The Lord is at the doors. His second coming shall be a spectacle that will be seen all over the world. Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. *1
The Lord said to his disciples,
then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. *2
Now the Bible seems to contradict itself in some aspects, for example Peter tells to us,
but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.*3
If we combine this verse with Matthew,
[t]hen two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left, *4
there seems to be a contradiction. How do we reconcile the second part of the verse in Peter? That is to say, if the Lord will come like a thief, how is it that the heavens will pass away with a great noise and the elements are destroyed with a consuming fire? If we read the context in which Jesus pronuounced the words found in Mathew 24 then we can understand their significance. Jesus tells us that we must always be prepared for we do not know when he will come. If you knew that a thief would come tonight to your house, would you not make the necessary preparations? But because we do not know when the Lord will return we must be prepared at all times. Unfortunatley, many listen to these words but they do not believe them. Thus if there are two in the field and one is prepared, the Lord will only save the one that is prepared but if there other will suffer eternal death.
We notice that Mathew 24 indicates that the coming of the Lord will be visible and audible.
For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.*5
And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. *6
If we stop to think, the sun can only be seen in one part of the world at a time. How is it possible that every eye will see Him? But the second coming of Christ will be something that will break all natural laws of physics. The heavens will be removed and every eye will see Jesus and will hear the trumpets that will even trespass “Hades” for the dead in Christ will hear it and rise again!
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.*7
The servant of the Lord also describes that day:
"Everything in nature seems turned out of its course. The streams cease to flow. Dark, heavy clouds come up and clash against each other. In the midst of the angry heavens is one clear space of indescribable glory, whence comes the voice of God like the sound of many waters, saying: "It is done." Revelation 16:17.
That voice shakes the heavens and the earth. There is a mighty earthquake, "such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great." Verses 17, 18. The firmament appears to open and shut. The glory from the throne of God seems flashing through. The mountains shake like a reed in the wind, and ragged rocks are scattered on every side. There is a roar as of a coming tempest. The sea is lashed into fury. There is heard the shriek of a hurricane like the voice of demons upon a mission of destruction. The whole earth heaves and swells like the waves of the sea. Its surface is breaking up. Its very foundations seem to be giving way. Mountain chains are sinking.
Graves are opened, and "many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." Daniel 12:2. All who have died in the faith of the third angel's message come forth from the tomb glorified, to hear God's covenant of peace with those who have kept His law. "They also which pierced Him" (Revelation 1:7)
Thick clouds still cover the sky; yet the sun now and then breaks through, appearing like the avenging eye of Jehovah. Fierce lightnings leap from the heavens, enveloping the earth in a sheet of flame. Above the terrific roar of thunder, voices, mysterious and awful, declare the doom of the wicked.
Through a rift in the clouds there beams a star whose brilliancy is increased fourfold in contrast with the darkness.
...the clouds sweep back, and the starry heavens are seen, unspeakably glorious in contrast with the black and angry firmament on either side. The glory of the celestial city streams from the gates ajar...
Soon there appears in the east a small black cloud, about half the size of a man's hand. It is the cloud which surrounds the Saviour and which seems in the distance to be shrouded in darkness. The people of God know this to be the sign of the Son of man. In solemn silence they gaze upon it as it draws nearer the earth, becoming lighter and more glorious, until it is a great white cloud, its base a glory like consuming fire, and above it the rainbow of the covenant. Jesus rides forth as a mighty conqueror. Not now a "Man of Sorrows," to drink the bitter cup of shame and woe, He comes, victor in heaven and earth, to judge the living and the dead. "Faithful and True," "in righteousness He doth judge and make war." And "the armies which were in heaven" (Revelation 19:11, 14) follow Him. With anthems of celestial melody the holy angels, a vast, unnumbered throng, attend Him on His way. The firmament seems filled with radiant forms--"ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands." No human pen can portray the scene; no mortal mind is adequate to conceive its splendor. "His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise. And His brightness was as the light." Habakkuk 3:3,4. As the living cloud comes still nearer, every eye beholds the Prince of life. No crown of thorns now mars that sacred head; but a diadem of glory rests on His holy brow. His countenance outshines the dazzling brightness of the noonday sun. "And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords." Revelation 19:16.
Before His presence "all faces are turned into paleness;" upon the rejecters of God's mercy falls the terror of eternal despair. "The heart melteth, and the knees smite together, ... and the faces of them all gather blackness." Jeremiah 30:6; Nahum 2:10. The righteous cry with trembling: "Who shall be able to stand?" The angels' song is hushed, and there is a period of awful silence. Then the voice of Jesus is heard, saying: "My grace is sufficient for you." The faces of the righteous are lighted up, and joy fills every heart. And the angels strike a note higher and sing again as they draw still nearer to the earth.
The King of kings descends upon the cloud, wrapped in flaming fire. The heavens are rolled together as a scroll, the earth trembles before Him, and every mountain and island is moved out of its place. "Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people." Psalm 50:3,4.”. *8
1* Revelation 1:7
2* Mathew 24:30
3* 2 Peter 3:10
4* Mathew 24:40-41
5* Mathew 24:27
6*Mathew 24: 31
7* 1 Thessalonians 4:16
8* “The Great Controversy”, - “God's People Delivered”, Ellen G. White
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