The text that is used more than any
other for funeral sermons is -"Watch, therefore; for ye know neither the
day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh." Matt. 25:13. The
context shows that this refers to a future coming of Christ. Christ
could not come to the earth every time a person dies for two reasons-
(1) A soul passes into eternity every
second, and this would necessitate Christ’s remaining continuously on
the earth.
(2) Christ is engaged in His High Priestly functions in the
Heavenlies, and could not leave them to come to the earth for the souls
of the dying.
The fact is, that at death the believer goes to Christ. Christ does
not come for him. Death is always spoken of as a departure.
“Absent from, the body, present (at home) with the Lord.”
II Cor. 5:6-8.
If Jesus had meant by His Second Coming "Death,” He would have
said to His Disciples – “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will
send ‘Death’ to bring you to myself,” but He did not. He said -
“I will come again and receive you unto
myself.” The last chapter of John’s Gospel settles the matter.
Peter said to Jesus – “Lord, and what shall this man (referring to John)
do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry
till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me. Then
went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple (John)
should not DIE.” John 21:21-23. We see from this that the Disciples
did not think that the “Coming of the Lord” meant “death.” There was a
great difference between these two things in their mind. Death is an
enemy (I Cor. 15:26, 55), it holds us in the grave, it robs the body of
its attractiveness. It is the “Wages of Sin” (Rom. 6:23), and the result
of God’s wrath. While the Second Coming of Christ is a manifestation of
His love. Christ is the "Prince of Life.” There can be no death where He
is. Death flees at His coming. When he was on earth nothing could remain
dead in His presence. His Coming is not death but resurrection. He is
the "Resurrection” and the "Life,” and when He Comes, He
will change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His
“Glorious Body.” Phil. 3:20, 21.
4. That the
“DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM” in A.D. 70 by the Romans Was the Second
Coming of the Lord.
The Lord was not
present at the destruction of Jerusalem. It was destroyed by Roman
soldiers, and none of the things that are to occur at the “Second
Coming” occurred at the destruction of Jerusalem, such as the
resurrection of the dead, the translation of living saints, and the
physical changes that are to occur at Jerusalem and in the land of
Palestine at Christ’s coming. Zech. 14:4-11. Ez. 47:1-12. Christ’s
purpose in coming back is not to destroy Jerusalem, but to
RESTORE it. It must be trodden down of the Gentiles until the “Times
of the Gentiles” are fulfilled, "then shall they see the Son of
Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Luke 21:24-28. The
book of Revelation, written 26 years after the destruction of
Jerusalem, speaks of the Second Coming of Christ as still future.
5. That the
“DIFFUSION OF CHRISTIANITY” is the Second Coming of the Lord.
This cannot be true,
for the “Diffusion of Christianity” is gradual, whereas the
Scriptures declare that the “Return of the Lord” shall be SUDDEN
and UNEXPECTED, as a “Thief in the Night.” Matt.24:27, 36, 42,
44. I Thess. 5:2. Rev. 3:3. Again the “Diffusion of Christianity” is a
process, while the Scriptures invariably speak of the “Return of
the Lord” as an EVENT. The diffusion of Christianity brings
Salvation to the wicked, whereas the “Return of the Lord” is said to
bring not salvation but SUDDEN DESTRUCTION. I. Thess. 5:2, 3; II
Thess. 1:7-10.
II. AS TO THE TIME
Of the exact time we cannot be certain.
When Jesus was on the earth He said – “But of that
day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in
heaven, neither (not yet) the Son, but the Father.” Mark 13:32.
After His Resurrection and before His Ascension, He refused to satisfy
the curiosity of His Disciples, saying to them –
“It is not for you to know the 'times’ or the 'seasons’
which the Father hath put in his own power.” Acts 1:7. Jesus knew
of Daniel’s prophecy of the “Seventy Weeks” (Dan. 9:20-27), but He fixed
no dates for their fulfillment. The student of prophecy is not to be a
“date-setter,” but he is to watch. “Signs” are for the Jew. There
is nothing to prevent Christ coming for His Church at any time.
While we do not know the day or the
hour of Christ's Coming we know that it will be
PRE-MILLENNIAL.
By Pre-Millennial we mean before the
Millennium. That is, before the period of a "Thousand Years”
spoken of in Rev. 20:1-6. This period is spoken of in other scriptures
as “The Kingdom,” and is described in flowing terms by the prophets as a
time when the earth shall be blessed with a universal rule of
righteousness. The passage in Rev. 20:1-6 simple tells us that the
length of the period shall be 1000 years.
The very structure of the New Testament demands that Christ shall
return before the Millennium. Here are a few reasons.
1. When Christ comes He will RAISE THE DEAD, but the Righteous
dead are to be raised BEFORE the Millennium, that they may reign
with Christ during the 1000 years, hence there can be no Millennium
before Christ comes. Rev. 20:5
2. When Christ comes He will SEPARATE THE “TARES” FROM THE
“WHEAT,” but as the Millennium is a period of UNIVERSAL
RIGHTEOUSNESS the separation of the “Tares” and “Wheat” must take
place BEFORE the Millennium, therefore there can be no Millennium
before Christ comes. Matt. 13:40-43.
3. When Christ comes Satan SHALL BE BOUND, but as Satan is to
be bound during the Millennium, there can be no Millennium until Christ
comes. Rev. 20:1-3.
4. When Christ comes Antichrist is to be DESTROYED, but as
Antichrist is to be destroyed before the Millennium there can be
no Millennium until Christ comes. II Thess. 2:8; Rev. 19:20.
5. When Christ comes the Jews are to be RESTORED TO THEIR OWN
LAND, but as they are to be restored to their own land BEFORE
the Millennium, there can be Millennium before Christ comes. Ez.
36:24-28; Rev. 1:7 (Zech. 12:10).
6. When Christ comes it will be unexpectedly, and we are
commanded to watch lest He take us unawares. Now if He is not
coming until AFTER the Millennium, and the Millennium is not yet here,
why command us to watch for an event that is over 1000
years off?
III. AS TO THE MANNER
He will return in the SAME MANNER
as He went. Acts 1:11. He went up BODILY and VISIBLY
and He shall come in like manner. He went in a cloud, and He will return
in a cloud. “Behold, He cometh with the 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. The only difference will
be that He went up alone, He will return as a King (Luke 19:12),
followed by a retinue of the angelic hosts. “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.” Matt. 16:27. His
“Return” however will be in
TWO STAGES
He will come first into the region of
our atmosphere, and the "dead in Christ,” and the "living
saints” shall be "caught up” to meet Him "IN THE AIR.”
Then after the risen and translated saints have been judged and rewarded
for their works, and they, as the Church, The Bride of Christ, have been
married to Him, He will come with them to the earth and land on
the Mount of Olives, the place from whence He ascended. “And His feet
shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, 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.” Zech. 14:4.
The First Stage of His return is called "THE RAPTURE;” the
Second Stage - "THE REVELATION.” The time between the two Stages
is not less than seven years, and is occupied in the heavens by the
"JUDGMENT OF BELIEVERS FOR WORKS,” and on the earth by "THE GREAT
TRIBULATION.”
Part 2 of 7