CHAPTER II.

 

HIS COMING EVER IMMINENT.

 

 

IN the first chapter we tried to show you that the coming of Jesus in the future is a certainty.  In this chapter we pass on to establish the fact that the coming of our Lord is ever imminent.

     Imminent means impending, threatening, near.  What we mean by the coming of the Lord being ever imminent is that Jesus is likely to come for His Bride at any moment.

     The doctrine of the post-millennialist is that the world will be brought to Christ through human agencies in the Gospel dis­pensation; that we shall have one thousand years of perfect peace, at the end of which time Jesus shall come and make an end to everything terrestrial.  At first thought this theory might seem plausible, but upon investigation we find it contrary to the Word of Truth.

     Let us examine the 24th chapter of Matthew, the 13th chap­ter of Mark, the 17th and 21st chapters of Luke.  These chap­ters treat of the second coming of the Lord.  What do we here find portrayed?  A thousand years of peace prior to the coming of Jesus and leading up to that event?  Nay, verily.  The pic­ture is a dark one.  “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.”  How were the days of Noah?  Let God answer.  “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”—Gen. 6: 5.  This does not sound like there was a thousand years of peace and righteousness immediately preceding the flood.  Our post‑millennial brethren tell us that there will be a thousand years of peace preceding the coming of our Lord; but God says, “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”—Matt. 24: 37.  “Likewise also as it was

 

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THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS.

 

 

in the days of Lot . . . even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” —Luke 17: 28-30.  How was it in the days of Lot?  Let God answer.  “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous.” —Gen. 18: 20.  “Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” —Jude 7.  “For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds.”  — 2 Peter 2: 8.  This does not sound as though we shall have a thousand years of peace before Jesus comes.

     “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” —Matt. 24: 14.   Some think that this text teaches that all the world will be converted before Jesus comes.  There is no such intimation in the text.  The gospel is now preached in many places, but in no place are all converted.

     “For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”  — 2 Thes. 2: 3,4.  Will “that man of sin” be revealed, destroyed, and then a thousand years of peace ushered in before the coming of Jesus?  Let God answer.  “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” —2 Thes. 2: 7,8.  In this text we are expressly told that the “man of sin” (the Antichrist) will continue until Jesus comes, and that Jesus will destroy the “man of sin” with the brightness of His coming.  How then can we say that a thousand years of peace will precede the coming of Jesus?

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HIS COMING EVER IMMINENT.

 

 

     The above few passages I have given in contradiction to the post-millennial doctrine.  As many others have written at length on this line, I refrain from going into details here.  I wish to devote my space to a phase of the subject that, so far as I have seen, has been largely neglected by others.

     In passing on to the next phase of the subject, I wish to say that the post-millennial theory is a poor encouragement to watchfulness.  Jesus certainly insisted that His people be ever watching for his coming.  If the Scriptures teach us anything about the coming of Jesus, they teach us that no one knows when the time is.  “For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be . . . . Watch, therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” — Matt. 24: 38-42.  “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.  Take ye heed, watch and pray:  for ye know not when the time is.” —Mark 13: 32, 33.  “Be ye therefore ready also; for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.” — Luke 12: 40.  From these Scriptures we should ever bear towards the coming of the Lord.  Anything that discourages watchfulness is contrary to the teachings and exhortations of Jesus Christ.  No one can be watching for the coming of Jesus and be a post-millennialist at the same time.

     Perhaps few with post-millennial views will read these pages; but there are many, even among the Pentecostal people, who put off the coming of Jesus.

     Some get tangled by trying to put between them and the coming of the Lord that which will not necessarily take place until the Bride have been caught away.  For instance we recite Matt. 24: 14, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and

 

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THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS.

 

 

then shall the end come.”  The coming of Jesus to catch away the saints is not “the end” of which Jesus here spoke.  In many places do we read of “the end of the world” (end of the age, in the Original); but nowhere does this expression re­fer to the coming of Jesus to catch away His Bride.  Revela­tion the 14th chapter certainly gives us a scene subsequent to the catching away of the Bride, and we read in the sixth verse, “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and peo­ple.”  “The end of the age” does not come until we reach the close of the 19th chapter of Revelation.  So you can see that the gospel will not necessarily have to be preached unto all nations before Jesus comes after His own.

     Another difficult passage is Matt. 24: 29‑31.  Many miss the meaning altogether.  There are several passages in both the Old Testament and the New Testament that speak of signs in the sky before the great terrible day of the Lord comes.  Many understand that these signs are to appear before the catching away of the Bridehood saints, but such is not accord­ing to the revelation of the Word.  Such signs may occur before the Bride are caught away; but the Bible does not teach it as a necessity.  “The great and terrible day of the Lord” has no reference to the coming of the Lord for His Bride; but it refers most directly to the battle of Armageddon, to be fought at the end of The Great Tribulation.  The signs are to appear in the sun and moon and sky before The Great Tribulation is over; but they are strictly tribulation scenes.  To place such signs before the catching away of the Bride is to misconstrue the Scriptures.

     If we would understand the facts taught in these verses mentioned, we must remember that neither of the Gospel writ­ers recorded the full discourses of our Lord. (John 21: 25).  They recorded only such portions of His discourses as are es­sential to get men to believe that Jesus is the Christ.  (John 20:

 

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HIS COMING EVER IMMINENT.

 

 

31).  To understand the Bible on any subject, we must compare Scripture with Scripture.  All the Old Testament prophets and New Testament writers refer to the revelation of Jesus; but the Book of Revelation is the only Book in the Bible that was given exclusively to set forth the facts of His coming.  The Book of Revelation is also the only Book that gives a discourse of our Lord in full. Therefore, if we would get a correct idea of the consecutive order of events relative to the second coming of Jesus, we must go to the Book of Revelation.

     It is evident that the 4th chapter of Revelation gives us a picture of the catching away of the Bride.  The events enume­rated in the 6th chapter of Revelation open The Great Tribu­lation.  In this chapter it is clear that certain phases of The Great Tribulation will precede the signs in the sun and moon and sky.  The said signs take place under the sixth seal; and these things are preceded by war, famine, death, and martyr­dom.  Jesus said that wars, famines, and pestilences are the beginning of sorrows.  Whether Jesus said anything between what is recorded in vs. 28 and what is recorded in vs. 29, we do not know.  Whether He did or did not, by comparing Scrip­ture with Scripture it becomes evident that “the tribulation of those days” refers to the wars, famines, etc., immediately con­nected with the catching away of the Bride.  So let us read: Immediately after the tribulation connected with those days in which the eagles are gathered about the carcase shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken.  In Rev. 6: 12‑14, we read of the very same event in these words: “The sun became black as sackcloth of hair. and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.  And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together.”  Moreover, all these signs come immediately after the tribulation immediately following the catching away of the Bride.

 

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THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS.

 

 

As to the meaning of the signs mentioned in vs. 29, I have not space to discuss at length.  In fact, the words need little explanation if we are ready to accept the plain, simple state­ment as it is.  When men try to turn the literal statements of the Bible into figurative language, they have to write volumes trying to explain that which any child can understand.  In the verses above quoted, I take “the sun” to mean the sun; “the moon” to mean the moon; “the stars” that shall fall to mean falling or shooting stars.  Taken as I have given it, the passage presents no difficulty: taken any other way, it presents many difficulties.

     “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven.”  Connected with the second coming of our Lord, there are two appearings: the first, before The Great Tribula­tion to catch away the Bride; and the second, at the end of the Age to set up His Millennial throne.  Nowhere in the Bible is the truth of His two appearings more distinctly mentioned than here.  His first appearing is secretly and as quick as lightning; His second, is openly and seemingly gradual. (Rev. 1: 7; 19: 11).  “Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn.”  Why? Because He cometh “to execute judgment upon all.”  (Jude 15; Rev. 19: 11‑21).  “They shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

     Connected with the second appearing of our Lord, there is the sounding of a trumpet, and the sending forth of angels to the four winds to gather His elect.  The year of Jubilee, which was a type of the Millennium, was announced with a trumpet (Lev. 25: 9).  So the blowing of the trumpet on the day of atonement to announce the opening of Jubilee was only typical of the blowing of the trumpet of the Lord at His second appear­ing to announce the beginning of His Millennial reign.  The Jubilee trumpet “proclaimed liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” (Lev. 25: 10).  Even so, the trumpet of Matt. 24: 31 will proclaim liberty from all laws of Antichrist and oppressions of the devil.  The Scriptures so

 

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HIS COMING EVER IMMINENT.

 

 

clearly teach that only a small number of the saints will escape The Great Tribulation. (Luke 21: 36).  Great multitudes will go up out of The Great Tribulation (Rev. 7: 14), but some saints will live on earth to see the last end of those days.  These few will be scattered throughout the whole world. (Rev. 12: 14; Luke 21: 24).  It is to gather together at Jerusalem those scattered ones that the angels are at this time sent forth.

     Another theory is that Jesus can never come back to this world until His prayer in John 17: 22, “That they may be one,” is visibly fulfilled to the letter; until all the Lord’s people join the same church and have all things in common as they did in Acts 4: 32.  This is a big theory without a thread of Scripture for its support.  There is an abundance of Scripture to teach that the Bridehood saints are all one, but not one passage in all the Word teaches that all of them are members of the same organization.  No Scripture teaches that all the saints will ever be “one,” neither in this world nor in the world to come.  “There are three‑score queens, and four‑score concubines, and virgins without number.  My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her.  The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.”—Song of Solomon 6: 8, 9.

     Some think that before Jesus comes for His Bride the church will reach all the experiences and practices of the early Apostles.  There is truth in this, but is must be stated with care, lest it be misunderstood.  Such a thing is a possibility, but not a necessity.  No doubt, God will have a class of people measuring up to the highest standard of New Testament Christianity before He comes for them; but no one will ever know just when certain ones have reached this standard, or just how many have reached it, until the day has arrived.  No one can prove but that all through this age God has had certain ones ready for His appearing.  Elijah, at one time, thought that he was the only person in the world who was serving God

 

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THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS.

 

 

aright, but God assured him differently.  Even so, the Lord may have many in the world today who are in His highest will.

     Others think that the Jews must all be gathered back to Palestine before Jesus can come. There are many prophecies which promise the restoration of Israel; but I have found no one that assures full restoration of the Jews before the coming of the Lord.  The parable of the fig tree in Matt. 24: 32, likely refers to the gathering back of the Jews.  However, it is not stated even there that the budding of “the fig tree” precedes the coming of Jesus for His Bride.  The putting forth of the leaves precedes the “summer,” and surely the “summer” represents, not a point of time, but a duration.  The coming of Jesus to catch away His Bride occupies, not a duration of time, but a point.  So no ground for putting off the coming of Jesus is found here.

     We are told in the Word that in the last days wickedness shall abound.  Even so, wickedness has abounded all through the centuries; and no one will be able to tell just when the Bible picture is filled out to the finish.

After close examination of the subject, I must say that I have been unable to discover that the Bible places a single event between Pentecost and the second coming of the Lord.  Many things are to take place between Pentecost and the millennial reign of Jesus—some of them are already past; but nowhere have I found it positively stated that any certain thing must take place before Jesus can come.  In other words, the Bible nowhere justifies us in putting off the coming of Jesus a single moment; but it exhorts us to be looking for Him at any instant.  There has not been a point of time since Jesus was glorified, but that there was a likelihood of His second coming.  It is an evil servant who ever says, even in his heart, “My Lord de­layeth his coming.”—Matt. 24: 48.

Paul, through inspiration, wrote many things about the second coming of Jesus; yet, he himself knew not the time.  He verily believed that Jesus would come again during his life

 

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HIS COMING EVER IMMINENT.

 

time.  “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.”—1 Thes. 4: 15.  Notice that he did not say they which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent us which are asleep.  That is the way he would have said it had he expected to be asleep himself.  If the Scriptures place anything between the day of Paul and the coming of Christ, Paul did not so under­stand it, for he expected Jesus to come during his life time.

There are certain prophecies, of course, which have been fulfilled during the passing centuries; but it is nowhere stated that any certain thing must take place between any certain event and the coming of Jesus for His Bride.

Before closing, I wish to say that the true attitude of the church of Christ towards His second coming is that of ever watchfulness.  When any church or individual fails to be on the alert for His coming at any moment, that church or indi­vidual fails to measure up to God’s highest will.

In closing, let me ask that our readers be not hasty in setting aside anything I have said; but that they await further develop­ment and Scriptural proof of the points taken.