Christ's Promised Return to the Disciples "in the Way" He Ascended (Acts 1:11)

Christ's Promised Return to the Disciples "in the Way" He Ascended (Acts 1:11)

Below is the 17th of multiple excerpts of commentary from Parts I and II of The Parousia, the late 19th-century masterpiece on the Second Coming by James Stuart Russell. The initial 31 posts on this blog deal with the Book of Revelation, which is cogently interpreted in Part III of Russell's magnum opus. (For all blog posts, see russellparousia.blogspot.com)

"THE PAROUSIA [SECOND COMING] IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
"THE 'GOING AWAY' AND THE 'COMING AGAIN.' "ACTS i. 11 [Acts 1:11]---[...]'This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner [Greek: hon tropon, literally 'in the way'] as ye have seen him go unto heaven.' "THE last conversation of Jesus with His disciples before His crucifixion was concerning His coming to them again, and the last word left with them at His ascension was the promise of His coming again. "The expression 'in like manner' [Greek: hon tropon, literally 'in the way'] must not be pressed too far. There are obvious points of difference between the manner of the Ascension and the Parousia [Second Coming]. He departed alone, and without visible splendour; He was to return in glory with His angels [Matt. 16:27, Mark 8:38, Luke 9:26]. The words, however, imply that His coming [for salvation of the saints (Hebrews 9:28) and in judgment of Israel, confirmed by the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70] was to be visible and personal, which would exclude the interpretation which regards it as providential, or spiritual. The visibility of the Parousia is supported by the uniform teaching of the apostles and the belief of the early Christians: 'Every eye shall see him' (Rev. i. 7 [Rev. 1:7; also see Matt. 16:28, 26:64; Mark 9:1, 14:62; Luke 9:27, 22:69]). "There is no indication of time in this parting promise, but it is only reasonable to suppose that the disciples would regard it as addressed to them, and that they would cherish the hope of soon seeing Him again, according to His own saying, 'A little while, and ye shall see me' [John 16:16]. This belief sent them back to Jerusalem with great joy. Is it credible that they could have felt this elation if they had conceived that His coming would not take place for eighteen [now 20] centuries? Or can we suppose that their joy rested upon a delusion? There is no conclusion possible but that which holds the belief of the disciples to have been well founded, and the Parousia nigh at hand [Matt. 10:23, 16:28, 24:34, 26:64, Mark 9:1, 13:30, 14:62; Luke 9:27, 21:32, 22:69; Rev. 1:7]." ----- Visit russellparousia.blogspot.com to see all posts

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