I N THE STUDY OF THE EVENTS leading up to the return of Christ, we may well ask ourselves the question, “How will one know when Messiah has actu ally come?” In Matthew 2 4 :27 we find the answer, “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.” He will not be coming from the desert nor from the secret chambers. The Word of God is very explicit. The sign of the coming of the Son of man, from heaven, will be like light ning. The entire world will know it. Those of us who live in areas where we are subject to thunderstorms, have seen the lightning play in the sky. It is vivid, sharp and electrify ing. God means in this manner of greatly intensified scale, that His Son will return in all of the brightness of His glory. All the world will know that the Saviour is present. His com ing Is not something ethereal, mys terious or private. Parenthetically, w hen the Lord Jesus comes in the sense of which we now speak, we do not have in mind that He is coming for the church. This tinU be a secret coming in the. sense that there shall be removed from the earth all of the true believ ers who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ. This coming spoken of in Mat thew follows the first by seven years. It will be visible, whereas the first will not. Moving to verse 28 there seems to be an interruption in the text. It is as though suddenly, listening to our radios, we had one station switched to another. “For wheresoever the car case is, there will the eagles be gath ered together.” What is meant by this abrupt change? Our general context in this portion of God’s Word has to do with judgment. The culmination of this judgment will be the total de struction of Israel. The world, of
course, has looked upon Israel as a dead nation. All the nations will be gin to prey upon her, taking advan tage of her position. The eagle is a bird of prey. It represents a nation of fierce countenance which “shall not regard the person of the old but show favor to the young.” The eagle will feed upon the dead. So will this na tion fall in judgment upon Israel. LET THE PERFECT THROW THE STONE It there's one who often falters By the wayside in despair, Seems unusual, his shortcomings— Do you hold him up in prayer? If the weak should stumble, brethren, If he cannot stand alone, Let the perfect one among you Be the first to throw a stone. If so often he has wavered That you can't believe him true, Have you mentioned it to Jesus As the strong one ought to do? Do you ever stop, consider, Have you no faults of your own? Let the perfect one among you Be the first to throw a stone. Is there one with cross so heavy Seems he cannot carry all— He may not keep step as you do, You may even chance to fall. Do you plead with God for mercy Till He answers from the Throne? Let the perfect one among you Be the first to throw a stone. These two verses, which seem on the surface to be in contrast, really fit to gether. It is at this very point that the Lord Jesus says, “I shall come and deliver Israel from her.” In the midst of judgment the Deliverer, even the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, shall come. 5
Made with FlippingBook HTML5