always sees the coming of the Lord as a
possible event within the context of the required events that must
precede the rapture as per 2 Thessalonians 2:3; the revealing of the
man of lawlessness and the apostasy of the church.
Revelation
16:15
("Behold, I am coming like a
thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake
and keeps his garments, lest he walk about naked and men see his
shame.")
Right in the middle of describing the
troop movement for the battle of Armageddon, we find this exhortation
from Jesus, addressed, probably to the readers of the book of
Revelation as a reminder of personal accountability.
The phrase, "come like a
thief," occurs only 5 times and always refers to the return of
Jesus at the arrival of the Day of the Lord (1Thes. 5:2, 4; 2Pet. 3:10;
Rev. 3:3; Rev. 16:15). The use of this term originated based
on the parable Jesus taught at Matt. 24:43-44
"But be sure of this, that if
the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief
was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed
his house to be broken into. "For this reason you be ready too;
for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect
it."
Believers will thus, be reminded of
the urgency for testimonial consistency throughout their lives that
they might not "be ashamed, and shrink away from him in fear at
His presence," 1 John 2:28.
Unbelievers will once again be
reminded that if they are not spiritually prepared through salvation
relationship with God, they will be left behind at the rapture and the
men, if not killed by one plague or another, will very likely end up
as part of this troop movement into the Valley of Megiddo where they
will face the sword of Jesus.
At all times throughout history, God
has been faithful to provide the information people need to enter into
relationship with Himself. This time of great judgment from God is no
exception. The 144,000 "servants" of God are still present
on the earth representing the truth of God to all who will hear. The
message of these "servants" is found at Rev. 14:6-7 and is
called, "an everlasting gospel."
The quote from God at this point in
the scenario, indicates not only, God's concern for His own people,
that they be "prepared" through fellowship abiding with Him,
but that He is still concerned that all who are willing come and and
that all who "call upon the name of the Lord will be saved."
The
last three references to the second coming are all addressed to the
church and for the church. The primary focus in the book is
encouragement of believers to maintain consistent obedience to the
standards of God's righteousness. This is the message found in the
letters to the seven churches. That message is given within a context
of a possible return of Jesus within the lifetime of the believers
addressed.
At Revelation 22:7, we have a
blessing for heeding the message of the book.
"And behold, I am coming
quickly.
Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this
book."
The primary message of the book is
not the flow of future events, but the issue of PREPARING believers
for those events. Involved in that message is an evangelistic impact
in order to reach as many unbelievers as possible. This is seen
primarily in the last chapter at verses 10-19. The book itself is not
written TO unbelievers, but as the events of the tribulation and of
the Day of the Lord are communicated, the need for trusting in Christ
is clarified. And the final invitation is extended to all the world at
Revelation 22:17.
And the Spirit and the bride say,
"Come." And let the one who hears say, "come."
And let the one who is thirsty come;
let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
At
Revelation 22:12-15, the return of Jesus is seen from the perspective
of reward for works. This does not mean that only believers are in
view
"Behold, I am coming quickly,
and My reward is with me to render to every man according to what his
work is." This is different from being rewarded for Christian
service. This involves a SPECIFIC WORK that will determine the eternal
status of the person. Jesus taught that "This is the WORK of God,
that you believe in Him Whom He has sent" (John 6:29).
And the gospel is mentioned at verse
17 without getting specific. In fact, there is no clear gospel message
in the entire book, only hints and symbols. It thus requires the
believer to interpret the book and the evangelistic message of the
book to unbelievers, using the language that is established by Jesus
and the apostles as making the issues of faith in Christ perfectly
clear.
AT Revelation 22:20, the final
statement of His second coming is simply that, but then John ends with
the exclamation of strong agreement, "Amen," and the
expression of his desire that the Lord would come SOON.
"Yes, I am coming
quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
And thus, the final book of the Bible
concludes with the confident expectation of the church - that Jesus
would indeed come quickly.
The fact that He has delayed these
many years simply keeps us ever focused on His character and timing,
and on our purpose for remaining here on earth as Christ's
ambassadors. And in this final expression, John confirms very clearly,
in my thinking at least, that the ONE and ONLY second coming is what
has been in view throughout the book and indeed, in all the teachings
of the apostles.
