When the Lord God, after Adam’s disobedience, called to him in the Garden, He speaks of the coming Seed of the woman who should bruise the serpent’s head. This, then, is the first mention of the coming of the Man Christ Jesus into this world — that Man who will carry out everything for God’s glory and suppress all lawlessness. Yet the church, for the most part, has lost the lively expectation of Christ’s coming and kingdom, when He shall judge the living and the dead. The church is saying, like the evil servant in the parable, “My Lord delayeth His coming.” In consequence, she has become mixed with the world, instead of being a light bearer.
The Distinct Periods
The coming of the Lord is one subject, yet marked by distinct periods. There was His coming when He was cut off and had nothing. His first coming was in humiliation; the second coming is divided into two halves. He breaks His journey (so to speak) in the air to take His own out of the scene on which the wrath of God will be poured out. What should be the effect of this on the character of our souls? The effect it had on the saints at Thessalonica made them the talk of all around, so that Paul had no need to say anything. We read, “Ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus” (1 Thess. 1:9-109For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; 10And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. (1 Thessalonians 1:9‑10)). We see the earnestness which marked them then. When converted, they turned to God and away from all they had been brought up in. If that is not true of a converted soul, it is because the gospel is not properly preached or because man’s mind takes the place of God’s Word.
The Work of Faith
In 1 Thessalonians 1:33Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; (1 Thessalonians 1:3), we find their “work of faith,” “labor of love” and “patience of hope.” If we turn to Revelation 2:22I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: (Revelation 2:2), where the Lord is seen walking among the candlesticks and He addresses the Ephesian assembly, we find “work” but no mention of faith, “labor” but not connected with love, and “patience” but not of hope. “Patience of hope” is the coming of the Lord. If all is not done with the motivating principle of love, from God and to God, it is not acceptable to Him. It is not much noise and running hither and thither, but that which is faithfully carried out in love to Him that He values — a burning desire for Christ continually dwelling in the heart, and Christ formed there.
Old Testament Prophecies
In the Old Testament, the Lord’s coming is looked at as a single event; the sufferings and the glory are connected together. For example, in Zechariah 9:99Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. (Zechariah 9:9) we read, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh unto thee; He is just and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass.” But in Matthew 21:55Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. (Matthew 21:5), where it is fulfilled, “having salvation” is left out, for He was the rejected One then. In Luke 4:2121And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. (Luke 4:21), when the Lord says, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears,” He leaves off in the middle of a sentence (Luke 4:1919To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:19)). There is already an interval of nearly 2000 years between the accomplishments of the two parts of that sentence.
In Deuteronomy 24:55When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business: but he shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken. (Deuteronomy 24:5), we read that a man who had taken a new wife “shall not go out to war. ... He shall be free at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken.” This shows us the place the church has in Christ’s heart. It sets before us the interval after the rapture and the delight of Christ in His church, for He does not come out as warrior in Revelation 19 till after the marriage of the Lamb. He is hidden and delighting in His church while the vials of wrath are being poured out. He is in the Father’s house in ecstasy of joy. Then when He does go out to war, we shall go with Him, to judge even angels. In Daniel 7, there are thrones, but no occupants. In Revelation 20, after the marriage of the Lamb, the occupants of those thrones have judgment given unto them. It well becomes the saints, who will occupy those thrones, that they should now have intelligence to put aside everything contrary to Him while we wait his coming.
R. E. C. (adapted)