p. 6 | Christ Coming by E. J. Hibbard

Pacific Press Publishing Association

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 30, No. 43.

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Christ Coming

By E. J. Hibbard

LITERAL

PERSONAL

VISIBLE

BY E. J. HIBBARD.

IN addition to the fact, is it of any importance that we understand the manner of Christ's return?

Men may answer, No; but celestial beings, both the good and the bad, are aware that great results hang upon this issue.

There Will Be Deceptions.

"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 chamber; 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." Matt. 24: 23-27.

Evidently, then, the Master would not have warned us against these deceptions, nor would the arch deceiver take the pains to bring them about, unless by these deceits some might be endangered. In fact, in this connection it appears that Satan will enact his delusive masterpiece, "insomuch that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." And further, the teaching that Christ will come in some other way than the one He has specified, will be followed by the actual appearing of false christs: "Behold, He is in the desert!" "Behold, He is in the secret chambers!" Present tense.

So a false teaching in reference to the manner of His return will be followed by attempted demonstration of that event. Logically it must terminate in the appearing of Satan himself, counterfeiting so far as lieth in his hellish power the glorious appearing of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works." 2 Cor. 11:14, 15. Here is a foundation for all the false prophets and false christs, both human and Satanic.

And mark the fact that such deceivers will not be tame and powerless. They "shall show great signs and wonders."

But the counterfeit will be on earth and local, while the genuine will flood the heavens and be simultaneously world-wide. "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."

A Personal Appearing.

Standing for the last time in the midst of His little flock on the crest of the Mount of Olives, He gave them a final commission. "And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? 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 1:9-11.

Visible to All.

In His ascent, a cloud received Him out of their sight. And "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. Even so, Amen." Rev. 1:7.

It is a fallacy, and a fatal one too, to suppose that this glorious event will take place in a corner. It is vain to suppose He will be seen only by "the saints;" that it will be over with as quickly as the lightning's flash; that the saints will be secretly caught up to meet Him, leaving the wicked of earth, with a blink and a stare, to wonder what has become of them. "Every eye shall see him." "All kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him." They that pierced Him will awake from their tombs to behold His glory. Awful day for the ungodly! Glorious day for the redeemed!

Overwhelming Glory.

"He shall come in His own glory, and in His Father's, and of the holy angels." Luke 9:26. "All the holy angels" will attend Him. Matt. 25: 31. "A fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him." Ps. 50:3.

"The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire." 2 Thess. 1:7, 8.

At the touch of His glory, the atmospheric heavens depart "as a scroll when it is rolled together." Rev. 6:14-17.

Appalling are the scenes which accompany our returning Lord. When expiring on Calvary, He cried, "It is finished." John 19:30. "And the earth did quake and the rocks rent." Matt. 27:51.

But what shall occur when "the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God"? Joel says both "the heavens and the earth shall shake." At Mount Sinai His voice shook the earth. "But now He hath promised, saying, 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, as of things that are made, that those things which can not be shaken may remain." Heb. 12:26, 27.

In that shaking "the cities of the nations" fell. Rev. 16:19. Even "all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger." Jer. 4:26. "And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found." Rev. 16:20.

All who have been deceived by false christs, and have been lured after them into the deserts and the secret chambers, even they will recognize the genuine when it comes. But it will then be too late. "Behold," said Jesus, "I have told you before."

In sharp contrast with such, will be those who believe Him now, before it comes to pass. Knowing the manner of His coming, they will have rejected all pretenders, tho the world has gone after them. But when the Genuine shall appear, they will say, "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." When the "heavens and the earth shall shake," "the Lord will be the hope of His people." Joel 3:16. When everything is "shaken which can be shaken," they will remain unmoved. Heb. 12:28. "Therefore will not we fear, tho the earth be removed, and tho the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea." Ps. 46:2. (Continued on page 14.)

Christ's Coming. (Continued from page 4.)

Once fixed in mind, the picture of His glorious appearing with its attendant features will fortify well the child of God against the most stupendous counterfeits the universe has ever witnessed. When the Genuine shall come, the earth will be emptied of its inhabitants; the ungodly perishing amid the cataclysm of nature and the penetrating glory of God. See 2 Thess. 1:7, 8; 2:8; Rev. 19:19-21. And in that time the dead in Christ shall rise (all of them); while the living saints, immortal made, shall be caught up together with them to meet their Lord in the air. 1 Thess. 4:16, 17; 1 Cor. 15:51-55. These things are not done at conversion; they are not done at death; nor are they done at the coming of false christs; but they are accomplished at the coming of the Lord.

"Take heed that no man deceive you." Matt. 24:4. "Behold, I have told you before." Matt. 24:25.