“Christ’s Coming to Fulfill the Promise”
A good prerequisite for this study is the one prior: The Is, Was and Is to Come “Coming” of the Lord
Christ returning to His people is His coming to fulfill the promise of God and bring us the power unto salvation. We are commanded to wait in His Body, known as Spiritual Jerusalem for His power to come upon us which begins our day of the Lord and our baptism of fire.
Luk 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
Act 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
Act 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
We should always be thinking first and foremost about the inward application of the word of God and which is our focus in following Him. For God’s plan to save all mankind to be fulfilled, certain events must occur outwardly or corporately [across all of mankind]. Those chosen of God to be saved in the second harvest, known as the Elect in this age, become the living Christ beginning at Pentecost and perform a big role in administering God’s plans.
Joh 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
The Lord’s coming is His appearing within us, the Holy Temple in which He dwells. This coming is the fulfillment of the New Covenant promise to every man in their appointed time. The Lord is working in His kingdom which is on the inside of His Body from where true righteousness will come forth.
Heb 8:8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
Heb 8:9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
Heb 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
Those being saved in this age and every generation within this age, comprise the second harvest. The Body of Christ is being used now to save others and in the dispensation of time when the Lord gathers all men to Himself, the entirety of the second harvest will become the instruments of saving those in the third harvest [Oba 1:21, Mic 4:2, Mat 19:28, 1Co 6:2-3]
1Co 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?
Those being judged now are being saved now and will be first to live every word and thereby fulfill the Word of God [Col 1:25, Mat 5:18]. All of which is the free gift of faith that turns our trust from flesh to the Lord.
Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
The Lord is gathering all things to Himself by His second coming within every man when He comes [is revealed] in our inward heaven and earth. This is the plan of salvation for every man and how all will give God the glory [our obedience] as we wait for Him to finish His work in us. It’s the same one way for both harvests of men.
Eph 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh [His people – Eph 5:30] the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; [via the cross, the lake of fire]
Eph 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Eph 2:17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
Eph 2:18 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Christ has come, is come and will continuing coming and appearing in His kingdom within every man. We learn patience waiting for Him to come and finish His work within us and save us from our sins.
Jas 5:7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.
Jas 5:8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
After the Lord finished His earthly ministry, He died a physical death on the cross and was raised from the dead and soon ascended into heaven via the clouds to be seen no more in the flesh. The Lord speaks in parables in all the Scriptures and even the events and acts themselves are done in parables [Hos 12:10, Mat 13:10] to hide the meaning until He comes to open our understanding after having first made us blind to the truth.
Mar 4:11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
The ascension of Christ is such a parable. Those that know Christ in the flesh still look out there to see Him coming.
Act 1:9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.
Act 1:10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
Act 1:11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
This prophecy and ascension of Christ continues to be fulfilled every time Christ is revealed [appears] inwardly in the heavens of a brother or sister. As men are given faith and eyes to see, Christ has been appearing in the heavens [the mind] of the chosen few [Mt 22:14, Rom 11:7] in every generation since Pentecost. The living Body of Christ is the cloud and temple in every generation in which the Lord dwells. Christ is come back because He lives and abides in His people, which is the Body of Christ. When people see us, Lord willing, they are seeing Jesus Christ whether they know it or not.
Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
Ever since the first Pentecost [Acts 2] and the birth of the NT church, Christ has been appearing and coming into His Kingdom in every generation. He has been seen coming out of the clouds which is where He went beginning at Pentecost.
Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Like the first disciples, we first know Christ in the flesh [via a carnal mind]. The first half of our ministry, the 1,000 year reign of death [carnal mindedness] ends and we are called up hither into heaven in a cloud to be with the Lord.
Rev 11:12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
This is when we are transformed into true worshippers in spirit and in truth and no longer know Him or see Him again in the flesh.
2Co 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
Christ must go away in the flesh and return in the Spirit for us to receive the blessings promised of the Father.
Joh 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
Joh 16:8 And when he is come, [Holy Spirit] he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
When Christ comes the second time without sin for salvation [Heb 9:28], He is coming to His temple and throne, where the Lord who is His word and those words are Spirit [like God His Father] sits and rules in our hearts and minds.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
When the Lord comes to save His people, that work is not completed instantly. There is a process of our “being saved” in the “day of the Lord” as the new man Christ grows and matures and our old man is being decreased [Joh 3:30]. When Christ is come, our focus and attention is turned inwardly and the things above as we wait and hasten unto the fullness [completion] of His coming.
Php 3:20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
Col 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, [called up hither] seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Every man will see Christ return in the spiritual cloud that is His Body in whatever age and harvest one is being saved. The brightness of His coming reveals our sins and guilt in hating and crucifying our Lord in Spirit.
Rev 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Every spiritual eye will see the Lord coming but that coming is not all at the same time for every man. When one is blessed to be given grace [judged] and endure the destruction of our old life, we will see Christ in the clouds and thereafter testify that He dwells in His people and His promises are true. All men will see the living Christ operating through His people who are doing the greater works now and, in the age, to come. We are promised to see the great work of God being performed by the Lord’s angels which is His Body.
Joh 1:50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things [the greater works of “the Christ – Jon 14:12] than these.
Joh 1:51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man [Christ, the cloud of many witnesses]
The clouds that are Christ, bring judgment to the old man in those that can hear those words which we speak and meditate on. Judgment, which is the blessing of God [Psa 19:9, Rev 20:5] is what brings forth the new man and comes in the form of spiritual rain, fire from heaven, whirlwind, and storms [trials] which all fit the symbolism of clouds [Rom 1:20].
Mat 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes [all mankind] of Israel.
Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth [His Body] goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Those that see spiritually, see God’s angels ascending and descending from Christ who is this cloud. This is where His Power unto salvation is placed and through whom judgment is delivered in due time.
Gen 9:13 I do set my bow [my power, my Word] in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
Jer 5:14 Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
The cloud is Christ who leads us on our journey to the promised land [Exo 13:21] to possess it with sanctification and honor. We all have shared truth with those the Lord has blinded, and by doing so learned that this same cloud in which Christ dwells is both a bright light and sheer darkness depending on one’s perspective. To those without eyes to see the cloud is dark, but to those given spiritual eyes [Pro 20:12], it becomes a very bright and guiding light.
Exo 14:20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.
Christ came and continues to come to all men in the appointed time to do the will of His Father. That will is to save sinners and bring salvation to all.
1Ti 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
A day has been appointed for all men to hear His voice and rise from their spiritual sleep and darkness in which they abide. Then judgment has come on the house of God and they will be saved and made new in the same way all men [Ecc 9:2] receive the same prize.
Joh 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
Joh 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
The Is, Was and Is to Come, coming of the Lord is within us and without us as we think corporately on God’s plan to save all flesh in three harvests. The harvests are likened unto feasts [Barley, Wheat and Grapes] also and were hidden in deep OT types and shadows in the law of Moses that was given to flesh Israel.
Exo 23:14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.
Exo 23:15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)
Exo 23:16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
The kingdom of God that is within every man will all be delivered to God when death [carnal mindedness – Rom 8:6] is destroyed at His second coming within us that results in the judgment of the old man. When that process is completed, every man receives the one prize and the exceedingly great reward having been remade into the image of God having the mind of Christ. God’s simple three harvest plan to save all is the heart of the good news gospel the Lord is working within His creation.
1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming
1Co 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power…
The Bible has very little to say about the details of how the transition between the second and third harvests comes about. We must wait on the Lord to reveal a greater understanding to us and not go above what is written. Men continue to build followings by going above what is written and we are to follow no one but the Lord and what He reveals to us.
1Co 4:6 And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.
Ecc 8:17 Then I beheld all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun: because though a man labour to seek it out, yet he shall not find it; yea further; though a wise man think to know it, yet shall he not be able to find it.