The judgment has been going on now in heaven for over 150 years, and signs all indicate that the time is near when the door of mercy will clang shut, as did the door of Noah's ark. Then Jesus declares, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still." (Rev. 22:ll). "I saw a flaming cloud come to where Jesus stood. Then Jesus laid off His priestly garment and put on His kingly robe, and took His place on the cloud which carried Him to the east, where it first appeared to the saints on earth as a small black cloud, which was the sign of the Son of man." (To the Little Remnant Scattered Abroad). Also, in Early Writings, p 35, "Soon appeared the great white cloud. On it sat the Son of man. The living saints were changed in a moment, and were caught up with the resurrected saints into the cloudy chariot. It looked all glorious as it rolled upward. On either side of the chariot were wings, and beneath it wheels." Then, in Spiritual Gifts, p 33, "We all entered the cloud together, and were seven days ascending to the Sea of Glass, when Jesus brought forth the crowns and with His own hand placed them on our heads."
"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." (Great Controversy, p 640). The obvious conclusion we draw from these statements is that the sign of the Son of man is a giant heavenly chariot which approaches earth from the east, and at its orbital distance appears about half the size of a hand held at arm's length. How large would that chariot be? In order to aid people in locating various planets and stars in the night sky, the daily newspaper states that a clenched fist (about half the size of a hand) held at arm's length subtends an angle of about 10 degrees. Assuming this is correct, and that the craft is in a standard orbit of about 200 miles, then by a simple trigonometric calculation, an object subtending this angle should be about 30 to 35 miles in diameter. A ship of that size, and who knows how many decks, would hold a lot of saints.
Someday soon, if we are faithful, you and I will have the privilege of boarding the huge celestial chariot for our journey to heaven. The magnificent flotilla composed of the giant flagship surrounded by thousands of escorting angels will sweep through the Milky Way, past whirling island universes and shining nebulae, through the blazing corridor of Orion to the Heavenly City. The landing lights are on as we come in for a landing at Heaven's galactic spaceport on the Sea of Glass. What a glorious experience it will be for the living saints to look up and see the sign of the Son of man.
