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Heaven, the Christian’s Summer, October 24
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God
and our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Titus 2:13
.
Christ is soon to come the second time. Of this we should often talk. It should
be the uppermost thought in our minds. He is coming, with power and great glory,
and every eye shall see Him. All the holy angels will accompany Him. Of this
company John writes, “I beheld, and heard the voice of many angels round about
the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand
times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands” (
Revelation 5:11
).
The trumpet has not yet sounded. Those who have gone down into the grave
have not yet cried, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
(
1 Corinthians 15:55
). The righteous dead have not yet been caught up with the
living saints to meet their Lord in the air. But the time is near when the words
spoken by the apostle Paul will have their fulfillment, “For 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 Thessalonians 4:16-18
).
In order for us to be like the Saviour, we must be changed (see
Philippians 3:20,
21
). Now is the time for us to bring into the daily life the virtues of Christ’s life.
We have no time to lose. Should we fail in our character building, we shall lose
eternal life. We must build on the true foundation.... We must do the work of
Christ, and be constantly watching and praying. Then we shall be ready for His
appearing, prepared to receive eternal life.
All who will can be overcomers. Let us strive earnestly to reach the standard
set before us. Christ knows our weakness, and to Him we can go daily for help. It
is not necessary for us to gain strength a month ahead. We are to conquer from
day to day.
This earth is the place of preparation for heaven. The time spent here is the
Christian’s winter. Here the chilly winds of affliction blow upon us, and the waves
of trouble roll against us. But in the near future, when Christ comes, sorrow and
sighing will be forever ended. Then will be the Christian’s summer. All trials
will be over, and there will be no more sickness or death. “God shall wipe away
all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor
crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away”
(
Revelation 21:4
).—
Manuscript 28, October 24, 1886
, “The Hope Set Before Us,”
a sermon preached at Nimes, France.
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