Christ then, Christ now, Christ is coming!

Christ then, Christ now, Christ is coming!

The words spoken at the blessing of the Paschal Candle;   “Christ is the same yesterday, today, and Forever.”  (Heb 13: 8).  

God saw how man had taken his generosity and squandered it to the point of sinning right before the eyes of his glory.  God knew from the inception of creating man to live with him forever that man would sin almost immediately.  In spite of the Trinity agreeing to make man a companion with this Triune entity they still wanted mankind as a partner in eternity to worship the God of all creation.  “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”  (Gn 1: 26).

Knowing that by this created element of creation God also knew he alone could remedy this attraction to man through sin.  So he sent an angel to a virgin (predicted by Isaiah); Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.”   (Is 7: 14).  “In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.  And coming to her, he said, “Hail, “favored one!  The Lord is with you.”  But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.  The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  :Behold, you shall conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob Forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”  (Lk 1: 26 - 33).  The parallel to Isaiah and the future of the Incarnation, the answer of God’s perfection to establish the “Christ then” to forgive man of his falling in sin.  

Living our lives as a blessing through the examples of Jesus taking on the humanity of sinners and dying for their weaknesses to sin, we have discovered that no expense was spared to the cry from Psalm 22:  “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  This alone recalls the completeness of this innocent man;  “All the ends of the earth will worship and turn to the Lord; all the families of nations will bow down before you, For kingship belongs to the Lord, the ruler over the nations.  The generation to come will be told of the Lord, that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn the deliverance you have brought.”  (Ps 22: 2, 28 - 29, 32).  Christ now!

The second appearance of Christ where sin shall be forever removed from the hearts of men to those who still believe in the plan of God to save humanity from total destruction and forever fall into hell.  “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”  (Lk 18: 8). 

The first coming of Christ was to claim forgiveness of man;s propensity to commit sin.  This final coming will be the only way to save all of mankind from the clutches of everlasting death from which no one trapped in this manner can escape.  

“Who ever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.”  (Jn 3: 36).  

Jesus came to redeem mankind from personal sin at his Incarnation.  His return during the Parousia will be to save what is left of humanity before the final death of the antichrist, the beast and the false prophet.  The triad of Satan’s unholy attempt to bring the Church and everyone who follows Christ to his kingdom.

Ralph B. Hathaway