The Second Coming in the Gospel of John

The Second Coming in the Gospel of John

Below is the 12th 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) "In the Synoptical Gospels [Matthew, Mark, and Luke] we have generally been able to compare the allusions to the Parousia [Second Coming], recorded by the Evangelists, one with another; and have often found it advantageous to do so. It is not easy, however, to interweave the Fourth Gospel [John] with the Synoptics, and it is somewhat remarkable that not one allusion to the Parousia in the latter is to be found in the former. It is therefore preferable on all accounts to consider the Gospel of St. John by itself, and we shall find that the references to the subject of our inquiry, though not many in number, are very important and full of interest. "The Parousia [Second Coming] and the Resurrection of the Dead. "John v. 25-29. [John 5:25-29]---'Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall bear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself ; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself ; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. ' Marvel not at this : for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.' "In the references to the approaching consummation [i.e., the close of the Old Covenant age in A.D. 70, when Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed] which we have found in the Synoptical Gospels, it is impossible not to be struck with the constant association of the Parousia with a great act of judgment. From the very first notice of this great event to the last, the idea of judgment is put prominently forward. John the Baptist warns the nation of 'the coming wrath [Matt. 3:7].' The men of Nineveh and the queen of the south are to appear in the judgment with this generation [Matt. 12:40-42]. In the harvest at the close of the age the tares were to be burned, and the wheat gathered into the barn [Matt. 13:30]. The Son of man was to come in His glory to reward every man according to his works [Matt. 16:27]. The judgment of Capernaum and Chorazin was to be heavier than that of Tyre and Sidon [Matt. 11:21-23, Luke 10:13-15]. The closing parables in our Lord's ministry are nearly all declaratory of coming judgment---the pounds [Luke 19:11-27], the wicked husbandm[e]n [Matt. 21:33-46, Mark 12:1-12, Luke 20:9-18], the marriage of the king's son [Matt. 22:1-14, Luke 14:15-24], the ten virgins [Matt. 25:1-13], the talents [Matt. 25:14-30], the sheep and the goats [Matt. 25:31-46]. The great prophecy on the Mount of Olives [Matt. 24, Mark 13, Luke 21] is wholly occupied with the same subject. "It is remarkable that the first allusion which St. John makes to this event recognises its judicial character. But we now find a new element introduced into the description of the approaching consummation. It is connected with the resurrection of the dead; of 'all that are in the graves [John 5:28].' 'The hour is coming when all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth [John 5:28-29],' etc. "There can be no doubt that the passage just quoted (ver. 28, 29) [John 5:28-29] refers to the literal resurrection of the dead. It may also be admitted that the preceding verses (25, 26) [John 5:25-26] refer to the communication of spiritual life to the spiritually dead. The time for this life-giving process had already commenced,---'The hour is coming, and now is [John 5:25].' The dead in trespasses and sins [Ephesians 2:1, Colossians 2:13] were about to be made alive by the quickening power of the divine Spirit acting upon men's souls in the preaching of the gospel of Christ. This life-giving power belonged by divine appointment to the Son of God, to whom also was committed, in virtue of His humanity, the office of supreme Judge (ver. 27). Anticipating that this claim to be the Judge of mankind would stagger His hearers, our Lord proceeds to strengthen His assertion and heighten their admiration by declaring that at His voice the buried dead would ere long come forth from their graves to stand before His judgment throne. "The reader will particularly note the indications of time specified by our Lord in these important passages. First we have 'the hour is coming, and now is' [John 5:25]: this intimates that the action spoken of, viz. [that is] the communication of spiritual life to the spiritually dead, has already begun to take effect. Next we have 'the hour is coming' [John 5:28], without the addition of the words 'and now is:' intimating that the event specified, viz., the raising of the dead from their graves, is at a greater distance of time, although still not far off. The formula 'the hour is coming' always denotes that the event referred to is not far distant. [Russell here is alluding to the generational time limits of the Parousia/Second Coming referred to at Matt. 10:23, 16:28, 23:36, 24:34, 26:64; Mark 9:1, 13:30, 14:62; Luke 9:27, 21:32, 22:69; Rev. 1:7.] [to be continued]