He Promised to Come Back
In John 14 Jesus said to His disciples, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”
The disciples were fully aware that after Jesus ascended into heaven, He would come back again, and they expected it to happen almost immediately. So, they stood on this mountain called “Olivet”, and they watched Him ascend into heaven. They looked up, and they saw Him disappear into heaven. And they continued to look at the sky, waiting for Him to return as He had said He would.
Two angels appeared and enquired, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven?” Why are you standing here looking into the sky? Jesus is not going to come back now, He has given you a work to do, and you must go do that work. But, here is a promise, and a re-affirmation of what Jesus told you, “This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)
The disciples left the mountain, went to Jerusalem, received the power of the Holy Spirit and established the Christian church. Central to their message was the soon return of Jesus to this earth and the preparation needed to be ready for that second coming. That was over 2000 years ago. We are still here on earth, waiting for Jesus to return as He promised.
Where is Jesus?
The Bible often uses concepts in agriculture to describe spiritual things. For example, in Matthew 13 Jesus talks about how the church is composed of good people and bad people when He tells the parable of the wheat and tares. He says:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.” Matthew 13:24-25.
In this prevailing agricultural metaphor, the second coming of Jesus is often compared to the harvest of the agricultural cycle. Matthew 13:39 states, “the harvest is the end of the world.”
James applies this agricultural metaphor in James 5 when He encourages believers to wait patiently for the second coming of Jesus:
“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” James 5:7
From this verse, we see that there is wait that is expected. James is telling us that we should patiently wait for the second coming of Jesus. But He also tells us that the farmer is waiting. Further on in Matthew 13, in His explanation of the parable of the wheat and tares, Jesus says that He is the sower, or the farmer, who has sown the seed. Moreover, Jesus says that the good seed represents the people of God. Since the good seed represents His people, and a harvest occurs when the seeds have grown to maturity, it follows then that Jesus, the farmer, is the one patiently waiting for His people, the good seed, to reach maturity before He returns.
The verse also tells us that Jesus is waiting for some rain to come. It is the rain that ripens the crop and when the crop is ripe, the harvest will occur. As Mark 4:29 says of the farmer, “when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” The harvest, and therefore the coming of Jesus, is contingent on a ripe crop, which requires the early and the latter rain.
Rain and the Holy Spirit
We now know that Jesus is the farmer. We also know that we are the crop that He has planted. The rain, however, represents the work and the power of the Holy Spirit. Consider this verse from Isaiah 44:3 where the Holy Spirit is likened to rain that is poured out:
“I will pour water on him who is thirsty,
Isaiah 44:3
And floods on the dry ground;
I will pour My Spirit on your descendants,
And My blessing on your offspring;”
After the apostles left mount Olivet they gathered together and waited for the power that Jesus had promised. When the power did come, the apostles displayed this power in the form of speaking in different languages. Some observers thought that they were drunk. But Peter corrected them and told them,
“Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
Acts 2:14-17
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
Notice here once again that the verb used for delivering the work and power of the Holy Spirit the is the word “pour”, reminding us of the rain water that represents the Holy Spirit in Isaiah 44:3.
The Rain Withheld
Using some really nasty language, Jeremiah tells us that the latter rain, which we now understand to be the Holy Spirit, can be withheld as a result of God’s people, us, being unfaithful to him:
“But you have played the harlot with many lovers;
Jeremiah 3:1-3
Yet return to Me,” says the Lord.
“Lift up your eyes to the desolate heights and see:
Where have you not lain with men?
By the road you have sat for them
Like an Arabian in the wilderness;
And you have polluted the land
With your harlotries and your wickedness.
Therefore the showers have been withheld,
And there has been no latter rain.
If we want Jesus to come, then we must be faithful to Him. To be faithful to Jesus means to reject the charms of Satan, the enemy. To be faithful to Jesus is to resist to do evil. “If you love me,” says Jesus, “keep my commandments.” John 14:15.
If we are faithful to Jesus, then he will give us more of the Holy Spirit, the latter rain, and we will be ripened. When we are ripened, when we reach maturity in our faith, then Jesus will come again.
A Ripe Harvest
In Galatians 5, Paul tells us what a ripe harvest looks like. He tells us what the work and the power of the Holy Spirit will accomplish in our lives. He tells us what our characters will be like when we are ripe and ready for Jesus’ second coming:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control
Galatians 5:22-23.
Jesus is patiently waiting for us to be fully faithful to Him. He has delayed His second coming because we are not ready for heaven. We have disobeyed some or all of His commandments. We have been unfaithful.
Jesus is ready and willing to forgive us for our unfaithfulness. He is also ready to give us the strength we need to live lives in complete obedience to Him, lives free of sin. When we are faithful to Him, when we give up those things that are displeasing to Him, then He will send us the rain of the Holy Spirit and we will ripen to develop characters that are fit for heaven. When we are ready, He will come again and take us to be with Him so that where He is, there we may be also.
May we look into our lives to see where we have gone contrary to the commandments and the instructions of Jesus. May we receive forgiveness for our unfaithfulness and strength to do what is right. And, as Peter says in 2 Peter 3:12, may we, by so doing, hasten the second of Jesus.