The religion of Jesus Christ is not a theory. It is not merely a code of morals. It is a life to be lived. It is the life of God dwelling in and with the believer. And he who knows not the Saviour as Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us, knows him not in the only way which can bring salvation to the soul.
The Presence of God before the Fall.
In the first free breath of earth's morning, Creator and created, the Almighty God and his son Adam, walked side by side among the aramanthine flowers of the Edenic garden. They talked together as Father and son. God's presence was no myth to the father of the human family. It was something real.
God was just as really present to Adam as was ever his wife. Adam saw God, he asked him questions, and he received answers. This is clearly shown by the eighth verse of the third chapter of Genesis:—
“And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day; and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.”
They hid themselves, their persons, their bodies, amongst the trees. Why did they do this?—Because of sin. The presence of God was to them something real. It was something tangible. Knowing that they had disobeyed, they wanted to hide.
A beautiful thought may be garnered here. It was not God who hid himself from sinful man. It was sinful man who hid himself from God. The High and Lofty One who inhabiteth eternity came to the garden the same as ever to visit his wayward son and daughter. Even to-day God does not hide himself from fallen humanity. But sin has caused her children to hide themselves from the sinless One.
The Presence of God with the Patriarchs.
Six short verses in the book of Genesis, one in the epistle to the Hebrews, and two in the letter of Jude, together with a mention of his name in the genealogy of Christ, is all that the Bible tells concerning the life of Enoch, one of the best men that ever lived on earth. Of him it is said that he “lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah.” This is all that is known of the first six and a half decades of a noble life. No remarkable achievements or experiences are recorded. It is simply related that “he pleased God.” This story should be a comfort to every trusting Christian. Our lives may be uneventful, they may not be marked by any wonderful experience, and yet they may please God.
After Enoch had lived sixty and five years, it is written of him that he “walked with God . . . three hundred years.” Another translation puts it that he walked habitually with God. Surely the presence of God was with him. This walk was not in a trance8 (680)or a vision, but in all the duties of his daily life.
Nowadays we are inclined to look upon the patriarchs as being naturally possessed of characters above the human. In the minds of the present generation they are often dispossessed of the frailties of the flesh. We are apt to look upon them in perhaps the same light as many a schoolboy looks upon the heroes of Greece and Rome, as subjects of verbs in the nominative or objects in the accusative case. But the patriarchs were men “subject to passions like as we are.”
Enoch was not a monk, dwelling in the cloister of a cathedral. He was the father of a family, being obliged to make a living to support his wife and children. He mingled with ungodly men in the ordinary business of life. But in and through it all “Enoch walked with God.” God was ever present in his thoughts. The deeper the iniquity around him, the higher his experience in God. His body was on this dark and dreary earth, but his soul was dwelling amid the realms of light. “For three centuries he had walked with God. Day by day he had longed for a closer union; nearer and nearer had grown the communion, until God took him to himself. He had stood at the threshold of the eternal world, only a step between him and the land of the blest, and now the portals opened, the walk with God so long pursued on earth, continued, and he passed through the gates of the holy city, the first form among men to enter there.”
Abraham.
“He believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” These words are powerful when read in their first untarnished freshness, but they gain tremendously in their original language, to which neither Greek nor German, Latin nor English, can furnish any full equivalent. “He supported himself, he built himself up, he reposed as a child in its mother's arms.” Such seems to be the force of the Hebrew word.
In the New Testament Abraham is called “the friend of God.” The meaning in the word “friend” is deep. Dr. Young translates Isa. 41:3, “Abraham, My lover.” The Lord treated Abraham as a friend, as a lover. “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?” asks the Almighty. How often do we find the words, “And the Lord said; . . . and Abraham answered.” The Bible portrays the two as talking and walking together.
The Secret of It All.
In Amos 3:3 the secret of the walk with God is revealed: “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” Enoch, and Abraham, and Moses agreed with God. When God whispered in the listening ear, My son, you did wrong in this, these holy men would breathe, Amen, Lord; thou art even right; I ask forgiveness, and will make amends.
The path which leads to life eternal is very, very narrow. But on its rugged way two can walk abreast, the Saviour and the sinner who agrees that God knows best. This agreement must not be merely passive; it must be active; it must lead to obedience. Without this it is useless.
For What Is the Presence of Christ?
It is to save from sin. “Thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins.” By his Spirit Christ is with the believer all the time. He can not save us when absent from us. He has promised to baptize us with his Holy Spirit. The word translated “baptize” literally means “immerse.” He therefore has promised not only to be with us, but to immerse us in his Spirit. Just as the yielding wave entirely surrounds the one who is being baptized, so that if seen at all, he is seen through the water, in like manner the Christian is to be immersed in the Master's Spirit, so that every word and act can only be seen as it is in Jesus.
Christ is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. He can not take away our sins unless he is with us. It is a personal matter, a real transaction. The sinner must abide in Christ and Christ will abide in the sinner. Wherever the Master is, there sins are being removed and his righteousness substituted in their place. “Lo, I am with you all the days, even unto the end of the world.” The realization of this promise is the true doctrine of the “real presence.” The Lord said to Moses, “My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.” Now mark the answer made by the man who was very meek, above all the men: “If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.” It is the presence of God that separates from the world. The divine presence cleanses the sin from the Christian's heart, and it is this absence of sin that makes him different from those who serve not God.
Said the man of Tarsus, “If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” The word “mortify,” as here used, signifies “make to die.” It is from the same Greek word which in Matt. 26:59 is translated “to put to death.” Now, how are the deeds of the body to be put to death?—By the Spirit. The presence of God through the Holy Spirit causes death to the sin. But, O, joy of joys, whilst it kills sin, it does not kill the sinner! This is the beauty and the benefit of the presence of God.
His Presence Then.
When Christ shall come again the second time, the righteous will be caught up to meet him in the air. His presence by his Spirit will have cleansed away all their sin. But at that time his presence will not only destroy sin, but will destroy the sinner with it. This is the fundamental difference betwixt “now” and “then.”
The space allotted to the second part of this paper may not seem to give to it a due amount of prominence. But we are living “now” and not “then.” If his presence is sought now, it will be then. It is only those who have known Jesus in the Spirit who will welcome him when he comes in person.
THE ASCENSION AND COMING AGAIN.
By Ellen G. White
BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
Christ had sojourned in the world for thirty-three years; he had endured its scorn, insult, and mockery; he had been rejected and crucified. Now, when about to ascend to his throne of glory—as he reviews the ingratitude of the people he came to save—will he not withdraw his sympathy and love from them? Will not his affections be centered on that world where he is appreciated, and where sinless angels adore him and wait to do his bidding?—No; his promise to those loved ones whom he leaves on earth is, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Before his conflict he had prayed the Father that they might not be taken out of the world, but should be kept from the evil which is in the world.
At length the little company reached the Mount of Olives. This place had been peculiarly hallowed by the presence of Jesus while he bore the nature of man. It was consecrated by his prayers and tears. When he had ridden into Jerusalem, just prior to his trial, the steeps of Olivet had echoed the joyous shouts of the triumphant multitude. On its sloping descent was Bethany, where he had often found repose at the house of Lazarus. At the foot of the mount was the Garden of Gethsemane, where he had agonized alone, and moistened the sod with his blood.
Jesus led the way across the summit, to the vicinity of Bethany. He then paused, and they all gathered about him. Beams of light seemed to radiate from his countenance, as he looked with deep love upon his disciples. He upbraided them not for their faults and failures; but words of unutterable tenderness were the last which fell upon their ears from the lips of their Lord. With hands outstretched in blessing them, and as if in assurance of his protecting care, he slowly ascended from among them, drawn heavenward by a power stronger than any earthly attraction. As he passed upward, the awestruck disciples looked with straining eyes for the last glimpse of their ascending Lord. A cloud of glory received him out of their sight, and at the same moment there floated down to their charmed senses the sweetest and most joyous music from the angel choir.
While their gaze was still riveted upward, voices addressed them which sounded like the music which had just charmed them. They turned, and saw two beings in the form of men; yet their heavenly character was immediately discerned by the disciples, whom they addressed in comforting accents, saying, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” These angels were of the company that had been waiting in a shining cloud to escort Jesus to his throne; and in sympathy and love for those whom the Saviour had left, they came to remove all uncertainty from their minds, and to give them the assurance that he would come to earth again.
All Heaven was waiting to welcome the Saviour to the celestial courts. As he ascended he led the way, and the multitude of captives whom he had raised from the dead at the time when he came forth from the tomb, followed him. The heavenly host, with songs of joy and triumph, escorted him upward.9At the portals of the city of God an innumerable company of angels awaited his coming. As they approached the gates of the city, the angels who were escorting the Majesty of heaven, in triumphant tones addressed the company at the portals: “Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in!”
The waiting angels at the gates of the city inquire in rapturous strains, “Who is this King of glory?” The escorting angels joyously reply in songs of triumph: “The Lord, strong and mighty! The Lord, mighty in battle! Lift up your heads, O ye gates, even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in!” Again the waiting angels ask, “Who is this King of glory?” and the escorting angels respond in melodious strains: “The Lord of hosts! He is the King of glory!” Then the portals of the city of God are widely opened, and the heavenly train pass in amid a burst of angelic music. All the heavenly host surround their majestic Commander as he takes his position upon the throne of the Father.
With the deepest adoration and joy, the hosts of angels bow before him, while the glad shout rings through the courts of heaven, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing!” Songs of triumph mingle with music from angelic harps, till heaven seems to overflow with delightful harmony and inconceivable joy and praise. The Son of God has triumphed over the prince of darkness, and conquered death and the grave. Heaven rings with voices in lofty strains proclaiming, “Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever!”
He is seated by the side of his Father on his throne. The Saviour presents the captives he has rescued from the bonds of death, at the price of his own life. His hands place immortal crowns upon their brows; for they are the representatives, and samples, of those who shall be redeemed, by the blood of Christ, from all nations, tongues, and people, and come forth from the dead, when he shall call the just from their graves at his second coming. Then shall they see the marks of Calvary in the glorified body of the Son of God. Their greatest joy will be found in the presence of Him who sitteth on the throne; and the enraptured saints will exclaim, My Beloved is mine, and I am his! He is the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely!
The most precious fact to the disciples in the ascension of Jesus was that he went from them into heaven in the tangible form of their divine Teacher. The very same Jesus who had walked, and talked, and prayed with them, who had broken bread with them, who had been with them in their boats on the lake, who had sought retirement with them in the groves, and who had that very day toiled with them up the steep ascent of Olivet, had ascended to heaven in the form of humanity. And the heavenly messengers had assured them that the very same Jesus whom they had seen go up into heaven, should come again in like manner as he had ascended. This assurance has ever been, and will be to the close of time, the hope and joy of all true lovers of Christ.
Prayer With the Heart, Not Mere Words
“In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”
The Voice of a Holy Life
“A HOLY life has a voice; it speaks when the tongue is silent, and is either a constant attraction or a perpetual reproof.”
Faith in the Bible as a Moral Guide
It is a firm belief in the Bible, the fruit of deep meditation, which has served as a guide of my moral and literary life.—Goethe.
Judging Religion by Its Foundation
MEN must judge of their religion by examining its foundation; if that fall, the superstructure is perishable and worthless. —Flavel.
WE WOULD SEE JESUS.
By Alonzo T. Jones
BY A. T. JONES.
“And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast; the same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.”
The desire of these Greeks was certainly a very natural one. They had come up to Jerusalem to worship, and had found the name of Jesus upon everybody’s lips. From the highest to the lowest, from the proud and courted Pharisee to the outcast leper, from the high priest and the chief priests, supposed to be the purest in the nation, to the abandoned sinner, all, all were talking about Jesus—of course not all praising him, not all glorifying him; the chief priests and the Pharisees were most bitterly opposed to him, and were only waiting impatiently for an opportunity to kill him, while the common people were anxious to make him a king. But whether it was to praise or to condemn, whether it was to kill or to make a king, the sole subject of it all was Jesus, and it was the most natural thing in the world that these Greeks should want to see the Person about whom so much was made.
From that day to this, the name that has been used most in this world is the name of Jesus. The one Person about whom more has been said, and of whom more has been made, than of any other person this world ever saw, is the Man Christ Jesus. True, as at the first, some have praised him, and some have cursed him; some have worshiped him, while others have sought to kill him, crying, “Crush the wretch,” and often he has been wounded in the house of his friends; still the name more than all others that is used in the wide world to-day is the name of Jesus. And with those Greeks of old, we now say, “We would see Jesus.”
Not, however, as they, simply because much is said of him, either for or against him; not because there are even now those, as Ingersoll, who would kill at least his name out of the earth; nor yet because there are those, as the National Reformers, who would take him by force and make him king of the United States. Not because of any of these things would we see him. But we would see him as he is, for what he is. For even as saith the scripture, having not seen him, we love him (1 Peter 1:8); and because we love him we would see him. Having not seen him, we love him because he first loved us. We love him because he loved us and gave himself for us. We love him for his gentle pity for sinners such as we. We love him for his cheerful mercy to men so fearfully undeserving as are we. We love him because in “the great love wherewith he loved us” he, “his own self, bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness.” We love him for his lofty humanity. We love him for his “profound reverence for infinite goodness and truth.” We love him for the moral force and the benign influence of his mighty character. We love him for his perfect goodness. For this cause would we see him. We would see him because of—
—“the character he bears,
And all the forms of love he wears.”
Yet we would not now see him as he was. We would not now see his visage so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men. We would not now see him a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. We would not now see him oppressed and afflicted. We would not now see him taken as a lamb to the slaughter. We would not now see him in his travail of soul. We would not now see him in his dreadful agony on the cruel tree.
No; we would see him as he is. We would see him “that liveth,” though once dead, yet now “alive forevermore, Amen,” and who has “the keys of hell and of death.” We would see him as the disciples saw him—“his face did shine as the sun,” “and his raiment became shining,” “white as the light,” “exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller on earth can white them.” We would see him as Stephen saw him—in glory, “standing on the right hand of God.” We would see him as Paul saw him—shining in light “above the brightness of the sun.” We would see him as John saw him—“his head and his hairs white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters;” “and his countenance as the sun shineth in his strength.” We would see him as Isaiah saw him—“sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up,” and the train of his glory filling the heavenly temple, about him standing the bright seraphim shading their glorious faces from his ineffable glory, and crying one unto another, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory” (Isa. 6:1-4 with John 12:41). We would see him coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and would hear his mighty voice saying to his angels, “Gather my saints together unto me, those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” And then and there, in the midst of the church, would we see him and hear his glorious voice singing that song of promised praise to the Father (Heb. 2:12). O, ’tis thus that “we would see Jesus”!
And we thank God, not only for the hope that we shall see him as he is, but also that the signs are abundant all about us that soon this “blessed hope” shall be fulfilled. And the blessed promise is that we shall not only “see him as he is,” but “we shall be like him.” “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” We would see Jesus. In this hope we live. For its fruition we wait. But while so living and waiting, we would never for a moment forget that he “that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” 1 John 3:2, 3. And, even so, we would indeed see Jesus.
Even So, Come, Lord Jesus
“Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
Corruption of the Church After the Apostles
WHEN the apostles were dead, then the church was gradually spotted and corrupted, as in her doctrine, so also in her worship, an infinity of ceremonies by degrees insensibly sliding in.—Hegesippus, book 3, chap. 32.
WHY SPEAK OF CHRIST’S COMING?
This, strange to say, is a question frequently asked by Christians. Many Christian ministers rarely if ever preach on the great subject. The great majority of people are ignorant respecting its importance, its manner, the order of events connected with Christ’s second appearing. Because of this the idea has obtained that it is not an important matter as to when Christ shall come or how he shall come, and to some whether he shall come at all; and therefore we are asked, Why say so much about the Lord’s coming? We do it for several reasons, some of which we wish our readers to consider:—
1. The gospel commission to the ministers of Christ is, “Preach the Gospel,” “Preach the word,” “Preach Christ.” But a part of the glad tidings of salvation is that Christ is coming again. Every twenty-fifth verse on an average in the New Testament we are told refers directly or indirectly to his coming. It is the same Jesus, the Christ of God, who is coming that came before and died on our behalf. Can we be faithful to the trust which he has reposed in us to “preach the word,” and yet leave out that which forms so important a part of that word? Can we preach Christ and not preach his coming eternal kingdom? Can we tell the glad tidings and yet not tell of the sinless, happy time to come which Christ wants all to enjoy? In faithfulness, therefore, ought we not to preach Christ’s coming again?
2. Christ’s second coming is the hope of the church. Then will the resurrection of his people take place. 1 Cor. 15:51–54; 1 Thess. 4:15–18. Then will this mortal put on immortality. Then will death be conquered and life be triumphant. Then will “Christ, who is our life,” appear, and we “appear with him in glory.” Col. 3:4. God has promised it. Enoch prophesied concerning it. Job looked to that “latter day” when his eyes should behold his Redeemer and not a stranger. The psalmist raised glad hallelujahs over the inspiring theme. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and all the lesser prophets, foretold that glad day of deliverance, when the children should come from the enemy’s land, when the captives of death should be delivered, when the Israel of God should live in reality as they now live in God’s purpose, when death should be no more and the grave destroyed, God’s people be all righteous, and the Lord alone king. Over and over has our Lord cheered us with promises of his coming. It is “the hope of Israel.” It is “the hope of the promise of God.” It is “the blessed hope,” the longing prayer, of all the ages of Sacred Story, from the man who walked with God three hundred years, to the enraptured watcher on seagirt, rock-bound Patmos, and, meaningly and unmeaningly, with lip and heart, multitudes have since cried, “Thy kingdom come,” “come, Lord Jesus.”
3. It is the only hope of comfort to God’s sorrowing ones of earth. Nowhere does the Scripture tell us that death is a friend, or that at death is our reward. It does not tell us of eternal life outside of faith in Christ nor immortality this side of, or apart from, the resurrection and Christ’s second coming. It is by these false theories—inherent immortal-soulism and reward at death—that Satan has hid from the eyes of the church, and shut from her heart, Christ’s second coming. Listen to the apostle as he speaks concerning those who died in the Lord and our hope concerning them:—
“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore COMFORT ONE ANOTHER WITH THESE WORDS.” 1 Thess. 4:13–18.
Christ’s coming is the hope of the Christian—the only hope. It was the hope of the dying, penitent thief as he saw God’s glory in Jesus Christ, when His “visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.” The penitent criminal saw beyond the cross to the crown, beyond the shame to the glory, beyond the dying to the living, and his heart breathed out to another dying Man, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” The prayer was heard by Him who forgets himself for all others’ good; but can he, seemingly as helpless as the one by his side, answer the prayer?—To unbelief, no. To faith, yes. In him was absolute righteousness, therefore in him was life. The grave could not and would not hold him. He would rise, would go away, would come again to reign. It was all in the all-power of his righteousness, and as the penitent thief had faith that dark hour of all the dark hours of Christ’s life, so Christ had love to forgive, assurance to promise, as he will have power to perform, “Verily I say unto thee to-day, shalt thou be with me in paradise.” That will be at Christ’s coming; for “then shall he reward every man.” Matt. 16:27. Be comforted with these words.
4. He is coming; and those who love him will be glad. “Whom having not seen we love.” We know him. He loved us and gave himself for us. He “loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.” When we were worthy to be cast off forever, “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked,” in infinite and unasked love he gave himself to save us, clothed the nakedness, bestowed riches for poverty, happiness for misery, sight for blindness, righteousness for sin. We know his love, his mercy, his goodness. He is coming again. Surely he is a Friend in our need. He knows all our wants, has met all our necessities, has been the best Friend in all the universe to us; why should we not love him, long to see him, and tell others that he is coming, the One altogether lovely?
The Coming of Our Lord.—Elsewhere in this paper will be found articles on the various phases of our Lord’s second coming, its importance, and what it means. In those articles it is clearly shown from God’s word—men’s theories of themselves are no evidence—that Jesus Christ will come again; that his coming will be literal and personal; that every eye shall see him in his overpowering glory; that at that time his presence will destroy the wicked and glorify his people; that the rewards of the faithful will then be given, and his eternal reign with his saints will begin. It is the culmination of all God’s promises, the glorious hope of the true church in all ages. Yet there are some things said about Christ’s coming that we wish here to notice.
“As a Thief.”—There are expressions used concerning a coming of our Lord which indicate that it will be secret, or as a thief. Illustrations of this are found in Matt. 25:10, 19; Luke 12:40; 1 Thess. 5:2, 4; Rev. 3:3, etc. But these expressions relate either to the time when Christ goes in before the Father to receive for himself a kingdom, a coming to the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:13, 14), or to the close of Christ’s priestly work, when the cases of all are decided, just before he comes, when the irrevocable decree goes forth (Rev. 22:11, 12). These events of course will not be known to the inhabitants of earth, yet the latter, the time when Christ leaves his mediatorial seat and comes in as judge to view the guests, is to them all important; for if they have not on the wedding garment, they will be cast out forever. (See Matt. 22:11–14.) These events are, however, prior to Christ’s coming to this world.
“The Secret Rapture.”—In addition to the claims made that Christ’s coming is at death, that it is by the outpouring of his Spirit, that it is in Modern Spiritualism or Christian Science—all of which are disproved by positive Bible testimony—it is taught that there will be a “secret rapture,” a coming of Christ to take “the bride,” or “first fruits,” home to himself. One will be caught up here, another there, secretly, till the requisite number are gathered out. This will be the parousia, or presence, of Christ. Christ will then come with this elect, immortal company, and every eye shall see him. He will then be manifest in his glory.
The Original Words.—It will help us in this study if we will consider for a little the original names referring to Christ’s coming. These are as follows:—
1. Parousia. It is in the common version rendered “coming” and “presence,” and means always when applied to persons, personal presence, “a being alongside of.” Here are some of the passages where the word occurs:—
“What shall be the sign of thy coming [parousia]?” Matt. 24:3. “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming [parousia] of the Son of man be.” Verses 27, 37, 39. “They that are Christ’s at his coming.” 1 Cor. 15:23. “Coming of Stephanas.” 1 Cor. 16:17. “Coming of Titus.” 2 Cor. 7:6, also verse 7. “Unto the coming of the Lord.” 1 Thess. 4:15.
The other passages where it is rendered “coming” are, Phil. 1:26; 1 Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:1, 8, 9; James 5:7, 8; 2 Peter 1:16; 3:4, 12; 1 John 2:28. It is rendered “presence” only twice, 2 Cor. 10:10; Phil. 2:12. The Greek word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It will be seen by an examination of the passages where it occurs that it is always applied to the bodily, personal presence. It was Paul present as opposed to Paul absent. The parousia of Christ is Christ present then as opposed to Christ as now absent. He is present by his Spirit now; he will be bodily present then.
The occurrence of the word in 1 Thess. 4:15, 16 shows that the coming, parousia, of Christ will be attended by such circumstances as will render it anything but a secret event. He comes with sound of trumpet, with mighty shout of victory; and his burning glory will be visible to all. 2 Thess. 2:8.
2. Apokalupsis, or apocalypse. This word is translated as follows: “Appearing” (1 Peter 1:7); “coming” (1 Cor. 1:7); “manifestation” (Rom. 8:19); “revealed,” a revelation (2 Thess. 1:7; 1 Peter 4:13); “revelation” (1 Peter 1:13; Rev. 1:1), and other places referring to different things. It means revelation, manifestation, disclosure. When referring to Christ’s coming it has reference to his being revealed as he is, the unveiled and divine Son of God. When on earth his divinity was veiled by humanity. He had no form nor comeliness that men should desire him. Isa. 53:2. He was to many only a prophet, to many more the son of Joseph and Mary. But he will come again, and that coming will be a revelation of all that his people have believed him to be,—“Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” “We shall see him as he is.” He will be seen then as the blessed Redeemer, the Lifegiver, the mighty Creator and Recreator, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Every knee shall then bow, and every tongue shall then confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Phil. 2:11.
3. Epiphaneia, or epiphany. This word is translated “appearing” and “brightness,” as follows: “appearing” (1 Tim. 6:14; 2 Tim. 1:10; 4:1, 8; Titus 2:13); “brightness” (2 Thess. 2:8). It refers to the shining forth or bright glory manifested in the coming of Christ.
The Same Event.—But all these words when applied to the coming of Christ refer to one and the same event. The parousia is the literal, personal presence of “this same Jesus,” without regard to the glory or appearance of his coming. The epiphany shows (2 Thess. 2:8, “brightness”) that his11presence, coming, or parousia is overwhelmingly glorious, even “the glory of his Father” (Matt. 16:27). It will be the shining forth of his divinity. And the word apokalupsis shows that his coming, his glory and presence, is the revelation of his divine majesty and complete fullness. What the people of God have seen dimly by faith that glorious coming of Christ will then reveal to all. He was the Son of God while on earth; he then possessed the glory of the Father, but unbelieving eyes saw it not. When he comes as King of kings and Lord of lords, his glory will be revealed; but that glory will be but the shining forth of what was in him while he walked among men.
