And then that means that so-called “second coming” isn’t really the second. Generally speaking when I refer to the “second coming,” I am talking about a coming in two parts. There is the Lord’s coming in the air, giving His invitation for His saints to join Him. “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” The Bible more clearly describes the Lord’s “return” or “second advent” as what takes place after the Tribulation and in the establishing of the Millennial Kingdom. “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.” After describing some of the horrors of the Tribulation the Lord Jesus said in Luke 21 – “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Since there is a second coming for God’s saints and another coming with God’s saints, should we say that were are talking about a second and then a third coming, or are they second-part A and then a second -part B? To which of those does the Lord refer here in Matthew 16:27 and 28?
What is the first coming in THIS scripture?
“For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” Before we try to define or describe it theologically, consider some powerful but almost incidental words. For example, once again we have Jesus’ favorite term for Himself – “the Son of man.” I am sure that many of the Scribes and Pharisees, laughed or sneered whenever they heard this term. Even though there is some reason to consider this with great respect, I doubt that Christ’s enemies did. They may have thought of Number 23:19 which says, “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” They may have thought of Psalm 8:4 whenever Jesus used that term – “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” By why didn’t they think of Daniel when the heard the Lord spoke of “the Son of man?” “I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” When Christ spoke of the Son of Man, it pointed to both the humility of His incarnation, and to His eventual glorification as the highest of all men.
And then Jesus said that when He returns it will be “in the glory of His Father.” Of course, He was not talking about Joseph of Nazareth, the husband of His mother Mary. He was talking about the glory of God Almighty – His Heavenly Father. But no Jew would even imagine himself standing or reveling in the glory of God. If no man can see God and live, one reason would be the infinite power and holiness of that glory. If no man can forgive sins but God only, how could any but God abide in the glory of God? But Christ shall return in the glory of His Father, because He and the Father are the same divine essence. There is no other explanation for Jesus’ statement – except for a lunatic level pride and arrogance.
Then besides that, what is it that Jesus says about angels? “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels.” To whom does the second pronoun “his” refer? Grammatically, it should be the same as the first “his” – His Father and His angels. When Christ returns to earth it will be with His own army of angels. Where does Jesus get an army of angels? As the eternal Son of God, and as their Creator, those angels which have not fallen to Lucifer are all the angels of Christ. As Jesus was teaching about His eventual return in Matthew 25 he said, “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.” Paul taught the Thessalonians – “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” When Christ spoke to the high Priest about His return he said, “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.” Most scholars believe that the “clouds of Heaven” is a reference to angels. “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.”
Christ is coming again in power and great glory with the holy angels of God. Among the many things that He will do at His coming, there will be several judgments. The most pertinent as far as you and I are concerned will be the judgment of OUR works. In I Corinthians Paul was teaching about the respective ministries of himself and Apollos. From there he transitioned into your ministry and mine. “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” “Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.”
There is so much more beyond this, but let’s stop on this point – as surely as you claim to be a child of God, the way that you have spent your Christian life is going to come under the judgment of the Saviour. And the Lord is going to reward every man according to his works – or lack thereof. That judgment is not going to be pleasant for any of us, but for some it is going to be extremely unpleasant. But you are still alive and well – there is still time to make some changes to that life of yours. What will you have to present to Christ at the bema – the judgment seat of the Lord?
The second coming of Christ is the first coming of this scripture.
Okay then, what does that make of the second coming mentioned here?
“Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.” By the way, Mark 8:34 indicates that there were others besides the twelve who were present that day. That probably doesn’t mean much, but it’s an intriguing fact, nevertheless. And when Christ Jesus says “verily” He is referring to a guarantee. Some of the people standing before the Lord that day were still alive at “the coming” to which this verse refers. And what is that coming? Jesus said, “I guarantee that some of you will not die before you see me in my glorious kingdom.”
There are a variety of explanations for this, some of which are obviously impossible. This could not possibly be referring to the “second coming” as we usually define it. This is not talking about the “translation of the saints” or the glorious return of Christ at the beginning of the Millennium. The Lord’s statement took place more than two thousand years ago. Everyone of those ears which heard the Lord that day have rotted away in their middle eastern graves. The only way this could refer to the second coming proper is if we make this refer to something other than physical death. Just the way that Lord was speaking forbids that interpretation.
Other writers apply this to Jesus’ resurrection and to all those appearances of Christ between His death and His ascension into Heaven. But again, that just doesn’t feel right – it doesn’t fit into the Lord’s language here. How could the resurrection refer to Jesus’ “glorious coming in His kingdom?” Another equally difficult interpretation – or is it more difficult – is the coming of the power of the Holy Spirit upon the Lord’s church in Acts 2. Obviously, some of those people to whom Jesus was talking were actually present for both these events. But those explanations just don’t sit well in this heart of mine.
My understanding of the verse, even though it is not without problems and arguments, is to be seen in the next chapter. In less than a week’s time, Jesus will be taking Peter, James and John to the top of an high mountain. And there Christ will be transfigured – changed – before their eyes. Specifically He will be glorified – glorified as the King of His Kingdom. Those three witnesses will see the glory of the infinite Son of God shine out of Him. They will be privileged to see Him as the angels of God have seen him for thousands of years. His face will shine as the sun and His clothing will be whiter than any fuller has ever whitened a piece of cloth. And they will see the King talking with some of His early and greatest subjects. We will study the transfiguration next Sunday. I think that Jesus’ statement in verse 28 is a prophecy of His transfiguration.
But why did the Lord make this statement? What was its purpose? Without claiming to know the mind of God, it appears to me that this was give in order to authenticate what preceded it. Beginning with verse 21 Jesus began to show that He must go to Jerusalem and to be slain. Then He spoke about the church and the keys to the Kingdom. Then there was the brand new revelation about the Lord’s return and the judgment of the saints. How can we know that these things will occur? We know that these shall come to pass because the Lord has told us, and we believe Him. But what if the Lord put an exclamation mark over the statement? Often in the Old Testament and sometimes in the New, God initiated His own authentication. Is that what we have here? “You can be sure that all these things shall come to pass, and I will prove it to you by permitting some of you to see me in the glory of my kingdom.” That transfiguration was a most glorious thing.
But was it a “coming?” I suppose that’s all a matter of definition. It was certainly an appearing of Christ in His glory. What those three disciples saw that day changed their lives forever. I hope that it will do the same for us.