And while they were looking stedfastly into heaven as He went, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
who also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven?
This Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld Him going into heaven.
Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord;
and that He may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, even Jesus:
whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, whereof God spake by the mouth of His holy prophets that have been from of old.
Now from the fig tree learn her parable: when her branch is now become tender, and putteth forth its leaves, ye know that the summer is nigh;
even so ye also, when ye see all these things, know ye that He is nigh, even at the doors.
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished.
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.
But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only.
And as were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man.
For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark,
and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man.
Then shall two men be in the field; one is taken, and one is left:
two women shall be grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left.
Watch therefore: for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh.
But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through.
Therefore be ye also ready; for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Dear Lord, we do thank Thee for such love towards us, that Thou didst come into this world as the Lamb of God, slain for the sins of the world. We do thank Thee that Thou lovest us so much, that Thou dost promise us Thou wilt return to receive Thine own unto Thyself, that we may be united with Thee for eternity.
O Lord, why dost Thou love us so much? We worship Thee, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
We have been focusing on the life of Christ Jesus. Our faith is centered upon a Person—not upon any teaching, any doctrine, any form, or any ritual—but our faith is centered upon the Person of our Lord Jesus: to know Him, and to know the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, that we may arrive at the out-resurrection from among the dead.
So, to know the Lord Jesus is life. Our whole Christian life is a living relationship with the Person of our Lord Jesus. That is the reason why we feel it is so important that we know Him. That is our passion, our purpose of life.
We have been considering the life of Christ from His incarnation up to His ascension. Now, this morning, we would like to share together on the return of Christ.
If Christ should come only once—that is, if He came two thousand years ago, came upon this earth, and accomplished the work of redemption—but if He will not come the second time to this earth, do you know that His work is still unfinished?
When our Lord Jesus died on the cross, He said, “It is finished.” So far as the work of redemption is concerned, it is finished. But we find in Acts 3 that Peter said heaven will receive Him until the times of the restoring of all things.
In other words, in His first coming, He laid the foundation for the restoring of all things. And this will go on and be finished at His second coming. So, brothers and sisters, our Lord will come again. This is the blessed hope of the church. We are here waiting for the return of the Lord.
Now, in the Bible we find that there are two comings of the Lord to this earth. Two thousand years ago, He came as the Lamb of God. Though He was born King, yet He came in incognito. He was born in a manger. He was reared in Nazareth, a hilly country.
Even when He was thirty and began to preach, He was rejected. He lived His whole life in humility, and finally He was crucified on the cross as the Lamb of God. He shed His blood for the remission of our sins. He gave His body to us, to be our life, to be our food. That was His first coming.
But the Bible also tells us that He will come again. And when He comes again, He will come as the Lion of Judah. He will come to judge the world. He will come to claim the earth. He will come to establish His kingdom upon this earth.
So it is very clear that there will be two comings of our Lord Jesus, not just one coming.
But as you read the Old Testament, you will find that the Old Testament prophets prophesied about the Messiah. When you read their prophecies, you will find that they describe the Messiah, on the one hand, as a glorious, reigning Messiah; and yet, on the other hand, they also describe Him as a lowly, suffering Messiah.
Now, to the Jews, this was a puzzle. How could the same Messiah be, on the one hand, a glorious, reigning One, and yet at the same time a humble, suffering One?
As a matter of fact, even the prophets, when they prophesied about the two aspects of the Messiah, had no knowledge that the Messiah would come twice, not just once, upon this earth. Why? Because in between the two comings of the Lord there is a mystery.
We find Paul, in Ephesians 3, saying there is a mystery, a mystery hidden throughout the generations. That mystery had not been made known until now to the apostles and prophets. So, brothers and sisters, today, as we look back, we know that in between the two comings of the Lord there is the church period.
The church is the mystery that has been hidden throughout the centuries, for other ages. But thank God, it has been revealed.
The Old Testament is full of prophecies concerning the coming of the Lord. Now, brothers and sisters, you remember Peter in 2 Peter 1, when he talked about the power and the coming of the Lord Jesus.
He said he was a personal witness. Of course, he referred to the scene on the Mount of Transfiguration, because on the Mount of Transfiguration he saw Christ come in glory into His kingdom. It is a preview of the kingdom to come. So Peter could testify that he was a personal witness to the coming of the Lord.
But, he said, there is the prophetic word made more sure. In other words, the prophetic word in the Old Testament is as a lamp that shines in darkness, and we are exhorted to pay attention to these prophetic words until the morning star arises in our hearts.
So, brothers and sisters, it is very important that we pay attention to the prophetic words in the Old Testament. There are so many; we are not able to cover them this morning. It will take months, it may take years, to cover the prophecies in the Old Testament.
But just let it be known that these prophetic words are very important, and we need to take heed to these words. We need to study them, to understand them, until the morning star—that is, our Lord Jesus—even before His appearing, may appear in our hearts as the morning star, so that we may be awake, waiting, and prepared for His return.
Just to take one or two illustrations: for instance, Numbers 24. Numbers 24 contains the prophecies of Balaam, the Gentile prophet. In one of his prophecies, in Numbers 24:17, he said:
I see Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not nigh:
There shall come forth a star out of Jacob,
And a sceptre shall rise out of Israel,
And shall smite through the corners of Moab,
And break down all the sons of tumult.
Balaam prophesied during the time of the Exodus of the children of Israel, before they entered into the promised land. In his prophecy he said, “I shall see Him, but not now. I shall behold Him, but not nigh.” You know, there is One coming in the future, and this One is the star out of Jacob.
Now, brothers and sisters, I believe when we mention the star, immediately we remember when our Lord Jesus was born. There was a star that appeared, and the wise men in the East saw it. They knew that a King was born. It is the star out of Jacob.
But then Balaam continued to say, “A sceptre shall arise out of Israel.” We saw the star, but we have not seen the sceptre yet. When Balaam prophesied, the star and the sceptre came together. But today we know the star refers to the first coming of Christ, and the sceptre refers to His second coming.
For then He shall smite the corners of Moab and destroy all the sons of tumult. He will come with kingly power and authority, bringing judgment into this world.
Take another example: Isaiah 9, verses 6 and 7.
For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given;
And the government shall be upon His shoulder:
And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and of peace there shall be no end,
Upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom,
To establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from henceforth even for ever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Now we know, “Unto us a Child is born”—that was two thousand years ago. “A Son is given.” The Child who is born is the Son who is given, the Son of God. And the government shall be upon His shoulder. He will sit upon the throne of David, His father, and He will rule with righteousness and with judgment.
Now, brothers and sisters, again, when Isaiah was prophesying, he put all these together because, to him, he had no idea that there would be two comings. To him, it was just one coming. But today we know that the One who was born is the One upon whose shoulder the government is, and He will come one day to sit upon the throne of David, His father.
So far as the New Testament is concerned, we are told that out of every thirty verses in the New Testament, there is one verse that deals with the rapture of the church and the coming of Christ to His kingdom.
When our Lord Jesus was on earth, He talked about His coming again. Especially, you remember, on the Mount of Olives—the so-called Olivet Discourse—He told them that He was coming. “As the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man.”
Before the council, He testified that they would see the Son of man coming in glory with the angels.
And of course, we find on the day of His ascension, when the disciples were looking up, seeing that He went up, and they were still looking up, a cloud took Him away. They could not see Him, but they were still gazing towards heaven. Then two men in white appeared.
Now, we do not know who these two men are. There are different interpretations. Well, personally, it says two men, not two angels. Now, who are these two men? Well, I will leave it with you to guess. I think I had better not say anything.
Anyway, you find two men appearing in white, and saying, “Men of Galilee, why are you looking up? This Jesus, who is taken up into heaven, He shall come back in the same manner.”
Since that time, you remember, the apostles and the church throughout the ages have been preaching and waiting for the coming back of the Lord Jesus. In every generation, those who love the Lord wait for His coming. And now we come to the end of the twentieth century, and we are also waiting for His coming back.
The Lord Jesus said no one knows the time, the season, the hour. The angels do not know. Well, the angels are more intelligent than we human beings; they do not know. Now, if they do not know, why do human beings always try to figure it out? Because we are not as intelligent as the angels, and they do not know.
Even while the Lord was on earth as the Son of man, He said He did not know. Only the Father knows. Only the Father knows the time of the return of the Lord.
And yet the Lord said, “When you see these things coming to pass, you know it is near, at the doors.” You know, we do not know when our Lord Jesus will return. Throughout the centuries, the church has waited for His return, but we do not know when He will come back.
And yet He does give us some clues, some signs. He said, “When you see these things coming to pass, you know it is near.” How near? At the doors.
Now remember, when you read the Bible, you need to be very careful. It does not say “at the door”; it says “at the doors.” Now, you have to live in the Orient to understand this.
In this country, if a person is at the door, well, you open the door and there he is in the house. But not in the Orient. In the Orient, you find that when a person is at the doors, that is, at the outer gate of the courtyard.
If it is a very wealthy family, perhaps a royal family, you may have to pass several courts before you arrive at the residence. So this is the figure before us: at the doors. Maybe at the front gate or the first courtyard, or maybe the second courtyard. But there are some doors to cross before you really come to the residence.
But anyway, if He is at the doors, He is near enough. He cannot be miles away. He is near enough. Furthermore, by seeing these things, you know it is near at the doors.
Now, there are many signs, many clues, in the Bible. We will mention just a few.
First, the moral condition of the world at the coming of Christ. The Lord Jesus says, “As in the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man.”
What are the characteristics of the days of Noah? If you go back to Genesis 4 through Genesis 6, you will find that the characteristics of the days of Noah were, on the one hand, that civilization advanced very rapidly.
And yet, at the same time, with the advance of civilization, you find there was an explosion of population. When there was an increase of population, you find also wickedness, corruption, and violence.
Men became fleshly, carnal, and even spiritualistic—spiritism—because the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men. One interpretation is that the sons of God refer to the angels, because in the book of Job, when the sons of God are mentioned, they refer to the angels.
So on that basis, we believe that the sons of God referred to angels. Some angels did not keep their place. Angels do not marry, and yet they did not keep their place. They came down and mingled with men, and the result were giants upon the earth—hybrids. This was an abomination in the sight of God.
Now, these things happened during the days of Noah. The imagination of man’s mind was all evil and wickedness. Now, does it sound very much like our time?
But strangely, you find when the Lord said, “As the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man,” He does not emphasize these things. He emphasizes one thing: in the days of Noah, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.
What is wrong with eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage? These are legitimate things. These are things of life. But, brothers and sisters, when people are obsessed with eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage—in other words, when people are fully occupied with the pursuit of so-called happiness—when they make these things the very purpose of their life on earth, then something is very wrong.
It is the will of God for us to eat and to drink. He Himself prepared food and water for us. It is the will of God for man to be married. It is not good for man to be alone. And yet, brothers and sisters, these are not the purpose of life.
When you make these things the very purpose of your life, when you are obsessed by these things, you neglect your soul. You neglect your spiritual life. And in doing so, when the flood came, you were unaware and were taken away.
So, brothers and sisters, the days of Noah are the days when the world makes the pursuit of pleasure and happiness the very meaning of life. And that is the days of Noah. Are we also in such days?
Together with it, we find in Luke 17:28-30, He says, “As in the days of Lot.” Now, what are the days of Lot? You go back to Genesis 19, and there you find Lot living in Sodom.
Sodom and Gomorrah at that time were wicked to such an extent that God finally destroyed them with fire and brimstone from heaven. What is the specific sin of Sodom? We have the word sodomy. It is homosexuality, that the world is full of today. This is the sin of Sodom, the days of Lot.
Again, you find, strangely, the Lord emphasizes otherwise. He said, “In the days of Lot, they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded.” In other words, again, you find these are very natural things. We eat, we drink, we buy, we sell, we plant, we build. These are the normal things of life.
But why did the Lord say these are the days of Lot? Then you remember that word: “Remember Lot’s wife.” In other words, here the Lord is trying to draw our attention to one thing, and that is, in the days of Lot, people pursued after the world and the things of this world.
Love not the world, nor the things of the world, because if you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you. Brothers and sisters, we live on this earth. We can enjoy everything that the Lord has given to us. It is not the mind of God that we should be a monk or a nun.
Now, unfortunately, many monks and nuns do not live like monks or nuns. You find the world in greater degree in a monastery and a nunnery than even in the world. But anyway, you find that God gives us all these things to enjoy. God wants us to enjoy them.
But, brothers and sisters, if we make the world the very goal of our life, if we seek after it, love it, and let it occupy us completely, forgetting to love God, something is wrong. These are the days of Lot.
So the moral condition of the world—the sign—is the pursuit of pleasure and the love of the world to the extent of neglecting spiritual welfare.
Brothers and sisters, I believe, as we live at the end of the twentieth century, how closely we are living in the days of Noah and in the days of Lot.
Now, so far as the geopolitical situation of the world is concerned, what is the sign? You find in Daniel 2 the huge image—that is, the image of the kingdoms of this world.
In the final stage, you come to the two feet and the ten toes. Then you find the little horn coming in, destroying three, and becoming the leader of it. We do not have time to enter into this Daniel image, but just say this: in the final stage of the geopolitical situation in this world, there will be a polarizing of the nations of the world.
Out of it will come a confederacy headed by the beast, the Antichrist, and he will rule this earth. When this happens, then a stone not taken out by hands will come and hit the image. The image will disappear, and the stone will grow and fill the earth. That is the entrance of the kingdom of our God and of Christ.
Now, what are the signs concerning the church? Well, in Revelation 3, from verse 14 onward, it is the church in Laodicea.
Now, brothers and sisters, we know that the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 refer prophetically to the history of the church on earth throughout the generations. When you come to the end of the church period, it will be like the situation of the Laodicean church.
What are the special features of the Laodicean church? Number one, you find that it is the church of Laodicea, and the very word Laodicea means the opinions of men—the opinions of men.
Now, the church is the body of Christ. If there is any opinion, it has to be the opinion of the Head, Christ. The church does not have its own opinion. The church’s opinion is the opinion of the Head, Christ. He is the Head of the church.
And yet, you find when the church comes to its last stage, instead of holding fast the Head, Christ, it becomes a democracy. It becomes the opinion of the many. The majority rules—the opinion of man instead of the mind of Christ. That is the condition of the church in the last age.
The Laodiceans are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. They are advised to buy gold refined by fire. Can you remember gold refined by fire? According to 1 Peter, it is faith—living faith.
In other words, you find in Laodicea they have all the true so-called doctrines and dogmas. They hold on to the creed, but there is no living faith. They do not have that living faith. So no wonder they are lukewarm. There is no fire burning within their hearts.
Yet they boast. They boast of their riches. They say they do not lack anything. They have everything. They have all the dogmas, all these creeds, all these things, and yet they are all naked. In other words, they do not have righteousness.
O God, they do not have Christ as their righteousness. They do not have the righteousnesses of the saints—that is, Christ formed in their lives. They are naked before God, and they are poor.
Brothers and sisters, there will be not only heresies, but there will be apostasies. As you read in 2 Thessalonians 2, you find that before the son of perdition, the man of sin, appears, there will be a general falling away—that is, a general apostasy among the people of God.
Brothers and sisters, so far as the church condition is concerned, we are already in that period.
So far as another sign is concerned, the Lord Jesus said, “When you see the fig tree begin to bud, begin to grow leaves, you know the summer is near.”
Now, shortly before this, you remember our Lord Jesus, one day in His last week in Jerusalem, saw a fig tree. He was hungry. It was full of leaves, so He went there to try to find some fruit. But there was no fruit.
You remember our Lord Jesus cursed that fig tree, and it dried up immediately. The fig tree represents the nation of Israel. God had planted them. Christ came and worked on them for three years, three and a half years, and yet it only had leaves and no fruit for God.
So the nation of Israel entered into the curse. God set them aside. The people of Israel were scattered all over this world—no land, no government. The children of Israel were scattered all over this world.
But the Lord said, “When you see the fig tree begin to grow and put forth leaves, you know the summer is near.” Brothers and sisters, the restoration of the nation of Israel is a miracle.
No politician, no statesman, no historian could foresee the restoration of the nation of Israel. But on May 14, 1948, Israel revived as a nation on this earth.
Then again, you find in the Six-Day War, in June 1967, Jerusalem was taken by Israel, and for the first time Jerusalem came under the rule of Israel.
We know that after A.D. 70 Jerusalem was destroyed and the people were scattered. Since that time, only in A.D. 135, for a short period, was Jerusalem controlled by Israel. But aside from that, it was under the control of the Gentiles.
But the Lord said, “When the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled, then Jerusalem will return to Israel.” And in 1967 it happened. So we wonder whether that is the end of the times of the Gentiles.
But we know it is only a political restoration, not a full restoration. But anyway, by seeing all these signs, brothers and sisters, it is clear that the coming of the Lord is very near—at the doors.
Now, the question is: when He comes, how will He come?
I am afraid the reason why we are so confused about His second coming, and how He shall come, is because we do not pay close attention to the Word of God.
For instance, in Acts 1, the two men in white said, “He who is taken up to heaven, He shall come back in the same manner.” Now, do pay attention to “the same manner,” likewise, in the same way.
Now, how did He go up? You remember our Lord Jesus gathered His disciples to the Mount of Olives. As He was talking to them, you find He began to be taken up. He left the Mount of Olives, and He went up. They saw Him going up.
Then, after a while, a cloud came and took Him away. They could not see Him anymore, but we know He was still going up. So they were still gazing and gazing. Then the two men in white said, “Why do you gaze? He will come back in the same way.”
So how did He go? First, from Mount Olivet to the cloud: visible. Then, from the cloud to the throne of God: invisible. But we know He arrived there; there are many proofs. We already mentioned that before.
So, in coming back, He will come in like manner—that is, just reverse the order. In other words, His coming will first be from the throne to the air, invisible; and from the air to Mount Olivet, visible.
You know, the word “coming” in the Bible has different Greek words, but there is one word used here: the coming. “As the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man.” The word is Parousia, and the word Parousia means presence.
Today He is absent, but one day He will be present. Now, how does He present Himself with us? Those who know Greek tell us that Parousia does not refer to a one-time event. Parousia refers to a period of time covering a series of events.
So, in other words, from the throne to the air, and from the air to the earth, it is Parousia. It begins from the throne, it ends on Mount Olivet, and it covers a series of events.
You remember our Lord Jesus used two illustrations. He says He will come like a thief. You know, when a thief comes, does he blow the trumpet and say, “I am coming”? Does he tell you when he is coming? Certainly not.
He comes almost invisibly. When the thief comes, does he come into your house to steal your garbage? Not at all. He seems to know where your treasure box is. He will get your jewelry, take the best.
And when the thief comes, most people do not know he has come. He comes and goes. Only a few who are really watching know. Now, the Bible says if you know when the thief is coming, you would watch and would not let him break through. But only a few will know he has come.
That is one illustration. The Lord uses another illustration when He says, at the end people will say, “Christ is here; Christ is there.” Do not believe it. Some say Christ is in the wilderness; some say Christ is in the inner chamber. Do not believe it.
Why? Because His coming is like lightning that shines from the east to the west. Everybody sees it. That is lightning—everybody sees it. It is just different from the thief.
So the thief period is the hidden period, the invisible period, from the throne to the air. The lightning period is from the air to the earth.
When will Parousia begin? How is it started? The Lord says, “Then two shall be in bed; one is taken, and one is left. Two women grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left. Two working in the field; one is taken, and one is left.” What is that?
Brothers and sisters, two is the number of witnesses. Here the two refers to the believers, to the Christians, who are still living at the time of Parousia.
Many have passed through the generations, through the centuries. Many saints have passed on. They are the ten virgins. They went to sleep because the Bridegroom delayed His coming. But there are two still living, and two is the number of the church. The two still living refer to us who are still living.
Brothers and sisters, the two are exactly the same. You do not see their difference. They are both sleeping. Do not be afraid to go to sleep tonight. You need sleep; go to bed.
Do not think that because the Lord is coming, therefore you will not do anything. You are just waiting for His coming. No, grind the meal. Do your duties. Go to the field and work.
And yet, the Lord knows where the treasure is. Outwardly, you find believers all the same. They are doing the same thing. Life goes on as usual. But the Lord knows who is prepared, waiting for Him, and who is not. The Lord knows the heart.
Do not be deceived by our good appearance. The Lord knows the heart. And the one who is a treasure, a peculiar treasure to Him, will be taken, will be taken as He was taken.
You go to Revelation 12, and you find a woman in travail. This speaks of the church in the last stage. Out of that woman comes a man-child. That man-child, as soon as he is born, is taken right up to the throne.
Brothers and sisters, that man-child represents those who will be raptured to start, as it were, the Parousia of the Lord. They will go up to the throne to bring the One who sits on the throne to come back upon this earth.
May the Lord have mercy on us. Brothers and sisters, these are the firstfruits, and then there will be the harvest to follow.
But anyway, you find that the first stage is triggered, as it were, when one day, suddenly, all over this earth, some Christians disappear.
Why are some sleeping, some grinding, and some working in the field? Because you sleep in the night, you grind the meal in the morning, and you work in the daytime, at noon, in the field. The earth is round. So in some places it is night; in other places it is dawn; in some other places it is noon.
But from the whole earth, you will find some who are ready for the Lord, prepared for the Lord. They will be raptured to the throne to welcome the King of kings, the Lord of lords, to lead Him back in triumph and glory.
Brothers and sisters, in view of the return of the Lord—and it is so imminent, it can happen any moment—all the prophecies that need to be fulfilled before Parousia have been fulfilled. There are many waiting to be fulfilled, but that is after Parousia, or during Parousia.
So, brothers and sisters, we know that His return is very, very imminent. Very close. It can happen today. Who knows? What should be our attitude?
The Scripture uses a few words to describe what the Lord wants us to be. One word is: watch. He says, “Watch.”
Watch means you are on the alert. You are not sleeping. You are not ignorant of what is going on, what is happening. You are watching. You are noticing.
And when you see anything, any change, you turn it into prayer. Watch and pray, that you will not allow the love of pleasure, the things of this life, so to occupy your heart that, when the Lord shall come, you are not ready to go.
Pray that you may be delivered. Pray that He will come soon, very soon. Pray.
Then wait. Wait. Wait for His coming.
Do not say, “The Lord will delay His return,” as the wicked servant did. So he began to beat his fellow servants and be drunk with the drunkards. Now, when the Lord shall come in a day that he knows not of, then the Lord will come and cut him in two, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites.
Brothers and sisters, we need to watch. We need to pray. We need to wait—wait patiently, wait with expectancy.
Just like the farmers: after they plant, they wait. They wait for the harvest. Let us wait. Wait with hope, the blessed hope—the coming of the glory of the Lord into His kingdom. Let us wait.
Let us be ready, prepared. How do we ready ourselves? Like the wise virgins: aside from the oil in the torch, they have oil in the vessel.
In other words, we need to be filled with the Spirit of God—not filled with the things of this world, but filled with the Spirit of God. Be ready for Him.
Be ready in such a way that we may hasten His return. Second Peter 3:12: hastening His return. You know, why is it the Lord has not come back yet? It is not because He is not ready or He is not anxious. It is because we are not ready.
Brothers and sisters, if we ready ourselves for Him—that is to say, to be like Him, allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, the cross to work in our lives, until Christ is formed in us—then the Lord will come and claim us as His bride, His life, His counterpart.
You know, it is because the church is not ready that He delays His return.
Let us, by the grace of God, be those who watch and pray, wait and prepare, and even hasten His return.
Dear Lord, how we praise and thank Thee that Thou dost love the church so much, that Thou dost long to come back and claim her as Thy bride.
Lord, we pray that we may be those who have the mind of Christ. We may be those who watch and pray, wait and prepare. We may be those who are used by Thee to hasten Thy return.
May the cry of the Spirit and the bride be, “Come, Lord Jesus. Come quickly.” Be Thy precious day, we pray. Amen.