In this video via UniStudents youtube channel, our brother Willem van der Zwan (who at this time is in Amsterdam, Holland) takes us through some of the events leading up to the end times and how we as believers can prepare to see the Lord.
This speaking was given during the 2020 COVID19 pandemic, mainly to those of the young adult age, and the Lord wants to gather us to speak to us concerning His return – if we have an ear to hear!
The Lord gathers us again around His word, and we want to hear what He wants to speak to the churches. Our God is a speaking God, and He wants to bring us into His heart’s desire even in this matter of the Lord’s return.
There’s a lot of speaking about the Lord’s coming, even among Christians, and it always stirs up our curiosity…and especially with this coronavirus going around, many saints are looking to the heavens and say, The Lord wants to come back!
Yes, He does want to come back, but His return is always related to His eternal economy. It is not an event standing by itself….For Him to return there has to be something on the earth He comes back to, and we need to look to Him to speak to us in a direct way and prepare us for His return.
This is the Lord’s speaking concerning His coming…and we need to pay attention to His direct word.
We may want to read the sign, the world situation, even calculate the years when will the Lord return…and the disciples thought that the Lord will return in their lifetime…so what will bring Him back?
The Prophecy of the Lord’s Coming (2) – The Speaking of the Lord Jesus concerning His Coming
Scripture Reading: Matt. 24:27; 25:1; Rev. 2:28; 3:3
I. “For just as the lightning comes forth from the east and shines to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be” — Matt. 24:27:
A. The second coming of Christ has two aspects: the secret aspect, related to His watchful believers, and the open aspect, related to the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles.
B. The lightning signifies the open aspect, which will take place after the great tribulation, and the thief’s coming signifies the secret aspect, which will occur before the great tribulation — vv. 29-30, 43.
C. The Lord’s coming like a flash of lightning striking the earth will be a sign of the end of the Lord’s parousia and implies that the Lord is like electricity — v. 3; Luke 17:24.
II. “At that time the kingdom of the heavens will be likened to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom” — Matt. 25:1:
A. We are the virgins going, and Christ is the Bridegroom coming — cf. 9:15.
B. In the Bible we have a universal couple—the Bridegroom and the bride; in His coming back Christ will be the Bridegroom coming for His bride.
C. The reign of God, the kingdom, is related to the marriage of Christ, and the marriage of Christ is the issue of the completion of God’s eternal economy — Rev. 19:7:
- God’s economy in the New Testament is to obtain for Christ a bride, the church, through His redemption and divine life — John 3:29.
- By the continual working of the Holy Spirit throughout the centuries, this goal will be reached at the end of this age; then the bride, the overcoming believers, will be ready, and the Lord will come.
III. “To him I will give the morning star” — Rev. 2:28:
A. In His coming back Christ will be the morning star secretly as a reward to His overcomers who watch for His coming; to all others He will appear openly as the sun — 22:16; Mal. 4:2:
- In the kingdom the Lord will appear publicly to His people as the sun.
- Before the great tribulation He will appear privately to His overcomers as the morning star.
B. “Thou also art the Morning Star / To us as a reward; / While still ’tis dark it shines with light / To those who love the Lord. / Lord, help us e’er to love Thy light / And see things from afar; / And look for Thee in watch and prayer / As for the Morning Star” (Hymns, #200).
IV. “If therefore you will not watch, I will come as a thief, and you shall by no means know at what hour I will come upon you” — Rev. 3:3:
A. A thief comes to steal precious things at an unknown time.
B. The Lord Jesus will come secretly, as a thief, to those who love Him and will take them away as His treasures — Matt. 24:43.
C. Because Christ will come to “steal” valuable things, we should seek to be precious, worthy of being “stolen” by Him in His secret coming.
D. A normal Christian is one who is qualified to be stolen by the Lord.
E. For the Lord’s coming as a thief we need watchfulness and readiness — vv. 42, 44.
[this is a portion of the outline presented in this video; please watch this video and enjoy it to find out more!]
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