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Prophecy Study: "The Return" A.W. Pink (Chapter One)
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Prophecy Study
"Studying Prophecy and News"
A.W. Pink
The Return
Chapter One
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4. The Return Is Necessitated By The Humiliation Of The Cross
The degradation which the Lord Jesus endured when He was here upon earth before, requires that He shall come back again in power and glory in order to vindicate Himself. Is it reasonable to suppose that the last view which this world shall have of our blessed Lord before He takes His seat upon the Great White Throne to judge the wicked dead, shall be that of the "lowly Nazarene"? Surely not. Need we remind our readers of the depths of humiliation into which our Redeemer descended? Born in a manger, with the beasts of the field for His first companions, and a bed of straw for His cradle! Sharing the home of humble Jewish peasants and spending His youth and early manhood at the carpenter's bench! During His public ministry, so poor and so lightly esteemed that the common courtesies of hospitality were denied Him--"He had not where to lay His head!" Despised and rejected of men; the butt of Pharisaic contempt and the center of Jewish ridicule! His life seemingly ending in defeat as He hung helpless upon the cross, enduring the shame of a criminal's execution and taunted by his heartless enemies! Is this the only sight which the earth is to have of the Lord of Glory? Is the Son of God to retire from this world in apparent defeat without any subsequent opportunity for vindicating Himself? Surely not. Is it not evident then that He who was here before in humiliation must yet come back to be glorified in His saints and to be admired in all them that believe? Does not the very fitness of things, do not the claims of equity and righteousness, insist, that He who was the willing Victim shall yet return as the triumphant Victor? Does not the Cross of Calvary necessitate that our Lord shall yet come back to our earth in order to substantiate His claims and ratify His promises?
"For dogs have compassed Me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed Me: they pierced My hands and My feet. I may tell all My bones: they look and stare upon Me. They part My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture" (Ps. 22:16-18). Such was the picture that was painted by prophecy. But this scene was not to be the finale. In this very same Psalm we read, "All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee. For the kingdom is the Lord's: and He is the Governor among the nations"(vss. 27, 28).
"And they that had laid hold on Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled" (Matt. 26:57). See our blessed Lord standing there before the Jewish Sanhedrim, arraigned before His own creatures! Mark Him as He offers no defense in response to the false witnesses that testified against Him, and then ask, Is this to be the last thing? Is there to be no sequel to this? We do not have to seek far for an answer, for on this very occasion the Redeemer declared, "Nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven"(Matt. 26:64). And again, it is written, "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him." Yes, the Crucified Saviour is coming back again, coming back to vindicate Himself in a world where He once endured the contradiction of sinners against Himself, and, coming back to rule and reign as He first appeared in order to suffer and die.
5. The Redeemer's Return Is Necessitated By The Present Exaltation Of Satan
One of the greatest mysteries in all God's creation is the Devil. For any reliable information concerning him we are shut up to the Holy Scriptures. It is in God's Word alone that we can learn anything about his origin, his personality, his fall, his sphere of operations, and his approaching doom. One thing which is there taught us about the great Adversary of God and man, and which observation and experience fully confirms, is, that he is a being possessing mighty power. It would appear, from a study of the Bible, that Satan is the most powerful creature(not "Being") in all the Universe. He has access to the Heaven of heavens and appears before God day and night to accuse His saints (Rev. 12:10). In Old Testament prophecy he is denominated "The anointed Cherub" (Ezek. 28:14) and from other Scriptures we learn that the "cherubim" are the highest order among the celestial hierarchies. Satan is represented as being at the head of an organized kingdom of evil, with hosts of wicked spirits ever ready to perform the bidding of their mighty chief. He is likened to a "roaring lion"--the King of the beasts--going about seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8). When our Lord was here upon earth, Satan had the power to carry Him to a pinnacle of the Temple and to "shew unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time"(Luke 4:5). From the Epistle of Jude we learn that, "Michael the archangel, when contending with the Devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee" (Jude 1:9). Sufficient has been said to show that Satan is a creature wielding tremendous power.
But not only does God's Word enlighten us upon the great power which our Enemy possesses, it also informs us about the sphere in which he works and makes known the location of his kingdom. In the very first mention in Scripture of that old Serpent, the Devil, he is seen in Eden having unbarred access to our first parents. In the next reference, we read of him coming before the Lord, as one who came "From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it" (Job 1:7). This earth of ours is the scene of his present activities. Milton's conception of Satan now seated upon a throne in Hell is altogether lacking in Scriptural verification. The New Testament is in perfect agreement with the Old. In his conflict with our Lord, the Devil declared that all the kingdoms of the world had been delivered unto him (Luke 4:6) and Christ never repudiated or even challenged his claim, nay, He three times acknowledged that Satan is "The Prince of this world" (John 12:31, etc.). In 2 Cor. 4:4 he is termed the "god of this age" (Greek),that is, the director of its false religions and the object worshipped by their devotees--compare 1 Cor. 10:20. While in 1 John 5:19, R. V. we are told, "The whole world lieth in the Evil One."
We have thus seen that Satan is an exalted creature possessing and wielding prodigious power and that this world of ours is his present kingdom. For six thousand years he has been the avowed enemy of God and man. But are things going to continue thus throughout all time? Is Satan to be allowed "free rein" for ever? Surely there will yet be an end made to his power and dominion. But what and who is going to depose him? Humanity is helpless before him. Man is unable to chain him. The Church cannot dethrone him, or it would have done so long ago. Legislation is impotent, for human governments cannot vote him out of the world. Who then shall overthrow the Kingdom of Darkness? There is only one answer possible. There is only One sufficient for such a task, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, the very fact of Satan's present exaltation and man's utter inability to overthrow him, demands and necessitates the personal Return of our Redeemer to vanquish the Devil and imprison him in the Bottomless Pit.
6. The Redeemer's Return Is Necessitated By The Present Disorganization Of Israel
Israel--the mystery and miracle of history! Israel--about whom more than half the Bible is concerned! Israel--to whom God gave the Land of Palestine. Israel--concerning whom it is written, "And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be His peculiar people, as He hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all His commandments. And to make thee high above all nations which He hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor; and that thou mayest be a holy people unto the Lord thy God as He hath spoken" (Deut. 26:18, 19). Israel--from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came!
Of old, Israel was honored of God as was no other nation. To them were entrusted the Holy Oracles, to them was given the Holy Law, to them came the Holy One. But look at Israel to-day and what do we see? Ten of their Tribes "lost;" and those who compose the remaining two, more despised and hated than any other people upon earth. Instead of being a blessing to all people, Israel seems to be a curse. Instead of enjoying the inheritance of the Promised Land they are homeless wanderers, while Jerusalem is trodden down by the Gentiles. Instead of rejoicing in God their Saviour Israel knows Him not, a "veil" being over their hearts.
But God's purposes in connection with Israel have not yet been fully realized. A wonderful history lies behind them and a wonderful history stretches before them. True, their sorrow is not yet ended. True, a dark valley yet lies before them. True, they must yet pass through the time of Jacob's trouble (Jer. 30:7). True, God has not yet fully avenged the Crucifixion of His beloved Son. But, ere long He will have done so, and then shall they be brought back again into favor with Him. Many are the promises which speak of Israel's restoration. In Is. 14:1, 2 we read, "For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captive, whose captives they were: and they shall rule over their oppressors." Again, in Jer. 16:14-16 we are told, "Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, the Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all lands whither He had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers."
But, How are the above promises to be realized? When shall these prophecies be fulfilled? The answer is, At the Second Advent of Christ. He declared, "For I say unto you, Ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Matt. 23:39). And a day is coming when Israel will say this. As it is written, "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon" (Zech. 12:10, 11). Then, and thus, shall Israel repent for their awful sin of rejecting and crucifying their own Messiah.
"Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, after this, I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David (Israel), which is fallen down: and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up" (Acts 15:14-16). And again, we read in Rom. 11:26, "And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob" (Rom. 11:26). It is to be observed that in these two Scriptures Israel's restoration is linked to the Return of their Messiah. Here then is a further necessity for the Second Advent of Christ--the present humiliation and disorganization of Israel and the promises of God to restore and rehabilitate them, requires that our Lord shall come back again to this earth.
Yes! Jesus is Coming!
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