The Lord Jesus Christ, our heavenly bridegroom, is coming again to this earth for
his bride. He said so: “I will come again”. The angels said so: “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”, and there are literally hundreds of scriptures, both old
and new testaments, referring to the second coming of Christ.
This then, has been the hope and longing of every true saint for two thousand years
since his death and resurrection. It is what we declare every time we break bread
in remembrance of him. We do it only “till he come”. It was the great longing of
our Lord in that upper room when he said, “I will not drink henceforth of this fruit
of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom”.
It has also been the great longing of God the Father for a much longer time. When
we read through the Old Testament, we often come across the phrase “in the day of
the Lord” or “In that day,” which is God’s constant focus. No matter what the present
situation he is dealing with concerning Israel, he always looks beyond to “that
day”. In Zechariah we read: “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount
of Olives”, and again: “And the Lord shall be King over all the earth: in that day
there shall be one Lord, and His name one”. And “that day” is not far off…….
The Lamb is mentioned twenty eight times in the book of Revelation, teaching us
that by constantly beholding the Lord Jesus we can overcome all of Satan’s devices
against us. He is reigning in the midst of the throne. He is surrounded by worship.
He has the seven horns, or the fullness of power in heaven and in earth, and the
seven eyes, or the fullness of the Spirit……
So, as we behold the Lord Jesus as our creator, as the perfect man, as the Lamb
of God, as the anointed King, as the rejected stone, and as the humble servant,
we are prepared to behold him as our heavenly bridegroom. I think only then can
we begin to look at the promises of his coming…….
So it is at the end of days, when Israel again has become a nation, that this generation
is seeing all these signs being fulfilled. And so Jesus told his disciples (and
through them, us), “So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, (not just
the fig tree) know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, this
generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled”. Notwithstanding
any uncertainty as to what period of time actually represents a generation, (70
years? ) the writer who was born in 1949 expects to see these things in his lifetime,
if he is not called home first……
It is not just an interesting statistic that of the twenty seven verses in Daniel
chapter nine, only the last four verses contain direct revelation from God, and
the previous twenty odd verses recount Daniel’s confession and intercession. I think
the proportion is just about right. The Lord waits to see what we will do with what
he has shown us before he will give us more. The psalmist says: “In thy light shall
we see light”, and Abraham’s servant testified: “I being in the way the Lord led
me”. And Paul declares: “I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision”……..
We should pay attention, of course, to everything we read in the bible. We should
pay extra attention when the Lord goes to the trouble to repeat himself. But when
the Lord repeats the same thought numerous times then we should stand to attention
and take the most earnest heed. This is precisely what we see the Lord doing when
he clearly divides the seven year tribulation period, prior to his return to the
earth in triumph, into two distinct halves of three and a half years each.
We read of these three and a half year periods expressed differently, as ‘time,
times, and half a time’, or ‘forty two months’ or “a thousand two hundred and threescore
days”. All different ways of referring to the same period of time. Why should the
Lord go to such lengths to focus our attention on the division of the seven years
into two halves? What is the event that delineates the two halves, or what happens
in the middle of the seven years?........
The third point often raised is that Paul himself expected the Lord’s return in
his lifetime, as we read in his letter to the church at Corinth: “and we shall be
changed.” Along with that, is the thought of millions of saints since, that the
Lord could come at any time. The Lord could come today. So we should be ready. Implied
then in this, is the thought that if I say that the Lord is not coming till the
midst of the seven year tribulation period, then, firstly, I am saying that I know
more than Paul, and, secondly, I am compromising the readiness of his saints for
his return. This would be a grave accusation indeed, if it were so, and must be
looked into with all seriousness…….
My dear fellow saint of God, the church must go through the first three and a half
years of the tribulation period. The Lord will not come today for his bride. But,
beloved, he might come for you or me today to call us home. Therefore I must be
ready today. No, there is no room for carelessness here, but a “looking for and
hasting unto the coming of the day of God”, that whether I am awake or asleep in
Jesus, I will be with him……..
The woman in Revelation twelve pains to “bring forth a man child, who was to rule
all nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up unto God, and to his
throne” The woman is the church, and the man child is the body of overcomers from
within the church. It is they who, like Jesus, have overcome the world, who will
be “caught up to God and to his throne”………
It is not just the strongest, ablest, or boldest among us. On the contrary, it is
those saints who know full well their own sinfulness, their own weakness and disabilities,
and learn then to lean upon him, to “live by me.” A child can overcome by simply
trusting wholly on Jesus. It is faith that the Lord is looking for, as Jesus said:
“when the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” John writes: “For
whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world, and this is the victory that overcometh
the world, even our faith.” John is not saying here that all who are born again
overcome the world, any more than when he writes that, “whosoever is born of God
doth not commit sin,” (18) is he saying that anyone who is born again does not commit
sin. None of us can make that claim. No, it is Christ in us who overcomes the world,
and, as we learn to live by the faith of the Son of God, then we also overcome the
world……
Please read the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew’s gospel chapter twenty five
and verses one to thirteen. When we read what is said in verse six, “behold the
bridegroom cometh”, the sense here is not one of contemplative meditation as in
beholding something (in this case the bridegroom, as we wrote in chapter two). This
is an exclamation, and the word ‘cometh’ is actually added in the Authorised Version.
He is not coming. He is here! Look the bridegroom is here. He has come. There is
no time now to get ready. It is too late. The door is shut. Either we are ready
or we are not. And those that are truly wise amongst his people will ready themselves,
as we read: “the bride hath made herself ready.”
Now the meaning of the parable is just so clear that we really have to be quite
dishonest to miss the point. To say that the five wise were truly born again and
the five foolish were not, is a grave error, and “makes the word of God of none
effect.” It takes away the impact of what Jesus is saying altogether. If the parable
is about five believers and five non believers, then there is no need for the “watch
therefore.”But Jesus did say “watch therefore” and so I as a believer must take
heed and watch to be ready………
Now we have been looking at some heavenly things, and looking at the blessings bestowed
upon faithful service. We have also been warned about not being ready for the heavenly
bridegroom; that we could miss out on being part of the bride. And we have stopped
there. We are reluctant to go on any further. But Jesus does, and we must follow.
When we read the parables of the kingdom in Matthew chapter twenty four from verse
forty five to fifty, and in Luke chapter twelve verses forty two to forty eight,
we are shocked at the words of Jesus at the end. He calls one of his servants who
begins to, “beat the menservants and the maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be
drunken,” an evil servant, and says that he will “cut him in sunder, and will appoint
him his portion with the unbelievers.” This is not the image we like to have of
Jesus. That is because most Christians don’t read their bibles. Or, if they do,
they somehow filter out whole slabs of scripture that don’t fit into their theology,
or don’t fit their idea of Jesus………
So what shall I do then to be ready for the heavenly bridegroom? The little word
‘do’ is a very important word in the bible. It can also be a very dangerous word.
It is important because what we truly believe in our heart is seen in what we say
and what we do. Or as James put it: “I will show thee my faith by my works.” As
we concluded in the last chapter, it will not be what I profess, nor my knowledge
of the scriptures, nor my understanding of the Lord’s will, but what I do, that
will count in the day of the Lord…….
So I think we have got to the point now where we realise it is not just getting
excited, or enthused, or whipped up by some gifted preacher (though the Lord will
use whom he will to exhort and edify the saints.) It goes much deeper than that.
It goes to the very heart of our daily lives in our homes, in our work, and in our
schools, and touches all our human relationships. It is always a heart matter with
the Lord, as Paul goes on to say in Colossians chapter three, “and whatsoever ye
do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not unto men.”
This is why I believe the Lord chose every day, even mundane illustrations of those
who would be ready, of those who would be caught up. In Luke’s gospel chapter seventeen,
Jesus tells of three groups of people: “I tell you, in that night there shall be
two men in one bed: the one shall be taken and the other left. Two women shall be
grinding together; the one shall be taken and the other left. Two men shall be in
the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” We have seen earlier in
chapter seven that Jesus could only have been speaking of three groups of disciples
here, and the first thing we note is a very practical one. That is, when the Lord
does come, it will be daytime in some parts of the earth and in other parts it will
be nighttime. So some will be awake and some will be asleep.
Secondly, we note that these people are quite ordinary. Just like us. I have heard
some say that when the Lord comes they want to be on their knees praying or leading
someone to Christ. Now this is quite an admirable desire, and I would not discourage
that, but also quite unnecessary in relation to our readiness for the Lord’s return.
It is not doing some great work for the Lord, but simply doing what he has given
us to do, whether on our knees praying, or leading a soul to Christ, or whether
it is working in the field, grinding at the mill, or something quite as ordinary
as sleeping……..
I have often observed that if we give ourselves to serving the need of the saints,
or as some were “addicted to the ministry of the saints,” then the Lord sees to
our needs both spiritually and materially. The Lord is no man’s debtor. Maybe, then
if we are working in the field with our brother, or grinding at the mill with our
sister, we might take the opportunity to pray for them and show kindness to them,
and in some way encourage them with the eternal things of the kingdom of God. Then,
maybe two will be taken, and none left! How wonderful that would be. And then we
could join Paul in saying, “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?
Are not ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?”
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