05.13. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST (No. 1)
THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
(Lesson No. 1.) The Jews boast of the glory of the kingdom of God in the days of David and Solomon, and hold the view that there is yet to come the Messiah who will restore the earthly, temporal glory of that kingdom, and that view is entertained by some professed Christians. In the days of Rehoboam the kingdom was divided, and hard lines fell on each division—Israel as well as Judah. Israel was made slaves in Assyria, and Judah in Babylon. When Cyrus was king he permitted all Jews who desired to return to Palestine, even assisting them to that end.
Since Jesus ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives, there have been many "time-setters," men who made the prediction that the second coming of Christ was near, and set the time when they declared he would return to earth, establish a throne in Jerusalem, and there reign as did David, for one thousand years. The Jews rejected Jesus as the promised Messiah, and at their instigation he was crucified. The "time-setters" have all proven to be presumptuous, and time has shown them to be of no value.
Jesus the Christ was the fulfillment of the promised King to rule on David’s throne, on which throne ho now rules. The promised kingdom was established, and Christians are citizens of that kingdom. (Daniel 2:44; Colossians 1:13).
DAVID’S THRONE.
It should be remembered that David never had a throne in his own right, but rather he was God’s temporal ruler over the Jews, or the Kingdom of Old Testament days, and Christ was promised that throne.
"Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David." (Luke 1:30-32.) On whose throne was David seated? Note well the answer:
"And Solomon sat upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly." (1 Kings 2:12). On whose throne was Solomon:"Then Solomon sat upon the throne of the Lord, instead of David his father." (1 Chronicles 29:23).
It was Jehovah’s throne. It was David’s throne solely in the sense that God gave it to him, as his ruler; it was Solomon’s throne because he was the descendant of David, according to the flesh, and Jesus was the descendant of David according to the flesh. (Romans 1:4).
Solomon sat upon the throne of David his father. Luke 2:12).
Solomon sat upon the throne of the Lord, instead of David his father. (1 Chronicles 29:23).
It is called God’s throne, David’s throne, Solomon’s throne, Christ’s throne.
JEHOVAH’S THRONE IS IN HEAVEN "Jehovah is in his holy temple; Jehovah, his throne is in heaven." (Psalms 11:4). But Solomon built him a house. Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in houses made with hands; as saith the prophet, "The heaven is my throne And the earth the footstool of my feet" (Acts 7:47-49).
Christ was resurrected (raised) to sit on the throne:
"Brethren, may I say unto you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us unto this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins he would set one upon his throne; he forseeing this spake of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all are witnesses." (Acts 2:29-32).
Jehovah "raised up" (resurrected) Jesus to sit upon his throne, David’s throne! Has he been seated on that throne?
"So the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken unto them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God." (Mark 16:19).
"Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place; and he shall build the temple of Jehovah; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both." (Zechariah 6:12-14).
He shall be "priest upon his throne." Whose throne? "His throne." Is he "priest" now? He is! Of him God said: "Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 8:1). He is now on his throne, where he is "priest and king." It is God’s throne, the throne of David, the throne of Solomon. It is Christ’s throne, and of him it is said:
"Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; And the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet." (Hebrews 1:8-13; Psalms 11:4; Acts 2:35). The thought of some that there is to come a time when Christ will rule on another throne; become ruler on a different throne, when he comes the second time, is wrong. The one, and only throne he has been promised is the throne of David, which is God’s throne and he is on that throne now. Some one reads:
"He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne." (Revelation 3:21).
It will assist you to read the following:
"And Jesus said to them, Verily I say unto you, that ye who have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel," (Matthew 19:28).
Those who follow him: "When?" In "the regeneration." Are we in the "regeneration" now? Have you been regenerated? Is it not a fact that every child of God has been born again, "regenerated?" So certain as you are saved that certain is it that you have been "regenerated." For,
"According to his mercy he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit." (Titus 3:5).
"Saved"
Too many have the idea that the province of the "judge" is to pass sentence; whereas, in fact, it is the province of the judge to declare the law, interpret the law as well. Through the apostles God’s law has been declared, his word has been known, and by it one is justified or condemned. "The word will" judge us in the last day. (John 12:48). By the life the Christian lives he condemns the unfruitful works or darkness, and judges thereby. The term "throne" by some is thought to mean the "throne chair." Rather, the term has reference to the power, dignity, authority. The king is king though not seated on the "throne chair." When Christ ascended he entered into his glory. (1 Timothy 3:16). When he comes he will also be on the throne of his glory, having been given all "authority in heaven and on earth." (Matthew 28:18).
"TIME-SETTERS."
I mean by the word "time-setters" men and women who have declared they knew when Christ was to come again and set the date.
R. H. Boll, in his tract, "The Second Coming," page 10, said:
"The early Christians "Were hoping for him and they were looking for his return in the days of the apostles." The apostles DID NOT expect the Second Coming of the Lord during their lives on earth. If they wrote language from which one reached such a conclusion, they have misinterpreted what they wrote, for it is a fact HE DID NOT come the second time during the life of the apostles on earth.
Jesus said to the Apostle Peter:
"When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkest whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall grid thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. Now this he spake, signifying by what manner of death he should glorify God." (John 21:18-19).
Peter could not have been expecting the return of Christ before he died! Jesus told the disciples they would be killed. (Matthew 24:9). Paul wrote that he would die, hence he could not have hoped for Christ to come during his life on earth. He warned the elders of the church at Ephesus:
"After my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them," (Acts 20:30). To Timothy he wrote:
"The time of my departure is come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give to me at that day." (2 Timothy 4:6-8).
Men have juggled the Scriptures and deceived man, declaring the Lord would come at a definite date they named. No time now to trail through the centuries naming them. The 19th century gave the world a swarm of men who professed to know when the Lord would come. Among them a Mr. Miller who set the date for 1843 and the failure he recognized as did all others, and then he made another guess which was also a failure, for 1844 passed and no second coming of the Lord. Later came Mr. Chas. T. Russell, who wrote a number of books, and set the date October 1874 at which he declared that Jesus DID come to earth, and has been some place on the earth since that time. That he began by gathering his "little flock," though he has been some place or places since October 1874. Following the death of Mr. Russell, a Mr. Rutherford became the outstanding man among the former disciples of Mr. Russell, and they changed their name to "Jehovah Witnesses." Mr. Russell taught that the body of Jesus was NOT raised from the dead. Thus he deposes:
"Our Lord’s human body was, however, supernaturally removed from the tomb; because had it remained there it would have been an insurmountable obstacle to the faith of his disciples, who were not yet instructed in spiritual things—for ’the spirit was not yet given,’ (John 7:39). We know nothing about what became of it, except that It did not decay or corrupt, (Acts 2:27-31). Whether it was dissolved into gasses or whether it is still preserved somewhere as the grand memorial of God’s love, of Christ’s obedience, and of our redemption, no one knows;—nor is such knowledge necessary." (Millennial Dawn, Vol. 2, Pp. 129, 130).
Mr. Rutherford entertained the same view. (See "The Harp Of God," by Mr. Rutherford, Pp. 160-168, 169, 170).
HOW ACCOUNT FOR THE FALSE VIEWS?
We never find a false doctrine but we try to find some ground on which to account for it. Many good people hold false views. They are deceived by false teachers, else they are blinded by a theory which is false which they father. Most of them try to justify their views by Scripture. It is my opinion that a false doctrine usually arises from preconceived views, or ignorance of the Bible as a whole—building a theory on one statement in the Scriptures, or expressions which resemble. An example follows: In reading the Bible there was found the expressions:
"This is the first resurrection." (Revelation 20:5).
"And the dead in Christ shall rise first." (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
Associating the foregoing expression, has, I think been the foundation for the theory that the righteous dead will rise, and at some later time the wicked dead will be raised. In fact the two statements have no reference to the same matter, but the two statements, I opine, have given rise to the false doctrine touching the resurrection of the righteous and the resurrection of the wicked at some later period. Let us read carefully the statement by Paul: and note carefully, there is no reference to the dead who are NOT in Christ.
"We would not have you ignorant brethren, concerning them that fall asleep; (die) that ye sorrow not, even as the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that have fallen asleep (died) in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, (have not died) shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). The discussion in this passage is about those who are "in Christ," then living on the earth; and those "in Christ" who had died. It appears that the saints in Thessalonica were worried about the brethren who had died, that they would not be with them when the Lord comes, and Paul instructs them: When the Lord descends, the living saints will not precede the saints who have died in. ascending to meet the Lord, but they will be raised and "together with them" the living saints will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air! The word "first" in the passage expresses a precedence of order, rather than of time. The sounding of the trump will be followed instantaneously by two things, the raising of the dead "in Christ" and the changing of the living saints, and "together" they will be caught up to meet the Lord!
"Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).’
Together all "in Christ" will ascend to meet the Lord, and ever be with him. The righteous will be raised at "the last day," at which time the wicked will also be raised. (John 5:28-29). It will be the day of final judgment—the time when the righteous ascend to meet the Lord, receive eternal life, and the wicked enter into "everlasting punishment." In the passage, (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17), the apostle is discussing the ascending of the righteous, without any allusion to the fate of the wicked.
(See lesson No. 2, which follows.)
COMING TO REIGN
"And again, Esias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rue to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust." (Romans 15:12).
"The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of out Lord and of his Christ: and he shall reign for ever and ever." (Revelation 11:15.)
All Christians worship Christ as King. They must keep striving to form their lives, shape their characters, and seal their destiny in keeping with the law of Christ, the King, hail Christ as the Spirit declares him: "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OR LORDS." (Revelation 19:16). One’s entrance into the glorified state of the kingdom is conditioned on one being faithful—adding to our faith, Virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity. If we are faithful to the Lord, we will enter into the kingdom in its glorified state, where we will be freed from the temptations incident to this lapsed state.
TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION AND DISCUSSION.
Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem.
Theories of Christ’s Second Coming.
Bolls teaching.
Results of faithful service to Jehovah.
QUESTIONS.
What is the Jews belief concerning the Messiah?
During Rehoboam’s reign how was the kingdom divided?
What is meant by "time-setters?" Discuss fully.
Give proof that Christ is fulfillment of prophecy "one to rule on David’s throne."
Explain David’s throne—Christ’s throne.
Reconcile 1 Chronicles 29:23; Luke 2:12 and Romans 1:4.
Where is Jehovah’s throne?
What is said of Christ’s throne? Quote Hebrews 1:8-13; Psalms 11:4; Acts 2:35.
Will Christ rule on another throne?
Explain Revelation 3:21.
What is meant by "regeneration." Matthew 19:28?
Who are the "regenerated?"
How is one "regenerated?"
Where are the 12 apostles and what are they doing? Prove.
What is the responsibility of a judge?
Who (what) will judge us in the last day?
What is meant by last day?
What is meant by the term throne?
Where did Christ enter when he ascended?
How will he return? Quote Matthew 28:18.
Give Boll’s theory regarding "The Second Coming" of Christ.
State proof that Peter did not expect Christ’s return before he died.
What did Paul say in this connection?
Give fallacies taught by Miller, Russell and Rutherford.
How may we account for these false views?
Quote and explain Scripture which may have confused some relative to the resurrection.
Do the statements refer to the same thing?
To whom does 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 refer? Discuss fully.
How will the saints meet the Lord in the air? What precedence of order?
Will those alive and those (sleeping) dead have the same opportunity to meet the Lord?
Give Paul’s explanation of the resurrection. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
Who will receive crowns of righteousness?
Will Christ’s coming be secretive and silent?
What describes the suddenness, swiftness of change?
How long will the saints be with Christ.
Quote passages which show that Christ’s "Second Coming" is a fulfillment of prophecies.
How long will Christ reign?
On what is one’s entrance into this eternal kingdom conditional?