THE GREAT GATHERING
"Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him." 2 Thessalonians 2:1
"Our gathering together": those three words touch a note that finds a response in every part of the world. People are by nature social beings; we do not like being along. Go where you will on earth, people generally like meeting together and seeing one another's faces. It is the exception rather than the rule to find those who do not. Even in the best of gatherings, however, there is no unmixed pleasure about any of them. The Bible speaks of an assembly to come with complete joy and no sorrow attached.
1. What and when is the gathering together of true Christians to come? This gathering shall take place at the end of the world, when Christ returns to earth the second time. As surely as He came the first time, so shall He come the second. In the clouds of heaven He went away, and in clouds He shall return. He went away visibly and bodily the first time, and that is how He will return. The first thing Christ will do then is gather together His people: "He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matthew 24:31).
The manner of this gathering together is plainly revealed in Scripture. The dead saints shall all be raised and the living saints shall all be changed. It is written, "The dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). Every member of Christ will there be found, not one missing, each glorified soul joined to his or her glorified body.
A. This gathering together will be great. All true children of God who have ever lived, from Abel the first saint down to the last born again just before Jesus returns, all from every age, nation, church, people, and language shall be assembled together. Now when scattered, true Christians seem like a little flock, but when gathered like this will be "a great multitude which no one could number" (Revelation 7:9).
B. This gathering together will be wonderful. The saints from distant lands who never saw each other and could not understand each other's speech if they met shall all be brought together in one harmonious company. Believers who died 5,000 years ago and whose bones are mere dust shall find their bodies raised and renewed as quickly as those who are alive when the trumpet sounds. Many miracles of grace will be revealed. We shall see some in heaven whom we never expected would have been saved at all. The confusion of tongues shall at last be reversed and done away with. The assembled multitude will cry out with one voice and heart, "Oh, what God has done!" (Numbers 23:23).
C. This gathering will be humbling. It will make an end of bigotry and narrowmindedness forever. The Christians of one denomination shall joyfully find themselves side by side with those of another, worshiping and praying together. No more sectarianism, party spirit, jealousy, and pride. At last we shall be completely "clothed with humility" (1 Peter 5:5).
Gatherings of other kinds incessantly occupy our minds, but the hour comes when social, political, scientific, and economic meetings will be completely forgotten. One thought alone will swallow up men and women's minds then: Shall I be gathered with Christ's people into a place of safety and honor, or left behind to eternal woe?
2. Why is this gathering together so desirable? Paul's concluding words about our being gathered together to be always with the Lord are these: "Therefore comfort one another with these words" (1 Thessalonians 4:17-18).
A. It will be a state totally unlike the present condition. To be scattered and not gathered seems the rule of man's existence now. Of all the millions who are annually born into this world, how few continue together until they die? Children who draw their first breath under the same roof are likely to draw their last breath far apart. The same applies to the people of God, who are spread abroad like salt, one in one place and one in another, and seldom able to continue long side by side. It is good for the world that their light and salt penetrate many dark and decaying corners, but it is no small trial to believers. Many days they long for more communion with those who love the Lord. They may look forward with hope and comfort: the hour is coming when they shall have no lack of godly companions.
B. It will be a united assembly of one mind. There are no such assemblies now. Mixture, hypocrisy, and false profession creep in everywhere. To borrow from the parables of Jesus, wherever there is wheat there are sure to be tares. Wherever there are good fish there are sure to be bad. Wherever there are wise virgins there are sure to be foolish. There is no such thing as a perfect church now. All that shall come to an end one day. Our Lord shall at length present "a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing" (Ephesians 5:27). We will all see eye to eye with miserable controversies and squabbling buried forever. Everyone's graces will be fully developed and besetting sins dropped off like leaves in autumn. No wonder Paul encourages us to look forward!
C. It will be a meeting at which none shall be absent. The weakest lamb will not be left behind in the wilderness. We shall once more see our beloved friends and relatives who died in Christ and left us in sorrow now better, brighter, more beautiful and more pleasant than ever we found them on earth. We shall enjoy the mighty company of all the saints of God who have fought the good fight before us, from the beginning of the world to the end. If to read their words and works has been pleasant, think how much more delightful it will be to talk with them and ask them questions! To sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and hear how they kept the faith without any Bible; to converse with Moses, Samuel, David, Isaiah, and Daniel and hear how they could believe in a Christ yet to come; to converse with Peter, Paul, Lazarus, Martha, and Mary and listen to their wondrous tales of what their Master did for them.
D. It will be a meeting without a parting. There are no such meetings now. We seem to live in an endless hurry and can hardly sit down and take a breath before we are off again. Goodbye treads on the heels of hello. The cares of this world, the necessary duties of life, the needs of our families, the work of our various employments all appear to eat up our days and make it impossible to have long, quiet times of communion with God's people. It shall not always be so. We will meet in a world where the former things have passed away into an endless state of being calm, restful, and unhurried without change or tears.
3. How can one be a part of this great gathering? Here is a plain means of testing your own soul's condition if you want to know your own chances of being gathered into God's home. Ask yourself what kind of gatherings you like best here on earth. Do you love the assembling together of God's people? Your tastes on earth are a sure evidence of the state of your heart. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. He who hopes to be gathered with saints in heaven while he loves only the gathering of sinners on earth is deceiving himself. Grasp hold by faith on "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him." Believe it, think often about it, and rest on it. It is all true.
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