THE
view just had, of the speedy close of Gentile Times, and the assurance
that the consummation of the Church’s hope must precede
their close, only whets the appetite of those now waiting for the
consolation of Israel. Such
will be hungering for whatever information our Father may have supplied
through the prophets, touching the “harvest,” the end, or closing
period of this age—the separating of wheat from tares among the living
members of the nominal Church, and the time of the change of the
overcomers, to be with and like their Lord and Head.
But in order to appreciate the reasonableness of the prophetic
teaching on these deeply interesting subjects, it is absolutely necessary
that we have clear views both of the object
of our Lord’s second coming, and of the manner
in which he will be revealed. That
the object
of his coming is to reconcile “whosoever will,” of the world, to God,
by a process of ruling, and teaching, and disciplining, called judging and
blessing, we trust all present readers have been convinced in the reading
of Volume I. The manner
of the Lord’s coming and
appearing, therefore, is of paramount importance, before proceeding in our
study of the time of the harvest, etc. The student must hold clearly in
mind the object while studying the manner of our Lord’s return; and both
of these, when he comes to study the time.
This is needful as an offset to the erroneous views, already
preoccupying many minds, based upon false ideas of both the object and the
manner of our Lord’s coming.
Grasp and hold in mind as firmly as possible the fact already
demonstrated, that God’s plan is one harmonious whole, which is being
wrought out through Christ; and that the work of the second advent stands
related to the work of the first as effect to cause: That is, that the
great work of Restitution at the second advent follows the work of
Redemption accomplished at the first advent as a logical sequence
according to the divine plan. Therefore
the Lord’s return is the
dawn of hope for the world, the time for the bestowment of the
favors secured by the redemption—the Gospel Age being merely an
intervening parenthesis, during which the bride of Christ is selected, to
be associated with her Lord in the great work of restitution which he
comes to accomplish.
And since the Church of Christ, which has been developing during
the Gospel age, is to be associated with her Lord in the great restitution
work of the Millennial age, the first work of Christ at the second advent
must be the gathering of his elect Church, to which reference is made
through the Prophet (Psa. 50:5), saying, “Gather my saints together unto
me—those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” This
gathering or harvesting time is in the lapping period of the two ages.
As will be shown, it is a period of forty years, which both ends
the Gospel age and introduces the Millennial age.
(See Vol. I, pages 219-221; 234-237;
and the Chart of the Ages.) This
harvest period not only accomplishes the separation of wheat from tares in
the nominal Gospel church, and the gathering and glorification of the
wheat class, but it is also to accomplish the burning (destruction) of the
tares (as tares, or imitation wheat—not as individuals: the fire of
destruction is symbolic as well as the tares), and the gathering and
destruction of the corrupt fruitage of “the Vine of the earth” (human
ambition, greed and selfishness), which has been growing and ripening for
centuries in the kingdoms of this world and in the various civil and
social organizations among men.
Although, when treating of the object of our Lord’s return, we
showed that it would be a personal
coming, let us again guard the student against confusion of thought in
considering the two apparently conflicting expressions of our
Lord—“Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (aionos
age), and, “I
go to prepare a place for you, ...and will
come again and receive you.” (Matt. 28:20; John 14:2,3) The
following incident will serve as an illustration of the harmony of the two
promises: One friend said to another as they were about to part, Remember,
I will be with you through all your journey.
How? Certainly not in
person; for there they took trains to go in opposite directions to distant
points. The idea was that in
love, and thought, and care one for another, they would not be separated.
In a similar yet fuller sense, the Lord has always been with his
Church, his divine power enabling him to oversee, direct and assist them,
from first to last. But we
are now considering, not our Lord’s presence with us in this figurative
sense, but the manner of his second personal presence and appearing,
“when he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be admired in
all them that believe in that day.”
The Scriptures teach that Christ comes again to reign; that he must
reign until he has put down all enemies—all
opponents, all things in the way of the great restitution which he
comes to accomplish—the last to be overthrown being death (1 Cor.
15:25,26); and that he will reign for a thousand years.
It is therefore only as should be expected, that we find a much
larger space in prophecy devoted to the second advent and its thousand
years of triumphant reign and overthrow of evil than to the thirty-four
years of the first advent for redemption.
And as we have found that prophecy touches the various important
points of those thirty-four years, from Bethlehem and Nazareth to the gall
and vinegar, the parted raiment, the cross, the tomb and the resurrection,
so we find that prophecy likewise touches various points of the thousand
years of the second presence, particularly their beginning and ending.
The second presence of our Lord will cover a much longer period of
time than the first. The
mission of his first advent was finished in less than thirty-four years,
while it will require a thousand years to accomplish the appointed work of
his second presence. And thus
it may be seen at a glance that, while the work of the first advent was no
less important than that of the second advent—yea, though it was so
important that the work of the second advent could
never have
been possible without it—yet it was not so varied, and hence
required less description than the work of the second advent.
In considering the second advent we must not, any more than at the
first advent, expect all prophecies to mark one particularly eventful
moment of our Lord’s arrival and to call the attention of all men to the
fact of his presence. Such is
not God’s usual method: such was not the case at the first advent.
The first advent of Messiah was not marked by any sudden or
surprising demonstration, out of the usual order of things, but it was
manifested and proven by the gradual fulfilment of prophecy showing to
thoughtful observers that
the events which should be expected were being accomplished on time.
And thus it will be at his second advent. It is of less importance
that we discover the exact moment of his arrival than that we discern the
fact of his presence when he has arrived, even as at the first advent it
was important to be able to recognize his presence, and the sooner the
better, but much less important to know the exact date of his birth.
In considering the second advent, the act of coming and the moment
of arrival are too frequently the thought, whereas it should be thought of
as a period
of presence, as was the first advent.
The precise moment at which that presence would begin would then
seem less important, and his object and work during the period of his
presence would receive the greater consideration.
We must bear in mind, also, that our Lord is no longer a human
being; that as a human being he gave himself a ransom for men, having
become a man for that very purpose. (1 Tim. 2:6; Heb. 10:4,5; 1 Cor.
15:21,22) He is now highly
exalted, to the divine nature. Therefore
Paul said, “Though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now,
henceforth, know we him [so] no more.” (2 Cor. 5:16)
He was raised from the dead a life-giving spirit
being (1 Cor. 15:45), and not a man,
of the earth earthy. He is no
longer human in any sense or degree; for we must not forget what we have
learned (See Vol. I, Chap. 10)—that natures are separate and distinct.
Since he is no longer in any sense or degree a human being, we must
not expect him to come again as a human being, as at the first advent.
His second coming is to be in a different manner, as well as for a
different purpose.
Noting the fact that our Lord’s change
from human to divine nature at his resurrection was even a greater change
than the one which occurred some thirty-four years previously, when he
laid aside the glory of spiritual being and
“was made flesh,” we may with great profit consider very
minutely his every action during the forty days after his resurrection
before he went “to the Father”; because it is the resurrected Jesus of
those forty days who is to come again, and not the man
Christ Jesus who gave himself as our ransom, in death.
He who was put to death a flesh being was also in his resurrection
quickened [made alive] a spirit being. 1 Pet. 3:18*
—————
*In
this passage, the words “in the” and “by the” are arbitrarily
supplied
by the translators, and are misleading.
The Greek reads simply—“Put to
death flesh, quickened spirit.”
Our Lord was put to death a fleshly
or human being, but was raised from the dead a spirit being.
And since
the Church is to be “changed”
in order that she may be like Christ, it is
evident that the change which occurred in the Head was of a kind
similar to
that described as in reservation for the overcomers, who shall be
changed from human to spiritual nature, and made like
him—“partakers
of the divine nature.”
Hence, the following description of the change of
the saints is applicable also to their Lord; viz., “It is sown in
dishonor, it
is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;
it is sown a
natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.”
At his second advent he does not come to be subject to the powers
that be, to pay tribute to Caesar and to suffer humiliation, injustice and
violence; but he comes to reign, exercising all power in heaven and in
earth. He does not come in
the body of his humiliation, a human body, which he took for the suffering
of death, inferior to his former glorious body (Heb. 2:9); but in his
glorious spiritual body, which is “the express image of the Father’s
person” (Heb. 1:3); for, because of his obedience even unto death, he is
now highly exalted to the divine
nature and likeness, and given a name above every name—the
Father’s name only excepted. (Phil. 2:9; 1 Cor. 15:27)
The Apostle shows that it “doth not yet appear” to our human
understanding what he is now like; hence we know not what we shall be like
when made like
him, but we (the Church) may rejoice in the assurance that we shall one
day be with him, and like him, and see him as
he is (1 John 3:2)—not as he was at his first advent in
humiliation, when he had laid aside his former glory and for our sakes had
become poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich.
If we consider the wisdom and prudence of our Lord’s methods of
manifesting his presence to his disciples after his resurrection, as well
as previously, it may help us to remember that the same wisdom will be
displayed in his methods of revealing himself at his second advent, both
to the Church and to the world—methods not necessarily similar, but in
each case well suited to his object, which never is to alarm or excite
men, but to convince
their cool, calm judgments of the great truths to be impressed upon them.
Our Lord’s first advent was not a startling, exciting or alarming
event. How quietly and
unobtrusively he came! So
much so that only those who had faith
and humility were enabled to recognize in the infant of humble
birth, in the man of sorrows, in the friend of the humble and poor, and
finally in the crucified one, the long-looked-for Messiah.
After his resurrection, the manifestation of his presence would in
the nature of the case be a more astounding fact, particularly when his
changed nature is taken into consideration. Yet the fact of his
resurrection, together with the fact of his changed nature, had to be
fully manifested, not to all the world at that time, but to chosen
witnesses who would give credible testimony of the fact to succeeding
generations. Had all the world been made acquainted with the fact then,
the testimony coming down to our day would probably have been much less
trustworthy, being colored and warped by men’s ideas and mixed with
their traditions so that the truth might appear almost or quite
incredible. But God entrusted it only to chosen, faithful and worthy
witnesses; and as we notice the account, let each mark how
perfectly
the object
was accomplished, and how clear, positive and convincing was the proof of
Christ’s resurrection and change offered to them.
Mark, too, the carefulness with which he guarded against alarming
or unduly exciting them while making manifest and emphasizing these great
truths. And be assured that
the same wisdom, prudence and skill will be displayed in his methods of
making known the fact of his glorious presence at his second advent.
The cool, calm judgment will be convinced in every case, though the
world in general will need to be brought by severe discipline to the
proper attitude to receive the testimony, while those whose hearts are
right will have the blessed intelligence sooner.
All the proofs of his resurrection and change to spiritual nature
were not given to his disciples at once, but as they were able to bear
them and in the manner calculated to make the deepest impression.
During the three and a half years of our Lord’s ministry, his
disciples had sacrificed friends, reputation, business, etc., to devote
time and energy to heralding Messiah’s presence and the establishment of
his kingdom. But they had
necessarily crude ideas regarding the manner and time of their Master’s
exaltation, and of their promised exaltation with him.
Nor was full knowledge then necessary: it was quite sufficient that
they should faithfully take each step as it became due; hence the Master
taught them little by little as they were able to receive it.
And near the close of his ministry he said, “I have yet many
things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you
into all truth... and show you things to come, and bring all things to
your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 16:12,13; 14:26
Who can tell their great disappointment, even though so
far as possible they had been armed against it, when they saw him
suddenly taken from them and ignominiously crucified as a felon—him
whose kingdom and glory they had been expecting and declaring, and which
only five days before his crucifixion had seemed to them so near a
realization. (John 12:1,12-19) Though
they knew him to be falsely accused and wrongfully crucified, this did not
alter the fact that their long cherished national hopes of a Jewish king,
who would restore their nation to influence and power, together with their
own individual hopes, ambitions and air-castles of important offices and
high honors in the kingdom, were all suddenly demolished by this
unfavorable turn which matters had taken in the crucifixion of their king.
Well did the Master know how desolate and aimless and perplexed
they would feel; for thus it was written by the Prophet, “I will smite
the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.” (Zech. 13:7; Mark
14:27) And during the forty
days between his resurrection and ascension, it was therefore his chief
concern to gather them again, and to re-establish their faith in him as
the long-looked-for Messiah, by proving to them the fact of his
resurrection, and that since his resurrection, though retaining the same
individuality, he was no longer human, but an exalted spirit being, having
“all power in heaven and in earth.” Matt. 28:18
He broke the news of his resurrection gradually to them—first,
through the women (Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, Mary the mother of James
and Salome, and others with them—Mark 16:1; Luke 24:1,10), who came
early to the sepulcher to anoint his dead body with sweet spices.
While they wondered whom they should get to roll away the stone
from the door of the sepulcher, behold, there was an earthquake, and when
they came they found the stone rolled away,
and an angel of the Lord sat upon it, who addressed them, saying, “Fear
not, for I know that ye seek Jesus which was crucified.
He is not here; for he is risen, as
he said. Come, see
the place where the Lord lay. And
go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and
behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him.” Matt.
28:5-7
It seems that Mary Magdalene separated from the other women and ran
to tell Peter and John (John 20:1,2), while the others went to tell the
rest of the disciples, and that after she had left them Jesus appeared to
the other women on the way, saying (Matt. 28:9,10), “All hail.”
And they came and held him by the feet and worshiped him.
Then said Jesus unto them, “Be not afraid: go tell my brethren
that they go into Galilee [their home], and there shall they see me.”
And with fear and joy they ran to tell the other disciples. In
their mingled feelings of surprise, perplexity, joy and fear, and their
general bewilderment, they scarcely knew how to report their strange and
wonderful experience. When Mary met Peter and John she said sadly, “They
have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher and we know not where they
have laid him.” (John 20:2) The
other women told how at the sepulcher they had seen a vision of angels who
said he was alive (Luke 24:22,23), and then how they afterward met the
Lord in the way. Matt. 28:8,10
The majority of the disciples evidently regarded their story merely
as superstitious excitement, but Peter and John said, We will go and see
for ourselves; and Mary returned to the sepulcher with them.
All that Peter and John saw was that the body was gone, that the
grave clothes were carefully folded and laid by, and that the stone was
rolled away from the door. So
in perplexity they turned away, though Mary still remained there weeping.
As she wept she stooped down and looked into the sepulcher and saw
two
angels,
who said, “Woman, why weepest thou?”
She answered, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know
not where they have laid him.” And
as she turned about she saw Jesus standing, but did not know him.
He inquired, “Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?”
And she, supposing him to be the gardener, answered, “Sir, if
thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will
take him away.” Then, in
the old familiar tone which she quickly recognized, the Lord said,
“Mary!”
That was enough to establish her faith in the statement of the
angel, that he had risen, which until now had seemed like a dream or an
idle tale; and in her joy she exclaimed, “Master!”
Her first impulse was to embrace him, and to tarry in his presence.
But Jesus gently informed her that there was a very important
mission for her to perform now, in bearing witness to the fact of his
resurrection, and that she should be in haste to carry the message and
establish the faith of the other disciples, still in perplexity and
uncertainty, saying, “Touch [Greek, haptomai,
embrace] me not [do not tarry for further demonstration of your affection
now]; for I am not yet ascended to my Father [I will be with you for a
short time yet]: but go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto my
Father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God.” (John 20:17)
Through the other women also he had sent them word that he would
meet them in Galilee.
Next, he overtook two of the sad and perplexed disciples as they
walked from Jerusalem to Emmaus, and inquired the cause of their sadness
and despondency. (Luke 24:13-35) And one of them answered: “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 besides all this, today is the third day since these things
were done. [Here they were
probably calling to mind John 2:19,21,22.]
Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished,
which were early at the sepulcher. And
when they found not his body, they came saying that they had also seen a
vision of angels, which said he was alive.
And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulcher, and
found it even so as the women had said; but him they saw not.”
No wonder they were perplexed; how strange it all seemed! how
peculiar and thrilling had been the events of the past few days!
Then the stranger preached them a stirring sermon from the
prophecies, showing them that the very things which had so disheartened
them were the things which the prophets had foretold concerning the true
Messiah: that before he could rule and bless and lift up Israel and all
the world, he must first redeem them with his own life from the curse of
death, which came upon all through Adam, and that afterward, raised to
life and glory by Jehovah, their Master would fulfil all that was written
by the prophets concerning his future glory and honor, as truly as he had
fulfilled those prophecies which foretold his sufferings, humiliation and
death. A wonderful preacher!
and a wonderful sermon was that! It
started new ideas and opened new expectations and hopes.
As they drew near the village they constrained him to tarry with
them, as it was toward evening and the day was far spent.
He went in to tarry with them; and as he sat at meat with them, he
took bread and brake and gave it to them.
Then their eyes were opened; and he vanished out of their sight.
Not until that moment did they recognize him, though they had
walked, and talked and sat at meat together.
He was known to them not by face, but in the simple act of blessing
and breaking bread in the old familiar way, thus assuring their faith in
what they had already heard—that he had risen, and would see them again.
Then the two surprised and overjoyed disciples arose that same hour
and returned to Jerusalem, saying to each other, “Did not our hearts
burn within us while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to
us the Scriptures?” Arriving in Jerusalem they found the others
rejoicing also, saying, “The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to
Simon.” And they told what
things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of
bread. Probably they were
nearly all there that evening, homes, business and everything else
forgotten—Mary Magdalene with her tears of joy, saying, I knew him the
moment he called my name—I could not credit the angel’s assurance of
his resurrection until then; and the other women telling their wonderful
experience of the morning, and how they had met him in the way.
Then Simon had his story to tell; and now here were two other
witnesses from Emmaus. What
an eventful day! No wonder
they desired to meet together on the first day of every week after that,
to talk the matter over and to call to mind all the circumstances
connected with this wonderful event of the Lord’s resurrection, and to
have their hearts “burn” again and again.
While the excited and overjoyed little company were thus met and
relating to each other their several experiences, the Lord Jesus himself
suddenly stood in their midst (Luke 24:36-49) and said, “Peace be unto
you!” From where had he come? All
such meetings were held secretly with closed doors, for fear of the Jews
(John 20:19,26), but here was a sudden appearance without any visible
approach; and they were terrified, and supposed they had seen a
spirit. Then he comforted
them, told them to calm their fears, and showed them his hands and his
feet, saying, “It is I, myself; handle me and see; for a spirit hath not
flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”
And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto
them, “Have ye here any meat?” and they gave him a piece of a broiled
fish, and he took it and did eat before them.
Then he opened their understanding,
their mental eyes, and expounded the Scriptures to them, showing from the
law and the prophets that these things had come to pass exactly as
foretold. But Thomas was
absent (John 20:24); and when the other disciples told him that they had
seen the Lord, he would not believe it, but said, “Except I shall see in
his hands the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will
not believe.”
Eight days passed without further manifestations, and they had time
calmly to think and talk over the experiences of that wonderful day, when,
the disciples being again assembled as before, Jesus stood in their midst,
just as on the first evening, saying, “Peace be unto you.” (John
20:26) This time Thomas was present, and the Lord addressed him, saying,
“Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither
thy hand, and thrust it into my side; and be not faithless, but
believing.” He thus showed
that he knew what Thomas had said without being told, and he gave that
proof of his resurrection which Thomas had said would satisfy him; and
with joy Thomas answered, “My Lord and my God!”
After this, there must have been quite a long interval before there
was any further manifestation of the Lord’s presence, and the disciples
who were Galileans began to think of home and the future; and remembering
the Lord’s message by the women, that he would go before them into
Galilee, they
went thither. Probably on
their way, the Lord met them, as Matthew relates, in a mountain.
They were perplexed; they no longer felt the same familiarity they
once had toward him; he seemed so greatly changed since his crucifixion
from what he used to be—he appeared and disappeared in such peculiar
times and places; he no longer seemed like “the man Christ Jesus”; so
Matthew says “they worshiped him—but some doubted.”
After a few words with them the Lord “vanished” from their
sight, and left them to wonder what next would happen.
For some time after their return to Galilee nothing unusual
occurred, and there was no further indication of the Lord’s presence.
Doubtless they met together and talked over the situation, and wondered
why he did not appear to them more frequently.
As they waited, the days and the weeks seemed long. They had long
ago given up the ordinary pursuits of life, to follow the Lord from place
to place, learning of him, and preaching to others, “The kingdom of
heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 10:5-7)
They did not now wish to go back to the old pursuits; and yet, how
should they proceed with the Lord’s work?
They comprehended the situation clearly enough to know that they
could no longer preach as formerly the kingdom at hand; for all the people
knew that their Master and King had been crucified, and none but
themselves knew of his resurrection.
While all of the eleven were thus perplexed and anxious, waiting
for something, they knew not what, Peter said, Well, it will not do to
remain idle: I will go back to my old fishing business; and six of the
others said, We will do the same: we will go with you. (John 21:3) And
probably the rest also turned again to their old employments.
Who can doubt that the Lord was invisibly present with them many
times as they talked together, overruling and
directing
the course of circumstances, etc., for their highest good?
If they should have great success and become swallowed up by
interest in business, they would soon be unfit for the higher service; yet
if they should have no success, it would seem like forcing them; so the
Lord adopted a plan which taught them a lesson such as he often teaches
his followers, viz.: that the success or failure of their efforts, in any
direction, he can control if he please.
The old firm of fishermen reorganized: got together their boats,
nets, etc., and went out for their first catch.
But they toiled all night and caught no fish, and began to feel
disheartened. In the morning a stranger on shore calls to them to know of
their success. Poor success!
We have caught nothing, they answer.
Try again, said the stranger.
Now cast your net on the other side of the boat.
No use, stranger, we have tried both sides all night long, and if
there were fish on one side, there would be on the other.
However, we will try again and let you see.
They did so, and got an immense haul.
How strange! said some; but the quick and impressible John at once
got the correct idea, and said, Brethren, the Lord only could do this.
Don’t you remember the feeding of the multitudes, etc?
That must be the Lord on shore, and this is another way that he has
chosen to manifest himself to us. Don’t
you remember that it was just so when the Lord first called us?
Then, too, we had toiled all night and caught nothing until he
called to us, saying, “Let down your nets for a draught.” (Luke
5:4-11) Yes, surely that is
the Lord, though, since his resurrection, we cannot recognize him by his
appearance. He now appears in
a variety of forms; but we know each time that it is he by some peculiar
circumstance like this calling to mind some marked incident of our past
acquaintance with him.
And when they got to shore they found that Jesus had bread as well
as fish, and they learned the lesson, that under
his direction and care and in his service they would not be left to
starve. (Luke 12:29,30) They
did not ask him if he were the Lord; for on this as on other occasions,
the eyes
of their
understanding being opened, they knew him, not by physical sight,
but by the miracle. Then
followed the instructions of that delightful hour, reassuring Peter of his
continued acceptance notwithstanding his denial of the Lord, for which he
repented and wept. He now
learned afresh of his Master’s love, and of his continued privilege of
feeding the sheep and the lambs. We
seem to hear the Lord say, You need not go back to the fishing business,
Peter: I called you once to be a fisher of men, and, knowing your heart to
be still loyal and zealous, I renew your commission as a fisher of men.
“And, eating together with them, he commanded them that they
should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father,
which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with
the holy Spirit not many days hence.” (Acts 1:4—margin)
So they came to Jerusalem as instructed, and here it was, forty
days after his resurrection, that he met with them for the last time and
talked with them. They
summoned courage this time to question him about the kingdom he had
promised them, saying, “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom
to Israel?” This thought of
the kingdom was the one uppermost in the mind of every Jew.
Israel, they understood, was to be chief among the nations under
Messiah, and they knew not of the long Times of the Gentiles, and saw not
yet that the chief blessing had been taken from fleshly Israel (Matt.
21:43; Rom. 11:7), and that they themselves were to be members of the new
(spiritual) Israel, the royal priesthood and holy nation, through whom, as
the body of Christ, the blessing of the world would come.
They as yet understood none of these
things. How could
they? They had not yet
received the holy Spirit of adoption as sons, but were still under
condemnation; because, though the ransom-sacrifice had been made by the
Redeemer, it had not yet been formally presented on our behalf in the Most
Holy, even Heaven itself. (John 7:39)
Hence our Lord did not attempt any explanatory answer to their
question, but merely said, “It is not for you
[now] to know the times and seasons which the Father hath put in his own
power. But
ye shall receive power* after
that the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me
both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the
uttermost part of the earth.” Acts 1:7,8
—————
*This
promised power to know and to understand times and seasons, and
all things pertaining to a proper witnessing,
applies to the whole Church
from first to last; and under the guidance and power of the holy
Spirit, meat
in due season concerning every feature of the plan is provided, in
order that we may be his witnesses, even to the end of this age.
Compare
John 16:12,13.
Then the Lord, who was walking with them, when they reached the
Mount of Olives, lifted his hands and blessed them, and he was parted from
them and went upward; and a cloud received him out of their sight. (Luke
24:48-52; Acts 1:6-15) They
began to see something more of God’s plan now.
The Lord who came down from heaven had returned to the Father, as
he had told them before he died—had gone to prepare a place for them and
would come again and receive them—had gone afar to receive the promised
kingdom, and to return (Luke 19:12); and meantime they were to be his witnesses
in all the earth to call and make ready a people to receive him when he
would come to be glorified in his saints, and to reign King of kings and
Lord of lords. They saw their
new mission, of proclaiming to every creature a coming king from heaven,
“with all power in heaven and in earth,” to be a much more important
work than that of the preceding years, when they heralded “the man
Christ Jesus,” and followed him who was “despised and rejected of
men.” Their risen Lord was
changed indeed, not only in his personal appearance—appearing sometimes
in one way and place, and again in a different way and place, manifesting
his “all power”—but he was changed in condition or nature also.
No longer did he appeal to the Jews, nor show himself to them; for
since his resurrection none saw him in any sense except his friends and
followers. His words, “Yet
a little while, and the world seeth me no
more,” were thus verified.
Thus was the faith of the apostles and of the early Church
established in the fact of the Lord’s resurrection. Their doubts were
scattered, and their hearts rejoiced; and they returned to Jerusalem and
continued in prayer and supplication and study of the Scriptures, waiting
for the adoption promised by the Father, and their endowment with
spiritual understanding, and with special miraculous gifts of power, to
enable them to convince true Israelites, and to establish the Gospel
Church, at the day of Pentecost. Acts 1:14; 2:1
Though our Lord at his second advent will not manifest his presence
in the same way that he did during those forty days after his
resurrection, yet we have his assurance that the “brethren shall not be
in darkness.” Nay, more: we
shall have an aid which they could not and did not have to help them
during those forty days, viz., “power
from on high,” to guide us into the understanding of every truth due to
be understood, and, even as promised, to show us things to
come. Hence in due season we shall have full understanding of the
manner, time and attendant circumstances of his appearing, which, if
carefully watched for and marked, will be no less convincing than were the
evidences of our Lord’s resurrection furnished
to the early Church, although of a different kind.
That our Lord at his second advent could
assume the human form, and thus appear to men, as he did to his disciples
after his resurrection, there can be no question; not only because he thus
appeared in human form during those forty days, but because spirit beings
have in the past manifested the power to appear as men in flesh and in
various forms. But such a manifestation would be out of harmony with the
general tenor of God’s plan, as well as out of harmony with the
Scriptural indications given, relative to the manner of his
manifestations, as we shall see. Instead,
it is the Lord’s plan that his spiritual kingdom shall communicate,
operate, and manifest its presence and power through human, earthly
agencies. Just as the prince
of this world, Satan, though unseen by men, exercises a wide influence in
the world through those subject to him, and possessed of and controlled by
his spirit, so the new Prince of Peace, the Lord, will chiefly operate in,
and manifest his presence and power through, human beings, subject to him
and possessed of and controlled by his spirit.
Seeing with the natural eye and hearing with the natural ear are
not all there is of seeing and hearing.
“No man hath seen God at any time” thus, yet all God’s
children have seen him, and known him, and held communion with him. (John
1:18; 5:37; 14:7) We hear
God’s call, our “high calling,” we hear
the voice of our Shepherd, and are constantly looking
unto Jesus, and see
the prize, the crown of life which he promises—not by natural sight and
hearing, but by our understanding. Far
more precious is the sight we have of our glorified Lord as the spiritual,
highly exalted King of glory, our Redeemer as well as our King, by the
eyes of our understanding and faith, than the sight afforded to the
natural eye before Pentecost.
There was a necessity for our Lord’s appearing in the manner he
did to his disciples, after his resurrection, which will not exist at his
second advent. His object
then will be better served in a different way.
In fact, to appear so at his second advent would be detrimental to
the purpose then to be accomplished.
His object in appearing to his disciples after his resurrection was
to convince them that he who was dead is alive forevermore, that they
might go forth as witnesses to the fact of his resurrection (Luke 24:48),
and that their testimony might be a sure foundation for the faith of
coming generations. Since no
man can come to God acceptably, to receive the holy Spirit of adoption,
without faith
in Christ, it became necessary, not only for the sake of the disciples
then, but for all since, that the evidences
of his resurrection and change should be such as natural
men could grasp and appreciate.
After they had become partakers of the holy Spirit and understood
spiritual things (See 1 Cor. 2:12-16), they could have believed the angels
at the sepulcher, that he had risen from the dead condition, even if they
had seen the fleshly body of the man Christ Jesus still lying in the tomb;
but not so before—the body must be away to make faith in his
resurrection possible to them. After
the holy Spirit had enabled them to discern spiritual things they could
have believed the testimony of the prophets that he must needs die, and would
rise from the dead, and that he would be highly exalted as King of
glory, without its being needful for him to appear
as a man, and assume various bodies of flesh as a garment, so that
they could handle him and see
him ascend. But all this was
needful for them and for all natural men.
By believing, we come to God by him and receive forgiveness of sins
and the Spirit of adoption, to understand spiritual things.
Even while removing the natural
obstacles to faith, by assuming human form, etc., our Lord convinced
the disciples, and made them witnesses
to others, not by their natural sight and touch, but by reasoning with
them out of the Scriptures: “Then opened he their understanding, that
they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is
written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead
the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be
preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
And
ye are witnesses of
these things.” (Luke 24:45-48)
Peter also states this object clearly, saying, “Him God raised up
the third day, and permitted
him to become manifest—NOT TO ALL THE PEOPLE, but to those
witnesses previously chosen of God, to us, who did eat and drink with him
after he arose from the dead. And he commanded us to proclaim to the
people that this [the resurrected Jesus] is he who has been appointed by
God the judge of the living and the dead.” Acts 10:40-42. Diaglott
translation.
With our Lord, after his resurrection, it was simply a question of
expediency as to which way of appearing to his disciples would best
accomplish his object, of making known his resurrection and change of
nature. Had he appeared as a
flame of fire, as the angel appeared to Moses in the burning bush
(Exod. 3:2), he might indeed have conversed with them, but the evidence
thus given would have been far from being as convincing as the method he
did adopt, both to the apostles and to the world at large to whom they
witnessed.
If he had appeared in the glory of the spirit form, as the angel
did to Daniel (Dan. 10:5-8), the glory would have been greater than the
witnesses could have borne. They
would probably have been so alarmed as to be unable to receive
instructions from him. To
none except Paul did the Lord ever thus show himself; and Paul was so
overcome by that glimpse of his glory that he fell to the ground and was
blinded
by its brightness, which was above that of the sun at noonday.
In our examination of the method of manifestation adopted by our
Lord during those forty days, we saw that he “permitted”
himself to become manifest even to the chosen witnesses only a few times,
and then but briefly. The
entire time that he was manifest to them, had it all been crowded into one
day instead of being at intervals during the forty days, would probably
have been less than twelve hours, or one eightieth of that entire time.
This being true, it is evident that he was present with them unseen
about seventy-nine eightieths of that period of forty days.
And even when they did have manifestations,
they were not (except once, repeated to St. Thomas) in a form exactly like
the one they had known so intimately for three years, and had seen but a
few days before. It is not
once intimated that they knew him by the familiar features of his face,
nor even that he was recognized by the same appearance as in other
manifestations.
Mary supposed him to be “the gardener.”
To the two on their way to Emmaus he was “a stranger.”
He was also a stranger to the fishermen on the sea of Galilee, and
to the eleven in the upper room. On
every occasion he was recognized by his actions, his words, or the
familiar tones of his voice.
When Thomas declared that only the proof which addressed his
natural sight and touch would be acceptable to him, the Lord, though he
granted that demand, gently reproved him, saying, Because thou has seen
me, thou hast believed; blessed are those who believe, not
having seen. (John 20:27-29)
The stronger evidence was that which was not addressed to natural
sight, and more blessed are those who hold themselves in readiness to
receive the truth through whatsoever proofs God is pleased to substantiate
it.
He thus showed them, not only that he now had the power to appear
in a variety of ways and forms, but also that no one of those bodies which
they saw was his spiritual, glorious body, though the facts of his
resurrection and presence were thus manifested to them.
The different forms, and the long intervals of invisible presence
with no outward manifestation, made evident the fact that though their
Lord and teacher was alive and not yet ascended to the Father, he was now
a spirit being, really invisible to human sight, but with ability to
manifest his presence and power in a variety of ways at pleasure.*
—————
*The
occurrence recorded by Luke (4:30) should not be regarded as a case
parallel to his appearing and vanishing after his resurrection.
That was
not a disappearance in the sense of becoming invisible to the
people. It
was merely an adroit, prompt movement, by which he eluded the
murderous
design of his enemies.
Before they had executed their plans for his
death he turned about, and, passing through their midst, no man had
courage or power to molest him, because his hour had not yet come.
The creating of the body and clothing in which he appeared to them,
in the very room in which they were gathered, was proof unquestionable
that Christ was no longer a human being, though he assured his disciples
that the body which they saw, and which Thomas handled, was a veritable
flesh and bone body, and not a mere vision or appearance.+
As a human being he could not come into the room
—————
+Let
no one hastily suppose that we are here following Spiritism,
Swedenborgianism or any other ism.
We are simply following and logically
connecting the apostolic account.
The vast difference between the Bible
teaching and that counterfeit of it promulgated by Satan, known as
Spiritualism, we distinctly discern and shall examine in a
succeeding volume.
Suffice it here to point out that Spiritism affects to communicate
between dead
men and living men, while the Bible condemns this (Isa. 8:19),
and teaches that such communications as were true
have been made only
by spirit beings, such as angels, and by our Lord; and not by our
Lord while
he was “the man
Christ Jesus,” nor while he was dead, but after his
resurrection change, when he had become a life-giving or
“quickening
spirit” being.
Nor can we for a moment admit the suggestion offered by some, that
our Lord opened the doors without being observed; for the record is plain
and clear that he came and stood in their midst while
the doors were shut—probably very carefully barred and bolted
too—“for fear of the Jews.” John 20:19,26
The lesson of his changed nature was still further emphasized by
his manner of leaving their sight: “He vanished
out of their sight.” The
human body of flesh and bones, etc., and its clothing, which appeared
suddenly while the doors were shut, did not go out of the door, but simply
disappeared
or dissolved into the same elements from which he had created them a few
moments before. He vanished
out of their
sight,
and was no longer seen
of them when the flesh and bones and clothing in which he had manifested
himself were dissolved, though doubtless he was still with
them—invisibly present; and so also much of the time during those forty
days.
On special occasions, for special instruction, God has granted
similar power to other spirit beings, angels, enabling them to appear as
men, in bodies of flesh and bones which ate and talked to those they
instructed, just as our Lord did. See
Gen. 18; Judges 6:11-22; 13:3-20; and the comments on these in Vol. I,
pages 178 to 184.
The power manifested by our Lord, and the angels referred to, to
create and dissolve the clothing in which they appeared, was just as
superhuman as the creating and dissolving of their assumed human bodies;
and the bodies were no more their glorious spiritual bodies than were the
clothes they wore. It will be
remembered that the seamless robe
and other clothing which our Redeemer wore before his crucifixion had been
divided among the Roman soldiers, and that the grave clothes were left
folded away in the sepulcher (John 19:23,24; 20:5-7), so that the clothing
in which he appeared on the occasions mentioned must have been specially
created, and probably was the most appropriate for each occasion.
For instance, when he appeared as a gardener to Mary, it was
probably in such apparel as a gardener would wear.
That the bodies in which our Lord appeared were real human bodies,
and not mere delusions, he gave them clearly to understand when he ate
before them, and invited them to handle him and see that the body was real
flesh and bones, saying, “Why are ye troubled?...Behold my hands and my
feet, that it is I myself: handle me and see; for a
spirit
hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”
Some Christians draw very absurd conclusions from this expression
of our Lord as to the verity of his assumed flesh and bone body.
They regard the assumed body as his spirit body, and declare that a
spirit body is flesh and bones, and just like a human body, excepting that
an indefinable something, which they call spirit, flows through its veins
instead of blood. They seem
to disregard the statement of our Lord, that this was not a spirit
body—that a spirit being has not flesh and bones.
Do they also forget John’s statement, that “It doth not yet
appear” what a spirit body is, and that we shall not know until we are
changed and made like him and see him, not as he was, but as he is? (1
John 3:2) Do they also forget
the Apostle Paul’s express statement that “flesh
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God?”—and his further
assurance that therefore
all the heirs with Christ must also “be changed?”
1 Cor. 15:50,51
Many Christians have the idea that our Lord’s glorious
spiritual body is the very same body that was crucified and laid
away in Joseph’s tomb: they expect, when they see the Lord in glory, to
identify him by the scars he received on Calvary.
This is a great mistake, which a very little consideration should
make manifest — Firstly, It would prove that his resurrection body is
not glorious or perfect, but scarred and disfigured: Secondly, It would
prove that we do know what a spirit body is, notwithstanding the
Apostle’s statement to the contrary: Thirdly, It would prove that our
redemption price was taken back; for Jesus said, “My flesh I will give
for the life of the world.” It
was his flesh, his life as
a man,
his humanity, that was sacrificed for our redemption. And when he was
raised to life again by the power of the Father, it was not to human
existence; because that was sacrificed as our purchase price.
And if that price had been taken back, we would still be under the
condemnation of death, and without hope.
We have no more reason to suppose that our Lord’s spirit body
since his resurrection is a human body than we have for supposing that his
spirit body prior to his first advent was human, or that other spirit
beings have human bodies; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones; and, says
the Apostle Peter, our Lord was “put to death in the flesh but made
alive in spirit.”
Our Lord’s human body was,
however, supernaturally removed from the tomb; because had it remained
there it would have been an insurmountable obstacle to the faith of the
disciples, who were not yet instructed in spiritual things—for “the
spirit was not yet given.” (John 7:39)
We know nothing about what became of it, except that it did not
decay or corrupt. (Acts 2:27,31) Whether
it was dissolved into gases or whether it is still preserved somewhere as
the grand memorial of God’s love, of Christ’s obedience, and of our
redemption, no one knows—nor is such knowledge
necessary.
That God did miraculously hide the body of Moses, we are assured
(Deut. 34:6; Jude 9); and that as a memorial
God did miraculously preserve from corruption the manna in the golden
bowl, which was placed in the Ark under the Mercy Seat in the Tabernacle,
and that it was a symbol of our Lord’s flesh, the bread from heaven, we
also know. (Exod. 16:20,33; Heb. 9:4; John 6:51-58)
Hence it will not surprise us if, in the Kingdom, God shall show to
the world the body of flesh, crucified for all in giving the ransom on
their behalf—not permitted to corrupt, but preserved as an everlasting
testimony of infinite love and perfect obedience.
It is at least possible that John 19:37 and Zech. 12:10 may have
such a fulfilment. Those who
cried, “Crucify him!” may yet, as witnesses, identify the very body
pierced by the spear and torn by the nails and thorns.
To regard our Lord’s glorious body as a body of flesh would not
in the least account for his peculiar and sudden appearings during those
forty days prior to his ascension. How could he so suddenly appear and
then vanish? How was it that
he kept himself almost constantly invisible during those forty days?
And why was it that his appearance each time was so changed as not
to be recognized as the same one seen on any former occasion, or as the
one so well known and loved by all, before his crucifixion, only a few
days previous?
It will not do merely to say that these were miracles, for then
some use or necessity for the miracles should be named.
If his body after his resurrection were flesh and bones, and the
same body that was crucified, with all the features and scars, why
did he perform miracles which not only did not establish that fact, but
which were likely, we see, to teach the opposite?—that he himself was no
longer human—flesh and bones—but a spirit being who could go and come
as the wind, so that none could tell whence he
came
or whither he went, but who, for the purpose of instructing them, appeared
as
a man in
various bodies of flesh and bones which he created and dissolved as
occasion required.
Before our Lord’s crucifixion, he had been on familiar terms with
his disciples, but after his resurrection, though he loved them none the
less, his manner toward them was more reserved.
This was doubtless to impress them more forcibly with the dignity
and honor of his high exaltation, and to inspire due reverence for his
person and authority. Though as a man Jesus never lacked that dignity of
deportment which commands respect, yet a greater reserve was necessary and
expedient after his change to the divine nature. Such reserve has always
been maintained by Jehovah toward his creatures, and is expedient under
the circumstances. This reserve marked all our Lord’s interviews with
the disciples after his resurrection.
They were very brief, even as he had said, “Hereafter I will not
talk much with you.” John 14:30
Those who believe that our Heavenly Father is a spirit and not a
man should find no difficulty in realizing that our Lord Jesus, who is now
exalted to the divine nature, and who is not only a moral likeness of God
but in fact “the
express image
of the Father’s person,” is no longer a man but a spirit
being, whom no man hath seen nor can see without a miracle.
It is just as impossible for men to see the unveiled glory of the
Lord Jesus as it is for them to behold Jehovah. Think for a moment how
even a reflection of the spiritual glory affected Moses and Israel at
Sinai. (Heb. 12:21; Exod. 19; 20:19-21; 33:20-23; 34:29-35)
“So terrible was the sight,” so overwhelming and
fear-inspiring, “that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake.”
And though Moses was supernaturally strengthened to behold the
glory of the Lord, so that for forty days and forty nights, alone with
God, overshadowed by his glory and without either food or drink, he
received and wrote the divine law (Exod. 34:28), yet when he desired to
see the Lord face to face he was told, “Thou canst not see my face; for
there shall no man see me and live.” (Exod. 33:20)
All that Moses ever saw, therefore, was an appearance
representing God, and nothing more was possible.
This accords, too, with the Apostle’s statements: “No man
hath seen God at
any time”; he is the King immortal, invisible, whom
no man hath seen nor can [ever] see. (1 Tim. 6:15,16) But that
spirit beings can and do see God, who himself is a spirit being, is
clearly stated. Matt. 18:10
If our Lord is still “the man
Christ Jesus, who gave
himself a ransom for all” (1 Tim. 2:5,6)