PRÉCIS ON THE COSMIC ACHE FOR HIS RETURN: THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT IN HISTORY

SCRIPTURE. “For we know that the whole creation has been moaning together as in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only this, but we too, who have the first fruits of the Spirit [a joyful indication of the blessings to come], ‘even we groan inwardly, as we wait eagerly for [the sign of] our adoption as sons’—the redemption and transformation of our body [at the resurrection].” – ROMANS 8:22-23, AMP

KEY TERM: “GROAN.” ‘Stenazó’ [στενάζω]: “From a base word meaning ‘to narrow’ (from obstacles standing close about causing distress); i.e., to be in [dire] straits; thereby to moan or groan (deeply within oneself) expressing grief, anger, or desire; to sigh; also, to groan because of pressure of being exerted forward (like the forward pressure of ‘childbirth’); (figuratively) ‘to feel pressure from what is coming on’ – which can be intensely pleasant or anguishing (depending on the context).”

QUOTATION. “The figure of the passing-away world (1 Cor. vii. 31) is like an old man’s face, full of wrinkles, and foul with weeping: We are waiting when Jesus shall be Revealed from Heaven, and shall come and wipe the old man’s face.” ― SAMUEL RUTHERFORD, Christ Dying and Drawing Sinners to Himself, or, A Survey of Our Saviour in His Soule-Suffering, His Lovelynesse in His Death, and the Efficacie in Weeke Beleevers are Opened, 1647; edited

COMMENTARY. “The sufferings of the saints strike no deeper than the things of time, last no longer than the present time, are light afflictions, and but for a moment. How vastly different are the sentences of the Word and the sentiment of the world, concerning the sufferings of this present time! ‘Indeed, the whole Creation seems to wait with earnest expectation for the period when the children of God shall be manifested in the glory prepared for them.’

There is an impurity, deformity, and infirmity, which has come upon the creature by the ‘Fall of Man.’ There is an Enmity of one creature to another. And they are used, or abused rather, by men as instruments of sin. Yet this deplorable state of the Creation is in Hope. God will deliver it from thus being held in bondage to man’s depravity. The miseries of the human race, through their own and each other’s wickedness, declare that the world is not always to continue as it is. Our having received the first-fruits of the Spirit, quickens our desires, encourages our hopes, and raises our expectations.

‘Sin has been, and is, the guilty cause of all the suffering that exists in the Creation of God.’ It has brought on the woes of Earth; it has kindled the flames of Hell. As to Man, not a tear has been shed, not a groan has been uttered, not a pang has been felt, in body or mind, that has not come from Sin. This is not all; Sin is to be looked at as it affects the Glory of God. Of this how fearfully regardless are the bulk of Mankind! Believers have been brought into a state of Safety; but their comfort consists rather in Hope than in enjoyment. From this Hope they cannot be turned by the vain expectation of finding satisfaction in the things of time and sense. We need patience, our way is rough and long; but He that shall come, will come, though He seems to tarry.” – MATTHEW HENRY, Exposition of the Old and New Testaments, 6 vols. 1708-1710; edited

DK. I love this passage, beloved. So much so that it is nearly impossible to express in human language what it provokes in me – and in all who truly love and follow Jesus Christ in these difficult times. To begin with, as the title of this essay proposes, it is that ONE DAY when all we have waited for our entire lives:

“‘On the Day of the Lord’—The Day that God makes everything Right, the Day that everything sad comes untrue—on that Day the same thing will happen to your own hurts and sadness. You will find that the worst things that have ever happened to you will in the End only enhance your Eternal Delight. On that Day, all of it will be turned inside out and you will know Joy beyond the walls of the world. The Joy of your glory will be that much greater for every scar you bear. ‘So live in the Light of the Resurrection and Renewal of this world, and of yourself, in a glorious, never-ending, joyful Dance of Grace.’” ― TIMOTHY KELLER, Jesus the King: Understanding the Life and Death of the Son of God, 2013; edited

THE GRAND CAVEAT. This stunning Promise however, is reserved only for those who are fully, incontrovertibly “In Christ,” beloved. MEANING: “And they overcame and conquered him [that is, Satan] because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, for they did not love their life and renounce their faith even when faced with death.” – REVELATION 12:11, AMP

Only those who are “this far in,” loving the Lord vastly more than their own lives and possessions, willing to stand and fight, are the true royal heirs of the Christian Promise. This to enable us to bear the impossible weight of waiting for Him, for Heaven, and for sheer Wonder far beyond what even the Great Apostle could describe who received it straight from the Mouth of the Messiah.

Therefore comfort one another with these words, for I tell you true: ‘He is almost here, even at the very Door!’