Now the Lord Jesus has been gone back to heaven almost two thousand years, but before He went away He definitely promised,
"If I go... I will come again" (John 14:3).
Just as surely as His first advent was foretold, so His coming again is promised in words unmistakably clear. The One who has gone back to heaven will soon come again. He did not say, I will send an angel to bring you to Myself, but
"I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
Now many dear Christians have read these words supposing that they mean death is coming for them, or that Christ will come for them at their death. But that is very careless reading. He Himself is coming for us. Death has not gone away, nor is it coming again. And when a child of God falls asleep in Jesus, he has gone to be with Christ which is far better (Phil. 1:23). He has gone to Christ; Christ has not come for him.
The early Christians were living in the constant expectation of the Lord's return. This was a real hope connected with their salvation. The saints at Thessalonica
"Turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for His Son from heaven" (1 Thess. 1:9, 10).
The whole character of this dispensation should be one of constant expectancy. Christians should be followers of a rejected Christ, living in view of His return. When this hope ceased to animate the Church, it fell into worldliness. Christians settled down to be at home on earth when they ceased looking for their Lord from heaven. There is nothing that so separates one in heart from all that is here, as the expectation of hearing that shout and being caught up to be with the Lord. If you and I knew definitely that the Lord would come tomorrow, it would make the things here seem insignificant, and we would be seeking to be found pleasing to Him when He comes.
The Thessalonians became troubled because some of their number died before the Lord came, supposing that they had lost something. To correct this fear the Apostle Paul wrote the details as to the Lord's coming.
"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." 1 Thess. 4:16, 17.
He has promised, and will come to call all the redeemed to Himself. At His coming for all the saved, He will not come all the way to the earth, but shout that shout in the air, calling all who died in faith from their graves. Immediately after this, all who are living and believe (John 11:26) will be caught up with the risen saints to meet the Lord in the air. In 1 Corinthians 15 we learn that all this will happen "in the twinkling of an eye." Our bodies of humiliation will be fashioned like unto His body of glory (Phil. 3:21).
We do not know of one thing that must take place before the Lord comes. He may come and call all the redeemed from their graves, and catch away all the saved ones who are living on earth, before this paper goes to print. There is nothing that must be fulfilled first, and none can give a reason why He may not come today.
Dear fellow-Christian, are we really looking for Him who died for us? Do we long to see Him? I do not ask, Do we accept the doctrine of the Lord's coming? The Jews knew the doctrine of His first coming, but were not looking for Him. May we not be merely believing in the "Lord's coming," but actually expecting Himself. The unbelieving world shall not see Him when He comes to call us into the air to meet Him. Later, when He comes visibly to the earth, we shall come with Him. Then He shall come to execute judgment before He sets up His earthly kingdom and reigns, but the object of this paper is to set before us our proper hope—His coming for His own. May this stir our affections, and not merely increase our knowledge.