The Son of Man coming in the clouds.
Christ’s second advent
It has been as much a hope as a fear in all religions of men that there would be a verdict which would on the one hand bring forth men’s righteousness as the light, and on the other change their pride in sin to shame. For a new start the great thing to be longed for is that all men and things might find their proper level; the evil, its rebuke and penalty; the good, its crown and its reward. Therefore there will be a judgment, and Christ will be the Judge. Through Him the worlds were made; through Him salvation wrought; and through Him judgment will be executed. We think too little of that day whose glory pales the sun, and of the fact that many things, now seeming great, will then seem trifling and contemptible, and much obscure faithfulness will be lifted into light and glory. The uses we should make of this truth are various.
1. It should quicken our sense of responsibility. The thought that God ignores our deeds permits good to languish and evil to thrive. The belief that God will bring all into judgment, stimulates good, represses evil.
2. It should give us a more vivid sense of God’s providential presence. On this world He walked; on it He again will stand. He is the living God, and is guiding the course of all events by His loving hand.
3. It should comfort us. Man’s judgment of us is harsh; our judgment of ourselves unwise. But what could we ask for more than to be judged by Christ? (R. Glover.)
The second coming of Christ
Brethren! the earnest belief in and the longing for the coming of Jesus Christ has been too much surrendered to one school of interpreters in unfulfilled prophecy, who have no greater claim to possess it than the rest of us. It belongs, or ought to belong, to us all. And I bring it to you, dear friends, as a sharp test-what do you feel about that coming? Can you say, “More than they that wait for the morning, my soul waiteth for Thee”? Does your heart leap when you think that Christ, who is ever present, is drawing near to us? All the signs of the times, intellectual and social, the rottenness of much of our life, the abounding luxury, the hideous vice that flaunts unblamed and unabashed before us all; the unsettlement of opinion in which it is unbelief that seems to be “removing the mountains” that all men thought stood fast and firm forever; all these things cry out to Him whose ear is not deaf-even if our voice does not join in the cry-and beseech Him to come. And I believe that a “Day of the Lord,” dreadful and radiant with the brightness of destructive power, which is also constructive and merciful love, is hanging over much of the world, and not a little of the Church, at this moment. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
Sight of Christ as Judge
Mr. G-was mayor of the town of Maidenhead not many years after the late Rev. J. Cooke settled in it. One Sabbath evening he attended the meeting house, and heard Mr. Cooke preach. The text was, “Behold, He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him” (Revelation 1:7). His attention was powerfully arrested: an arrow of conviction entered his heart; he became speedily a changed man, and regularly attended the means of grace. He had been a jovial companion, a good singer, and a most gay and cheerful member of the corporation. The change was soon perceived. His brethren, at one of their social parties, rallied him upon Methodism. But he stood firm by his principles, and said, “Gentlemen, if you will listen patiently, I will tell you why I go to meeting, and do not attend your card table. I went one Sunday evening to hear Mr. Cooke. He took for his text, ‘Behold, He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him.’ Your eye shall see Him!” In short, he gave them so faithful and powerful an epitome of the sermon, and applied it so closely to them individually, marking the words, “every eye shall see Him,” with such emphasis, and pointing to them, said, “Your eye,” and “your eye,” that they were satisfied with his reasons for going, and never again durst speak to him on the subject. (Biblical Museum.)
Science points to the end of the world
Is it not probable, it may be asked, that the time will come when the globe itself will come to an end? And if it be so, can science detect the provision that is possibly made for this consummation of all things? We have seen that the atmosphere has for long been undergoing a change; that at a very early period it was charged with carbonic acid, the carbon of which now forms part of animal and vegetable structures. We saw, also, that at first it contained no ammonia; but since vegetation and decomposition began, the nitrogen that existed in the nitrates of the earth, and some of the nitrogen of the atmosphere, have been gradually entering into new combinations, and forming ammonia; and the quantity of ammonia, a substance at first non-existent, has gradually increased, and as it is volatile, the atmosphere now always contains some of it. The quantity has now become so great in it that it can always be detected by chemical analysis. There is an evident tendency of it to increase in the atmosphere. Now supposing, it to go on increasing up to a certain point, it forms with air a mixture that, upon the application of fire, is violently explosive. An atmosphere charged with ammonia is liable to explode whenever a flash of lightning passes through it. And such an explosion would doubtless destroy, perhaps without leaving traces of, the present order of things. (Dr. Kemp.)