All things, as we have seen, are put, in the purpose of God, under the feet of Christ; but, as the Apostle expressly says, we do not yet see all things put under the “Son of man,” but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor. This then is the present position. Christ is the Son of man of whom Psalm 8 speaks, and indeed, as Hebrews 1 says, He is the Heir of all things; and this very term “heir” shows that He has not yet succeeded to His inheritance. But the title is His by the will of God (Phil. 2); He has taken up all the liabilities that lay upon His vast domain, for He has tasted death for everything; and now, crowned with glory and honor at the right hand of God, He waits for the appointed moment when He shall come forth and take possession of all that the Father has delivered into His hands. There are then three stages to be considered: the present moment, the period during which Christ is exalted on high; His coming forth in power to subdue His enemies; and His rule until all things are subdued under Him. Let us then consider these in the order named.
In regard to the first, we have already pointed out several of the exercises of power on the part of Christ in virtue of all things having been delivered into His hands, and these we need not recall. But we may with profit consider the cause of the delay in His assumption of His dominion. It is most strikingly stated by the Lord Himself in the synagogue at Nazareth. When He stood up to read there on that sabbath day, there was delivered to Him the book of the prophet Esaias. “And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:16-1916And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. 17And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 18The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (Luke 4:16‑19)). Turning back to the prophet Isaiah, whence this quotation is made, we find that the next sentence is, “And the day of vengeance of our God.” This day has not yet arrived, and hence between the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God the entire interval of the day of grace has to be interposed. If, therefore, Christ waits at the right hand of God before taking possession of His inheritance, it is in order that the gospel may go forth on every hand, so that those who are to be heirs of God and coheirs with Himself might be called in, and that the bride may be conducted across the desert to the true Isaac, who, having presented her to Himself a glorious Church, only and without blemish, will display her in the same glory with Himself, when He comes forth to take possession of His inheritance.
The cause of the delay, therefore is nothing less than the heart of God as expressed in the gospel of His grace. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”; and the proclamation will be sounded forth in every quarter of the world, until Christ arises from His seat at the right hand of God. “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” How much, therefore, hangs upon the present moment. And how it magnifies the grace of God that He should delay to put His beloved Son into the possession of His kingdom, because He lingers over the world that cast out and crucified Him! Well indeed might we exclaim with the Apostle, “0 the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!”
Before entering upon our consideration of the second stage — Christ coming forth to claim His possessions — it will be necessary to connect this event with the interval between the close of the day of grace and the appearing of Christ. As we have seen, when Christ arises from His seat at the right hand of God, the day of grace is closed forever. It is then that He comes for His people, for all who have been gathered in from the earliest ages up till that moment, or, if we confine our attention to 1 Thessalonians 4, for all His own from the day of Pentecost. To give the Apostle’s own words — “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” (1 Thess. 4:16-1716For 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: 17Then 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. (1 Thessalonians 4:16‑17)). Adding to this the instructions given in 1 Corinthians 15, we have two things: first, that before the public manifestation of the Lord in glory, He will interpose with power in the domain of death, and raise His sleeping saints; and second, that He will change the bodies of the living saints. These are the words of the Apostle in this chapter: “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51-5251Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51‑52)). And let it be distinctly observed that the power which the Lord puts forth in raising the sleeping, and in changing the living, saints is said to be in virtue of having all things put under Him (Phil. 3:20-2120For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. (Philippians 3:20‑21)). It is, so to speak, the first wave of His power which, flowing forth from the throne of God on which He sits, will flow on until it has submerged every hostile power, and brought everything into subjection to His glorious sway.
The result of this exercise of His power is that the saints are ever with the Lord, for it is consequent upon this that they are introduced into the Father’s house, that where He is they may be also (John 14:3, 43And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 4And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. (John 14:3‑4)). Two other things take place before His appearing in glory; the judgment seat of Christ, and thereupon the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19).
All is now ready for His coming forth, but we may refer to another preparatory scene in heaven which will help in the apprehension of what follows. In Revelation 5 we hear, after being permitted to see the sealed book in the right hand of Him who sat upon the throne, a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?” There was no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth who could take up the challenge; and then we are told that the “Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” had “prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.” Announced under such commanding titles, John “beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts [living creatures), and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” He is a Lamb as it had been slain to show that it was through His death upon the cross that He had won His victorious title to possess all things. It is true that the scene here only embraces the earth; and yet at the close of the chapter every creature which is in heaven, as well as on the earth and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, unite in loud acclaim, “Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.” This scene is most important, since it establishes beyond question that it is through His sacrificial death the Lord obtains His universal dominion. It is this indeed that the redeemed, the ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands of angels, and every creature in the wide universe of God, own in their several ascriptions of praise and adoration, as recorded in this chapter.
We may now all the more intelligently proceed to dwell upon Christ’s coming to claim His rights and to take possession of His inheritance. It will add to our interest in this marvelous event if we remember that through His grace we shall be His companion in the glorious display of that day; for it is then that He comes to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that have believed. The Lord Himself has described the manner of His appearing in most solemn and striking language: “As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” And again, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matt. 24:27-3027For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 29Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. (Matthew 24:27‑30)).
The suddenness of the appearing is much dwelt upon by both Paul and Peter. Both use the expression, “as a thief in the night,” to describe it, and thus also its unexpected character. As the former says, “When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh.” The light of the glory of the Lord will then burst without a moment’s warning upon the moral darkness of this world, when He comes to take account of everything according to God’s righteousness in government, and when He shall send forth His angels to gather out of His kingdom all things which offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. This is therefore called the day of the Lord, because at that time He will administer the authority of God in righteousness, whether in dealing with evil or in justifying and establishing His earthly people, “for He cometh, for He cometh to judge the earth: He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with His truth” (Psalm 96:1313Before the Lord: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth. (Psalm 96:13)).
There is yet to be considered the sway of Christ in the world to come, during the thousand years, under which all things are subdued or put under His feet. At the outset He will be occupied with the powers of evil. We need not go into details, as it will be sufficient to remind the reader that He will first of all destroy the antichrist with the brightness of His coming; He will also destroy all the nations that will be gathered against Jerusalem; He will establish His throne in Zion; He will gather His people Israel from the four corners of the earth, for “He that scattered Israel will gather him,” and He will settle them in blessing under His beneficent and righteous rule. Then it will be through Israel that He will subdue the nations on earth. Thus Jeremiah speaks, addressing Israel in the name of Jehovah, “Thou art My battle-ax and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms” (Jer. 51:2020Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; (Jeremiah 51:20)).
We need not, however, pursue the subject in detail, for the fact lies everywhere, even on the surface of the prophetic scriptures, that when once the kingdom of Christ is established in the age to come, all men must submit to His rule, and that, even though enmity may still possess their hearts, they will proffer their subjection. We accordingly read several times in the Psalms that there are many who, afraid at the display of His power, will yield to Him feigned obedience. As He Himself, speaking in the Spirit says, “As soon as they hear of Me, they shall obey Me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto Me” (Psalm 18:4444As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me. (Psalm 18:44)). And again, “Say unto God, How terrible art Thou in Thy works! through the greatness of Thy power shall Thine enemies submit themselves unto Thee. All the earth shall worship Thee, and shall sing unto Thee; they shall sing to Thy name” (Psa. 66:3-43Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. 4All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah. (Psalm 66:3‑4)).
But it is in the 72nd Psalm that we see the effect upon earth of the establishment of the supremacy of Christ, consequent upon the subdual of His enemies, when there is neither adversary or evil occurrent. In this beautiful picture of the reign of the Prince of Peace we behold every element of human happiness and earthly blessing. Take the following verses for example: “In His days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before Him; and His enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him: all nations shall serve Him. For He shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in His sight. And He shall live, and to Him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for Him continually; and daily shall He be praised.... His name shall endure forever: His name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in Him: all nations shall call Him blessed” (Psa. 72:7-177In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. 8He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. 9They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. 10The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. 11Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. 12For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. 13He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. 14He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight. 15And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised. 16There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. 17His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. (Psalm 72:7‑17)).