| HIGHLIGHTS OF DAWN | February 1993 |
“I Will Come Again”
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” —John 14:1
“I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as aflame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself … And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” —Revelation 19:11-16
“Of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” —I Thessalonians 5:1-6
THESE TEXTS ARE only but a few of the numerous Scriptures depicting various phases of our Lord’s return at his Second Advent. The great majority of the Christian world is still awaiting the coming of Jesus to earth a second time, and there is a strong feeling among many, expressed in sermons, articles, and books, that his return is near at hand. But the views of the numerous denominations concerning the purpose for his return, or the manner of his return, or what will be the results of his return, are as varied as are their other doctrinal beliefs.
Why is this subject so little understood by Christians? After Jesus had been preaching to the people, his disciples posed a question, which bears on our question today. They asked, “Why speakest thou unto them [his audience] in parables?” Jesus explained, “Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath [understanding], to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not [understanding], from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak Ito them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
“And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: for this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
“But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.”—Matt. 13:10-17; Isa. 6:9,10
To state it in a few simple words: the truth of God’s Word is available to all who hear it, but in order to be blessed by it, one must have the ‘hearing ear’, and the ‘seeing eye’, enlightened by faith and trust, and a heart attuned to atonement with God’s principles of Justice, and Love. One whose ear is in harmony with God’s ways and character will easily recognize when doctrines are inharmonious with God’s very being which is comprised of the characteristics: Love, Wisdom, Justice, and Power.
To understand this subject, we must first clarify the matter of what we mean by our Lord’s coming, or more correctly, his presence. Then we will endeavor to determine the reasons for his return. And, finally, what will be the results of his presence?
One of the most important aspects of this subject is to determine whether we should think of Christ’s Second Advent as a “coming,” or as a “presence.” The Greek word used most frequently in the New Testament in connection with Christ’s return is ‘parousia’. This word has much more often been translated “coming,” especially in the King James Translation. But a study of the matter indicates clearly that parousia should more properly be translated presence, which is one of its meanings. In some cases—only two times—the translators did use this word; however, in the overwhelming majority of cases—twenty-two times—they translated it coming. We understand the word presence to express a more exact thought than coming, because many events are foretold to occur and a long period of time to elapse during his presence. His coming, on the other hand, more accurately describes the first event of his presence. We believe a correct interpretation of time prophecy indicates that Christ returned in 1874. There is not time to go into the subject from this standpoint in this article. However, if you are interested in the matter, Dawn Publications offers several books and booklets dealing with the subject, as you will find if you look on the center pages of our magazine, entitled Publications fist, or on the front and back inside covers of the magazine.
The two occasions where the translators of the King James Version did use the word presence to translate the Greek word parousia, instead of the word coming are found in II Corinthians 10:10 and Philippians 2:12. In these two cases it would obviously have been incongruous to use the word coming, as that word would not have fit the situation: “His letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence [parousia] is weak, and his speech contemptible.” Again, presence is obviously the correct thought. There would not be a contrast between his ‘presence’ and his ‘absence’ if the word used had been his ‘coming’. Again: “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
When his disciples asked Jesus to tell them the sign which would precursor the end of the age and of his return, their question really concerned what events would occur which, together, would reveal when he returned, rather than what would happen just preceding his arrival. (Matt. 24:3-44) Just as “the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not,” at the time of Christ’s first presence here upon earth, so Christians who have learned the ‘sign’(Matt. 24:3,30) of his second presence, will also be aware of his second advent.
Jesus first gave a capsule history of what would occur during the Gospel Age—wars and rumors of wars—earthquakes—violence—but “the end is not yet.” (vs. 6) He continued, enlightening his true followers to the fact that they will not be well received during the hundreds of years designated the Gospel Age: “They shall deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.” (vs. 9) Then Jesus informed them, and us, that “this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (vs. 14) This time of the end is described as a time of “great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”—vss. 21,22
The days of Noah are likened to the presence of the Son of man. (Matt. 24:37-39) Noah’s ‘days’ not only included the time preceding the Flood, when the ark was being built, and when men had been carrying on their lives in the usual manner, completely unaware that their age was ending, and a new one about to begin, but his ‘days’ continued during the Flood, and after the Flood—right up until his death. Jesus also, in Matthew 24, not only gave signs of his presence, but also of events leading up to his presence.
But Jesus, after dearly delineating those events, said, “As the lightning [bright-shining, or, the sun] cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming [presence] of the Son of man be.” (vs. 27) We are told in Malachi 4:2 that the “Sun of righteousness [shall] arise with healing in his wings.” This is a beautiful prophecy depicting the Millennial reign of Christ, when as king he will restore all mankind, who are willing to accept his blessings, to health, happiness, and everlasting life. This is the part of his presence which we all long for, and pray for each day of our lives: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:10) The next chapter is devoted to several parables which outline in more detail events of history which would occur from the time of his death until his return. They involved experiences of the church class—the wise and foolish virgins (Matt. 25:1-13)—the use of the talents by Christians (vss. 14-30)—and finally, his work after his return of separating the sheep from the goats.—vss. 31-46
One common error we may encounter when we study the Greek words involved with our Lord’s presence, is the limitation of the parousia to the first phase of his return and presence. Actually, the Lord’s parousia, once it begins, continues throughout all the other phases of his second advent, until the work of the kingdom is complete. The thought is not that the rising sun—spoken of in Matthew 24:27 and Malachi 4:2—initiates his parousia when it breaks upon the horizon, but rather it is initiated before it breaks above the horizon and the light from this sun which is about to rise can be seen. The full brightness of the sun is a picture of the completed Christ, head and body, joined for blessing all the world with healing. “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”—Col. 3:4
The Apostle Paul wrote a marvelous treatise on the resurrection, recorded in I Corinthians, the fifteenth chapter. He there tells us how all men die because of Adam’s transgression, since they were not born until after his sin and hence inherited, not everlasting life, but Adam’s condemnation to everlasting death. However, because of Christ’s sacrifice of his perfect life, mankind will be restored to life. The timing of this glorious event will be during the presence of Jesus: “Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfrults; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming [parousia, ‘presence’]—vss 21-23.
The Apostle James encouraged the brethren to be patient until the presence of the Lord, which would be the time for the fruition of all their hopes. “Be ye patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming [presence] of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the [harvest of the] early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming [presence] of the Lord draweth nigh.” Yes, this was true. Despite the fact that it has been nearly two thousand years since James’ spoke those words, still, from the time of the fall of Adam, four thousand years or more had elapsed, and so it could correctly be said that Messiah’s reign “draweth nigh.”—James 5:7,8
In the Scriptures there are other words associated with the idea of Christ’s presence as shown by the Greek word parousia. There is erchomai, ‘to come.’ Before one can be present, one must come. There is the Greek word heko, which means ‘have come’. (Matt. 24:14,50) Another word is katabaino, ‘to come down’. And there are the words which deal with our Lord’s presence as a manifestation, or a revealing. These are phaneroo, which means ‘manifest’. Both phaneroo and parousia occur in I John 2:28: “Now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear [phaneroo, be made manifest], we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming [parousia, presence].” Two more words are epiphaneia, which means ‘manifestation’, and apokalupsis, which means ‘revelation’.
Knowing that the Scriptures often speak of the presence of the Lord Jesus, and not just the moment of his arrival, one logical question would be: what will be the nature of his presence? Will Christ appear in the flesh with the same body he had when he lived upon earth? Will he appear as a bright shining light, or will he be invisible? Will there be a great deal of fanfare heralding his arrival, or will he come so quietly that it will be practically an unperceived event? Will he arrive in broad daylight, or in darkest night? The Scriptures do provide answers to this question.
As recorded in John 14:1-3, Jesus told his disciples about his imminent departure from them. His encouraging words were these: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” “Yet a little while,” he continued, “and the world seeth me no more.” This is our first clue. After Jesus was put to death in the flesh, the world would not see him again, because he was raised a spirit being.
Again in I Corinthians, the Resurrection Chapter, we read in verses 41-45: “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.”
Since Jesus Christ was raised with a spirit body—of the very highest nature, which is divine—this, of course, precludes his ever being seen by the world, either in his new body, or in the old fleshly body he had when he walked upon earth as a human being. Since his body of flesh had been offered up as a sacrifice to ransom father Adam and all his children as a corresponding price, Jesus was forever forbidden to take on the fleshly nature of man again. By offering up his perfect human nature upon the cross Jesus secured a return to life and human perfection for Adam and his progeny. “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”—John 3:16
For this reason, the world ‘sees him no more’. His nature now is divine. Just as no man can see God and live (I Tim. 6:16), so likewise the same is true of Jesus. He has now been exalted above all principalities, powers, and above every name that has been named. No human being can look upon his glory without serious effects.
When Moses asked to see God’s glory, Jehovah told him, “Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: and I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: by my face shall not be seen.”—Exod. 33:20-23
So God placed him in the cleft of a rock and covered the entrance with his hand—or protected him with his power—and all Moses heard was a voice saying, “The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” (Exod. 34:6,7) Moses only saw God’s back parts. This was not life-threatening as it would have been if he had been unprotected, and had actually seen the brilliance of God’s whole person and glory.
Jesus spoke of his return as being ‘thief-like’. A thief certainly does not announce his arrival. He wants to keep his presence a secret. One text reads, “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” (Rev. 3:3) Another is: “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” (Rev. 16:15) From these texts we realize that Christ’s second presence is without fanfare—quiet and stealthy.
Thieves also work at night when their victims are asleep, or are not at home. So, too, our Lord’s return was to be at night: “Yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet the hope of salvation. “—I Thess. 5:2-8
Some phenomena in the heavens can help us in our understanding of the presence of our Lord. The rudimentary study of astronomy reveals the fact that heavenly bodies change position in the heavens with regularity. Some of these movements are well-known to the majority of mankind; others are not. One such phenomenon used as an illustration of our Lord’s presence and discussed earlier in this article is: “As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be” (Matt. 24:27), and reference was made to the fact that these words would more appropriately describe the sun’s movements than that of lightning. Reference was also made to the prophecy in Malachi 4:2, describing our Lord’s parousia as the Sun of righteousness arising with healing in its wings.
There is another heavenly phenomenon which very well illustrates our Lord’s parousia. Just as night is ending, and the sun is about to rise, there appears in the heavens the ‘morning star’. Our Lord’s return also occurs just before the darkness of the night of the Gospel Age ends, which is the last phase of the nighttime of sin and death. The world is still in darkness. But the morning star can be seen by those who are watching—a harbinger that the sun is indeed about to rise.
This picture is in harmony with the purpose of our Lord’s return. We believe that one of his first executive acts is to raise the ‘sleeping saints’. (I Cor. 15:51,52) Another of his most important tasks is to settle accounts with the servants that remain, so that the Christ class can be completed. (Matt. 25:19) He comes as the ‘chief reaper’ of the harvest which concludes the age. (Rev. 14:14,15) He comes as a ‘bridegroom’ to claim his bride. (Matt. 25:10) He comes as a general of Jehovah’s army to defeat the enemies of Jehovah. (Rev. 19:11-15) He comes as a king to exercise the rightful authority that belongs to him.—Isa. 9:6,7
All of these roles are held by our Lord while the darkness of evil and sin still prevails. This is beautifully illustrated by the morning star which appears in the sky just before dawn. The stars of heaven cannot be seen because the light from the sun is peeking over the horizon, dimming their glow. Only the morning star—a single, solitary star—shines brightly, a witness to the fact that morning is close at hand.
Two planets in our solar system assume the position of morning star. The one that usually plays this part is Venus, the brightest of all the planets and stars. It is fifteen times brighter than Sirius, the brightest star beyond our solar system. The Greeks used the word phosphoros [bright shining] to designate the Planet Venus. It is used only once in the New Testament, and is translated ‘day star’, or what we designate the morning star. “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.”—II Pet. 1:19
In the context of this passage, Peter describes his experiences during our Lord’s transfiguration in the Mount. He tells how he and James and John were eyewitnesses of our Lord’s glory, and concludes that all the footstep followers of our Lord have the sure word of prophecy to substantiate the greatness of Jesus. He reaches the zenith of his expression, saying that we should take heed and treasure in our hearts the prophetic word until the time comes when these prophecies are fulfilled in the presence of our Lord, as illustrated by the day star rising. How glad we are that this has occurred in our time, and that we can correlate the prophecies of God’s Word with this marvelous event!
There are other scriptures in which Jesus speaks of himself as the bright and morning star. “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” (Rev. 22:16) How encouraging to our faith is the assurance that this phenomenon portrays our Lord’s presence just before the nighttime of darkness and sin ends, and before the sun [the church complete] rises with healing in its beams.
A further picture has been given to us by our Great Creator to illustrate the marriage of the Lamb. Every nineteen years the orbit of Venus brings it into a location that is directly in the path of the rising sun. In this position it appears to disappear into the sun as the sun rises above the horizon. This merging of the morning star into the sun must have been intended by God to illustrate that the solitary appearance of Jesus will merge into the appearance of Jesus with his church as the sun of righteousness!
Then every eye shall see him! (Rev. 1:7) Then shall the mourning of the nations turn to joy as the blessings of the kingdom flow to all. (Rev. 21:1-5) Then shall the true seed of Abraham fulfill the promise of blessing all the families of the earth. (Gen. 22:16-18; Gal. 3:29) And as the Christ—Jesus, the head, and the church, his body—directs attention to the Heavenly Father as the great author of the plan of salvation through his Son, Christ Jesus, the world will respond with the words of Isaiah 25:9: “Lo this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us; this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”