Finding Jesus in the Bible…So We Can Follow Him in Life
Bible Reading Plans
- Plan One: New Testament Only
- Plan Two: New Testament + Psalms
- Plan Three: New Testament + History
- Plan Four: The Entire Bible – Year 1 of 3, Year 2 of 3, Year 3 of 3
Don’t know which plan? Go to A Christ-Centered Bible Reading Plan: Quick Start.
Extras
Verse of the Day, Audio Capsule, and Video Minute
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(Today’s Reading)
The Implications of the Second Coming as Accomplished Fact
(Book Installment 40)
The Scope of the Second Coming
Chapter 3 – Themes of the Second Coming
Glory, Exaltation, and Enthronement
Garnishing the theme of revelation in the Second Coming – and, specifically, the revelation of Jesus Christ – are the corollary themes of His glory, exaltation, and enthronement.
In the church age, which is to say the time between Jesus’ resurrection and His Second Coming, Jesus was glorified, exalted and enthroned. First of all, He was glorified in His resurrection from the dead…never to die again! Lazarus and others were brought back from the dead, but they all had to die again. Thus was the resurrection of Jesus the most miraculous work ever – since the very creation of heaven and earth in six days. But great as this glory was, it was not to be the end of His glory. Rather it was only the beginning. Forty days later, He was exalted to heaven to be seated at the right hand of God. But even then, this was not the height of His glory. This becomes clear when you remember that all the New Testament texts were written between the resurrection and the Second Coming.
When a New Testament author like Peter speaks of the glories to follow, he’s speaking of more than what Jesus at experienced in His resurrection.
1 Peter 1:10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries,
1 Peter 1:11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
The point of all this is that the glory, exaltation, and enthronement Jesus received at His resurrection was going to be exceeded by the glory, exaltation, and enthronement He would receive at His Second Coming.
To begin to measure the additional glory, exaltation, and enthronement Jesus was to receive at the Second Coming, recall how Jesus marked the boundaries of the church age with two biblical quotations – two pictures of governing spiritual reality:
Matthew 26:64 Jesus said to him, “…hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.”
The two scriptures supplying the two pictures were Psalm 110:1 and Daniel 7:13-14. Let’s look at them for the glory they speak of – one by one.
Psalm 110:1 The LORD says to my Lord:
“Sit at My right hand
Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
Sitting at the right hand of God was the greatest glory that had ever been ascribed to a human being. Yet the Second Coming would bring Jesus even more glory than this – substantially more. To begin recognizing this, compare the glory of Psalm 110:1 with the glory of Daniel 7:13-14. As wonderful as the former was, the latter was undeniably a promotion – and not a minor one!
Daniel 7:13 “I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a Son of Man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And was presented before Him.
Daniel 7:14 “And to Him was given dominion,
Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of every language
Might serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
Which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.
From being in charge of the church (a multinational movement), Jesus would be made ruler over “nations and men of every language.” His promotion was from being head of the church…to being the head of everything!
(to be continued tomorrow)
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