It Shall Be Very Tempestuous
NOT in the darkened room of the silent séance chamber will our Saviour come; not at the deathbed of His saints will that coming be; and not in the dim distance of future millenniums. “Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as His work shall be.” Rev. 22:12. “He will come silently,” says one, “and those who are not taken will not know He has come.” But the Book of God does not say this. The Saviour Himself declares: “The Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.” Matt. 16:27. That is the very antithesis of coming quietly, secretly, unbeknown to the larger portion of earth’s inhabitants. Our Saviour’s declaration gives one a vision of divine majesty and celestial splendour such as this world had never before experienced—a forthshining of omnipotence and glory that will strike unutterable terror into the hearts of those who are not ready, and will fill with inexpressible gladness the heart of every soul that is ready to meet his God. These two scriptures definitely teach this:— The heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved370out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, 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? Rev. 6:14-17.
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. 25:9.
The class mentioned in the first scripture are not ready at that time; the class mentioned in the second scripture are ready and have been waiting. The one class is in unutterable terror; the other in inexpressible joy. Both have had the same opportunities; the one has misused them, and the other has improved them. Both have heard the message of the judgment and of the Saviour’s return; for those who would flee from His consuming presence declare that it is the great day of wrath come at last. They knew such a day was predicted, but they chose to give no heed. They had heard about the Lamb of God who was to take away the sins of the world, and knew that the persistent rejection of His mercy would bring upon them at last the outpouring of divine wrath. So the moment they see Him they know that “the great day of His wrath is come,” and they know they are not able to stand. THE other class has heard the same message, listened to the same warnings, confessed and turned away from their sins, and accepted their Saviour; and when they see Him, they know they are looking into the face of a Friend, the greatest Friend in the universe, that Elder Brother who purchased them with His own blood out of the hand of the enemy, out of the pit of destruction; and they lift glad faces and glad hands to that glorious Being throned upon a chariot of angels. From that throne-chariot the swift messengers of salvation’s culmination come for those waiting ones who are not fleeing from the Prince of heaven; and they are “caught up . . . in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.” I Thess. 4:17. It is utterly unscriptural to hold that this event toward which creation and the human race have looked for six thousand years will be seen only by the few who are at that time caught away from the impending holocaust. That tremendous event will not take place in a corner or in the dark or in secret. Said our Saviour: “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.” Matt. 24:27. The same truth is expressed by the Lord Jesus Christ when speaking through the beloved disciple in the Book of Revelation: Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Rev. 1:7.
According to this scripture those who are not ready for their Lord see Him just as plainly as do those who are ready and waiting for Him. LET it be forever settled in our minds, then, that when our Saviour comes, He comes in a visible demonstration of the glory of the King of the universe. Every eye in the world looks upon Him, some in dread and confusion and horror, and some in joy unspeakable. They who flee have reason to flee; for the psalmist tells us what the world may expect at His coming: Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people. Gather My saints together unto Me; those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice. And the heavens shall declare His righteousness: for God is Judge Himself. Ps. 50:3-6.
God calls the heavenly intelligences to witness that His judgment is just; and they bear witness that it is: “The heavens shall declare His righteousness”; and they declare it even though a consuming fire goes before Him to consume out of the earth those who “would not have this Man to rule” over them. The psalmist bears witness again to the terrible nature of the fire that smites this sin-sodden world when our Saviour comes. These are the words of Inspiration, and they speak of the “day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men”: A fire goeth before Him, and burneth up His enemies round about. His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled. The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the people see His glory. Ps. 97:3-6.
THAT is how our Saviour comes, to reward every man according as his works371shall be. The man who has put away sin through the power given him of God, who has sought to bring his life into harmony with the principles of the gospel, who has endeavoured to make the divine Pattern his pattern, and to live for Christ and his fellow-men instead of for self, who has honoured the divine law and walked in harmony with its precepts, need not fear for himself in that great day. God promises His own great power as a protection to such an one. We read:— For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly. Ps. 84:11.
God does not want mankind to perish on that day. He has made every provision for man to enable him to escape that calamity. “I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth,” says Jehovah. But He has set His mighty hand to the work of ridding His universe of sin. He has given the gospel a long day in which to do its work. He has waited long for man to accept the principles of His kingdom of righteousness. The end of the controversy with sin is near at hand. The gospel will soon have finished its mission of appeal to a sinful race. Millions are settling their destiny today. The hour is late. Friend, have you made everything right with God? Your destiny for eternity hangs right there.