His Glorious Appearing: An Exposition of Matthew Twenty-Four

by James White

Lo, Here, And Lo, There.

Verses 23-27: “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold: he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

In these verses the great theme of Christ's second coming is again vividly brought forth. Satan is ever on the alert to contravene by some device or art, the work of God. His most successful plan is to deceive. By this means he gains ready access to all such as desire to evade the force of [pg 041] truth. And having deceived an individual, he not only prevents his salvation, but gains to himself an adherent if not an active agent. So, as the time for the second advent draws near, the enemy becomes particularly active, knowing that he hath but a short time. In the words last quoted our Lord seeks to prepare the minds of his people for the deceptions that are to be practiced upon those who live near the time of his second coming. There will be those who will cry, “Lo, here; or Lo, there,” some will even claim to be Christ. They will purport to represent the truth in regard to Christ's coming in various plausible or fanatical ways. Others, in order to reach other minds, will present theories of human device accounting for the advent of Christ in various so-called rational schemes. Many sincere people will be led to expect the conversion of the world through a millennium of peace. Others will be persuaded that the coming of Christ means death. And even false prophets, showing great signs and wonders, will appear. All these form an atmosphere of deception, the miasma of which will stupefy, if it were possible, the elect of God.

In this fearful work will be engaged the notorious deceiver, the trained agents of Satan, the worldly philosopher, worldly preachers, popular ministers, critics of the Bible, and many whose eyes do not discern the signs of the times. The Mormons call the people to the desert; Spiritualism invites us to the secret chamber, where Satanic signs and wonders are wrought to captivate the mind and divert it from the truth. Of these “false prophets” Paul speaks in 1 Tim. 4:1:—

“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.”

In another scripture the apostle places the coming of Christ in connection with—

“The working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusions, that they should believe a lie.” 2 Thess. 2:9-11.

These are some of the deceptions of which Christ is speaking in the text. It is undoubtedly the work of modern Spiritualism. This work, in its present form, originated in the year 1848, and constitutes and is to constitute one of the most prominent signs of the end.

Let no one be deceived by any means. For these are but subterfuges. They are not the coming of Christ. He has said, “I will come again, and receive you unto myself.” John 14:3.

The angels said at his ascension,—

“This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 1:11.

Paul tells us,—

“The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God.” 1 Thess. 4:16.

And here our Saviour says:—

“As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth, unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

He will come literally, personally, the same Jesus who was here upon the earth. Not in lowly form as an offering for sin, to be set at naught, abused, and crucified, but in “all his glory” attended with “all the holy angels.” Matt. 25:31. We shall know when he comes for “every eye shall see him.” Rev. 1:7.

None of these evasions of the truth will ever be able to counterfeit the real event. The Roman army did not come to Jerusalem in this way. Death does not come in this way. The deceptive wonders of Spiritualism cannot imitate the glory of Christ's second coming. He will come in power and great glory (verse 30); he will come in the glory of his Father (chapter 16:27); and in the glory of the holy angels (Luke 9:26); all the holy angels shall come with him. Matt. 25:31. His coming will be as glorious and resplendent as the lightning. When Jesus revealed himself to Saul of Tarsus, there was a light above the brightness of the sun (Acts 26:13); of the angel who appeared at the tomb after the resurrection of Jesus it is said, “His countenance was like lightning” (Matt. 28:3); and Ezekiel says of the messengers of the Most High, they “ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.” Eze. 1:14.

When Jesus comes in the glory of his Father, with so glorious a train attendant, his coming will indeed be as the lightning coming out of the east and shining to the west, and no one will have any more occasion or opportunity to say to his fellow, “See here,” than one would have to call another to behold a gleam of lightning flashing through the heavens. The vivid lightning flashing out of the distant east, and shining even to the west, lights up the whole heavens. What, then, when the Lord comes in flaming glory, and all the holy angels with him? The presence of only one holy angel at the sepulcher where Christ lay dead, caused the Roman guard to shake, and become as dead men. The light and glory of one angel completely overpowered those strong sentinels. The Son of man is coming in his own kingly glory, and in the glory of his Father, attended by all the holy angels. Then the [pg 044] whole heavens will blaze with glory, and the whole earth will tremble before him.

The Signs Of Christ's Coming.

Verses 29-31: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet; and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

We have before seen that our Lord speaks in this chapter of the long period of tribulation that was to come upon his followers, and we have also seen how those days of tribulation were shortened for the elect's sake. Christ says that the sun should be darkened immediately after the tribulation of those days. Mark in his gospel, gives it as follows:—

“In those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light.” Mark 13:24.

This makes the time in which the sun was to be darkened more distinct and definite. The days of tribulation were the 1260 years of papal supremacy, beginning in 538 a. d. and ending with the capture of Rome and the pope by the French in 1798. But we have already seen that the “tribulation” or persecution of those days was “shortened” for the elect's sake. That is, the active persecution of the church by papal power ceased in 1773. Then, according to Mark's statement, the sun should be darkened between that date and 1798. It was fulfilled. May 19, 1780, has passed into history as “the dark day.”

This is a fact of so general knowledge that we need not consume space in elucidating it. A few references to undoubted authorities will suffice.

Noah Webster's dictionary, in the edition for 1869, under the head of Explanatory and Pronouncing Vocabulary of Noted Names, says:—

“The dark day, May 19, 1780—so called on account of a remarkable darkness on that day extending over all New England. In some places, persons could not see to read common print in the open air for several hours together. Birds sang their evening songs, disappeared, and became silent; fowls went to roost; cattle sought the barn-yard; and candles were lighted in the houses. The obscuration began about ten o'clock in the morning, and continued till the middle of the next night, but with differences of degree and duration in different places. For several days previous, the wind had been variable, but chiefly from the south-west and the north-east. The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known.”

From another good authority we quote:—

“A solemn gloom of unusual darkness before ten o'clock,—a still darker cloud rolling under the sable curtain from the north and west before eleven o'clock,—excluded the light so that none could see to read or write in the House, even at either window, or distinguish persons at a small distance, or perceive any distinction of dress in the circle of attendants; wherefore, at eleven o'clock adjourned the House till two in the afternoon.”—Journal of the Connecticut House of Representatives, Friday, May 19, 1780.

Herschel, the great astronomer, says:—

“The dark day in Northern America was one of those wonderful phenomena of nature which will always be read with interest, but which philosophy is at a loss to explain.”

A contemporary paper contained the following:—

“During the whole time a sickly, melancholy gloom overcast the face of nature. Nor was the darkness of the night less uncommon and terrifying than that of the day, for notwithstanding there was almost a [pg 047]full moon, no object was discernible but by the help of some artificial light, which seen from the neighboring houses and other places at a distance appeared through a kind of Egyptian darkness which seemed almost impervious to its rays. This unusual phenomenon excited the fears and apprehensions of many people.”—Mass. Spy, Correspondence, 1780.

From another good authority we take the following:—

“Almost, if not altogether alone as the most mysterious and as yet unexplained phenomenon of its kind in nature's diversified range of events during the last century, stands the dark day of May 19, 1780, a most unaccountable darkening of the whole visible heavens and atmosphere in New England, which brought intense alarm and distress to multitudes of minds, as well as dismay to the brute creation, the fowls fleeing, bewildered, to their roosts, and the birds to their nests, and the cattle returning to their stalls. Indeed thousands of the good people of that day became fully convinced that the end of all things terrestrial had come; many gave up, for the time, their secular pursuits, and betook themselves to religious devotions.”—“Our First Century.”

An extract from a sermon preached at that time will be of interest:—

“But especially I mention that wonderful darkness on the 19th of May inst. [1780]. Then, as in our text, the sun was darkened; such a darkness as probably was never known before since the crucifixion of our Lord. People left their work in the house and in the field. Travelers stopped; schools broke up at eleven o'clock; people lighted candles at noonday; and the fire shone as at night. Some people, I have been told, were in dismay, and thought whether the day of Judgment was not drawing on. A great part of the following night also was singularly dark. The moon, though in the full, gave no light, as in our text.”—From a manuscript sermon by Rev. Elam Potter, delivered May 28, 1780.

By the remarkable obscuration of the moon on the following night, the next sign, “And the moon shall not give her light,” was fulfilled. Concerning this it is only necessary to insert a few words:—

“The night succeeding that day (May 19, 1780) was of such pitchy darkness that, in some instances, horses could not be compelled to leave the stable when wanted for service. About midnight, the clouds were dispersed, and the moon and stars appeared with unimpaired brilliancy.”—“Stone's History of Beverly.”

Mr. Tenny, of Exeter, N. H., quoted by Mr. Gage, to the Historical Society, speaking of the dark day and dark night of May 19, 1780, says:—

“The darkness of the following evening was probably as gross as has ever been observed since the Almighty first gave birth to light. I could not help conceiving at the time, that if every luminous body in the universe had been shrouded in impenetrable darkness, or struck out of existence, the darkness could not have been more complete. A sheet of white paper held within a few inches of the eye was equally invisible with the blackest velvet.”

Concerning a similar phenomenon in the Old World a reliable work says:—

“Three years later, and Europe with its teeming millions went under as mysterious a cloud, which, though not so dense, yet continued longer and awoke a wonder and fear that was widely felt. A haze, for which no known cause was then assigned (though in subsequent years it has been supposed by some to have been volcanic dust), spread through the entire breadth of the atmosphere over all the continent far into Asia. It appeared in Denmark, May 29, reached France, June 14; Italy, June 16; Norway, June 22; Austria and Switzerland, June 23; Sweden, June 24; and Russia, June 25. By the close of the month it had overspread like a pall all Syria, and on July 18, had penetrated the heart of Asia to the Altai Mountains. The obscurity prevailed a greater portion of the summer, imparting to the sun an unnatural color of a dull, rusty red, and causing both the days and nights to wear a weird and gloomy aspect. The atmosphere was highly electric, and nature was greatly convulsed.

“Dr. N. Webster in his valuable ‘History of Pestilences,’ vol. ii. p. 274, testifies to the general fear. As it was in America on the occurrence of the ‘dark day,’ so the churches in Europe were crowded with alarmed multitudes supplicating mercy of Heaven. Professor Lalande, [pg 049]the astronomer of France, attempted to quiet the popular fear by ascribing the darkened heavens to exhalations arising out of the earth; but both Webster and Humboldt (Cosmos IV., p. 75) rejected this solution of the mysterious obscurity. Protestant England shared in the alarm it occasioned; and the poet Cowper sang that all the elements ‘preached the general doom.’ It was to this unaccountable obscuration of light that he refers in his ‘Task:’—

“ ‘Nature seems with dim and sickly eye

To wait the close of all.’ ”

“And The Stars Shall Fall.”

How this sign can be fulfilled is a query with some people, who, perhaps captiously, remark that it would be impossible, since the earth itself is but a small body compared with many of the vast worlds of space. But all such queries are out of date now since the sign itself has already been witnessed. On the night of November 13, 1833, the grandest display of celestial fireworks ever beheld took place. From works of accepted authority we take the following descriptions of this remarkable event:—

“But the most sublime phenomenon of shooting stars, of which the world has furnished any record, was witnessed throughout the United States on the morning of the 13th of November, 1833. The entire extent of this astonishing exhibition has not been precisely ascertained; but it covered no inconsiderable portion of the earth's surface.... The first appearance was that of fireworks of the most imposing grandeur, covering the entire vault of heaven with myriads of fire-balls, resembling sky-rockets. Their coruscations were bright, gleaming, and incessant, and they fell thick as the flakes in the early snows of December. To the splendors of this celestial exhibition the most brilliant sky-rockets and fire-works of art bear less relation than the twinkling of the most tiny star to the broad glare of the sun. The whole heavens seemed in motion, and suggested to some the awful grandeur of the image employed in the Apocalypse, upon the opening of the sixth seal, when ‘the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even [pg 051]as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.’ ”—Burritt's “Geography of the Heavens,” p. 163, ed. 1854.

The Falling Stars.

A celebrated astronomer and meteorologist, says:—

“Those who were so fortunate as to witness the exhibition of shooting stars on the morning of Nov. 13, 1833, probably saw the greatest display of celestial fire-works that has ever been since the creation of the world, or at least within the annals covered by the pages of history.

“In nearly all places the meteors began to attract notice by their unusual frequency as early as eleven o'clock, and increased in numbers and splendor until about four o'clock, from which time they gradually declined, but were visible until lost in the light of day. The meteors did not fly at random over all parts of the sky, but appeared to emanate from a point in the constellation Leo, near a star called Gamma Leonis, in the bend of the Sickle....

“The extent of the shower of 1833 was such as to cover no inconsiderable part of the earth's surface, from the middle of the Atlantic on the east to the Pacific on the west; and from the northern coast of South America to undefined regions among the British possessions on the north, the exhibition was visible, and everywhere presented nearly the same appearance. This is no longer to be regarded as a terrestrial but a celestial phenomenon, and shooting stars are now to be no more viewed as casual productions of the upper regions of the atmosphere, but as visitants from other worlds, or from the planetary voids.”—Prof. Olmstead, of Yale College.

“No philosopher or scholar has told or recorded an event, I suppose, like that of yesterday morning. A prophet 1800 years ago foretold it exactly, if we will be at the trouble of understanding stars falling to mean falling stars; or ‘hoi asteres tou ouranou epesan eis teen geen,’in the only sense in which it is possible to be literally true.”—Henry Dana Ward, in Journal of Commerce, Nov. 14, 1833.

Not only here in Matthew 24 is attention directed to these signs as premonitory of the coming of Christ. The Lord through the prophet Joel says:—

“The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.”

Under the sixth seal, as given in Rev. 6:12-17, we have the following language:—

“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.”

That the fourth and fifth seals apply to the papal persecution there can be no reasonable doubt. If so, then the great earthquake with which the sixth seal opens would be that of Lisbon, in 1755, which agitated the greater part of the earth and destroyed many thousands of lives, 60,000 in Lisbon alone.

The darkening of the sun and moon follows in 1780, and the falling of the stars in 1833. Consequently the next event which we are to expect under this seal is the departing of the heavens as a scroll. This being future, we may say that we are living between the thirteenth and fourteenth verses of Revelation 6.

In the gospel as written by Luke, however, we have at this point some additional specifications given, which are of such interest at the present juncture. And they rightfully belong to this exposition, since both Matthew and Luke are giving versions of the same discourse. The passage from Luke to which reference is made is the following:—

“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” Luke 21:25-27.

Modern Cyclone.

The signs in the sun, moon, and stars are here spoken of less specifically than by Matthew, while other features of the times, which Matthew does not notice, are introduced between those signs and the shaking of the powers of heaven. These are of peculiar interest to us because we are living in the very days when the things that Luke speaks of are coming to pass. The signs here predicted consist of violent commotions upon earth which cause anxiety, perplexity, and distress among nations and in the hearts of men. We may refer the expression, “the sea and the waves roaring,” to unusual disturbances of the natural elements, and we have the most abundant evidences of its fulfillment in the storms and convulsions of nature that are occurring by sea and land, filling the heart with dread at the sight of every dark cloud that arises. The tidal waves and volcanic upheavals at sea have, in the last two or three decades, been marked with extraordinary violence. On land, cyclones and earthquakes have carried on a fearful work of destruction. Many instances might be cited to substantiate this statement, but the events are too familiar to require it. Hardly a week passes but some great calamity of this kind is recorded.

But the expression referred to is probably susceptible of another application in which it will be found to be as forcible and pertinent to the present state of affairs as in the one just noticed. This would be to give the term “sea and waves” its symbolic meaning. The prophet of old said: “And behold the four winds of heaven strove upon the great sea.” Dan. 7:2. We are told that the sea represents “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” Rev. 17:15. Taking the words in this sense, the meaning and fulfillment are still as apparent as before; and the expression joins its force to that of the remainder of the passage—“upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; [pg 057] the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth.” In this sense the expression in question would indicate commotion and violent disturbance in the social and political world. In this meaning all will at once see the vivid force of the text as applied to our times.

Assassination of Carnot.

The times we live in are anomalous to any that have ever preceded us. For some years there have been universal and active preparations for war, and almost universal peace. To secure the greatest efficiency of armed forces for defensive and offensive purposes, has been the prime consideration of government, especially so, as far as the Old World nations are concerned. Europe echoes to the tread of vast hosts of war while the nations are driven to their wits' end to provide for their support. It is well known that these costly preparations are not for show; and the hearts of men quail in view of the culmination which, though delayed, must soon be reached.

But while the temple of Janus is closed as far as international strife is concerned, and angel hands are holding the winds of war (see Rev. 7:1-3), internal strife and dissension are rending the vitals of the great nations of earth. Within the confines of its own border, each of these nations is cherishing elements of the deadliest nature. Trouble is brewing that has for the people far more terror than foreign complications. For some time the ominous mutterings of an oncoming storm have been heard in every land, and it requires no remarkable acumen to discern the rapid approach of the crisis.

The apostle James strikes directly at the matter in a prophetic glance and exhortation in the following language:—

“Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth; and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.” James 5:1-6.

The apostle locates the circumstances he here refers to in the last days. He denounces the rich men who have heaped together treasures, the rust and canker of which will be a witness against them. They live in pleasure and wantonness while the cries of those whose wages they have kept back enter into the ears of the Lord of Hosts.

There is a universal cry of hard times in all the world. It is hard to obtain money; and yet, there never was so much money as at present. But it is being collected—gathered in heaps—by the powerful few, while the limited means of the masses are dwindling lower and lower. The poorer classes witness the absorption of wealth by the money-kings, with feelings that are being aroused to the point of desperation by the sense of their inability to secure what seems to them a more equitable distribution of the things of this world. The laborers cry, and God hears their cry.

That these things are taking place to-day as the most prominent feature of our social life no one will for a moment deny. Such colossal fortunes the world has heretofore at most but dreamed of. There are men living to-day who have risen in wealth from obscure stations to become lords [pg 059] of untold millions. Their wealth passes the bounds of just computation, for it includes the power of oppression by which it may be indefinitely increased. The lavish expenditure of these means for selfish pleasure often amounts to wantonness.

Well then, what is to be done? It is a difficult and delicate matter to frame and secure legislation by which this or any other class of men shall be deprived of the management of their own business as long as that business is legitimate and is legitimately conducted. Shall anarchy and violence be resorted to? Shall the laborer seize the torch and the weapons of death? Shall the country be devastated by strikes, strife, and civil war? Shall our communities be rent with murder, arson, treason, and intense personal hatred and enmity? No one possessing the natural instincts of humanity could contemplate such a condition of affairs except with horror. There are ghouls of society who gloat in blood; but such are not true citizens, they are not neighbors, they certainly are not Christians.

But what shall we do as citizens, neighbors, and Christians? This is a question of great importance just now. Inspiration long ago foresaw our situation. The pitying Saviour long since anticipated the sufferings that are to come upon this generation; and having, through his servant, outlined the present condition of affairs so closely, he certainly would not leave his followers uninformed as to the course he would have them pursue. We have to read only two verses farther in James's letter to find the counsel we need.

“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye [pg 061]also patient; stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” James 5:7, 8.

Chicago Riot.

Oppression and revolt, combination and intrigue, strife and bloodshed, never will cease until the supreme selfishness, which in the absence of divine grace controls all men, gives place to true philanthropy, and a brotherhood that is not outlined by class or sectional interests. This happy time is coming. When Jesus comes, he will take to himself his power and reign in righteousness. Then will the hills be brought low, the valleys exalted, the crooked be made straight, and the rough places smooth.

Those who are weary of strife, those who through misfortune or oppression have been made to feel their need of relief will find rest to their souls in looking for the coming of the Lord. It is vain to match evil with evil or to try to cure wrong with wrong. The gospel of Christ is the only remedy for these ills. And all that we can really do to counteract the annoyances of this life must be done through the gospel of peace. In this time of perplexity, distress, and fear, let every Christian hold up Christ. Let his patient suffering be exemplified in whatever circumstances may come. Just a little beyond, there is relief.

Strikes, boycotts, lock-outs, trusts, unions, or any other human device or demonstration only augments the trouble, as the experience of the past few years shows. For there never was so much of these things as now, and never was capital so insecure, business so uncertain, and labor in such distress as at present. The employment of arbitrary force provokes greater efforts on the opposite side, and thus the breach is widened and the strife becomes more bitter. We do not argue the merits or demerits of the case. That there is deep wrong involved, the fruits plainly show. It is our task only to point out the one remedy available alike to [pg 062] either and all. That remedy is the gospel of Christ, which is soon to close in a glorious triumph for those who have patiently and faithfully wrought his will.

“The Powers Of Heaven Shall Be Shaken.”

We do not apprehend that this circumstance will occur as a sign of Christ's coming, but rather that it will constitute one of the events of his coming, the same as the features mentioned in the next verse. An evident distinction may be drawn between the signs of the advent and the circumstances of it. With the falling of the stars, the former cease; and with the next event the latter commence. This event, the shaking of the powers of heaven, we must regard as being future. It holds the same place in the events of this chapter, that the departing of the heavens as a scroll does in the events of the sixth seal of Revelation 6. Both follow the falling stars. The Scriptures plainly teach that, prior to the resurrection of the just by the voice of the Son of God, the voice of God the Father will shake the heavens and the earth, when will be fulfilled the shaking of the powers of the heaven. This is not the voice of the Son of God as he descends to raise the dead. It comes from the throne of God in the temple of heaven.

“The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” Joel 3:16.

“Therefore will I shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.” Isa. 13:13.

Paul quotes from the words of the Lord by Haggai and comments as follows:—

“Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken.” Heb. 12:26, 27.

“Sign Of The Son Of Man.”

Neither is this one of the signs showing that the coming of the Son of man is near, but “the sign of the Son of man in heaven.” It is that which indicates his position. When Christ ascended from the mount of Olivet, “a cloud received him” from the sight of his disciples. They still gazed at the cloud as it rolled upward, bearing the Saviour toward the Father's throne but they could not see his person. When he comes “in like manner” as he was taken up to heaven, the cloud will appear, small in the distance, but as it draws near, it will signify to those who are looking for his return, that he is there, and soon his presence will fill the earth with matchless glory. In Rev. 14:14, the holy seer records his view of the coming Saviour in the following words: “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man.”

This is not a mass of vapor but a cloud of resplendent glory. He comes “with power and great glory.” He will “come in the glory of his Father” (Matt. 16:27); in his own glory, “and all the holy angels with him.” Matt. 25:31. The glory of the Father, of the Son, and of all the holy angels—this glory will comprise the cloud which attends him on the way. Of its intensity we can form no just conception. In the presence of one angel the Roman guard “did quake and became as dead men.” There are ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of them in this throng. Above the brightness of their glory is that of the Father and the Son.

At first the cloud is only perceptible, but as it approaches, it attracts attention, and at length every eye is fastened intently upon the wonderful spectacle. The trumpet resounds, the voice of the Archangel awakens the dead, and they come forth to share in the glorious revelation of their Redeemer. All nature is convulsed with her coming dissolution. Each moment the glory draws nearer, and soon the wicked can no longer endure the sight.

“And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Verse 30.

Again attention is directed to the parallel language of Rev. 6:15-47:—

“And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bond man, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”

The prophet Isaiah describes the same thrilling event from the other standpoint—that of the waiting people of God:—

“He will swallow up death in victory, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth; for the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” Isa. 25:8, 9.

The apostle Paul gives a vivid description of the event with its attendant circumstances as follows:—

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have [pg 065]no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thess. 4:13-17.

The once slighted, insulted, and crucified Saviour, now King of kings and Lord of lords, is coming near the earth! His glory blazes everywhere! The saints hope and rejoice with trembling. But what an hour for the wicked! The tribes of the earth mourn. Amid the ruins of shivered creation they hold one general prayer-meeting. Kings and great men, rich men, chief captains and mighty men, free and bond, all, yes, all unite in the general wail. As the Son of man in the glory of his Father, attended by all the holy angels, draws still nearer, consternation fills every breast. They hide in dens and in the rocks of the mountains. Their only hope is to be concealed from the glory of that scene. They know it is too late to pray for mercy, that probation for the human family has ended forever.

But rocks cannot shelter them from the burning glory manifested by the King of kings, attended by the whole heavenly host. When “the Son of man shall come in the glory of the Father,” “and all the holy angels with him,” no sinner can endure the scene and live. The exceeding brightness of that vast multitude of angels, brighter than a thousand suns at noonday, will pierce the sinner's lowest hiding place, and will “make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.” Zeph. 1:18. The Son [pg 066] of man will be seen “coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” But before his coming a great work will be done for his people. Should he suddenly burst upon them now, they could not endure “the power and great glory” of the scene. This subject is well illustrated by the following words of the prophet:—

“Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord; his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.” Hosea 6:3.

The morning is a beautiful figure of the opening glory of the day of God. The day-star first appears, then the dawn of day. And as the light of day increases, the eyes are enabled to endure it, and view the sun shining in his strength. But should the light of the sun burst upon the world suddenly at midnight, no human eye could endure it.

So will the people of God be prepared to meet their coming King. They must first break away from the love and cares of this world, and consecrate all to the Lord. Then will they, in due time, share the outpouring of the Holy Spirit “as the rain, as the latter and former rain upon the earth.” The day-star will arise in their hearts. 2 Peter 1:19. Those who have taken heed to the sure word of prophecy through the dark, watching night, then raise their heads in triumph. They are filled with faith and with the Holy Spirit. Glory is poured upon them till they can gaze on Christ and angels. The trumpet sounds. The angels are dispatched to the graves of the righteous. The voice of the Son of God awakes the sleeping saints of all ages. They come forth in immortal perfection and, as they leave the earth, the living saints are changed. The “elect from one end of heaven to the other,” each with an angel bright and strong to lead the way, are caught [pg 067] up to meet the Lord, who waits in mid-heaven to receive the purchase of his blood. As language would fail to describe what follows, we leave the reader to contemplate it, praying that we may be prepared to participate in the meeting scene.