By MR. PETROS MZAMO, Student, in October, 1950.
(Translated from Sindebele.)
“He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly.
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. xxii, 20).
WHEN word is sent to us that someone is coming to visit us, we all recognise that preparation on our part is called for, and the more important the visitor, the greater the preparation. In 1946, a message was sent to the rulers of our country that the King of Britain was to visit Rhodesia in 1947. At once great preparations were made for the reception of our King and his family, both by Europeans and Africans. Night and day these preparations went on, and they occupied not only people’s hands but their minds. The minds of those responsible were taken up with nothing else and their conversation was all about the coming of the King.
In this verse of Revelation, Christ sends us a strong assurance that He is coming and, since He is the King of Kings, surely our preparations for His coming should be very great. The King of Britain let us know the time of his coming, but the King of Heaven has not told us exactly when He will come so that we may be diligent in making ready and that we may remain watching and praying. The coming of Christ will be like the coming of the Flood in the time of Noah. Many will be found unprepared.
When a guest comes upon us suddenly and finds us with our house unswept and everything lying about in disorder, we feel deeply ashamed. When I accompany the Missionary on his visits to the kraals in this district, I often see people caught unawares. The children are sometimes dirty, the yard around the kraal is littered with rubbish, and there is a strong smell of beer in the huts. When people are caught unprepared in this way, they are always very much ashamed. They do not feel at ease in the presence of the Missionary and usually keep silent. How much greater will be our shame if Christ at His coming finds us unprepared, unwashed, and with all the marks of indulgence of sin upon us!
A person who has committed a crime against the laws of his country may escape the police for a time, and perhaps hide himself in a lonely spot where police are seldom seen. He may live there at ease and at peace with himself and others, but let it just be whispered that a policeman is approaching, and his peace of mind is shattered. His one thought now is how to avoid the police, and he begins making plans to escape. He cannot enjoy his food or his sleep, because he feels guilty and lives in constant fear of discovery and arrest. How much greater will be the dread of those whom Christ at His coming will find in their sins, showing clearly that sin which cost Him so much is sweet to them!
Jesus warns us that He is not only coming but that He is coming quickly. This means that there is need for haste in our preparations for His coming. How then can we prepare for the speedy coming of Christ? Here are some of the things necessary to true preparation:—
(1) The New Birth. We must like David, ask God to search and try us and show us that our hearts are in very truth a fountain of sin. We must know that all the sins committed by eye, hand, foot and ear come from that wicked fountain and that we are always sinning whether we speak or whether we keep silent. If God shows us this, then we will realise that we can never be ready for Christ’s coming without a new heart, and we will understand Christ’s own words, “Ye must be born again.” We cannot put our own hearts right, so let us humbly ask God to give us a new heart.
(2) We must receive the Bible as God’s own Word, and honour it as His. Those who do this have passed from death unto life.
(3) We must seek the teaching of the Holy Spirit; otherwise we shall be as ignorant of Christ and of His coming as the wild beasts of the forest.
(4) We must learn to hate sin. If we find joy in the sins of others and can find it in our hearts to laugh at the folly of the drunkard, for example, we shall be ashamed at the coming of Christ. Sin must be hated in our hearts, in our homes, in our districts, and wherever we come across it.
(5) Love to Christ is another requirement. If we love a person we will always remember him and never forget his name. A person whom we truly love may awaken us up suddenly in the middle of the night, but we shall not be alarmed as we would if a stranger did this. We know his voice and that voice removes fear and gives confidence. So it will be in the case of those who truly love the Lord Jesus. He may come to them suddenly, but they will recognise His voice and they will not be afraid. His love planted in their hearts by the Holy Spirit has prepared them for His coming.
There must be haste and diligence in preparing for the coming of Jesus. All Christ’s commands are for to-day, not to-morrow. He says, “Surely I come quickly.” The word “surely” adds great force to His warning. It assures us that there can be no doubt about His coming and no doubt as to the suddenness of that coming. Let us then be done with talk of preparing to-morrow. “To-day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.”
Christ’s announcement receives an answer. It is, “Even so, come Lord Jesus.” From whom does this answer come? It comes from those who have discovered the filthiness of their hearts and have had them washed with the hyssop of which David speaks in Psalm li. They have been born again and are now the children of God. They once belonged to this world but now they find no satisfaction in it and they are looking for a better country. They rejoice at the good news that Christ is coming and with all their hearts they answer, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
I once read a story which comes from China. A certain man had been brought to court time and again for stealing. Once again he was brought before the magistrate for the same offence. The magistrate, who was tired of dealing with this man’s offences, decided to give the poor man a test. “You are to take a vessel filled to the brim with oil and carry it along all the streets of the town and then come back to me. Police will guard you as you walk along the streets, and if they report that you have spilled one drop of oil you will be put to death. If, however, you succeed in this test, you will be set free.” The thief carried out the test successfully and was conducted back to the magistrate. The magistrate then questioned him about the people and things which he had seen in the streets. “I saw nothing,” the man replied. “What! do you mean to tell me that you did not see any of the people who throng the streets nor any of the shops or carriages?” “I saw nothing,” repeated the man, “I looked neither to left nor right, but only to the vessel of oil, for my life depended on keeping it straight.” “You did well in so doing,” said the magistrate, who was a Christian, “and you will do better still if in your walk through life you begin to look to Jesus and to Jesus only. If you look only to Him and walk in His narrow way, you will never again be brought to this court.” God’s true people are like the man carrying the vessel of oil. They pay little heed to the world around them; they are looking forward, looking to Jesus, and looking for His coming. That is why they can say, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” They are His elect people looking for the coming of Him who chose them and called them from darkness to light.