Watching the Clouds
During the last several weeks, I’ve done a lot of study work from home. My office at the meeting house has windows, but they are made of “crinkle glass,” and there’s no clear view of the outside world without opening the door. Frankly, it’s been too cold for that enjoyment! I’m a bit claustrophobic when it comes to such things, so working from home lets me see God’s creation with much more clarity. Today, the sun is shining brightly, and though they are darker than they were this morning (rain is predicted), I do enjoy watching the clouds!
As he was exiled to Patmos, the apostle John was blessed to write the book of Revelation. In verse seven of the first chapter, John says, “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. Even so, Amen.” I have no idea what the Roman “isle of imprisonment” was like during John’s day: whether there were buildings with individual cells or dungeons similar to Rome’s common prisons in many cities of the mainland. But I do know the island was distant from Ephesus, and its surroundings offered little if any hope of escape. So, perhaps John’s comfort came from beholding the clouds, knowing that someday, Christ would return within one of those God created marvels!
Jesus departed in a cloud when John last saw Him (Acts 1:9). Perhaps John gazed at the clouds around Patmos to remember that day, while longing for the time when, in the clouds, Jesus will return. Jesus often spoke of that time (Matthew 24:40; 26:64; Mark 13:26; 14:62. Paul spoke of Jesus returning with clouds (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Pondering of our Lord’s return while beholding the clouds is not a waste of time! There is a calming effect with the activity, combined with meditation of this imminent reality of the Lord’s return. Of course, if your soul isn’t ready for His return, this calmness may not exist with you, Instead, clouds may cause you fear – and they should!
Scientists have identified nine types of clouds, but we commonly think of only three types: cirrus (the thin white clouds), cumulus (the big fluffy clouds with a flat bottom), and nimbostratus (the dark gray clouds typically producing rain, snow, or sleet; i.e. “thunder clouds”). No one knows the “type” of cloud that Jesus will use when He returns. The fact is that His return will occur in such a way as to destroy the heavens and earth as we know them (2 Peter 3:10). For me, as I meditate about the clouds, I’ve always pondered if He will return in a massive “thunder cloud,” simply based on the fact the heavens will pass away with a great noise. (ibid.) Through the years, I’ve known more folks to fear thunderstorms than to enjoy them. Count me as one who loves thunderstorms! And if this is how our Lord chooses to return, rather than a soft, cottony cloud, it would surely awaken souls from their apathetic slumber! The trumpet sounding, the dead rising, and Judgment – all happening in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye – fascinates the mind! But like John on Patmos, let us say, “Even so come, Lord Jesus.”
QQQ
Would You Sign This Contract?
I promise, before I say or do anything, to ask first WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? And finding the answer to my question within the content of His word of the New Testament, I will say and do as He would.
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(signed) Your Name