I SOLEMNLY
CHARGE: Diamarturomai (1SPMI):
(Torrey topic "2nd
Coming") (2Ti
2:14;1Ti 5:21; 6:13)
I do fully
testify (YLT)
I give you this charge (NIV)
I
solemnly appeal (ISV)
I charge thee (ASV)
I
solemnly implore you
(Weymouth)
I solemnly call on you
(GWT)
I strongly urge (ALT)
I
give you orders
(BBE)
I adjure you (Moffatt)
Before God and Jesus Christ
I give you a command (ICB)
Paraphrase 2Ti 4:1-9 (Walter Lock
- International Critical Commentary) - Final appeal based on the
coming judgment and the writer’s approaching death. You have followed me
loyally thus far: I charge you to follow me further, and to remain true
to the truth until the end. As in the sight of God and of Christ Jesus
who shall come to judge us all whether living or dead, as you would be
ready to welcome His Appearing, as you would hope to share His Kingdom,
I charge you, preach the message of the Gospel, stand up to your task
boldly, in season and out of season, whether you are welcome or
unwelcome, refute false teaching, rebuke wrong-doers, pass censure on
those who refuse to obey, encourage those who do, never failing in
patience, using every method of teaching. For a time will come when men
will not tolerate the sound teaching, nay, led, each by his own caprice,
they will pile teacher upon teacher, and burden upon burden on their own
backs; with ears always itching for some novelty, they will refuse to
listen to the simple truth, they will turn aside to listen to all those
empty legends. But do you keep calm, keep self-restrained in all things,
be ready to face suffering: your work is to preach good tidings, preach
them fully; your task is a task of ministry, perform it to the full. For
I shall have to leave you to yourself: my life-blood is on the point of
being poured out as a libation to God: the moment is close at hand when
I must strike my tent and be gone. Yes: I have fought my fight, and it
was the right fight: I have come to the end of the course; I have kept
faith with my Master. So henceforth there is stored up safely for me the
crown of a righteous life: the Lord will award it to me on that great
day: yes, but not only to me, but also to all who have set their hearts
on His appearing. We shall be together with Him whom we love.
Solemnly
charge
(1263) (diamarturomai
from diá = intensifies meaning
conveying idea of "thoroughly" + martúromai = witness,
bear witness) means
to bear witness, testify earnestly or repeatedly, to charge as it if
before witnesses (here God and Christ Jesus), to exhort earnestly and
with authority in matters of extraordinary importance (here the
integrity of the message proclaimed). It carries the idea of
giving a forceful order or directive
Diamarturomai has a legal
nuance so the picture is of the old apostle Paul calling his young
disciple Timothy to the front of God's judicial bench and charging him
under oath with the awesome task of proclaiming God's Word to hearers
who in a similar way will one day stand in front of that fearsome bench
for judgment by Christ Jesus Who will return to reign over all.
Diamarturomai is found 15
times in the NT (Luke 16:28; Acts 2:40; 8:25; 10:42; 18:5; 20:21, 23f;
23:11; 28:23; 1 Thess 4:6; 1 Tim 5:21; 2 Tim 2:14; 4:1; Heb 2:6)
and is translated in KJV as - charge, 3; testify, 11;
witness, 1. In the is is translated - solemnly charge, 3; solemnly
testified, 2; solemnly testifies, 1; solemnly testifying, 3; solemnly to
testify, 1; solemnly warned, 1; solemnly witnessed, 1; testified, 1;
testify solemnly, 1; warn, 1.
Diamarturomai - 25x in the
Septuagint - Ex 18:20;
19:10, 21; 21:29; Deut. 4:26; 8:19; 30:19; 31:28; 32:46; 1 Sam. 8:9; 2Ki.
17:13, 15; 2 Chr. 24:19; Neh. 9:26, 34; 13:21; Ps. 50:7; 81:8; Jer.
6:10; 32:10, 44; Ezek. 16:2; 20:4; Zech. 3:6; Mal. 2:14
Luke 16:28 for I have five
brothers-- that he may warn them, lest they also come to
this place of torment.'
Acts 2:40 And with many other
words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying,
"Be saved from this perverse generation!"
Acts 8:25 And so, when they
had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they
started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many
villages of the Samaritans.
Acts 10:42 "And He ordered us
to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the
One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.
Acts 18:5 But when Silas and
Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely
to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus
was the Christ.
Acts 20:21 solemnly
testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ...23 except that the Holy Spirit
solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds
and afflictions await me. 24 "But I do not consider my life of
any account as dear to myself, in order that I may finish my course, and
the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify
solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.
Acts 23:11 But on the night
immediately following, the Lord stood at his side and said, "Take
courage; for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at
Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also."
Acts 28:23 And when they had
set a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and
he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the
kingdom of God, and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both
the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening.
1Thessalonians 4:6
(note) and that no man
transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the
avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and
solemnly warned you.
1 Timothy 5:21 I solemnly
charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His
chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing
in a spirit of partiality.
2 Timothy 2:14 (note)
Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in
the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless, and
leads to the ruin of the hearers.
2 Timothy 4:1 (note)
I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ
Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and
His kingdom:
Hebrews 2:6 (note)
But one has testified somewhere, saying, "What is man, that Thou
rememberest him? Or the son of man, that Thou art concerned about him?
Paul is laying a
mandate upon Timothy that must be obeyed, as if Paul were the commanding
general and Timothy his chief officer of battle operations. In using
this verb Paul is seeking Timothy's undivided attention to the matter at
hand. Paul had used diamarturomai two times prior to
admonish Timothy
I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of
His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing
nothing in a spirit of partiality (1Ti 5:21).
Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the
presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and
leads to the ruin of the hearers. (2Ti 2:14-note).(cf
1Ti 6:13).
The first NT use of diamarturomai is found in the teaching
on Lazarus and the rich man who both end up in Hades (Sheol), except
that the rich man is on the hot side and so he pleads with Abraham
I
beg you, Father (Abraham), that you send him (Lazarus) to
my father's house-- for I have five brothers-- that he may warn
(diamarturomai ) them, lest they also come to this
place of torment. (Lk 16:27, 28)
What a picture diamarturomai presents of the serious
nature of Paul's charge to Timothy.
One of most concentrated uses of diamarturomai in
Scripture is found in Paul's admonition laden farewell speech to the
Ephesian elders where Paul reminds them that he has been
solemnly
testifying to
both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ... (Acts 20:21)
Paul also related that
the Holy Spirit
solemnly
testifies to me
in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me...I do not
consider my life of any account as dear to myself, in order that I may
finish my course,
(cf 2Ti 4:7-note) and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus (cf
2Ti 4:5-note),
to
testify
solemnly
of the gospel of the grace of God.
(Acts 20:21, 23, 24)
It therefore behooves all saints
to seriously consider the accounting that we will shortly give to Jesus
Christ of the stewardship entrusted to each of us.
Paul elaborates on this truth in (1Cor
4:5)
Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until
the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the
darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's
praise will come to him from God.
In all your Christian work always
check your motives (cf Ps 139:23, Ps 90:12)
As an aside, any good Jew
familiar with the Septuagint (as Timothy must have been) would recognize
Paul's verb diamarturomai (in the Lxx or Septuagint,
the Greek of the Hebrew OT) from the solemn warning by
Moses to Israel:
I call heaven and earth
to witness against
(diamarturomai) you today, that I have set before you
life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that
you may live, you and your descendants. (Dt 30:19)
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge notes that this was
A most
solemn method of adjuration, in use among all the nations in the world;
God and man being called upon to bear testimony to the truth of
what was spoken, that if there was any flaw or insincerity it might be
detected, and if any crime, it might not go unpunished.
In 2 Timothy 4:1
God and the Son of Man are called upon to bear witness!
The
IVP Bible background commentary adds that
An oath sworn by a deity or deities was considered especially binding
and dangerous to break; in the same way, a charge witnessed by a deity
or deities was sacred and inviolable. A broken oath would be avenged by
the god whose name was violated; for Jewish people and Christians, the
ultimate judgment was in the coming day of the Lord.
Considering this background
(which Timothy was surely cognizant of), we can rest assured that
Timothy's ears, heart and mind were fully focused on the commands that
followed.
Do I have a similar sense of
reverential awe of God and the Judge Who is standing right at the door (Jas 5:9),
regarding my stewardship and accountability for the treasure entrusted
to me? (cf 2Ti 13, 14-note)
The solemnity of this charge
should encourage us to do our work carefully and faithfully and also
deliver us from the fear of man (Pr 29:25) for, in the final analysis,
Christ Jesus is the only Judge that matters. Finally, the realization
that God will one day judge our works (1Cor 3:13) should motivate and
encourage us to keep going even when we face (out of season)
difficulties (Gal 6:9, 1Cor 15:58,
He 12:3, 4-note).
We are serving Him, not ourselves.
Lord please give us
eternal vision like Paul
and a whole heart like David, that we might appreciate the solemnity of each
moment of life and of each choice (cp Da 1:8-note) to obey the Spirit or the flesh. Guide
us so that this is not done out of legalism or by our might or our power
but by Thy grace and Thy Spirit, for the sake of Your Kingdom and the
renown of Your Son, Christ Jesus. Amen.
IN THE
PRESENCE OF GOD AND OF CHRIST JESUS: enopion tou theou kai Christou
Iesou:
In the presence of God and of
Christ Jesus - Would it be that this would be our watch word. our
lodestone or our warp and our woof. Coram Deo (in the presence of God)
living!
Ge 6:8 But Noah found favor in
the eyes of the LORD.
Ge 16:13 Then she called the
name of the LORD who spoke to her, "Thou art a God who sees"; for
she said, "Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?" (See study
El Roi: God Who Sees)
Deut 11:11 "But the land into
which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys,
drinks water from the rain of heaven, 12 a land for which the LORD your
God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from
the beginning even to the end of the year.
Ps 33:18 Behold, the eye of
the LORD is on those who fear Him, on those who hope for His
lovingkindness,
Spurgeon: For this is a
greater wonder than hosts and horses, a surer confidence than chariots
or shields. The eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him. That eye of
peculiar care is their glory and defence. None can take them at
unawares, for the celestial watcher foresees the designs of their
enemies, and provides against them. They who fear God need not fear
anything else; let them fix their eye of faith on him, and his eye of
love will always rest upon them. Upon them that hope in his mercy. This
one would think to be a small evidence of grace, and yet it is a valid
one. Humble hope shall have its share as well as courageous faith. Say,
my soul, is not this an encouragement to thee? Dost thou not hope in the
mercy of God in Christ Jesus? Then the Father's eye is as much upon thee
as upon the elder born of the family. These gentle words, like soft
bread, are meant for babes in grace, who need infant's food.
Ps 34:15 The eyes of the LORD
are toward the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.
Spurgeon: The eyes of the Lord
are upon the righteous. He observes them with approval and tender
consideration; they are so dear to him that he cannot take his eyes off
them; he watches each one of them as carefully and intently as if there
were only that one creature in the universe. His ears are open unto
their cry. His eyes and ears are thus both turned by the Lord towards
his saints; his whole mind is occupied about them: if slighted by all
others they are not neglected by him. Their cry he hears at once, even
as a mother is sure to hear her sick babe; the cry may be broken,
plaintive, unhappy, feeble, unbelieving, yet the Father's quick ear
catches each note of lament or appeal, and he is not slow to answer his
children's voice.
Ps 113:5 Who is like the LORD
our God, Who is enthroned on high, 6 Who humbles Himself to behold the
things that are in heaven and in the earth?
Ps 139:2 Thou dost know when I
sit down and when I rise up; Thou dost understand my thought from afar.
3 Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down, And art intimately
acquainted with all my ways.
Job 34:21 "For His eyes are
upon the ways of a man, And He sees all his steps.
Job 31:4 "Does He not see my
ways, And number all my steps?
Pr 5:21 For the ways of a man
are before the eyes of the LORD, And He watches all his paths.
Pr 15:3 The eyes of the LORD
are in every place, Watching the evil and the good.
Jer 16:17 "For My eyes are on
all their (Israel's) ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is
their iniquity concealed from My eyes.
Jer 23:24 "Can a man hide
himself in hiding places, So I do not see him?" declares the LORD. "Do I
not fill the heavens and the earth?" declares the LORD.
Zech 4:10 "For who has
despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they
see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel-- these are the eyes of the
LORD which range to and fro throughout the earth."
Heb 4:13 And there is no
creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to
the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
1 Peter 3:12 "FOR THE EYES OF
THE LORD ARE UPON THE RIGHTEOUS, AND HIS EARS ATTEND TO THEIR PRAYER,
BUT THE FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST THOSE WHO DO EVIL."
All service should be carried out
with the realization that it is watched by God’s all-seeing eye.
It would do us all good to occasionally reflect on the fact that one day
we will face God and our works will be judged.
Presence
(1799)
(enopion
[word study]
from en = in + ops
= face, eye, countenance) and so literally meaning in the face of, in
front of, before or in the presence (sight) of and used primarily by
Luke, Paul and John (in the Revelation). Being in sight. Before the face
and thus the idea of face to face! Of doing something in someone’s
presence.
It is as if Paul is summoning his
young protégé into the very presence of God the Father and the glorified
Son of God to receive this solemn charge. Face to face with the Holy One
of Israel! The Greek construction also allows the rendering “in the
presence of God, even Christ Jesus.” The Father and Son are linked
together in a grammatical form that emphasizes their equality.
All service should be carried out
with the realization that it is watched by God’s all-seeing eye. It
would do us all good to occasionally reflect on the fact that one day we
will face God and our works will be judged (even the motives of those
works! 1Co 4:5)
Enopion can
be summarized into three basic meanings
1) in front
of, before, a position in a spatial sense, in the presence of (Lk 1:19;
Acts 10:30, Rev 3:8, 7:15)
2) in the sight of, in the presence of (Lk 23:14, Jn 20:30, Acts 10:33,
1Ti 6:12, Re 3:5, 13:13)
3) in the opinion of, in the judgment of (Lk 16:15, 2Co 8:21)
Wuest writes that enopion...
was used in such expressions as, “the
case will be drawn up against you in the court at Heracleopolis in the
presence of,” “deliver personally,” “I gave notice in person.” It is
used of one who does or says something in the presence of someone else,
and does it with the consciousness that that one has him in sight and
mind. Paul delivered this solemn charge to Timothy, conscious of the
fact that he was doing so in the sight of God, and he wished Timothy to
ever so regard the charge.
(Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans
or
Logos)
MacArthur adds that interesting note
that
The phrase
in the presence
of parallels a
common format used in Roman courts and legal documents and would have
been familiar to Timothy and others of that day. A typical summons might
have begun: “The case will be drawn up against you in the court at
Hierapolis, in the presence of the honorable judge Festus, chief
magistrate.”
WHO IS TO
JUDGE: tou mellontos (PAPMSG) krinein (PAPMSG): (Ps 50:6; 96:13;
98:9; Mt 16:27; 25:31-46; Jn 5:22,23, 24, 25, 26, 27 Acts 10:42; Ac
17:31; Ro 2:16; 14:9, 10, 11; 1Co 4:4;4:5 2Co 5:9;10 2Th1:7;1:8, 1:9,
1:10 1Pe 4:5; Rev 20:11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
Who is about to (present
tense
= pictures this judgment as continually coming) judge (impending judgment pictured by Darby's
translation)
Related Resources:
Torrey's Topic
Judgment of God
Easton's
Judgment, The final
Is
(3195)
(mello) means to be about to do something, so this phrase in
Greek is most literally rendered is about to be judging
suggesting the idea of immanency, or that Christ is about to judge
momentarily, which gives another reason for Paul’s solemn charge to
Timothy. This truth conveys a sense of urgency to the task at hand.
Dear pastor, how do you approach
Sunday morning's message? With a sense of urgency and solemnity, not
knowing for which of your hearers this may be the last proclamation of
the Word they may receive? What a glorious and awesome responsibility
every pastor bears!
Judge
(2919) (krino) means to separate or pick out. Jesus said
For
not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to
the Son (Jn 5:21)
The following distinct judgments will be presided over by Christ Jesus
the Lord:
(1)
The judgment of
believers at the Bema seat or Judgment seat not for the purpose of
judging sin but determining rewards.
Paul writes
For we must
all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be
recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done,
whether good or bad (not kakos = evil like the Textus Receptus but phaulos =
worthless, of no account, impossibility of any true gain ever coming
forth from) (2Cor 5:10)
(cf Ro 14:10,11-note,
1Cor 3:10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15).
(2) The judgment
of the nations referred to as the judgment of the sheep
(believers) and the goats (unbelievers) at the end of the
Great Tribulation (Mt
24:21),
separating believers from unbelievers, only the former being allowed to
enter into the Millennial Kingdom. (Mt 25:31-46).
(3)Jews alive at the end of the great tribulation will also be judged
apparently at this same time to determine which Jews will go into the
Messianic Kingdom (cf Ezek 20:33-41). (Click
for in depth tabular
and pictorial exposition of
Daniel's Seventieth Week which
includes a discussion of this end time judgment)
(4)
The Great White Throne judgment of unbelievers, which is the
final judgment following the 1000 year reign of Christ and immediately
preceding "a New Heaven and a New earth" (See Re 20:11, 12,
13, 14, 15, 21:1, 2- notes
Rev 20:11,
20:12,
20:13,
20:14,
,
20:15,
21:1;
21:2).
(Click
for timeline and chart that includes this end time
judgment)
Related Resource: Chart A
Brief Synopsis of End Time Judgments
THE LIVING AND
THE DEAD: zontas (PAPMPA) kai nekrous:
Living (2198)
(zao) refers to natural physical life in opposition to death. In the NT
zao refers to supernatural, spiritual life in those who have
been born again.
Dead (3498)
(nekros from nékus = a corpse; English -
necropsy, necrophobia, etc) describes literally one who has breathed
their last and figuratively (the more common NT use) speaks of the
spiritual condition of unsaved men, spiritually dead to God because of
sin.
Some favor this phrase
living and the dead as
a reference to believers some of whom are alive at the return of Jesus
and others who have already died in Christ (John MacArthur for example takes
this approach). This phrase however could refer to the spiritually dead
(whether physically alive or dead) for as Paul wrote to the Ephesians we
all "were dead
in our transgressions"
until God "made us alive
together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)"
(Ep 2:4, cf Ep 2:1, Col 2:13, Jn 5:25, 27, Rev 20:12, 13)
Jesus said
Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in
the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who did the
good deeds to a resurrection of life (the living), those who
committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment (the dead).
I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My
judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him
who sent Me. (Jn 5:28, 29, 30)
AND BY HIS
APPEARING: kai ten epiphaneian autou:
(2Ti 4:8; Col 3:4; 1Th 4:15;16 1Ti 6:14; Titus 2:13; Heb 9:27,28;1Pe
1:7;1:13 5:4; 1Jn 2:28; Rev 1:7)
See Resources:
Table comparing the Rapture to
the Second Coming
Imminency, Imminent
Appearing
(2015) (epiphaneia
from epi = upon + phaino
= to shine;
Click study of verb
epiphaino) ; English = epiphany = the
manifestation of a supernatural or divine reality or any moment of great
or sudden revelation) literally means to shine upon and so describes
that a manifestation or appearance. This word was often used by the
Greeks of a glorious manifestation of the gods, and especially of their
advent to help. In the NT it is used only of the appearing of Christ.
It has been estimated
that about 1 in 20 verses in the New Testament speak either directly or
indirectly about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. What one is
looking for will (should) determine what one is living for!
Thayer notes that
epiphaneia is used in the NT of...
the `advent' of Christ -- not only
that which has already taken place and by which his presence and power
appear in the saving light he has shed upon mankind (2Ti 1:10-note)
but also that illustrious return from heaven to earth hereafter to
occur:
BDAG adds that
epiphaneia was used as a...
technical term relating to
transcendence it refers to a visible and freq. sudden manifestation of a
hidden divinity, either in the form of a personal appearance or by some
deed of power or oracular communication by which its presence is made
known (Arndt,
W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New
Testament and Other Early Christian Literature)
Epiphaneia was
used to describe the dawning of light upon the darkness and also
conveyed the idea of a sudden appearance upon the scene. Thus Paul
informed the Thessalonians that the
lawless one will be revealed
whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end
by the (sudden)
appearance
of His coming. (2Th 2:8)
Barclay notes that
epiphaneia was used of Roman emperors whose
accession to
the throne of the Empire was his epiphaneia (cf
Mt 25:31);
and in particular—and this is the background of Paul’s thought here—it
was used of a visit by the Emperor to any province or town. The
emperor’s appearance in any place was his epiphaneia. Obviously
when the Emperor was due to visit any place, everything was put in
perfect order” (cf
1Jn 2:28, cf
2Cor 7:1)
Epiphaneia is
used 3 times in the
Septuagint (LXX)
(2Sa 7:23; Esther 5:1;
Amos 5:22) and 6 times in the NT ...
2 Thessalonians 2:8 And then
that lawless one (the antichrist, man of sin, little horn) will be
revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring
to an end by the appearance of His coming; (cf
note
Revelation 19:11)
1 Timothy 6:14 that you keep
the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of
our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 Timothy 1:10 (note)
but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ
Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light
through the gospel,
2 Timothy 4:1 I
solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is
to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His
kingdom...4:8
in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which
the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not
only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Titus 2:13 (note)
looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of
our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus
Paul had earlier used epiphaneia to describe
Messiah's first coming in which salvation was revealed "by
the appearing
of our Savior Christ Jesus"
(2Ti 1:10-note).
In the present context "His shining upon" clearly is referring to
Christ's future visible return when
no creature (will be) hidden from His sight, but all things (will be)
open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to" give an
account (cf He 4:13-note).
John gives us a preview of the awesome nature of this moment, writing
BEHOLD,
HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him,
even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn
over Him. Even so. Amen. (Re 1:7-note)
Matthew describing Messiah's return adds that
then the sign of the
Son of Man
will appear (phaino - shine) in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they
will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and
great glory. (Mt 24:30,31)
If we are convinced
that Christ’s return is inevitable, we too like Timothy will be
powerfully motivated by that fact (cf 1Jn 2:28, 1Jn 3:2-note,
1Jn 3:3-note,
see notes
Titus 2:11;
12;
13;14)
Christ's last words to mankind in fact were...
Behold, I am coming
quickly. (Re 22:20-note).
Dwight Edwards
exhorts all believers writing that...
We live in the shadow of Christ's return and our lives should be
governed by an attitude of anticipation. The man who is gripped by this
perspective finds it difficult to squander his precious hours on earthly
trinkets while millions of eternal souls still lie in the balance.
Robert Moffatt put it well when he wrote,
We have all eternity to
celebrate our victories but one short hour before sunset in which to win
them. (2 Timothy Call to Completion)
Today in the Word
notes that...
Biblical prophecy provides some of
the greatest encouragement and hope available to us today. Just as the
Old Testament is saturated with prophecies concerning Christ’s first
advent, so both testaments are filled with references to the second
coming of Christ. One scholar has estimated that there are 1,845
references to Christ’s second coming in the Old Testament, where 17
books give it prominence. In the 260 chapters of the New Testament,
there are 318 references to the second advent of Christ—an amazing 1 out
of every 30 verses. Twenty-three of the 27 New Testament books refer to
this great event. For every prophecy in the Bible concerning Christ’s
first advent, there are 8 which look forward to His second!
C H Spurgeon was
once addressed by a young preacher once complained to Spurgeon that he
did not have as big a church as he deserved. Spurgeon's replied with a
question "How many do you preach to?" to which the young preacher
replied "Oh, about a hundred". And what did Spurgeon say to him?
Solemnly Spurgeon said "That will be enough to give account for on the
day of judgment."
AND HIS
KINGDOM: kai ten basileian autou: (Lk 19:12;15, 23:42; 2Pe 1:11,
17)
When He
appears to set up His Kingdom (NLT)
Jesus Christ
will come to rule the world (GWT)
Jesus has a kingdom, and he
is coming again (ICB)
and establishes His kingdom (JNT)
in the light of His appearance and His reign (Moffatt)
because
He is coming to rule as King (TEV)
Kingdom (932)
(basileia from basileus = a sovereign, king,
monarch) denotes sovereignty, royal power, dominion and by metonymy (as
in the present context) refers to the territory or people over whom a
king rules.
The Kingdom of Heaven/God is
the sphere in which God is acknowledged as King (In hearts giving Him
obedience). In this sense (and as elaborated on below) the Kingdom has a
spiritual aspect, a present physical aspect, and a future eternal aspect
(beginning with the
millennium,
cf Mt 25:31,34), all of course depending on the context of the passage
in which basileia is found. Paul is careful to remind us that the
Kingdom of Heaven/God is not in observance of ordinances, external and
material, but in the deeper matters of the heart, which are spiritual
and essential (Ro 14:17-note)
Study uses of the "Kingdom"
most of which refer to the Kingdom of Heaven/God. - 162x in 154v
-
Matt 3:2; 4:8, 17, 23; 5:3, 10,
19f; 6:10, 33; 7:21; 8:11f; 9:35; 10:7; 11:11f; 12:25f, 28; 13:11, 19,
24, 31, 33, 38, 41, 43ff, 47, 52; 16:19, 28; 18:1, 3f, 23; 19:12, 14,
23f; 20:1, 21; 21:31, 43; 22:2; 23:13; 24:7, 14; 25:1, 34; 26:29; Mark
1:15; 3:24; 4:11, 26, 30; 6:23; 9:1, 47; 10:14f, 23ff; 11:10; 12:34;
13:8; 14:25; 15:43; Luke 1:33; 4:5, 43; 6:20; 7:28; 8:1, 10; 9:2, 11,
27, 60, 62; 10:9, 11; 11:2, 17f, 20; 12:31f; 13:18, 20, 28f; 14:15;
16:16; 17:20f; 18:16f, 24f, 29; 19:11f, 15; 21:10, 31; 22:16, 18, 29f;
23:42, 51; John 3:3, 5; 18:36; Acts 1:3, 6; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25;
28:23, 31; Rom 14:17; 1 Cor 4:20; 6:9f; 15:24, 50; Gal 5:21; Eph 5:5;
Col 1:13; 4:11; 1 Thess 2:12; 2 Thess 1:5; 2 Tim 4:1, 18; Heb 1:8;
11:33; 12:28; Jas 2:5; 2 Pet 1:11; Rev 1:6, 9; 5:10; 11:15; 12:10;
16:10; 17:12, 17f
