‘That for this purpose God will send Jesus Christ personally to the earth at the close of the times of the Gentiles.” Article Xx
“This Same Jesus”
One of the most foremost fundamental teaching of the Scriptures concerns the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth for the purpose of completing God’s plan of redemption. This subject became the foundation stone of Christian teaching from Acts 1:11 onward, and constitutes an essential doctrine of New Testament writers.
Although Jesus, during His ministry, made allusions to His second advent, His teachings (at that time) failed to enlighten the apostles. They, like the other Jews, expected the Messiah to immediately set up David’s kingdom and liberate their nation from Roman oppression. Their understanding and perception was so limited that they were unable to either comprehend or accept the Lord’s instruction relative to His death and resurrection. Consequently, the doctrine of His return, preceded by a long period of absence completely escaped them. That this misunderstanding persisted right to the time of the Lord’s departure from their midst is obvious by the events described in the first chapter of Acts. Jesus had now spent forty days with them after His resurrection, a great part of which was devoted to further instruction on the things of the Kingdom (V3). Apparently, up to the very moment when He was taken up from them into heaven, the apostles were laboring under the erroneous supposition that the establishment of the long sought kingdom was imminent. After receiving further instruction concerning the kingdom and being directed that they “‘should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me,” they asked Him, “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” (VV4-6) His reply to them that all “times and seasons” are in the Father’s power no doubt left the question still hanging in the apostles minds. His assurance that they would “receive power” by which they would be witnesses of His resurrection, and that He would be with them always, even unto the end of the world did not seem to alleviate their apprehensions. For, when Jesus was taken up, they remained, apparently stunned and dazed, looking intently into the heavens as if they expected at any moment to see Him once again appear. Not until the assuring words of the two Angeles who suddenly appeared, did they take heart. “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.” With the words of the angels ringing in their ears, giving considerable illumination to their Masters teaching, Luke records, And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy (Luke 24:52).
The Master’s Teaching
The plain teaching of Jesus before His crucifixion was no doubt brought to their minds through the influence of the Holy Spirit after Pentecost. He had made many references to His coming departure, the long period of absence, and His eventual return to the earth.
In His parable of the ten virgins, Jesus taught that His return would be only after a hidden time had elapsed: “Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour, wherein the Son of man cometh- (Matt. 25:13). The Lord then immediately related another parable concerning the talents, which He introduced by the word, “for,” indicating that it was closely connected with what had just been said. “For, the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.” (V14) He then proceeded to fill in the details of the story, how that certain responsibilities had been assigned to the man’s servants. The Master, after describing the uses to which the various servants had put the talents, tells of the return of their lord: “After a long time, the lord of those servants cometh and reckoneth with them.” Here was an unmistakable allusion to the “long” period, during which Jesus, the “lord” of the parable, would be away.
Immediately following this parable, the Lord gave a graphic description of the judgment seat; preceded however, by His return from heaven: “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.” (V31)
It is understandable why the disciples were blind to His sojourn in heaven, since they were so intent on seeing the establishment of the Kingdom. The subject of the Kingdom dominated the teachings of Jesus; most of the parables being centered around this theme. A people such as Israel, who considered themselves to be God’s people, and who were then being ruled over and dominated by the tyranny of Rome, were obsessed with the work of the Messiah insofar as the liberation of that nation was concerned. An oppressed people are always anxious for deliverance. The disappointment of the disciples in the Lord’s (apparent) failure to release Israel from their oppressors is illustrated in the sorrowful words of two who addressed Jesus (unknowingly) after His resurrection: “Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, today is the third day-since these things were done” (Luke 24:18-21). They had trusted—but now were sorrowful because of their lack of understanding of God’s purpose as revealed in “Moses and all the prophets.”
So fixed were the minds of the apostles, and, indeed of all the disciples on the assertion of Jesus as the Messiah and King of Israel, the Lord found it necessary’ to take steps to quench their zeal. Luke makes an interesting observation on this matter just before relating another parable about the Kingdom of God: “And as they heard these things he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear“ (Luke 19:11). They were wrong in thinking that the Kingdom of God should “immediately appear,” and the narrative which followed would later be a means of instructing them and others who would believe on Jesus through their word. The parable concerned “a certain nobleman” who “went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.– After distributing duties and obligations to his servants, the nobleman departed. Unlike the parable of the talents, Jesus does not describe his absence as being a “long time,” but certainly infers a lengthy absence by stating that the nobleman “went into a far country,” which would involve a considerable lapse of time before his return. At the appropriate moment, according to the “times and seasons which the Father hath put in his own power,” the nobleman returns to reckon with his servants: “And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.”
The “nobleman” of this parable and the “lord” of the parable of the talents represent, of course the Lord Jesus Christ; the “far country” (in both stories), heaven, and illustrated clearly Christ’s teaching concerning His second coming.
“The Power And Coming Of Our Lord Jesus Christ”
To deeply impress His followers, both then and in subsequent generations, of the reality of His future return in sovereign splendor, Jesus took three of His apostles, Peter, James and John, and led them to the mount of transfiguration. The scene which followed was in fulfillment of a promise made about eight days before (see Luke 9:28): “Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom” (Matt. 16:28). Though certain sects attempt to draw the conclusion that since all who heard the words of Christ have died, the kingdom must have been set up the facts revealed in this vision (Matt, 17:9) and in future revelation preclude any such interpretation. The real significance of this unique experience may be discerned only by keeping in mind the purpose for which it happened; viz, to teach His disciples what was truly involved in the process of Christ’s manifesting Himself as King.
The appearance also of Moses and Elijah added to the meaning of what these three apostles witnessed. The words spoken to Jesus concerned “His decease which should be accomplished at Jerusalem.” Though the significance of this conversation apparently escaped the apostles’ notice, it would later serve to add greatly to their understanding that the cross must precede the crown, and that it suited the Father’s purpose “in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings” (Heh. 2:10). The immediate benefit to these chosen three was to strengthen their faith by seeing their Lord in glory, and to prepare them for Calvary.
The vision of Jesus in glory, as well as of Moses and Elijah was intended to fulfill the promise that some of them would see “the Son of man coming in his kingdom” before dying. That this is precisely what the Lord intended is conclusively established by the later words of Peter, one of the three who witnessed the transfiguration: “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount” ( 2 Pet, 1:16-18). The apostle declares himself to he an “eye witness of his majesty” in relation to the “power” (see Mark 9:1) and “coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
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