Will you please turn to the book of Revelation, chapter 22, verse 20?
He who testifieth these things saith, Yea: I come quickly. Amen: come, Lord Jesus.
Thank God for gathering us together at this time. If you were there last night, you know the theme of this conference is taken from that verse. The Lord Jesus testifies these things, and He says, “Yea, I come quickly.”
This is the response of our Lord Jesus to the cry of the Holy Spirit and the bride, because the Holy Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” This is also the response for those who hear: “Come.”
Brothers and sisters, when we hear this word, what is our reaction? Is it from the bottom of our heart that we also say, “Come, Lord Jesus”? Just as the apostle John said, “Amen: come, Lord Jesus.”
Or is it that we are hoping that the Lord will delay, because we have lots of plans, lots of things we want to do?
You know, when our Lord Jesus was speaking in Matthew 24, after He spoke of His coming, He said in Matthew 24:45:
Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath set over his household, to give them their food in due season?
Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
Verily I say unto you, that he will set him over all that he hath.
At the coming of the Lord, there will be those who are faithful and prudent: faithful to what they have heard, and prudent in doing what they are told. To such bondservants, when the Lord comes, He will set them over all His possessions.
But if that bondservant—the same one—is evil in his heart, he will say, “My lord tarrieth,” and begin to beat his fellow bondservants, and eat and drink with the drunken.
The same bondservant reacts differently. When the Lord comes, He will come in a day that he does not expect, because he has many things to do, and at an hour that he does not know.
What will happen to that bondservant? He shall cut him asunder and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Brothers and sisters, here you find that evil bondservant who does not expect the Lord’s coming. What will happen to him? He will be cut in two and appointed his portion with the hypocrites. It is a very severe punishment, and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, which speaks of repentance. He will repent of what he had done.
Now, of course, if he is a bondservant of the Lord, he is still saved, but he will be disciplined during the kingdom age. So, dear brothers and sisters, as we are talking of the coming of the Lord, actually it is a very serious subject.
Our reaction will result in very different treatment during the kingdom age. Those who are faithful to the Lord shall reign with Christ for a thousand years, but those who are unfaithful will be disciplined during the thousand years.
Brothers and sisters, we have to answer this question. Each one of us has to be serious before the Lord and answer: What is our attitude toward His coming?
Thank God, the Lord Jesus says, “Yea, I am coming quickly.” But, brothers and sisters, this was said over two thousand years ago. Do you think that the Lord has delayed His coming? What is the reason for this delay?
Surely, the reason is not in the Lord. The reason is with us, because He is coming for His bride. If His bride is not ready, how can He come? He has to wait until His bride is ready.
So, dear brothers and sisters, the whole problem does not lie with the Lord. Is there any bridegroom who is not anxious for his bride? So far as I know, there was only one.
The great-grandfather of Hudson Taylor was a young man, careless, loving amusement, dancing, and all these things. But on the day of his wedding, when he got up in the morning, he suddenly realized that marriage is a serious matter.
So he went out into the field to pray. As he was praying, he forgot the time. He kept on praying, confessing, trusting the Lord. When he finished praying, he suddenly realized that it was the time of his wedding.
The bride was waiting. The friends were waiting. They were wondering, “Where was the bridegroom?” So he rushed to the church building and got married.
After he got married, that evening, before they went to bed, he told his bride, “We have to pray.” He made his bride kneel down and pray. The bride was surprised because she was not expecting to marry a Methodist.
But anyway, you find that because of this beginning, generation after generation of that family served the Lord. Hudson Taylor was one whom the Lord used to open interior China to the gospel. We are ever thankful for that.
So, brothers and sisters, as we are talking about the coming of the Lord, it really is a very serious matter. The delay is not because of the Lord. He is anxious. He is ready to come. The delay is because of His church.
You remember during His first coming: what was the reason for His first coming? When you come to the Gospel according to John, you know why He came the first time.
You remember, He came to this world for one purpose, and that purpose was seeking for His bride. But while He was here, He could not find His bride.
As you read the Gospels, you may be surprised: why is it that, while the Lord was on this earth, it seems as if all the people He met were either blind, deaf, crippled, or dead? So He really had to come to save these people first.
Toward the end of His life, in Matthew 16, He tells us why He came into this world. He told Peter, “Thou art Peter,” that is, a small stone, “and upon this rock I will build My church.”
The rock is Peter’s confession, which is Christ Himself.
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. This is the reason for His coming: He came to build His church.
On the day of Pentecost, we all know the story of how the one hundred and twenty disciples were praying and waiting for ten days. Then, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down, and they were baptized into one body. That was the beginning of the church.
Thank God, as you read the book of Acts, you find that the church had a glorious beginning. The Lord added to them daily. They persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in breaking of bread, and in prayer.
Within thirty years or so, the gospel was preached to the world, because Rome at that time was considered the end of the world.
Even though there were problems, brothers and sisters, as long as we human beings are there, there will always be problems. But problems are no problem if they can be handled rightly. On the contrary, they can be a blessing.
So here you find a glorious beginning of the church. The bride was growing in stature.
But unfortunately, we find that toward the end of the first century, as our brother mentioned last night, in the book of Revelation, the seven churches in Asia Minor reveal the condition of the church.
Ephesus was supposed to be a church full of love, and because of that, the Lord was able to share with them the deep things of God. But toward the end of the first century, everything outwardly went on as usual, but the inner fire was gone. They had lost their first love.
Our Lord can come at any time if His church is ready. He could have come during the first century. But here we are in the twenty-first century, and we are still waiting for His return.
How do you think our Lord will feel about that? Oftentimes, we are only thinking of how we feel, but think how the Lord will feel about that.
He promised His disciples, “I will come again, and will receive you unto Myself.” Yet that promise has been postponed and postponed until now.
Brothers and sisters, if we know the heart of our Lord Jesus, how hurt He must be.
If our Lord Jesus had to wait for His whole church to be mature before He came, I do not know if He would ever come back. It is easy: the church never grows up.
From the first century until now, if we look at ourselves and if we look around, probably we will be deeply disappointed.
I remember when Brother Sparks asked Brother Nee a question. Brother Sparks said, “What do you think is the most difficult promise of God to be fulfilled?”
Our brother’s answer was Ephesians 4:13: until the body has fully grown to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
But thank God, man may fail, and men always fail, but God never fails. So we find that in God’s strategy, He has an emergency measure.
This emergency measure is found in Revelation 2 and 3. God is calling for overcomers.
This principle was not new, because in Old Testament times He had the same principle under another name: the remnant principle.
When the children of Israel rebelled against God, the nation was destroyed, the temple was destroyed, and Jerusalem lay in ruins. But then we find, after seventy years of captivity, a remnant.
We might think that if the royal decree said that anyone who wanted to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple was free to do so, the whole nation in exile would return. But that was not the case.
During the exile, they were able to build up their own houses, their own trade, and their own businesses. They were comfortable in captivity. They did not have God’s interests in their hearts.
Only by the grace of God was there a remnant whose spirits were stirred by God. They were willing to be uprooted and go back to Jerusalem, a barren place, to rebuild the temple as the testimony of God upon the earth.
So this remnant principle is found in the Old Testament. But when you come to the New Testament, He uses another name: the overcomer principle.
From the first century, toward the end of that century, as our Lord looked upon His church, He found that His church was mainly in ruin. But thank God, there were still a few who were faithful to His testimony. So He called for overcomers.
This call has been upon the church for the last two thousand years.
The Lord said to us in Matthew 24 that He is coming, and His coming is like the days of Noah, when people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. Suddenly, the flood came. But Noah and his family were rescued in the ark.
The Lord also said that His coming is like the days of Lot. When Lot left Sodom, then the cities around were destroyed.
Our Lord Jesus said that nobody knows when He is coming—not even the angels. Only the Father knows the time.
When two people are sleeping, one is taken and one is left. When two people are grinding, one is taken and one is left. When two people are working in the field, one is taken and one is left. That is the coming of the Lord.
Now, what does it mean? It does not mean that there are six people there. Actually, what the Lord is trying to say is two, because two is the least plural number.
He says two because these are Christians such as we are, who are still living at the time of the coming of the Lord.
The earth is round, so you find that in some places it is night; in another place it is morning; in some other place it is noonday. But suddenly, the Lord comes, and one is taken and one is left.
Outwardly, these two are not different. They are doing the same things.
You know, in church history, time and again there were people saying, “The Lord is coming.” So what did they do? They left their homes and their businesses, went to the desert, and waited there for the Lord to come. But the Lord did not come.
Brothers and sisters, outwardly these two are no different. Do not think that because the Lord is coming, you dare not go to sleep. Even when you are sleeping, one can be taken. Or, you leave your job and work no longer. Keep on working as usual.
But the Lord knows our heart. He knows who is really waiting for His return and who is not. You cannot distinguish them outwardly, but the Lord knows our heart.
Now, we usually say that the number of the church is twelve: twelve disciples, twelve foundations, twelve. Yet here you have only two. But, brothers and sisters, when you look at Matthew 25, you find the ten virgins there.
It is the same thing with the ten virgins: five wise and five foolish. The wise had lamps with oil in them burning. So did the foolish. They were all going out to meet the Lord.
But because the Lord delayed, they fell asleep. Actually, the sleep is death; they were dead.
Throughout the centuries, thank God, there have been people who went out to meet the Lord in their time. Because the Lord delayed, they went to sleep, and their sleep is death.
Then suddenly the cry said, “Behold, the bridegroom!” They all awoke. But those who had extra oil in their vessels were able to keep the light burning.
Those whose vessels did not have extra oil may have put other treasures there. While they went away trying to buy extra oil, the bridegroom came, and the wise entered into the marriage feast.
But when the foolish ones came, the door was shut. They were cast into outer darkness.
Brothers and sisters, the ten virgins speak of those who have died in Christ Jesus, and with the two who are still living, you have the full number twelve. Thank God, there will be some who are waiting for the Lord’s return.
All the prophecies that we find in Scripture which precede the coming of the Lord have been fulfilled. There are still prophecies to be fulfilled, but these prophecies refer to the time of His coming and also afterward.
So, dear brothers and sisters, we are living in a very thrilling time. Why? Because we are living at a time when we can expect the Lord to return in our time.
Suddenly, all over the world, you will find some people have disappeared because they have been taken by the Lord.
You remember our Lord Jesus said that His coming is like a thief. Now, I wonder if any thief who is coming will blow the trumpet first, saying, “I am coming.” I do not think so.
When the thief comes, he comes at a time you do not expect. Strangely, he seems to know the right time. Suddenly he comes, and when you wake up, he is gone already.
Will he come for your garbage? No. He knows where your treasure is, and he will come to take the treasure and leave the garbage. That is what our Lord will do at His coming.
So, brothers and sisters, we are expecting our Lord Jesus to come at any moment.
When Christians all over the world suddenly find that some have disappeared, you know His coming has begun.
The word “coming” is parousia. Those who know Greek tell us that parousia does not mean one time or one event. Parousia means a period during which a number of events happen. Parousia means presence.
Today our Lord Jesus is absent so far as His body is concerned, although we know that He is present with us in our spirit, and we thank God for that. But so far as His physical body, His resurrection body, is concerned, He is absent.
But one day He is coming back in presence. If you read the Bible carefully, how will He be present?
When you turn to Acts 1, our Lord Jesus led His disciples to the mount, and He spoke to them. In Acts 1:9 we read:
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.
In other words, His return to this earth will be in the same manner as He left the earth.
When you read the book of Acts, you find how He left the earth and returned to heaven. He began to ascend from the Mount of Olives, and His disciples saw Him going up. Then a cloud came and took Him. They could not see Him anymore, but they were still looking up.
Then two men in white appeared and said to them, “Why do you look up? He will come back in the same way.”
In other words, His going was in two stages. The first stage was from the Mount of Olives to the cloud—visible. The next stage was from the cloud to the throne—invisible.
How do we know that He arrived at the throne? It is because of Pentecost. On the day of Pentecost He was enthroned, and then the Holy Spirit came down and baptized the one hundred and twenty believers.
So, brothers and sisters, His going was in two stages. The first stage was visible; the second stage was invisible. His return will be just the reverse: from the throne to the air, invisible; from the air to the Mount of Olives, visible.
From the throne to the air, He comes like a thief—invisible. But from the air to the Mount of Olives, it is like lightning from the east to the west, and everybody will see it.
So, brothers and sisters, do not expect that you will hear the trumpet sound and then the Lord comes. As a matter of fact, to us Christians, it is too late.
We should expect Him to come as a thief, not as lightning. When He comes, suddenly one is taken and one is left.
Brothers and sisters, is that not terrible? If He should come now, hopefully we will all be taken up. But if any should be left, what a pity that would be.
But, brothers and sisters, the point is that we are expecting the Lord to come at any moment. He can come today. He can come tomorrow. We do not know.
But how can we be prepared for His coming? I think that is the most important question.
So, when you turn to Revelation 19, in Revelation 19:6-8, we read:
And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunders, saying, Hallelujah: for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigneth.
Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and let us give the glory unto him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
In other words, when the bride is ready to be married, she will be clothed with a garment of fine linen.
If you turn to Psalm 45, Psalm 45:13-14 says:
The king’s daughter within the palace is all glorious:
Her clothing is inwrought with gold.
She shall be led unto the king in broidered work:
The virgins her companions that follow her
Shall be brought unto thee.
Here you find that the bride will be clothed with two garments. In verse 13, her clothing is of wrought gold.
Now, brothers and sisters, before we believed in the Lord Jesus, we were all naked before God. After Adam and Eve sinned, they found themselves naked. They could not stand before God. That is what we were: naked before God.
But thank God, when we believe in the Lord Jesus, we are clothed with a golden garment. You remember the parable of the prodigal son. When he came back, what did his father do to him? “Bring forth quickly the best robe, and put it on him.”
So thank God, Christ is the golden garment that has been put upon us. He is our righteousness, and because of this, we are able to stand before God. That is the golden garment given to us: Christ our righteousness. He gives us a standing before God.
But to be married, you need another garment. It is the garment of embroidery. Embroidery is a tedious work.
The Holy Spirit, who dwells in each one of us, is doing this work of embroidery, stitch by stitch. In our daily experience, He is trying to build Christ within us.
Christ is not only our righteousness, but with Christ being built in us, it becomes the righteousness of the saints. As He is righteous, so we too must be righteous.
In our daily life, we need to live rightly before God. That is the work of the Holy Spirit, and that is a tedious daily work. Stitch by stitch, He is building that wedding garment in us.
If we cooperate with the Holy Spirit and allow Him to work Christ into our life, that becomes the righteousness of the saints. The righteousness of the saints is the wedding garment.
So, brothers and sisters, how can we be ready for Him? In our daily life, we have to cooperate with the Holy Spirit.
He works in our spirit. He is like a still, small voice. He is like an anointing. He is speaking to us; He is applying the anointing upon us.
If we respond to Him, then we will find that we are delivered from ourselves, and the life of Christ grows within us until we are mature.
So, brothers and sisters, how important it is that throughout our life as Christians, the Holy Spirit is weaving that wedding garment within us. Without that garment, we cannot be at the marriage feast.
Thank God, He is working in each and every one of us, and nothing is lost.
Finally, I wonder—and I put it before you whether this is the right interpretation or not; I do not know. But it came to me one day that probably this has something to do with us.
That is in the Old Testament, in Hosea, chapter 6. Hosea is after Daniel. We read the first three verses.
Come, and let us return unto the Lord;
for he hath torn, and he will heal us;
he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
After two days will he revive us:
on the third day he will raise us up,
and we shall live before him.
And let us know, let us follow on to know the Lord:
his going forth is sure as the morning;
and he will come unto us as the rain,
as the latter rain that watereth the earth.
Now, sometimes I wonder whether this can be applied to us Christians. We are waiting for the Lord, but for two thousand years He has not returned.
This reminds us of what 2 Peter 3 says. In 2 Peter 3:8-9, we read:
But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Here we find that with the Lord, a thousand years is as one day. If we can apply that to Hosea, then we find, “After two days will He revive us: on the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live before His face.”
In two days, or two thousand years, then the third day would be the third thousand years. Whether the Lord will come back during the third day—that is, in the third thousand years—I do not know.
But if that interpretation can be applied to us Christians, I think we are in the third day, just at the beginning of the third day. Hopefully, He will come during our lifetime.
So, brothers and sisters, this is just a hope. It is a blessed hope. We are hoping that in our lifetime we may meet the Lord.
So may the Lord bless each and every one of us. Shall we pray?
Dear Lord, it is such a delight to talk about Your coming. How we long that in our lifetime Thou wilt return and take us.
We do realize that we are unworthy. We need Thy grace to work in our lives, to stitch and make that embroidery garment, the wedding garment, so that when Thou shalt come, Lord, we are ready.
Oh, dear Lord, may every one of us in this hall receive Thy grace and be among those who will be taken by Thee.
We feel ourselves unworthy, but, Lord, Thou art worthy. So we give ourselves afresh to Thee.
Lord, work in us until Christ is fully formed, to the praise of Thy glory. We ask in Thy name. Amen.