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Maranatha – the Lord Cometh!

(Overcomer Wu)

“... O Lord come!” 1 Corinthians 16:22

The phrase in the above verse distilled the hope of the zealous Christians from the first century to this day into one precious watchword "Maranatha,” which in Aramaic means the Lord cometh or will come! (1 Cor 16:22b). This is the only occurrence of this word used throughout the whole Bible, yet how precious and significant is this word! Historians and scholars tell us that the word "Maranatha” was a password back in the days when early Christians had to hold their meetings in secret due to the intense persecutions against them. "Maranatha” was the greeting they exchanged when they met. I believe that the suffering and persecuted Christians had chosen this word to be their password or pass-code because their hope is truly set on the second coming of the Lord.

We thank the Lord for how gracious and merciful is the Lord in giving us the hope of His second coming to brighten the gloom of this increasingly perverse and darkening world! It is a sad commentary on our days that the teaching and the reminder of our Lord’s soon return appears to be somewhat unfashionable or tends to fall on deaf ears in certain quarters of Christianity. This "blessed hope” (Tit 2:13) is not a mere appendix to our belief in Christ, but rather it ought to be our guiding light through our fleeting earthly path and the crowning joy that we long for.

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 : "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” The second coming of the Lord is also often encapsulated by the Greek word used in the original Greek text of the Bible in reference to the Lord's coming, parousia – this word emphasizes the yearning for the presence of our coming Lord Jesus Christ for His lovers. This longing specially holds true for the suffering saints throughout the centuries, for they realized that the present lightness of our affliction is but momentary “is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor 4:17). This is immediately followed by the next chapter which expresses the sentiment of the apostle Paul and the suffering and seeking saints at that time: “We are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. ... We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Cor 5:6-8). Clearly we see that these dear saints long to be with the Lord whether by His coming or their going to be with the Lord by the putting off of their earthly tabernacle (our physical body – a metaphor used in 2 Cor 5:1-2).

In the New Testament, the Spirit of truth was sent to us to be our Comforter and to guide the pathway of the Church in conjunction with His Word until the Lord’s return – a truth which is mentioned at least 300 times in prophesies, parables, and promises. The book of Revelation focuses all these rays of truth upon the person of the ascended and glorified Lord – who appeared once "to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself,” and is coming again, " to those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time apart from sin unto salvation” (Heb 9:26,28). Just from the way this verse is phrased, we can conclude that the Lord's appearing is especially going to be a reward “to those who eagerly wait for Him.” Most likely these will be the first fruits who will be caught up to meet with the Lord first at the beginning of His parousia, which spans a period of time from His departure from His throne with the first-fruits of the rapture and the overcomers to descend into the clouds until His open appearing before the eyes of all at the end of the great tribulation. Certainly we are told in 2 Timothy 4:8 that the crown of righteousness is reserved for those who love the Lord's appearing. Interestingly in contrast, the first half of 1 Corinthians 16:22 quoted above as our subject verse says, “If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed!” Thus, loving the Lord and His appearing is key to our preparing and hastening the coming of the Lord, and to participate in the utmost reward of His coming.

In regards to the Lord's second coming, we are also given some stern warnings: "Watch therefore: for you know not when the master of the house comes, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing or in the morning: lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping, and what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch!” (Mark 13:35-37). The Bible has much to say about the peril of being asleep (spiritually), when we should be awake and vigilant. We recall that Samson was robbed of his strength while he slept, and that the five foolish virgins mentioned in Matthew 25 became drowsy and fell asleep, while the bridegroom tarried. Consequently, they missed out on the reward and suffered in the outer darkness. Therefore, in reference to the Lord's second coming as shown in the context of the previous verses, Paul said, "But you brothers are not in darkness that this day (the Lord's second coming) should surprise you like a thief. You are all the children of light and the children of the day…therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober…let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation” (1 Thes 5:4-8).

First John 3:2-3 says: "Beloved, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” How do we purify ourselves? Purification is represented by the apostle John as something that we do for ourselves (see also 2 Tim. 2:21). It is a matter of working out what God works in. Or as the apostle Paul puts it in Philippians 2: 12b-13, “... work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both the willing and the working of His good pleasure.” We are also given a hint in the previous chapter where John said that we should "abide in Him” (1 Jn 2:27) that we may have confidence that when the Lord Jesus appears we shall not "be ashamed before Him at His coming” (2:28). To abide in Him is to live, move, and have our being in Him; to draw all our resources from Him and do all things in full dependency upon Him. Praise the Lord for this blessed hope! Maranatha!