The Coming of The Lord

Henry Allan Ironside

Sailing with Paul

Sometime ago I listened to a well-known clergyman giving a lecture upon a recently completed world tour. He frankly told his audience that he did not believe in the personal pre-millennial coming of the Lord. Yet in candor he felt compelled to make the following admission: wherever he  had  found  special  devotedness  among  missionaries laboring in distant lands and inquired what it was that enabled them not to count their own lives dear, but to toil so earnestly for the salvation of the heathen, the answer had invariably come: “Because the Lord’s return is near; I look for Him to come again, and I want to accomplish what I can while waiting for His advent.” This is indeed as it should be. The truth of the second coming of the Lord was the guiding star of Paul’s whole life and service as a Christian and God would have the same true of us.

A century ago, almost total ignorance prevailed among Christians  as  to  the  manner  and  object  of  the  Lord’s second coming. Today this precious truth has been carried into practically every nook and corner of the earth. No thoughtful person, it would seem, could fail to recognize in this the sounding forth of the midnight cry: “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him!” (Matthew 25:6). However, the setting of dates, and confusing the Church’s hope with Israel’s expectations has been used by the enemy also, for when the Word is not “rightly divided” on these two subjects, confusion and uncertainty are sure to result. The proper hope of the Church is the Lord’s return in Person, in the clouds, to raise the dead in Christ and change the bodies of the living believers, who shall “in a moment” be “caught up together ... to meet the Lord in the air.” There are no dates or time periods connected with this event. The early Christians were taught to wait expectantly for it (see 1 Thessalonians 1:9,10), and it is still our present hope. It is this phase of the coming that is described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1 Corinthians 15:51-56, and many other Scriptures. Israel’s hopes are of a different character, and with them the “times and seasons” are linked. They were taught to look for the descent of Messiah in great power and glory to the earth, to scatter His foes, regather His chosen people, judge among the nations, and establish His earthly, visible kingdom upon the ruins of all human dominions. Such is the teaching of the prophets. Paul shows clearly that all this is not superseded by the Christian revelation; but when the appearing of the Lord to the earth takes place, all the saints of the present age, or Church period, previously changed and glorified, will appear with Him in glory as a special bridal company in the day of His triumph. Of this 2 Thessalonians largely treats.

These  two  stages  of  the  Lord’s  return  are  not  two comings, but one. Only He pauses in the air, on His way to  the  earth  to  receive  the  heavenly  saints,  to  reward each one and apportion to each his place in the coming kingdom, according to the measure of their devotedness in the period of their testimony here. Of this I wish to write more particularly in the next chapter, so shall not dwell on it now. It is often said by objectors to what is called the “pre-millennial coming,” that the Lord will not return until He comes as Judge at the expiration of the thousand years’ reign  of  righteousness.  To  answer  this,  I  want  to  put several propositions in syllogistic form, which I believe to be incontrovertible.

1. There can be no millennium until Christ comes, because  the  resurrection  of  believers  takes  place  prior to the millennium, and at Christ’s return; consequently, there can be no millennium until He returns (Revelation 20:5,6; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16).

2. There can be no millennium until Christ comes, because Antichrist is to be destroyed at the second advent; consequently Christ’s return must precede the millennium (2 Thessalonians 2).

3. There can be no millennium until Christ returns, because Satan is to be bound immediately preceding the second advent. There can therefore be no millennium until Christ appears (Revelation 20:3).

4. There can be no millennium until Christ returns, because the millennial kingdom is to be the scene of the risen saints’ rewards. These get their reward at Christ’s second coming; so there can be no millennium until He returns (Revelation 20:4; 22:12).

5. There can be no millennium until Christ returns, because  Israel  must  be  regathered  to  their  land  and purged of their sins before the millennium. But Israel is to be regathered at Christ’s second coming; therefore there can be no millennium until Christ comes (Zechariah 12 and 13).

6. There can be no millennium until Christ returns, because Gentile dominion is abolished at Christ’s second coming; consequently there can be no millennium until Christ returns.

7. There can be no millennium until Christ comes, for the Church age only ends, and the fulness of the Gentiles will have come in at Christ’s second coming. There can therefore be no millennium until Christ comes (Romans 11).

To these propositions many more might be added, but these are sufficient, I feel certain, to prove the case for any who will search the Scriptures daily, whether these things are so (Acts 17:11). But a word of warning before closing. It is a poor thing to simply hold correct views of the coming of the Lord, if the heart be not engaged with the blessed Person who is soon to return. We are called to wait for God’s Son from heaven (1 Thessalonians 1:10). If He be not the object of our souls, correct views will avail little to keep us from the power of the world and in the path of devotion to Himself. But if He indeed be ever precious to us, we shall know the truth of what is written: “Every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure” (1 John 3:3). At the sound of His voice we shall fly to Him as the steel to the magnet. Until then, be it ours ever to be held by the power of His attraction.