THE SECOND
COMING OF CHRIST
T.P. Simmons
The second coming of Christ
has been the crowning expectation, the daystar, of the people of God since the promise
of His coming was communicated to them. It has cheered, strengthened, and
encouraged them in the darkest hours. Christ and the apostles
implanted in the hearts of early believers the fact of Christ's coming and its
immanency as a motive for godly living and faithful service.
We should let neither the
perversions of fanatics, nor the denials of critics, nor the controversy over
the details of the second coming of Christ drive us from a careful study of God's revelation concerning it, nor from a proper
appreciation of it.
I.
THE FACT OF CHRIST'S COMING
The Second Coming Of Christ
is-
1.
FORETOLD BY THE PROPHETS
Isa. 11:1-11; Zech. 14:3-5;
Jude 14. Many Old Testament prophecies, as is the case with Isa. 11:1-11, refer
to both His first and His second advent to the earth.
2.
ALLUDED TO BY JOHN THE BAPTIST
Luke 3:3-6. The language of
this passage is not fully applicable to the first advent of Christ. Like much
prophecy it has a double application. See Mal. 3:1 for a similar prophecy.
3.
PROMISED BY CHRIST HIMSELF
John 14:2,3.
4.
DECLARED BY ANGELS
Acts 1:11.
(1) Matthew. Matt. 24:37, 42,
44.
(2) Mark. Mark 13:26.
(3) Luke. Luke 21:27.
(5) James. Jas. 5:7.
(6) Peter. I Pet. 1:7,13.
(7) Paul. 1 Thess. 4:15-17.
(8) The Writer to the Hebrews.
9:28.
II.
THE NATURE OF CHRIST'S COMING
Having ascertained the fact of
Christ's coming, it is important to know the nature of it;
for, without a knowledge of the nature of His coming, a knowledge of the fact
of it is practically valueless. It is
needful, in studying the nature of Christ's coming, to consider negatively and
then positively.
1.
NEGATIVELY CONSIDERED
Christ's coming is not to be-
(1) Successive, as in Death.
The idea
that one's death is the second coming of Christ for him is the sheerest
nonsense in the light of God's Word. There is not that accompanying death that
answers to that which the Bible reveals as accompanying the second coming of
Christ.
(2) Continuous,
as in the Spread of Christianity.
Modernism would have it that
Christ will never return bodily to the earth, but that He is "coming as
fast as He can get into this world," in the spread of Christianity. Modernists hold that Jesus pictured His return
in the terms of the conceptions of the people, but that He
did not intend that His words be understood literally. Of course, such a notion
as this can be held only by those who deny the inspiration of the Bible. For that reason, we who believe in the
inspiration of the Bible need not note it seriously.
A. The Coming of the Holy
Spirit on Pentecost.
The coming of the Holy Spirit
on Pentecost was in no sense the coming of Christ. Christ
said He would send the Spirit.
B. The Destruction of
Jerusalem.
In the destruction of
Jerusalem, A. D. 70, we had a typical fulfillment of what is said in the Bible about the second coming of Christ, inasmuch as His
coming will be accompanied by another siege of Jerusalem. See Rev. 16:12-21;
19:17-21; Zech. 13:8-14:3. The destruction of Jerusalem was a type of this
latter siege. Then, in the destruction of Jerusalem, we had a spiritual
fulfillment of the promise of Christ's coming, in that this destruction struck
the final death-blow to Judaism, and marked the coming of
the kingdom of God with power. Up until the destruction of Jerusalem
Christianity seemed to many as a mere adjunct to Judaism. With the destruction
of Jerusalem Christianity came into its own.
We believe it is in the light
of these facts that we are to understand Jesus when He said:
"There be some standing here which shall not taste death, till they see
the Son of Man coming in His kingdom" (Matt. 16:28). See also Mark 9:1 and
Luke 9:27. The same is true, we believe, of the following words also:
"This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled"
(Matt. 24:34). See also Mark 13:30 and Luke 21:32.
But there was not in the
destruction of Jerusalem an actual coming of Christ. And the fact that after
the destruction of Jerusalem we have additional references to His coming as
future makes this indisputable.
The coming of Christ is to be-
(1) Bodily.
Acts 1:11. His ascension was
bodily, and the angel promised that His return should be in the same manner.
Other passages that show that Christ's coming is to be bodily are: Zech.
14:4,5; Matt. 25:31; John 14:3; Phil. 3:20; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; 2 Tim. 4:1; Titus
2:13; Heb. 9:28; Rev. 19: 11-21.
(2) Visible.
Matt. 24:27. All the passages
above imply the visibility of His coming. But the passage just given under this
latter head shows that His coming (in one of its phases) will
be strikingly visible to the whole world.
(3) As A Thief.
1 Thess. 5:1-4. This passage
describes His coming as it will be to the wicked, but specifies
that it is not to be such to the righteous.
(4) In Indescribable Glory and
Splendor.
Matt. 16:27; 24:29, 30; Mark
8:38; Titus 2:13; Rev. 19: 11-16.
(5) Twofold
The coming of Christ will consist
of two phases. Let us note them:
This phase will be-
(a) In the air. 1 Thess.
4:15-17. There is no hint here that He will come on the earth at
that time.
(b) For His people. John 14:3.
(c) As a bridegroom. Matt.
25:1-10. The marriage and the marriage supper (Rev. 19:9) are typical of the
consummated blessings of salvation. Saved people make up the bride (Rev.
21:2-27).
B. The Second Phase.
This phase will be-
(a) To the
earth. Zech. 14:4; Matt. 25:31.
(b) With His people. Zech.
14:5; Jude 14; Rev. 19:14.
(c) As a destroyer. 2 Thess.
1:7-9; 2:8.
(d) As a judge. Matt.
21:31-46.
(e) As a king to conquer and
to reign. Zech. 14:9; Rev. 19:11, 16; 20:1-5.
III. THE TIME OF CHRIST'S COMING
We do not refer here to the
date of His coming. The business of date-setting is the work of religious
charlatans. We have reference only to the relation of His coming to time.
The time of Christ's coming is
represented in the Scripture as-
1. Unknown to all except the
Father.
Mark 13:32; Matt. 25:13. Now
the Son, equal once again with the Father, may know the hour; but in His flesh,
when He regarded absolute equality with God not as a thing to be grasped (Phil.
2:6-R. V.), He did not know it.
Matt. 25:13. No signs have
been given that are explicit enough for any man to be assured that He will come
at any particular time.
By the coming of Christ being
imminent we mean that it is "threatening to occur at any moment."
Saved people are to be ever watching and looking for it (Matt. 25:13; Titus
2:13). It is represented in the Scripture as being the next dispensational
event. We will discuss this further in a later chapter.
4. When not Expected
Matt. 24:44,50; Luke 12:40,46.
5. A Time of Spiritual
Coldness, Sensuality, and Wickedness.
Luke 18:8; 17:26-30; Matt.
24:12; 11 Tim. 3:1-5. When Christ comes He will not find a converted world
where righteousness rules.
IV.
THE PURPOSE OF CHRIST'S COMING
The purpose of Christ's coming
will be twofold because it will have to do with two classes. We note that
purpose as it affects-
1.
THE RIGHTEOUS
As the coming of Christ
affects the righteous, it is for the purpose of-
1 Thess. 4:16. There is no hint
whatsoever that this resurrection will not include all the dead in Christ. We
have no patience with the notion that only the most faithful will share in this
resurrection. Every passage that speaks of it implies a total resurrection
of the righteous dead. See 1 Cor. 15:23; Rev. 20:5,6. Paul's words in Phil.
3:11 are similar to other utterances of his, and express his concern to prove
that he was truly in Christ. See 2 Pet. 1:10.
(2) The Translation of the
Living.
1 Cor. 15:51, 52; 1 Thess.
4:17. We believe also that this win include all believers on earth at the
appearance of Christ in the air. We have no patience with the "partial
rapture" theory. Those who believe in such are apt to reply that we who do
not believe in a partial rapture and partial resurrection of the saved destroy
the ground of Christ's accountability. We do not destroy
the scriptural ground of this; but, be that as it may, we are more concerned in
knowing what God has revealed than we are in making our own theories and
exploiting them. And those who teach a partial rapture and partial resurrection
of believers, lower the standard of Christian living far below the scriptural
level. God's Word teaches that all regenerated people overcome
(1 John 5:4), and the choicest blessings are promised to all overcomers.
We believe the glorified
bodies of the saints will be like the ascension body of our Lord (Phil. 3:21; 1
John 3:2). Jesus evidently ascended in a visible body, and the angels said He
would come back as He went. And when He comes back we are going to be like Him. The glorified body then will be a body visible
to physical eyes, just as Christ was visible after His resurrection. But that
body will be without sin and corruption.
(3) The Rapture of All
Believers.
1 Thess. 4:17. The translated
living and the resurrected dead will all be caught up to meet Christ in the
air.
(4) The Judgment of Believer's
Works.
1 Cor. 3:12-15; 2 Cor. 5:10; 2
Tim. 4:8. The believer's sins have been judged already in Christ John 5:24;
Rom. 8:1, 33.
Hence no mention of his sins
are to be made in the judgment. They are no longer charged
to him (Rom. 4:8), and are remembered no more (Heb. 8:12). The idea of some that believers will be
required in the judgment to tell why they did this or that and why they did not
do this or that dishonors the death of Christ and denies the Word of God. We
shall give an account to God, but this shall be done in our own hearts, without
one accusation or word of rebuke from Christ. There is nothing penal
about the judgment for the Christian. 2 Cor. 5:10 means no more than that we
shall receive reward for our faithfulness and suffer loss for our
unfaithfulness. Grace and penalty are mutually exclusive.
(5) The Marriage of Christ to
the Church.
Matt. 25:1-10; Rev. 19:7-9. At present the church is only espoused to
Christ as a chaste virgin (2 Cor. 11:2). The marriage will not take place until
Christ returns.
2.
THE WICKED.
As the coming of Christ
affects the wicked, it is for the purpose of-
(1) Slaying the Living and
Casting them into Hell.
Rev.
19:19-21; Zech. 14:3-12; Jer. 25:15-33; Isa. 24:17-21; 26:20, 21; 34:1, 2.
(2) Judging them Because of
the Way They Treat Israel.
Matt. 25:41-46; Joel 3:2.
Their attitude toward Israel will manifest their attitude toward
Christ through unbelief.
The salvation of those living
on earth at the revelation of Christ to reign on the earth (the second stage of
His coming) will have been manifested by their treatment of the Jewish heralds
of the cross during the great tribulation period. Of these things we shall see more presently. These will not be saved by treating
these brethren of Christ kindly, but they will thus betoken their attitude
toward Christ and hence their salvation.
(3) Finally raising the
dead and casting them into the lake Of
fire.
Rev. 20:12-15. This is to take
place, not immediately after the coming of Christ, but at the end of the little
season during which Satan will be loosed after the millennium.
The wicked
will have a resurrection body (Matt. 10:28), but of its nature we have little
upon which to base our opinion. It will be capable of suffering, but will be
indestructible. And it will not be righteous, as will the body of saved.