Although the Second Coming is specially associated in the church year with Advent, it is actually one of the least seasonal of the great doctrines about Christ. The very words that the Lord used of his return, “Watch,” and “Be ye ready,” point beyond an observance confined to a particular season to the daily expectation of an event that, as Archbishop Trench said, is “possible any day, impossible no day.” The Gospel is not only, “For 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); it is also, “He hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained …” (Acts 17:31).
It has been said that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is mentioned 318 times in the 260 chapters of the New Testament and that this teaching occupies one in every twenty-five verses from Matthew to Revelation. It was upon some such evidence as this that Dr. Alexander MacLaren declared, “The primitive church thought a great deal more about the coming of Jesus Christ than about death; thought a great deal more about His coming than about Heaven.” And why not? If we attribute any authority to the words of Jesus, if we deal sincerely with the New Testament, then we must at least agree that Jesus and those who knew him best believed in his return.
From the abundance of New Testament teaching, the fact of his coming again is clearly established. Over and over the Master spoke words like these: “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 14:3). “The Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works” (Matt. 16:27). Shall we not accept what he reiterated?
Paul, writing out of his pastoral heart, said, “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Phil. 3:20, 21). Peter added his words of understanding: he cautioned ministers to be faithful shepherds, for “when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away” (1 Pet. 5:4). James, writing in a most practical manner, said, “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord” (James 5:7a). Out of the richness of his personal suffering and loving heart, John wrote, “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming” (1 John 2:28). Even the unknown author of Hebrews, addressing a hounded, persecuted, and disheartened group of believers, could say, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Heb. 9:28).
No wonder that Dr. James Denney, speaking out of a lifetime of scholarship, declared that we cannot “call in question what stands so plainly in the pages of the New Testament, what filled so exclusively the minds of the first Christians—the idea of a personal return of Christ at the end of the age. If we are to retain any relation to the New Testament at all, we must assert the personal return of Christ as Judge of all.”
The hope of the Second Coming of our Lord gave urgency to the life and witness of the early Church. But, as might be expected, it was accompanied by certain abuses and misunderstandings. In Thessalonica, erroneous application of the possibility of the Lord’s soon coming led many to stop working for a livelihood and to spend their days in idleness. It was unnecessary, they thought, to sacrifice for the essentials of life if the Lord were to come next week or next year. So Paul wrote and bluntly corrected their misunderstanding. As the New English Bible vividly translates his words, “For even during our stay with you we laid down the rule: the man who will not work shall not eat. We mention this because we hear that some of your number are idling their time away, minding everybody’s business but their own. To all such we give these orders, and we appeal to them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly for their living” (2 Thess. 3:11–13).
Even more serious was another misconception. The Christians of Thessalonica expected the Lord to return in their lifetime. But the years took their toll, and one by one they died, not having received the fulfillment of the promise. Loving hearts worried about those who had gone before and would not be present at the coming of the Lord. These were thought to be at a great disadvantage. Therefore Paul wrote to set the record straight: “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are 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 which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
Answering The Scoffers
Naturally the early Christians preached the coming again of Jesus Christ. They could do no less than be true to the hope that was within their hearts. Then as the years passed and Christ did not return, the pagan world, which had ridiculed the idea from the beginning, began to scoff and mock. To encourage those humble believers who were being scoffed at and to remind them that they had been warned, Peter told them this: “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2 Pet. 3:3,4). But what were Christians to say, what answer were they to make to the scoffer? Peter gave them the answer in these words: “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, 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 men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night …” (2 Pet. 3:8–10).
The hour of the coming is determined, Peter was saying, but it is hidden in order to give every man an opportunity to turn to God in repentance. Humanly speaking, the continued postponement of Christ’s return year after year, generation after generation, must have been for the early Church a bitter disappointment. Nevertheless, they strengthened themselves with the assurance that “He is not slack concerning his promise.”
A Persistent Hope
What a miracle it is that the Church has never given up the blessed hope—a hope that thrives on disappointment and becomes more confident of Christ’s promised return as the years go by. Today, in every land and in almost every creed, Christians in their worship reaffirm the truth of the Second Coming. The Apostles’ Creed declares that Christ “ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.” The Nicene Creed affirms that Christ “sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And He shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end.” In the Athanasian Creed, the confession is similar: “Christ sitteth on the right hand of the Father from whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.” Those who follow the Westminster Catechism are taught to say, “We pray that Christ would hasten the time of His Second Coming.”
In addition to the creedal statements, there is melodious witness in the hymnody of the Church. When Christians rise to sing the Te Deum, they make this affirmation: “We believe that thou shalt come to be our Judge.” These stanzas from the Russian Church Hymn beautifully express the lyrical testimony of the Church Universal:
The King shall come when morning dawns,
And light triumphant breaks;
When beauty gilds the eastern hills,
And life to joy awakes.
O brighter than that glorious morn
Shall this fair morning be,
When Christ, our King, in beauty comes
And we His face shall see!
During more than nineteen centuries, the promise of Christ’s return in glory to fully establish the Kingdom of God has given purpose, perspective, and power to the Christian Church. It has, as John said, ever been the incentive for holy living, for “every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:3). One of the categorical imperatives of the Christian life is this other Johannine word, “Little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may … not be ashamed before him …” (1 John 2:28).
Paul located the motivation for Christian service in the hope of Christ’s return. Notice his solemn exhortation to Timothy: “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Tim. 4:1, 2). Why? Because Christ will come.
The return of our Lord is also a great comfort for the sorrowing. To the disciples in their brokenness, Jesus said, “I will come again” (John 14:3). To those who mourned over their dead, Paul wrote, “Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:18). What words? Those of Christ’s promised return.
Christ’s Second Coming means the death of death. The last enemy to be destroyed is death; and Paul, in First Corinthians 15, connected this with the coming of the Lord. It is “at his coming” that “this corruption shall put on incorruption.” It is “at his coming” that “this mortal shall put on immortality.” It is “at his coming” that “there shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ”
The hope of his coming also produced patience and rejoicing under trial. Paul said that he gloried in the Christians at Thessalonica “for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure … that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer” (2 Thess. 1:4, 5). For Peter also this was the way suffering was to be understood; speaking of the believer’s future deliverance, he wrote, “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith … might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:6, 7).
Constantly the Word of God exhorts Christians to be alert. “Let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober,” for “the day of the Lord cometh as a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:6 and 2). In all of this Paul was only repeating the words of his Lord, who said, “Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching” (Luke 12:37a).
So we live in 1964 as the early Church lived—in the expectation of an opened heaven and in the power of that blessed hope.
Robert J. Lamont is pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he succeeded Dr. Clarence E. Macartney. He holds the A.B. degree from Maryville College, the B.D. from Princeton Seminary, the M.Th. from Mt. Airy Lutheran Seminary, and the D.D. from Maryville College. He has been on the General Council of the United Presbyterian Church.
The Parable Of The Restless Shepherd
Behold, a certain shepherd looked upon his flock on a Sabbath morning and lo, they were few in numbers. And he said within himself, “These many years have I laboured in vain. I have sown the seed but there is no fruit to harvest.” Then reasoned he within himself and said, “I will write many epistles to many shepherdless flocks and I will entreat them to come and hear my word. Perchance they may entreat me to become the shepherd of a larger fold.” And he did even as he had said. But lo, the restless shepherd then had many misgivings, for his house was not in order. He then hastened to make ready for his guests. He put a new robe upon himself and did blacken the shoes of his feet. And he did diligently train his psalm-singers with many vain repetitions, that they might sing well in the house of the Lord. Yet had he other misgivings. “For,” he said within himself, “what if they come from the far corners of the earth to sit at my feet but are displeased with the barrenness of my words?” He then hied himself to his barrel. But there was much confusion. It was not yet Saturday night and he had not been wont to make haste with his labours. Yet laboured he diligently, for he sought great reward. And again on the morrow laboured he more; and again on the morrow. Then on the Lord’s Day was he much pleased, for he spoke with great authority. And his hearers who gathered in small numbers were also much pleased. And the evening and morning were of the first Sabbath, but there were no stewards from other fields. Yet there went out a saying to the members of his own fold that their shepherd had spoken with great power. And on the following Sabbath they gathered in greater numbers and again each Sabbath, and they were much pleased. And they continued to gather in greater numbers. Even the ungodly did come, to hear the word of the Lord.
Finally the evening and morning were of the seventh Sabbath, but there were no stewards from other fields. And he said, “I will write more epistles. I will speak with greater praise concerning myself. I will constrain them to come.” But the stewards came not. Then the restless shepherd prayed a prayer of despair, “Lord, I have served thee faithfully for these many years,” but his voice choked within himself. And he prayed again. “Lord, I have served thee faithfully and well these past seven weeks, but thou hast not sent stewards so that I may labour in larger fields.” And as he was praying, behold immediately there was a knock at the door. But there were no stewards. But sheep of his own fold did enter with great rejoicing and with much obeisance. And they said, “Come, thou and thy household, and make merry with us. There is a great multitude that awaits thee at the temple. They would make merry with thee, for this their shepherd was spiritually dead and he is alive again.” And he and his family did go and made merry with them and there was great rejoicing. Then prayed he a prayer within himself: “Lord, I thank thee that thou didst hear the prayer of thy servant; but, O Lord, be merciful to me a sinner.”
The Rev. DOWIE G. DEBOER, First Congregational Church, Brimfield, Massachusetts.
