Will you please turn to 2 Peter 3:12—just the first part: “Waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God.”
Then, Acts 1:9-11:
And when He had said these things, as they were looking, He was taken up;
and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
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.
And then the Gospel according to Luke, Luke 21:36:
But watch ye at every season, making supplication,
that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass,
and to stand before the Son of man.
Finally, Revelation 22:20:
He who testifieth these things saith, Yea: I come quickly. Amen: come, Lord Jesus.
May we have a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, as we gather together this morning in Thy precious and glorious name, we are assured that Thy presence is here with us. We do realize, Lord, that we are standing on holy ground. We do remove our shoes, standing before Thee as Thy bondservants, looking to Thee and listening to our Master’s voice.
Speak, for Thy servants hear. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, we do thank the Lord for gathering us together in this most critical moment. We do feel that it is His grace and mercy that He should privilege us, even at this later hour, to have the opportunity—perhaps the last—to be prepared for our Lord’s imminent return.
It is the prayer of our hearts that this matter of waiting for and hastening the return of our Lord is not just a theme that we consider together. Our prayer is that this may be a reality and an effect in each and every one who is redeemed of the Lord.
This morning, we would like to consider together, dear brothers and sisters, the prospect of His second coming.
We all realize that, in the fullness of time, God sent His Son into this world, born of a woman, born under the law, that He might deliver us from the bondage of law and that we might receive sonship. How we praise and thank Him. How we appreciate what He has done for us over two thousand years ago.
He came. The Word became flesh and tabernacled among men, full of grace and truth.
In His first coming into this wicked, corrupted world, He came first of all to declare His Father. In John 1:18, we are told:
No man hath seen God at any time;
the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father,
He hath declared Him.
Thank God, He came to declare His Father—to show us who God really is: how He is full of compassion, full of love, willing to forgive, and willing to save.
He came into this world to proclaim the gospel to the needy, to the poor, and to the meek. We are told in Isaiah 61 how God anointed Him to proclaim the gospel to the meek, to free the prisoners, and to declare the day of jubilee.
This was literally fulfilled at the coming of our Lord Jesus into this world. When He began His ministry in Nazareth, He went into the synagogue. According to the custom of that day, He was given the scroll of Isaiah. He opened it and found the place in Isaiah 61, and He read how He was anointed from above, how He came to proclaim the gospel to the poor, to set the prisoners free, and to announce the day of jubilee—the day of liberation.
But thank God, He did not finish the sentence. He stopped at the announcement of jubilee, without going into the day of judgment, the day of vengeance. He folded up the scroll and said, “This is fulfilled today.”
How we praise and thank Thee that we have the gospel. He came to save the lost. He came to set us free, that we might be redeemed.
And then He went to the cross. He was crucified in our stead. He who knew no sin was made sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God.
Dear brothers and sisters, when we review what our Lord Jesus accomplished for us at His first coming, how we owe our very life, our everything, to Him. We are grateful. We thank Him because on Calvary’s cross He bore our sins in His body.
How He suffered—not only from the hands of men and from the attack of darkness, but even in those last hours He was forsaken by the Father for our sake. Before He died, He shouted, “It is finished.”
Dear brothers and sisters, how sweet is this sound: “It is finished.” That which He was commissioned by His Father to do in His first coming was all fulfilled. It is done.
And this is proven by His being raised from the dead and taken up to heaven. He is now seated with His Father on that throne above. He is seated because the work is done.
Brothers and sisters, so far as the work of our redemption is concerned, so far as our Lord Jesus in His first coming into this world is concerned, He has done everything. All is finished. We are the recipients of His finished work. There is no more condemnation. We are redeemed. We have become the children of God. Praise God—He has done it.
So the question is, brothers and sisters: since it is finished, since during His first coming He did everything that needed to be done and fulfilled it, why should He come again?
Have we ever thought of this question? Why should our Lord Jesus, who finished His mission at His first coming, return the second time? Why?
The only answer lies in this matter of God’s eternal purpose. Brothers and sisters, even before the foundation of the world, even before time was, in that eternal past, God the Father had a purpose.
He purposed in Himself. He purposed according to His good pleasure—that which pleases Him. Everything He did, is doing, or will do is according to that purpose. What is that purpose?
In other words, even before the foundation of the world, God purposed a purpose, and throughout time He has been working out that purpose. He has never deviated from it. He is working toward it until it is done.
So the important thing, brothers and sisters, is for us to understand that purpose. If we do not understand God’s eternal purpose, which governs all His doings, we will never be able to really know God, to know His heart, and we will never be able to cooperate with Him.
We find this in Ephesians 1:9-11:
Making known unto us the mystery of His will,
according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Him
unto a dispensation of the fulness of the times,
to sum up all things in Christ,
the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in Him, I say,
in whom also we were made a heritage,
having been foreordained according to the purpose of Him
who worketh all things after the counsel of His will.
Even before time was, God had a purpose in His heart, and that purpose concerns His beloved Son. Our God has a beloved Son. His whole love is centered upon that Son, and He loves His Son so much that He wants to give to His Son everything.
In that purpose, He wants His Son to sum up all things—the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth. He wants to gather together everything in heaven and earth, everything that you can think of, that His Son may head up and sum up all things.
In other words, everything will declare the glory of His Son. Everything will be yielded and subjected to His beloved Son. It is according to that eternal purpose that He began to create.
Brothers and sisters, have we seen today all things under the feet of our Lord Jesus? True, He has ascended on high and is seated at the right hand of His Father, but there He is waiting until everything is subjected unto Him.
So, brothers and sisters, there is something that is not yet finished. Even though in His first coming He did finish everything that He was sent by His Father to do, and He laid the foundation of everything, so far as the fulfilment of God’s eternal purpose is concerned, something is still waiting.
In the eternal purpose of God, man is involved, because God created man in His own image and according to His own likeness. We may wonder why, of all creation, angels included, only man was created in the image of God and according to His likeness.
This is because He wants man to be His Son’s bride. Man was meant to be His Son’s life companion. He knows His Son wants to share all that the Father has given Him with somebody. That is the heart of the Son—the heart of love. So He created man according to that purpose.
But, dear brothers and sisters, look at the situation of man. When He came the first time, according to the Gospel of John, He came as a Bridegroom looking for His bride. John the Baptist was the friend of the Bridegroom, preparing His way. But when our Lord Jesus came looking for His bride, what did He find?
If we read the Gospels, it is as if all He met were people who were sick, deaf, lame, crippled, paralyzed, leprous, dying, and dead. How could man, in that condition, be the bride of God’s beloved Son, who is holy, righteous, pure, glorious, and full of love?
Brothers and sisters, we may wonder why, in the Gospels, when our Lord was on earth, everywhere He went He found those who were poor, sick, weak, and dying. That is man’s condition. That is why He came: to save the lost, to rescue, to make us suitable to Him, to transform us and conform us to His own image, that He might have us as His bride.
If we read Ephesians 5, we find that the Bible tells us how He loved the church and gave Himself for her; how He washes her with the water of the Word and seeks to make her without spot, without wrinkle, or any such thing—holy and blameless—that she may be fit to be His bride. That is the purpose of God.
Brothers and sisters, has that been fulfilled? True, our Lord Jesus has come, died on the cross, and borne our sins. We are redeemed, we are saved, and we have eternal life. But where are we today? Have we been transformed? Have we taken on the image of our beloved Lord, or are we still in our old self, the Adamic life?
Brothers and sisters, something has to be done. Something has to be realized before God’s purpose concerning the church can be fulfilled.
Look at the world today. Is the world getting better? No, it is getting worse. We find sin, violence, and lawlessness everywhere.
According to Colossians 1:20, we find:
And through Him to reconcile all things unto Himself,
having made peace through the blood of His cross;
through Him, I say, whether things upon the earth, or things in the heavens.
In other words, our Lord Jesus, on the cross, by the blood of His cross, has reconciled all things unto Himself. The word “Himself,” if you read the antecedent, refers to His fullness.
One day, all creation—all things in heaven and on earth—will be reconciled and restored. We are entering into the fullness of Christ. That is to say, everything will manifest Christ. All the animals will manifest Christ. All the birds will manifest Christ, singing His praises.
Brothers and sisters, has that happened yet? It is true that He has reconciled by the blood of His cross. The foundation was already laid, but the work is not finished yet. God is still working toward that purpose.
Think of Israel, the chosen people of God. God made a covenant with them through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
If we read Isaiah 2:1-4:
The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
And it shall come to pass in the latter days,
that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains,
and shall be exalted above the hills;
and all nations shall flow unto it.
And many peoples shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths:
for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
And He will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
Now, brothers and sisters, is the covenant of God with His chosen people fulfilled today?
If we turn to Romans 11:25-27:
For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant of this mystery,
lest ye be wise in your own conceits,
that a hardening in part hath befallen Israel,
until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in;
and so all Israel shall be saved:
even as it is written,
There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer;
He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
and this is My covenant unto them,
when I shall take away their sins.
Now, brothers and sisters, has all Israel been saved yet? Something is still waiting to be finished.
Now look at Satan and his evil powers. What has happened to them? Our Lord Jesus said in John 12 that when He was lifted up, Satan, the god of this world, would be cast out. In Colossians 2, we are told that He despoiled the principalities and powers, made a show of them openly, and triumphed over them by the cross.
In other words, when Christ died on the cross, He not only forgave our sins and reconciled the world, but He also cast out Satan. Instead of being the god of this world, he has been cast out, and all his evil powers have been taken captive. God has already made a public show of them by the cross.
But, brothers and sisters, if you look at the world today, in that unseen world you find Satan still very actively working. His forces seem to be dominating the world. What has happened? He is making his last struggle.
The day is coming when he shall be cast into the lake of fire. But something is still being done.
Now, in view of all these things in the eternal purpose of God, we can see very clearly that even though in the first coming of our Lord Jesus He indeed finished the work He was sent to do, He only laid the foundation. So far as the fulfilment of God’s eternal purpose is concerned, something more has to be done.
And, brothers and sisters, that is the reason why we find in the Word of God that the coming of our Lord Jesus has two stages. Two thousand years ago, in the fullness of time, He came to lay the foundation. Then again, in the fullness of time, He will come to sum up all things, things in the heavens and things upon the earth, in Himself.
His coming again is a must.
When the Jewish people read the Old Testament, the Pharisees and rabbis were very familiar with it. We feel ashamed, because when King Herod asked them where the Saviour, the Messiah, would be born, they immediately answered, without consulting a concordance, that He would be born in Bethlehem. That is recorded in the minor prophets.
But one thing puzzled them. When they read Isaiah 53, they found One who bore our griefs and carried our iniquities, One who was crushed even by God, One who would suffer so intensely and so fully. Yet He was supposed to be the Messiah.
The Pharisees and scribes could not believe it. They could not understand why their Messiah, for whom they were waiting, must be a suffering Messiah. It was beyond their understanding. They would not believe it, so they tried other ways to explain it. Would it be Israel, or would it be something else? But they would not recognize that this was a prophecy concerning their Messiah.
What they rejoiced in was not Isaiah 53, but Isaiah 63. In Isaiah 63, we read of the conquering Messiah:
Who is this that cometh from Edom,
with dyed garments from Bozrah?
This that is glorious in His apparel,
marching in the greatness of His strength?
I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.
Wherefore art Thou red in Thine apparel,
and Thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat?
I have trodden the winepress alone;
and of the peoples there was no man with Me:
yea, I trod them in Mine anger,
and trampled them in My wrath;
and their lifeblood is sprinkled upon My garments,
and I have stained all My raiment.
For the day of vengeance was in My heart,
and the year of My redeemed is come.
To the Jews at that time, they believed in a conquering Messiah—a Messiah who would come and redeem them, a Messiah who would come and make them the first of the nations. How do you reconcile these two sides of the same Messiah?
Again, you read Psalm 22, and there you find David speaking of One who would suffer so much. It was suffering unknown at that time, because crucifixion was invented by the Roman Empire. Yet there is a prophecy of One who would suffer, and the suffering described there cannot fit any kind of suffering but crucifixion.
But at the same time, in Psalm 2, you find the conquering King:
Why do the nations rage,
and the peoples meditate a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord, and against His anointed.
He that sitteth in the heavens will laugh:
the Lord will have them in derision.
Yet I have set My king
upon My holy hill of Zion.
I will tell of the decree:
the Lord said unto Me, Thou art My Son;
this day have I begotten Thee.
Ask of Me, and I will give Thee the nations for Thine inheritance,
and the uttermost parts of the earth for Thy possession.
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron;
Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
So, even in the book of Psalms, you find these two sides. In Psalm 2 you have the conquering King, but in Psalm 22 you have the suffering Messiah. In the Old Testament there are many prophecies concerning not only the first coming of our Lord Jesus, but also His second coming.
When our Lord Jesus was on earth, He liked to speak parables. This was because of the unbelief of man. But thank God, to those who believe, He opens up His parables and shows us the depths of His secret.
We are familiar with the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. The master called his servants and gave them talents according to their ability: some five, some two, and some one. Then the master went away.
When he returned, his servants came to him and gave account. The one with five talents earned five more, the one with two earned two more, but the one with one buried his talent. Even in that parable, the Lord was showing us that He would be going away, and during the time of His absence, those who are His servants are to be diligently involved with His business.
The same thing is found in the parable of the minas in Luke 19. The master was leaving for a long time, and he gave his possessions to ten servants, every one a mina. But after a long time he returned, and they all came and gave their account.
So, brothers and sisters, in the parables you find a number of indications that He will come again. His coming again is very, very important, because that will be the conclusion of everything.
Then we remember the Olivet Discourse. Before He died, one day He and His disciples were coming out of Jerusalem after they had visited the temple. On the way out, His disciples showed the Lord how beautiful and glorious that temple was. But our Lord Jesus said quietly, “The day will come when not one stone will be left upon another stone.”
When the disciples heard that, I think they were shocked, because to the Jews the temple was eternal. It was the dwelling place of God. How could it be destroyed, utterly destroyed, with not one stone upon another stone? That was unbelievable, but they dared not say anything.
After our Lord Jesus took them to the Mount of Olives and sat down, four of His closest disciples came quietly and asked Him when these things would be. In Matthew 24-25, He gave the Olivet Discourse, and during that time He told them about His coming—His parousia.
“As were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man.” The word “coming” there is parousia. In Greek, parousia means “presence.”
At that time, He knew He would soon be absent. He would be leaving His disciples and returning to His Father, but He promised that He would come again. “As were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man.” “As it was in the days of Lot, so shall be the coming of the Son of man.”
Parousia means presence, and the word “presence” indicates a period of time including a series of events. Parousia is not merely one event; it is not something that happens at one moment. It covers a period of time, and it includes a series of events. Parousia has a beginning, and parousia has an end.
Dear brothers and sisters, this is the reason why people today are so confused when we speak of the second coming of our Lord Jesus. In earlier centuries, hymn writers would write that one day the trumpet would sound, there would be a shout and the voice of angels, and our Lord Jesus would come with myriads of angels in glory.
This is the day for which we are waiting. But, brothers and sisters, to speak very frankly, that is a little bit too late. Does that shock you? No, because parousia is a period of time. It includes a number of events.
Remember in Acts 1. Our Lord Jesus was with His disciples on the Mount of Olives. There they saw our Lord Jesus taken up. All the eyes of the Galileans were looking up, looking up, seeing Him gradually ascend. Then a cloud came. He was taken up in a cloud, and they could not see Him anymore. But they were still looking up.
Acts tells us that two men in white appeared and said, “Ye men of Galilee, why are ye looking up? Do you not know that the One who was taken up will come back in like manner?”
In other words, when our Lord Jesus was taken up, He was taken up in two stages. The first stage was from the Mount of Olives to the cloud—visible. The second stage was from the cloud to the throne—invisible.
How do we know that He arrived at the throne? Those who do not believe may say, like the sons of the prophets said concerning Elijah, “Maybe God took Him and cast Him into some mountain.” Brothers and sisters, no. He arrived at the throne. How do we know? Where is the proof? It is twofold.
First, the Holy Spirit came down on the Day of Pentecost. How did it happen? Because when our Lord Jesus was taken up to the Father, the Bible tells us that He was anointed to be Lord and Christ.
It is as if the oil fell upon the head of Aaron and came down, covering the whole body. Brothers and sisters, when our Lord Jesus ascended to the throne, the Father poured the Holy Spirit upon Him and anointed Him as the Head of all things. Then, on the Day of Pentecost, that oil flowed down to the body, and it is still flowing down to every member of the body of Christ. Thank God for that. That is the proof.
Second, if you read Revelation 5, you find the Lamb, newly slain, standing before the throne. He took the scroll from God’s hand and opened the seals to reclaim the world to Himself and to bring all things under His feet. So we know that He has arrived.
Brothers and sisters, do you wonder why we find two signs of His coming? In Matthew 24:27, our Lord Jesus told His disciples that when people say, “Christ is here,” do not believe it. For when He comes, He will come as lightning that shines from the east to the west. Everybody will see it.
This is the fulfilment of what He said: He will come with His myriads of angels in glory, and He will come to judge the world. He will come as lightning. Everybody will see it.
But in the same chapter, in verse 37, He says that He comes like a thief. Two may be sleeping, two may be grinding the meal, and two may be working in the field. One is taken, and one is left. Watch, for you do not know when the thief will come.
If you watch, then you know. Brothers and sisters, may I ask you: does a thief, before he comes, blow the trumpet and say, “I am coming”? Strangely, the thief seems always to know when you are not watching. He will come and steal away—not your garbage, but your treasure.
So, brothers and sisters, you find that parousia has a beginning and an end. At the beginning, He will come like a thief—suddenly.
All over the world, because the world is round, some will be at midnight and sleepy; some will be early in the morning, grinding the meal; and some will be at noontime, working in the field. The two represent the saints who are living at the time of the coming of the Lord.
Throughout the centuries, even in the first century, brothers and sisters, those who loved the Lord waited for His coming. During the first and second centuries, when Christians were under persecution, they greeted and encouraged each other by saying, “The Lord is coming.” But He did not come.
Every century, every generation, those who loved the Lord waited for His coming. He could have come in the first century. He could come in the twentieth century. He could come at any time. If the fullness of time has come, if His bride is ready, the Bridegroom will come.
Dear brothers and sisters, we are living at this critical time. It is the most dangerous time—almost midnight. It is difficult to stay awake, but He is coming.
One day—may it be today—suddenly, by the grace of God, here we all disappear, taken to the throne. That is Revelation 12, the man-child.
Brothers and sisters, the dragon, the enemy, today does not care about so-called Christianity. What he really cares about is whether the man-child is going to be born. He wants to swallow that man-child, because that man-child marks the beginning of his end.
Thank God, when the man-child is born, immediately he is taken to the throne. This is what we are really concerned with, brothers and sisters. Are we waiting for and hastening the coming of the Lord?
That is why we are here. We are not here seeking for glory or for rewards. No. We are seeking to be the ones who prepare His coming.
As in the days of His first coming, you found Zacharias and Elisabeth, an old couple. You found Joseph and Mary. You found Simeon and Anna. Here and there, only a few—but they were waiting for the Messiah.
Oh, may we be among those people. What should we do?
In 1 Thessalonians 1:10, these Thessalonian believers turned away from their idols. They believed in the Lord Jesus, and they awaited His coming.
Has He not delivered us from idol worship? Anything that rivals the Son is an idol. Has He not saved us and redeemed us for Himself? Are we waiting for His coming?
Oh, may we watch like a pure virgin watching for her beloved. Oh, may we watch. Or are we so occupied with all things, with many things in this world, and our hearts enticed?
Just as Luke 21:36 says, “Watch and pray,” that we may be delivered from all these things and stand before the presence of our beloved Lord.
Dear brothers and sisters, the pressing question is this: are we privileged to be the people, the welcoming party, as it were, for the coming of the Lord? Must we be left behind?
May the Lord prepare us. Let us pray.
O God, our Father, we are amazed at Thy glorious purpose, which Thou hast purposed even before the foundation of the world. Thou hast never deviated from it.
We thank Thee for sending Thy Son two thousand years ago into this world to lay the foundation. And, Lord, we know Thou art coming back to finish it up.
Do have mercy upon us, that we may not be careless, slumbering, lazy, unfaithful servants. O dear Lord, touch our hearts.
Enable us to lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily entangle us. Set our hearts wholly upon Thee, Lord.
O Beloved, come. We are waiting. Take us, Lord, to Thyself. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.