THE LORD'S COMING

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Sep 24, 1857

THE LORD'S COMING.

We speak of the fury with which the Lord will render his anger to his enemies, when he comes with fire, and with chariots as a whirlwind, to plead with fire and sword with all flesh; [Isa. lxvi. 15. 16;] of the mourning of all the tribes of the earth when they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; [Matt. xxiv. 30;] of the prayer of the kings of the earth and great men, for rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb; [Rev. vi. 16;] of the destruction of the Man of Sin by the Spirit of the Lord's mouth and the brightness of his coming; [2 Thess. ii. 8;] of the desolation and emptying of the earth that shall accompany this event; [Isa. xxiv;] and we are met with the positive assurance on the part of some, that the Lord cannot come to cause all this misery and desolation and ruin.

But this is not the only light in which to look upon this event. It is not with purposes of wrath only, that the Lord shall appear the second time, but with those of mercy also. This is by no means to be left out of the account. What is the earth? A poor planet, blighted and groaning beneath the heavy curse, its beauty blasted, its fertility stunted, its strength exhausted. What shall it be in that dispensation which shall be ushered in by the coming of the Son of man? Restored to its youthful vigor, redecked in Eden's living beauty, the unclouded abode of the redeemed hosts. Man also is groaning within himself for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of the body. Mortality here weighs heavily upon him; but he shall be changed at the coming of his Lord. Spirit and not blood shall henceforth be his life, and endow him with immortal vigor. Here pain and anguish rack our mortal bodies; but no pain shall ever be felt under the Redeemer's reign. Here death triumphs; but death shall then be destroyed. The untold misery of this world shall then be at an end, the soul-polluting torrent of sin and iniquity which now deluges the earth, shall be forever arrested, the blasphemer's lips shall be sealed up, and the ruin that sin has wrought shall be repaired forever.

Not to augment, but to end the woes of man will the Saviour come; as it is not to destroy, but to save the life of the individual that a diseased and incurable member is sometimes removed from the human body. And when we view the subject aright, rather than lamenting over the sufferings that shall attend the gathering out of the Redeemer's kingdom all them which offend and do iniquity, we shall rather lose ourselves in the gladness and glory that shall follow, and join with the Apostle in raising the cry to heaven, "Come Lord Jesus, come quickly!"