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they may minister to our comfort and help, their prophetic burden looks away to a blessed
time on the earth, and not to the blessed hope of the manifestation in glory for which the
church waits (Col. 3: 4; Titus 2: 11-14).
Enoch's prophecy, Job's patience, Moses' song and David's prayer, all bear their
testimony that the Lord is coming to this earth once again. Coming in judgment upon the
ungodly (Enoch), coming with resurrection life for those who own Him as Redeemer
(Job), coming to lead a mightier exodus than that through the Red Sea (Moses), coming
to reign as the greater than Solomon, David's Son and David's Lord.
#4.
The Vision of Isaiah.
pp. 136 - 139
We have seen in another series that the burden of all the prophets is the restoration of
Israel. This being so, it is impossible for the prophets to be silent upon the second
coming of the Lord, for Peter shews the restoration and the coming to be inseparable.
"The times of refreshing . . . . . and He shall send Jesus Christ . . . . . Whom the
heavens must receive until the times of the restitution of all things, which God hath
spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3: 19-21).
If we read Acts 3: 21 and I Thess. 4: 16 together:--
"Whom the heavens must receive until . . . . ."
"The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven . . . . ."
--it seems clear that the latter passage must refer to this hope of Israel and, seeing that
years after I Thess. 4: was written Paul still entertained the hope of Israel
(Acts 28: 20), the conclusion becomes practically certain.
In chapter 11: 4 is a passage which, taken alone, may not be said to speak of the
Lord's coming, yet no N.T. reader who has read II Thess. 1: and 2: can avoid the evident
connection:--
"He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips
shall He slay the wicked" (Isa. 11: 4).
"The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire
taking vengeance" (II Thess. 1: 7, 8).
"Then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of
His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming" (II Thess. 2: 8).
It is, then, fairly evident that II Thess. and Isa. 11: both deal with the same coming,
but we shall see fuller corroborative detail when examining N.T. passages.