Three brief lessons we select from the sacred Scriptures concerning the future.
1.-THE COMING.
Our Lord and Saviour is coming again. On the basis of His atoning sacrifice, we who believe on His name are forgiven, possess now eternal life, and when He comes again we shall see Him face to face. The Old Testament again and again predicted for four thousand years His first coming, and in due time He came, was crucified, rose from the dead, and then returned to heaven. He has now been on the Father's throne for eighteen hundred and ninety years, but His parting promise was, "I will come again" (John 14:1-3).
As He returned to heaven, two heavenly messengers appeared and thus confirmed this promise:"This same Jesus.. .shall so come.. .as ye have seen Him go" (Acts 1:9-11). Another message was sent to His people still later, "A little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry" (Heb. 10:37). The early Church believed those promises, and looked for Him as their present hope; but the day of grace has been extended, and God's long-suffering with men (and seeming delay) has brought salvation to millions; but He is coming.
2.-THE CHANGE
When He comes a cluster of miraculous events will take place.
(1) All believers who have died will rise from their graves first.
(2) The believers then living "shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye."
(3) They all "shall be caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air."
What a great throng will rise from earth to heaven! The Lord Himself, with the clouds His royal chariots, will descend to meet them, and escort the whole company home to glory, and we shall see Him face to face. This may be at any time, even this very hour; then we shall be "forever with the Lord." What a precious promise! What a bright prospect, and what a glorious anticipation! (1 Cor. 15:51,52; 1 Thess. 4:13-18).
3.-THE COMFORT.
This great revelation was intended to minister comfort to all who are born of God. The Lord's second coming runs like a golden thread through the entire New Testament; and is enshrined in more than 300 verses. It runs through the four Gospels; then through the book of Acts, and the twenty-one Epistles, then through the book of Revelation, from the first chapter to the last. In the last chapter the promise of His coming shines out like the glory of the Shechinah of old. The last words of the risen and glorified Saviour from heaven were, "Behold, I come quickly;" and again, "Surely, I come quickly."
Are you poor in this world? He is coming. Have you lost friends near and dear? He is coming. Has death taken some of your loved ones home? He is coming. Have you experienced disappointments on earth? He is coming. Has the Church and Church-testimony failed, and disappointed you? Remember that He-the Holy and the True-has never failed, will never disappoint, but will keep every promise. he is coming. This precious theme, Christ's second coming, is like a living spring
sparkling with purity and freshness. Draw near to il, and receive from its supplies-largely and freely-the comfort, the consolation, and the encouragement that it contains; then, as you think of the whole company of His redeemed, remember the apostle's words, "Comfort one another with these words."
A. E. Booth