THE COMING OF CHRIST IS NEAR
By M. Wood
“Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Rev. 22:12. In this text of Scripture there are several prominent points presented to our view by the inspired penman: 1. The coming of Christ; 2. That man does not receive his reward at death, but at the second advent of Jesus Christ; 3. That man is not rewarded according to the amount of faith he may possess, but according as his works shall be. The coming of Christ is a theme of most thrilling interest, especially to those who have ever stood faithfully at their post of duty, laboring in the fear of God. Many years have passed away since our dear Saviour blessed the world with his divine presence, and caused the true light to shine. A little while he abode with his own, instructed them in heavenly truths, gave them power over all the devices and attacks of Satan, and strength to patiently endure the persecutions of a frowning world. Of all the promises which Jesus made to his disciples, there are none more comforting than the following:— “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:1–3. This blessed promise he not only gave to the apostles, but also to all those who through their word should believe in him. “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.” John 17:22. “Unto them that look for Him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Heb. 9:28. The second coming of Christ is not a myth, as popular theology teaches, but a personal and visible coming of our blessed Lord. See Acts 1:9–11; Matt. 24:30; Mark 13:26. His coming will be visible not only to his faithful, patient, waiting children, who are looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, but it will be witnessed also by those that pierced him. Rev. 1:7. But note the contrast: The people of God are caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and safely borne to the haven of eternal rest; but the ungodly shall perish, and be eternally destroyed. Job 20:7; Luke 13:3, 5; 2 Pet. 2:12. In that day neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them; they will cast these earthly treasures, the curse of their life, “to the moles and to the bats.” Isa. 2:20. As Jesus is seen coming on the great white cloud (Rev. 14:14), the saints will look up and 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. While, upon the other hand, those who have rejected proffered mercy and scorned the offer of salvation on God's own terms, now unite their voices in the most solemn prayer-meeting ever held upon earth. The high and the low, the rich and the poor, seek shelter from the unmingled wrath of God. John saw them. “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. 6:15–17. Reader, are you numbered among those who put the coming of the Lord far in the future? Are you indifferent about understanding the true import of the sacred word? Are you one of those who say, Lord, Lord, but are not careful to do the will of our Heavenly Father? Is your faith pinned upon the coat-sleeve of those who preach much concerning sanctification, but often use the same as a hypocritical cover for iniquity? If so, come out from among them; seek for the old paths, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. Jer. 6:16. The world, the world, has filled the heart. Ministers and people grasp after riches and honor. “From the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.” Jer. 6:13, 14. The apostle Paul says, “When they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, . . . and they shall not escape.” 1 Thess. 5:3. When the soon coming of Christ is urged upon the people by God's faithful servants, then we hear, even from those who profess to love the Lord, “Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” 2 Pet. 3:4. Thus they unwittingly fulfill one of the signs of the last days. Ridiculing and opposing those who wait for their Lord, they continue to “eat and drink with the drunken.” Upon such the Lord “shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of.” Matt. 24:50. The evidences that we are living in the last days, near the second coming of Christ, are plain and positive. They increase in number as the end draws near. Are not wars, pestilences, and earthquakes being multiplied? Matt. 24:7. Have not many false prophets appeared, and deceived many? Verse 11. Are they not crying, “Peace and safety” more zealously than ever? 1 Thess. 5:3. The greatest efficiency of these false prophets lies in daubing with untempered mortar, and crying, Heretic! when they neither will nor can prove their mistaken theories from the word of God. They are strong to speak evil of others in their absence, but will not meet a man face to face. They seek to win the hearts of men with sweet words and a flattering tongue, but neglect to declare that the great day of the Lord is near and hasteth greatly. Zeph. 1:14. Professed prophets can joke and jest while the wrath of God is about to be poured out without mixture; and the people love to have it so. The priests “teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money; yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? None evil can come upon us.” Micah 3:11. And thus they are lulled to sleep by the siren song of peace and safety, and a good time coming,—eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, as Christ said it should be just prior to his second coming. Matt. 24:38, 39. In consequence of this pernicious doctrine of these false prophets, thousands and thousands of poor deceived souls soon must weep and wail for pain and anguish of soul, when the plagues shall fall upon their unsheltered heads. Blessed be God, some are waking up and preparing to meet the coming King. May many more be aroused before it is too late. Again, we read that “because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” Matt. 24:12. Read the news of the day,—the innumerable records of fraud, theft, murder, fornication, surfeiting, and drunkenness that fill the land. The very atmosphere is poisoned with oaths and curses. And where are the watchmen? Echo answers, Where. God says, “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.” Joel 2:1. “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.” Isa. 58:1. We are in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, a rebellious people, children that will not hear the law of the Lord. They “heap to themselves teachers having itching ears,” saying, “Speak unto us smooth things.” There are many ministers fulfilling this very Scripture. They are dearly paid to speak of love, while hearts are as cold as ice. How many are there who love God and the appearing of Jesus Christ more than they do the world, and who seek to advantage their neighbor as well as themselves? Few, very few indeed, although we are taught to “love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15. Yet these poor slaves of the world and of fashion are called members of the body of Christ. Oh, vain pretension! Well may Satan laugh, and angels weep. “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Rev. 18:4. Do not multitudes now exhibit a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof? 2 Tim. 3:5. Many who once tasted the love of Christ, and were moved by the Holy Spirit, have been lulled to sleep on the enchanted ground. “As it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.” Luke 17:26. People will eat and drink, sing and dance, turn the house of God into a house of merchandise, until the judgments of Heaven burst over their heads. Then shall they gnaw their tongues for pain when the time for repentance is past. Rev. 16:10, 11. The glorious appearing of Jesus is indeed, as Paul expresses it, a “blessed hope.” It is the grand event by which the Christian's hope will be fully consummated; for “when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?” “When the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” 1 Pet. 5:4. Then we shall see as we are seen, and know as we are known. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and 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. Reader, do you truly realize that the end of all things is at hand, and that the day of God cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate, and to destroy the sinners thereof out of it? Isa. 13:9. Will it be said by you in that great day, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and I am not saved”? The sun which ripens the wheat for the garner, ripens also the chaff which the wind carries away. Likewise the proclamation of the messages, which ripens the harvest for the heavenly garner, ripens also the tares for the devouring flames. Soon He who shall come will come, and will not tarry. Reader, are you prepared for the coming of Jesus? Do you have fellowship with God? Do you live and walk in the light of his countenance? Do you watch and pray always? Do you diligently read the word of God, and seek to know his will concerning you? Do you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness? Or do the things of this life engross all your thoughts? Does the love of money fill your soul to the exclusion of the Spirit of God? Are you living in pleasure, seeking the good things of this life, without a thought that soon you must stand before the great tribunal of God and render an account of your stewardship? To some it will be said, “Ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 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.” Jas. 5:1–3. In a little from this the angels of God will be commissioned to go forth and gather his saints, those that have made a covenant with him by sacrifice. Ps. 50:5. Reader, will you not clear away the rubbish, and let the Spirit of Christ come into your heart? Can you return ingratitude for all the infinite love and mercy he has shown? Besides the countless blessings which have followed you all your life, he has given his only begotten Son to die for you. Is it unreasonable that he requires your love in return? Jesus invites you to come unto him. The Spirit and the bride say, Come. “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matt. 11:28. What promises and inducements are here offered to the sin-sick soul. Will you reject proffered mercy? Jesus calls, “Come unto me.” Will you turn away? Oh, come to your Saviour. Repent of your sins. Prepare to meet thy God. Look to the bleeding Lamb of Calvary. His blood cleanses from all sin. Accept of salvation on God's own terms. Walk in the footsteps of Jesus, whether your friends will go with you or not. Sin will sink you into everlasting destruction; but Jesus will save you as a brand from the burning. Come while Jesus pleads for you in the heavenly sanctuary. Keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Rev. 14:12. You may secure a mansion in the Father's house, an everlasting name that shall not be blotted out, a crown of glory that can never fade away. You may join in the glad hallelujahs that shall mingle with the sweet music from the heavenly harpers. Dear reader, make haste, and delay not to obey God, for Jesus has said in the words of the text, “Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me.” To which the church responds, “Amen. Even so come, Lord Jesus.” Rev. 22:20.