By William J. Rowlands
(see endnotes)
Contents
Chapter 1: General Examination of
the
Two-Stage Theory
Chapter 2. The
Olivet Prophecy, Jewish Or Christian?
Chapter 3: The
Ascension Of The Church Militant an Aspect Of The Rapture
Chapter 4: "The Day Of
Christ" Is "The Day Of The Lord."
Chapter 5:
Christ's Second Coming:
Post-Tribulation
Chapter 6: Taken Out Of The Way
Chapter 7: Does Sovereign Grace Exempt From
Tribulation?
Chapter 8: The Letters
To The Seven Churches.
Chapter 9:
Some General Difficulties
Met
Preface To The Second Edition
A Second Edition of Our
Lord Cometh having been requested, the whole has been carefully
revised
and articles added on important phases of this momentous subject. This
has
necessitated some slight re-arrangement of the book in order to avoid
undue
repetition.
The Scripture references are
from the Authorized or Revised Version of the English Bible: mostly
from the
Revised, on account of its greater uniformity in translating keywords.
Wm. J. Rowland
THE
theory of the two-stage coming of the Lord is indeed very dear to the
hearts of
many of God’s people, who feel that if their belief in a secret, any
moment
rapture of the church were taken from them, the value and power as well
as the
joy of the Blessed Hope would be lost. This, however, was not the view
of
Messrs. Geo. Muller, Jas. Wright, Horatius Bonar, D. D., and others
like Robert
Chapman, Dr. Bergin and Dan Crawford, who have been used to carry the
gospel to
the dark places of the earth, and whose works do follow them; and my
own
experience, as one who held the two-stage theory for about twenty
years, is
that the hope of the second coming is to me brighter and clearer, as
prophesied
events are seen to be steadily moving toward His appearing. By this I
do not
mean that we have in Scripture a detailed prophetic history running
from our
Lord’s first coming to His second coming, but that Scripture does very
clearly
foretell the general marks of the age and also delineates certain
specific
events, some now fulfilled and some still future, to precede the Lord’s
return.
The idea that the church has been for 1,900 years expecting an
any-moment
coming, that may still be today or many years hence, is vague and
unsatisfying.
It has given room for the Lord’s enemies to say "Where is the promise
of
His coming?" and, since some have asserted that "the church’s hope
waits on no sign," there is, in this theory, no relief, until the
longed-for moment arrives. I write sympathetically; for I write for
those whom
I love in truth. Every prophesied event for this age, connected with
the Jews
or Gentiles or the church of God, precludes the thought that the church
at
Pentecost expected an any-moment coming, and if we expect what they
could not
expect, our hope is different from theirs. The Lord foretold the
Coming of
the Spirit at Pentecost, with the subsequent witness; He said,
"Before
governors and kings for My sake, for a testimony against them and the
Gentiles"—His disciples were to be His witnesses from Jerusalem to the
uttermost part of the earth. (Has this yet been reached?) Peter
was to
be martyred as an old man; Jerusalem and the temple were to be
destroyed;
apostasy would rise and spread; the leaven would work in the meal until
the
whole was leavened. These and other prophesied events forbid the
thought that
the church at Pentecost was looking for Christ to come without
intervening
events. Yea, the very Paschal discourse declares that "the time cometh,
that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service" (John
16:2) (thus foretelling the death of apostles before Christ’s coming),
and
contains a program needing time for fulfillment, just as surely as
Matthew 24
and Luke 21; "These things must needs come to pass first, but the end
is
not immediately" (Luke 21:9, R. V.). Christ has Himself warned us,
"Take heed that ye be not led astray; for many shall come in my name,
saying,
I am He, and, The time is at hand. Go ye not after them" (ver.
8).
The
Lord’s own words are, "After a long time, the Lord of those
servants cometh." After many years of careful study I am convinced that
there is no Scripture statement that the Lord is coming secretly for
His
church; or that there will be a period of years between His coming for,
and
with, His saints; or that He may come at any moment, or before
the reign
of Antichrist and the unequalled tribulation.
If
we state abundantly in our writings and preaching that which Holy
Scripture nowhere
states, we are building on a sandy foundation. It has been said
that the
teaching against which we protest is the general teaching of Scripture;
but how
can doctrine be according to the whole trend of Scripture when its
advocates
cannot (when asked) show it clearly even in one verse?
All
foundation doctrine of Scripture is abundantly stated, and could be
taught
by us in the very words of Holy writ, without human addition or
explanation.
Why could not this doctrine be so declared? The true answer is that it
rests
only upon inferences and theories of men! e.g. I have been told: "If I
held your theory it would make me miserable and would unfit me for
service, and
that is enough to show me that it is not true." But, firstly, it can be
replied, "If you have never held the view we hold, you cannot know how
it
would make you feel." Secondly, who is to judge the value of truth by
his
imagination of the effects it ought to have, or would have, on his
mind? Is our
happy frame of mind the great test of truth? Was not our Lord Himself
the Man
of Sorrows and acquainted with grief? Did He not even say, "Blessed are
they that mourn: for they shall be comforted"? Did the Old Testament
prophecies always give a happy feeling as evidencing their truth? Did
not
Jeremiah, Daniel and John become as dead men, under the weight of
prophetic
truth, divinely revealed? And while they found the little book sweet to
their
taste, yet it brought an inward bitterness, for it brought them into
collision
with the doctrines of men. Even so it is now, in degree, with those who
receive
from God’s Book these precious instructions.
All
the prophets foretold a glorious hope for the redeemed; but all
foretold the
sorrow that should come first.
The
"Jewish" Theory.
This
teaching against which we protest has, we believe, caused its adherents
to
reject the Plain meaning of clear Scripture statements.
It
has led some to reject, for their own guidance, the teaching of our
Lord in
Matthew as being, they say, for the Jews and not directly for the
church; a
conclusion that would deprive us of the true value of the fourfold
Gospel of
Christ, for Matthew cannot be separated from Mark, Luke and John.
It
has led to intimations that need the addition of words not found in the
text,
e.g. "My Jewish brethren" in Matthew 25; enough in itself
surely to discount for ever the Jewish theory.
The
last plain command in Matthew 28 is often relegated to a past or future
dispensation. It virtually, to many people, makes Paul the church’s
foundation
instead of Christ. Neither is their Paul the Paul of Scripture, but the
product
of their own distortion. Is not this the very thing of which the
apostle Peter
warns us in his second epistle? (2 Pet. 3:16). It has even been
questioned by professed
teachers whether our Lord preached a full gospel, or even preached the
gospel
at all.
It has led to extravagant dividing of Scripture
under the
plea of "rightly dividing," but the very words warn us against
wrongly dividing, and of putting asunder truth that God has joined
together.
One terrible result of this ultra-dispensational teaching has been the
"dividing" of many saints of God, the fearful consequences of which
have spread even to the far-distant mission field.
The
Gospel of Christ-Only One.
Are
there three Gospels or one? Did Paul preach the very same Gospel as the
Lord
and all the other Apostles? or did he receive a new Gospel,
and a new
revelation as the church’s hope?
In
Luke 4:18-21, at the beginning of His public ministry, our Lord
declared that,
in accordance with Isaiah 61:1, 2, He was anointed by God with the Holy
Spirit:
to preach the gospel to the poor ... to preach deliverance . . . to
preach the
acceptable year of the Lord. In Luke 20:1, at the end of His ministry,
His
enemies found Him in the temple "preaching the gospel." His earliest
recorded discourse is probably that to Nicodemus in John 3, before John
the
Baptist was delivered up. We have seen from Scripture that Christ did
really
preach the gospel. What gospel then did He preach? He surely only
preached one
gospel.
First
of all we find that He preached the gospel of God’s grace to a ruined
people;
ruined by the fall; and needing nothing short of new birth. In Paul’s
words we
need to be "Created anew in Christ Jesus." Our Lord taught Nicodemus
(what as the teacher of Israel he should have known) that only birth
from above
would bring him into the "kingdom of God." In Paul’s words,
"They are not all Israel which are of Israel"(* See Rom.
9:6-8). Christ taught that "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever
believeth
in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the
world,
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him
should not
perish, but have eternal life."
Is
this not the Gospel of the grace of God? Eternal life by faith in
the
crucified Redeemer; in verse 18, No condemnation to those who believe.
Yea, all
the truth of the gospel as epitomized in Romans, chapters 1-8 is here
in John 3
Eternal life—"Ye must be born again." Eternal love— "For God so
loved." Eternal light— "Light is come into the world." Can any
deny that this chapter is the gospel of the grace of God? Yet it is
also the
gospel of the kingdom, for it tells us the only way of entrance to
God’s
kingdom. It is distinctly stated that our Lord "preached the gospel of
the
kingdom" (Matt. 4:23; 9:35; and Luke 4:43): and He declared this to be
the
gospel His disciples were to preach in the whole world, for a
testimony unto
all the Nations (Matt. 24:14). Yet is it not indisputably clear
that our
Lord preached the gospel of the grace of God to Nicodemus, and in
Matthew
11:28; Luke 7 and 15? Yes, truly, Christ preached the gospel; not two
gospels
but one.
The
Gospel Paul Preached The Same.
Paul
was converted after he had "persecuted the church of God" (1 Cor.
15:9; Gal. 1:13; Phil. 3:6). He did not confer with those who were
apostles
before him, but went to Arabia, and "far hence" preaching to
"Jews and Gentiles" (Acts 20:21). After fourteen years or more he
conferred at the council in Jerusalem (Acts 15; Gal. 2) with those who
were
apostles before him, and the perfect agreement of their teaching was
declared.
In
1 Corinthians 15:3-11, after telling us the gospel he had preached, how
that Christ
died ... was buried ... and raised according to the Scripture, he names
the
other apostles and early witnesses and says, "Whether it were I or
they,
so we preach and so ye believed" (ver. 2). Could words be found
to
put it plainer? Would he have pronounced accursed, any one, either man
or
angel, who preached any other gospel, if the other apostles had not yet
received the gospel of the grace of God? If Paul received a new gospel,
then
the church must have had another before his day, and as he did not
confer with
the other apostles until about seventeen years after his conversion, it
would
have meant two gospels being preached. Surely the very statement of
such a
thing refutes the theory.
In
Acts 20:24 we read, "But none of these things move me, neither count I
my
life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and
the
ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the
Gospel of
the Grace of God": but lest this should be misconstrued he
continues:
"And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I went about
preaching
the Kingdom shall see my face no more" (ver. 25).
Acts
20:24 is the only place where the expression "Gospel of the grace of
God" occurs. Why then is it made the plea for assuming another gospel
in
the face of the fact that many times in Acts, Paul says he "Preached
the
things concerning the Kingdom of God" and that many other expressions,
viz. "Gospel of the glory of the blessed God ...Gospel of peace,"
"Gospel of God," "Gospel of Christ," "Gospel of His
Son," "Gospel of your salvation," are used to set forth the one
eternal glad message in its many phases of beauty and excellence.
In,
Acts 8:12 (see R.V. and Newberry, also Englishman’s Greek New
Testament)
we read of a Spirit-filled preacher, "but when they believed Philip
preaching the good tidings concerning the Kingdom of God
and the
Name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women." Surely
this
is a clear statement that Philip preached (euaggelizomeno) the
Gospel
of the Kingdom, and by it souls were added to the church. Later in
the same
chapter, the same Philip, guided by the same Spirit, opened his mouth
and
preached "Jesus" from Isaiah 53, and the eunuch was saved.
These
facts cut away the very foundation of the theory that requires and
teaches
that, whereas the Gospel of the kingdom has been preached in
the past,
the gospel of the grace of God is for the present dispensation,
and that
after the Church has been taken up, the gospel of the kingdom
will again be preached. Since it is one and the same gospel, that
assertion of
distinctions loses all weight. Grace and truth came (not firstly by
Paul) but
by Jesus Christ, and Paul himself declares with mighty emphasis to
Timothy (1
Tim. 6:2-4): "These things teach and exhort. If any man teach
otherwise,
and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus
Christ....
he is proud, knowing nothing." Surely the "Words of Grace
which proceeded out of His mouth" (Luke 4:22) were exactly equivalent
to
the "Gospel of Grace" as declared by Paul. "How shall we
escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to
be spoken
by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard."
The
whole gospel preached by Paul can be found in the words of Christ.
The
Secret Rapture Theory Contradicts Plain Scriptures.
Psalm
110:1 states that "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou at My right
hand until
I make Thine enemies Thy footstool," and continues clearly to show
that Christ’s session of waiting ends only when He comes to "put forth
the
rod of His strength" and to rule in the midst of His enemies (ver. 2).
To
this agree the words of the Holy Spirit through Peter (Acts 3:21),
"Even
Jesus: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration
of all
things, whereof God spake by the mouth of His holy prophets…."
Scripture says that Christ will sit at God’s right hand until it is
time for
Him to put His feet upon His foes; but the theory of the two-stage
coming
teaches that He will leave that throne (which would be in opposition to
Jehovah’s
will expressed in Ps. 110:1) at least seven years before the appointed
time,
and that Antichrist, His greatest earthly foe, will arise after He has
so come
forth. Acts 3:21 declares that the times of restoration follow His
coming, but
this theory says it is then the great tribulation will come.
The
apostles and elders of the church (including Paul) were in perfect
agreement at
the council in Jerusalem (Acts 15:14), when James said "Simeon hath
declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of
them a
people for His Name, and to this agree the words of the prophets; as it
is
written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle
of
David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof,
and I
will set it up." Can words be plainer than this? Is it not a clear and
simple statement, taught by inspired apostles, and confirmed as the
teaching of
inspired prophets, that after this "people for His Name" has been
gathered from among the Gentiles, Israel’s restoration is to take
place?
Is not this very different from saying that the period of their worst
tribulation is then about to come upon them?
Romans
11:25-27 says, "that blindness in part is happened to Israel until the
fulness of the Gentiles be come in, and so all Israel shall be saved;
as it is
written: There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn
away
ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant unto them, when I shall
take
away their sins."
Here
again the gathering of the "Fulness of the Gentiles" will be followed
by the conversion and forgiveness of Israel, and not by the tribulation.
Plain
Deductions Lead Us to the Same Conclusions,
e.g.
in Matthew 28 our Lord said "Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all
the nations . . . and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
age." This word assures us, therefore, that the Spirit of Christ will
be
with the church in her witness to the Nations until the end of
the age;
it follows that the Holy Spirit cannot be "taken out of the way"
before the end of the age, and the church will not be removed until the
end of
the age, but is to be left on earth until then, not with a different
gospel,
but "teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded
you." It is therefore taught in the final command of our only Lord and
Teacher, that the same church will preach the same gospel, in the power
of the
Holy Spirit, all the days even unto the end of the age. The Lord
Himself
defines the end of the age as the "Harvest" when He Will send forth
His angels to gather the tares and wheat, i.e. true and false
professors of the
Name of Jesus.
"Let
both grow together until the harvest" precludes the taking of the true
church, years before the tares are reaped.
The
Two-Stage Theory Duplicates Many Things.
Paul
says the bodies of all the saints will be changed "In a moment [not any
moment], in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the
trumpet
shall sound, etc." Many attempts have been made to prove that this last
trump is not the last trump spoken of in the only series of
prophetic
trumpets in Holy Scripture, but whether it be explained away as the
Roman or
Greek army trumpet, or the silver or ram’s horn trumpet, it still
remains that
if this last trumpet is not the last trumpet, but
seven are to sound
after it, then it follows that there are two last trumpets, or that the
trumpet
here spoken of by the inspired apostle as the last is not the last.
The thought that the Book of Revelation was written years after the 1st
Epistle
to the Corinthians presents no difficulty, inasmuch as Paul was a
prophet.
We
are asked to believe that in the New Testament there are two gospels or
more;
two distinct comings with years between (the advocates are not yet
agreed
whether it will be 3-1/2 years or 7 or even 40 years); two first
resurrections, and two ends of the age. I have even heard it stated
that:
"The eternal gospel is not a gospel, for we are told there is no gospel
in
it"; and that "it is not eternal, because it will only be proclaimed
for a little while." People are said to be eternally saved and made
heirs
of the kingdom because they have been kind to the Jewish
brethren, or
because they refuse the mark of the beast. Can anything be more
disastrous than
these false interpretations which undermine the very foundations of the
gospel?
Will any one ever be saved except by the grace of God through the merit
of the
precious blood of Christ?
Saving
faith is always shown by works. Because they were saved by faith,
Daniel and
his friends braved the tyrant’s torture. Because the sheep of Christ
are saved
by grace through faith, they do of necessity show it in kindness to
each other
for Christ’s sake.
"In
that ye have ministered to the saints and do minister" (Heb. 6:10).
No
Resurrection of the Saints before the FIRST.
God
teaches us in 1 Corinthians 15 that the departed saints are to be
raised at
Christ’s coming: "They that are Christ’s at His coming." In
Revelation 20:5, 6, we are told of a resurrection that is called in
Scripture
the first resurrection. "This is the first
resurrection.
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection." But
again, this is explained away with a zeal that causes deep regret. This
first
resurrection is not to be understood in all simplicity as being the
first
resurrection, but as a part of the first resurrection. Is this because
the
verses include those "which had not worshipped the beast, neither his
image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their
hands"? If this is really the first resurrection, there
cannot be a resurrection seven years or more before it, and as this first
resurrection includes those who have suffered under Antichrist, it
proves that
the first resurrection comes after the tribulation, and that
there is
none before it. 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4, therefore, must
refer
to this same first resurrection and not to a resurrection that precedes
the
first resurrection.
No
Resurrection before the Last Day of this Age.
Our
Lord has taught us in John 6 that "This is the Father’s will which hath
sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me, I should lose nothing, but
should
raise it up again at the last day (ver. 39), and this is the will of
Him that
sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may
have
everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day" (ver. 40).
"No
man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him; and
I will raise
him up at the last day" (ver. 44).
"Whose,
eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will
raise him
up at the last day" (ver. 54).
Four
times in this one discourse our Lord has plainly told us that the
resurrection
of the redeemed will be at the last day. In Revelation 20 we see that
those who
have part in the first resurrection will live and reign with
Christ the
1,000 years; therefore, this last day must be the last day of this
age. The order of these verses is very instructive; beginning with the
giving
of the church by the Father to the Son; then the seeing and believing
for
ourselves; then the fact of Divine operation having drawn us to Christ;
then
the Lord becoming our satisfying portion.
So
had Martha been instructed, for she confessed, "I know that he
(Lazarus)
shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
It
is impossible that any future revelation given to Paul disagrees with
this
tremendous fact. Paul, in Acts 24:15, declares that the Jews allowed
that there
should be a resurrection both of the just and the unjust, thus showing
that Old
Testament teaching was clear on the subject even to them. Daniel 12:2
connects
the resurrection from the "dust of the earth" with the
glorification of the redeemed in heavenly glory, when they that be wise
shall shine
as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to
righteousness
as the stars for ever and ever. Their portion being "eternal life"
and eternal heavenly glory.
The
Church’s and Israel’s Victory Linked.
Paul
connects the saints’ resurrection with the time of Israel’s
forgiveness: the
fulfillment of Isaiah 25 (see specially ver. 8), "He will swallow up
death
in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces;
and the
rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth; for the
Lord
hath spoken it." Shall we believe that the period of greatest
tribulation
will immediately follow this? Our Lord said of the tribulation that
"Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh
be
saved." Shall we be asked to believe that it will come and consume its
myriad’s, after death is swallowed up in victory?
Paul
says, "So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this
mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the
saying
that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." This saying is
to
be found in Isaiah 25:8, in a chapter which speaks distinctly of
Israel’s
restoration and of the veil removed from the nations. Shall we say it
does not
come to pass then, but that a period of tribulation and
delusion for
Israel and the nations must be expected instead? Again I ask, shall
death
swallow up its myriad of saints after it has itself been
swallowed up in
victory, the victory given us by our Lord Jesus Christ? (1 Cor. 15).
The
Coming "For" and "With."
Scripture
declares plainly an interval of 1,000 years between the two
resurrections, but
no Scripture can be cited as stating a period of years between His
coming for
and with His saints. It is suggested that He cannot come with us unless
He has
previously come for us, and that therefore, the passages referring to
His coming
with us must be speaking of a different event; but even if this were
true, it
would not prove an interval of years: it could all be on "one day
which is known unto the Lord" (Zech. 14).
The
chief passage usually cited as if it spoke of a coming of the Lord for
His
church in contrast to other Scriptures telling of His coming with us,
is 1
Thessalonians 4:13-18. But the 14th verse of this very passage
precludes any
such distinction by stating it to be a coming with us. "For if we
believe
that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that are fallen
asleep in
Jesus will God bring with Him." Speaking as he is to the living saints
concerning the departed ones, the apostle, when he says "them also"
must mean them as well as ourselves; thus teaching here that when our
Lord
comes, all the saints, both the living and the sleeping ones, "will God
bring with Christ." His next two verses are written expressly to show
how
this will be, for, says the apostle, both will be caught up together to
meet
Him. Thus He comes for us and with us at one second coming and not at
two
distinct comings separated by any period of years.
"Will
God Bring with Him."
These
divine words are explicit. They rebuke at the very outset, any attempt
to
interpret this Scripture as a coming for His saints in presumed
contrast to His
coming with them. Concerning love of the brethren, Paul says they
needed none
to write unto them (ch. 4:9), nor concerning the times and the seasons
(ch.
5:1, 2); but in this passage which lies between, he says, "But we would
not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that fall asleep; that
ye
sorrow not, even as the rest, which have no hope . . ." They indeed had
the blessed hope (ch. 1:10), but ignorance concerning one fact
connected
therewith was causing them over sorrow: hence this passage was written
to them
so that true knowledge of that hope as it concerned the dead in Christ,
resulting in true comfort, should be their enjoyed portion. The
words—even so
them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with Him—were
to
assure them that all the saints, both the living and the dead, will
together be
brought with Him; for, says the apostle, both will be caught up to meet
Him in
the air when the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,
and so be
forever with Him. Thus they were assured that the sleeping saints will
miss
nothing of the glory of that day, but that it will be enjoyed by the
united
church of God.
It has been seriously declared that we are to
look for the
blessed hope, and not the glorious appearing, and that these words
speak of two
events, separated by years. But "and" is a conjunction, conjoining
"the blessed hope and appearing of the glory" (R.V.) and can no more
be divided than we can divide "Our great God and our Saviour" in the
same
verse, or "God and our Father" (1 Thess. 1:3).
In
Ephesians 1:1 we read, "To the saints which are at Ephesus and
to
the faithful in Christ Jesus." Would any one assert that Paul
was
addressing two sets of people, and that the "Saints at Ephesus" were
one
and the "Faithful in Christ Jesus" another?
In
1 Timothy 6:14 we are exhorted to "keep the commandment without spot,
without reproach, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus
Christ."
How could we keep the commandment until the appearing, if we
were to be
removed from the earth years before the appearing? In 2 Timothy 4:8
Paul says
"Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which
the
Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day: and not only
to me but
also to all them that have loved His appearing."
The
Corinthians were commended in 1 Corinthians 1:7 (R.V.), because they
"come
behind in no gift; waiting for the revelation (Greek,
Apocalypse) of our
Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:7 says that proved faith will "be found
unto praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus
Christ." In chapter 1:13 we read "set your hope perfectly on
the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of
Jesus
Christ" (R.V.).
The two-stage theory, therefore, offers us a delusive hope alleged to
take
place before this revelation or appearing; but if our hope is "set
perfectly" it will be set on that for which the apostles hoped, viz.,
the glorious
appearing or revelation of our Lord.
The rewards for faithfulness are to be given: at Christ’s manifestation
(1 Pet. 5:4, R.V.); at the revelation (1 Pet. 1:7, R.V.); at
the appearing
(2 Tim. 4:8); at His coming (1 Thess. 2:19), which proves they
are not
different events, with years intervening.
Inconsistencies
of the Pre-Tribulation Theory.
The
supposed interval of years between our Lord’s coming for and with His
church,
involves its adherents in insurmountable difficulties.
It
is said that the church may be translated at any moment; the
Holy Spirit
going up with the church; the world being left to believe the lie,
and
lawlessness to be allowed to develop without restraint. No more
Gospel
preaching; the Spirit who alone can regenerate a soul will have
gone, and
the church (i.e. all believers) gone.
But
these same persons proceed to tell us that when the church is taken up,
the
Jews will go forth and again the gospel of the kingdom will be
preached: and
the sheep in Matthew 25 are said to be those who have been kind to
these Jews.
Yea, thousands will be saved.
Such
is the teaching, but first it contradicts itself. No more Gospel
preaching;
Jews preaching Gospel of kingdom! World left to delusion; Thousands
saved! How
can both be true? If all believers are removed from the world (as
removed they all
will be) at His coming, then only unbelievers will be left; and if
Israel has
so terribly failed during this age of the Spirit, how will they
evangelize the
world when they are in the hour of their own darkest apostasy? Besides,
we have
seen that the distinction drawn between the Gospel of the kingdom and
Gospel of
the grace of God, is superficial and unscriptural.
According
to this theory, the marriage supper of the Lamb will take place in
heaven, and
the great tribulation takes place on earth during the end of this very
interval; hence our gracious Lord is supposed to have arranged to
celebrate the
hour of His highest joy in heaven at the very time when "a number that
no
man can number" are enduring the period of greatest tribulation on
earth.
Note, too, that they are saints who stand accepted before God, through
the
cleansing efficacy of the blood of Christ, "the Lamb is their
Shepherd" (Rev. 7:9-17, R.V.), and they are described in exactly
the
same language (ver. 9) as the redeemed around the throne in
Revelation 5:9,
viz. "Men of every tribe and tongue and people and nation";
Revelation 7:9 reads:
"A great multitude . .
. of every nation and of
all tribes and peoples and tongues." Revelation 19:2 declares that
Babylon
has been judged before the time, for the marriage supper of the Lamb
comes
(19:7).
It is said by these brethren that when the
church has
been removed, the Lord will resume His dealings with Israel, and the
last of
Daniel’s 70 heptads will then run its course, ending in the glorious
appearing
of Israel’s Messiah, to convert and deliver the nation.
Now
Antichrist is to "make a covenant with the many for one heptad,"
therefore he must be alive and in power to make that covenant at the
time when
the heavenly people are, according to this theory, translated; thus
showing
that even if it were true that a seven years’ period intervene between
the
alleged coming for and with the saints, an any-moment coming would be
an
impossibility. Antichrist will arise from the Grecian portion of the
Roman
empire (Dan. 8) and rule over all, including Judea, therefore the
revival of
the old Roman empire in its ten kingdom form must at that time be a
fact
accomplished, and the making of the covenant for seven years would then
coincide with the alleged secret coming.
These
and many other considerations lead us to cleave to the plain statements
of Holy
Scripture, and to believe that: Our Lord is coming again once, and that
in manifested
glory (Heb. 9:28 and Luke 9:26), personally (Acts 1:2), visibly
(Rev. 1:7),
gloriously (Titus 2:13), unexpected by the world (Luke 11:35), with His
holy
angels (2 Thess. 1:7), after the tribulation referred to in Matthew
24:29, to
receive His own (John 14), to judge the wicked (2 Thess. 1:8), not
secretly (1
Thess. 4:16; Matt. 24:26-27), His coming will be preceded by signs,
specially
during the last 3-1/2 years of the age (Matt. 24:29, 30; Luke 21:29-31).
He
comes forth "when His foes are made the footstool of His feet"; at
the "times of restoration of all things" "when the times of the
Gentiles have been fulfilled" "after the fulness of the Gentiles be
come in"; "immediately after the tribulation"; "to build
again the tabernacle of David." Chapter 2 Thessalonians 1:7, where we
read
that the church of which Paul and the Thessalonians form a part, will
get rest
from "persecution and tribulation" (ver, 4), "when the Lord
Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels inflaming
fire
taking vengeance" (ver, 7).
Tribulation
is Not Wrath.
But
we are often told, Surely the Lord would not let the saints of this
dispensation go through the great tribulation, for there is no
condemnation to
them that are in Christ Jesus. The church cannot endure this period of
wrath.
Why cannot the church suffer as much for Christ as those who are
supposed to be
in a place of lesser light and privilege? Is it deemed right that the
very
bride of Christ should be deprived of the privilege of witnessing for
her Lord
in the days of Antichrist when the adorable Name by which she is called
is most
blasphemed? Tribulation is not strange to the people of God, and it is
specially noticeable that in the Paschal discourse, after saying, "Let
not
your heart be troubled," our Lord declares, "In the world ye
shall have tribulation." Paul says, "We glory in tribulation,"
and "through much tribulation we must enter into the kingdom."
We
all naturally shrink from suffering. Few have learned to "count it all
joy
when ye fall into divers trials," or to "glory in tribulation
also," but if times of persecution come because of the Word, it will
not
be true, I trust, of the true children of God, "straightway they
stumbled." Many will find, like Daniel of old, a wonderful presence
and power both to sustain and deliver. Every one knows without me
laboring to
prove it, that tribulation is not the same thing as condemnation or
wrath.
2
Thessalonians 2:7.
One
of the chief arguments used against the belief we hold is that in 2
Thessalonians 2 we read, "He who now letteth will let until he be taken
out of the way, and then shall be revealed that lawless one." It is
frequently alleged that "He that letteth" is the Holy Spirit who
rises with the church and leaves lawlessness to develop unhindered.
This
allegation contradicts Matthew 28:20, where Christ promised to be with
His
church in her witness to the nations until the end of the age.
Neither
the Spirit of Christ nor the church will therefore be removed before
the end of
the age—the harvest.
(Scripture
cannot be broken.) It also conflicts with plain Scriptures like
Joel and
Revelation 11, which latter tells of two Spirit-filled men,
"sons
of oil," witnessing in power against Antichrist’s delusions.
The
Restrainer of Lawlessness.
Truly,
the Restrainer of lawlessness is God. But the words under discussion
are,
"until he be taken out of the way." Is a Divine person to be
"taken out of the way"? Is such language used anywhere in Scripture
of the Holy Spirit? No! It is within the power of any intelligent Bible
student
to look up the actual Greek words used, and to find their simple and
universal
meaning. "Ek"out of, "mesou" the midst,
"genetai"to become. Genetai, ginomai and its
cognate words, generation, genesis, genos, offspring, etc.,
indicate
"bringing to the birth," and, therefore, could not possibly refer to
the Holy Spirit. The Lord is restraining the leavening process of
lawlessness,
and will continue so to do, until out of the midst it arises as a fully
ripe
system with the Antichrist as its head. The secret of lawlessness will
thus
give place to the revelation of lawlessness.
Mr.
B. W. Newton shows (Notes on Greek of Rom. 1, page 89, and Prospects
of the Ten Kingdoms, 2nd Edition, pages 290-291) that in 2
Thessalonians
2:7 there is no thought of "removal" out of the midst implied
in ek mesou, nor does any word in the context demand it.
Dr.
Strong’s Concordance confirms Pastor J. Hunt Lynn’s statement that "genetai"
is connected with birth, and could not, therefore, refer to the Holy
Spirit
(see Strong’s Concordance, 1079). Dr. Strong connects it with
1074,
1078, birth, genesis, genea, also with "genos"
offspring, from "ginomai" 1096, "a prolonged and middle
form of a primary verb" to cause to be "generate," reflex
"to become," "to come into being." The only occurrences of
the English word "birth" in the New Testament are as follow:—
"And
as He passed by He saw a man blind from his birth" (John 9:1; Gk. genete).
"The
birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise" (Matt. 1:18; genesis).
"And
many shall rejoice at His birth" (Luke 1:14; Gk. genesei).
In
vain does any one read into this verse the removal of the church, for
the
church is not even mentioned. Neither can we plead for the words,
"taken" and "way," for there is nothing equivalent to them
in the Greek of the text.
In
Dr. Young’s Analytical Concordance he shows that in the
Authorized
Version, mesou is translated "midst" 37 times;
"among" 6 times; "in the midst" 4 times. Ginomai is
mostly "be" or "become," and this Dr. Young always gives as
the literal meaning of the word.
Revelation
3:10
Is
often quoted as proof that the church will be removed to heaven before
the
tribulation. Firstly, it is claimed by such writers that the letters to
the
seven churches (Rev. 2 and 3) are a prophetic history of the church;
that we
are now in the Laodicean period; that the other letters have had a
wonderful
fulfillment during the past 1,900 years; and that the Lord will come
during
this said Laodicean period. If this be so, then it breaks in at once on
the
any-moment theory; for, if our Lord, in these seven letters, prophesied
through
the apostle John, the whole course of Christendom; the rise of
Clericalism, the
development of Romanism; the Protestant reformation; the turning of a
remnant
to the Name and the Word, occurring about one hundred years ago; and
now the
widespread blindness and self-satisfied worldliness of the professing
church;
if He foretold all these things during John’s lifetime, then they were
sure of
fulfillment though requiring centuries, for the Word of Christ cannot
be
broken.
If,
therefore, we are told that the church, when rightly instructed, has
expected
Christ to come at any moment, for the last 1,900 years, and that
"between
us and His return to receive His bride there is nothing; no event that
must
transpire; not a sheet of tissue-paper placed between us and His
return"
(*From The Coming Bridegroom and the Waiting Bride, by
Ritchie,
of Kilmarnock.)—then we reply, How can any one teach such things, in
the face
of this alleged prophetic program of the age? or of the 1,900 years of
waiting
that have already passed? Mr. J. Ritchie has himself written an
exposition of
Revelation for young people, in which he teaches about these seven
stages. How
then can he logically talk of an any-moment coming being what the Lord
set
before the church in John 14 and Acts 1:2? specially when he admitted
long ago
in the question column of the Believer’s Magazine that Acts 1:2,
primarily
referred to Christ’s coming to the earth, when His feet shall touch
Mount
Olivet?
I
personally reject this exposition of the seven letters, but have simply
sought
to show that, if true, it refutes the "any-moment" theory of those
who hold it.
The
Whole Prophetic Program Precluded the Idea of an Any-Moment Coming.
Peter
was to be martyred as an old man (John 21:18-19, and 2 Pet. 1:14);
Jerusalem
was to be destroyed and Israel scattered (Luke 21:20 and 19:41-44).
After
Paul’s departure grievous wolves and false teachers would come,
and
"after a long time" Christ was to come; to say nothing of the
events which some assert will take place after the so-called
"rapture" of the church.
Can
the promise to keep the church in Philadelphia from an hour of
universal trial
be proved to mean the removal of the church of God from the earth? Do
not the
same writers continually tell us that "The great tribulation is
Jewish"? that it is the "time of Jacob’s trouble, and he shall be saved
out of it"? Is not this one of the arguments they use against us? How
then
can it be the same as "the hour of trial which shall try them that
dwell upon the earth"? Again, "to be kept from" is not the
same as to be "taken away from."
In
John 17, the identical words are used, "Keep them from the evil," but
our Lord says in the very same verse, "I pray not that Thou
shouldest
take them out of the world." The word used is "ek,"
i.e. from or out of not "apo" away from.
1
Thessalonians 4.
1
Thessalonians 4 is said by some to be the first revelation of the
church’s true
hope. The circumstances are said to be "so different in every
particular" from the coming with His saints.
"Here
He comes to the air; there He comes to the earth."
"Here
He comes with a shout that is only to be heard by the church; there He
is seen
and heard by all."
"Here
He comes to receive His bride; there He comes to judge the world."
But
if Paul was the first to receive instructions concerning the "blessed
hope," what about the church before Paul’s conversion? Did not the
church
which Paul says he "persecuted," have knowledge of the blessed hope
before Paul’s day?
What
were the other apostles teaching? Paul declares that he received his
apostleship direct from the Lord Jesus; that he did not confer with
those who
were apostles before him, but went away into Arabia, and after
seventeen years
went up to the council at Jerusalem, where his teaching was approved as
being
the same as theirs. How could this be if he had received a new
gospel
and a new hope for the church?
And
as to the idea of secrecy alleged to be taught in 1 Thessalonians 4: do
the
words "shout," "voice of archangel,"
"trump of God" denote secrecy? Will the redeemed myriad’s in
transfigured bodies surround their glorified Lord, in the air, and the
world
see nothing and know nothing of it? The Lord whose countenance shone as
the sun,
and whose raiment was white as the light: the Lord whose appearance to
Paul,
near Damascus, was above the brightness of the noonday sun. Is this to
be a
secret affair, that the people of the world will find the train rushing
on and
the Christian engine driver gone, and such like things as are imagined
in The Twinkling of an Eye, by Sydney Watson?
1
Thessalonians 4:13-18 cannot be Disconnected from Chapter 5:1-11.
In
these verses, Christ is spoken of as the Lord seven times, surely
indicating
that the apostle is speaking about the day of the Lord. And the
whole
context clearly depicts in the strongest terms, a coming of the Lord in
power
and great glory. So much so, that if one were requested to quote a
verse that
set forth our Lord’s coming as being in majesty and glory, the first to
come to
one’s mind would be that which begins: —
"For
the LORD Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the
archangel, and with the trump of God . . ."
In a later part of this book I have taken up more
fully the
alleged differences between the coming as described in this passage and
in
other parts of Holy Scripture, with the firm conviction that it is one
and the
same coming, —one coming—taking place on one day, "one day known unto
the
Lord" (Zech. 14:7).
Revelation
4 and 5.
As
we constantly find in Scripture, Revelation 4 and 5 give the broad
outline,
later chapters fill in detail. In these chapters we find all the seals
opened
(chapter 5:5); the saints reigning in heaven and redeemed Israel
reigning upon
the earth (vs. 9, 10), and in verse 13, "every creature which is in heaven,
and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea
. . . heard I saying, Blessing and honour, and glory, and power, be
unto Him
that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever."
This certainly will not take place before the
millennium.
"Be
patient therefore brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold the
husbandman waiteth
for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for
it until
he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient,
stablish your
hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh" (Jas. 5).
May
the patience with which the great Husbandman waits for His harvest,
inspire our
hearts with that which the inspired apostle Paul calls "patience
of
hope" (1 Thess. 1).
Two days before our Lord was delivered up to be crucified, He left
the
temple, after pronouncing woes on the rulers of Israel, and having
uttered
those memorable words:
"O
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that
are
sent unto her! How often would I have gathered thy children together,
even as a
hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not I Behold,
your
house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see
Me
henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of
the
Lord" (Matt. 23:37-39, R. V).
With these words He led His disciples out to the
Mount of
Olives, after having further emphasized the coming demolition of the
temple,
Having presented Himself to Jerusalem, according to Zechariah 9:9, He
had been
formally rejected by the rulers of the nation, who were compassing His
death,
He had therefore, pronounced woes upon them for leading Israel to her
ruin, and
foretold those desolation’s which were soon to come upon the land,
beginning
with the destruction by the Romans in A.D. 70 and continuing throughout
the age
until He shall appear in glory, to save the stricken ones of Israel who
will be
spared in the latter days, and to convert and forgive them.
He had spoken of two things in particular, viz.,
the
desolation of Jerusalem and of His own coming. They therefore asked Him
privately about these two things, in a question that refers both to the
time
and to the signs.
"Master, when therefore shall these things be?
and
what shall be the sign when these things are about to come to pass?"
(Luke
21:7, R. V.).
"Tell us, when shall these things be? and what
shall
be the sign of Thy coming and of the end of the age?" (Matt. 24:3. See
also Mark 13:4, R. V.).
The Lord’s reply, therefore, embraces these two
events,
giving the sign by which His disciples should know when the coming
desolation
of Jerusalem was at hand (recorded specially in Luke 21:20) and also
the signs
by which they should know when His coming was nigh even at the doors
(Matt.
24:15 and 29 to 33).
By many of the Lord’s people, during the last
century, it
has been maintained that this prophecy is entirely Jewish, that it was
given to
Jewish apostles as representatives of the nation, that it deals with
Jewish
desolation’s and troubles, and finally with the coming of their
Messiah,
according to Old Testament promises, to gather the spared ones of the
nation;
affirming that although all Scripture is for our instruction, this
prophecy
does not directly concern the church.
This statement has always been questioned by
those among
us who hold the earlier teaching, for we believe that this prophecy,
given by
our Lord, two days before He was betrayed, does directly concern the
church,
both as to her present path of service and witness and her blessed hope.
It is clear that Jerusalem is the center of this
prophecy,
but its circumference is worldwide, speaking as it does of
international
upheavals, witness of the gospel among all nations, and culminating in
a coming
that is universal as the flood, when angels shall gather together God’s
elect,
from the uttermost part of earth to the uttermost part of heaven. (Mark
13:27).
The terms Jewish and Christian are not so
diametrically
opposed as some would think. Paul was a Jew. Was he not also a
Christian? Our
Lord Himself, according to the flesh, was of the tribe of Judah: but
have we no
part in Him? He is to us our Lord Jesus Christ, and is not Christ but
the Greek
word for the Hebrew Messiah? We are spiritual children of the Old
Testament
saints, for we read, "They which be of faith, the same are sons of
Abraham
" (Gal. 3:7, R. V.). "And if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s
seed, heirs according to promise (Gal. 3:29). We are, by faith,
children of the
Jerusalem that is above . . . which is our mother" (Gal. 4:26, R. V.).
It is remarkable that while we so often hear it
said
Matthew is Jewish, the same Matthew is the only writer who in the
gospel
mentions the word "church" (Matt., chap. 16, chap. 18); again it is
in Matthew 18:20, that we read, "Where two or three are gathered
together
in My name, there am I in the midst of them," and this is the
acknowledged
ground of our gathering.
"With
Jesus in the midst,
We gather round the board;
Though many, we are one in Christ,
One body in the Lord."
Again, it is in Matthew 13 that we have the
parables
setting forth the work of the "Sower who went forth to sow,"
resulting in the harvest to be gathered at the end of the age; and in
Matthew
28 the marching orders of the church; "Go ye therefore and make
disciples
of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of
the Son
and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I
commanded you ; and lo, I am with you alway (lit. all the days) even
unto the
end of the age."
ALL Power ... ALL Nations ... ALL Things
... ALL
the Days."
The Olivet prophecy is recorded in Matthew 24
and 25, Mark
13 and Luke 21; so that if the term Jewish is applied to Matthew, it
must of
necessity apply, to the other two, and if to the first three gospels,
how can
we treat John differently, seeing that he also heard the prophecy and
was one
of the four disciples (Mark 13:3) who asked the question, "Tell us when
shall these things be"? This will become more apparent when we consider
the relation of this prophecy with that spoken two days afterward and
recorded
in John, chapters 14 to 16.
Relation of Olivet Prophecy with Paschal
Discourse.
The time when this Olivet prophecy was uttered
is clearly
stated in Matthew 26:1-2 and Mark 14:1, where we read:—
"And
it
came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these words, He said unto His
disciples, Ye know that after two days, the Passover cometh, and the
Son of man
is delivered up to be crucified."
The Paschal discourse was given on the night of
the betrayal.
We note, therefore, that the promise of John 14:3 was given to the same
apostles within two days of Matthew 24. Both were given privately (see
Matt.
24:3 and Mark 13:3). Both concerned Christ’s promise to come and
receive an
elect people.
The word paralambano used in John 14:3,
"I
will come again and receive you unto Myself," is used in Matthew 24:41,
and Luke 17:34 and 35, and translated "taken" in the words "One
shall be taken, the other shall be left." It is important to
note
that in the two illustrations used in this connection by our Lord,
viz., those
of Noah and Lot, those taken (paralambano) were the saved ones,
those
left were for judgment. Noah was "received" into the ark and Lot was
"taken" from the overthrow. Those "left" were the doomed ones.
When it says "the flood came and took them all away" an entirely
different word is used. Whether paralambano is translated
"receive" as in John 14:3 or "taken" as in Matthew 24,
makes no difference to the significance of the word and the connection
between
the two passages. In the Epistles it is always translated "receive".
The Olivet discourse describes a coming in
glory.
John 14 gives no detail whether in glory or
otherwise.
Should we read secrecy into the words, "I will come again and receive
you
unto Myself" when there is no suggestion of it in the text? Did our
Lord
give them, up to two days before His betrayal, full teaching about the
coming
in glory with which they were acquainted from the Old Testament
Scriptures, and
of which He had spoken to them on many previous occasions; at the signs
of
which they were to "lookup," and without any explanation give them two
nights afterwards on the eve of His crucifixion in one brief
sentence, a
different hope? Especially when this one brief sentence, "I will
come
again and receive you unto myself," contains no hint of secrecy; no
hint
of being a new revelation; no hint of being anything else than a simple
reference to the coming of which He had already so fully instructed
them! If
they received John 14 as apostles of the church, why not Matthew 24?
Both
discourses are prophetic, and deal with conditions pertaining to this
present
age in which these very apostles took a prominent part, and any attempt
to rule
the church out of the Olivet discourse (e.g. on the ground that it was
given
them before the day of Pentecost) would equally apply to John 14 and to
the
words of Acts 11 "This same Jesus . . . shall so come in like manner as
ye
have seen Him go." Indeed, it is clear that this principle would rule
the
church out of all the teaching of our Lord as recorded in the gospels.
What
then becomes of our Lord’s command "Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I commanded"?
Relation of the Olivet Prophecy to the
Church.
It is clear that the Lord spoke to the apostles
as members
of a body of people, for He spoke of corporate hope and
interest, just
as in Amos 2:10 God said to Israel "I brought you up out of the
land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness." So
also
the Lord instructed the apostles, not as if they would themselves live
right
through the age and see all the things He foretold, but as members of a
body of
people that will so continue, and as such will be acting in the very
circumstances He described, and profiting by the very warnings that He
uttered.
Now the question comes: What body is it? Is it His body the church, or
Israel
the nation? The first must be the correct reply, because the nation had
just
been "left desolate" and would remain so until the hour of their
national conversion, which will take place at the glorious coming of
Christ.
During this age Israel as a nation are unbelievers and
Christ-rejecters, and
therefore could not be one with the apostles in their hope. Believers
are not,
by God, reckoned one body with unbelievers, nor do they represent
unbelievers.
The Olivet prophecy was, according to its own distinct statement,
addressed to
the "disciples" of the Lord, and being disciples, they were not the
representatives of those who are the reverse of being His disciples.
The nation will continue in its course of
unbelief until
He comes in glory, and could not therefore use these warnings of Christ
to His
apostles, for when Christ has come and a remnant of Israel has been
spared
alive (then to be converted and forgiven by the Lord) all the events of
this
prophecy will be past history. The idea that He addressed the four
disciples as
representative of the nation Israel cannot hold good, for they were not
the
representatives of Israel, but were four Galilean fishermen, who were
destined
to suffer at the hands of the rulers and representatives of Israel as
described
in the Acts of the Apostles.
In Matthew 23 the Lord spoke of the
scribes and
Pharisees as "those who sit on Moses’ seat" and to them as
"blind guides" pronouncing woes against them for persecuting His
witnesses, and for leading unbelieving Israel to her ruin. The woes of
Matthew
23 were received by the rulers and representatives of Israel, but the
instructions of Matthew 24 and 25 were received by the apostles as part
of the
body of redeemed ones.
Nothing could be more emphatic than the contrast
between
the representatives of Israel who had just received those words, "Ye
serpents, ye offspring of vipers, how shall ye escape the judgment of
hell," and the beloved apostles who had followed Him without the camp,
bearing His reproach. And when in Christ’s parting words to Israel He
said
"Behold, your house is left unto you desolate," He definitely did
leave them—left them until the end of the age—left them until His
glorious appearing.
These prophetic instructions in Matthew 24 and 25 are, therefore, not
for those
whom He had left desolate, but for those to whom He said two days
later,
"I will not leave you comfortless."
Of Israel we read, "but the wrath is come upon
them
to the uttermost" (1 Thess. 2:16), but when they have passed through
the
fires of Jacob’s trouble, the Lord will spare a very small remnant:
these He
will convert and forgive, and it is they who will say at that great
day,
"Blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord." When that day
comes, the events of the Olivet prophecy will have been fulfilled.
When and Through Whom was the Inspired
Witness
given as Foretold in this Prophecy?
In the Olivet prophecy our Lord foretold an
inspired
witness to be given through certain of His suffering servants, before
the
Jewish and Gentile rulers. He said:—
"But
take
ye heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and
in
synagogues shall ye be beaten; and before governors and kings shall ye
stand
for My sake, for a testimony unto them. And the gospel must first be
preached
unto all the nations. And when they lead you to judgment, and deliver
you up,
be not anxious beforehand what ye shall speak: but whatsoever shall be
given
you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the
Holy
Ghost" (Mark 13:9-11, RV.; Matt. 24:9; Luke 21:12-15).
Were not these things fulfilled to and through
the
apostles and those directly associated with them, as recorded in the
Acts of
the Apostles? The inspired witness could only apply to them, for who
else could
rightly claim to speak by direct inspiration ? "It is not ye that
speak,
but the Holy Spirit" (Mark 13:11). In Acts 5:40, 41 all the apostles
were
beaten and went from the council "rejoicing that they were counted
worthy
to suffer dishonour for the Name."
In Acts 12, James, the brother of John, was
martyred by
Herod, and Peter was cast into prison. These are three of the four
disciples
who asked the question, "Master, when shall these things be?"
In Acts 14:19, Paul was stoned at Lystra; at
Philippi he
and Silas were beaten and imprisoned, and almost every chapter of the
Acts
tells us of the suffering witness of the apostles before kings, rulers,
and
governors for Christ’s sake.
Who were to be Hated for His Name’s Sake
and Whose
Love can Wax Cold?
The four men, Peter, James, John and Andrew, who
asked the
question that drew forth this Olivet teaching, are spoken of as
disciples
(Matt, 24:3 and Mark 13:3), and our Lord in His reply said, "Take heed
that no man lead you astray ... Ye shall hear of wars ... see that ye
be not
troubled . . . Then shall they deliver you up unto tribulation ... Ye
shall be
hated of all the nations for My name’s sake." Who can be hated for His
Name’s sake but those upon whom His name is called? (1 Pet. 4:14, R.V.).
"When therefore ye see the abomination
of
desolation…flee. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo,
here....
believe not."
It follows, therefore, that the persons
addressed
throughout this chapter as Ye and You are disciples of
Christ,
which the nation, as such, decidedly are not, for a hardening in part
hath
befallen Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in (Rom.
11:25 R.
V.). Again, who can be hated of all men for His Name’s sake but those
upon whom
His Name is called? Israel truly suffers much affliction from the
Gentiles
throughout this age. But as they nationally reject the Name of Jesus of
Nazareth, they positively do not suffer for His Name’s sake. But, and
if he
suffer as a Christian let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God
in this
Name, says one of these four disciples in 1 Peter 4:16, R.V., see verse
14
also.
We see, therefore, that it is the Lord’s
disciples
throughout this age who are addressed in this prophecy and as such are
instructed, first as to those things which mark the general current
of
the age and secondly as to the specific signs for which they
asked.
Wars, famines, earthquakes, persecution of Christ’s followers,
increasing power
of delusion and lawlessness. These mark the general trend of the age.
"And
because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of the many shall wax
cold . .
."(Matt. 24:12, R.V.). This must refer to Christians, born again ones,
for
"He that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God;" and only in
those who have love, can love wax cold. "He that loveth not knoweth not
God, for God is love" (1 John 4:7, 8). "In this the children of God
are manifest, and the children of the devil."
Are Signs Jewish or Christian?
It is often objected, that signs are Jewish, but
our Lord said
to the Jews, "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign;
and
there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet":
i.e. the first sign for Israel is Christ crucified, buried, and risen;
and
until they receive that sign, there is no other for them. As in
everything else
Paul teaches the same thing, for he says, "Jews ask for signs . . . but
we
preach Christ crucified" (1 Cor. 1:22-23, R. V.).
Our Lord says, "Behold the fig-tree and all
the
trees; when they now shoot forth, ye see it and know of your own
selves
that the summer is now nigh. Even so ye also, when ye see these things
coming
to pass; know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh" (Luke 21:29-31). If
the
budding fig-tree is alleged to mean Israel nationally reviving, the
Lord’s
further words "and all the trees" could only mean (on this principle)
similar reviving of all nations; as if our Lord had said in effect:
When ye see
the revival of the world (Jew AND Gentile) ye know that the kingdom of
God is
nigh. But this is clearly not His meaning! In this passage (Luke
21:29-31) our
Lord gives us the most simple illustration of the fact that just as
trees
budding surely indicate the near approach of summer, even so will the
signs He
had just foretold clearly reveal to watchful saints when the kingdom of
God is
nigh, even at the door.
Our Lord had spoken principally of two events,
and the
disciples asked Him privately saying, "Tell us, when shall these things
be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the
age?"
(Matt. 24:3, R. V.). "Tell us, when shall these things be? and what
shall
be the sign when these things are all about to be accomplished?" (Mark
13:4 and Luke 21:7, R. V.).
He therefore gave them the specific sign that
would
prelude each event.
The sign of Jerusalem’s destruction (fulfilled
in A.D. 70)
is given in Luke 21:20. "But when ye see Jerusalem compassed with
armies,
then know that her desolation is at hand. Then let them that are in
Judea flee
unto the mountains and let them that are in the midst of her depart out
and let
not them that are in the country enter therein."
The sign of the approaching coming of the Lord
is a period
of unequalled tribulation, followed immediately by signs in
heaven.
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall
fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and then shall
appear
the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of
the
earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of
heaven,
with power and great glory. And He shall send forth His angels with a
great
sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the
four
winds from one end of heaven to the other" (Matt. 24:29-31, R. V.).
The sign preceding the tribulation of those days
is stated
in ver. 15. "When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation ...
standing in the holy place ... flee."
The immediate sign of Christ’s coming,
therefore, is the
image set up in the temple and the shortened period of unequalled
tribulation,
from which Christ’s disciples are commanded to flee (a period elsewhere
defined
as a "time, times, and half a time," "forty-two months" or
"twelve hundred and sixty days," i.e. three and a half years), then
the signs in heaven, earth and sea immediately followed by the
appearing of the
Lord.
Who
used
the Sign in A.D. 70 and Fled to the Mountains ? and Who will use the
Sign of
the Idol in the Latter Day Temple ?
The sign of Jerusalem’s overthrow in A.D. 70 was
an army
surrounding the city. Who were the people who understood and obeyed our
Lord’s
command and fled to the mountains of Pella? They were Christians. Nor
could it
have been otherwise, for only believers on the Lord Jesus Christ would
value
His Word and obey it.
Here we are on sure ground for we have both
prophecy and
fulfillment; and we know that, for some humanly unaccountable reason,
the Roman
general, after approaching Jerusalem, withdrew his troops for awhile,
during which
time all the Christians fled to the mountains of Pella, and though the
Jews as
a nation were slaughtered by the thousands, there is no record of a
single
Christian being killed in the overthrow. Referring to this event in his
Many
Infallible Proofs, pages 66-67, Dr. A. T. Pierson says:—
The
fact is
remarkable enough, that in such universal slaughter not one disciple
should
perish; but more remarkable that it was after the besieging army should
surround the city that they were to have opportunity to withdraw. What
a
strange signal for flight, when the hosts were cutting off every
escape! And
yet this was Christ’s token to His faithful followers that desolation
was nigh,
imminent. They should yet have chance to flee; if done with haste;
there would
be opportunity, but it would be short. Hear again the Jewish annalist:
"Cestius Gallus, after beginning siege, mysteriously withdrew, and
without
any reason in the world, and many embraced this opportunity to depart,
a great
multitude fled to the mountains." At this crisis, as we learn from
church
historians of the first century, all the followers of Christ took
refuge in the
mountains of Pella, beyond the Jordan, and there is no record of one
single
Christian perishing in the siege! As soon as the armies returned, the
city was
surrounded by a wall and all hope of flight was now cut off.
We have seen, then, that the Spirit-inspired
witness
foretold in this discourse was fulfilled in Acts through the apostles
of the
church. Now we see that the divinely guided flight from Jerusalem was
the
flight of Christians. Thus far the prophecy has had much, yea, very
much to do
with the church, first as to her witness and persecutions when the
apostles
were with her, leading the van; and secondly, when they had passed to
heaven,
by those who were left to follow in their steps. What shall we find
concerning
those, who in the future, living in Judea, flee for their lives the
moment the
idol is set up in the latter day temple? They will certainly be
disciples even
as those who asked the question, "Master, tell us"; they will be
disciples even as those who witnessed for their Lord in Acts before
kings and
governors. They will be disciples even as those who in A.D. 70 fled
from Judea
to Pella, for they are connected in this discourse by the same
corporate
"Ye," and only disciples believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, only
disciples "read and understand" the prophecies of Daniel and of
Christ.
"None of the Wicked shall Understand."
It is sometimes objected that those who will
flee in that
coming day will be the Jewish remnant who are to be spared to be the
nucleus of
the forgiven nation; but this is impossible, for that remnant will be
refined
by going through the very fires of this great tribulation in Judea, and
cannot,
therefore, be the company commanded to escape from it by fleeing to the
mountains.
The Old Testament Scriptures give much teaching
about this
spared remnant of Israel, e.g., Zechariah 13:9. "I will bring the third
part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and
will try
them as gold is tried": cp. Ezekiel 22:17-22.
Those who are spared alive of the nation will be
converted
and forgiven by the Lord at His appearing when "they shall look unto
Him
whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth
for his
only son." Till then they are not believers on the Lord Jesus and could
not use Christ’s prophetic word. The people who flee from Jerusalem
will be
Christians, whereas the spared ones of the nation who suffer in Judea
will not
be converted till the Lord comes. Then the unbelieving generation of
which our
Lord said, "This generation shall not pass away, till all these things
be
accomplished," shall indeed pass, and the spared ones shall be born in
a
day. Then will be fulfilled the promise to Israel of which Scripture is
so
full, viz., that "Zion shall be redeemed with judgment and her converts
with righteousness," and "Thy people shall be all righteous, they
shall inherit the land forever" (Isa. 1:27; 60:21).
We see, then, that Christian disciples, the
fruit-abiding
of the apostles’ union with Christ the true Vine, will be here on
earth,
obeying our Lord’s instructions, until the "end of the age" when He
comes in glory.
"Go ye therefore and teach all nations ...
teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and Lo, I
am with
you all the days, even unto the end of the age" (suntelia, i.e.
full end, see Young’s Analytical Concordance). Here Christ
plainly
states that the same church will be on earth to teach the same things
He had
taught and He would be present with her in this work all the days until
the end
of the age.
Will the Coming of Matthew be for Israel
or the
Church ? Who are the Elect ?
It is clear that a period of unequalled
tribulation,
shortened for the elect’s sake that lives might be spared, precedes the
coming
of Christ.
Its greatest intensity is evidently to be in the
region of
Judea, else the disciples would not be commanded to flee therefrom.
Jerusalem
is its centre, and so urgent is the need for escape that flight must be
instantaneous. We have seen that those who thus escape must be those
who
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, who know His Word, value it and obey
it. They
are those who read Christ’s Word and Daniel’s, for "Let him that
readeth
understand." They may be Jewish or Gentile by birth, but must be
Christians (disciples) by religion. It has been objected that the
mention of
Sabbath shows they are Jews by religion, but if Israel in unbelief
occupies
Judea, they, the unbelievers of Israel, will keep Sabbath, observing it
with
all the rigidity of the Pharisees of old, and any one breaking it by
taking
such a journey will be open to persecution. The safety of those who
thus flee
is the thought of the passage, for no religious scruple could arise to
saving
one’s life on the Sabbath. The mention also of winter and the tender
infirmities of motherhood shows the Lord’s gracious concern for these
refugees.
Christ says "Pray ye that your flight be not in the winter." I wonder
how many of us have obeyed Him? We may, personally, be far from Canaan
at the
time, even if still alive on the earth, but shall we have no concern
for those
of the Lord’s disciples whose duties or circumstances may cause them to
be
there at the time?
Unconverted Israelites will be in the land,
offering their
morning and evening oblation because they do not believe in the Lamb of
God
once slain. They will be in covenant relationship with Antichrist and
will be
deceived until he puts up his own idol and himself "sitteth in the
temple
of God setting himself forth as God." (It is clear that the Antichrist
is
not the head of the Romish Church, for great and unscriptural as are
his
claims, he does not exalt himself above all that is called God or that
is
worshipped. He teaches the deity of Christ, claiming to be His vicar,
professing to lead all the faithful in the worship of God and Christ.
Neither
does he sit in the temple of God for that will be rebuilt at Jerusalem.
The
Vatican at Rome is not the temple of God.)
Their house being still "left . . . desolate" by
the true God, the temple will have no shekinah glory, else neither
Antichrist
nor any other desecrator could enter its holy of holies and live; but
being
still "desolate," he, the desolator of Israel, will sit in that holy
of holies as the professed shekinah, or in mockery thereof.
Some Israelites will refuse to worship him. Some
will be
slain. Jews in those parts will go through the terrible fires of
affliction and
will also suffer wrath at the hand of God, but part of them will be
spared alive,
and these (though not until the Lord has come in glory for their
deliverance
and dealt with their terrible foe) will be humbled and contrite. The
testimony
of the two witnesses in Jerusalem will probably have helped this,
together with
the fearful plagues that will descend on their persecutors. The story
of
Pharaoh and the oppression will be reenacted; with plagues on
persecutors from
which Israel’s remnant will be sealed and delivered, just as it was in
Goshen
when God set a division (lit. a redemption, Ex. 8:23) between them.
Finally, the last great Pharaoh will see the
visible glory
of Him who appeared of old in visible glory in the pillar of cloud and
fire,
and Antichrist, Israel’s last oppressor, will face the host of heaven
as our
Lord comes forth with all His holy angels. "Whom the Lord shall slay
with
the breath of His mouth and bring to nought by the manifestation of His
coming." Hallelujah!
The words "Wheresoever the carcase is, there
will the
eagles be gathered together," are a hint that the coming will bring
judgment and death to the foes, even while (as at the Red Sea) it
brings
salvation to others. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb, which comes after
the
downfall of Babylon and Babylon’s king (see Rev. 19:1-2, R.V.),
represents the
Festal joy of Christ and His redeemed. The "supper of the great God"
represents the awful destruction of Antichrist’s hosts.
No Coming Before the Coming in Glory.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days,
the sun
shall be darkened ... and then shall they see the Son of man coming
(Matt.
24:29-30).
To this agree the words of the apostle in 2
Thessalonians
1:4-10. R. V. "So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of
God,
for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and in the
afflictions
which ye endure ... if so be that it is a righteous thing with God to
recompense affliction to them that afflict you; and to you that are
afflicted
rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the
angels
of His power, in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know
not God,
and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus."
Both these passages teach the same thing, viz.
that the
Coming of Christ by which all His redeemed ones get release from their
affliction and persecution is at the apocalypse with His holy angels
rendering
vengeance on His foes.
No Scripture states that the Lord is
coming for His
church before the tribulation.
"They shall see the Son of man coming on the
clouds
of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send forth His
angels with a
great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from
the
four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (Matt. 24:30-31).
"Then shall they see the Son of man coming in
clouds
with great power and glory. And then shall He send forth the angels,
and shall
gather together His elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part
of the
earth to the uttermost part of heaven" (Mark 13:26).
This is not the gathering of Israel to
Palestine. It is a
gathering "from the uttermost part of earth to the uttermost part of
heaven." It is here spoken of as a gathering together of, rather than a
Coming with, the elect. Who are these elect? Scripture alone will
supply the
answer.
Many are called but few are chosen (eklektos),
i.e.
Those who are both "called and chosen" are God’s elect. "Who
shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that
justifieth" (Rom. 8:33), therefore His elect are His justified ones.
"Ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for
God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of Him
who called
you out of darkness into His marvelous light: which in time past were
no
people, but now are the people of God" (1 Pet. 2:9-10).
In the New Testament the word eklektos
is always
translated by the word "elect" or "chosen," and refers to
the Elect One or His redeemed people, or when so stated, to the
unfallen
angels. The eklektos are the "called and chosen ones," the ekklesia
(trans., church) the "called out ones." The correspondence is readily
seen. It is, then, the "gathering together" of His redeemed ones,
"from the uttermost part of earth to the uttermost part of heaven."
"Some
from earth, from glory some;
Severed only till He come."
How will Israel be Gathered?
This will not be Israel’s gathering to
Canaan from
all parts of the world. That will be after the Messiah has appeared to
the
remnant in Judea and "converted them." Many Scriptures tell us how
the dispersed of Israel will be gathered, e.g. Isaiah 11 and 12. It
will not be
by sending forth His angels to gather them, but as it is written: "And
it
shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again
the
second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall remain,
from
Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from
Elam, and
from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He
shall set
up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of
Israel, and
gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the
earth ...
And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and
with His
scorching wind shall He shake His hand over the River (i.e. Euphrates),
and
shall smite it into seven streams, and cause men to march over
dry-shod. And
there shall be an highway for the remnant of His people, which shall
remain,
from Assyria; like as there was for Israel in the day that he came up
out of
the land of Egypt. And in that day thou shalt say, I will give thanks
unto
Thee, 0 Lord ; for though Thou wast angry with me, Thine anger is
turned away,
and Thou comfortest me" (Isa. 11:11 to chap. 12:1, R. V.).
Again, in that glorious chapter that begins
"Arise,
shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon
thee," we read: "Surely, the isles shall wait for me, and the ships
of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far" (Isa. 60:9). Also:
"And they shall bring all your brethren out of all the nations for an
offering unto the Lord, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters,
and upon
mules, and upon swift beasts, to My holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the
Lord, as
the children of Israel bring their offering in a clean vessel into the
house of
the Lord" (Isa. 66:20, R. V.).
These and other passages tell us how God will
appear in
His glory for the salvation of those in Judea, and will cause the
nations to
bring back the outcasts of Israel and Judah; using the Gentiles’
facilities,
ships, dromedaries, and wealth to expedite the return and establishment
of His
people Israel in the promised land.
The passages quoted above, with their immediate
contexts,
show that it is when Israel has been forgiven and the Lord is visibly
"in
her midst," "her glory," and her "salvation," it is
then that they will: "Declare His doings among the peoples" (Isa.
12:4).
It is then, and not before His coming in glory,
that
Israel will be the evangelists among the nations and the knowledge of
the glory
of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.
Not
in an
hour when the world is left to believe the lie. Not in the hour when
Israel is
in covenant relationship with the Antichrist.
Not
in the
hour when Jewish and Gentile apostasy is at its worst.
Not
in the
hour when the Antichrist is using Satanic power to blot out the very
name of
Jehovah and Christ.
Not
in an
hour when the Holy Spirit is supposed to have been removed from the
earth, and
the gospel of the grace of God will no more be preached because all
believers
have gone, and there is no one left to preach.
But it is then, that certain teachers would have
us
believe that a humbled, persecuted, sorrowing, and stricken remnant,
not having
the light we have, nor being children of God as we are, not being
really born
again by the Spirit, but still seeking in dim twilight, and crying and
sighing
for God to rend the heavens and come down—we are asked to believe that
these
will go forth, not with the gospel of the grace of God, but with the
gospel of
the kingdom, and myriad’s will be saved; and these converts are
supposed to be
the "number that no man can number" from all nations, who stand
before the throne of God, ascribing their salvation to God and the Lamb
in
Revelation 7.
The very statement of this impossible theory
should be
enough to condemn it. I would only ask one question, viz., If the
gospel of the
kingdom was indeed different from the gospel of the grace of God (which
it is
not), how could any souls be saved except by grace?
We see, therefore, that Israel will be forgiven
when
Christ appears in glory and she subsequently receives Him.
The elect, who are to be gathered from the
uttermost part
of earth to the uttermost part of heaven, must, therefore, be the
company that
God is now gathering out to His Name from all nations.
"Where two or three are gathered together in My
Name,
there am I in the midst of them" (Matt. 28:20).
"They shall gather together His elect" (Matt.
24:31)
We see first the " gathered together " ones on
earth.
We see next the "gathered together" ones meeting
the Lord in the air. Whereas in Matthew 23:37, we see Jerusalem not
gathered.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . . how often would I have gathered thy
children
together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye
would
not. . . ."
Matthew 24 speaks of Christ’s coming as being in
glory,
with all His holy angels, public and swift as the lightning; it will be
judgment on His foes and deliverance for His redeemed; it will be a
time of
mourning among the tribes of the land (Israel) to be followed by the
conversion
of the spared remnant; but above all it will be the time when He who
suffered
shame and reproach before, will Himself appear in glory, having all
heaven’s
power and glory at His visible command.
"O blessed hope with this
elate,
Let not your heart be desolate.
But strong in faith, in patience wait
Until He come."
What is the Main Teaching of the Olivet
Prophecy ?
Firstly, that certain well-defined symptoms
would mark the
whole period from then until the end of the age: —wars, famines,
earthquakes;
Jerusalem trodden under foot of the Gentiles and Israel scattered among
all
nations; disciples of Christ persecuted by all nations for His Name’s
sake;
increasing power of delusion and lawlessness so that the love of the
many shall
wax cold; the gospel preached in the whole world for a testimony unto
all the nations.
These mark the general current of the whole period of our Lord’s
absence. They
are clear and well-defined characteristics, but involving as they do
all
nations, and continuing as they do throughout the whole period, they
are not
given as the appointed signs of the Lord’s coming. According to the
usual
method of Scripture they are given first to set forth the broad
outline, or in
other words, the background of the whole picture.
Specific Signs of the Specific
Predictions.
But the Olivet prophecy circles around two
supremely
important specific events: (a) the desolation of Jerusalem
fulfilled in
A.D. 70; (b) the second coming of our Lord. The specific sign
of the
first "But when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that
her
desolation is at hand" (Luke 21:20). The specific signs preluding the
Lord’s coming will be: (a) the abomination standing in the
latter day
temple at Jerusalem; (b) followed at once by a shortened period
of
unequalled tribulation; (c) closing with signs in sun, moon and
stars,
etc., immediately after which the Lord will come. While the Olivet
prophecy
declares matters which involve all nations, its center, as of all God’s
dealings with this earth, is Jerusalem. And Jerusalem is the place
where the
specific signs occur in connection with those two outstanding events.
Over
eighteen centuries have witnessed the steady fulfillment of the general
predictions among the nations; and A.D. 70 witnessed the minute
fulfillment of
the specific prophecy of Jerusalem’s overthrow by the Romans; and all
these
together bear witness to the truth of the prophecy, and of Him who
uttered it ;
and also bid us look for the same clear literal fulfillment of the
still future
events as of the past.
"Take Heed." " Watch
Therefore."
As our Lord commenced this discourse with the
warning,
"Take heed, let no man lead you astray," repeating the warning
several times throughout the prophecy, so now He gives us a large
section to
impress the words "watch therefore." In A.D. 70 the Christians in
Judea were watching for the appointed sign of Jerusalem’s impending
doom and
saw the sign as the signal to flee to the mountains and by obeying the
Lord’s
words escaped with their lives to Pella. They watched for the sign
while they
awaited the event it signaled. Nor can we obey our Lord’s command,
"watch
therefore," unless we watch for the signs of His coming. "Watch
therefore for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh."
Sudden and Unexpected.
The Lord’s coming will be unexpected by the
world as was
the flood, of which the chief thought here is that "they knew not until
the flood came and took them all away." It had been proclaimed but they
believed not. "Noah, being warned of God concerning things not seen as
yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house:
through
which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which
is
according to faith" (Heb. 11:7). He witnessed to and against a corrupt
world and the flood brought at the same time, deliverance to him and
judgment
to them. The flood overtook them as a thief but it certainly was not a
secret
event. It was universal in its proclamation and extent. So too does the
apostle
Paul remind us that "the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the
night. When they [i.e., the World] and safety, then sudden destruction
cometh
upon them as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise
escape" (1 Thess. 5:2, 3). It will thus come upon them as a snare, not
because it will be of a secret character, but because they will be
continuing
in their sins; and, in unbelief of God’s word, will be looking for and
saying
"Peace and safety," the very opposite of what God has foretold.
Neither will the world alone be surprised, for the whole section
contains many
illustrations and warnings signifying that many who profess His name
(even
truly) will be surprised. Is not this the distinctive warning in the
parable of
the virgins? The Lord firmly warns us against looking for a secret
coming for
says He, it will be "as the lightning shineth from the east and is seen
even unto the west." Sudden, unexpected, but public and manifest as the
lightning.
The Day and Hour Unknown.
Six times in these verses our Lord tells us that
the day
and hour of His coming will be unknown to man: yea, He says that even
the
angels do not know it, but His Father alone. But how many false
teachers have
presumed to declare the day and how many different days have they
already
fixed, only to see God’s truth scoffed at, multitudes of people
stumbled, while
God’s calendar goes steadily on to the time which God has planned and
which
rests as a secret in His own safe keeping alone.
Parables of the Olivet Prophecy.
The parable of the "faithful and wise steward
whom
the Lord has set over His household" is a great comfort to us, for it
shows that even unto His coming our Lord will provide us such faithful
men of
God to guide the saints in the dark period of increasing delusion,
persecution,
and godless apostasy, and to feed the flock of God with convenient
food.
Blessed be the great Shepherd to make such provision. But there will be
others;
even as there have been all down the age: "hypocrites," for the Lord,
who knows the heart, gives him his portion with the hypocrites; and His
judgment is just.
This man represents those who are professedly
stewards of
God’s household, but are in reality worldlings, for they eat and drink
with the
drunken, and persecute the true servants.
This has been so all through the course of the
church’s
history but will be more acute at the time of the end, hence the
warning of
Luke 21:34.
Next we have the parable of the "Virgins." Here,
again are professors, true and false, revealed and separated at the
coming of
the Bridegroom. As "Virgins" they professed purity and separation to
the Lord from the world; professed to be light-bearers in the midst of
the
darkness; and called Him "Lord, Lord." The true ones clearly indicate
the condition of the many true disciples at the time of the coming, for
the
Lord begins with "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto."
The wise virgins knew the Lord, they were saved themselves, they had
lamps and
oil, they knew the Lord was to be expected during the night but had let
their
lamps get dim and needed to trim them, and instead of "watching" they
fell asleep.
Their fellows were unsaved; unready; they called
the
Bridegroom "Lord," but He said "I never knew you." He will
never say that of His own, for the Word says: "The Lord knoweth them
that
are His." They had a lamp of profession, but of what use was it in the
darkness? They had no oil. "If any man have not the spirit of Christ he
is
none of His."
This parable is for our warning! Lest we be like
the
foolish virgins, i.e. false professors; or like the wise virgins of the
parable, wise indeed unto salvation themselves, but not wise enough to
"Watch." "Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the
hour."
Among Christians who hold the two-stage coming
theory,
many admit that these wise virgins represent true members of the church
of God.
If this be so, and the Bridegroom going in to the marriage feast
represents the
marriage of Christ and His church, then admittedly the church and
church truth
are here in the Olivet prophecy. And the coming of the Bridegroom to
the
marriage is His coming in power and great glory immediately after the
tribulation, of which He had just spoken in this discourse. Some,
however, deny
that they represent members of the church of God, asserting that they
are
saints saved after the church is taken to heaven.
If so, the difficulty arises as to how they go
in with the
Bridegroom when He comes to the marriage feast: a period of years after
the
marriage of Christ and His bride has (according to the two-stage idea)
taken
place. The words "For it is as when a man going into another country"
connect this with the next illustration that of the "talents" in
which again we have true an false profession revealed at the Coming.
The two
servants faithfully served their Lord according to their talents and
ability,
and were commended and rewarded when their Lord came: the "wicked and
slothful servant," though receiving something of his lord’s, did him no
service at all, but sought to hide his property; and as we listen to
his words,
"I knew thee that thou art a hard man," etc., we hear the echo of the
elder son, the self-righteous Pharisee in Luke 15, who condemned the
father,
justified himself and finished up in the outside place. So also with
this man,
his heart had been opposed to his master all the time he was
professedly his
servant, and by his own words he is exposed as an unsaved man, for none
of the
redeemed would think or say "Thou art a hard man, reaping where thou
didst
not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter."
Would a child of God accuse the Lord at His
coming with
harshness or injustice? NO! The Lord’s sentence shows him to have been
a lost
soul, for he is to be "cast into the outer darkness: there shall be the
weeping and gnashing of teeth."
The Throne of His Glory.
We now come to the prophecy concerning the
"sheep and
the goats." It is said by many that this is "the judgment of the
living nations," and is the same event as that described in Joel 3 and
Zechariah 14, but this cannot be, for those nations are gathered by the
Lord,
not to separate them the true from the false, but are the hosts of
Antichrist
who are bent on "cutting off Israel from being a nation" and are
gathered to be destroyed." Let us quote Joel 3:9-12
"Proclaim ye this among the nations; prepare
war:
stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come
up.
Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears:
let the
weak say I am strong. Haste ye and come, all ye nations round about,
and gather
yourselves together."
This describes the gathering of the nations
against
Jerusalem at the end of the age, under Antichrist.
"Tither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O
Lord," describes the cry for the Lord to come with His myriad’s of
angels
to combat this vast host of evil nations. Truly it is the "valley of
decision"—yes, God’s decision. They will not be separated as a flock,
the
sheep from the goats, but will be slain with the sword of Him that
sitteth on
the white horse. The valley of Jehoshaphat will become a veritable
river of
blood. See Revelation 14:19-20.
In each of the parables, so far, we have clearly
seen that
true and false profession of the Name will be revealed and judged at
Christ’s
coming, and this prophecy teaches the same fact. The sheep are the true
flock
of the Good Shepherd (the sheep of Matt. 25 being the same as John 10),
while
these designated goats are those who falsely profess to be of His flock.
But it is objected, "Before Him shall be
gathered all
nations," and nations are not Christendom. In reply to this it must be
noted that the gospel had been preached to Israel, and they, having
rejected
it, He had " left "them desolate, and in this very prophecy
proclaimed the preaching of the gospel among all nations for a witness;
and in
Matthew 28:19, He commands, "Go ye therefore and teach all nations,
baptizing them, etc. . . . unto the end of the age."
"Seeing, then, that God has visited the Gentiles
to
take out of them a people for His Name," is it surprising that
the
company gathered at the end of the age, as the result of this same
testimony
are called nations or Gentiles.
The words "Before Him shall be gathered all
nations," are qualified and explained by all that follows, e.g. "He
shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the
sheep from
the goats," i.e. they are His professed flock, and both call Him
"Lord" when they address Him: "Lord, when saw we Thee." The
sheep are spoken of as "Blessed of My Father," inheritors of the
kingdom; "the righteous"; and their righteousness has been manifested
by their attitude to Himself; and when He commends them they deny all
merit of
their own. They are the "righteous." How can any son of Adam’s fallen
race be declared righteous by the Lord?
Is it by works or grace? Remembering the
terrible anathema
in Galatians 1 upon any man or angel who preaches any other gospel than
that which
Paul preached, viz., the gospel of the grace of God, we may well
tremble for
those who assert that these are called "righteous" because they have
been kind to certain (alleged) Jewish brethren. Will not such
interpreters
remember, too, the words of the Lord Jesus: "Except a man be born again
he
cannot see the kingdom of God." "Except ye turn and become as little
children ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven."
"Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth
corruption inherit incorruption" (1 Cor. 15).
The only ones who inherit that kingdom are
redeemed souls.
"Hearken, my beloved brethren, did not God choose them that are poor as
to
the world.... rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom?"
"The saints of the Most High shall possess the
kingdom." None else.
"Come ye blessed of my Father." They stand
related to God as children, i.e. born again ones; and to make this
matter sure
beyond all reasonable dispute the Lord says: "These," i.e. "the
righteous"... "the inheritors of the kingdom," the "blessed
of the Father," these who have served Christ by their love to the
brethren: "these . . . to life eternal."
May the Lord deliver us from any theory that
perverts the
gospel of Christ, and contradicts the eternal doctrine of grace, by
which alone
any man can ever be saved, and possess eternal life.
But it is said by some: There are three
companies spoken
of here, viz. "sheep, goats, and brethren." Is this true?
In Hebrews 6:10, we read of "the things that
accompany salvation," where the writer commends them by saying,
"Ye Ministered Unto the Saints and Still
do
minister."
Were not these Hebrew believers, saints?
Certainly they
were! And the proof of it was found in the fact that they "ministered
unto
the saints," i.e. to one another. So here, the true sheep of Christ
have
ever proved their love to Christ by their love to one another. Some
teachers,
in reading this prophecy, or quoting it, have been known to insert the
word
"Jewish." We need to take heed to the warning, "Add thou not to
His Word lest He rebuke thee."
Our Lord is the head of the body: the church,
and to use a
West Indian expression, "When any part of the body is hurt, the head
takes
it up." When our Lord converted Saul of Tarsus He said: "Saul, Saul,
why persecutest thou Me? I am Jesus ... whom thou persecutest."
The goats are similarly revealed by the Lord.
"I was an hungered and ye gave me no meat,
etc.," and they disputed it and wanted to plead their own good works:
"Lord, when saw we Thee . . . and did not minister unto thee?"
Since it has been alleged that these spoken of
as
"brethren," are not Christian disciples, it will be well to note that
nowhere in the New Testament does our Lord refer to Jewish or Gentile
people as
brethren except the family of faith. "Who are My brethren? And He
stretched forth His hand toward His disciples, and said, Behold
My
mother and My brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of My Father
which is
in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother" (Matt. 7:49-50, and
Mark 3:31-35, R.V.).
"One is your Master even Christ, and all ye are
brethren" (Matt. 23). "For both He that sanctifieth and they that are
sanctified are all of one, for which cause He is not ashamed to call
them
brethren, saying, ‘I will declare Thy Name unto My brethren, in the
midst of
the church will I sing Thy praise’" (Heb. 2:11 and 12).
The relationship our Lord recognizes with the
sons of men
is the spiritual; and Paul says, "Though I have known Christ after the
flesh, yet know I Him so no more."
What is the Practical Value of this
Study?
What difference does it really make in the long
run which
view is correct? Is it worth while to press views that are unpopular
and that
cause feeling even among true saints of God?
These practical questions must be faced. To
think that Satan
should have Christians divided in heart on a subject so comforting and
glorious
as the coming of our Lord is a bitter sorrow indeed.
Our Lord has given us a command in His Word,
"that we
all speak the same thing," and we ought to deem it possible if we
believe
in the sufficiency of the Lord and His Word. "To be of one mind in the
Lord" is such a desirable thing that every effort of prayer, study,
love
and forbearance ought to be made to attain it, and as our Lord has
commanded us
all to speak the same thing; and to see that there are no divisions
among us,
it is incumbent upon us to attempt, in humble confession of failure in
this
matter, to attain unto the unity of the faith. Every false doctrine has
its
corresponding effect in the church of God, dividing saints, paralyzing
effort
in the winning of souls, even in the darkest places of the earth, and
making
many a true heart cry to God in agony because of division, reproach and
misunderstanding. The only path to real loving unity is the path of
humility.
Another reason for this study is, that when
these things
begin to come to pass, if any saints find out by the strain of the
events
themselves, that so many have led them into a wrong expectancy, what
effect
will the sudden disillusionment have upon their minds and hearts?
At least four times in this discourse our Lord
said to His
disciples, "take heed that no man lead you astray," and all through
He spoke of false teachers, the multiplying of iniquity, the power of
increasing delusions, including great signs and wonders "that would
lead
astray, if possible, even the elect." If, then, we imagine our Lord
will
take us before these perilous times occur, wherewith shall we be
prepared to
meet them when they come upon us? And if those who are in Judea, are
thus
expecting, contrary to the Lord’s prophetic warning, they will not know
they
are to flee to the mountains, and the warning which was to have saved
their
lives will be lost to them. What if the Christians in A.D. 70 had been
so
deluded? What if they had thought that the Lord’s words "When ye see
Jerusalem compassed by armies . . . flee," were meant for others than
themselves? we would not have the record in history that we have today,
of
their wonderful deliverance in the mountains of Pella.
Chapter 3: The
Ascension Of The Church Militant an Aspect Of The Rapture
In an article under the above title which appeared in The Advent
Witness, November, 1931, from the pen of Mr. H. Campbell, the writer
says:—
"The Ascension of the Church …"
"The title of our paper strikes a military note. We propose to
show it is an appropriate aspect arising out of the Scriptures which
present to us this great hope of ours, and no mere imaginary method of
treatment on our part. It arises clearly enough when we pay due
attention to the very special words used by St. Paul [emphasis mine],
under the direction of the Holy Spirit, when describing the character
of the great transit of the soldiers of Christ from the fight down here
below to the victory up above in heaven. The Rapture of the saints is
like a grand military movement. We take three of the main
pronouncements on this subject."
The writer then reviews certain Greek and English words in 1
Corinthians 15:23, 52, 53, and 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. His concluding
words contain the following:—
"So our little tale of words is done. We behold do
we not, the junction of two grand armies: the dead in Christ—whom God
shall bring with Him; and those who are alive and remain at His Coming.
What a stirring spectacle! What an amazing sky! Look up at it with the
eye of faith. See! There are the troops moving up, ever up, faster and
faster, further and further, each in their own order and glorious
formation. The innumerable companies are there led on by the high
Michael—the Hosts of Heaven. Over all, the loud unending and
unmistakable signal to march ringing out. Hark, can we hear it coming
near? All is swiftness—the essence of military success. See! They are
gone, gone, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye": in the clouds,
the far-off clouds, the marvelous clouds. Not in the pale clouds of our
poor sky, but in the trailing clouds of glory—the Shekinah clouds of
God where the wings of the Cherubim beat. Gone—to the inheritance of
the saints in Light. And then? What then, down here, on this darkening
earth? This Christless world? ... Think of what this world will be like
when all the true Christians, the salt of the earth, are gone. Evil
predominant everywhere!"
These two passages will sufficiently illustrate the method and purpose
of the article. It is certainly and gloriously true that 1
Thessalonians 4 describes a grand array of Heaven’s Hosts together with
the redeemed, glorified ones; but that our Glorious Lord comes with all
His Hosts to take all His redeemed myriads swiftly away from the scene
of battle, leaving the enemy in sole possession, is a grievous error.
This will never be the result of our Lord’s coming for which we most
ardently look. But there is no misunderstanding the brother’s teaching,
for his last paragraph just quoted, in which he appeals to the unsaved,
contains the awful words: "This Christless world. . . . evil
predominate everywhere." Note that word "predominant."—"Evil
predominant everywhere"!!!
The Shout of Battle.
Reviewing the words "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a
shout" (1 Thess. 4:16), the writer cites certain authorities to prove
that it is a battle shout. He says:—
"Luther uses for this ‘shout’ the German for
‘war-cry.’"
"Vulgate: ‘shout of command . . . which a general
used.’"
"Lange: ‘Christ is thereby described as a victorious
captain whose order summons to battle for the destruction of His
enemies.’"
"Darby: ‘The shout is a military term.’"
"Conybeare and Howson translate: ‘with a shout of
war.’"
"Barnes sees in the phrase ‘A great military rush.’"
Had our friend kept closer to his own authorities on this subject he
would have done well, "for the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven
with a shout"—"a war-cry" (Luther)—"a shout of war" (Conybeare and
Howson). With the description of Lange we concur with the utmost
gratitude to God, and hold it to be blessedly true that "Christ is
thereby described as a victorious Captain, whose orders summon to
battle for the destruction of His enemies," and we truly see with
Barnes that it is "a great military rush." But strange to say, Mr.
Campbell seems to see in it a great rush away from the scene of
battle—a rush off the field instead of to it. Is it thought that our
Lord will "shout for the battle, and instead of fighting it, rush His
soldiers off the field leaving evil predominate everywhere? Why a
battle shout and no battle? Will Antichrist wear out the saints of the
Most High after the Lord Himself has shouted His war-cry? Most
assuredly not!
"With a Shout" or "In a Shout "—Which?
Speaking of the words "with a shout" he repeats the well-known fallacy
that they should be properly translated "in a shout." Shall we then
discard our Authorized and Revised Version rendering and read it "The
Lord Himself shall descend from heaven in a shout" (1 Thess. 4).
The authorities he has quoted have not made such a mistake. They
describe it as "a shout of command which a General used." Conybeare and
Howson translate it "with a shout of war." Would the writer likewise
alter the translation of the words: "And He shall rule them with a rod
of iron"? (Rev. 19:15; cp. 12:5). "What will ye? shall I come unto you
with a rod?" (1 Cor. 4:21). "Repent; or else I will come unto thee
quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth" (Rev.
2:16). In hundreds of instances in the New Testament the little Greek
word en has an instrumental meaning and must be translated "by" or
"with" as in the A.V. and R.V.
"The Last Trump "—Is it Really the Last?
Like many more expositors he stumbles over the words, "last trump," in
1 Corinthians 15:52. Like other writers he declares (without taking
time to explain why) that "this ‘last trumpet’ has nothing to do with
the trumpets of the Apocalypse." He says: "We cannot go into that
question here. Suffice it to say that it means more ‘last sounding
trumpet,’ rather than ‘trumpet sounding in the last days,’ as if there
were no trump after it."
We, however, refuse to treat Holy Scripture so! For us, these
suggestions do not "suffice." We believe this "last trumpet" is the
last trumpet in the only series of prophetic trumpets in the New
Testament, namely, the seven foretold in the book of Revelation. It is
when the seventh trumpet sounds that the Lord and His Christ take the
sovereignty of earth’s kingdoms for ever and ever. It is then that the
angry nations are met by the wrath of the Almighty. The heavenly voices
declare that to be the time for the dead to be judged (which must
involve their resurrection) and "that Thou shouldst give reward." This
must involve the judgment seat of Christ and agrees with our Lord’s own
statements as to when He will reward His saints, "For the Son of man
shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He
shall reward every man according to his works" (Matt. 16:27).
Revelation 11:18 gives a most comprehensive list of those who shall
then be rewarded, viz., "unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the
saints and them that fear Thy Name, small and great." Most believers in
the two-stage theory, place the resurrection and rewarding of all the
Old and New Testament saints at the time of the Lord’s coming as
foretold in 1 Thessalonians 4, and 1 Corinthians 15. But here Christ
and His heavenly witnesses place it at the seventh trump, which proves
in itself that the alleged two events are only one, and that the "last
trumpet" of 1 Corinthians 15 is the seventh trumpet of Revelation
11:15. These Scriptures are complementary, for while 1 Corinthians 15
says "we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,
at the last trump: For the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be
raised incorruptible and we shall be changed"; Revelation chapters 8-11
tell us of the only series of Prophetic trumpets; and show that it is
then that the resurrection and rewarding of the Old and New Testament
saints take place. While 1 Thessalonians 4 describes our Lord as
descending from heaven with a shout—"a war-cry"—"a shout of command"—
"The victorious Captain whose orders summon to battle for the
destruction of His enemies,"—Revelation 11 tells us of the wrath of the
Almighty falling upon the angry nations, thus showing us with whom our
Lord will battle when He "descends from heaven with a Shout." Our
brother does not tell us, as many do, that none of the Lord’s enemies
will hear that "Shout." He has acknowledged unhesitatingly the great
truth that this is a battle scene and the shout is a "war-cry."
For about twenty years I believed in the two-stage theory (because I
had never seen the other taught), although I felt difficulties in
calling two distinct and different comings, with years apart, only one
coming. Surely godly men must see that they are up against great
difficulties when their theory compels them to controvert the true and
simple meaning of such words as "Last trumpet," " First resurrection,"
"End of the age"; and when they have to contend that two second comings
are one second coming. If these plain words could thus be "wrested"
from their ordinary everyday meaning, one would feel it a hopeless task
to be sure of anything.
Mr. Campbell also repeats the mistake that appeared in a tract by Dr.
F. E. Marsh entitled, "At Any Moment." Dr. Marsh therein says: "As
there are two trumpets (Num. 10) in connection with Israel, one to
gather the people unto Moses and to God, and the other when they
gathered to war against their enemies; so there are two trumpets, one
to gather all the Lord’s own to Himself (1 Thess. 4:13-18), and the
other when Christ comes with His saints to inaugurate His kingdom of
righteousness and to put down His foes."
Supposing this were true, which of these two trumpets would be the
last, the first or the second? Mr. Campbell says, "In Israel two
trumpets were used; one summoned the assembly; the last of the two was
for the journeying of the camp—the order to march."
Now, as a matter of fact, Numbers 10 says not a word about one trumpet
succeeding the other. Why then attempt to read the idea of First and
Last into it? God told Moses that two trumpets of silver were to be
made; and one blown to assemble the Princes to Moses, whereas the Two
Blown Together summoned all the people. It was not a matter of
succession at all but simply whether one was to be used or the two
together. Our brother has told us (we believe truly) that this "trump"
means a "war trumpet," but note the express words of Numbers 10:7: "But
when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye
shall not sound an alarm."
If the trumpet in 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15 and Matthew
24:31 (same word) is "a war-trumpet" and the "shout" is a "war-cry" (as
our friend has truly sought to prove), and as an alarm was not to be
sounded simply to gather the people to Moses and to God, it follows
that this "alarm" in 1 Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians 4 must be
connected, not with simply gathering the people unto God, but with
gathering them for war. Paul says the bodies of all the saints will be
changed "in a moment [not any moment], in the twinkling of an eye, at
the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound,..." Many attempts have
been made to prove that this last trump is not the last trump spoken of
in the only series of Prophetic trumpets in Holy Scripture, but,
whether it be explained away as the Roman or Greek army trumpet, or the
silver or ram’s horn trumpet, it still remains that if this last
trumpet is not the last trumpet, but seven are to sound after it, then
it follows that there are two last trumpets, or that the trumpet here
spoken of by the inspired Apostle as the Last, is not the last. Be it
also noted that the apostle nowhere says that the saints will be
translated "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." It is the change
that is said to take place, and that change will not be at any moment,
but "in a moment.. . at the last trump." In one given, specific moment
when the last trumpet sounds "the dead shall be raised incorruptible
and we shall be changed." The translation of all the redeemed will
follow the change of the living and the resurrection of the dead in
Christ.
"To Meet the Lord"
With regard to the word "meet" in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, Mr. Campbell
truly says: "The word here used for ‘meet’ is a prechristian one of the
‘koinee’ or common Greek. It implied the welcoming of a great personage
on his arrival. ... It is the same word which is used of the Wise
Virgins who went out to ‘meet’ the Bridegroom."
This word is used three times in the New Testament and in each instance
the thought is the same. In Matthew 25:6, it is when at midnight the
cry goes forth "Behold the Bridegroom cometh" that this word for meet
is used. It is not used in verse 1 where they went out to meet him, but
while he tarried they all slumbered and slep