♫ ☼ The City of God ☼ ♫
From Arthur & Rosalind Eedle
www.oxleigh.freeserve.co.uk
You have come to
Chapter 17. Coming Soon
"Behold, I am coming soon." (Rev.22:7 & 12) "The Spirit and the Bride say 'Come!' and let him who hears say 'Come!'" (Rev.22:17)
The emphasis on the near return of the Lord in the last chapter of Revelation is very pronounced. One can hardly fail to miss the sense of excitement and anticipation expressed there. "And he said to me, 'These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent His angel to show His servants what must soon take place. And behold, I am coming soon!'" (Verses 6-7) "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense, to repay every one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." (Verses 12-13) He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming soon.' Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!" (Verse 20)
How then should we understand these words, seeing they were
written some 2,000 years ago? Are we to think along the lines of
Dispensationalists, who say that they were meaningful during the Acts period,
but gave way to a different set of circumstances thereafter? Some would
query that by saying that the Revelation was not written until near the end of
the first century, way after Acts 28. We could well ask about Abraham and other
patriarchs, who looked for a
The only safe way to approach a problem of this kind is to listen to the words of the Master, and place our finger on the pulse of His rhetoric, sensing what He was trying to convey to His listeners, because those who heard were mainly His own followers, and they would have been most anxious not to misinterpret His words.
First of all we must record the Lord's words in John 14:2-3. "I go to prepare a place for you, and I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." Here is the Master's promise, upon which hinge all other references to His return. Life would be very dull indeed, were we to be without the promise of Jesus' return, and the setting up of His Kingdom. This "waiting for our blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ," has been the mainstay of God's children through the ages. (Titus 2:13) So much for the fact, now what about the timing?
"Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only." (Matt.24:36) The disciples would have understood this in terms of their own lifetime, during which they expected their Master's return. The "day and hour" would then have had a limited application within the first century A.D. They would not have thought in their wildest imagination that 2,000 years could go by. But in fact those very words have been applicable throughout history, and are still applicable, and should prevent anyone from becoming a date-setter.
"As it was in the days of Noah . . ." (Matt.24:38) The Lord was speaking of the lack of readiness of people just before the Flood. It would be similar in the days prior to His return. "Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming." (Verse 42) "You must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." (Verse 44)
The same truth was conveyed in the parable of the ten virgins. They were all waiting for the Bridegroom, but when the cry went out "Behold the Bridegroom comes! Go out to meet Him!" (Matt.25:6) five were not ready for the event, and missed out. Our Lord's final words to this parable are the same as before, "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour." (Verse 13)
Or as the Lord conveyed a similar message on another occasion, "Let your loins be girded, and your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their Master to come home from the marriage feast, so that they may open to Him at once when He comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the Master finds awake when He comes. . . . You must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour." (Luke 12:35-40)
Paul echoed the Master's words and thoughts. "The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. . . . So then, let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober." (1 Thess.5:2-6)
The 16th chapter of Revelation concerns the outpouring of the final seven bowls of wrath. We read about the first six, and then there is a brief parenthesis when the Lord interjects a warning - "Lo, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is he who is awake, keeping his garments, that he may not go naked, and be seen exposed." (Rev.16:15) Then the seventh bowl is poured out, and there follows the cry from the Throne, "It is finished!" The whole sequence of God's works encapsulated within the visions of Revelation is now complete. God has concluded His work, He has gathered His "special treasure", and the Kingdom may begin. How pointed is the message - Watch! Wait! Pray! Be sober! Be ready! Be expecting! Such an attitude is carried alongside every day's ordinary lifestyle. We are not expected to stop everything and twiddle our thumbs in restive impatience. "Blessed is the faithful and wise servant, whom his Master when He comes will find so doing." (Matt.24:45) Doing what? "To give food to his household at the proper time." Ordinary everyday tasks, but at the back of the mind is that constant question, "How long O Lord is Your chariot in coming?"
When our children were small, we used to sing a little chorus, "Please come today, Lord Jesus, Please come today Lord Jesus. I have a little light and I'll always keep it bright. Please come today, dear Lord." This is the essence of "waiting and watching." Always in our thinking there must be the thought that today may be the day of His return. Am I ready? Am I like the Apostle Paul, and "all those who have loved His appearing"? (2 Tim.4:8) Do I have the urgency of John Newton, when he wrote,
Saviour, if of
Let the world deride or pity, I will glory in Thy name;
Fading is the worldling’s pleasure, all his boasted pomp and show;
Solid joys and lasting treasure none but
What therefore are we waiting for? Some magnificent aerial display as the Son of God appears in the clouds and every eye sees Him? I think not. I have explained why in my recent series on resurrection. No, I'll tell you what I'm waiting for, watching, eagerly expecting. I'm waiting to be changed, to have my new immortal body, not whisked away into the clouds, but right here, on earth, where I am now. This will be a dimensional change, not a physical change. And when this happens, I'll be able to "behold the most precious face ever known to man", to quote Jim Reeves' lovely song, "Across the Bridge." Yes, all those who are "alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord" will likewise be changed, and will behold His face, as the eyes of immortality are opened to the glorious heavenly country, a country that has been there all along in that higher dimensional realm, but shut to earthly eyes. They will have remembered David's words, "Let Your face shine upon Your servant," (Ps.31:16) and longed for His presence. This will be the greatest joy of all His saints, and will usher in the Millennial reign. Those on earth will wonder just what has happened as God's tiny "mustard seed" grows rapidly to fill the earth.
What if we die before this happens? Why this long wait of 2000 years? Then, as with all those who have previously "died in faith, not having received the promises" we will be transported in spirit to join other members of the "church of the firstborn enrolled in heaven". Where is this? In that heavenly country which is at present closed to our earthly eyes, in "Mount Zion, the City of the Living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem," (Heb.12:22-23) there to await the day when the Lord announces the completion of His Bride, and resurrection bodies are bestowed upon all His saints. Through the ages the Lord's words, Watch, Wait, Pray, have been the sure expectancy of all His own. "Christ in you, the HOPE of glory." (Col.1:27) The Lord intended it that way, not for His people to try working out some chronological scheme, but "setting their minds on the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." (Col.3:1-2)
Dear friends, as we come to the end of this series, we find that we have been greatly moved by studying these last two chapters of Revelation in more detail, with all the multitude of amazing facts concerning the City of God, and have enjoyed sharing this with you. We do not claim absolute knowledge and understanding, but have presented our findings as they speak to us. God looks upon our hearts, and not the breadth of our mental knowledge, and we are thankful for that. When He comes to make up His jewels, none of us will be worried any longer whether we have the "correct theology." We shall be so absorbed in the glorious presence of our Saviour and Lord, that all problems and disagreements will be left behind. "Now I know in part, then I shall understand fully even as I have been fully understood." (ICor.13:12) What a Saviour we have! May His name be lifted up in praise and adoration. Jesus, name above all others. Amen
Marvellous
message we bring; Glorious carol we sing,
Wonderful word of the King: Jesus is coming again!
Coming
again, coming again!
May be morning, may be
May be evening and may be soon!
Coming again, coming again!
O what a wonderful day it will be-
Jesus is coming again!
All earth and heaven proclaim: Jesus is coming again!
Standing before Him at last, Trial and
trouble all past,
Crowns at His feet we will cast. Jesus is coming again!
(Song by John Peterson)
This chapter concludes the
series on the City of God