In what manner will Christ come again?

Chapter Second Advent

Jesus clearly spoke about the Second Advent (Matt. 16:27). But he said that no one knew of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven (Matt. 24:36). Therefore, up to the present, it has been thought reckless even to try to know when, where and how the Lord would come.

By examining the words of Jesus, "Only the Father knows." (Matt 24:36), and the verse, "Surely the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7), we can understand that God, who knows of the day and hour, will surely let His prophets know all the secrets concerning the Second Advent of the Lord before actualizing it.

Therefore, Jesus said that Lord would come like a thief (Rev. 3:3), while, on another occasion, he said that, for those in the light, the Lord would not come as a thief (I. Thess. 5:4). It was true that Jesus came as thief to the chief priests and scribes, who were in darkness, but, to the home of John the Baptist, which was in light, God revealed Jesus' birth beforehand. At the time of his birth He revealed the fact to the wise men of the east, Simon, Anna, and the shepherds. Again, Jesus warned the people, telling them to watch at all times, praying that they might have the strength to escape all those things that would take place, because the day of the Second Advent would come upon them suddenly like a snare; so, it is evident that He will reveal it beforehand to the saints who are in the light, so that they may prepare for the coming day of the Lord.

From the examples appearing in the course of the providence of restoration, we can see that God always did things after having revealed the facts to His prophets beforehand; for example: the judgment in Noah's time, His destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Messiah's coming. Therefore, it is evident that, at the Second Coming of the Lord, God will speak to those who have ears to hear and eyes to see so that they may be enlightened by the saints about what would take place, as He promised that in the Last Days He would pour out His Spirit (Acts 2:17).

Section II

In what manner will Christ come again?

1. Viewpoint concerning the bible

God has always revealed important matters of His will in parables and symbols, so that by looking for what would come in the future, any person might understand the demand of the age of God's providence, according to the degree of his intellect and spirituality (John 16:25). Therefore, the Bible has caused the establishment of many different viewpoints by various interpreters. The main cause for denominational divisions lies here. Consequently, the most important matter of all is the viewpoint from which one interprets the Bible.

The matters concerning John the Baptist supply us with a good example (cf. Part I, Ch. 4, Sec. II, 3--157). Since we have viewed the Bible for the 2000 years since Jesus from the standpoint that John the Baptist fulfilled his responsibility, the Bible has consequently appeared to support this. But when we consider the Bible again from a different standpoint, we can clearly understand that John the Baptist failed to accomplish his responsibility (cf. Part I, Ch. 4, Sec. II, 3--157). Likewise, since we have viewed the Bible from the standpoint that the Lord must come on the clouds by literally interpreting that the Bible says this, the Bible has appeared to us only in that way, up to the present time. However, since it is absolutely incomprehensible to the intellect of modern men that the Lord would come on the clouds, it is necessary for us to consider the Bible in detail a second time, from a different standpoint, in order to grasp the true meaning of what the Bible literally says.

We propose a new viewpoint in the section in the Bible concerning John the Baptist. Malachi prophesied that Elijah, who had ascended into heaven, would come before the advent of the Messiah (Mal. 4:5). Consequently, the Jewish people of Jesus' day believed that the very person of Elijah who had once ascended into heaven, would come again, and they were looking forward to the day of his coming down from heaven, But, most unexpectedly, Jesus said that John the Baptist, the son of Zechariah (Luke 1:13), was Elijah (Matt. 11:14).

Here, we came to know, according to the testimony of Jesus himself, that the second advent of Elijah was realized by the birth of John the Baptist, not by his coming down from heaven, as the Jewish people of that time had all expected. In like manner, although many Christians up to the present have believed that Jesus would come on the clouds, there are no grounds to deny the possibility of the Lord being born in the flesh on the earth at the Second Advent, just as the fulfillment of Elijah's second advent by the birth of John the Baptist has shown us. At this point, we need to consider, once again, the numerous Biblical records concerning the Second Advent from the viewpoint that the Lord might come on the earth by being born in the flesh.

At the time of Jesus' coming, many scholars knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem of Judea as the offspring of David (Matt. 2:5-6). But on the other hand, it is not difficult to imagine that there were many saints who believed that the Messiah would come on the clouds, according to the Biblical record that said, "I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man...." (Dan. 7:13). Therefore, the Jewish people, even after the crucifixion of Jesus, aroused an anti-Christian movement, saying that Jesus, born in the flesh on the earth, could not be the Messiah. The apostle John named "antichrists" all those who denied that Jesus was born in the flesh, saying:

For many deceivers have gone out into the world, men who will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. (II John 7:8)

There are scholars who insist that Daniel 7:13 is the prophecy of what was going to happen at the Second Coming of the Lord. However, in the Old Testament Age, God was working His providence to fulfill the whole purpose of the providence of restoration with the coming of the Messiah, as we may clearly see from the words, "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John." (Matt. 11:13), and also "For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified." (Rom 10:4).

Therefore, it was the situation that no one could ever imagine the second coming of the Messiah, who had once come, until Jesus himself later said that the Lord would come again. In consequence, none of the Jews of Jesus' day could ever think that the prophecy of Daniel 7:13 was concerned with the Second Coming of the Messiah. Therefore, the Jewish people of that time thought that this prophecy would be that which was going to happen at the first coming of the Lord. In this way, even at the time of Jesus' coming, there were many believers who had believed that the Lord would come on the clouds, from Biblical grounds. However, Jesus was actually born in the flesh on earth, and we are compelled by this knowledge to study the Bible from the viewpoint that the Lord may come again in a like manner.