Victory Through the Victor (continued)
The Second Advent - The Sovereign Comes (continued)
With the first Advent, the coming of the Saviour to die on the Cross, the was with satan was won. From the vantage point of the Father's throne, satan is a defeated foe. But as yet there is no established peace on the earth nor will there be until the Lord Jesus Christ comes again as the Prince of Peace to take the government upon His shoulders; to establish the kingdom of God openly on earth and to rule from His own Throne as King of kings and Lord of lords over the kingdoms of this world. There must be a second Advent - the coming of the Son to reign as Sovereign. This coming will be the coming of the King in great power and resplendent glory. (Matthew 24:27-30; 25:31; Revelation 11:15; 19:11, 16)
During the Millennium when the Son and Heir will have come into His inheritance, and will have been set upon the holy hill of Zion (Psalm 2:6), there will be but one throne and but one will in all God's universe. God's calendar has in it a V-S day. Where are we now in relationship to it?
Two Hours in God's Calendar Crisis - Climax
In the working out of His eternal purpose through His eternal Son, God has two great glorious hours in His time calendar of events on earth. One is the hour of crisis; the other, the hour of climax.
The Hour of Crisis
Jesus was born into the world for the express purpose of dying and He knew it.
"My hour." From the very beginning of His public ministry the Son of Man had a brooding anticipation of an "hour" that was to come; a crisis hour that would be the culmination of His ministry on earth when that which He came to do would be accomplished and there could be written over His work on the earth the words, "It is finished."
In the gospel of John, were the conflict between light and darkness, life and death, love and hate is so vividly pictured, Christ spoke repeatedly of "my hour" or "my time" as a calendar day which had not yet come but which was certain to come.
John 2:4: Mine hour is not yet come.
But as he proclaimed His Messiahship and His Savourhood, the Jews were angered beyond measure and such bitter hatred filled their hearts that they sought to kill Him. Yet they could not for God's clock had not yet reached the Crisis hour.
John 7:8: My time is not yet full come.
How significant are those words "full come." The shadow of the hour of midnight darkness had fallen over His life. It was late twilight and from that time on He would walk in ever deepening darkness. At the feast of tabernacles Jesus was brought into open conflict with the Jews over the origin and authenticity of the truth which He proclaimed, and they made another attempt upon His life. But it was unavailing for God's clock had not struck "His hour."
John 7:30: Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.
The truth regarding Himself as "The Son," the Messiah and the Saviour, was proclaimed even more boldly and His words were proved by His works. Light gained the victory over darkness when the man born blind was given sight. Life won the victory over death when Lazarus came forth from the tomb at Jesus' word of command. Liberty was winning the victory over bondage as many captives were being set free from satan's possession and control. Christ was being the Victor in battle after battle. This intensified the hatred of satan into fury which culminated in the betrayal of Jesus by Judas, the human archtraitor of all time; and in the instigation of the demand of the chief priest and elders for Jesus' death. (Luke 22:52, 53).
"Your hour." Yes, this crisis hour was satan's hour as well as Jesus' hour. From the moment of the birth of "the child" satan had sought in every conceivable way to kill Him but had been foiled and defeated. Now the swelling rivulet of ill-will becomes an unfathomable ocean of hate.
"Your hour." The Pharisees and Sadducees, who were not even at peace with each other, united in their mutual hatred of the Son of Man to make the last attempt to put out this "Light of the world" (John 8:12); to put to death this "Prince of life' (Acts 3:15; to bind with the chains of death this Liberator of captives (Luke 4:18).
"Your hour and the power of darkness." By God's permission satan, the archtraitor, would be allowed to show to the world to what lengths those five openly declared "I wills" of Isaiah 14:13, 14 would take him; to what height and depth of calumny he who was "a murderer from the beginning" (John 8:44) would go when self-will was unleashed to do all that it purposed to do. The crisis hour had come when satan would unify "the spiritual hosts of wickedness" in one terrific challenge of the Son and Heir of God, who had invaded his world domain in order to regain God's throne-right to sovereignty over the earth and mankind.
"Your hour and the power of darkness" when satan would stand unmasked; revealing himself for what he is; the very personification of the darkness of hate and of treachery; the devilish, diabolical instigator of the murder of all the ages - the murder of the seed of the woman, the Son of Man. The Cross of Calvary was satan's hour when he revealed himself, the exact opposite of God and the archenemy of God's Son.
~Ruth Paxson~
(continued with # 38
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