The Second Coming of Christ.
By V. S.
HOW WILL IT AFFECT THE RIGHTEOUS?
In response to the cry which was heard out of the land of Seir, “Watchman, what of the night?” the watchman responded, “The morning cometh and also the night.” Isa. 21:12. There are two very different classes of persons in the world, and there are two very different conditions before them into which they will respectively enter. Before one class there is a dark and interminable night; before the other a glorious and unending day. These classes are the righteous and the wicked; and the event that constitutes the dividing line between their present and their future, is the second coming of Christ. Before the wicked, unless they shall repent, there lies a state of such despair, remorse, and punishment, that, compared with their present state, it is as night compared with day; but before the righteous there lies a state of such surpassing happiness and glory that, compared with their present state, it is as day compared with night. This present state which the righteous and wicked both share alike, in which the righteous, aside from their heavenly hope, have no less of happiness, and no more of sorrow, than the wicked, is to the wicked a period of joyous day preceding a dismal night, their condition here is so much more favorable than what it will be hereafter; but to the righteous it is a period of gloomy night preceding a glorious day, their condition here is so infinitely below what it will be in the paradise of God. We noticed, last week, how the coming of Christ will affect the cases of the wicked. It leaves them no hope. It is the end of all their pleasures, their ambition, their wealth, their power. It turns their laughter into mourning. It fills their cup of joy with the gall of bitterness. And amid the convulsions in which our world shall go back to its original chaos, they shall be swept from the face of the earth. Now let the reader imagine conditions which are infinitely the opposite of all these, and he will have some idea of what is given to the righteous at this time. To them it is the consummation of their blessed hope. Titus 2:13. It introduces them to that condition in which there are pleasures for evermore. Ps. 16:11. It is the fulfillment and satisfaction of their highest ambition. Phil. 3:12-14. It puts them in possession of that wealth which the Lord promised when he said, “All things are yours.” 1 Cor. 3:21. It gives them the most glorious power a man can covet; for they triumph over death. 1 Cor. 15:57. It turns their mourning into laughter and shout and song. Luke 6:21. It takes their cup, and extracting every trace of bitterness, it fills it to the brim and runs it over, with exuberance of joy. Isa. 35:10. And amid the destruction of all things below, borne upward on the wings of those celestial beings revealed to us as the “morning stars,” and “the sons of God,” Job 28:7, they will rise to be forever with the Lord. Matt. 24:31; 1 Thess. 4:17. Sinner, we do not ask you which company you will wish to be with then. There is no question about that. We know well enough how it will be. But the decision must be made before that time; and the fearful probability is that you will put it off too long. We therefore ask you to decide now, and act accordingly. 1. The coming of Christ is to the righteous the hope of salvation. While the wicked are calling to the rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the presence of Christ, the righteous gladly exclaim, “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. 2. The coming of the Lord is the hope of the righteous dead; for it brings the resurrection. The resurrection is sometimes spoken of aside from its connection with the coming of Christ, and the promise of that event is ample and sure; but there are other scriptures which show the inseparable connection between these two events, and that the resurrection cannot take place without the coming of Christ. See John 5:28, 29; 1 Thess. 4:16; 1 Cor. 15:52. 3. The coming of Christ brings the Christian’s reward. Behold, I come quickly, he says, and my reward is with me to give every man as his work shall be. Again the Lord, instructing his disciples in regard to their recompense for good deeds done to the poor, said: “And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. Luke 14:14. No other time of reward is given in the Scriptures, except at the coming of Christ, and the resurrection of the just. 4. The coming of Christ brings the overcomer’s crown. The great apostle to the Gentiles thus speaks: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” 2 Tim. 4:7, 8. The “day” of which he speaks is the day of Christ’s appearing, and the crown is for all such as love that event. 5. The coming of the Lord ends the Christian’s exile, terminates his pilgrimage, and brings him home to the many mansions of the Father’s house. John 14:2, 3; Heb. 11:13-16; Rev. 22:14. 6. It is by this means that the absent members of Christ’s body are gathered to their living Head, and brought to enjoy his personal presence forever. When the disciples were filled with sorrow at the thought that their Master was soon to leave them, he bade them not to be troubled; for, said he, “I will come again, and receive you to myself, that [in order that] where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:1-3. Paul, after telling the Thessalonians that the righteous would be caught up to meet the Lord in the air at his second appearing, says, “And so [in this manner, or by this means] shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thess. 4:17. And John says, “It doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2. Since, then, the Christian’s hope is thus all laid up in the coming of the Lord, is it any wonder that it should be loved and longed for by all his people? Their hearts being filled with love for him, there is no enmity but union between them. Feeling that he is their friend, they rejoice in the prospect of soon entering into his presence. All the difference between the righteous and the wicked is summed up in this one sentence—Christ an enemy, and Christ a friend. The one class have followed the leadings of the carnal mind, and have continued their opposition to him, and their alienation from him. The other have yielded to his holy requirements and have found his forgiveness and favor. So the thought of his coming fills the wicked with alarm, but the righteous with joy. And the manifestations of the day of his appearing, which to the righteous will fill the whole heaven with untold splendors, will be to the wicked sharp arrows of indignation and wrath; and the brightness of his coming, to the righteous a glad vision of “the King in his beauty,” Isa. 33:17, will be to the wicked a “consuming fire.” Heb. 12:29. Let us share in the lot of the righteous; for though they may be in this life poor, humble, unhonored, and unknown, the portion of their inheritance hereafter is glory and blessedness forever. “Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” Matt. 13:43.