"As it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot" (Luke 7:26-2826But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. 27This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 28For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. (Luke 7:26‑28)).
“Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.”
“And now ye know what withholdeth, that he might be revealed in his time, for the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth (hindereth) will let until he be taken out of the way" (2 Thess. 2).
IN the above three places in Scripture we find this little word "UNTIL” marking a period of time, the passing of which has determined, and yet will irrevocably determine the eternal blessing or misery of souls.
It is solemn to find our Lord, when on earth, drawing attention to the two first periods; as a preparation for, and a warning against the last. And yet men, in the pride of their prosperity—in the conceit of their boasted intellectual and scientific discoveries—are saying (as the Scripture forewarned they would),
“Where is the promise of his coining? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were, from the beginning of the creation " (2 Peter 3:44And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. (2 Peter 3:4)). Meanwhile this dangerous shoal—this terrible undefined moment this little period "until," is lying right ahead of them; and they are speeding swiftly, and surely on to it.
Many a jest, and many a scoff may have assailed Noah of old, as day after day, obedient to the command of God, he pursued his laborious work of building an ark to the saving of his house. For when once the voice of God has sounded in a man's ears-when once it has reached his conscience and heart, he will pay little heed to the voice of the world. And so we find it recorded “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet... prepared an ark to the saving of his house by the which he condemned the world" (Heb. 11:77By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. (Hebrews 11:7)).
Have not you been "warned of God," dear reader? Oh! surely you have; times without number. Not indeed of a coming flood—but of a coming judgment, which will as surely overtake this doomed world, and those in it, “who know not God," as did the flood in the days of Noah! Meanwhile God lingers in long suffering grace, as He did then, to see if any will bow to His word, and accept the refuge which His love and pity have provided.
“God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Doubtless, had any listened to Noah's preaching and believed God's word, and sought admission into the ark, they would have been received and saved, as he and his house were.
But, alas! we read, " The earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and behold it was corrupt; for ALL flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth... And the Lord said unto Noah, come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee only have I seen righteous before me in this generation” (Gen. 6:12). And so, day after day, month after month, sped by; “they ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage—UNTIL "—oh! this terrible until! '—" the day that Noah entered into the ark; " and "that same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the flood-gates of heaven were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights ... And Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark" (Gen. 6, 7.).
Well, beloved reader, God has provided an ark of safety, to preserve you from death in that Day of Judgment which is so fast approaching. Tell me, are you in it? "A MAN shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest ... a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall "(Isa. 25:44For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. (Isaiah 25:4)).
“A MAN "—" the Man Christ Jesus." No other refuge will avail you in that day, but this one of God's providing. Have you accepted it? "Your life," writes the Apostle, to some who had made it theirs, "is hid with Christ in God" (Col. 3:33For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3)). How safer How secure! How far beyond the reach of the storms—the death—the desolations of this poor scene? Are you hidden there? Are you “in Christ?” If so, you are safe-you are saved; for “There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." Judgment will come upon this poor doomed world, but you will be forever above and beyond its reach.
“In the refuge God provided
Though the world's destruction lowers, —
We are safe, —to Christ confided,
Everlasting life is ours!”
But perhaps you say, “Well, I hope some day to be saved, but I cannot think of these things until I am at the head of my profession -until I have settled my family in life-until I am freed from the anxieties of my business.
I should like to be saved some day, but I must wait until I am older, and have seen more of life, then I will think of these things." If these words should express your inmost thoughts, I would entreat you to pause, and remember GOD has also an "until"—a period of time marked in your history, when He will say, “Thus far shalt thou come, and no further." And that period may be this day!
Like that "rich man" of old, you may delight yourself in the thought of having "much goods laid up for many years"—unbroken health commanding intellect—large possessions, but that voice may sound in your ears as it did in his, " Thou fool! This night thy soul shall be required of thee." “This night!” “This night!” Not" This night "week—" This night "month. But" THIS NIGHT." Without a moment's preparation, it may be—without a minute's warning—" this night" your breath may come slower and slower "this night” your heart's beating may become more and more feeble, and at last stop! and your poor body will lie lifeless, within a luxurious chamber, it may be; and. your SOUL—your never-dying— your never-thought-of soul, be launched into a dark, hopeless, Christless eternity!
Such was the fate of the inhabitants of Sodom, in the well-watered plains of Jordan, and the luxurious cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. They lived reckless of the future, and regardless of the past. Baying, selling, planting, building, they heeded not the warning at length sounded in their ears by Lot: “Up, get you out of this place, for the Lord will destroy this city." (Though it is scarcely to be wondered at, that the words of one who for so long a time had shared their evil association should be without effect.) So we read, “The same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.”
Fair and fresh as ever, the morning dawned for the last time over that doomed city.
Nothing in the aspect of nature forewarned its guilty inhabitants of the fearful judgment impending. The birds sang their morning song as sweetly as ever; heaven's balmy air blew as freshly through the sin-darkened streets; but urgent and imperative was the divine warning to Lot, to escape into Zoar, as on his account only was the judgment delayed. “Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything TILL thou be come thither." Then, as his footsteps crossed that city's boundary, a lurid darkness gathered and overspread the sky; and as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah gazed affrightedly upward, “the Lord rained.... brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven.”
Well, dear reader, with these warnings of the past sounding their solemn admonitions in our ears, is it wise to make light of God's announcement of another approaching judgment? He has “appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom he has ordained; whereof he has given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead " (Acts 17:3131Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. (Acts 17:31)). The day is "appointed"—the judgment is ready, but one thing hinders its falling upon this guilty, Christ-rejecting world—" He who now letteth (hindereth) will let, until he be taken out of the way" (2 Thess. 2:77For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. (2 Thessalonians 2:7)). Oh! the solemnity of this other "UNTIL" which is awaiting this poor world. “I cannot do anything TILL thou be come thither," said God.
Then as he hasted towards Zoar, the city of refuge (Gen. 19:2222Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. (Genesis 19:22)). And so His word is pledged to us: “Because thou past kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world, to try them which dwell upon the earth "(Rev. 3:1010Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. (Revelation 3:10)). Not a" seal” of the book of judgment will be broken—not a “trumpet" will utter its voice—not a "vial” will be poured out-"until" the " Church of God "—the elect" Bride " of Christ, indwelt by the Holy Ghost—has been "caught up,” together with the "dead in Christ" who shall “rise first to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord " (1 Thess. 4:15-1715For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16For 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: 17Then 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 Thessalonians 4:15‑17)). Then God's restraint of evil having been withdrawn, Satan will be allowed to act unhinderedly upon the hearts of men, madly hurrying them on to swift destruction.
Do you ask—"When will this take place?”
At any moment! We dare not define the day or hour, but we dare not put unfulfilled prophecy between us and it. " I will come again and receive you to myself," was the parting promise the Lord gave His sorrowing disciples, well knowing that nothing but the prospect of re-union could assuage the grief of separation. So also the Apostle comforted the bereaved Thessalonians, by telling them, they would meet their loved ones the moment the Lord came; so it could be said of them they waited "for His Son from heaven" (1 Thess. 1.). And the last assurance Jesus gives us in His Word is, "Surely I come quickly.”
Thus we see His return was ever the bright hope put before the Church; and His judgment upon the world lingers till that hope has been fulfilled. Faith, indeed, can already discern, in the troubles gathering in many lands, drops of the coming storm! But “He who now lets will let, until He be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.”
“Where is the promise of His coming?” say the scoffers, “all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”
Well, "things" may, perhaps, go on the same as usual to-morrow, and the day after, and until—until that assembling "shout" shall ring its blessed music through every sleeping saint's ear; and at home, abroad, from the battle-field, or the depths of the sea, " in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,... the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed," and all together caught up "to meet the Lord in the air," leaving not a believer upon the face of the whole earth, and not a particle of the redeemed dust of God's children in the grave!
"Oh! morn too bright for mortal eyes,
When all the ransomed saints shall rise,
And wing their way to yonder skies,
Called up with Christ to reign I.”
What hinders it dawning upon His weary waiting people? God's long-suffering, which “is salvation." We know it “waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing;' so it is waiting now that sinners may be saved It has been salvation to many; has it been to you? If not, oh! may it prove so now—may it prove so to-day, for " Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." Do not say "To-morrow," when God says "To-day.”
There are two chances to one, against your being saved to-morrow. Death, and the coming of the Lord. Both will equally seal your doom. Both are uncertain, yet both are near. And if the Lord were to come tonight for His people, you who have rejected Him would be left behind, to see and pass through the terrible judgments which will then come upon the world, and be at length “punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power "(2 Thess. 1:99Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; (2 Thessalonians 1:9))." Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night; if ye will inquire, inquire ye: return, come" (Isa. 21:1212The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will inquire, inquire ye: return, come. (Isaiah 21:12)).
“What doth the watchman say,
Whose cry the slumberer wakes?
The night has nearly passed. away:
The morning breaks.
The night is coming, too!
A night of speechless woe:
But there shall be no night to you
Who Jesus know.
Come, whosoever will!
E'er God's right hand He leaves:
He waits till He His bosom fill
With all his sheaves.
God speaks; shall we be dumb?
Watch that your lamps may burn
Come all ye weary wanderers, come!
Return! Return!”
A. S. O.