THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S ing “on the clouds.” If you will look up Ex. 19:9; 34:5; Ps. 97:1, Matt. 17:5; Ps. 104:3 and Isa. 19:1 you will find that it was Jehovah, and Jehovah only, Who came “on the clouds” and to say that Jesus is coming “on the clouds” is to say that He is coming as the Divine One, or in Divine glory. When He came before He came as the helpless Babe of Bethle hem, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. He was despised and rejected of men. They did what they would with Him. They scourged Him, spat upon Him, plucked the beard from His face, nailed Him to the cross of Cal vary, derided Him in His dying agonies: but when He comes again He will come in all the glory of God and His enemies will be overwhelmed with His splendor and glory and majesty. 5. A gain , oue L oed J esus is coming WITHOUT PREVIOUS ANNOUNCEMENT. This is plain from many passages of Scripture. For example, we are told in Rev. 16:15: “Behold I come AS A THIEF. Blessed is he that watcheth and Tceepth his gar ments lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” And we are told in I. Thess. 5:1-3: “ But concerning the times and the seasons,-brethren, ye have no need that aught be written unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. When they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape.” The meaning of these words is plain. He is coming just as the thief comes, i.e., without pre-announce ment, without warning, suddenly and unexpectedly. CALLS WILSON ANTI-CHRIST A French Protestant exchange tells us that in German Switzerland a Ger man sympathizer is holding meetings among the peasantry in which he expounds the Book of Revelation. Pres ident Wilson occupies the center of his prophetic stage as the Antichrist.
750 Eddy and her System were a coming of the Anti-christ, whom men and women believe “because they receive not the love of the truth” and are therefore given over to “strong delusion that they should believe a lie” (II. Thess. 2:10,12) there would be a good show of truth in it. Neither did the Coming of Christ in Octo ber, 1874, in some unknown place and way, proclaimed by Pastor Russell, bear the slightest resemblance to the Coming Again of Jesus Christ prophesied and described in the Word of God, in the pass age just read. All these “obscure corner” and “inner chamber” Christs are a long since predicted and exploded humbug. There are two lunatics in California at the present time claiming to be the Christ and who are to be manifested as the Christ. I have had quite an extended cor respondence from them both or from their admirers. I quite recently received letters from both of them, or from their immediate circle of devotees, in one day. I have a large framed picture of one of them. One of them is to be manifested this month (May, 1918), in a large tem ple out in the Mojave Desert according to^the claims of his most enthusiastic devotee. How like that sounds'^ what our Lord Jesus warned us against: “If therefore they say' unto you', behold he is IN THE DESERT, go not forth." Matt. 24:26. No, no, no, when our Lord comes again it will not be out in the desert, nor in any inner chamber in Concord, nor in some, hidden place where the Christ of Pastor Russell returned in October, 1874, but it will be with great publicity. - 4 . I n t h e fourth place , oue L oed J esu s is coming again in th e clouds of HEAVEN WITH power and geeat gloey . We read these words qf our Lord Jesus Himself in Matt. 24:30: R. V. “ Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY.” I have not time to stop this morning on the significance of His com-
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