764. IV. THIS NIGHT IS FOLLOWED BY A MORNING WHICH IS THE COMING OF THE LORD.
As the successive states of the church in general and in particular are described in the Word by the four seasons of the year, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and by the four divisions of the day, morning, noon, evening, and night; and as the present church in Christendom is the night, it follows that the morning, that is, the beginning of a new church, is now at hand. That the successive states of the church are described in the Word by the four states of the light of day, can be seen from the following passages:
Unto evening and morning two thousand and three hundred; then the holy one shall be justified. The vision of the evening and the morning is truth (Dan. 8:14, 26).
Crying to me from Seir, Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh and also the night (Isa. 21:11-12).
The end is come; the morning is come upon thee, O inhabitant of the land; behold the day cometh; the morning is gone forth (Ezek. 7:6-7, 10).
Jehovah in the morning shall bring His judgment to light; nor shall He fail (Zeph. 3:5).
God is in the midst of her; God shall help her at the return of the morning (Ps. 46:5).
I have waited for Jehovah; my soul looketh for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, I say, more than watchmen for the morning; for with Him is plenteous redemption, and He will redeem Israel (Ps. 130:5-8).
[2] In these passages "evening" and "night" mean the last time of the church, and "morning" the first. The Lord Himself is also called the morning in the following passages:
The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to Me. He shall be as the light of the morning, a morning without clouds (2 Sam. 23:3-4).
I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning Star (Rev. 22:16).
From the womb of the morning Thou hast the dew of Thy youth (Ps. 110:3).
These passages refer to the Lord. Because the Lord is the morning, He arose from the sepulchre early in the morning, being about to begin a new church (Mark 16:2, 9).
[3] That it is the Lord's coming that is to be waited for can be clearly seen from His prediction respecting it in Matthew:
As Jesus was sitting upon the Mount of Olives the disciples drew near unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the consummation of the age? (Matt. 24:3).
After the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken; and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man; and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory (Matt. 24:29, 30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27).
As were the days of Noah, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Therefore be ye also ready; for in an hour that ye think not, shall the Son of man come (Matt. 24:37, 39, 44, 46).
In Luke:
When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8).
In John:
Jesus said of John, If I will that he tarry till I come (John 21:22-23).
[4] In the Acts of the Apostles:
When they saw Jesus taken up into heaven, two men stood by them in white apparel, who said, Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have see Him go into heaven (Acts 1:9-11).
In the Apocalypse:
The Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show unto His servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold I come quickly; blessed is he that keepeth the words of the prophecy of this book. Behold I come quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to his work (Rev. 22:6-7, 12).
And again:
I Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning Star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come; and he that heareth, let him say, Come; and he that is athirst, let him come; and he that wisheth, let him take the water of life freely (Rev. 22:16-17).
He that testifieth these things saith, Yea, I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen (Rev. 22:20-21).