Forty days after the
resurrection, the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven. What a
glorious event that was! What rejoicing there must have been
amongst the heavenly hosts as God the Son, who had "humbled Himself
and became obedient unto death" took His place at the right hand of
the Father, exalted and glorified, where "he ever liveth to make
intercession" for us until the time appointed for Him to return to
earth, to rapture His Church, destroy the Antichrist, redeem Israel,
and set up His Millennial Kingdom as KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF
LORDS:
| "But He made Himself of no
reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and
was made in the likeness of men: And being found in
fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross"
(Philippians 2:7-8), "But this
man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins
forever, sat down on the right hand of God" (Hebrews
10:12),
"Wherefore He is able also to save
them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing
He ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Hebrews
7:25),
"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
14:2-3),
"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" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17),
"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give
honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and
His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted
that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and
white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of
saints. And He saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they
which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.
And He saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God"
(Revelation 19:7-9),
"And 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 a flame of fire, and on
His head were many crowns; and He had a name written,
that no man knew but He Himself. And He was clothed with
a vesture dipped in blood: and His Name is called The
Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven
followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean" (Revelation 19:11-14),
"And then shall that Wicked be
revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of
His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His
coming" (2 Thessalonians 2:8),
"For, behold, the LORD will come with
fire, and with His chariots like a whirlwind, to render
His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire.
For by fire and by His sword will the LORD plead with
all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many"
(Isaiah 66:15-16),
"Then shall the LORD go forth, and
fight against those nations ... And His feet shall stand
in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before
Jerusalem on the east" (Zechariah 14:3-4),
"And it shall come to pass in that
day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that
come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house
of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the
spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall
look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn
for Him, as one mourneth for his only son" (Zechariah
12:9-10),
"The LORD also shall roar out of Zion,
and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and
the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of
His people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in
Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy,
and there shall no strangers pass through her any more
... Judah shall dwell forever, and Jerusalem from
generation to generation" (Joel 3:16-21),
"For Zion's sake will I not hold my
peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until
the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and
the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the
Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy
glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the
mouth of the LORD shall name ... Thou shalt no more be
termed Forsaken: neither shall thy land any more be
termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzi-bah,
and they land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee"
(Isaiah 62:1-5),
"Who hath heard such a thing? who hath
seen such things? ... Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be
glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy
with her, all ye that mourn for her: ... For thus saith
the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her lie a
river" (Isaiah 66:8-12),
"And so all Israel shall be saved: as
it is written, There shall come out of Zion the
Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take
their sins. ... For the gifts and calling of God are
without repentance" (Romans 11:25-36),
"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
19:15-16),
"And it shall come to pass in that day
... the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in
Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously" (Isaiah
24;21-23),
"And I saw an angel come down from
heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great
chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that
old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound
him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless
pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he
should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand
years should be fulfilled" (Revelation 20:1-3),
"...and I saw the souls of them that
were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word
of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither
his image, neither had received his mark upon their
foreheads, or in their hands: and they lived and reigned
with Christ a thousand years" (Revelation 20:4-6),
"The wolf also shall dwell with the
lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and
the calf and the young lion and the fatling together:
and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the
bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down
together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And
the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and
the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice
den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge
of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea" (Isaiah
11:6-9). |
The disciples were told that in the
same way Jesus ascended to heaven so He would return to earth at the
end of the age:
| "And when He had spoken these things,
while they beheld, He was taken up; and a cloud received
Him out of their sight. And while they looked
steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men
stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men
of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this
same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven,
shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into
heaven" (Acts 1:9-11). |
And the New Testament is full of
references to our need to watch and wait for His coming. Jesus
Himself, in the Gospels and in the Revelation to John, used the
analogy of a bride waiting for her bridegroom. We who are
saved are the bride. How should we prepare ourselves for our
forthcoming marriage? The following extract is from an email I
recently received. It is one in a series of discussions with a
group of believers on the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus:
| "In New Testament times, the bride
was betrothed to her husband for something like a year
or more before the actual wedding day took place.
The bride knew the day of the wedding, but she didn't
know what hour the bridegroom would come to take her.
If I remember rightly, there was something like an eight
hour 'slot' leading up to midnight, and the groom could
come any time during that period. Thus, the bride
had to keep herself in readiness during all those eight
hours, because she didn't know exactly when he'd arrive.
"This fits in so beautifully with what
the Lord said concerning His return. If we
'expand' the timescale somewhat, then we can say that
the Lord was betrothed to His Church some 2000 years
ago. She, the bride, doesn't know exactly when He
is coming back for her. We will not know the day
because the Lord Himself said so (Matthew 25:13).
As to whether we'll know the week or the month, well,
who can say? Time will tell.
"The important thing is that, like the
Jewish bride of New Testament times, we will know
roughly when the Lord is going to return and we must
hold ourselves in readiness for His return. The
Jewish bride put on her fine wedding clothes and we must
do the same. By this I mean, typologically
speaking, that we must see to it that we lead holy
lives, wearing the garments of righteousness that He has
given us to wear. The Greek word for 'watch' used
in Matthew 25:13 - gregoreuo - has the meaning of
being carefully vigilant lest some destructive calamity
should overtake us through indolence. It would be
a very bad thing for the Groom to arrive and find that
we were not dressed fit to receive Him (Matthew 22:11).
"It is interesting to note that the
phrase, 'Behold, the Bridegroom cometh!' (Matthew 25:6)
is the same phrase that was used to announce to the
Jewish bride that her new husband had come! This
message was shouted - loudly! - by a friend of the
groom, when the groom arrived. I wonder if this is
what the archangel will shout in 1 Thessalonians 4:16?
"Finally, there is the promise that
the groom made to the bride at the beginning of the
betrothal period. John 14:2-3 is actually part of
what he said, thus: 'I go to prepare a place for you,
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
again.' This is exactly what the Jewish bridegroom
said to his wife-to-be. He went back to his
father's house, and - during the betrothal period -
extended the size of the dwelling in order to make new
quarters for the wife and husband. Isn't it
amazing that the Lord used exactly the same words when
promising to return to us?" [Dave Jewell, May 1998,
email on file]. |
Are we eagerly awaiting the
Bridegroom?
| "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be
likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and
went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were
wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took
their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise
took oil in heir vessels with their lamps. While the
bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at
midnight there was a cry made, Behold the bridegroom
cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins
arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said
unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are
gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so, lest
there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to
them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they
went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were
ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was
shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying,
Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily
I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye
know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man
cometh" (Matthew 25:1-13), "So
that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 1:7),
"...and unto them that look for Him
shall He appear the second time without sin unto
salvation" (Hebrews 9:28b),
"Looking for that blessed hope, and
the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour
Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). |
Are we watching for the signs that
tell us His coming is near?
| "And as He sat upon the mount of
Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying,
Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be
the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And
Jesus answered and said unto them ... Watch
therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth
come" (Matthew 24:3-44), "But 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" (1 Thessalonians 5:1-6). |
Are we clothing ourselves in our
wedding garments?
| "But let us, who are of the day, be
sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and
for a helmet, the hope of salvation ... and I pray God
your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved
blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1
Thessalonians 5:8,23), "Seeing
the that all these thins shall be dissolved, what manner
of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and
godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of
the day of God ... Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye
look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found
of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless" (2 Peter
3:11-14),
"Thou hast a few names even in Sardis
which have not defiled their garments; and they shall
walk with me in white: for they are worthy" (Revelation
3:4),
"Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is
he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk
naked, and they see his shame" (Revelation 16:15). |
Will we come to the Wedding Banquet
when it is prepared, or are we so engrossed in worldly concerns that
we will not want to leave them?
| "And Jesus answered and spake unto
them again by parables, and said, The kingdom of heaven
is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for
his son. And sent forth his servants to call them that
were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.
Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them
which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my
oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are
ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of
it, ands went their ways, one to his farm, another to
his merchandise: ... Then saith he to his servants, The
wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not
worthy" (Matthew 22:1-8). |
If we do come, will we find that we
have, after all, no wedding garment?
| "And when the king came in to see the
guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding
garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou
in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was
speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him
hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into
outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth" (Matthew 22:11-13). |
Many years ago we used
to sing a chorus:
He's coming soon, He's
coming soon, With joy we welcome His returning;
It may be morn, it may be night or noon, We know He's
coming soon. |
Do we know He's coming
soon? Or do we say with those who are perishing,
| "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
Peter 3:4), |
...forgetting 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" (2 Peter 3:8-9). |
As the heavenly hosts
longed for the glorified Lord to return from His earthly mission,
let us, likewise, long for Him to come and take us home to be with
Him forever!
Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask
for the old paths, where is the good way,
and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls
(Jeremiah 6:16)
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