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Last Day Events
their sinful neglect of God and their fellow men, but because God has
conquered. They lament that the result is what it is, but they do not
repent of their wickedness.—
The Great Controversy, 654
(1911).
Jesus Descends in Power and Glory
Soon there appears in the east a small black cloud, about half the
size of a man’s hand. It is the cloud which surrounds the Saviour, and
which seems in the distance to be shrouded in darkness. The people of
God know this to be the sign of the Son of man. In solemn silence they
gaze upon it as it draws nearer the earth, becoming lighter and more
glorious, until it is a great white cloud, its base a glory like consuming
fire, and above it the rainbow of the covenant. Jesus rides forth as a
mighty conqueror....
With anthems of celestial melody the holy angels, a vast, unnum-
bered throng, attend Him on His way. The firmament seems filled with
radiant forms—“ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of
thousands.” No human pen can portray the scene, no mortal mind is
adequate to conceive its splendor....
The King of kings descends upon the cloud, wrapped in flaming
fire. The heavens are rolled together as a scroll, the earth trembles
before Him, and every mountain and island is moved out of its place.—
The Great Controversy, 640-642
(1911).
[275]
The Reaction of Those Who Pierced Him
Those who have acted the most prominent part in the rejection and
crucifixion of Christ come forth to see Him as He is, and those who
have rejected Christ come up and see the saints glorified, and it is at
that time that the saints are changed in a moment, in the twinkling of
an eye, and are caught up to meet their Lord in the air. The very ones
who placed upon Him the purple robe and put the crown of thorns
upon His brow, and those who put the nails through His hands and
feet, look upon Him and bewail.—
Manuscript Releases 9:252
(1886).
They remember how His love was slighted and His compassion
abused. They think of how Barabbas, a murderer and a robber, was
chosen in His stead, how Jesus was crowned with thorns and scourged
and crucified, how in the hours of His agony on the cross the priests
and rulers taunted Him, saying, “Let Him come down from the cross,