Tuesday-Day 20
When thinking of the similarities between the first and second coming, my mind is drawn to the question of who saw Him at the beginnings of His human existence? The individuals who are mentioned in the stories of Matthew and Luke are Joseph, Mary, shepherds, wise men, Simeon
and Anna. Mary is part of the story because of the need of the Spirit of God to have a willing and obedient young women to use to help bear the needed human body. Joseph's part of the beginning of the story is to be the protector of the young women who would birth Jesus. The shepherds come to Jesus because of their obedience to the words of the angels while the wise men come to Jesus because of their personal search for the King of the Jews. Simeon and Anna are different in that they did not come to Jesus, but Jesus came to them in the Temple at Jerusalem.
The Temple was the most important building in all of the land of Israel! It was the House of God, the House of Prayer for all nations (Mark 11:17). As we read Luke's account of the birth, we readily see that it was an extremely important place for Simeon and Anna. Anna is described as "which departed not from the temple but served God with fastings and prayers night and day" (Luke 2:37)! Simeon is spoken of in the following terms:
1. Just and devout,
2. Waiting (Looking ASV) for the consolation of
Israel,
3. The Holy Ghost was upon him (Luke 2:25).
He also had a revelation from the Holy Ghost that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ (Luke 2:26). His interaction with Jesus and his family is a direct result that He was led by the Spirit to come to the Temple at this exact moment (Luke 2:27).
When looking at those to whom Jesus came to in the first coming is there any correlation between them and to those He will come to in His Second Coming?
When we study the writings of Paul and Peter, we become readily aware that the people of God should be looking for the appearing of the Lord!
Titus 2:13
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
2 Peter 3:12
12Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
In Titus the Greek word for "looking" is προσδέχομαι defined as "expect, look or wait for." While the Greek word for "looking" in Peter is προσδοκάω defined as: "to give thought to something that is viewed as lying in the future, wait for, look for, expect", the context indicates whether one does this in longing, in fear, or in a neutral state of mind.
The same Greek word is used by Luke to describe Simeon in Luke 2: 25 as "waiting" in the King James Version and "looking" in the American Standard Version and the New American Standard Version. It is also used to describe those that Anna told of Jesus in Luke 2:38. So we can see that it is important to have an "looking for" if we are going to see Jesus at His Comings!
There is the thought the He will appear to people who are looking for Him! If you are looking, expecting, and waiting, then He shall appear to you just as Simeon and Anna looked and waited for Him at His First Coming! The writer helps us understand that those that seek Him, He shall appear:
Hebrews 9:28
28So 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.
Once again ἀπεκδέχομαι is used for the word "look" in this verse. Notice "He shall appear yet … a second time … to save those who are eagerly expecting him[3]. " Here the thought is that there will be two appearings in the life of the child of God! The first is when the Lord comes to you in the initial experience of salvation of water baptism and the infilling of the Holy Ghost! If we keep looking for Him in the end times, He will appear to us and complete our salvation by His Coming!
Our Response:
How do we prepare for the coming of the Lord? Just as Simeon and Anna did. He need to:
1. Be faithful in coming to the House of God as Simeon
and Anna (Luke 2:27; 37).
2. Be people who come to the house of God already in
the Spirit (Luke 2:27).
3. Be people who are led by the Spirit as Simeon
(Luke 2:26).
4. Be righteous individuals (Luke 2:25).
5. Be devoted to God (Luke 2:25).
6. Continually serve God with prayer and fasting
(Luke 2:37).
7. Have a lifestyle that we want to be around the
House of God all the time (Luke 2:37)
Ask yourself the question? Am I totally sold out to the Lord? If you answer in the negative make the needed changes in your daily schedule to spend time in prayer and the reading of the Word of God. Look at your weekly schedule and make sure you are coming to the weekly services. Total devotion means that you attend all prayer meeting! You are making sure you are serving as ministers! You are REACHING by sharing your life story of what God has done in your life. You are faithful in returning to the Lord the tithe and giving offering out of your love and commitment!
[1] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament, electronic ed. (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).
[2] William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000). 877.
[3] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, electronic ed. of the 2nd edition. (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996). 295.
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