He Who Is to Come

There is a day coming when the old will pass away Every wrong will be made right – no darkness, no night The Son will light the way
There is a King coming – the One who conquered death and grave No more pain and no more sorrow This hope for tomorrow is our hope for today
All of creation was made for this – the end of the story. Everything we’ve ever known has been moving us toward it. Just like a symphony, we can feel the ever-growing tension rise, building toward an explosive crescendo.
The King is coming.
He who is to come, Christ the Son of man Riding on the cloud with a crown upon His head Every eye will see Him with the nail scars in His hands Hallelujah!
This is our great and triumphant hope – at all times, in all things. As the lyric says, “This hope for tomorrow is our hope for today.” No matter where we find ourselves in a moment or a season, even when it feels like things will never change, we can know for certain that a day is coming when everything will change. 
And we know it with confidence because of the One who has promised it to us. Christ is not only the One who is to come – He is the One who was and who is. We have eternity past and the tangible present as anchoring evidence of the faithfulness of Christ. He Who Was, He Who Is, and He Who Is To Come are One in the same – a trustworthy God who keeps His promises.
He Who Was
 

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:1-5)
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” (Colossians 1:16)

This world we know was made by and for Christ. There is none more able to make a promise about creation than its own Creator. And there is none more worthy of trust than the One who would step into that very creation to be scorned and murdered on behalf of its inhabitants, for no reason other than pure, uncompromising love.
He Who Was is the One who has always been, who has brought forth all that is, and has lavished His great love upon it. We, the unworthy recipients of Christ’s righteousness, power, and love, can look with great confidence and gratitude upon He Who Was, finding our sure foundation there.
He Who Is

“...he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Colossians 1:17-20)   “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” (Hebrews 12:1-4)   “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

The Scriptures speak for themselves here. He Who Is – Christ Jesus, reigning in heaven at the right hand of the Father in glory – holds all things together today. We can be steady in faith because our Great High Priest – our Intercessor – is the One who holds together our very being. We can be assured when we fail, because He has promised to complete His work in us. We can be encouraged in trial and difficulty, because we look to Him who authored our faith and conquered sin and death to prove it.
All that we need today is satisfied in Christ – He Who Is. He is our Daily Bread, sufficient to nourish our souls and meet our needs.
He Who Is To Come
 

"Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him." (Revelation 1:7)
"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud cry, with the call of an angel and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
“…I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18)

This is what the songwriters mean when they say, “This hope for tomorrow is our hope for today.” We are and will go on enduring suffering of many kinds in this life; it will come and go, some with brevity and some with great power and lasting impact. Our pain is by no means small or insignificant; God is well acquainted with the depth of our sorrow. 
But what is also true, as Paul expressed in Romans 8, is that our suffering will be absolutely and incomparably dwarfed by the glory of the goodness of God in eternity. We will see Him! We will know Him more than we ever could before. We will experience the fullness of God forever in ways we cannot even begin to fathom today.
He Who Is To Come will fulfill every last promise of the Scriptures: leading us to the gates of heaven, welcoming us in, wiping our tears away, crushing sin and death, and making all things – once and for all – completely new. He Who Was brought us into being; He Who Is sustains us and prepares our place in the Father’s house; and He Who Is To Come will walk us through the doors with a “welcome home.”

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:1–3)

We will always be with the Lord. Yes, we are with Him today by the work of the cross and the indwelling of the Spirit, but we can only see dimly now. One day, when we truly behold Him, He will shine brighter than the sun. And as we wait for that day, we will cling to the promises of He Who was, He Who Is, and He Who Is To Come.