Search
Scripture Reading: Rev. 12:5; 14:1; Luke 21:36; 1 Thes. 4:16-17; 2 Thes. 2:8; 2 Tim. 4:8; Phil. 3:20b-21; 2 Tim. 4:1; Matt. 24:42-44; 25:13
In the period before the Reformation, the Catholic Church paid little attention to the second coming of Christ. After the Reformation the Christians in the Protestant churches began to pay attention to the prophecies concerning this matter and brought them out one by one. After the early apostles passed away, the church on earth had great problems, especially in arguments related to the expounding of the Bible so that eventually the church was divided into two parts, the Eastern church and the Western church. Consequently, in A.D. 325 Emperor Constantine of Rome called a council at Nicaea. All the Christian leaders assembled together and formulated the Nicene Creed, which temporarily settled all their arguments. Then, after another two hundred years, in A.D. 590, the papal system was formally established and was universally recognized by the church. This became the Roman Catholic Church.
Under the rule of the Catholic Church, the church passed through a period called the Dark Ages for ten centuries. Then in 1517 Martin Luther took the lead to reform the church, and he translated the Bible into German, thus opening up the biblical truths. After this, many Protestant groups were formed, and different items of the truth were gradually released. However, the truth concerning the Lord’s second coming remained vague. Then in 1828 the brothers in England were raised up by the Lord. They were enlightened by the Lord concerning the truth, and there was a great advancement in the knowledge of the Bible. In a general way, under their hand the prophecies concerning the Lord’s second coming were crystallized. In particular, J. N. Darby made the greatest contribution. However, the logic in his line of thought was somewhat deficient, and the details regarding the Lord’s second coming were not made sufficiently clear. Later, the Lord raised up G. H. Pember, who was well versed in biblical prophecy, especially in the history of the prophecies. He wrote four books concerning the prophecies of the Bible. One of them, entitled The Great Prophecies, covers the prophecies concerning the Jews, the Gentiles, and the church; the other three also cover the prophecies concerning the Jews, the Gentiles, and the church, respectively. These four books may be considered the foundation of the study of biblical prophecy. Everyone who pursues the knowledge of the prophecies in the Bible is helped by these four books. Pember was well versed in the history of the biblical prophecies, and his study in this matter was excellent. For example, concerning the vision of the struggle between the ram and the male goat in Daniel 8, Pember realized that the male goat signifies the Grecian Empire, and the ram, the Persian Empire, because the symbol of ancient Greece was the goat, and the symbol of Persia was the ram.
If we trace the history in the Old Testament, we see that God raised up Gentile powers to chastise Israel because of Israel’s rebellion. First, God raised up Chaldea, also known as Babylon. In 606 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, led a great army to destroy the holy city, Jerusalem, and the holy temple, and he brought all the children of Israel as captives to Babylon. However, because Nebuchadnezzar was too cruel toward the children of Israel, seventy years after Israel’s captivity, God raised up the empire of Medo-Persia. From the book of Isaiah we can see that Cyrus, the king of Persia, was God’s beloved, and he even became a type of Christ. In 539 B.C. Cyrus defeated Babylon and, under God’s inspiration, released the children of Israel that they might go back to rebuild the temple. This is recorded in the book of Ezra. Then, after another four kings, King Artaxerxes gave the order for the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem. This is recorded in the book of Nehemiah. Therefore, for a period of time Persia was doing the will of God. At approximately 330 B.C., Alexander rose to power in Macedonia, north of Greece. When he was in his thirties, he formed the Grecian Empire, and within a short time he conquered the land east of the Mediterranean all the way to the Indian Ocean. Thus he defeated Persia, symbolized by the ram. When he invaded Jerusalem, the high priest Jaddua went to meet him and showed him the portion in Daniel concerning the male goat. After reading it, Alexander had great appreciation for it, so he began to treat the Jews with leniency. He had strength like that of a goat and was brutal and high-handed. History records that when he returned to Macedonia, he wore a crown with a male goat’s horn.
After Pember, came Robert Govett, who wrote concerning the biblical prophecies with the greatest accuracy. Later, his student D. M. Panton published a magazine entitled Dawn, in which he released a number of truths concerning prophecy. He gave financial assistance to M. E. Barber, enabling her to come to mainland China. M. E. Barber originally came with a British mission to Foochow, China, to do missionary work. Later, because of some false accusations, she was called back to England. After the storm calmed down, she withdrew from the mission and received the burden from the Lord to come back to China. At that time the Lord raised up Brother Watchman Nee in Foochow. Brother Nee not only learned many precious spiritual lessons from Miss Barber but also through her recommendation came in contact with the writings of Panton and others.
In 1928 in Shanghai, Brother Nee had a Bible study on the book of Revelation, and he gave me a draft of the notes when I joined the Lord’s work in 1933. Then in 1976 in Anaheim, California, I held a training on the life-study of Revelation. Today in the Recovery Version, the footnotes related to the prophecies are extracts obtained through my study of the writings of Darby, Pember, Govett, Panton, and Brother Nee. These footnotes are very clear and transparent. Hence, our knowledge concerning the biblical prophecies has a solid foundation; it did not come out of our own imagination, nor is it our original, unique creation. Rather, what we see is an advancement that we made by standing on the shoulders of those who were before us.
By studying the writings of these Bible scholars, we have concluded that in the past two hundred years, if those who have expounded the prophecies concerning the Lord’s second coming made any mistakes, their mistakes were on two points. The first point is related to the last week of the seventy weeks in Daniel, and the second is related to the coming of Christ and the rapture of the saints. In expounding the prophecies, anyone who neglects the last of the seventy weeks will fall into error. In the past some said that Napoleon was the Antichrist. However, Napoleon was a French king, and in his time the nation of Israel was not yet restored. In the 1930s Panton said that Mussolini was the Antichrist, and he published the pictures of Nero and Mussolini, pointing out the resemblance between the two. Later, others said that Hitler was the Antichrist. However, Antichrist will be resuscitated after being slain, but Hitler’s body was not even intact for burial after his death. Recently, there has been a great change in the Middle East situation, and some have predicted that Iraq’s President Hussein will be the Antichrist. However, Hussein is an Arab, but Antichrist will come out of one of the nations around the Mediterranean Sea. All these sayings are wrong and are not in accordance with the prophecy concerning the last week.
Now we will speak concerning the coming—parousia—of Christ. The Greek word parousia means “presence”; in ancient times it was applied to the coming of a dignified person. In the New Testament this word refers to the coming of Christ, the presence of the most dignified One. This presence will last for a period of time. It will begin first in heaven with the rapture of the overcomers before the three and a half years of the great tribulation (Rev. 12:5; 14:1; Luke 21:36); then, toward the end of the great tribulation, it will come down and remain in the air (1 Thes. 4:16-17); finally, at the conclusion of the great tribulation, it will come from the air to the earth (2 Thes. 2:8).
As far as the overcomers are concerned, the rapture of the saints to Christ’s presence will take place before the great tribulation, but as far as the majority of the saints are concerned, it will occur on the last day of the great tribulation. Before the great tribulation the man-child will be caught up to the presence of Christ in the heavens, where the throne of God is (Rev. 12:5). The firstfruits also will be raptured to the presence of Christ in the heavens, where the heavenly Mount Zion is (14:1-4). In addition, the other overcomers who are living at that time will be raptured to the presence of Christ in the heavens and will stand before Him (Matt. 24:40-41; Luke 21:36; Rev. 3:10) to enjoy the Lord’s presence and escape the great tribulation.
The majority of the believers, those who are not raptured before the great tribulation, will be left to pass through the great tribulation so that they may reach maturity. During that period of time there will be numerous supernatural calamities, and Antichrist will do all he can to cruelly oppress the saints. As a result, the world will no longer be a lovable place. Although they will experience God’s care and nourishing, the believers will still be miserable. Then, at the completion of the three and a half years, at the sounding of the last trumpet, all the dead saints throughout the generations will be resurrected and, together with the living saints who remain, will be raptured to the presence of Christ in the air (1 Thes. 4:15-17; 1 Cor. 15:51-52). This will include the rapture of the ten resurrected virgins (Matt. 25:1-12) and the rapture of the two witnesses, who will be resurrected (Rev. 11:11-12). At that time the Lord will set up His judgment seat to judge all the saints (2 Cor. 5:10), and He will also marry His overcomers, who will be invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb as the bride of Christ (Rev. 19:7-9). After that, Christ will appear openly.
After the wedding feast of the Lamb, Christ will come with His overcomers, His newlywed wife, as His army to fight with Antichrist, the kings under him, and their armies at Armageddon (16:14, 16). At that time the armies of Antichrist will gather there for war to destroy the nation of Israel. There Christ will tread the great winepress of God’s wrath (14:19), and the blood will reach to the bridles of the horses (v. 20). Because of His treading, Christ’s garment will be dipped in blood (19:13). On the one hand, Christ will bring Antichrist to nothing by the manifestation of His coming (2 Thes. 2:8); on the other hand, like lightning, He will appear to the children of Israel, and the whole house of Israel will be saved (Matt. 24:27, 30; Rev. 1:7; Rom. 11:26-27; Zech. 12:10-14). After this, Christ will send an angel to bind Satan and cast him into the abyss (Rev. 20:1-3). Thus He will bring His kingdom to the earth (11:15; 12:10a). He will sit on His throne of glory to judge the nations who are living at that time and separate them from one another. The “sheep,” those who obey the eternal gospel and who treat the suffering believers well, will be blessed and will be counted righteous to inherit the kingdom; but the “goats,” those who disobey the eternal gospel, will be cursed and will suffer eternal perdition (Matt. 25:31-46; Acts 10:42b; 2 Tim. 4:1).
During the great tribulation Israel will be trampled under foot by Antichrist and his army (Rev. 11:2). Furthermore, the principal calamities of the great tribulation will occur in that land (Matt. 24:16-22). At the end, Antichrist will kill many of the Jews and will besiege them on the Mount of Olives. However, at the very moment of peril, Christ will come on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and all Israel will look upon the One whom they have pierced, and they will wail over Him and repent (v. 30; Zech. 12:10). Then Christ will descend onto the Mount of Olives to save Israel (14:4-5). After Christ judges the nations, He will send His angels with a loud trumpet, and they will gather together from the four winds all the children of Israel to the good land, which He promised to Abraham. That will be the time of the restoration of the nation of Israel (Matt. 24:31), and it will usher in the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21). At that point, the kingdom age will begin.
Since we know that the Lord’s second coming is so precious, we should love the Lord’s appearing (2 Tim. 4:8). The Bible concludes with “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20). From the record in the New Testament, it is not difficult to discover that in their hearts the apostles firmly believed that the Lord would come quickly, and they also lived a life in preparation for the Lord’s second coming. In the church’s history, I know that Miss M. E. Barber was one who lived such a life. On the last day of 1925, Brother Nee went to pray with her, and she prayed, “Lord, do You really mean to say that You will let 1925 pass by, that You will wait until 1926 before You come back? However, on this last day I still pray that You will come back today!” Not long afterward, Brother Nee met her on the street, and again she said to him, “It is really strange that up to this day He has not yet come back.” Do not think that since we are clear concerning the signs of the Lord’s coming, we can be slothful and can first love the world and then pursue the Lord when the last week comes. There is no such convenience. We should believe that the Lord is to be feared. In Luke 12 the Lord gave a parable concerning a rich man who endeavored to lay up wealth for himself so that his soul might enjoy itself and be merry. But God said to him, “Foolish one, this night they are requiring your soul from you” (vv. 16-20). Every “today” that we have is truly the Lord’s grace. Therefore, as long as we have today, as long as we still have breath, we should love the Lord and His appearing, await the Lord’s coming (Phil. 3:20), and always take His coming as an encouragement.
In 2 Timothy 4:1 Paul said to Timothy, “I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom.” This is an exhortation from Paul immediately before his martyrdom. He said that he had fought the good fight, he had finished the course, and he had kept the faith, and that at the judgment seat he would be awarded the crown of righteousness, which would be awarded to all those who have loved His appearing (vv. 6-8). He reminded Timothy, and also us, by the Lord’s judgment and kingdom, that we should have a living that loves the Lord’s appearing. This will cause us not to be discouraged, not to backslide, not to become weak, but to remain faithful to the end.
When the Lord comes, He will come secretly as a thief to those who love Him and will steal them away as His treasures and bring them into His presence in the heavens (Matt. 24:42-43). Hence, we need to watch and be ready (25:13; 24:44). If we desire to be raptured, first we must be filled with the heavenly breath and have oil in our vessels. If we are rooted on the earth and occupied daily with the anxieties of this life and with earthly pleasures, we will not be raptured at that time. We should remember Lot’s wife. Because she loved and treasured the evil world, which God was going to judge and utterly destroy, she took a backward look. Thus, she became a pillar of salt and was left to suffer in a place of shame. This should be a warning to us. If we love the world, the Lord will leave us here to pass through the great tribulation so that we may be put to shame until we become mature and are raptured.
The Lord also reminded us to take heed to ourselves and to be watchful at every time, beseeching lest our hearts be weighed down with debauchery and drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that the day of the great tribulation come upon us suddenly as a snare; for it will come in upon all those dwelling on the face of all the earth. We should guard our hearts and give all the room to the Lord so that we may prevail to escape all these things and stand before the Son of Man (Luke 21:34-36; cf. Rev. 12:5-6, 14).
To attain maturity is not an overnight matter. Therefore, for His coming we must prepare ourselves, love Him, and grow in Him, that at His appearing we may be mature to be raptured and receive the reward.
