This will be the last time we will be gathered here in this auditorium.
I can never forget: many years ago, I spoke a word concerning the word finally in Scripture. We often think that finally means the end. But, in the original language, it means that all that has taken place in the past is summed up and brought forward into another, higher phase.
We hope the Lord will do so with us this morning.
We have been meditating upon the mysteries of Christ. God has entrusted us with His mysteries, and all that He requires of us is that we be found faithful.
If we desire to be faithful to the Lord, we have to understand what these mysteries are. Not only must we understand them; we also have to enter into them. Then we can become faithful to them.
During the past six days, we have prayed that the Lord would give us the spirit of revelation and wisdom. Without revelation, we cannot understand God’s mystery. We must ask the Father to give us the Spirit of revelation, that all God’s secrets may be revealed to us. Then we can understand God.
We also need the Holy Spirit to strengthen our inner man, so that our inner man may rise up and we may be constrained by the love of Christ. Then we desire to follow Him, whatever the cost. We will not count the cost, because His love constrains us. Then we shall be filled with His love.
This morning, we will meditate further upon the mystery of Christ. If we desire to understand the mystery of Christ, we have to begin with eternity.
In eternity past, Christ is the self-existent One. He is the only begotten of the Father. He is God’s Word, God’s purpose, and God’s delight. We are to see that all these things are in Christ. It is such a great Christ; therefore, we have to be worshippers before Him.
We also see Christ in creation. He is the Creator of all things. All things were created in Him, through Him, and unto Him. Since we have been created by Him, we have to acknowledge that we are His servants. We live on this earth to please His heart, and we desire to do His will.
The mystery of Christ did not begin two thousand years ago. From creation until the coming of Christ, God spoke through His prophets. The centre of prophecy is Christ, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
He is the seed of the woman, and He will crush the head of the serpent. He is the Son of Abraham. All the promises of God are centred upon Him. He is the beloved of God, and through Him all nations of the earth shall be blessed.
He is the Son of David. He will sit upon David’s throne, and His kingdom is without end. He is the morning star, the sceptre, and the One who rules the universe.
He is the One whom God has given to us. Even though He was born as a babe, He is the Son given to us. The government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, and Everlasting Father.
Through all these prophecies, we see the mystery of Christ. Therefore, we cannot help but believe Him.
We believers, from the beginning to the end, live by faith. We are not here to rely upon our feelings. We do not live by sight; we live by faith. Without faith, we cannot please God.
When we come to God, we must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Christ is not only the Christ of prophecy; He is also the Christ manifested in the flesh. Two thousand years ago, He came in the form of flesh and dwelt among us. We beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father.
Because the Lord was on this earth, He revealed the Father to us. Thus, we know what our God is like. He also gave us the Man that God intended man to be, so that we may see God’s original intention for man.
We can be united to Him as a new creation. The Lord Jesus, while on this earth, fulfilled the will of God. God willed that He should go to the cross, and on the cross He became our sacrifice.
His death is our death, that we may be delivered from the old creation. His burial is our burial, that we may no longer see ourselves. His resurrection is our resurrection.
We also see Christ’s ascension. Today, He is seated at the right hand of the Father until His enemies are made His footstool. The whole creation will be subjected under His feet.
He is before the Father as our High Priest. He lives forever, and He intercedes for those who approach the Father through Him. We praise God.
We have been purchased by His blood, and our sins have been forgiven. But He has also made us kings and priests. Because He is King, He desires us to reign in life. His kingly life is within us.
While we are on this earth, He trains us to be kings. He wants us to reign over all things. All things should not bring us under; rather, we should rise above all things. All things work together for good. That is how God educates us in this body.
We have another Lord, who is Lord and King in our lives. If we obey His authority, we shall learn to execute His authority. He is also our High Priest. Therefore, we can live the Christian life.
None of us can live the Christian life by ourselves. It is through prayer that we are preserved. The Holy Spirit works from within, carrying out the work of transformation until we are conformed to His image.
The ministry of the Lord Jesus in heaven is to bring us into the position of sonship, that we may become sons. He is bringing many sons to glory.
This is the last meeting, so I must put all these different things together. We want to meditate upon the second coming of Christ and the coming eternity.
Scripture tells us that the Lord will come again. His coming to this world has two aspects. The first time, He came to the earth about two thousand years ago. He will come a second time, and that coming is still future.
These things were prophesied in the Old Testament. Sometimes the prophets prophesied the coming of Messiah as a suffering Messiah; at other times, they prophesied a victorious Messiah. They spoke of His agony and also of His glory beyond description.
When the prophets spoke by the Spirit, they did not understand fully how the same Christ could suffer on the one hand and be glorious on the other. Therefore, the Jewish people were often confused.
They asked, “In our Scripture, Christ abides forever. Why do You say that You must die? Who are You?” They did not understand.
The Jewish tradition expected a glorious Messiah, but they did not believe that Messiah had to suffer.
In Acts 8, we read of the Ethiopian eunuch who came to Jerusalem to worship. On his way home, he was reading the book of Isaiah. The Spirit told Philip to join him.
Philip asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The eunuch replied, “How can I, except someone guide me?” Then he invited Philip to come up into the chariot.
He was reading Isaiah 53 and asked, “Of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself, or of some other?”
According to Jewish tradition, the suffering servant was understood as referring to the nation as a whole, because they did not believe that Messiah had to suffer. But praise God: through Isaiah 53, Philip introduced Christ to the eunuch. He believed Christ and went back to Ethiopia rejoicing.
We see that the coming of the Lord is in two stages. This was not clear to the Old Testament prophets. They wondered how He could be both the suffering Christ and the glorious Christ.
Between the two comings, there is a gap. In between is the mystery. Do you know what this mystery is? This mystery is the church.
The church is a mystery that has been hidden through the ages. Therefore, the prophets could not see that between the first coming of Christ and the second coming of Christ there would be a period of mystery.
We have received light from the Lord regarding the coming of Christ. His coming itself is a mystery. We know that He is coming. He told us that He would come back. There is no question about it.
Just as His first coming was real, His second coming is also real. But nobody knows when He is coming. Even the angels, with all their intelligence, do not know. Only the Father knows.
The time of His coming is in the Father’s hands. We often think of time as something mechanical, as though everything were fixed and preset: after twelve hundred years this thing will happen, and after thirteen hundred years that thing will happen. But God’s timing is not like that.
Our God is living; therefore, His timing is also living. When the fullness of time comes, the thing is full and the time comes. Nobody knows the day or the hour.
Yet, because nobody knows the time, it does not mean that we have no warnings. Scripture has given us many signs and warnings. The Bible indicates certain conditions under which He may come.
When you see these signs, you know that the Son of Man is near, even at the door.
In our Eastern culture, we have an advantage in understanding this expression. In the Western world, there is often only a front door. When the door opens, you are immediately in the house, perhaps in the living room.
But in Eastern culture, if you visit someone, you may first enter through a gate. Inside the gate there may be a courtyard, and then another door. If the family is wealthy, there may be many doors before you reach the residence.
Therefore, when the Lord says that the Son of Man is at the door, He may be at the outer door. He is not quite there yet; there may still be a few more doors. But we know that He is very close.
In the first century, the believers were waiting for the Lord to return during their lifetime. But the Lord did not come, and they fell asleep. From the second century until the nineteenth century, in every century, those who loved the Lord were waiting for His return.
They believed it was possible for the Lord to return during their lifetime. They were not wrong. God’s timing is living. If the fullness of time had come in their lifetime, then the Lord would have come.
Now, after so many centuries, we can see much more clearly. If the first-century saints were waiting for Him, then in our time His coming must be much, much closer. It is almost as though our Lord is pushing the door and is ready to come in.
How can we go to sleep? We have to be alert and watchful.
We long for His coming because, as far as this world is concerned, we are widows. Widows are oppressed by the world and have no trust in this world.
As far as the Lord is concerned, we are virgins. We are espoused to Christ as a pure virgin to one husband. The heart of a virgin is always longing to be joined to her husband. She is preparing herself for that day.
Inside us there should be a deep longing. Our hearts have already been touched by Him. Brothers and sisters, the Lord is coming soon. It is possible that in our lifetime we shall see His face.
Therefore, we have to wait earnestly. We have to prepare ourselves.
What is the relationship between the second coming of Christ and the church? At His first coming, He came as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world. When He comes the second time, He will come as the Lion of Judah and bring judgment to this world.
But as far as the church is concerned, He comes to receive us to Himself. His second coming is to bring us to Himself.
As I have been saying, He is the Bridegroom, and the church is the bride. He was looking for a bride, but there was no bride. Therefore, He had to die on the cross.
Blood and water flowed from His side. The blood was for the forgiveness of sins, and the water was to give us life. The Spirit uses the blood and the water to form the bride.
The first time the Lord came was for the sins of the world. He gave His life to those who believe in Him, and He desires to build His church. He wants this body to grow into maturity.
When this body has matured unto the stature of Christ, then He will return and receive her to Himself.
In English, we often use the word rapture. In Scripture, the thought is expressed by such phrases as “received up,” “taken up,” and “caught up.” The real meaning of these expressions is rapture.
For example, in Acts 1, when the Lord was on the Mount of Olives, He was received up. That receiving up was His rapture. In John 14, He said, “I will come again, and will receive you unto myself.” That receiving is also related to rapture.
In Matthew 24, at the day of His coming, there will be two in the field: one taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one taken and one left. Two will be sleeping: one taken and one left. This being taken also speaks of rapture.
Sometimes people ask, “Are there Scriptures still waiting to be fulfilled before our Lord comes? Must the Antichrist appear first?” They say that we are waiting for all these things to be fulfilled, and then He will come back.
I always answer this: if that is the case, you are waiting for Antichrist; you are not waiting for the real Christ.
It is true that there are prophecies that need to be fulfilled. But almost every prophecy that is required before the coming of Christ has been fulfilled. The Lord Jesus may come at any moment. At any moment, He can come and receive us to Himself.
There are still prophecies connected with His coming, but these concern matters immediately before His public manifestation. Let me explain a little.
In Acts 1, the two men in white clothing said, “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.”
How did our Lord go up to heaven? He went in two stages. The first stage was from the Mount of Olives to the air, and that was visible. The second stage was from the cloud to the throne of the Father, and that was invisible.
Therefore, in His return, He will come back in a similar manner. The coming of the Lord is described by the word parousia, which means presence. This word refers to a period of time, not merely to one moment or one event.
His coming begins with His return from the throne into the air. That phase is invisible. Scripture says that He comes as a thief. A thief comes when people are not expecting him, and he comes to take treasure.
The Lord uses this as an illustration. When He comes, He comes as a thief—not to steal garbage, but to seek treasure that truly belongs to Him. He is looking for treasure.
Therefore, when Scripture says that one is caught up and one is left behind, the one caught up is the valuable one. The one left behind has not met His requirement.
The number two is the number of testimony. The two in the field, the two grinding at the mill, and the two sleeping do not represent only two individuals. They represent all God’s people who are alive when the Lord comes.
Why are two women grinding at the mill? Because it is morning. Why are two in the field? Because it is daytime. Why are two sleeping? Because it is night.
It is not six different people. The world is round. In some countries it is early morning, in some countries it is noon, and in some countries it is night. At the same moment, one group will be taken and another group will be left. They are all God’s people.
Externally, they may appear almost the same. Some people say, “If I am asleep when He comes, what can I do?” Others say, “The Lord is coming, so we do not have to work.” There are people who have actually dressed in white robes and gone up into the mountains to wait for His coming.
Brothers and sisters, you may sleep in peace. You may still go to work. The Lord does not look merely at the outward appearance; He looks at the heart.
Who is prepared? Who is ready? The one whose heart has been touched by the Lord, the one who is prayerful and watchful, and the one who has already been detached from the bondage of this world—when the Lord comes, that one will rise up.
The Lord is coming soon, at any moment. When many people disappear from the earth, that will be the beginning of His coming.
There is a harvest. A small portion of the grain ripens earlier because it has received more sunshine. That is called the firstfruits.
The rest of the wheat is not yet ripe. It remains under the sunshine until it is ripe. Then there will be the full harvest.
If there are firstfruits, that is the guarantee of the entire harvest. God desires the entire harvest to be ready. We are all grains of His field, and He desires us to be ripe so that we may be received to Himself.