“The Is, Was and Will Be Coming of the Lord”
Christian orthodoxy and all the outward Babylonian churches of men continue to teach and focus outwardly on Bible prophecy concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ to His people is salvation to every man in God’s appointed order. When the Lord comes to us, our focus and mindset is turned away from outward carnal distractions and is turned inwardly to what the Lord is doing in our own [inward] heaven and earth. It is in heaven and earth within where the Lord is revealed to us by the gift of faith [belief] and men are saved in every age.
Joh 12:38 That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?
Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith [the gift – Eph 2:8]: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from [inward not the sky out there] heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men [spiritual fire on the earth – Luk 12:49], who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
The purpose of this study is to correct a misapplication many of us learned and may still cling to with regards to the characteristics of the Living Word, Christ, being “is, was and will be”. This phrase was very often repeated and the “will be” component often linked to an outward fulfillment of the Scriptures. It will help us see the truth and our error by using sound words [2Ti 1:13] of what is written in the Scriptures.
A closer look will correct our way of speaking and link it to the Lord’s coming into His Kingdom within every man. Here are all the places where the attributes of Christ most often cites as “IS, WAS and WILL BE” are taken from in the Scriptures being translated from a single Greek word Strong’s G3801. Please note the tie to His Coming in every single instance.
Rev 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Rev 4:8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him, and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
Rev 11:17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
Pretty much all translations, even the literal ones take this ONE GREEK word and translate the perpetual “is, was and is to come” coming of Christ. Here is what Strong’s offers for the definition of G3801.
G3801
ὁ ὢν ὁ ἦν ὁ ἐρχόμενος
ho ōn ho ēn ho erchomenos
ho own ho ane ho er-khom’-enos
A phrase combining G3588 with the present participle and imperfect of G1510 and the present participle of G2064 by means of G2532; the one being and the one that was and the one coming, that is, the Eternal, as a divine epithet of Christ. (Each “and” (G2532) was ommited from the phrase because of limited space.): – which art (is, was), and (which) wast (is, was), and art (is) to come (shalt be).
Total KJV occurrences: 4
Where does Christ Come to and appear to men?
This is an elementary truth to most of us who have been blessed to see the spiritual meaning of the Scriptures, yet it is a profound truth, actually, a blessing [Mat 13:17], when we first have our eyes opened to see it. Jesus Christ is not coming out there nor will He be found out there where carnal men continue to look for Him. The Scriptures tell us where He is found and that is in His Kingdom where He sits on His throne. Where are these places? They are within you and me and all men.
Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
2Co 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Act 7:49 Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?
The indwelling of the Lord is the conclusion of every man’s judgment having lived through the vials of wrath [Rev 15:8] and come out of the Lake of Fire having died to death in the lake of fire which is also the Second Death.
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.
“All in all” with the Father, the end of Christ’s mission [1Co 15:28] is when Christ is fully formed and living in every man having converted all inward enemies.
Joh 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
Joh 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me ….
This INDWELLING of the Lord, the coming of Christ into His Kingdom, has always been the promise of the New Covenant even as written in the Old Testament.
Eze 37:26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
Eze 37:27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Eze 37:28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
The Lord dwells in His people beginning with the chosen few; yet this will grow to include all men as all Israel; [Rom 11:26] will be saved and as all men will be transformed into the image of God through His Son.
Joh 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring [the third harvest at the feast of Tabernacles] and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
The whole Millennium Reign lie has even deeper roots and tentacles that will continue to be weeded out and burned up in the fire as the Lord leads us to a greater understanding. Jesus is not coming to reign on the outward earth yet our correction of that false doctrine is even larger. He is not coming back to the outward physical earth whatsoever! When He as Spirit, ascended into the outward heaven, that being an event and an act that remains a parable [Mar 4:11], we are told that is the same way He will come again. We will see him coming out of our inward heaven and those He dwells in!
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.
These as all words of the Bible are Spirit [Joh 6:63]. Those given the gift of faith and eyes to see, having an earnest deposit of the same Spirit, know He already IS COME back to them and that Christ will continue coming in every generation as men are judged and translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light.
Col 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Christ is the firstborn from the dead IN EVERY MAN in their time of judgment in the lake of fire. He is already come in the flesh of His Body [Eph 5:30] and that Body will continue to grow as He comes to men and they are saved in their appointed times [the two general harvests of men].
1Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
Those of God will understand and know He is come to them and those who continue to believe and teach of an outward future coming are not of God.
1Jn 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh [their flesh and in the Body] is of God:
2Jn 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
We are commanded to not to look behind us [Luk 9:62] or look out to the future to find our direction and focus, but instead, follow Him in the here and now of TODAY. Yes, we do look behind us to see from where we have come from and learn lessons by our experiences in judgment that teach us the right ways of God [His righteousness]. Our spiritual focus and eyes are to be turned into today and looking inward. The carnal mind looks outward and into the future. As we are learning more each day, Christ who is the Truth is not to be found out there [Mat 24:26] in what the Scriptures do not reveal.
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.
Today is our day of salvation [2Co 6:2] if we are given ears to hear and eyes to see the true things of the Spirit.
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
That which defiles [the Lord’s temple] is found within us and is what we speak out of our fleshly heart. It is within us that the work of God is focused and our travailing in judgment brings salvation as Christ comes to us and cleanses the Temple in which He is now dwelling.
Mat 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.
Mat 15:20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”
Do the Words of Christ Have an Outward Future Fulfillment?
They have a future fulfillment but not a certain outward fulfillment. Many of us, if not all, were taught the doctrine that every word of God has an outward fulfillment in their former churches or fellowships by men that have created idols and twisted the Scriptures to their own destruction. The “is, was and is to come” characteristic of Christ, is the coming of the Lord to save His people by establishing His kingdom within them. As we should know, the macro plan of saving mankind comes in the three harvests of 1) Christ, 2) the chosen elect in this age, and 3) all of mankind in third and final harvest.
1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming [in 2nd and 3rd harvests]
It is “at his coming” by which all men are saved in the appointed times. A little leaven leads us to mistakenly apply the “is come, has come and will come” promise of Christ to mean that His words have a future “will be” and OUTWARD FULFILLMENT. That is a false doctrine that comes from looking out there into end-time prophecies and speculating on the end of the physical world [Kosmos] and how humanity will cease to exist in the flesh. The Lord and the Bible simply does not give us those details as much as carnal men continue to try to find Christ in what is not revealed.
Deu 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
This error of men has led to all kinds of twisting and perverting the simplicity of the gospel into different rewards, two events and experiences for the men in the second and third harvests which teaches us God is a respecter of persons in direct contradiction to His Word. Lord willing we will continue to contend for the faith and the common salvation that comes alike to all men in the times appointed by the Father.
Jud 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
Ecc 9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked ….
The words of the Lord, all of them remain Spirit [Joh 6:63]. The prophecies about the end of the age and making of a new heaven and new earth are always speaking or spiritual events [is, was and is to come] that take place in the kingdom of God [be it in iinward heaven or the earth] within every man. Carnal disciples did not understand then and many do not understand to this day.
Mat 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world [G165 – AION or AGE is the proper rendering rather than the word world]
2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth [G1093 = the inner earth that is the KOG, not the outward kosmos or world], wherein dwelleth righteousness
The Lord and the Apostles answered the question regarding the end of the age, which speaks to the end of our carnal mindset and life to every man in the day of the Lord for each. That is how spiritual words of prophecy and the coming of Christ to set up His inward kingdom in your mind [His throne] is speaking about. Here is just a partial list of the common signs of the end of the age and the Lord’s coming spoken in many OT and NT books in the Scriptures.
- Wars
- Drought and Famine
- Earthquakes and disasters
- Disease/epidemics
- The rise of “the” Antichrist
- Gospel preached to all the world
- Persecution of Christians
- Armies surrounding Jerusalem
- New Temple Built with the abomination of desolation
- Great tribulation on all the earth
Everyone reads these signs and immediately our carnal mind will have us looking outside and watching the news to figure out where we are in the Lord’s timeline and when is His outward return to physical earth. But that was never the purpose or intention of the words of Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21; as those words speak about the Lord coming and appearing to His people within them. We need to remove the outward future application of “is, was and is to come” into the dust bin of our former carnal thinking.
The Lord has truly confounded the wisdom of the wise of this world, keeping them all in spiritual darkness by working all things, even outward events for His purposes. His purposes in this age is to blind everyone except those He has chosen for salvation in this age.
Rom 11:7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded
Rom 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.
Without the God-given abilities of hearing and seeing in the Spirit [Pro 20:12, Exo 4:11, Mat 13:10], the outward events in the outward world and the Scriptures themselves written in parables and dark sayings [Psa 78:1] will deceive all but the precious few the Lord is moving on to salvation in every generation.
1Co 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
1Co 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
1Co 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Looking out there into the world and reading down the prior list of signs, it certainly seems like the end of the world is at hand. Yet those signs have always been present in the outward world. Physical wars, diseases, calamities, earthquakes, even the persecution of professing Christians, has always been present on the planet and across the diverse civilization of mankind. The gospel has long ago been outwardly preached to the ends of the outward earth even the hidden tribes in the Amazon jungle and remote Pacific islands. The whole deception of physical Israel continues to mesmerize and hold Orthodoxy [i.e. Babylon] in great darkness to this day.
History tells us many professing men of God, all were deceived in the same way we once were and saw these outward signs and the ungodly environment as proof of the end of the world as we know it. But as the sum of the Word tells us, our eyes and focus are not to be out there on the affairs of the world that are a distraction. The Lord’s purpose is to keep the whole world in spiritual darkness waiting for their appointed time of His coming with the true light WITHIN THEM.
Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
Our understanding grows as we endure judgment and we see that all those signs written in Spirit have been manifesting in our inward earth and heaven where the Lord is making a new vessel complete with a new heaven and a new earth.
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. [flesh, carnal mind]
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
There will be a future application of the words of God until the last man goes through judgment and is remade. Until that time, Christ has not come to every man. Every man in His appointed times will have Christ come to them and begin the process of remaking His Temple within them. That is when those men will live out and fulfill those Scriptures and when these signs and the end of the age will begin to be seen INWARDLY. Judgment will have then fallen upon the Lord’s house in those so chosen of God for salvation. The Lord is already come and continues to come in the hearts and minds of His people in the day of His Second Coming to every man.
Mat 24:29 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:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth [G1093 – inward land/earth] mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Christ’s coming is always speaking of Him coming into His Kingdom which is the same as His appearing in the hearts and minds of those being saved. It is the grace of God that is saving us and that grace is the favor given to those He loves in all generations and times [is, was and will be] when He appears within them.
Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing [WITHIN] of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
The appearing of Christ and His chastening grace will bring much suffering and affliction within us as the gospel is preached to the dead nations and Gentiles within us. Knowing the truth and standing on the promises of God will have us endure to the end of our inward world [AION – G165] and be saved in this age Lord willing.
2Ti 1:8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
2Ti 1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death [carnal mindedness, sin], and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
We are blessed to know and to see these truths [Mat 13:17]. Lord willing we will endure our suffering and afflictions with thanksgiving and pray that He hastens His coming to our earth and finishes the good work He started within us. We are hastening to the coming of Christ within us as we embrace and receive with thanksgiving the joy of the cross as the signs of the end are made manifest within us.
Rev 22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Rev 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
This study was extended into the next: Christ’s Coming Fulfills the Promise of God
Sincere questions and comments always welcome. You can also email me directly at peterjwilson56@gmail.com