Saturday, December 9, 2017

Three Appearings of Christ



During Advent and the Christmas season, we celebrate the first appearing of Jesus Christ, when He left His heavenly throne to clothe Himself in human flesh (John 1:14; Luke 1-2), to appear on Earth. But the New Testament actually refers to three appearings of Christ: past, present and future (Hebrews 9:24-28). Two thousand years ago He appeared on earth at His first coming; currently He appears at the right hand of God the Father to intercede for us; and in the future He will again appear on earth at His second coming.

Before these three appearings of Christ summarized in Hebrews, there were also preincarnate appearances of Jesus Christ in human form, in which He is often referred to as the angel of the Lord, such as when He appeared to Hagar to provide a great promise for her son Ishmael (Genesis 16).   

Predating by millennia His appearance as a Babe in Bethlehem, Jesus Christ appeared to Abraham as a human visitor, accompanied by two angels also in the form of men, to tell him that his wife Sarah would conceive in her old age and that Abraham would thereby be the father of a great nation (Genesis 18). Later the angel of the Lord appeared to keep Abraham from sacrificing Isaac as God had commanded him (Genesis 22:10-12).

Other visible manifestations of God in the Old Testament include the burning bush from which the angel of the Lord spoke to Moses (Exodus 3:2; Acts 7:30), and the Shekinah Glory, or fire inhabited by God, which led the Israelites through the wilderness into the Promised Land (Exodus 13:21).

As prophesied in the Old Testament, the promised Messiah, Son of God and God Himself, would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), given by God the Father to save us from the penalty of our sins and to reign forever (Luke 1:31-33). This appearance was known by God and actually prophesied since the beginning of the world (Luke 1:67-79) as the solution to redeem man from the curse of sin brought about by Adam’s disobedience (Romans 5:12-19).

Although Jesus would be tempted and tested as we all are, He would never sin (Hebrews 4:15), and therefore was the perfect atoning Sacrifice to pay our sin debt in full (Romans 3:25). Holy God could not allow sinful man into Heaven without Jesus Christ taking on Himself the burden of all our sin as He died on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Before Christ’s first appearing, the high priest had to enter the most holy place in the temple once every year with an animal sacrifice to temporarily cover the sins of himself and of the people (Hebrews 9:6-15). But the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29), then “appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26).

The Greek word used here for “appeared” is “phaneroo,” meaning to become evident or visible after being hidden. The Triune God knew that God the Son would appear in this specific form for the specific purpose of salvation for all who trusted Him, and spoke of it in veiled terms through the prophets. Yet His actual appearing was a mystery hidden through the ages until the fullness of times had arrived (Ephesians 1:10).  

Jesus cried out “It is finished,” as the agony of His crucifixion ended, for His work on the cross abolished the need for animal sacrifice or for any work as an attempt to obtain salvation (John 19:30). We are saved only by His grace through our faith in Him, and not by our works (Ephesians 2:8-9). All who trust in His death, burial and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way to Heaven (John 14:6) will therefore have eternal life (John 3:16).

Once Jesus Christ arose from the dead and ascended into Heaven, His second and present appearing is in the presence of God (Hebrews 9:24). He is now seated at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 10:12), constantly making intercession for us (Romans 8:34) to the Father as the Holy Spirit brings our prayer requests to Him (Romans 8:26). There He is also our advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1), defending us against the accusations of the devil. In this active and vocal role it is fitting that the Greek word for “appear” is “emphanizo,” meaning to be manifest or declare openly.

The third appearing of Christ Jesus (Hebrews 9:26) refers to His future appearing, or Second Coming, when born-again Christians (John 3:3-8) eagerly anticipating the blessed hope of the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17) shall see Him face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12). How appropriate that the Greek word translated here as “appearing” is “optomai,” meaning to gaze at face to face!

In our glorified bodies we will be freed not only from the power and penalty of sin, but even from the very presence of sin (1 Corinthians 15:35-50). Our justification (Romans 3:24-28), sanctification (1 Corinthians 1:30), and salvation (Romans 1:16) shall be perfected and made complete, for we shall sin no more! At the Rapture, or first phase of Christ’s future appearing, that appearing will be evident only to God’s children, for those who are left behind will not witness His presence or our ascent to meet Him.

But in the second phase of Christ’s future appearing, all will see the King of Kings return to earth in all His glory, and we shall accompany Him in glory as His troops (Revelation 17:14) when He defeats sin, death and Satan! The apostle Paul writes: When Christ, Who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory (Colossians 3:4).

The Greek word used here for “appear” is also “phaneroo,” as used to describe His first appearing in human form in Bethlehem, meaning to become evident or visible after being hidden. Clearly all will then witness Jesus Christ in physical, tangible form, just as experienced by those Jesus encountered in His earthly ministry.

While those who walked the earth with Jesus.saw Him as a frail newborn (Luke 2:12), humble servant (John 13:5), and suffering Savior (Hebrews 12:2), all who see His future appearing shall witness the King of Kings in all His power, glory and righteous judgment. May all trust Him now in His present appearing to hear the plea of a sinner seeking salvation, to ensure that they will one day appear with Him in glory!


© 2017 Laurie Collett

 



10 comments:

Frank E. Blasi said...

Dear Laurie,
It's brilliant how the appearance of Christ takes a threefold saga in direct relation to time, which is in itself consist of past, present and future.
Indeed, I am very grateful to God for sending his Son to atone for our sins, especially for people like you and me, along with many others who wish to be close to God and to revel in his love, but still unfortunate enough to have our transgressions stand in the way of such a relationship.
As for God's foreknowledge of the first advent, I find it quite a revelation to know that our names are written in the Lamb's book of life from the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), that is from eternity past, one possible reason why I believe in Eternal Security of the Believer.
An excellent post, God bless.

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Frank,
Praise God that He transcends all time, for He Himself created it and all heavenly bodies used to measure it, along with the rest of His masterful creation. I agree that our names being written in the book of life from the foundation of the world supports the doctrine of eternal security, as do so many other Bible verses.
Thanks as always for your edifying comments, and God bless,
Laurie

Donald Fishgrab said...

As we look at the events prophesied about Christs return, and see what is happening in the world around us, it becomes ever more clear that his return is getting close, even though we don't know when it will be. I am so thankful that he said we could know we are prepared for when he comes.

Laurie Collett said...

Amen, Donald! May we be prepared for His imminent return as we see the signs of the times coming faster and harder like labor pains. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
God bless,
Laurie

Susan said...

Amen, so wonderful ☺️

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Susan! God bless you!
Laurie

Susan said...

In the book of Daniel it mentions those who are wise shine like bright stars in the darkness....it makes me think about how we cannot see the stars in the city because the city lights drown out the stars, but out in the country away from the city lights there are millions of stars visible in the darkness 😘

Brenda said...

Hi Laurie,
lovely post. There is no way that we could have eternal life without the sacrifice of our beautiful Saviour. No human being could qualify as the sacrificial lamb as Jesus was the only One Who had no sin. Thank God for Jesus - the One mediator between man and God.

Laurie Collett said...

Great point, Susan! May His light shine through us to guide those in darkness!

Laurie Collett said...

Amen, Brenda! Praise God for His Son Who took on the punishment for all our sins to reconcile us so we could have eternal life!
Love in Christ,
Laurie