THE COMING OF THE LORD JESUS
D. J. Wright
Genesis 13: 1–18; Revelation 3: 1–4; Matthew 25: 1–13; Hebrews 11: 5; 1 Thessalonians 4: 15–18
It is very clear that the coming of the Lord Jesus is very imminent and firstly I would like to stir myself to be exercised, to be watching and ready for it, that it is before us in a real and living way. I believe as that is so it will have a definite effect upon our pathway here in the little while that may remain. What a triumph the end of this dispensation will be when we will be caught up to be for ever with the Lord, what a hope we have. Where I read in Genesis you have two men, Abram and Lot, and as the sequel of the chapter brings out their outlook was very different, and I ask myself, What is my outlook? The hymn writer says ‘The sky, not the grave, is our goal’ (Hymn 238). I think the reality of that would be that you would expect the Lord Jesus to come in your lifetime, however young or however old; it may be today. I believe that is what the Lord would keep before us, and what the Spirit would keep before us, that it may be today. Abram was a man of faith, and he was also characteristically a heavenly man, but a most spiritual man can make mistakes. Immediately prior to this chapter he had gone down to Egypt and Abram being the man he was recovered himself, but Lot did not. You get the impression from this chapter that Lot just went along under a good influence.
Abram’s outlook was very different to Lot’s. They had both been providentially blessed of God. It says that “Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold” and later on it says they had so much cattle that they could not dwell together, but Abram was recovered to the place where he had departed; that is, he came back to the place of departure, and that is true recovery. It says, “the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai”. It was a spiritual landmark you might say in his history which he could come back to; it was a point of reference. He was fully restored in his relations with God, “to the place of the altar that he had made there at the first. And there Abram called on the name of Jehovah”. He was fully restored, dependent again upon the God that he knew. But then there became contention between the herdsmen of Abram and the herdsmen of Lot. One thing I would say about Abram that being the spiritual man that he was he was not contentious. Paul says, “we have no such custom”, 1 Corinthians 11: 16. So Abram said, “I pray thee let there be no contention between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen, for we are brethren”. Abram was a man of faith and Lot we might speak of as a man who was in type a worldly Christian. We have to go to the New Testament which speaks of Lot in a better way than in Genesis, but it tells us that he “tormented his righteous soul day after day”, 2 Peter 2: 8. A test came here.
Abram says to him, if you go to the left, I will go to the right, and the test exposed Lot. It says, “Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of the Jordan that it was thoroughly watered, before Jehovah had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah; as the garden of Jehovah, like the land of Egypt, as one goes to Zoar”. He says, This is just what I need to maintain my flocks, just what I need to better myself here. As I have said it is God’s providence, God’s goodness, but he pitched his tents as far as Sodom. Then later as we know he had to be rescued from Sodom, that is, he took a step further and became thoroughly immersed in the world, thoroughly immersed in his earthly possessions. On the other hand Jehovah said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land that thou seest will I give to thee, and to thy seed for ever”. God said to him virtually, Abram you are not going to lose anything by making this decision. By your outlook being a heavenly one you will not lose anything. Our blessings, beloved brethren, are heavenly ones. We have been blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ” (Ephesians 1: 3); and typically Abram valued it. Jehovah said, “I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth, so that if any one can number the dust of the earth, thy seed also will be numbered”. You think of that! “Then Abram moved his tents, and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre”. That speaks of what is stable, it speaks to us of the purpose of God which was very close to his heart.
You remember Jehovah had said to Abram, “Go out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, to the land that I will shew thee”, Genesis 12: 1. The God of glory appeared to him. Stephen tells us that in Acts 7: 2. Such was his vision of the greatness of the God who had called him that he went out in faith, “not knowing where he was going”, Hebrews 11: 8. He dwelt in tents, he was a stranger and a sojourner here. He was just passing through and he had a visitation. I think God was pleased to give a visitation to such a man whose outlook was in relation to the purpose of God. He could not give a visitation to Lot where he was, maybe in his mansion in Sodom, but He gave a visitation to a man who was a stranger and a sojourner here, and who showed clearly that he sought his country; “he waited for the city which has foundations, of which God is the artificer and constructor”, Hebrews 11: 10. What is our outlook, dear brethren? I challenge myself, what is my outlook? This world is under judgment, it has been pronounced but not yet executed. Why would a true believer on Christ want to have anything to do with a world which has no place for Him? If you have the outlook of Abram there is untold blessing in it. You young people, there is untold blessing in it, you will not lose out on anything by being here in a way which is pleasing to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now in Revelation 3 is the address to Sardis. I read it because it says in verse 3, “If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come upon thee as a thief”. The general outlook in Sardis was a worldly one and therefore the imminence of the coming of Christ had faded. The early brethren as I understand it were very much occupied with what was prophetic, and to establish where we were on the prophetic map, and it came clearly before them that they were in the last days, and the imminence of the coming of Christ was before them. It was very much before the early brethren. I challenge myself as to how much it is before me. Now there are certain features in Sardis which might be drawn attention to. It says “Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain”. That is something that you and I can do in the little while that may remain before the Lord comes, to strengthen the things that remain. You might ask me, Well how do you do that? I think you do it by committing yourself to the Lord Jesus and His interests here. Dear young people, you will not regret it, because it is not with a view to things dying out here, but with a view to something of assembly character being maintained here in the place of Christ’s absence and rejection.
He says, “I have not found thy works complete before my God”. Through the fading of the coming of Christ it may be that we are prepared to let things go, not to complete things. As the coming of Christ grips us, beloved brethren, I believe there will be an increased desire just to complete everything to God’s glory. He delights in what is complete. Think of His delight in the complete and finished work of Christ. The Lord Jesus could say on the cross “It is finished”, John 19: 30. That was a cry of triumph, and you think of the delight God had that there was a righteous basis laid in that finished work of Christ in which He could offer blessing for all of mankind. It brings out the love that there is in the heart of the blessed God. Then it goes on to say, “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and keep it and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come upon thee as a thief”. That is as I understand it the imminence of
the coming of Christ had faded and therefore the Lord would come upon them as a thief when they did not expect it and therefore they became worldly in their outlook. “But thou hast a few names in Sardis which have not defiled their garments”. May we be exercised to be among them. Dear young brother, and dear young sister, I speak with affection, if you put your hand out to embrace what is around and come down to the world’s level, all you will do is to defile your garments. The gospel goes out, but your help and your testimony as being among those who are not of this world, like Abram, will show clearly that we seek a country. It says, “they shall walk with me in white, because they are worthy”. There were some who kept themselves pure from the defilement that was all around and, beloved brethren, the defilement is increasing on every hand. May we be preserved from it. May we be among those who do not defile their garments.
Now in Matthew 25, we referred to it in the reading, but I read it tonight because I would like to draw attention to the importance that the Holy Spirit has in this. The oil refers to the Holy Spirit, and I think it is clear that those that had oil in their vessels were those who have part in the Spirit and the bride saying, Come. There are the five foolish and the five prudent. They all had their torches, but the prudent took oil in their vessels with their torches, and then in the middle of the night there was a cry, “Behold, the bridegroom; go forth to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their torches”. Torches bring in light and the trimming of the torches would involve self-judgment, so that anything that would hinder the light shining out is removed. When the cry came the foolish found they had no oil left, no oil with them, and they had to go away and buy it; they were not ready. Are you ready, am I ready? Those prudent ones said, we have only that which is sufficient for ourselves. In other words you and I have to work in exercise to make sure that the Spirit is free in us, and you know the Spirit Himself will keep before us the coming of Christ. These persons who had the oil were ready to go in, their light was still shining. May our light still be shining, the shining of Christ in our hearts. God has “shone into our hearts for the shining forth” (2 Corinthians 4: 6), is what Paul tells us, so that there is a testimony maintained until the coming of Christ in persons. The foolish ones came back and the doors were shut, and what it brings out is the difference between profession and reality. Make way for the Holy Spirit in you, let Him do His work; while He works in you it will ensure that you are ready, ready for the coming of Christ. You will respond to the cry, “Behold, the bridegroom; go forth to meet him”. “Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour”. Only the Father knows but it is imminent, I am sure of that.
Now in Hebrews 11 there is this reference, “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death”. Now Enoch lived in an evil day, just like we do. It was in the days before the flood and judgment was coming in, just like today. Judgment is soon to be executed. You know, dear young brethren, as believers in the gospel we have not only been saved from our sins, but we have been saved with a view to being delivered from the present evil world (Galatians 1: 4), and delivered from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1: 10). Enoch walked with God but he “was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him”. That is, God looked down on Enoch, and He said, that he is so pleasing to Me that I am going to have him for ever. That is what He will see in those who compose the assembly, all those who love Christ. He will say, it is so pleasing to Me that I am going to translate it and have it for Myself. What a prospect, what a hope! But before Enoch’s translation it says, “he has the testimony that he had pleased God”. What a testimony that was. I wonder about my testimony, I wonder about yours.
You think of the effect of the rapture upon this world. Enoch was one individual, but there will be myriads at the rapture that will be translated from this scene. How it will be explained away in this world I do not know. Think of the impact of it, think of the solemnity of it. There is the work of God in the saints which in itself, I believe, is a curb on the godless age in which we are; but also and more importantly so, there is the power and presence of the Holy Spirit, “he who restrains now until he be gone”, 2 Thessalonians 2: 7. After the rapture there will be no divine Person left here, and less restraint upon the evil that will be unleashed; but I want to stress that Enoch before his translation had the testimony that he had pleased God. We live in an age when every one pleases himself. Men are “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3: 4) but we can, in our testimony here and in our pathway of separation here, show that we please God.
Now finally in 1 Thessalonians 4 I think it gives us a triumphant note at the end of the dispensation, and what we are all looking forward to, and it may be today. “For this we say to you in the word of the Lord, that we, the living, who remain to the coming of the Lord, are in no way to anticipate those who have fallen asleep; for the Lord himself, with an assembling shout, with archangel’s voice and with trump of God, shall descend from heaven; and the dead in Christ shall rise first”. You think of the power of that assembling shout when all those who love Christ will respond to it, not one will be left out, all the dead in Christ will be raised first. What power! And then it says “then we, the living who remain”. As it stands at this moment, that is you and me, “the living who remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds”. The world will see nothing of this, it will be an entire mystery to them; but for us it will be to be for ever with the One we have come to love, the One who died for us, the One whose face was marred more than any other man’s. That One we will see face to face, “For we see now through a dim window obscurely, but then face to face”, 1 Corinthians 13: 12. It will be “to meet the Lord in the air; and thus we shall be always with the Lord”. What a prospect, what a hope! May it be before us the more. So it says, “So encourage one
another with these words “. Can you think of anything more encouraging than to think of this. You know, beloved brethren, the more it is before us the more we will be kept steady in the little while that remains. We will not be overcome by the forces of evil, the power and the force of the apostasy that is sweeping in in Christendom, we will be held steady because of our link with Christ. The Spirit will keep Him before us so that we will have part in the Spirit and the bride saying, “Come”.
Now in closing I would like to refer to that hymn 131, ‘O Lord, with our ears and hearts open’. It was written by a brother named Daniel Otsing from Russia. As I understand it, I say this for the sake of the younger ones, there was a small meeting in St. Petersburg before the days of the Russian revolution, and in 1917 when the revolution came that little meeting was disbanded. Daniel Otsing, I understand, was a father among them, and I believe he was sent to Siberia and never heard of again, and yet for that man the Morning Star had risen in his heart. Think of that verse,
‘Midst darkness faith clearly sees beaming
The light of Thy coming afar; We watch for the dawn of the morning,
And hail Thee, the bright Morning Star.
The word of Thy patience we’re keeping,
Thy radiancy draws us apart—
A beacon us heav’n-ward attracting—
To meet Thee, the Hope of our heart!’
He penned these words in a very dark day in the circumstances in which he was, for the Morning Star had arisen in his heart, a harbinger of the new day was there. May be it so with each one of us. May He bless the word, for His name’s sake.
Address at Aberdeen, Scotland
27 February 2010