O Erkomenos: The Coming One (2 of 2)

Now some have raised an objection that the city and sanctuary in Dan. 9:26 are "seemingly" destroyed within the 70 weeks prophecy, and since this didn't occur, then it still must be future. But actually the prophecy is about the Messiah and what He would predominately do as the Suffering Servant. It is not about the people He uses afterward to mete out His judgment upon Israel with as the Messiah, the Ruler. "The people" who "destroy" the city and sanctuary for this Prince is a parenthetical statement and outside of the scope and ministry of what the Messiah would accomplish as the Suffering Servant within this 70 weeks prophecy. History has born this out to be true, with the abomination that made desolate the city and sanctuary in 70 AD to actually be the Roman armies (see also my article: The People of the Prince, the Coming One! for more insights into this intriguing story about this "Prince" (or Christ) who destroys the city and sanctuary with these Romans.

Now Boutflower had said in his commentary of Stephen, that Stephen is most likely referring to Dan. 9:25-26, and even to what Christ himself had said about all of this, when the false witnesses reiterated what Stephen had said about Christ in Acts 6:14, stating:

“For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”

To be sure, these statements were indeed true (contrary to some misinformed commentators). These witnesses were using Stephen’s very own statements as a just cause for the council of the Sanhedrin to judge him with, accusing him of blasphemous accusations; for in their minds Jesus was dead, so how could He still do these things? 

F.F. Bruce writes in his commentary on Acts with regards to the false testimony of these false witnesses:

“…the falseness of their testimony consisted not in wholesale fabrication but in subtle and deadly misrepresentation” (TNICNT, The Book of Acts, Eerdmans, 1980, p. 135; italics for emphasis mine).

Lenski likewise concurs with F. F. Bruce:

“…no effort is made to understand what the person charged actually said, and what his words really mean, but only to use his words against him….The devil knows no other way than to lie and pervert and interpret in the worst fashion what has been said well and properly” (The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles, Augsburg Pub. House, 1961, pp. 255-256; italics for emphasis mine).

For example, in Mat. 26:61, the false witnesses testimony was true about Christ destroying the temple and rebuilding it in three days, but His statement was “misrepresented.” The statement of Christ wasn't false, but it was in how they understood what He was saying that was false. In their minds they thought one thing, whereas in Christ's mind He meant another thing. And the same is true with regards to Stephen. In their minds they couldn't fathom how Stephen's testimony could be true, so they were claiming that what he was saying must be false. Such false witnesses like these are not uncommon. It is often their purpose to take what has been truthfully spoken, and make it mean something else than how it was understood by the person making the statement. They didn’t believe such statements of Stephen concerning themselves, so they turned his own statements against him.

The question of whether or not Jesus made such statements about the physical temple being destroyed shouldn’t even be raised. And the argument that He prophesied about the temples desolation, but wasn’t responsible for it occurring has no biblical precedent either.

Now if all of this above about Jesus being the Prince (or even the King) who was to destroy the city and temple is not enough evidence, then let us consider also The Parable of the Wedding Banquet in Mat. 22:1-14 that Boutflower refers to, which is on the heels of The Parable of the Tenants in Mat. 21:38-46; Mk. 12:7-12 and Lk. 20:14-19. Jesus had just said of the Owner of the vineyard (or God) in The Parable of the Tenants that “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end.” (v. 41). In context Christ was referring to the Jews who had paid no attention to His servants (the OT prophets) or the demands of the Son (Christ). And in the Parable of the Wedding Banquet that follows, the Jews are again said to have paid no attention to Christ's invitations to come to His wedding banquet. What does Jesus say will occur to them? “The King was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.” Clearly this was the same group that Jesus had just spoken to earlier, and of whom Matthew says, “When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them” (21:45). Jesus was only affirming what all of the Old Testament Scriptures had already affirmed: that the Father, via His exalted Son (the present King of kings and Lord of lords) would overthrow the people and the city using the Roman armies with their swords. As was noted earlier, such enemies (like the Assyrians in Isaiah 10) are His “sword,” His “club,” His “saw,” and His “ax” to mete out His judgments with.

So the statement that is asserted of Stephen that Christ said he would destroy the temple was in fact true! To speak of God as King, is to speak of Christ as King as well. The two are one and the same. To argue otherwise is to rob Christ of His kingship and deity and undermine the doctrine of the Trinity. To speak of one as doing something, is to understand that all three persons of the Triune Godhead are doing it all together.

Now what about Stephen saying that Jesus would change the customs? I don't think any sincere Christian would doubt that Christ changed the customs of the Law; and even Heb. 7:12 and 18 says that much. But let’s just consider the fact that Jesus said He was the “Lord of the Sabbath” and had every right to change it, or even abrogate it if He so pleased. After all, He created it. And this is exactly what He eventually did in fact do, substituting that natural rest from our own works for His spiritual rest from our own works. But if that won’t do for some Sabbatarians, then let us also consider the fact that it was Jesus who said to the Samaritan woman: “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem….a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (Jhn. 4:21-24). By this statement Jesus was already intimating a change in the customs of Moses. So Stephen's statement was indeed true. And the Jews' house was left unto them desolate, never to be rebuilt again; God seeing to it that what He had indeed "changed" would remain changed forever, never to be revisited by Him again.

Habakkuk 2:3 with Hebrews 10:37: The Coming One

The Greek Septuagint (LXX) reads: “Though He should tarry, wait for Him, for He will surely come [oti erkomenos], and will not tarry.” Evidently this translation from the Greek Septuagint is also used in Heb. 10:37, which says: “For in just a very little while, He who is coming [o erkomenos, lit., The Coming One] will come and will not delay.”

At first reading, it would seem that Habakkuk was referring just to the vision itself, or maybe even to the Babylonian leader who was to come, and not to the Lord himself. Many have struggled with the translation of the Hebrew text here. But whether the Septuagint got it right or not is really a moot point; for regardless, the inspired interpreters of the New Testament understood this phrase to be referring to a person, the Lord Jesus Christ, the “O Erkomenos.”

Now Habakkuk is saying that this Coming One as Ruler and Judge will judge all those who have attacked the Israelites (Hab. 3:16b). In the book of Hebrews, the writer says He will Judge all those who persecute the Church (Heb. 10:30-36), and this is the message of comfort for all of us in the book of Revelation as well. And as Kenneth Wuest correctly notes here under Heb. 10:37: “The exhortation to patience is strengthened by the promise of the soon coming Messiah” (Wuest Word Studies on Hebrews, vol. 2, p. 190). One day we will all be vindicated, even though for a season it seems as though we aren't. This is the message for us today, and that was the message of God to and through Habakkuk for his people. All of God’s “righteous ones” are told by God not to “shrink back” from these trials that were about to come upon them, but “will live by faith.” And this is exactly what Habakkuk did in chapter 3, verses 16-19.

Habkkuk was told by God “I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. I am raising up the Babylonians” (Hab. 1:5b, 6a). Then Habkkuk replied, “O Lord you have appointed them to execute judgment. O Rock, you have ordained them to punish…Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?…I will look to see what He will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this [or my] complaint” (12, 13; 2:1). Then the Lord replies, "Though He should tarry, wait for Him; for He will surely come and will not tarry. If he [a “man” in the margin] should draw back, My soul has no pleasure in him: but the just shall live by My faith.” (2:3b-4a; LXX trans.). This was the exhortation that Kenneth Wuest referred to as patiently waiting for "the soon coming Messiah" who eventually vindicates His righteous servants.

Now if one pays close attention here, they can see that through the prophet Habakkuk God is talking about Himself coming in the second person of the Trinity as both Judge and Ruler. It is God, not Habakkuk, who says: “For though He [or Christ] should tarry, wait for Him; He will surely come [Gk., oti erkomenos], and will not tarry” (LXX); or, better, the Septuagint literally reads, “oti erkomenos eesee” which means, “the Coming One will come.” And this isn’t the first time where God speaks like this regarding the work of the second person of the Triune Godhead. For example, in Psm. 110:1 David prophesied, “The Lord said to my Lord, sit at My right hand…,” clearly referring to Christ who was to sit at the right hand of the Father. And in Isaiah, chapters 48-49, there is another wonderful prophecy here revealing the second person of the Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ. And if one pays close attention to this narrative, they will see that it is Jesus himself who actually begins to speak about himself. In chapter 48:12 in the NIV, Christ says: “I am He; I am the first and I am the last,” and that He (or Christ) has a “chosen ally” (the Persians along with Cyrus) to carry out His judgments against the Babylonians (vv. 14-15). In verse 16, Jesus again says: “I am there…the Sovereign Lord has sent Me with His Spirit.” And from verse 17 to chapter Isa. 49:1-5 we continue to see that it is Jesus speaking all along here as well. Then from chapter 49:6-26 we can see that it is the Father now speaking. Nowhere in these passages is it Isaiah who is doing the speaking. The way that a lot of English translations lay all of this out makes it sound like it is Isaiah himself speaking, but it isn't. It is a discourse going on between the Father and the Son, to which many commentators agree. In these verses mentioned above in both Habakkuk and Isaiah, it is the Messiah the Coming One who is speaking. And when the Father begins to speak in chapter 49, verse 6, He says: “I will also make You (Christ) a light for the Gentiles, that You (Christ) may bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.” And in Isaiah 48:16, if one really pays close attention to the words here, they can see a revelation of the Trinity as many commentators also tend to agree. So what we see here above is that Christ as the Coming One uses the people of both the Babylonians and the Medes to mete out His judgments upon other nations with; using the Babylonians against Israel in Habakkuk, and using the Medes against the Babylonians in Isaiah.

As you recall under Dan. 9:25-26, Boutflower had said,

“It will perhaps be objected [concerning Christ as the Coming One to Judge as a Prince and Ruler] that the King in the parable [of Mat. 22:7] is Almighty God. Be it so; but the avenging army is under the command of His [or God's] beloved Son. Compare Psm. 110:1, 2, 5, 6.” (Ibid. Words in brackets mine and italics for emphasis mine).

This “objection” is raised by all who have a lopsided view of Christ as only a Savior, but not as a Judge and King of kings over all the peoples of the earth and using them to His own ends. Indeed, as the suffering servant Christ did not come as a judge; He came as the Savior for all mankind, to seek and to save that which is lost. But Christ is no less now the Ruler of all the kings earth as well. And “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given” unto Christ (Mat. 28:18). Let’s not forget this vital aspect of Christ's ministry. Clearly, Christ is both Priest and Judge, Prophet and King. And we have seen this aspect of Christ as this "Coming One" in both Habakkuk and Isaiah mentioned above, and in many other verses that were cited earlier. Jesus said that He and the Father were one (Jhn.10:30); so no one can just arbitrarily separate the work of the Father from the work of the Son. What the Father does, the Son does. When Isaiah says, “The Lord’s chosen ally [the Medes] will carry out His purpose against Babylon,” Christ says: “at the time it happens, I am there…the Sovereign Lord has sent Me, with His Spirit.” And lastly, Peter also affirmed: “God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior” (Acts 5:31), and “has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ” (2:36).

Now the point being in all this is the fact that it is Jesus everywhere (here in Habakkuk, Isaiah, Dan. 9:26, and elsewhere) that carries out all of these judgments using all of the ungodly armies of the world to mete out His judgments. When someone says that the Roman armies that destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD cannot be said to be Jesus’ armies, they are wrong! Scripture affirms that they are wrong on all accounts! This shouldn’t even be a question in anyone’s minds anymore. In Romans 13:1-5 Paul said all authorities are established by God. They are the “servant, and agent of His wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer” (v. 4). Notice that Paul says they are “God’s servant” (twice in v. 4) and that they are “agents of His [God’s] wrath” (v. 4). And notice what the Lord also says in Jeremiah 25:8-11 regarding God’s judgment upon Israel around the 6th century BC (it was no different than this in 70 AD by the Romans under Titus):

Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, I will summon all the peoples of the north and My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.”

So, when Daniel 9:26 says that “the people of the Prince, the Coming One, shall destroy the city and the sanctuary,” where is the conflict of interest here? Where is the problem in understanding that these “people” are God’s (or Christ's) people and God’s (or Christ's) armies (or His “servants”) whom He “summons” and uses as His "agents" to mete out His judgments with? When Jesus gave the back to back parables of The Tenants and The Wedding Banquet in Mat. 21:33-22:1-14 and told the chief priests and Pharisees (21:45) that the Owner of the Vineyard would “bring those wretches to a wretched end” and that the King “sent His armies and destroyed those murderers and burned their city,” what, or “who,” did Jesus have in mind to whom these armies belonged to? If Christians would faithfully read the Word of God and compare Scripture with Scripture, rather than with highly speculative imaginations, they would not come to the conclusions that many come to regarding this “Prince,” “Ruler,” and “King” who is over all of these “armies” that so rightly and justly belong to Him---and for Him to wield and use as He pleases. And so when Stephen was noted above to have stated by the false witnesses that “this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place,” we had better believe that Stephen did in fact say this, and that he got it right! It was right according to the Old Testament Scriptures that both he and all of us have access to.

Habakkuk got it right, Isaiah got it right, Jeremiah got it right, Daniel said it right, Ezekiel got it right (see again verses mentioned earlier), Jesus got it right, and Stephen got it right. All the world’s kingdoms and kings are at God’s (and Christ's) beck and call, to fulfill what this One Sovereign Lord has decreed to be done. And if all that isn't enough, here is one last verse that should put the nail in the coffin against the idea that God would never personally be behind the desecration of even His own temple. God says through Ezekiel:

“Say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am about to desecrate My sanctuary---the stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes, the object of your affection. The sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword” (24:21).

His Leaves and His Fruit in the New Testament:

It is in the New Testament that “The Coming One” really comes into prominence—and rightly so. After all, “The Coming One” is now come. He is now “made manifest” to Israel and the Gentiles. And He continues to come throughout Church history right up until His 2nd Coming.

Below we will begin to see all of the New Testament passages where this "Coming One" spoken of in the prophets, is now recognized as the One to Whom this accolade belongs. Not to an Antichrist, but to the Christ!

Matthew 3:11: The One Coming

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after will come one [Gk., o de erkomenos, lit., The One Coming ] who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry…” (NIV).

Matthew 11:3: The Coming One

“When John heard in prison what Christ [the Messiah, the Anointed One] was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the One who was to come [Gk., o erkomenos, lit., The Coming One], or should we expect someone else?”

NAS says: “…Are You the Expected One…?” with the margin noting Him as the Coming One.

Matthew 21:9: The Coming One

“The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He Who Comes [Gk., o erkomenos, lit., The Coming One], in the name of the Lord’”. Notice how the idea of a Prince or King is intimated here so closely with “The Coming One.” They are calling him “the son of David,” the promised son back in Samuel and Chronicles who would sit on David’s throne forever. The crowds were quoting Psm. 118:26.

William Hendriksen says of this verse:

“Psalm 118 is distinctly Messianic. ‘Blessed is the One coming in the name of the Lord.’ This is a quotation from Psalm 118:26. Combined with ‘the Son of David,’ as here in Mat. 21:9, it must refer to Jesus as the Messiah” (New Testament Commentary, Matthew, p. 766).

Albert Barnes writes:

“Son of David. The Messiah. Blessed is He…that is blessed be the Messiah. This passage is taken from Ps. 118:25-26...The Jews had commonly applied this to the Messiah” (Barnes Notes, The Gospels, p. 216).

AMP Bible reads: “Hosanna Son of David, Messiah, blessed is He Who comes.”

Matthew 23:39: The Coming One

“For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes [Gk., o erkomenos, lit., The Coming One], in the name of the Lord’” (NIV).

Barnes writes here:

“Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is He that comes as the Messiah, to bring deliverance” (Barnes’ Notes, The Gospels, p. 249).

As an added note: A Greek Interlinear shows that this verse should really be translated: “For I tell you, by no means will you see me from now on until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’” “Seeing” Christ again wasn’t to be physically seeing Him here. It was something that was to occur “hereon forward” as soon as they made “the good confession” that these others were making about Christ. See my article You Will Not "See" Me Again Until You Say: "Blessed Is He Who Comes In The Name Of The Lord".

Mark 1:7: Coming, The One

“…After me will come One [Gk., erketai o, lit., ‘Come The One’] more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie” (NIV).

Arndt and Gingrich validate the Greek here as a comment referring to the Messiah (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pp. 310-311). And as observed earlier, Mat. 3:11 (a parallel passage) used the common phrase “o erkomenos,” so there can be no doubt who Mark is referring to here. These terms are used interchangeably for one and the selfsame person.

Expositor’s Bible Commentary agrees:

“John now contrasts his baptism with that of the Coming One (v.8). John’s baptism is water baptism; that of the Coming One is Holy Spirit baptism” (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 8, p. 620; italics for emphasis mine).

The NAS reads: “After me One is coming…”

Weymouth translation: “There is One coming after me…”

Third Millennium Bible: “There cometh after me One mightier than I…”

Mark 11:9: The Coming One

“Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes [Gk., o erkomenos, lit., The Coming One], in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David” (NIV). We discussed this in Mat. 21:9. Here in Mark though, more evidence is given concerning this King from the line of David. He is ushering in “the coming kingdom” that is about to come into all the world. A “kingdom” that is not of this world.

Luke 3:15-16: Comes The One

“The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ [the Messiah]. John answered them all, I baptize you with water. But One [Gk., erketai de o, lit., Comes The One] more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (NIV). Here we can clearly see that “The One” is the Messiah.

Again, Arndt and Gingrich validate the Greek here as a comment referring to the Messiah (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pp. 310-311). And as observed earlier, Mat. 3:11 (a parallel passage) used the common phrase “o erkomenos,” so there can be no doubt who Luke is referring to. The two Greek words are used interchangeably and denote the same individual.

The NAS reads: “…One is coming…”

Weymouth translation: “…but One mightier than I is coming…”

Luke 7:19: The Coming One

“And John calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One [Gk., o erkomenos], or do we look for another?’ When the men had come to Him, they said, ‘John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One [Gk., o erkomenos], or do we look for another?’” (NKJV).

The NAS has it: “Are you the Expected One,” in both places. In the margin it reads: “Lit., Coming One.”

International Standard Version (ISV): “Are you the Coming One,…”

Weymouth translation: “Are you the Coming One?”

Luke 13:35: The Coming One

“…I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes [Gk., o erkomenos, lit., The Coming One] in the name of the Lord” (NIV). Same as Mat. 23:39.

International Standard Version (ISV) and God’s Word Translation (GWT): “Blessed is the one who comes…”

Luke 19:38: The Coming One, The King

“Blessed is the King who comes [Gk., o erkomenos, o Basileus, lit., The Coming One, The King] in the name of the Lord.” See Jhn. 12:13.

The arrangement of the Greek words above are in the original. The verse actually reads: “Blessed is the Coming One, the King, in the name of the Lord.” William Hendriksen in his commentary agrees, and translates it as such in his commentary. (New Testament Commentary, Luke, p. 875).

The remarkable thing about this translation, is that no matter which way you slice it, it agrees entirely with what was said earlier on Dan. 9:26 concerning “the Prince, the Coming One.” That “prince” or “Ruler” in Daniel is the Messiah in context (v. 25), and is confirmed here in Lke. 19:38 as a phrase also referencing the Messiah (or Jesus). This is a remarkable revelation and worthy of our attention. We have at least two solid witnesses in the Old Testament: Psm. 118:26 and Dan. 9:26. Christ is “the Prince (or King), the Coming One,” the promised "Prince" or "Ruler" in Mic. 5:2 recalled by Matthew in Mat. 2:6.

Hendriksen notes here under Luke 19:38: “ ‘Blessed is the Coming One.’ This is a quotation from Ps. 118:26. All the four gospels include this line in their report of the triumphal entry (besides Luke 19:38 see also Mat. 21:9; Mark 11:9; Jhn. 12:13)…As the combination (Mat. 21:9) with ‘the Son of David’ shows, ‘Blessed is the Coming One’ should be regarded as a reference to the Messiah” (Ibid, p. 876; words in parenthesis his).

John 1:1, 14-15, 17: The Word, God, Incarnate, The One and Only, The One Coming, The Savior (Jesus), The Messiah (Christ)

The apostle John states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning….The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth,” and this grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Then immediately after all this John buttresses his statement with the testimony of John the Baptist who cried out, saying, “This was He of Whom I said, He Who Comes after me [Gk., o opisw mou erkomenos, lit. The One after me Coming] surpassed me because He was before me” The apostle then adds, “No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, Who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.” These words of John could literally be construed as, “The One, after me, Comes.” But it makes no difference, for in Acts 19:4 the Greek construction that Luke uses here for John’s words are: tov erkomenon uet autov, “The One Coming after him.”

Arndt and Gingrich validate the Greek here in v. 15 as a comment referring to the Messiah.* And as noted earlier, Mat. 3:11 (a parallel passage) used the common “o erkomenos,” so there can be no doubt who John the Baptist is referring to. In addition, along with John the Baptist calling Jesus the Coming One, the apostle John also calls Him “Savior,” “Messiah,” “the Word,” and “God.” WOW! Only God can be worthy of the accolade “O Erkomenos” in Scripture. Dan. 9:26 is not to be so lightly mishandled in conferring this title upon someone other than upon God himself to Whom only “the One and Only” such an honor is due. *A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pp. 310-311.

John 1:27: The Coming One

“I baptize you with water, John replied, but among you stands one you do not know. He is the One Who Comes [Gk., o erkomenos, lit., The Coming One] after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie” (NIV).

John 4:25: Messiah, Christ, The One

“The woman said, ‘I know that Messiah (called Christ) is coming [Gk., o erketai; lit., “the Coming One”], when He comes, he will explain everything to us.’ Then Jesus declared, ‘I Who speak to you am He [Gk., eyo eiui o lalwn soi; lit., I am the One speaking to you]’” (NIV).

J. C. Ryle who also commented on Lk. 7:19 earlier, applies the same concept to this present verse here:

“The view now set forth is maintained by Hilary, Augustine, Crysostom, Theophylact, and the great majority of the best commentators. [He that should come.] This expression might be rendered more literally, ‘the Coming One.’ It seems to have been an expression specially applied to the Messiah. John. iv. 25, and xi. 27” (Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, vol. 2, p. 219; bold words his, words in brackets and italics for emphasis mine).

Likewise, Arndt and Gingrich validate that this Greek wording here which is a derivative of erkomai, is a reference to the Messiah (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pp. 310-311).

John 6:14-15: The Prophet, The Coming One

“After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, ‘Surely this is the Prophet Who is to Come [Gk., o prophetes, o erkomenos; lit., The Prophet, The Coming One] into the world.’ Jesus knowing that they intended to come and make Him King by force, withdrew…” By this statement “The Coming One,” Jesus realized that they intended to make him King. After all, this is what was envisioned in the ministry of "the Messiah, the Ruler" in Daniel. This appellation, “The Coming One,” was understood by all to be referring to this individual. Here “the Coming One” is linked also with the Prophet who was foretold to come, the Prophet of all prophets. Elsewhere we saw that “the Coming One” was linked with the "Ruler" of all rulers who was to come, now He is linked with the "Prophet" who was to come.

John 11:27: The One Coming

“ ‘Yes, Lord,’ she told Him, I believe that You are the Christ [The Messiah, The Anointed One], the Son of God, Who was to Come into the world [Gk., o eis tov kosmon erkomenos; lit., The One Coming into the world ” (NIV). Here the idea of the Messiah, or the Anointed One, above all anointed ones is again “linked” with the Coming One as opposed to others who come.

J. C. Ryle, commenting on Lk. 7:19 above, applies the same concept to this present verse here:

“The view now set forth is maintained by Hilary, Augustine, Crysostom, Theophylact, and the great majority of the best commentators. [He that should come.] This expression might be rendered more literally, ‘the Coming One.’ It seems to have been an expression specially applied to the Messiah. John. iv. 25, and xi. 27” (Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, vol. 2, p. 219; bold words his, words in brackets and italics for emphasis mine).

John 12:13: The Coming One, The King

“They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is He Who Comes [Gk., o erkomenos; lit., The Coming One] in the name of the Lord! Blessed is The King [o Basileus] of Israel!” (NIV). Here He is “The Coming One…The King.” Refer back to notes on Luke 19:38. In no uncertain terms Jesus is the King and Prince, the Coming One that was spoken about before in Psm. 118:26 and Dan. 9:25-26, and scattered throughout Scripture elsewhere.

Acts 19:4: The One Coming

“Paul said, John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in The One Coming [Gk., tow erkomenon; lit., The One Coming] after him, that is, in Jesus”

Weymouth trans.: “bidding the people believe on One who was to come after him…”

Hebrew 10:37: The Coming One

Greek: o erkomenos. Please see above commentary on Hab. 2:3 where this verse is referred to in great detail.

The AMP reads: “The Coming One will come, and He will not delay” (Heb. 10:37).

The ESV says: “…and The Coming One will come and will not delay” (Heb. 10:37).

F. F. Bruce notes:

“In the Septuagint ‘he will surely come’ is literally ‘coming He will come’ (an imitation in Greek of a common Hebrew idiom). Our author [here in Hebrews] places the definite article before the participle ‘coming’ so as to yield the messianic title ‘The Coming One’—the title used, for example, by John the Baptist when he sent his disciples to Jesus with the question: ‘Are you the Coming One, or are we to expect someone else?’ (Mat. 11:3//Lke. 7:19. ‘The Coming One will come; He will not delay’” (Epistle to the Hebrews, pp. 273-274; words in brackets mine).

This is the same participial modifier that Leupold earlier referred to as denoting an Antichrist, and not the Christ. But here the New Testament writers identify him as Jesus, and not to some future Antichrist at all. So whatever some carnal minded and thinking Jews thought back then, the inspired Jewish writers of the New Testament understood this Coming One to be none other than the Messiah (or Christ).

Revelation 1:4, 8; 4:8: The Coming One

And last but not least, the last bookend of the Bible reads: “…Who Is To Come” [Gk., o erkomenos; lit., The Coming One]. In Genesis, He was the One “seed,” not “seeds” (plural), who was to come; and here in Revelation this Seed is the Christ, the O Erkomenos! The Coming One, or One to Come!

In Rev. 1:4 He is “the One being, the One who was, and the Coming One.” In verse 8 He is “the Lord God, the One being, the One who was, and the Coming One, the Almighty.” And in Rev. 4:8 He is “the Lord God, the Almighty, the One who was, and the One being, and the Coming One.” Hallelujah to our coming King, Prince, Ruler, Savior, Shepherd, Prophet, Priest, the Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Messiah! Hallelujah to The Coming One! Sing “Hallelujah to The Coming One.” Let the heavens ring, “Hallelujah to The Coming One.” Amen and Amen!

"Oh come Thou long Expected Jesus,

born to set Thy people free.
From our fears and sins release us,

let us find our rest in Thee…"

Come O Basilea, O Erkomenos!