Treat for this purpose God will send Jesus Christ personally to the earth as the close of the times of the Gentiles
The Lord’s stay in Heaven — Only Temporary
The teachings of Jesus relative to His return to this earth are all in concert with the Old Testament prophecies concerning this great event. The pattern to which all the New Testament events conform is briefly stated in Psalm 110:1,2: -The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Sion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.” How important do little words become under the right circumstances. The word, “until-plainly indicates that David’s Lord (Adon) was lo ascend to God’s right hand where he would remain for a hidden period of time. When that moment in the Divine calendar was reached when the Kingdom of God was to be set up, the Lord would return to this earth,
Looking at the events from our vantage point, we can see the fulfillment of p.m of this Messianic prophecy in the ascent of Jesus after His offering for sin. His present position of High Priest and Intercessor will he interrupted when the command of God sends Him once again to the earth to consummate His plan of redemption. That this interpretation is in harmony with later revelation becomes evident when we look at Paul’s words in Heb. 10:12-13; “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for at down on the right hand of God: from henceforth expecting till his enemies, be made his footstool.”
The apostle Peter uses the -keys of the Kingdom of Heaven” a few days after Pentecost to add further details to our understanding of Christ’s return. He had just healed a lame man and, taking advantage of the great wonder and awe which fell on the people, Peter exclaimed: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus Christ which, before was preached unto you: whom the heavens must receive (retain) until the times of restitution of all which God bath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” The phrase -He shall send” is translated from a single Greek word, APOSTELLO” which means to send forth or away – as with a commission. It is akin to the word, “APOSTOLOS,” meaning apostle (One sent ).
The Nature of His Coming
It is maintained by some, who concede the Lord’s return from heaven, that His appearance is going to be invisible. In addition to this error, it is also taught that Jesus will be present only in some intangible incorporeal way; viz, without material body or substance. The root of this error lies in the misunderstanding concerning the Lord’s resurrection from the dead, It is denied that His body was ever restored to life. On those occasions when he showed himself to those who were to be witnesses of His resurrection, we are told that Jesus -materialized” a body. This is not the time to enter into dispute on this teaching. It is mentioned only because of its relevance to the present subject. This topic will be considered, God willing, when we come to Article XXIII. That the Lord Jesus Christ is to return to this earth in a very real and literal sense is clearly set forth in a variety of ways in the Scriptures.
Visibly
“The fundamental teachings of the Scriptures are that Jesus will first a veal Himself to the members of His household. Those who are found faithful will put on immortality., and shall behold their Lord in His glorified state.Be loved, now are we the sons of God, and it cloth not appear what we shall he; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for or shall see’ him as he is.“ (I Jo. 3:2) Concerning this revelation, Paul declares, “So Christ was once offered to hear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” the word, “appear” is from a Greek word, “OPTOMAI,” which means to see or be seen. It is derived from “OPS,” meaning the eye. Strong defines this word as “to gaze (i.e. with wide open eyes at something remarkable)” Bullinger says that it means “to look, to see an object appearing it refers to the thing seen.” It is well to note, that in every New Testament occurrence, in its passive tense, the word implies literal sight of the object seen. In 1 Cor. 15:5, 6, 7 and 8, the word “seen” is from OPTOMAI and is used to describe the Lord’s having been seen after His resurrection. When the angel Gabriel appeared to Zecharias in the temple, the old man “saw” (OPTOMAI) him (Luke 1:11)
Parousia
There is a word used in several passages in the New Testament, generally translated “coming,” which preclude any other interpretation other than a real corporeal presence of Jesus. In Matt. 24:3, the disciples asked the Lord, “Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall he the sign of thy coming?” The word, “coming” in the Greek is “PAROUSIA,” meaning literally “a being along side of.” Bullinger gives the following significance: “A coming which includes the idea of permanent dwelling from that coming onward.” Vine: “A Presence — denotes both the arrival and a subsequent presence with.”
When used in the New Testament, this word always denotes personal presence or a being along side of. In 2 Pet. 1:16, the apostle speaks of the “presence” of Christ on the Mount of transfiguration Paul used the word in the identical way: In 2 Cor. 7:6, he is comforted by the “coming” of Titus; in 1 Cor, 16:17, Paul is glad of the “coming” of Stephanas. En Phil. 2:12, the apostle speaks of his “presence” (parousia ) in Philip in contrast to his ”absence” (irk.
“APOUSIA”) Papyrus documents from the 1st century confirm that this is the proper usage of the word.
It is only logical and reasonable that when the word is used in reference to the coming of Jesus it he understood in the same way. In the following passages, pertaining to the coming of Jesus, the word, “PAROUSIA” is used; 1 Thes. 3:13, 2:19; 1 Cor. 15:23; 2 Thes. 8, 9; James 5:7, 8; 2 Pet. 3:4, 1.2.
In addition to the evidence proving that Christ is to personally return to the earth, we have many Old Testament references foretelling various aspects of His work, the very nature of which demand His personal presence. In the temple of the future age, the prince (as the manifestation of the LORD God of Israel ) is to enter through the gate in the east (Ezek. 44:1-3). God further relates to the prophet “the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of Israel for ever . . (Ezek. 43:7). When He stands to judge the nations, the prophet declares that “his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives . (Zech. 14:3) Job was assured that his redeemer lived, and would at the latter day “stand . . upon the earth” (19:25). Jeremiah speaks of the Messiah who will reign “on the earth” (Jer. 23:5, 6).
“Until the Times of the Gentiles be Fulfilled”
The advent of Jesus is to take place at a pre-determined period. Though the day and hour are concealed from us, God “hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man . . (Acts 17:31). The blindness of Israel which prevents them from recognizing Jesus as their Messiah is to prevail only until a certain pre-determined number of Gentiles are admitted into the faith. Paul shows that when this epoch is reached, Christ will manifest Himself to the Jewish nation: “For I would not brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery’, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. 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” ( Rom. 11:25, 26)
The rejection of Jesus by the Jews resulted in their being dispersed all over the earth where they have suffered persecution and affliction, and has e been put to the sword. The disfavor of God is to be manifested to them until “the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled:” (Luke 21:24) When the Lord returns to set up His Kingdom and to “Turn away ungodliness from the house of Jacob,” it will have been done according to the “times and seasons” of God, as attested by David: “Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the lime to favor her, yea, the set time is come . . . When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.” ( Psalm 102:13, 16)
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One