In Maranatha on page 264 (MS 1, 1857), it states: “The Lord in judgment will at the close of time WALK THROUGH THE EARTH, the fearful plagues will begin to fall.”  This is before the Second Coming, He will walk through the earth in judgment like He did before Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed.   Isaiah. 4:2-6, NIV, "In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel.  Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem.  The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; He will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.  Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a CLOUD of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy [marriage of Lamb].  It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding plce from the storm and rain."

     “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.  The LORD takes his place in court; he rises to judge the people.  The LORD enters into judgment against the elders and leaders of his people: ‘It is you who have ruined my vineyard; the plunder from the poor is in your houses.   What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor?’ declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.”  Isaiah 13:9, 13-15.

     In Early Writings it speaks of those who are being prepared for the "day of God," that they will understand all truth and the new light and understanding.   “The different parties of professed Advent believers have each a little truth, but God has given all these truths  to His children  who are being prepared for the DAY OF GOD.  He has also given them truths that none of these parties know, neither will they understand.  Things which are sealed up to them, the Lord has opened to those who will see and are ready to understand.  If God has any new light to communicate, He will let His chosen and beloved understand it, without their going to havetheir minds enlightened by hearing those who are in darkness and error.”

       Another point on the cloud is the message of the Fifth Angel of Revelation 14:14-16.   "And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.  And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.  And He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped."  In the book The Seven Angels, it is stated that, "Christ, then, is the Harvester, the redeemed of all ages are the harvest, and the 144,000 are the first fruits."  This is also spoken of in 1 Corinthians 15:23  "But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming."  This would be speaking of the 144,000 who "are Christ's at His coming."

     Of course to fully understand this it is necessary to study the new light on the Seventh Seal and Trumpet.  In Manuscript Release 1518 (May 10, 1906), Ellen White tells us to, “. . . read the eleventh chapter of Revelation.  Read every verse, and learn the things that are yet to take place in the cities.”  The Seventh Trumpet begins to sound in verse 15.  In Revelation 10:1 it states: “And I saw another mighty angel (CHRIST) come down from heaven, clothed with a CLOUD: and a rainbow was upon His head, and His face was as it were the sun, and His feet as pillars of fire:”  This is before the Second Coming and Revelation 11:15-19  (see below) explains what work He is coming back to accomplish.  It is to complete the judgment begun in 1844, which ends with Judgment of the Living (Great Controversy 490).

     At this point Revelation 11:15: “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great  voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our LORD, and of His Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever.”  Jesus is back in a cloud to take His kingdom from Satan and finish the work of judgment before His Second Coming.

     "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. Not now a "Man of Sorrows," to drink the bitter cup of shame and woe, He comes, victor in heaven and earth, to judge the living and the dead. "Faithful and True," "in righteousness He doth judge and make war." And "the armies which were in heaven" (Revelation 19:11, 14) follow Him. With anthems of celestial melody the holy angels, a vast, unnumbered 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. "His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise. And His brightness was as the light." Habakkuk 3:3,4. As the living cloud comes still nearer, every eye beholds the Prince of life. No crown of thorns now mars that sacred head; but a diadem of glory rests on His holy brow. His countenance outshines the dazzling brightness of the noonday sun. "And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords." Revelation 19:16. Great Controversy, 640-641.

     And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, “The  kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our LORD, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.”  And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fellupon their faces, and worshipped God.  Saying, “We give thee thanks, O LORD GOD Almighty, Which are, and wast, and art to come; because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned.  And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged, and that Thou shoudest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints and them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.”