Bruderhof wrote:
> "Behold, I am coming soon!" (Rev. 22:7). This word concerns the coming
> of our Lord and King, Jesus Christ. The word itself permeates the
> whole of his earthly and super-earthly life, and it may seem too high
> for our understanding to reach. There are few who can grasp it in its
> spiritual meaning so that it can play a natural part in their
> self-understanding and in their living for God. Yet we must recognize
> that the significance of the life of Jesus and his disciples depends
> upon the fulfillment of these words. Those people built upon them as a
> firm ground by which the results of their activity would be
> guaranteed. But also, all the later disciples of Jesus who carry in
> their hearts the kingdom of God on earth as the goal of the Christian
> community are directed by these words to hope for the future return of
> their Lord. Without that, it is useless to hope that the community of
> God, his justice and truth, will come upon earth.
>
"Behold, I am coming soon!" This saying divides the history of the
Christian community into two periods: first, the foretime, and then, the
time of the actual kingdom of God. The Savior himself is the beginning,
the
Alpha, and the end, the Omega. With the coming of the Savior in the flesh,
the foretime has begun; all people should know this, for they are living
in
it. In this time we have the gospel, "the power of God for salvation to
everyone who has faith" (Rom. 1:16). With this, the kingdom of God is
announced; and through its prophets it is founded upon earth.
--
Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt
www.blumhardts.com
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