the Son of Man which is spoken of here will undoubtedly be the cloud
of glory which will bring Him from heaven to the earth. Some
believers in the coming of the Lord have mentioned the sign of the
Son of Man to be seen in the heaven as if that sign stood in relation
to the church and would be welcomed by believers, the saved ones, as
the sign that their redemption is now at hand. We read not long ago
in a pamphlet in which certain coming signs in constellation of
stars, etc., were mentioned, as being foretold in prophecy, and
teaching the church that the coming of the Lord must be at hand. This
is a mistake. There is nowhere in prophecy a sign mentioned appearing
in the heaven to show the church that the Lord is at hand. The
church, that is the one body, does not need such a sign. When the
sign of the Son of Man appears in the heaven there will be no more
church in the earth to see it. It will be "immediately after the
tribulation of these days;" the church will not be in that
tribulation. The sign is for Israel. Ezekiel beheld that glory which
is then to be seen in the heavens. I looked, and, behold, a stormy
wind came out of the north, a great cloud with a fire infolding
itself, and a brightness round about it, and out of the midst thereof
as the color of amber out of the midst of the fire. And out of the
midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. . . . And
above the firmament that was above their heads was the likeness of a
throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness
of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man upon it
above. And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire
within it round about, from the appearance of his loins and upward,
and from the appearance of his loins and downward, I saw as if it
were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness round about
him. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of
rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was
the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord (Ezekiel i:
5, 26, 28). This vision will actually be seen by Israel in the day of
the manifestation of the Lord. He will return in like manner upon a
cloud as the glorified Son of Man as He went up into heaven. In Acts
i: 11, where the promise of His return is given, it is likewise to be
remarked that that promise does not present the Hope of the church,
our blessed Hope, as believers. It is very often used as speaking of
that Hope which is so dear to every believer's heart. However, the
promise given by the two men in white apparel, in Acts i., is a
promise to Israel. It is the coming in like manner as He went into
heaven, that is the coming of the Lord with His saints and not for
His saints. There is still another passage which is in close
connection with the appearing of Jehovah, the pierced One, in
Zechariah xii., namely, Revelation i: 7, Behold He comes with the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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