God Is Not Silent.

...He shall come, and not keep silence, shall no longer seem to wink at the sins of men, as he had done, but shall show his displeasure at them, and shall also cause that mystery to be published to the world by his holy apostles which had long lain hid, that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs (Eph. 3:5, 6) and that the partition-wall of the ceremonial law should be taken down; this shall now no longer be concealed. In the great day our God shall come and shall not keep silence, but shall make those to hear his judgment that would not hearken to his law.

That his appearance should be very majestic and terrible: A fire shall devour before him. The fire of his judgments shall make way for the rebukes of his word, in order to the awakening of the hypocritical nation of the Jews, that the sinners in Zion, being afraid of that devouring fire (Isa. 33:14), might be startled out of their sins. When his gospel kingdom was to be set up Christ came to send fire on the earth, Lu. 12:49. The Spirit was given in cloven tongues as of fire, introduced by a rushing mighty wind, which was very tempestuous, Acts 2:2. And in the last judgment Christ shall come in flaming fire, 2 Th. 1:8. See Dan. 7:9; Heb. 10:27. - Matthew Henry