Clouds: August 2021
Table of Contents
Clouds
Clouds fill an important place in Scripture. They were the celestial veil of the presence of God — His chariot and the hiding place of His power. It pleased God to manifest His presence to Israel in a cloud. The pillar of cloud guided the children of Israel through the wilderness (Ex. 40:34-38). When they constructed the tabernacle, Jehovah promised to appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat (Lev. 16:2). On special occasions, Jehovah came down in a cloud and spoke to Moses (Num. 11:25). At the dedication of the temple, “the cloud” filled the house so that the priests could not minister because of the cloud, “for the glory of Jehovah had filled the house of Jehovah” (1 Kings 8:10-11 JnD). This visible symbol of God’s glory is often called the Shekinah. The word does not occur in Scripture, but it is often used as signifying the dwelling or resting place of Jehovah. On the mount of transfiguration, a cloud overshadowed those present, and “a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son: hear Him” (Luke 9:34-35). At the ascension, a cloud received the Lord out of their sight. At the rapture, the dead and the living saints will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. When He comes in judgment, He will come with clouds. The mighty God who dwells in light unapproachable by man manifested His presence shrouded by clouds.
Concise Bible Dictionary
The Bow in the Cloud
“It shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud” (Gen. 9:14).
In this day of grace, there is always a bow in the cloud. We may be, and sometimes are, so occupied with what is most manifest (the cloud) that we do not discern its heavenly accompaniment, but it is there. Bright and lovely, it stretches from heaven to earth. “All things work together for good to them that love God” (Rom. 8:28). Yes, all things; this is the bow in the cloud. What a wide expanse this “all things” opens up to us! Even pain is God’s servant for good to a believer, and so is an earthquake in the world, or even a moral convulsion or heresy in the church (1 Cor. 11:19).
A great and strong wind may “rend the mountains” and “break in pieces the rocks before the Lord” (1 Kings 19:11). This may be followed by an earthquake, and the earthquake by a fire, but though they are “the visible cloud,” so to speak, we must not be wholly occupied with these. The question for us is, What has the Lord to say to us in them? The object to Him is His people, and we must listen for the “still small voice.” This is the bow in the cloud. If God has swept away man once in the judgment of the flood, the cloud, whatever form it may take, is afresh declaring His estimate of the first man. If mercy has declared itself and we are spared, still we must never forget that His estimate of what we are stands recorded, and that very cloud witnesses to it afresh. However, the bow in the cloud declares His faithfulness to His promise, for “His mercy endureth forever” (Psa. 106:1).
The Ground of Mercy
We are on the ground of mercy, and if we forget it, He does not. “It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy” (Rom. 9:16). We look at the cloud; God looks at the bow. What grace is here! He says, “The bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it.” The bow tells of God’s unchangeable faithfulness and mercy when all is over with man. This is the ground we are on with God.
“|iI| bring a cloud ... I do set My bow.” We may not sever these two, nor look at one apart from the other. If it is good for us to be reminded that man (himself and his works) is only fit for judgment, it is good also to be reminded of what God is, or the soul must be overwhelmed with despair. Let us, then, “cease ... from man, whose breath is in his nostrils” (Isa. 2:22) and look at what God sees. “I will look upon it.”
This is the way to get God’s thoughts. We see that in spite of the cloud, God is “for us.” Only when we think such high thoughts — God’s thoughts—we must be reminded of what we are, not to drive us to despair, but to keep us low and to lean always and only upon Him who has taken us up in grace.
The Bow in the Cloud
In all the exercises of the Christian pathway, God would have us see the bow in the cloud. Think of this in your present trial (all permitted of Him), in that which distresses you most of all, and the existence of which no fellow-Christian perhaps knows. These words are written for you. Is it trial in the church, trial in the business, trial in the home, or individually in yourself? “It shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud.” Make an effort to see it. It will put you right with God, and so cheer your pilgrim way. The cloud may be dark and gloomy, but there is a beauty in it painted by His own hand, and it tells you, in spite of all, what He is to you. And, remember, whether you see it or not, it is there.
The “Needs Be”
God sees a “needs be” (1 Peter 1:6) for the trials He allows in the church. We must be with Him to learn it. The whole experience of the wilderness is for us to learn what we are and what God is. The inclination of the natural heart is always to grow proud and independent. God, who knows the heart, sees this. As to the heart of man, “who can know it? I the Lord search the heart” (Jer. 17:9-10). He knows it, exposes us to ourselves, corrects us, and all for good — “for our profit.” May we each be so with Him, that we learn His mind in any trial, for good comes from God, even when it is in the shape of trial. If the heart departs from the Lord (and it does when we trust in man), we shall be “like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh” (Jer. 17:5-6). We shall look upon a trial and speak of it as “only another cloud.” Because of it we shall not see the good in the hand which surely is working through it for us, nor that it is “whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth” (Heb. 12:6). The word to us is, “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift you up” (James 4:10). All is from Him, “that He might humble thee, and that He might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end” (Deut. 8:16). Let us remember His word: “The bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it.” “We change; He changes not.”
H. C. Anstey (adapted)
The Camp and the Cloud
“On the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning. So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents. At the commandment of the Lord they rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the Lord they journeyed: they kept the charge of the Lord, at the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses” (Num. 9:15-17,23).
It is impossible to conceive a more lovely picture of absolute dependence upon divine guidance than that presented in the foregoing paragraph. There was not a footprint nor a landmark throughout that “great and terrible wilderness.” They were wholly cast upon God for every step of the way.
Trust in God
Here lies the real gist of the whole matter. Is God known, loved and trusted? If so, the heart will delight in the most absolute dependence upon Him. If not, such dependence would be perfectly insufferable. The unrenewed man loves to think himself independent, but this is the merest delusion. Man is not free: He is the slave of Satan. Yes, Satan holds the natural man in terrible bondage. He rules him by means of his lusts, his passions and his pleasures, and, sooner or later, this bondage will become evident. There is no freedom but in Christ, for He it is who says, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” And again, “If the Son ... shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:32,36).
Dependence
Here is true liberty. It is the liberty which the new nature finds in walking in the Spirit and doing those things that are pleasing in the sight of God. The service of the Lord is perfect freedom, but this service involves the most simple dependence upon the living God. Thus it was with the only perfect Servant that ever trod this earth. He was always dependent. Every act, every word, was the fruit of the most absolute dependence upon and subjection to God.
Such was Jesus when He lived in this world, and we are called to walk in His steps and live a life of simple dependence upon God from day to day. Of this life of dependence, we have a graphic and beautiful type at the close of Numbers 9. Israel followed the movement of the cloud. They had to look up for guidance. Man was made to turn his countenance upwards, in contrast with the brute, who is formed to look downward. Israel was entirely dependent upon the movement of the cloud.
Thus it should be with us. We are passing through a trackless desert, a moral wilderness. We would not know how to walk, were it not for that one most precious sentence which fell from the lips of our blessed Lord: “I am the way” (John 14:6). Here is divine, infallible guidance. We are to follow Him, for “he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). This is living guidance; it is following a living Christ. It is keeping the eye fixed upon Jesus, having the traits of His character imprinted on our new nature and reproduced in our daily life and ways.
No Place for Our Wills
Now, this will, assuredly, involve the surrender of our own wills; we must follow the cloud; we must wait only upon God. All our movements must be placed under the regulating power of that one commanding sentence, often lightly uttered by us: “If the Lord will.” How often do we vainly imagine and confidently assert that the cloud is moving in that very direction which suits the bent of our own inclination. Thus, instead of being divinely guided, we are self-deceived. The real secret of being guided of God is to have our own will thoroughly subdued. “The meek will He guide in judgment: and the meek will He teach His way” (Psa. 25:9). And again, “I will guide thee with Mine eye” (Psa. 32:8).
But let us ponder the admonition: “Be ye not as a horse, as a mule, which have no understanding: whose trappings must be bit and bridle, for restraint, or they will not come unto thee” (Psa. 32:9 JND). If our countenance is turned upwards to catch the movement of the divine “eye,” we shall not need the “bit and bridle.” But often we do not live sufficiently near to God to discern the movement of His eye; the will is at work. Thus it was with Jonah. Providence seemed to point in the direction of his will, but then he had to find his place in the belly of the whale. It was there he learned the bitterness of following his own will. He had to be taught the true meaning of the “bit and bridle,” because he would not follow the gentler guidance of the eye.
God’s Guidance
But our God is so gracious, so patient! He will teach and guide His erring children. He occupies Himself continually about us, in order that we may be kept from our own ways and walk in His ways.
There is nothing more deeply blessed than to live a life of habitual dependence upon God and to wait on Him for everything. It is the true secret of peace and lifts us above creature independence. The soul that can really say, “All my springs are in Thee” (Psa. 87:7) is lifted above all human confidences and hopes and earthly expectations. It is not that God does not use the creature to minister to us, but if we lean upon the creature instead of leaning upon Him, we shall get leanness in our souls.
Circumstances and Second Causes
We should deeply ponder this distinction. Often, we imagine that we are leaning upon God, when, in reality, there is an appalling amount of the leaven of creature confidence. How often do we speak of living by faith and of trusting only in God, when at the same time, if we would only look down into the depths of our hearts, we should find there a large measure of dependence upon circumstances and reference to second causes.
Let us see to it that our eye is fixed upon the living God alone, and not upon man. Let us wait on Him. If we are at a loss for anything, let our direct and simple reference be to Him. Are we at a loss to know our way, to know whither we should turn, what step we should take? Let us remember that He has said, “I am the way” (John 14:6); let us follow Him. There can be no darkness, no perplexity, no uncertainty, if we are following Him, for He has said, “He that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness” (John 8:12). No darkness can ever settle down on that blessed path along which God leads those who, with a single eye, seek to follow Jesus.
Perplexity and Uncertainty
But some may say, “I am in perplexity as to my path. I really do not know which way to turn or what step to take.” If this is our situation, we may well ask ourselves, “Am I following the cloud?” Here lies the root of the whole matter. Perplexity or uncertainty is very often the fruit of the working of the will. We pray about it and get no answer, because God wants us to be quiet and simply to wait on Him.
This is the secret of peace and calm elevation. If an Israelite in the desert had taken it into his head to make some movement independent of the cloud, we can easily see what the result would have been. And so it will ever be with us. If we move when we ought to rest, or rest when we ought to move, we shall not have the divine presence with us. It is a reality to be known, not a mere theory to be talked of. May it be ours to prove it all our journey through!
Things New and Old, Vol. 11 (adapted)
The Morning Without Clouds
“He shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain” (2 Sam. 23:4).
In the first of the two songs of David in 2 Samuel, there is a remarkable allusion to the whole history of God’s way of dealing with Israel, of which David felt the moral power in himself. We have a wonderful variety of circumstances backward, forward and around, gathering up all the history of David, and his triumphs, unfolding the sympathies of Christ with the heart of David in sorrow, until he is made the head of the heathen, his own people being blessed under him.
In 2 Samuel 23, we get “the last words of David,” and here we learn where his eye and heart rested, amid the consciousness of his own failure and the failure of his house. He was looking for the “morning without clouds” — for the One who should rule over men in the fear of the Lord — who should build God’s house and in whom the glory should be manifested. There is the deep consciousness of all the ruin, but the effect of the coming morning shining into it. The effect on David’s heart of the coming of the Son of David and the failure of everything around leads him to reach forward in spirit to the full triumph of that day when all should be full of blessing.
Holy Affections
In the same way, it is not for us to be looking for blessing here, apart from the future manifestation of Him in whom the blessing comes in the “morning without clouds.” Until the power of evil is set aside, the effect of the energy of the Spirit is to make us groan and suffer in proportion to it. Our groaning, as saints, should always be that of spirit, because of holiness of mind, as amid the evil, and not on account of our own evil. So was it with Jesus: He groaned because of holy affections, and not because of unholy. Until the power of evil is set aside, the greater the energy of the Spirit, the more the individual is exposed to the fury of Satan.
The practical effect of all this upon our hearts and consciences is to throw us into the first part of the history of David. If we are faithful in singleness of eye in the camp of Saul, we shall soon find ourselves in the cave of Adullam, taking fellowship in Christ’s sufferings as the portion of our souls. It is in these circumstances we shall have made good to us the same secret affections of heart which were developed in David when he was humble. It was when David was a partaker beforehand of the sufferings and afflictions of Christ in the cave of Adullam, hunted as a partridge upon the mountains, that he was compassed about with songs of deliverance.
The Lord give us singleness of eye, and in the power of His resurrection, to have fellowship with His sufferings.
J. N. Darby (adapted)
Entering Into the Cloud
In Luke’s account of the transfiguration, we read, “Behold, there talked with Him two men, which were Moses and Elias: who appeared in glory, and spake of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem” (Luke 9:30-31). Could anything be more wonderful? They are talking with the Lord about His death. How striking a theme on that mount of glory! These two men are conversing with Jesus as to His death, while they at the moment see Him glorified. Marvelous mystery! He told them, as He had told His disciples a few days before, that He must die, because there is no way for you and me into God’s presence except through His death. There is no life for you and me except by death — the death of One upon whom death had no claim. And Moses and Elias were talking with Him about His death.
Redemption Through Death
What is the song of Revelation? “Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood” (Rev. 5:9). Eternal song of praise of the redeemed! The love of Christ will evoke it, for although He said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13), yet Christ laid down His life for us when we were not His friends, but were opposed to Him, and when we did not love Him. It is by His death that our redemption is accomplished. It is by His death that sin is put away. It is by His death that Satan’s power is broken, and by which you and I are brought to God.
And now at this moment we are told that Peter, James and John wake up, for “they were heavy with sleep, and when they were awake they saw His glory, and the two men that stood with Him” (vs. 32). There will be recognition in the Father’s house. The disciples knew Moses, and they knew Elias. I do not think when, by-and-by, we pass into eternity, that we shall fail to recognize each other, for recognition after resurrection is clearly seen here. The relationships of life are for time, but individuality is clearly maintained into eternity, and a very blessed thing for us that it is so. Peter, ever impetuous, and stirred by this marvelous vision, yet not knowing what He said, exclaims, “Master, it is good for us to be here.” That was quite true. It was a very nice thing for him to see the glory of the Lord.
The Cloud Enclosed Them
Peter’s heart began to get warm. He saw the Messiah, the lawgiver, and the reformer together, and he was charmed. In Moses he had the lawgiver; by his side was Elias, the prophet and reformer; and, above all, now he sees the Messiah, and to his Jewish mind the scene was so beautiful that he wanted to perpetuate it. He spoke out first as they were retreating out of sight. Matthew and Mark do not note this circumstance, but Luke records when Peter said these foolish words: “It came to pass as they departed from Him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said” (vs. 33). And what had he said? He had put the Son of God, the Messiah, Moses the lawgiver, and Elias the reformer on a level; He had equalized them. He thought this scene should be perpetuated, and to retain them he would give each a tabernacle. But “while he thus spake there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.” Peter, James and John were afraid. And what was the cloud? The Shekinah — the glory of God. The cloud that had tabernacled with Israel in the days of the wilderness reappeared to guard the Person of the Son of God. That cloud spoke of the immediate presence of the Father and was, in fact, the expression of the Father’s house, and into it Moses and Elias go. Thank God, that is where you and I, fellow-Christian, are going, and we need not be afraid to go there. If you have the Father’s thoughts about the Son, all is right. Moses and Elias had got the thoughts of the Father about the Son. Poor Peter! “Let us make three tabernacles; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias” was his estimation of the comparative value of his Master. You will understand that the Father could not brook this insult to His Son. And immediately there comes out of the cloud this voice, “This is My beloved Son; hear Him” (vs. 35). Ah! hear Him! Not, “Hear Moses.” No; his day is gone by. Nor Elijah? No; his day is also gone by. Hear Jesus, and Jesus only. This is Jesus’ day.
W. T. P. Wolston (adapted)
The Transfiguration
The holy mount of the transfiguration is not only the scene of the future vision, or the present contemplation of the glory, but it gives the disciples a near portion with Christ. Peter, who a few days previously had incurred the Lord’s displeasure, is brought by grace with his companions where man had never before entered. A cloud overshadowed the disciples, and they entered into it with Jesus. For a Jew it was a terrible thing. How could they do anything but fear to penetrate into the cloud which was the sign of Jehovah’s presence? How not tremble at the remembrance that even the high priest, in order that he might not die when he went into the sanctuary of God, had to envelop himself with a cloud of incense? But the disciples might be reassured; the cloud was no longer for them the abode of Israel’s Jehovah, but the Father’s house. The presence of Christ with them in the cloud was the means of revealing to them the name of Him who dwelt therein. They became companions not only of the Son of man in His glory, like Moses and Elias, but of the Son in the Father’s house. To dwell in the glory is indeed a future blessing which not even one of the saints fallen asleep has yet attained; to dwell in the Father’s house is a present as well as a future portion. If I can say in speaking of the future, “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psa. 23:6), I can as well cry, in speaking of the present, “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple” (Psa. 27:4). The prodigal son was brought into the Father’s house when he was converted; clad in the best robe and standing in the dignity of a son, he was there given to share in all the Father’s possessions and in the joy which He had in communicating them to him. This house is the secret abode of communion. Many things attracted the gaze of the disciples at the transfiguration: the face of Christ shining as the sun; His raiment white as the light; Moses and Elias, two celebrated men, appearing in glory. There was none of this in the cloud. Just as Paul said nothing about what he might have seen when he was caught up into paradise, so the disciples saw nothing in the cloud, for Moses and Elias disappeared. But this was in order that the disciples might give undivided attention to a word in which all the mind of God is summed up: “This is My beloved Son: hear Him” (Luke 9:35).
Peter forgot the preeminence of Christ as long as he saw Moses and Elias. He said, “Let us make three tabernacles.” He wanted to put the law and the prophets on a level with Christ by associating them with Him, and there are many Christians who unconsciously do the same. Poor Peter! How unworthy he showed himself of the vision! His language, his sleep and his fear betrayed the state of his soul, and the more the perfection of Jesus shone out, the more Peter’s imperfections were multiplied. We find it so at every turn, until he has fully judged himself. The Spirit gives power; the flesh deprives him of it. The Spirit enlightens his understanding; the flesh shows its ignorance, above all, concerning the cross. The Spirit directs his gaze to the glory of the kingdom; the flesh lowers this glory to the level of failing man. The same thing comes out in the scene of the tribute money, at the supper, in Gethsemane, and in the court of the high priest, until Peter learns what the flesh is and receives power from on high. The excellent glory, far from repelling the disciples, attracted them to Christ and set them at His feet as disciples, saying to them, “Hear Him.” Thus Peter, with the rest, was brought to enjoy the thoughts of the Father towards the Son of His love, and the Father’s house was the scene of this revelation. The disciples, as we have said, heard one word, the brief expression of what the presence of the Son called forth from the Father’s lips, but it is a word which lets us into the secret of His heart: “This is My beloved Son: hear Him.”
Christian Friend, Vol. 17
This Same Jesus
In Acts 1:9-11, we find recorded, by the Holy Spirit, an account of the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ into heaven. If we couple this scripture with what we read in Luke 24:50-51, we find that this event occurred in Bethany, for it says, “He led them out as far as to Bethany ... and ... He was parted from them.” Geographically Bethany lay about two miles east of Jerusalem, on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, on the road to Jericho. When our Lord ascended back to heaven, we read that “a cloud received Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9). But then the disciples, who were gazing up into heaven, saw two men in white apparel (evidently angels), who gave them a precious promise: “This same Jesus ... shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven” (vs. 11). To what does this refer?
If we look into the Word of God, we find two other verses that refer to our Lord’s return, both using the word “cloud” or “clouds.” When this word is used in Scripture, very often, and perhaps most of the time, it is indicative of the divine presence. In 1 Thessalonians 4:17, where Paul gives us details as to the rapture of the saints, we are told that “we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” Then, in Revelation 1:7, referring to our Lord’s coming back to this world in judgment, we read, “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.” These two events are distinct and are separated in time by at least seven years. To which of these does the Spirit of God refer in Acts 1?
The Kingdom to Israel
When our Lord had risen from the dead, the disciples were evidently not sure how events in this world would develop, and being godly Jews, they asked Him, “Wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). But our Lord’s answer was, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power” (vs. 7). The expression “times and seasons” refers to events in this world, and our Lord was not going to reveal all this to His disciples at that time. God was indeed going to allow the gospel to be preached to the nation of Israel from a risen Christ in glory, by the power of the Spirit of God. Consequent upon the ascension of Christ, the Holy Spirit would come down to indwell believers on earth, and in His power one more opportunity would be offered to the Jews. But the Lord knew full well that they would send a messenger after the Lord Jesus, in the stoning of Stephen, saying, “We will not have this man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14). Once this had happened, all was over with the Jews, for the moment, although Paul and others with him continued to preach to them first of all, giving them every chance to believe the gospel. Later too, Paul could say to the Thessalonians, “Of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you” (1 Thess. 5:1). By this time all was clear, for Paul was to “complete the Word of God” (Col. 1:25 JND). In the truth of the assembly, which was given to Paul, all God’s counsels are displayed. But before Paul came on the scene, the disciples were not totally clear as to all the events to take place on earth.
However, they were clear on one thing; the Lord Jesus had told them in John 14 that if He went away, He would return and receive them unto Himself. Yet the account in Acts 1 does not exactly correspond with Paul’s description of the Lord’s coming in 1 Thessalonians 4. I would suggest that all this only shows the perfection of the Word of God. From the description given of our Lord’s ascension from the Mount of Olives, it is clear that the angels’ statement about His returning “in like manner” refers to His appearing on earth at the end of the great tribulation, as foretold in Zechariah 14:4: “His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.” After the awful judgments of the great tribulation, our Lord will return to reestablish His relationship with His earthly people and will descend onto the same Mount of Olives from which He ascended.
The Moral Implication
However, the moral implication of this statement of the angels is surely connected with the rapture — the Lord’s coming for us. If the disciples were saddened at the Lord’s leaving them, they were reassured that He would return. For a short while they expected the kingdom to be set up, and thus Peter could say to them, “He [God] shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things” (Acts 3:20-21). But as the Jewish nation rejected the gospel from a risen Christ in glory, it became clear that the kingdom would be postponed. Eventually God allowed the city of Jerusalem to be destroyed by the Romans. The true hope of every believer would be for our Lord to come again, to receive them unto Himself into a heavenly kingdom. Truly we may say, with Paul, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!” (Rom. 11:33). In no way did the statement of the angels to the disciples interfere with our Lord’s revelation of the rapture in John 14. Rather, Israel was given one more test, with a promise that would have been carried out, had they believed. “Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15:18).
W. J. Prost
Coming! In the Clouds
“The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:16-17).
Where He comes is thus distinctly told us—to “the air.” If we are among those spoken of in the passage quoted from 1 Thessalonians, then we “shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.”
How will He come to the air? He will descend from heaven as the glorious risen Man, to call to the Father’s house on high the blessed company of all saints. “The Lord Himself,” Scripture says, and these words win the heart. Himself, the Jesus whom we love, will come.
How will He descend? “With a shout.” This assembly-call, this rallying cry, this voice of the Lord, each one of His people, whether asleep or awake, shall hear, and all shall respond to it in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.
“With the voice of the archangel.” Mortal man is weak; the angels “excel in strength”; at that day the mightiest of them shall pass on the Lord’s word and shall see men who sleep in Christ leave earth’s dust and rise victoriously to the clouds.
“With the trump of God.” “For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
But when shall these things be? “Surely I come quickly” (Rev. 22:20). It may seem to be a long time, but He says, “I come quickly.” May our hearts respond to His sure word and daily watch with our “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”
W. T. Turpin (adapted)
Clothed With a Cloud
In Revelation 10 through 11:1-14, we have a parenthetical scripture, in which there are two subjects dealt with: first, the action of the “mighty angel” in Revelation 10, and second, the state of the temple and of Jerusalem, together with the testimony of the two witnesses, as given in Revelation 11:1-14.
John says as to the former: “I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire” (vs. 1). Such is the personal description of this mighty angel, a description which surely points us to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He is clothed with a cloud, and a cloud is often connected with the divine presence, and hence with our Lord. This may be seen in the New Testament as well as constantly in the Old. On the mount of transfiguration, a cloud overshadowed both Him and His disciples (Matt. 17; Luke 9). When He ascended up into heaven, a cloud received Him out of the sight of His own (Acts 1). When He returns to the earth, He will come in the clouds of heaven (Matt. 24:30; Rev. 1:7). In Revelation 4 the rainbow is round about the divine throne; here it is upon the angel’s head, and the rainbow is the symbol of God’s everlasting covenant with the earth (Gen. 9:12-13). None, therefore, but a divine Person could wear the rainbow on His head. The last two characteristics — “His face as it were the sun, and His feet as pillars of fire”—are almost identical to those given in Revelation 1:15-16. There cannot be a doubt, therefore, as to the identification of this mighty angel with Christ.
The Little Book Open
In His hand there was a little book open. It is not a sealed book as in chapter 5, the contents of which could not be known until the seals were broken, but an open book, the contents of which were already known. This doubtless refers to the fact that the action of Christ in taking possession of the earth and the sea had already been made known through prophetic writings. (See, for example, Psa. 72; Isa. 11; 25; 60; Zech. 14, and other scriptures).
Having set one foot on the sea and the other upon the earth, He “cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when He had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices” (vs. 3). The subject of this cry is concealed, for when John was about to write what the seven thunders had uttered, he was commanded to seal up the things he had heard and not to write them (vss. 3-4). But from the imagery employed, it is not difficult to discern that the cry of Christ and the voices of the seven thunders were expressive of His wrath, indignation and righteous judgment.
The next three verses explain the significance of the action described in verse 2: “The angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up His hand to heaven, and sware by Him that liveth forever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to His servants the prophets” (vss. 5-7).
The Sovereign Right of Christ
In the action of the mighty angel (the Lord Himself) in setting one foot on the sea and the other upon the earth, whether the actual sea and earth are meant, or whether they are figures of “the flowing masses of the people” and of the ordered governments of the earth, the significance is the same. It is Christ come down, after His long season of patience at the right hand of God, to take possession of His rightful inheritance. (See Matt. 28:18; 1 Cor. 15:24-28; Heb. 2). It is to be observed also that He takes possession, not only through His acquired title through His redemption work, but also in virtue of the sovereign rights of the Creator. Hence it is that, lifting up His hand to heaven, He swears by the eternal God, the universal Creator. It is creation’s Lord who has bestowed the title, and now He comes to make it good. He accordingly declares that there shall be no longer delay, but that all the judgments, “the mystery of God,” which concerns His dealing with the world between the first resurrection and the appearing of Christ in glory, should now be completed, in the days of the voice of the seventh angel. This is preparatory to His coming in the clouds of heaven, when every eye shall see Him, to establish His sovereignty over the whole earth.
Christian Friend, Vol. 17 (adapted)
A White Cloud
In Revelation 11:15-18, we see prophetic events in the great tribulation drawing to a close. The Man-child, caught up to God’s throne (Rev. 12:5), now returns in judgment. The judgment, given to us in chapter 14, is described under the figures of a harvest and a vintage. First, we have the description of the Reaper: “I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle” (vs. 14). Both the manner of His advent (on the cloud) and the title (the Son of Man) proclaim unmistakably the person of the Reaper. It is the rejected Jesus, who, refused by the Jews as the Messiah, took up the wider title of the Son of Man, under which all things are put under His feet. The “golden crown” not only speaks of His royal dignity, but also of the glory of that divine righteousness, according to which everything will be both tested and judged, while the “sickle” announces the immediate object of His return. But as when down here He took the servant’s place, so when He comes to execute judgment, He will still occupy the same position. On this account an angel is introduced, “crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for Thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe” (vs. 15).
The Harvest
There is something sublime in the obedience to this command: “He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped” (vs. 16). As to the character of the judgment, two or three points may be noticed. It is the earth that is reaped, and hence it is men as men that are in question, not the Jewish nation. Second, the angel who cried to Him that sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap,” came out of the temple. The judgment therefore was to proceed according to the revealed character of Him whose habitation it was. Bearing these points in mind, it is easily understood that this judgment (the harvest) is of a discriminating character, gathering the wheat into His garner and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
The Vintage
The scene that follows, while related to the preceding one, has a different character. “Another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, He also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to Him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in Thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in His sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God” (vss. 17-19). There cannot be a doubt that the angel who executes judgment, although He is not named, is also the Son of Man. But He is here seen only as an angel, because He comes as the divine instrument of God’s will in judgment upon the vine of the earth. In this case, He comes out for this purpose from the temple, from God’s immediate presence. He is seen as the Son of Man when the judgment relates to the Gentiles, but here as an angel when the Jews are mainly before the mind. The figure of the vine is familiar. Israel was a vine, brought out of Egypt and planted in Canaan (Psa. 80), but when God looked for it to bring forth good grapes, nothing was found but wild grapes (Isa. 5:1-7). It was on this account that Christ Himself replaced Israel as the vine before God. He became the true vine, of which His own were the branches (John 15). The vine of the earth therefore will be that which should have borne fruit for God; it is apostate Judaism, with which the Gentiles will be allied.
The Winepress
The character of the judgment is shown by the words, “the great winepress of the wrath of God.” It is thus unsparing judgment (see Isa. 63:1-4) upon Messiah’s adversaries in connection with the establishment of His kingdom. One thing more is to be gleaned from the last verse: “And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs” (vs. 20). The term “without the city” indicates undoubtedly that the neighborhood of Jerusalem is the locality of this unmitigated vengeance. With this the prophet Joel agrees (as well as Isaiah and Zechariah), who seems to combine in one verse (Joel. 3:2-13) both the harvest and the vintage judgments. He specifies the valley of Jehoshaphat as the place where the nations will be judged, as well as the apostate Jews with whom they will be associated. The terrible character of the vengeance of that day is seen in the awful, if symbolic, statement concerning the blood that came out of the winepress, reaching unto the horse bridles, and extending to 1,600 furlongs; that is, as some have observed, to the whole length of the land of Israel.
E. Dennett (adapted)
Just an Ordinary Day
“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:17-18).
Sometime some ordinary day will come,
A busy day like this — filled to the brim
With ordinary tasks — perhaps so full
That we have little thought or care for Him.
And there will be no hint from silent skies,
No sign, no clash of cymbals, roll of drums;
And yet that ordinary day will be
The very day in which our Lord will come.