Before the Ages, Sent, and Coming

…world, and that judgment will be given to Him.

95. That the sun and the moon will be darkened.

96. That the heavens will be rolled up.

97. That the Antichrist will come before the coming of Christ.

98. That he will kill many.

99. That then there will be a time of tribulation.

100. That Christ will come after him, and how He will come.

101. That the sign of Christ will be plain to see.

102. That the kingdom will have no end.

1. That the Son was begotten before the ages.

David the great is the first to say it, in Psalm 109: “From the womb, before the morning star, I begot You” (Psalm 110:3).

Wisdom, too, speaks in the same way: “Before the age He founded me, in the beginning, before He made the earth, and before He made the depths, and before the springs of the waters came forth, and before the mountains were settled; and before all the hills He begets me” (Proverbs 8:23-25).

And David says again, in Psalm 71: “He will endure with the sun, and before the moon, from generation to generation” (Psalm 72:5).

2. That He was with the Father.

Moses says, in the account of the creation of the world: “Let Us make man in Our image and after Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26).

3. That He is co-creator.

Wisdom says: “When He was preparing the heaven, I was present with Him; and when He was marking out His own throne; and when He was making the clouds above strong upon the winds; and when He was setting the springs beneath heaven firm; and when He was making the foundations of the earth strong, I was beside Him, fitting all things together” (Proverbs 8:27-30).

And David says in Psalm 32: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made firm, and by the breath of His mouth all their host” (Psalm 33:6).

And again Wisdom says: “I saw Your works, being present when You were making the world” (Wisdom of Solomon 9:9).

4. That He was sent.

Isaiah speaks thus: “The Lord God, who made the heaven and fixed it, who made firm the earth and what is in it, who gives breath to the people upon it and breath to those who walk on it: I am the Lord God who called You, and I have given You as a covenant for the race, as a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out from their chains those who are bound, and from the prison house those who sit in darkness” (Isaiah 42:5-7).

And Malachi says: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, and he will survey the way” (Malachi 3:1; Mark 1:2).

And again: “He has sent Me to bring good news to the poor” (Isaiah 61:1).

And David says in Psalm 106: “He sent His word and healed them” (Psalm 107:20).

5. That He will come.

Jacob says: “A ruler will not fail from Judah, nor a leader from his loins, until what is laid up comes; and He is the expectation of the nations” (Genesis 49:10).

Moses says: “The Lord God will raise up for you a Prophet from among his brothers, like me; you will listen to Him in all things. And whoever does not listen to that Prophet will be utterly destroyed for ever” (Deuteronomy 18:15, 19; Acts 3:22-23).

And Hosea says: “We will find Him ready as the dawn, and He will come to the earth like the early and the late rain” (Hosea 6:3).

And Amos says: “On that day He will raise up the fallen tent of David, and rebuild its ruins” (Amos 9:11).

Micah says: “On the tops of the mountains, out of Zion will go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Micah 4:1-2).

And Joel says: “The Lord will cry out from Zion, and from Jerusalem He will utter His voice” (Joel 3:16).

And again: “You will know that He is the Lord our God, and that He will dwell on His holy mountain” (Joel 3:17).

And again: “The Lord will dwell in Zion” (Joel 3:21).

Obadiah says: “On Mount Zion there will be salvation; for the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations” (Obadiah 1:17, 15).

Jonah will be enough by himself to make plain the figure of the death (Jonah 1:17; Matthew 12:40).

And Nahum says: “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him.” “For behold, I am against you, says the Lord Almighty” (Nahum 1:7; 2:13).

And Habakkuk: “He will rise at the end, and at the appointed time; and if He is slow, wait for Him, for He will surely come and will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3).

And again: “When the time has come, You will be shown forth” (Habakkuk 3:2).

And that “God will come from Teman” (Habakkuk 3:3).

And Zephaniah says: “Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion; proclaim it, daughter of Jerusalem; be glad and delight with all your heart. The Lord has taken away your wrongdoings; He has redeemed you from the hand of your enemies. The Lord will reign in your midst; you will no longer see evil” (Zephaniah 3:14-15).

And again: “Take courage, Zion; do not let your hands grow slack. The Lord God is in you; He is mighty to save you” (Zephaniah 3:16-17).

And Haggai says: “I am with you, says the Lord, and My Spirit stands over you” (Haggai 2:4-5).

And Zechariah says: “Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion, for behold, I am coming, and I will dwell in your midst, says the Lord” (Zechariah 2:10).

And again: “Behold, a man whose name is the Branch, and He will spring up from His place” (Zechariah 6:12).

And again: “Thus says the Lord Almighty: I will return to Zion, and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem will be called the true city” (Zechariah 8:3).