turn in their day? Not at all! Language everywhere in the New Testament relating to our Lord’s glorious return is that of imminency. He could have come at any time during the past 1900 years. In other words, there is noth ing standing in the way of His coming or presence to catch away His Bride, the Church. Much remains unful filled before He can come in His revelation. To distinguish between the two aspects of His coming is vital to a clear conception of the body of apocalyptic Scriptures. HOW WILL HE COME? Some would tell us that Christ returned and all the prophecies concerning His second advent were fulfilled during the first Christian generation. Some name the de struction of Jerusalem, the coming of the Holy Spirit, or some other historical event. Even today some would have us believe that the salvation of the sinner constitutes the return of Christ; or the death of the saint. If language can be so twisted as to mean almost anything, then language ceases to function as a medium of dependable communi cation. If Christ is not returning to this earth in a physi cal body, then may we inquire why was He raised in a physical body? What purpose will a physical body serve in heaven other than the guarantee of firstfruits of them that slept and a guarantee of His return to a physical earth? Answer in your own mind the question as to why He bore a physical body into heaven. Is the answer not plausible? He is going to use this body again when He returns to this earth — the same body that ate fish and honeycomb in the upper room and evidenced His death by the nail prints in his hands and feet. Christ must come literally to Israel. “ Behold, he com- eth with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” “ Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord.” (Zechariah 2:10). This will be the second aspect of His return. Our Lord Jesus Christ must come back to this earth to vindi cate His own name. The last time the world gazed upon Him was when He hung upon a Roman cross or when it saw the tomb closed and sealed by Roman authorities: The world saw Christ last in what appeared to be utter defeat. This was the world’s verdict, but this is not the last act. There is another scene coming up. During the days of His humiliation, His glory was veiled. When He comes again, His glory will be manifest to all. Justice and God’s glory demand it. WHEN WILL HE COME? We readily say we do not know. We only hope it will be soon. It may not be long. Would God that His coming were today. We thoroughly agree with what the Scripture has to say on this subject. “ The day and hour knoweth no man.” All through the New Testament His coming is spoken of in language of imminency. It can happen at any moment. Honestly, we do not see how it can be long. No doctrine is so invigorating or vitalizing; no doctrine is so calculated to produce holiness and separation as a love for His appearing and a daily looking for His return. Suppose it should happen as we read these lines, would it not be wonderful? Just to see Jesus in His open glory and to be caught up with Him in the assembled cloud of the resurrected dead! Could any thought be more enthralling, elevating, stimulating or glorifying? In this day of ma terialism and absorption in things below so characteristic of the days before the flood and the days of Lot, we need to keep alive in the hearts of God’s children the Christian heritage, the “ Blessed Hope.” To be straight here is a fair promise that one will be straight and Scriptural in other matters.
Isaiah and the second Psalm found literal fulfillment. With what logic can we interpret the Scriptures concern ing His first coming as literal and interpret the Scriptures concerning His second coming as indefinite, nebular, and spiritual? Let us take one passage found in the first chap ter of the gospel of Luke as an example. “ And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” (Luke 1:31-33) Lets take for example verse 31. “And, behold, thou shalt con ceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.” This was literally fulfilled when Jesus came the first time. Next, “ He shall be great . . .” This was fulfilled when He came the first time. “ . . . and shall be called the Son of the Highest.” This too found fulfill ment, literal fulfillment in the most minute detail. Now listen to this: “ . . . and the Lord shall give unto him the throne of his father David.” This is yet to be fulfilled. “ . . . and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” .This is yet to be fulfilled. Frankly, are we to apply a double method of interpretation, are we to say the first part . . and shall be called the Son of the Highest:” is lit eral, and then turn and spiritualize the latter part of verse 32, claiming that the verse does not mean exactly what it says, rather that Jesus shall have a throne in heaven? We might remind ourselves that David never had a throne in heaven, has not yet ascended into heaven, but is now in paradise (Acts 2:34). If we do not have a criterion of interpretation based upon the fulfillment of Old Testa ment prophecies as recorded in the New; if we do not stand upon solid ground here, while reading what has already transpired, we must find ourselves upon a tem pestuous sea, without chart or compass, or helm while reading about what is to come. The predominance of prophecy in the Old Testament relating to the second coining of Christ is some twenty times that of prophecies relating to His first coming. Cer tainly this is not without signficance. The second coming of Christ, the Jewish Messiah, is the overtone of the Old Testament prophet’s message. It is the divine event toward which all Israel’s history moves. The strong hope in every Israelitish breast of the coming day of vindication and deliverance made the daily trials and tribulations bear able. Human language could not be plainer than that which is found in the first chapter of Acts. “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.” Note “ This same Jesus . . .” “ . . . in likS manner . . .” What could be more specific or clear? Again, “ . . . as ye have seen him go into heaven.” If language means anything, then it must mean that the heavenly messengers would impress upon the minds of those with upturned faces that the return of Christ and the promise of His second advent would be no phantom, no nebulous spiritual return, but actual, a corporeal, bodily, personal return. Out of this experience all that follows in Acts, and the Epistles nat urally grows. Christian radiancy is based and must ever be based upon these same two actuating principles, the resurrection of Christ and a vitalizing expectancy of His literal return. Every honest Christian must admit that the early church looked for the return of Christ in its day and gen eration. How could it do otherwise, since it believed that the Gospels, the Acts, and the Epistles were themselves inspired documents, authenticated by experience? Were they mistaken, as some suppose in expecting Christ’s re
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