Will the Church Go Through the Tribulation?

Dr. David L. Cooper
Biblical Research Monthly
JANUARY-DECEMBER, 1948
 

January, 1948
 

Resurrection of the Saints in the Old Testament

In the last few years many brethren who have held to the pre-Tribulation rapture of the saints have shifted their position and are not accepting the proposition that the church is not raptured until the close of the Tribulation when the Lord Jesus returns visibly and bodily to take the government of the world into His own strong hands and to establish His reign of righteousness from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. In turning from the scriptural position with reference to the time of the rapture and accepting the new position that it is post-Tribulation, these excellent, godly Bible students evidently are honest and conscientious and are convinced that they are discarding error for truth. To give up error and accept truth when it is presented is indeed noble. That is the only thing that an honest conscientious person can do. But before one accepts a position, whether new or old, he should make a thorough investigation and study all the facts—if that be possible—when the evidence proves that he is mistaken—but a fool never will.

In the following series of articles under the general caption of "Does the Church Pass Through the Great Tribulation?" I shall endeavor to the best of my ability to examine the passages that are relied upon to teach the post-Tribulation rapture and at the same time shall endeavor to present those passages which unmistakably and unequivocally show that it occurs before the Tribulation. I shall therefore submit the evidence and shall ask my reader to study with an open mind the testimony which I present—to prove all things and to hold to that which is good, that which is scripturally true. This request is indeed reasonable.

A Statement of the Prophetic Program

All prophetic students who hold the premillennial position, so far as I am aware, believe that the present Christian Dispensation will end in catastrophe. In the latter days, according to the Scriptures, perilous times will come when men will turn away from the faith unto the vain things of this life. The days with which this age will close are compared to the apostate period immediately preceding the Flood.

At a certain stage of development of the prophetic scheme God will pour out His judgments upon the world during what is termed in the Old Testament "the day of Jehovah." This period is seven years in duration—the seventieth week of years of the prophecy of Daniel, chapter 9. At the conclusion of this period the Lord Jesus will reappear upon earth visibly and bodily. At that time Israel will turn to the Lord and will accept Him as Saviour and long—expected Messiah. By the brightness of His coming our Lord will slay the Antichrist, who will then, together with the false prophet, be cast into the lake of fire. Then Satan will be bound, together with all his servile spirits. Israel will be delivered and Jesus will mount the throne of David and establish His reign of righteousness upon the earth. At the time of our Lord's return, the Old Testament saints will be raised. Then many will come from the east and from the west and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom.

Jesus—having come, having delivered Israel, having bound Satan and having taken His great power—re-establishes the throne of David and reigns upon it for one thousand years. This will be the era of righteousness, justice, and peace of which the Old Testament prophets so frequently spoke. At that time the glory of the Lord will encircle the earth as the waters cover the sea. During this reign of righteousness the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ who have suffered with Him will reign with Him and assist in the administration of the affairs of His kingdom.

The Rapture—Pre-Tribulation or Post-Tribulation. Which?

The word, rapture, is of Latin origin and means primarily to seize, to catch, or to catch away. Because of the use of the term in connection with the saints it came to indicate joy abounding. The meaning likewise of the word, translation, is that of carrying across, or through. Enoch the seventh from Adam, was translated that he should not see death, for God took him—bore him from earth to heaven. The Apostle Paul speaks of the saints' being caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and of their ever being with Him. The two classical passages in the New Testament on this point are I Thessalonians 4:13-18 and I Corinthians 15:50-58. Will this catching up of the saints and their being immortalized, which facts give them exemption from death, occur before the Tribulation or after it? What saith the Lord on this point?

An Examination of Certain Old Testament Passages Dealing with the Resurrection of Pious Israelites

Some of the brethren contending for the post-Tribulation rapture of the saints turn to such passages as Isaiah 25:8; 26:19; Daniel 12:2,3 and 12:13. Examining these passages they see evidences of the Lord's return physically and bodily to this earth, the conversion of Israel, the resurrection of the pious Hebrews, the translation of certain saints, and the establishment of the messianic kingdom upon earth by our Lord. Seeing that these things occur approximately at the same time, those brethren conclude that the rapture of the New Testament saints takes place at the end of the Tribulation.

"And in this mountain will Jehovah of hosts make unto all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. 7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering that covereth all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations. 8 He hath swallowed up death for ever; and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people will he take away from off all the earth: for Jehovah hath spoken it. 9 And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is Jehovah; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation" (Isa. 25:6-9).

In order to understand this quotation it is necessary for us to see chapter 25 in its larger setting in the "Little Apocalypse of Isaiah," which consists of chapters 24-27. A survey of these chapters shows that the prophet was talking about the culmination of the age and focused his attention especially upon the Tribulation. In the beginning of chapter 25 he saw the destruction of the world city and spoke of it as being in ruins. What city is it to which reference is made? This passage has to be studied in the light of the larger context of Scripture. When we view Isaiah, chapters 13 and 14, we see that the world city of the end time will be none other than Babylon rebuilt. The reason for this position is that the prophecies relating to Babylon found in Isaiah, chapters 13 and 14, Jeremiah, chapters 50 and 51, and Revelation, chapter 18, have never been fulfilled. Since they await fulfillment, they will materialize, exactly as written, yet in the future. In order that this might be accomplished, the world city must rise from the grave of the past and become the dominant metropolis of the world.

In Isaiah, chapter 24, we see the terrific sweeping judgments of the Tribulation. At the conclusion of that time of wrath God incarcerates the host of the high ones on high together with the kings of the earth in the pit of the abyss where they are imprisoned for many days (the millennial reign of our Lord.) In verse 23 we see Jehovah and His reign in Mount Zion.

When we enter chapter 25, we learn that the prophet saw this world city, the international metropolis, destroyed and lying smoldering in the dust. Then looking toward the Holy Land, he in vision saw the city of God, the eternal city of the Great King, established. At that time it will be the joy-spot of the earth.

In verse 6 of the quotation above the prophet—looking forward to this future time when the city of God will be established (millennial Jerusalem)—speaks of God's preparing a feast of fat things for the people of the earth in this mountain (Jerusalem). Will this be an actual literal banquet, or will it be a feast of spiritual things? To make it literal reduces the passage to nonsense. It must therefore be a spiritual banquet which is set in Jerusalem for all nations. Jehovah himself, King Messiah, will preside over the banquet, and all nations will flow thither from every quarter of the globe to partake of the good things provided for them.

According to verse 7 God will destroy the veil that covers all nations. What is the significance of this prediction? When we read this in the light of the parallel passage in Revelation, chapter 20, and kindred scriptures, we see that God will bind Satan and incarcerate him in the pit of the abyss for 1,000 years. It is Satan who blinds the people, and who keeps his veil of darkness over their eyes to prevent their seeing spiritual realities as they are. Thus when our Lord comes back to Jerusalem, He binds Satan, and the veil then is removed from the eyes of the people.

When we come to verse 8, however, we see a marvelous statement: He hath swallowed up death forever; and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces …" Suddenly turning from the future which tells about what God will do after the destruction of the world capital and the establishment of the millennial Jerusalem and the banquet of good things that God will provide for those who are counted worthy to attain unto the resurrection and unto that age, the prophet looks backward and speaks of something that has already been accomplished—"He hath swallowed up death forever." There evidently is some connection between Jehovah's having swallowed up death forever and the establishment of the eternal city of Jerusalem, the city of the Great King. What can be the significance of the statement that Jehovah hath swallowed up death forever? When this statement is read in the light of Hebrews 2:14,15, we have our answer. "Since then the children are sharers in flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same; that through death he might bring to nought him that had the power of death, that is the devil; and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Having died on the cross and having conquered Satan, our Lord then went to Hades and delivered all the saved, who had been held there as captives. He seized the keys of death and Hades and led them triumphantly from the nether regions. When He ascended on high, they graced His triumphs in His procession in returning to glory. Thus Jesus conquered death and the prince of death. When He did this, He "abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." (II Tim. 1:10). Thus Satan was conquered, death was abolished, and life and immortality were brought to light through the gospel. Nevertheless, all people without an exception have died since that time and will continue to die until the rapture occurs. When this glorious event transpires, the world will see the fruition of our Lord's having conquered the prince of death and having abolished death.

That Isaiah was referring to the rapture in his statement that "He hath swallowed up death forever" is clear from Paul's reference to this very passage in I Corinthians 15:53 and 54. He declared that the rapture will be in fulfillment of Isaiah's prediction. In other words, while Isaiah's statement refers to what Christ did when He died and rose again, it also included the rapture of he church. From this position there can be no escape. Put differently, we might say that, although the original prediction had very far and broad significations, it nevertheless included the rapture; because the Apostle so declared.

Isaiah then, looking forward to and speaking of the establishment of the millennial Jerusalem as an accomplished fact, declared that God will have prior to that event swallowed up death forever. This fact shows that the swallowing up of death, including the rapture, is prior to the establishing of the city of Jerusalem as the world city. Of course, this passage alone cannot determine the length of time prior to the establishing of Jerusalem as the world city when the rapture occurs. This information must be drawn from some other source—a parallel passage. In view of the facts it is very evident that Isaiah 25:8 does not locate the rapture as occurring the day when Jesus returns.

In order to bolster up the position that the rapture occurs at the second coming of Christ, our attention is called to the fact that in verse 9 we have this language: "And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us …" With triumph we are asked by these brethren this question: "What day is referred to in the phrase 'in that day'? Then before we can reply, they tell us that the day referred to is the literal day on which our Lord returns bodily at the end of the Tribulation. Moreover, they call that one literal day "the day of Jehovah." Is this the true interpretation of the passage? Positively not. That the day referred to cannot be the day on which Jesus literally returns to earth is evident from the fact that, when the statement is made, "in that day, Lo, this is our God …," the people of Israel will not be saved, but will be looking to some future time for their deliverance. Moreover, they declare, "We have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation." Thus the day referred to cannot be the last day of the Tribulation when Jesus returns. In view of these facts the phrase, "in that day," has no other signification than that which is expressed by the more general phrase, "at that time." Isaiah is looking out over the centuries to the end of this age and sees Israel evangelized and believing the message which will have been brought to her by that time. Being convinced that the message of the gospel is true, Israel, notwithstanding her sufferings, will look triumphantly to the day when Messiah will reappear and will bring the long-expected salvation. The facts then in this passage, which have been so very confidently relied upon to prove that the rapture occurs on the very day when Jesus returns to earth, do not prove that proposition. In fact, all of the evidence is against such an interpretation. When we examine Isaiah's use of the phrase, we see that it is a technical term, looking forward to the time of Jacob's trouble, the Tribulation.

When we recognize that fact, we see that this passage does not teach a post-Tribulation rapture of the saints at all. When we examine it, however, in the light of Revelation 20:1-6, we see that the Tribulation saints—not the church of the present era—are translated at the end of the Tribulation when our Lord returns to reign.

The facts which have just been presented become more abundantly evident when we look at certain other scriptural statements. For instance, in Revelation 11:15 we have the following words; "And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign for ever and ever." We know that the seventh angel mentioned in this verse sounds his trumpet in the middle of the Tribulation. Nevertheless, this angel declares at that time that the kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. This does not become an actuality until the Tribulation is closed three and a half years later. Nevertheless, the statement is made that, at the sounding of the seventh trumpet there will be unleashed the forces that will be operative for three and half years, and that will culminate in the coming of the Lord Jesus to take over the government of the world. In a similar manner the passage which we have under consideration should be understood. Isaiah, speaking here as he does throughout this book generally, declares that "in that day" (the great Tribulation) "He [God] hath swallowed up death for ever …" It will be "in that day" that God will swallow up death in victory. So far as this passage is concerned, we do not know whether it will be at the beginning of the this period or at the end of it, or even in the middle of it. That definite information must be gathered from other passages that speak specifically on the point. I shall do well to call attention to another passage which might be used as a partial illustration of the present situation. Luke 21:25, 26 we have a prediction of our Lord's concerning the "signs in the sun and moon and stars; and upon earth distress of nations" that will come upon the world. Then in verse 27 we are told: "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." Thus these signs in the heavenly bodies and the distress of nations upon earth are connected in verse 27 with the personal, visible, bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ at the end of the Tribulation. In verse 28 however we have this statement: "But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads; because your redemption draweth nigh." If this were the only passage, we would be logical in concluding that our redemption draws near when these signs (the signs accompanying our Lord's visible return) begin to come to pass. But according to vs. 27, when they are coming to pass, Jesus appears visibly and bodily on this earth. With only the information which this passage gives us, we would be logical in concluding that these signs do not begin to come to pass until immediately prior to our Lord's visible, bodily return at which time the rapture—our redemption—draws near. But there are other passages which show when these heavenly signs begin and the distress of the nations of earth start, namely before the Tribulation. Instead therefore, of the Scriptures' teaching that the rapture occurs at the end of the Tribulation when Jesus returns bodily, the facts related to the passage in Luke, chapter 21, shows that the signs begin before the Tribulation; likewise the rapture occurs before the Tribulation. (But this passage will be discussed thoroughly in a later article of this series.) In view of all the facts thus far presented, we see that Isaiah 25:6-9 does not teach a post-Tribulation rapture.

Isaiah 26:19 is used by these brethren to support the proposition that the rapture occurs at the end of the Tribulation, because the saved, Old Testament saints, are raised at the end of the Tribulation. Let us look at this passage.

"Thy dead shall live; my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast forth the dead."

Isaiah 26, is a song which the Jews in Palestine during the Tribulation will sing: "In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah …" (26:1). Thus those Jews evangelized who believe the message will sing this chapter as a song and in it will express their conviction that the faithful Old Testament saints will rise. Since they sing this during the Tribulation, they are looking forward to the end of that period of horror and distress when the saved dead will arise. This interpretation is absolutely correct. But it says nothing about the rapture of any saints at the time of the resurrection of the Old Testament saints, which occurs at the end of the Tribulation. Hence it has not bearing upon the question.

Daniel 12:2 has likewise been used to support the post-Tribulation rapture theory. "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." A better and more accurate rendering of this verse is given by Tregelles: "Many from among the sleepers of the dust of the earth shall awake; these shall be unto everlasting life; but those (the rest of the sleepers, those who do not wake at this time) shall be unto shame and everlasting contempt." This passage refers to the literal resurrection. The prophet declared that, at the time of Israel's deliverance which occurs at the end of the Tribulation, many of the sleepers from among the dust of the earth shall awake. The sleepers who are among the dust of the earth are the dead. He declares that, at the end of the Tribulation, many of these who are sleeping will awake. Then as if looking at them visibly and pointing to a certain group, he affirms, "… these shall be unto everlasting life"; but pointing in a different direction he declares, "… but those shall be unto shame and everlasting contempt." This language studied carefully in the light of Luke 16:9-31 (the passage regarding the rich man and Lazarus) becomes luminous. Thus we see Daniel pointing to those in the place to which Lazarus went and declaring that they will "be unto everlasting life." Then pointing to those in the place where the rich man went, he declares that they are to be in a resurrection of shame and contempt. When we read this passage in the light of Revelation 20:1-5, we know that the first resurrection is unto everlasting life and occurs before the Millennium. But those who are not awakened at that time come up after the thousand years and are to a resurrection of everlasting shame and contempt.

Finally, Daniel 12:13 is used by our friends to support their contention: "But go thou thy way till the end be; for thou shalt rest, and shalt stand in thy lot, at the end of the days." From this passage we see that Daniel was told to go his way and rest and was assured that he the will come up at the end time and stand in his place at the end of the days, that is, at the end of the Tribulation. That is when the Old Testament saints will arise. But this passage says nothing of the rapture.

From the passages which we have examined which are relied upon from the Old Testament to prove the post-Tribulation rapture claims, we see that there is absolutely no proof whatsoever of the proposition which these passages are used to prove.

Note: In our next article we shall study a little different phase of our general subject. This study might properly be entitled "The Resurrection of the Saints in the Gospel Records." -D.L.C.

The Resurrection of the Saints in the Gospels

In last month's study we examined the principal passages in the Old Testament relied upon by post-Tribulation rapturists to prove that the church goes through the Tribulation. These passages thus studied are as follows: Isaiah 25:8; 26:19; Daniel 12:1-3; 12:13. In that study we saw that there was a promise made that godly Israelites would be raised at the end of the Tribulation. Whether or not all of the Jewish righteous are raised at the end of the Tribulation or not, we cannot say. But we saw that the prophets, looking at the world situation from the standpoint of the Tribulation or from the standpoint of the latter part of the Tribulation, viewed the end of that time of distress and saw righteous Israelites coming forth from the tomb. All that can be affirmed of these passages is that they show that pious godly Israelites who pass out of this life during the Tribulation will be raised at the close of it. As to whether or not the Old Testament righteous will be raised at the end of the Tribulation, these passages do not throw any light. As to when they will arise, no one knows—so far as I myself personally can understand. Since the Scriptures are silent on this particular point, wisdom teaches that we shoud make no pronouncements.

In Isaiah 25:8 we did see a reference to the rapture of saints at the end of the Tribulation. About this position there can be no question. But who are these that are raised at the end of the Tribulation? The passages in Isaiah are silent as to this information. It can, however, be gathered, as we shall see in a later study, that those who are raptured at the end of the Tribulation are the saints who accept the Lord during the Tribulation, and who survive the ordeals of the time of trouble. Thus it is impossible from the standpoint of the Old Testament to develop a doctrine that the rapture of all the saints occurs at the time of the Israelites who fall during the Tribulation Period, and who are raised at the end of that time.

We shall now turn to an investigation of this subject in the gospel records. What do they teach concerning the time of the resurrection of the righteous dead of this present age? It is thought by some that there are certain passages in the gospel records which show that the righteous of this dispensation are raised at the end of the Tribulation. Since in such passages as I Thessalonians 4:13-17 and I Corinthians 15:50-58 the resurrection of the dead in Christ is spoken of in connection with the rapture of the living saints, it is concluded by many that both the translation of the saints and the resurrection of the dead in Christ occur at the end of the Tribulation. There are 5 lines of proof that are relied upon to establish this position. To these let us now look carefully.

I. The Present Age and the Age to Come

Our attention is called to the fact that the Jews believed in the present age and the one to come which is undoubtedly the Messianic Era when the glory of God encircles the earth as the water covers the sea. Our attention is then called to the fact that this same distinction of ages is presented to us in the gospel records. Let us now look at this line of thought.

A. The Argument Stated

The New Testament most clearly differentiates the present Christian Era from the Millennial Age, speaking of this dispensation as "this age" and the Millennial Era as "the age to come." For the benefit of the student who is especially interested in this question (and I trust that everyone who reads this article is), I wish to give a list of terms and Scriptures where these may be found. Reference to the present age may be found in the following citation, which is quoted from an English writer:

(a) The age; Matt. xiii.22, 39, 40, 49; xxiv.3; xxviii.20; Mark iv.19
(b) This age; Matt. xii.32; Luke xvi.8; xx.34; Rom. xii.2; I Cor. i.20; ii.6-8 iii.18; 2 Cor. iv.4; Eph. i.21.
(c) This time; Mark x.30; Luke xviii.30.
(d) The time that now is; Rom. viii.18; xi.5
(e) The age that now is; I Tim. vi. 17; 2 Tim. iv.10; Tit. ii.12.
(f) This present age; Gal.i.4.
The age mentioned in the Scriptures below is undoubtedly the future Messianic age when Jesus shall come and reign upon the earth.
(a) That age; Luke xx.35.
(b) The coming age; Matt. xii.32; Heb. vi.5; Eph. i.21. Cf. Heb. ii.5. "the habitable-world which is to come."
It is clear from a careful study of all these passages that the Christian Dispensation is to be followed immediately by the Millennial Age.

B. The Argument Answered

Sometimes the Tribulation Period, which is seven years in duration, is thought of as a separate age, one of judgment. If we are to consider it that way, then the Scripture representation of the Millennial Age's following the Christian Dispensation is incorrect. It is far better for us to recognize the scriptural statements and conform our theories to the plain teaching of the Word. Instead of thinking of the Tribulation as a separate dispensation of wrath, it is in perfect keeping with the whole tenor of Scripture to think of those seven years of judgment as the closing years of the Christian Dispensation. Thus both Paul and Peter speak of the troubles that will come upon believers in the last days, or the latter times (I Tim. 4:1; II Pet. 3:3). In thus thinking of the Tribulation as the very last part of the Christian Dispensation, as unmistakably we should, we are not confounding Scripture and creating discrepancies. On the other hand we see perfect harmony between this understanding of the situation and the general teaching of the present dispensation and its being followed by the Millennial Era.

II. The Expression, "The Last Day"

In our Lord's sermon on the bread of life, preached in the synagogue at Capernaum, He declared "that of all that which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one that beholdeth the Son, and believeth on him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day … No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me draw him: and I will raise him up in the last day … He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:39, 40,44,54). In each of these passages our Lord was speaking about those who were believing on Him at that time and would throughout the Christian Dispensation put their trust in Him. In these utterances He held out the hope that such believers will be raised up "at the last day." Concerning her brother Lazarus Martha said to the Lord Jesus: "I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day" (John 11:24).

A. The Argument Stated

With reference to each of these quotations it is affirmed that the last day on which the believers are raised is the very last day of the Tribulation Period, a period of twenty-four literal hours. Thus, since according to the two classical passages—I Thessalonians 4:13-17 and I Corinthians 15:50-58—the dead in Christ are raised at the time of the rapture, the dead in Christ will be raised and the living saints raptured on the last day of the Tribulation Period. Thus with great confidence these good brethren call our attention to these two passages as proof that the church goes through the Tribulation and is raptured only on the very last day of it, the day on which Jesus descends from heaven with glory and power and returns to this earth.

B. The Argument Answered

We must remember that the word "day" has not only the litereal meaning but a derived and metaphorical signification. For instance, in Genesis, chapter 1, we have six days mentioned. Some think that they are literal days (and I am one of them), whereas others conceive of them as long geological epochs. Regardless of which interpretation we may choose for the six days of chapter 1, we see in Genesis 2:4 this expression: "In the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven." Here the word "day" is not used literally, for it sums up the work of the six days mentioned in the preceding chapter. In Job 1:4 we are told that that patriarch's sons "held a feast in the house of each one upon his day." Here clearly the word "day" means birthday, a period of twenty-four literal hours. But in Isaiah 2:10-22 the prophet was speaking about the "day of Jehovah of hosts." A casual reading of this passage shows that the prophet was talking about a period of time when God will be humbling and bringing down to the dust of the earth the high and exalted things of men and of His conquering and finally of His being exalted at that time. In referring to it in verse 11, he speaks of these things as occurring "in that day." Obviously, when this passage is read in the light of others dealing with the day of Jehovah, we see that this day of Jehovah is not a period of twenty-four hours but a time when God is pouring out His judgments on the world. This same day of Jehovah is seen in Isaiah, chapter 13. Another prophet vividly painted a lurid picture of the great day of Jehovah in Zephaniah 1:14-18. An examination of this passage in the light of its context reveals most clearly that this day of Jehovah is not a single period of twenty-four hours, but on the contrary the time during which God is in a special manner punishing the world for its sin and wickedness. When the sixth seal is broken, as we see in Revelation 6:12-17, the people of the world will cry to the rocks and the mountains to fall on them and to hide them from the face of Him who sits upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb "for the great day of their wrath is come." (Rev. 6:16,17.) Clearly this passage refers to the entire Tribulation, when it is studied in the light of its context in the Book of Revelation. Thus the term "day of Jehovah" refers to the Tribulation.

Today we use the word "day" in various senses. For instance, I speak of December 20, 1947, the day on which I am writing this article, as a day. Everyone understands that I am speaking of a period of twenty-four hours. No one could gather anything else but this idea from my use of the term day in this connection. I can speak of certain customs or habits that were in vogue in my grandfathers day. There the word "day" means the lifetime of my grandfather. The facts of the context must determine the significance of a word—whether it is to be taken literally or in a figurative, derived, or metaphorical sense.

The prophets, looking forward to the Tribulation, constantly spoke of things as occurring in that "day." This expression occurs for instance five times in Isaiah 19:16-25. Again it occurs four times in a single oracle of Isaiah chapter 17. It was a common practice of the Apostles to speak of the time of God's wrath as "the day of Jehovah" or "in that day." Since the Tribulation was to be the last period immediately preceding the Millennial Age, it was natural for our Lord to speak of it in Old Testament phraseology, thus saying "in the last day."

We must understand this expression "in the last day" in this secondary or derived meaning, in view of the fact that our Lord used the same term in John 12:48: "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my sayings, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I spake, the same shall judge him in the last day." It is clear that our Lord was speaking of those who reject Him, the lost. They are to be judged by the word which Jesus spoke, which judgment will occur "in the last day." Now if the expression, "at the last day," which occurs in John 6:39, 40,44 and 54 refers to the very last day of the Tribulation, the day on which Jesus returns to earth, then the same expression, "in the last day," in John 12:48 refers to the last day of the Tribulation Period. (In the Greek text the phrase is identically the same in all four of these verses—with the lone exception that the preposition en is omitted from John 6:54.) Will the unbelievers be raised on the last day of the Tribulation, when Jesus returns to establish His kingdom? From Revelation, chapter 20, we see that they are not raised until the conclusion of the thousand-year reign of our Lord. Thus when we see that Jesus used the expression, in the last day, He used it with a broader signification than that of the literal day on which He returns to earth. Since we know that the Tribulation was spoken of as "in that day," and since that day or time was the last days before the Kingdom Age, and since the saints are to be raised and raptured "in the last day," we cannot, from the information which we have gleaned thus far, be dogmatic and affirm that the rapture of the saints and the resurrection of the dead in Christ occur on the very last day of the Tribulation. All we can affirm is that it will be "in that day," in the last day," the period of the last times before the personal return of Jesus to establish His kingdom. When we thus interpret these passages without reading anything into them that is not there, and we learn as we shall see later in this discussion that the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the rapture of the saints occur immediately before the Tribulation, we see that there is perfect harmony in the passages dealt with.

III. That Age and the Resurrection from the Dead

"And Jesus said unto them, The sons of this world marry, and are given in marriage: 35 but they that are accounted worthy to attain to that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, or are given in marriage" (Luke 20:34,35). Emphasis is laid upon the fact that "that world [age], and the resurrection from the dead" are given in this order. It is assumed here that the age here referred to is the Millennial Era, and that the resurrection does not occur until Jesus comes and introduces that age. In other words these interpreters are forcing this passage into a rigid, chronological order—in order to support a theory. Let us try to force such a passage as I Timothy 1:5 into a similar rigid chronological strait jacket: "But the end of the charge is love out of a pure heart and a good conscience and faith unfeigned." Here the purified, regenerated heart is mentioned first; next, a good conscience; and finally, faith unfeigned. Chronologically one in coming to God first exercises faith; and is sincere, having a good conscience in accepting Christ, who then regenerates through the Spirit the penitent, believing heart. It is quite obvious that Paul has here reversed the chronological, psychological order of one's coming to God. If we force this passage thus into a chronological strait jacket as is done with Luke 20:34,35, then the entire process of one's coming to God is upset. Again let us force another passage into a chronological strait jacket. The Apostle Peter addressed certain ones who were sojourners of the Dispersion in five provinces of Asia Minor and declared that they were "elect who are sojourners … according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ …" (I Peter 1:1,2). Here we have the foreknowledge of God first mentioned, which is first in order of course. Secondly, there is the sanctification of the Spirit. In the third place, we see obedience of these believers mentioned; and finally, the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. To every one who knows anything about the truth, we see that the Apostle is not observing the chronological order in this passage. Why force the chronological order in Luke 20:34,35, since there is nothing in the context that requires such a rigid interpretation which, as we shall see later, is contrary to plain teachings of other scriptures. In the light of all the facts it seems as if this is special pleading to bolster up a man-made theory.

IV. The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

"As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned with fire; so shall it be in the end of the world. 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of this kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity, 42 and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears, let him hear" (Matt. 13:40-43).

The parable of the tares is used to prove that the resurrection of the righteous occurs at the end of the Tribulation. There is not a word in the passage that intimates such a thought. The harvest is the consummation of the age. This consummation of the age is the Tribulation Period, during which God is destroying the tares out of His kingdom. When they have all been removed, "then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." An examination of II Peter, chapter 3, shows that the dissolution of the heavenly bodies and the burning of the earth there foretold occur in the day of the Lord, which is the Tribulation Period. That day is called "the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men" (II Peter 3:7). This day of the Lord then is the time when God is getting rid of tares. This period reaches its consummation in the second coming of our Lord in glory. When he thus appears upon earth, according to the parable of the wheat and tares, "then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." Thus not one word is said here with reference to the time of the resurrection. The assertion is made only that, after the purging of the earth of the tares, the wicked ones, the righteous shall shine forth—they shall shine forth as the stars of the heavens shine. They will have their glorified bodies. Thus this parable has nothing to say concerning the time of the resurrection or of the rapture.

V. The Resurrection of the Just

"And he said to him also that had bidden him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor they kinsmen, nor rich neighbors; lest haply they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. 13 But when though makest a feast, bid the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: 14 and thou shall be blessed; because they have not wherewith to recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed in the resurrection of the just. 15 And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God" (Luke 14:12-15).

In this passage Jesus instructed His host to invite the poor and lame and needy whenever he should make a feast and assured him that he would be recompensed "in the resurrection of the just." This promise caused one of those who was reclining at the meal at that time to say, "Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God." Thus, according to the trend of thought here, those who come up in the resurrection of the just do sit down and eat bread in the kingdom of God. The significance of this statement may be seen by glancing at Mathew 8:11 and Luke 13:29.

From Revelation, chapter 20, we learn that the just are raised before the Millennium and enter into its enjoyment, reigning with Christ for a thousand years. This passage says nothing about the specific time for the resurrection of the just—whether before the Tribulation, during it, or at its conclusion. All we learn from it in its context is that this resurrection of the just occurs before the kingdom, and that those who come up in it sit in the kingdom and enjoy its blessings.

The Resurrection of the Saints in the Pauline Writings

In the two preceding articles of this series we studied the resurrection of tht Old Testament saints as presented by the prophets. We also examined the resurrection of the saints as set forth in the Gospel records. It is now time for us to study the subject of the resurrection of the saints as it appears in the Pauline writings. There are several passages in the Apostle's writings to which reference is made by those who believe that the church will go through the Tribulation. These particular passages are presented as proof of this new position. I speak of this special doctrine as new in comparing it with the biblical doctrine that the church will be raptured before the Tribulation.

The first passage to which I wish to call attention is Romans 11:15 which reads as follows: "For if the casting away of them is the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?" The interpretation that is placed upon this passage by our friends who believe that the church goes through the Tribulation is that the resurrection of the dead occurs at the time when Israel is reconciled to God. Israel is reconciled, according to them, on the day of the Lord, the last day of the Tribulation, when Jesus comes to earth. Since Israel is to be converted at that future day, and since her conversion will be "life from the dead," it is inferred that the resurrection occurs on the very last day of the Tribulation. Is this sound exegesis?

According to Hosea 5:15-6:3 Israel will confess her national sin of rejecting her Messiah and will appoint a certain day as the time for the nation as a group to confess their sins before God and to plead for forgiveness and for the return of the Messiah. She will be in deep contrition and mourning for two days, confessing her sins during this time. At the conclusion of the second day, or "after two days," the Lord will revive Israel. On that third day the Lord Jesus himself will rend the heavens and come back and restore Israel to her rightful place among the nations. This is the proper biblical representation of the last three days of the Tribulation. Does Israel accept the Lord on that last day, the day on which He returns to earth visibly? According to the Scripture just referred to she will have learned the truth and will have been brought to the position of utter dependance upon Him. Then the day of national confession and repudiation of sin is appointed. When that day arrives, the nation goes into mourning and continues in that state and frame of mind two days. On the third day God accepts them and Christ returns. When this passage is studied in the light of its context and in the light of related passages, it cannot be made to mean anything else than the interpretation just given. But this new theory says that Israel will be converted the day that Christ comes back to earth.

Let us look at Romans 11:15 more closely: "For if the casting away of them is the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?" Does this passage say that, when Israel is reconciled to God, the resurrection of the dead in Christ will occur? We are told by these good brethren that there are certain outstanding commentators who place that interpretation upon it. I will grant that fact, but there are others just as qualified who deny this position. I cannot accept it as true. The principal reason for my rejection of it is this: In every passage where the resurrection is unquestionably referred to, the writer does not use the expression that occurs in this passage. This is a unique term. It is very strange that he would use a term different from that which is always employed to refer to a literal resurrection. Well, what does the passage mean? To the one who does not have a theory to support, this idea immediately comes to mind. Certain conditions obtain now throughout the world. When the Lord comes back to earth He will lift the curse and new, Edenic conditions will be introduced. There will be as much difference between the conditions which now obtain and those which will exist when Jesus comes as there is difference between a dead man and a living person. The Apostle is simply making a comparison between the situation now and that which will exist when the Lord returns. Thus to see a literal resurrection in this passage is to read somethig into it which the Apostle Paul never intended.

Another passage, one that is considered classical on this point by our good friends, is I Corinthians 15:50-58: "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 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. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But 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. 55 O death, where is thy victory? O death where is thy sting? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law: 57 but thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

Our attention is called especially to verse 54 which is evidently an echo of Isaiah 25:8, and which reads as follows: "He hath swallowed up death for ever; and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all the faces; and the reproach of his people will he take away from off all the earth: for Jehovah hath spoken it." In the first article of this series we saw that, when Jehovah comes to Mount Zion, He will swallow up death and will set a feast of rich spiritual things in that mountain for all nations. There can be no doubt that the passage, as I said in the former article, refers to the glorious appearing of the Lord Jesus when he returns to earth. At that time there will be a rapture of saints. About this position there can be no question whatsoever. The saints raptured then will be those who are living upon the earth at that time, those who go through the Tribulation and are alive when Jesus comes to earth. To deny this proposition is to deny the plain teaching of the Word of God. But how many are included in this one particular rapture which occurs at the end of the Tribulation? The answer is, only those who will be living at that time upon the earth in their mortal bodies. Does this passage touch the question concerning those saints who will be living upon the earth prior to the Tribulation? By no stretch of the imagination can we thus drag that idea into the passage.

To what does Paul's language in I Corinthians 15:50-58 refer? Does it speak of a rapture which occurs before the Tribulation? Or does it refer to a rapture of the saints at the conclusion of the Tribulation? When anyone studies the entire scripture by itself, he cannot answer on that point; for it is not touched upon in this passage. Hence this scripture throws no light whatsoever upon the time of the rapture mentioned in it. In order to determine the time of this rapture one must study it in the light of passages which undoubtedly and unquestionably give the time of the rapture of the saints and the resurrection of the dead in Christ. That there are passages which give us this information can be proved absolutely and unequivocally. In discussing the proper phase of this series of questions, I shall bring forth scriptural teaching on this point. It is my responsibility, which I assumed by announcing that I would discuss this question, to examine the leading Scriptures which are used by our good brethren to prove a post-Tribulation rapture and to give the real teaching of those passages. I am therefore simply looking at these passages to determine what they say.

But good earnest brethren call our attention to the fact that Paul places the rapture of this passage at the last trump. Then attention is called to the fact that the last trump of the Book of Revelation occurs at the very end of the Tribulation. Thus they tell us that, since the rapture of the saints and the resurrection of the dead in Christ occur at the last trump and the last trump sounds at the end of the Tribulation, therefore the rapture of the saints and the resurrection of the dead in Christ occur at the end of the Tribulation. The church must under these conditions pass through the Tribulation. Such is the reasoning of these good brethren.

To answer this argument thoroughly one would have to go into a discussion of the Book of Revelation and the general scheme or chronological order of events as they are recorded in that book. A glance at Revelation shows that chapters 6,8,9, and 16 give the chronological order of the judgments as they will occur during the Tribulation. Something definitely occurs upon the earth at the breaking of the first seal, at the breaking of the second seal, and at the breaking of each of the first six. But when the seventh seal is broken nothing occurs. On the contrary, when it is broken, the seven angels who are to blow their trumpets, calling forth the second series of judgments, prepare to sound them forth. Thus the seventh seal develops into the seven trumpet judgments. When the first blows his trumpet, something definite takes place upon the earth. The same is true with reference to the first six trumpeters. When, however, the seventh angel blows his trumpet nothing definite occurs upon the earth; on the contrary, when he sounds his trumpet, as we see in Revelation 11:14f, the announcement is made concerning the outcome of the judgments that are ushered in by the sounding of the seventh trumpet. When we arrive at chapter 15, we see that, at the blowing of the seventh trumpet, the seven angels who are to pour out the bowls of God's wrath upon the earth get ready to pour them out. The bowl judgments are poured out during the second half of the Tribulation. Thus if the last trump mentioned by Paul in the Corinthian passage is the last trump of the Book of Revelation, then the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the rapture of the saints occurs in the middle of the Tribulation—and not at the end of it. From ths conclusion there can be no escape.

But is the last trump of the Pauline passage the same as the last trump of the Book of Revelation? I have my serious doubts upon this point. Paul wrote the Corinthian letter about A.D. 56; John wrote the Book of Revelation approximately A.D. 96—forty years later. The Corinthian church did not know anything about the trumpet judgments that were revealed to John. For Paul to speak of or allude to these trumpets about which he had not as yet received a revelation is hardly likely. What is the significance of the term, "the last trump"? Probably the answer to this question may be found by looking at Numbers 10:1ff. There we see two trumpets. When Moses wanted to consult with the elders of the Israel and desired that they come to the tent of meeting for such a purpose, the first trumpet was sounded. When the second trumpet was blown, the people understood that that was a call for them to get ready to pull camp and to march forward to the next place.

The Apostle Paul in the Corinthian letter assumed on the part of his hearers a knowledge of Old Testament history. Allusions to events of Old Testament history are found in his Epistle. This could well be an echo of the trumpet mentioned in the Numbers' passage. The reasonableness of this becomes apparent when we recognize the fact that the last trump of the two mentioned in Numbers was the signal for going on a march. The dead in Christ are raised first; then the signal comes, the last trump, for the church to start her march to meet her Lord in the air.

A third passage of Scripture that deals with the rapture is I Thessalonians 4:13-18: "But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that fall asleep; that ye sorrow not, even as the rest, who have no hope. 14 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. 15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; 17 then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words."

One of the outstanding proponents of the theory under consideration tells us that this passage in Thessalonians does not throw any light upon the question as to the time when it occurs. In fact, he goes so far as to tell us that so far as this passage is concerned, the rapture is not necessarily premillennial. Moreover, he informs us that, so far as the passage goes, the rapture and the resurrection here referred to may be before the Tribulation, in the middle of it, or at the end of it. The only point he can see in this passage is the relationship between the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the rapture of the living saints. Furthermore he tells us that all of the saints from Abel on to the time of the rapture appear in this one grand, glorious event. We must, according to him, look to other passages to determine the time the events of this passage take place.

I am impressed with the proposition that "A text apart from its context is a pretext." That is what our writer has done—has taken a text out of its context and has missed the meaning entirely. He should remember that the chapter and verse divisions were not made by the inspired Apostle Paul, but were put there by man. So very many of us are misguided by these man-made divisions. An examination of the context shows that in 4:13-5:11 Paul is discussing the question of the rapture and the resurrection of the dead in Christ in connection with the rapture of the living saints. In 4:13-18 he shows that the dead in Christ will rise first and then those that are left around will be caught up to met the Lord in the air going with the raised saints. Continuing his thought, the Apostle declares: "But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that aught be written unto you" (5:1). The times and seasons of what? There is but one answer—the rapture about which he has been talking. By the instruction which Paul gave the Thessalonians when he was personally with them, they knew that the day of the Lord, the great Tribulation Period consisting of seven years during which God pours out His judgments upon the world, would come as a thief in the night. To the world it will come in such a manner, for "when they [the men of the world] are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them …" (I Thess. 5:3). But that time will not come upon Christians as it will come upon men of the world, the reason being that they are children of light and to keep on the whole armor of God. Following these exhortations the Apostle explains to them their position in the world: "For God appointed us not unto wrath, but unto the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake [are alive] or sleep [dead in Christ], we should live together with him" (5:9). Note the fact that Paul says that God did not appoint us unto wrath; on the contrary He has appointed us unto the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Saved people are appointed unto salvation, deliverance from this period of wrath. What is this wrath? It is the pouring out of God's wrath upon the world. The day of the Lord is not a literal day of twenty-four hours as has erroneously been supposed by many, but the Tribulation Period, the time of Jacob's trouble. For further light on the day of the Lord, this period of wrath, see Isaiah 2:10-22; Joel 1:15-2:11; Zephaniah 1:14-18. The people who will be living upon the earth when these judgments of the Tribulation fall will recognize that the period during which they are living is the great day of God's wrath: "and they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 for the great day of their wrath is come; and who is able to stand?" (Rev. 6:16,17).

In discussing the matter of the rapture, therefore, the Apostle affirms that God has not appointed us unto wrath but unto the obtaining of deliverance from this wrath through our Lord Jesus Christ. Since the wrath that is spoken of in such Scriptures as the one which we have just quoted refers to the Tribulation Period, we know positively that the Apostle Paul in the Thessalonian letter affirms that we are not to go into this wrath but are to be delivered from it. But we are to be delivered from it by the rapture of the church. The church therefore does not enter into this period of wrath, but is delivered out of the world before it breaks forth upon the earth.

If only our friends would take the entire context and study the flow of thought, they would see clearly that the church does not go into the Tribulation. I am aware that spurious arguments are made upon the significance of the Greek preposition ek translated out of. There are various uses and shades of meaning of this preposition, as well as with other Greek prepositions. But the connection is to be consulted each time. It is clear from this context that, since we are not appointed unto wrath or to enter into it, but on the contrary are to be delivered out of it by our Lord, unmistakably then the church, according to this passage, is not to enter the Tribulation Period at all. We praise God for this fact.

A fourth passage of Scripture that is relied upon by our friends is I Corinthians 15:21-26: "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits then they that are Christ's at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be abolished is death."

Paul in this passage is teaching the order of the resurrection as all will admit who study it carefully. The word order is a military term and signifies simply a group. The picture is that of companies of people passing along in review. The resurrection of Christ is represented as being the "first fruits." Of course there were those who were raised when he came forth from the tomb. That event occurred 1900 years ago. The second group is said to be those who are Christ's at His coming, or according to the marginal reading of the word coming, at His presence. The word translated "then" in verse 23 covers the entire Christian Dispensation, the time between Christ's coming forth from the tomb and those who come forth at the time of His return. In verse 24 we have the word "then" recurring. In the original text it is the same word but compounded with a preposition which was used as a synonym for the one that occurred in verse 23. It has the same connotation as it does in the first occurrence, "Then cometh the end …" The first "then" has covered approximately two thousand years. This being true the second then can cover that much time or more. A glance at the twentieth chapter of the Book of Revelation shows that there are one thousand years between Christ's return and the end of His personal reign upon the earth. Hence the second "then" covers this thousand years. When the end comes, Christ will deliver up the kingdom, the millennial kingdom, to God the Father, after He has "abolished all rule and all authority and power." The last of the enemies to be put under will be death. Then He will deliver over the authority to God the Father that the Godhead may reign supremely as before he redemptive work of Messiah began. Our friends call our attention also to the fact that there is only one resurrection mentioned as occurring when Christ returns. They insist that, if the dead in Christ are raised and the church is raptured prior to the Tribulation and then there is a rapture of the living saints at the end of the Tribulation and likewise a resurrection of those who have died during the Tribulation, then Paul could not have used this language, but certainly would have mentioned two resurrections prior to the Millennium and two raptures. The fact, say these brethren, that he mentions only one resurrection before he Millennium is proof that there cannot be a resurrection of the dead in Christ and the rapture of the living saints prior to the Tribulation. In answer to these brethren I may say that their reasoning seems plausible, but it is an argument from silence. Every logician knows that this type of argument is the most precarious and the most dangerous type of reasoning. Had Paul said that he was enumerating all the resurrections and the raptures of the saints, then the argument would have been airtight, and we would be forced to conclude that the resurrection here spoken of is the one which will occur when Christ returns visibly to this earth. Since Paul is simply mentioning or pointing out different groups that move before his spiritual vision in succession and is not implying that these are the only groups, this reasoning is an argument from silence, which is most dangerous.

We have seen from an examination of I Thessalonians that the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the rapture of the saints occur before the period of wrath, before the Tribulation. We know also from Isaiah 25:8 that there will be a resurrection and also a rapture of the living saints at the very time that the Lord comes at the conclusion of the Tribulation. Those two resurrections are separated by the period of wrath. They are so very close together that I can see how the Apostle could think of them as one single event. Thus this passage is far from proving the church passes throught the Tribulation.

The Resurrection of the Saints in the Apocalypse

In this fourth installment of our series it is well for me to call attention to the outstanding points and positions that are taken in connection with the general theme, "Does the Church go Through the Tribulation?" In the first installment I examined four passages of scripture found in the Old Testament which are relied upon as a positive proof that the church does remain upon earth through the Tribulation and is raptured at its conclusion when the Lord bodily and personally returns to earth. From these scriptures those believing in the post-Tribulation rapture conclude that the day of the Lord mentioned in the Old Testament is a period of twenty-four hours, the last day of the Tribulation upon which Jesus rends the heavens and descends in a glorious manner to the earth. At that time according to them, occurs the rapture. On that day Israel is converted, the righteous dead of the ages, from Abel unto that moment, are raised; then Christ establishes His kingdom on earth. But I showed that the passages referred to do not support the theory.

In the second article I examined certain passages which are relied upon by these brethren, and which are found in the Gospel Records, to prove the same position. But upon a close, scientific examination of them it was found that they do not prove the post-Tribulation rapture of the saints. In the third installment I examined four outstanding passages in the Pauline writings that are likewise interpreted as proving this position, namely, that the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the rapture of the saints occur at the end of the Tribulation. In the present study I shall discuss the four passages found in Revelation that are relied upon as proof of the post-Tribulation rapture. These scriptures are Revelation 11:15-18; 20:4-6; 14:14-20; 16:15.

The General Scheme of the Book of Revelation

The interpretation of the four passages which we have for consideration this month depends upon a thorough knowledge of the structure of the Book of Revelation. A failure to understand the general scheme of the development has thrown these passages out of focus. These statements being true, it is necessary for us to look at the general structure of the book.

John was instructed to write the things which he had seen, the things which were in existence at that time, and the things that would come to pass after those things (Rev. 1:19). The first division, describing the things seen consists of chapter 1, the narration of the vision of the glorified Son of man who appeared to John. The second section consists of chapters 2 and 3, in which we find the letters to the seven churches of Asia. Those churches were in existence at the time that the book was written. A careful examination of these chapters shows that there is progress and development in the messages that were given to these groups. For instance, in the Ephesian letter we see that the message pertains especially to things that were then in existence and note elements that were characteristic of the sub-Apostolic age. In the last letter, that to the church at Laodicea, emphasis is laid upon the second coming of our Lord. A study of the intervening letters clearly reveals characteristics that have been especially dominant in various periods of the history of the church throughout the centuries. When these letters are compared with the seven parables of Matthew, chapter 13, the parables of the kingdom of heaven, it is seen that they reflect the same progress and advancement that is seen in these seven letters to the churches of Asia. For example, the first parable is that of the sower who went forth to sow seed. The sower was none other than the Son of man, and the seed was the Word of God. The last parable is that of the dragnet which speaks of the things in connection with the consummation of the age and the establishment of the kingdom of God upon earth. The five parables separating these show progress and development and exhibit the dominant characteristics of the intervening periods of church history. Thus we may be certain that both the parables of Matthew, chapter 13, and the letters to the seven churches in Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, are parallel. Their teaching is very instructive. Since the Book of Revelation was written probably in A.D. 96, the church was in existence and was spoken of as existing at that time.

Chapter 4 begins with the expression, "After these things …" The natural common sense meaning of this expression in this connection can refer only to the things mentioned in chapters 2 and 3, namely, after the church, or the Church Age. But, one may insist that our phrase means that John, after he had received the messages to the seven churches, saw this vision of the throne of God in heaven as found in chapters 5 and 6. This meaning, of course, is not unthinkable. But since the book is, figuratively speaking a spiritual moving picture show, and since the letters to the churches reflect church history (church history pre-written), "after these things" clearly refers to the things that will occur after the Chruch Age proper.

Some very earnest Bible students who believe in the post-Tribulation rapture of the church see proof of their position in the command "come up hither …" (Rev 4:1). This language was addressed to John, who was invited in the vision to leave earth and to ascend to heaven and there to see this celestial scene. In my judgement one will have to use pure imagination and fancy to see in this invitation to John any reference to the rapture of the chruch.

These good brethren likewise see proof of the post-Tribulation rapture of the church in the fact that there are twenty and four elders who are seated upon twenty-four thrones encircling the throne upon which the Almighty is seated. These elders are interpreted as the representative of the saved of the Old and New Testament Dispensations. Since they are in the presence of God, it is assumed that the church has been raptured and the righteous dead have been raised. If we follow the golden rule of interpretation, which says that we are to take everything at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the context indicate clearly otherwise, we will refrain from such guessing. There is nothing in the context, so far as I can see, which indicates that these elders are men. Moreover there is nothing that signifies that they are representative of saved men. It is therefore a pure guess to put such an interpretation upon this language. This interpretation, however, is due to the mistranslation of Revelation 5:8,9 in the King James' Version. For example this statement occurs: "For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation …" The word us is not in the original Greek and should never have been inserted in the text. Who are these elders? To my way of thinking they are angelic beings. There is a reference to them in Isaiah 24:23: "And before his elders shall be glory." Thus the presence of these elders in Revelation, chapters 4 and 5, is no proof whatsoever of the post-Tribulation rapture of the saints.

In Revelation chapter 6, we read of the seal judgments; in chapters 8 and 9, appear the trumpet judgments; and in chapter 16, the plagues, the last of the wrath of God, symbolized by the seven bowls. By an examination of chapters 6-19, one can see that in this section of the book John is describing the great day of God's wrath, the Tribulation Period. But, as just noted, the chronological order of events as they shall occur during the Tribulation appears in chapters 6, 8, 9, and 16. A casual reading of chapters 6, 7, and 8 shows that chapter 7 is sandwiched in between the seal and the trumpet judgments. The forward movement of events described in chapter 6 stops at the conclusion of that chapter. Then a vision of the great revival which will take place during the Tribulation is described in chapter 7. Beginning with chapter 8, the chronological unfolding of the Tribulation judgements starts again. The six seal judgments are described in chapter 6. When each of them is broke something definite takes place upon the earth. But according to 8:1 when the seventh seal is broken, nothing takes place upon the earth. On the contrary, the seven angels who blow the seven trumpets prepare to sound. When the first sounds his trumpet, something definite takes place upon the earth. The same thing is true with reference to the first six trumpets. A recognition of this fact show that the seventh seal develops into the seven trumpet judgments. Since the trumpets are blown in succession, there is an orderly advance of the events that are set in motion by the sounding of the trumpets. In chapters 8 and 9 we read of the blowing of the first six trumpets and the results therefrom.

But when we read chapter 10 carefully and continue studying the first fourteen verses of chapter 11, we see that this section of Scripture is a parenthesis which comes, in the unfolding of the book, between the sixth and the seventh trumpets. (The last three trumpet judgements are called "woes.") When we recognize the parenthetical nature of 10:1-11:14, we see that 11:15, which speaks of the sounding of the seventh trumpet, comes chronologically immediately after the events of the sixth trumpet which is described in chapter 9:13-21. Moreover when we examine chapter 11, we recognize that the testifying of the two witness of this passage for 1,260 days is during the first half of the tribulation (11:3), but the period of forty-two months in verse 2 is the second half of the Tribulation, that last three and one-half years. A careful examination, therefore, of 6:1-11:14 in its proper setting shows us that the seal and trumpet judgments occur during the first half of the Tribulation. According to 11:14 when the second woe, or the sixth trumpet, is past, "behold, the third Woe [seventh trumpet] cometh quickly." We have every reason to believe, upon the strength of this statement, that the seventh trumpet follows, in rapid succession, the sixth trumpet. This statement being true, the seventh or last trumpet of the seven is sounded in the middle of the Tribulation.

When this last trumpet is sounded, voices from heaven declare, "the kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign forever and ever." As to who utters the voices making this proclamation the passage is silent. Then immediately the twenty-four elders fall upon their faces and worship God saying: "We give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast: because thou hast taken thy great power, and didst reign. 18 And the nations were wroth, and thy wrath came, and the time of the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name, the small and the great; and to destroy them that destroy the earth (11:17,18).

Does the kingdom of the world, the universal kingdom headed up under the Antichrist, become in reality the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ in the middle of the Tribulation? When we study this question in the light of all the facts and related passages, we know that this universal kingdom becomes the kingdom of Christ only at the end of the Tribulation. When therefore the seventh trumpet is blown in the middle of the Tribulation and the announcement is made with reference to Christ's taking over the world kingdom, we know that this is an announcement regarding the outcome of the events that are set in motion by the blowing of the seventh trumpet. In the same manner we know that the things announced in verses 17 and 18 likewise are the result of the forces that are called into play by the sounding of the seventh or last trumpet.

A careful examination of chapters 12,13, and 14 shows that they are parenthetical. The description of the developing drama has stopped, as we have seen, with 11:14. This is done to acquaint the reader with conditions and things and persons who will be occupying the central position on the world-stage in the middle of the Tribulation. When, however, we arrive at chapter 15, we see events beginning to move, the events of the latter half of the Tribulation; for in 15:1 we read: "And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having seven plagues, which are the last, for in them is finished the wrath of God." In verses 2-4 of this chapter we are given a vision of the Tribulation saints who come off victorious in their conflict with the beast and his lieutenants. Following this statement John speaks in verses 5-8 of the unfolding drama. At this time he sees the Temple of God, the one not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, opened. Then march forth from it seven angels who have the seven bowls of the wrath of God. They pour them out upon the earth. It is to be remembered that these are the last of the plagues, the first of them being the seal and the seven trumpet judgments which are enacted during the first half of the Tribulation, as we have already seen.

In the last paragraph of, chapter 16, we read of the pouring out of the last bowl. Since the wrath of God is finished with the pouring out of this last bowl, this event brings us to the end of the Tribulation. At this time our Lord returns, visibly and bodily, to the earth to set up His kingdom.

Chapter 17 tells us of Babylon the harlot which is seen, upon close investigation and careful study, to be a symbolic representation of the great religious octopus that will be supported by the world government during the first half of the Tribulation and will be destroyed in the middle of the Tribulation. In chapter 18 we see the destruction of Babylon the city, the literal city of Babylon rebuilt and standing in the end time. It is destroyed at the very end of the Tribulation, as is announced in Revelation 16:19. Thus chapter 18 is but a detailed account and an expansion of this verse. Revelation chapter 19, gives us the revelation concerning the second coming of our Lord at the conclusion of the Tribulation Period.

With all of these facts which I have just stated regarding the general scheme of the unfolding drama of the Book of Revelation in mind, we can see that the last trumpet of the Apocalypse is sounded in the middle of the Tribulation and not at the end of it—on that last day of the Tribulation, as is assumed by most of those who believe in the post-Tribulation rapture of the saints. Thus when the last of the seven trumpets is blown, the seven angels who have the seven bowls of God's wrath prepare to pour them out upon the world. We may therefore say that the seventh trumpet develops into the seven bowls of God's wrath.

I am perfectly aware of the fact that there are those who place a different interpretation upon the general development of the book of Revelation. They tell us that the seal judgments cover the entire Tribulation. Thus the first seal is broken at the beginning of the Tribulation and the seventh seal, at the end of it. In a manner similar to this the first trumpet, according to this theory, is blown at the beginning of the Tribulation and the last trumpet at the very end of it. The trumpet judgments, according to these brethren, give us information supplemental to that which is given by the seal judgments. The bowl or vial judgments are interpreted as presenting the events of the Tribulation from beginning to end but is giving us a little different aspect of the period and events. Thus the first bowl is poured out at the beginning of the Tribulation and the last one, at the end of it. In the light of the facts just presented, it is impossible to put this interpretation upon the development of the events set forth in the book. If this theory were true, it would be impossible for God to speak of the seven bowl judgments as the seven last plagues. When we are told that these are the seven last, we are forced to believe that there are other plagues or judgements that have preceded them, and that these are the very last of the series of judgments. This fact alone shows that the theory under review is unscriptural.

An Examination of Revelation 11:17,18

It is assumed by the post-Tribulation rapturists that the seventh trumpet of Revelation 11:15-19 occurs on the very last day of the Tribulation, the day on which Jesus descends from heaven to the earth. But as we have just seen, this is a false interpretation. Nevertheless, this trumpet is identified with the one which is mentioned in Isaiah 27:13, and which speaks of the regathering of converted Israel at the end of the Tribulation. This is a false identification. Again, this seventh trumpet of Revelation, chapter 11, is identified by these brethren as the last trump mentioned in I Corinthians 15:52. As I showed in a previous article, the last trumpet of the passage in I Corinthians, 15, is the one at which the dead in Christ are raised and the living saints are caught up out of the earth. But the Corinthian passage gives no information as to the time when this will be fulfilled. But by comparing it with I Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 we see that the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the rapture of the saints mentioned in the Corinthian passage is identical with the one mentioned in the Thessalonian passage. But as we have seen in a former article, the rapture of the saints and the resurrection of the dead in Christ of the Thessalonian passage occur before the Tribulation. This fact is seen by the statement that God has not appointed the saints unto wrath—has not appointed them to enter into the period when He pours out His wrath upon the world—but He has appointed them to the obtaining of salvation, deliverance from that wrath by the descent of the Lord from heaven to the air, as Paul describes in the Thessalonian passage.

Once again, the last trumpet of Revelation, chapter 11, is identified by these brethren as the one mentioned in Matthew 24:31. Without question the trumpet mentioned in this last passage is sounded at the very time that Jesus comes to the earth literally and bodily. At that time He gathers His elect from the four corners of the earth. But the last trumpet of Revelation occurs in the middle of the Tribulation. Thus they are entirely different.

In view of all the facts no one can identify this seventh trumpet of Revelation, chapter 11, with any of the trumpets mentioned in other passages. They are entirely different. But as has been suggested above, when the seventh angel sounds his trumpet in the middle of the Tribulation, figuratively speaking, the machinery will be set in motion that will produce all the judgments coming upon the earth during the second half of the Tribulation. When these judgments will have run their course, the kingdom of the world, that is the kingdom of the Antichrist, becomes the kingdom of the Lord and of His Messiah, who will reign upon this earth for one thousand years. When this seventh trumpet is sounded, the twenty-four elders fall upon their faces and worship God and praise Him because He takes His great power and begins His reign. It is however, this reign which He inaugurates at the end of the Tribulation, when the Lord Jesus returns in power and glory.

In verse 18, reference is made to the nations' being stirred up with wrath and of God's wrath likewise being stirred. When we study Psalm 2:1-3 in the light of Revelation chapter 13, we come to the conclusion that the calling of this atheistic, anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, politico-religious convention foretold by David will be held in the middle of the Tribulation. After God and Christ are voted out of existence by this assembly of atheists, the Antichrist will be pronounced king of the world by unanimous acclamation. This diabolical action stirs up God's wrath according to this prediction. In Revelation 11:18 is also the statement that the time has come for judging the dead, and for giving rewards to God's servants the prophets, and the saints, and to those fearing His name. There is also general announcement that the time has come for God to do the things mentioned, which are: judging the dead, rewarding His servants, and destroying those who destroy the earth. When, therefore, the middle of the Tribulation is reached, the world will have passed into a state and a condition when God will be forced to step upon the stage of human endeavor in a manner in which He cannot, under His moral government, act prior to that time. In other words, the world will be ripe for drastic and thorough judgments, which will be poured upon the inhabitants of the world during the latter half of the Tribulation. Thus the word time, here, embraces the entire latter half of the Tribulation—instead of one day as the post-Tribulation rapturists assumes. All during these three and a half years God will be destroying from the face of the earth those who destroy the earth. He brings this work of destruction to a close at the end of this time by His personal appearance. When he thus returns, He will slay the destroyers of the earth by the brightness of His coming (II Thess. 2:8-10; Jer. 25:32,33).

The time of the latter half of the Tribulation is here stated to be the time for God to judge the dead and to reward the saints. This judging of the dead cannot be the judging of the wicked who are not raised and are not judged until after the thousand years are finished. These dead who are judged can therefore only be the righteous dead. But they are judged at this time. The fact that they are judged at this time assumes that they will have been raised from the dead, when they are judged. But since the time of the judging is the latter half of the Tribulation, we are forced to believe that these will have been raised before that time of judging, that is, before the latter half of the Tribulation. This passage therefore, places the resurrection of the righteous dead prior to the latter half of the Tribulation Period. On this point let me recall that we have already learned that the dead in Christ are raised and the saints are raptured, according to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, before this period of wrath occurs, before the Tribulation. Since all Scripture harmonizes, then, we may be certain that these whose resurrection is assumed as having taken place before the latter half of the Tribulation, are the ones who are raised according to the Thessalonians passage prior to the Tribulation. From this conclusion there can be no logical or legitimate escape.

When this judging is done, God gives their reward to His servants the prophets, to the saints, and to those who fear His name. This judgment doubtless is what is termed as the judgment seat of Christ before which the people of God will come and receive their rewards (II Cor. 5:10). It seems logical to believe that it will take some time for the judgment of the vast hosts of the saved ones who have ever lived. Probably this judgment will consume all of the time of the latter half of the Tribulation. I am not, however, dogmatic on this point.

At the end of the Tribulation those who have accepted Christ during that period of wrath—and they will be vast hosts according to Revelation, chapter 7—will be judged and rewarded. This judgment before the judgment seat of Christ may continue and blend into the judgment of the remnant of humanity that is foretold in Isaiah 45:23, which passage is quoted in Romans 14:11, and which is applied to the judgment seat of God or Christ.

When anyone examines all of the facts connected with the passage in Revelation 11:15-19, he cannot find any support for the post-Tribulation rapture of the saints.

An Examination of Revelation 20:4-6

"And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished: after this he must be loosed for a little time. 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years" (Rev. 20:1-6).

The interpretation placed upon this passage by our post-Tribulation rapturists friends is as follows. There are three classes mentioned here: First, those who are referred to in the sentence, "and they sat upon them …"; second, those who are spoken of as "the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus ..."; and third, those who refuse to worship the beast, the Antichrist. According to this interpretation the first class, the ones sitting upon the thrones, are the saints who are living at the time of our Lord's personal return at the conclusion of the Tribulation. They are raptured at the moment, when Jesus returns in glory and mounts the throne referred to in the passage. The second group are the martyrs from the Apostolic days to the present time. The third group are the martyrs who refuse to accept the mark of the beast of the end time. The position that the ones who are seen by John sitting upon the throne are the saints who are raptured when Jesus returns at the end of the Tribulation is pure guesswork and assumption. There is not the slightest evidence to suggest such an interpretation. A text apart from its context is a pretext. When we look in the preceding chapter we see that the armies of heaven come with Jesus upon His return at the end of the Tribulation (19:14). They come with Him and are present here upon earth. Jesus slays an innumerable host of soldiers who are drawn up in battle array against Him. The beast and the false prophet are cast alive in the lake of fire. Satan is then bound. Then we are told that "they sat upon them [thrones]." Who are these sitting upon thrones? Without question the armies of heaven who come with Jesus. Who are they? They are certainly not angels. For God did not subject the age to come to angels (Heb. 2:5) but has subjected it to man. The saints are to judge the world during the Millennial Age (Cor. 6:1-3). All of these facts show us that those who mount the throne here are redeemed men who come with Jesus from heaven when He comes all the way to the earth. That these armies are with Him in heaven and come forth from heaven with Him when He descends to the earth is very clear from Revelation 19:11-16. How did they get to heaven? There is only one explanation which is that some have been raised from the dead and some caught up in the rapture prior to this time. But we have allready seen from I Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 that the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the catching up of the saints occur before the Tribulation. These who are seen reigning are without doubt those who are raised and those who are raptured before the Tribulation.

Who constitute the second class? The martyrs of all the Christian centuries? No, for they are raised at the time of the rapture prior to the Tribulation. Who then are they? They are those who are martyred during the first half of the Tribulation. We see them in Revelation 6:9-11. These are slain "for the word of God, and for the Testimony which they held …" (Rev. 6:9). But who constitute the third class? They are the martyrs for the cause of Christ who are executed during the latter half of the Tribulation by order of the Antichrist himself, because they refused to take the mark of the beast. The language is plain and explicit. There need be no misunderstanding in regard to them.

The second and third class, therefore, are those who accept Christ during the Tribulation and who suffer martyrdom because of their faith. John in vision saw their souls in heaven. Then he tells us that they lived, or more literally, came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. They are put to death in the body. Their spirits go home to glory. They remain there in heaven until Christ returns to earth. Then they are brought to life (their bodies are raised and are reunited with their spirits) by Christ and they reign with him for a thousand years. To interpret this passage as teaching that the saints pass through the Tribulation and are raised only at its conclusion is erroneous. The facts of the entire passage show that the saints are raised prior to the middle of the Tribulation but, as has been indicated, the Thessalonian passage shows exactly when the dead are raised and the living saints are caught up, namely before the Tribulation. Thus Revelation 20:4-6 is in perfect harmony with the teaching of the rest of God's Word on this point.

An Examination of the Harvest Vintage Scenes

In Revelation 14:14-20 we have a description of the harvest of the earth and the vintage of the same. An examination of this passage shows that the events that are thus presented to us under these figures are seen to be occurrences which will take place in the latter part of the Tribulation.

But some excellent brethren interpret the harvest scene as that of gathering the good together—the resurrection of the dead saints and the rapture of the living saints at the end of the Tribulation. The vintage, however, is the destruction of the wicked at the end of the Tribulation. Those thus interpreting this passage are convinced that the two scenes are synchronous or practically so. Is the harvest scene speaking of the gathering together of the saved—the resurrection of the dead and the rapture of the living saints at the end of the Tribulation; and the vintage scene indicative of the judgment of God upon the wicked when Christ comes? In order to answer this question intelligently, a person should turn back to the passage upon which this one is founded. In Joel 3:13 we have this language: "Put ye in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe: come, tread ye; for the winepress is full. The vats overflow; for their wickedness is great." An examination of this context shows that the prophet is talking about the closing scenes of the Tribulation. The nations prepare for war and send their armies down into the valley of Jehoshaphat (vs. 12) "… for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about. 13 Put ye in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe: come, tread ye, for the winepress is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great" (vs. 13). It is clear from the connection that the harvest scene and the vintage scene refer to the same struggle and are two comparisons by which God is setting forth the slaughtering of the wicked at the end of the Tribulation. It is impossible in the light of the facts of the context to put any other construction upon this passage.

When we turn to Revelation 14:14-20, see these two figures used side by side, and recognize that the latter one is spoken of as a scene of wrath, we cannot escape the conclusion that this passage is but an expansion of the passage in Joel, and that both figures are used to portray vividly the destruction of the wicked at the end of the Tribulation. In view of these facts it is impossible for anyone to interpret the harvest scene as a gathering together of all of the righteous and the vintage scene as the destruction of the wicked at the very end of the Tribulation.

The Final Call to Watchfulness

"(Behold, I come as a thief, Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.)" (Rev. 16:15). At the conclusion of the pouring out of the sixth bowl of God's wrath, comes this warning to believers, that they should watch and be ready for His coming. What believers are these who are thus warned? We have seen already that the believers of the present era are caught up out of the earth, and that the dead in Christ are raised before the Tribulation. Moreover we have seen that there will be people who will accept the Lord during the Tribulation, many of whom are slaughtered because of their faith and testimony. There will also be believers who live through the Tribulation, to the very end. They are here warned especially in Revelation 16:15 to be watchful and keep themselves clean and uncontaminated from the world. This warning is given in view of the imminency of the Lord's return, which will occur at the conclusion of the seventh bowl of God's wrath. Thus this call is to the Tribulation saints living at the very end of the Tribulation.

Our extensive study of the Revelation passages shows conclusively that John in the book was in perfect harmony with the Pauline teaching concerning the pre-Tribulation resurrection and rapture of the saints. The Lord's blessing rest upon us as we continue this investigation further.

May 1948

What bearing does the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares have upon the question, Will the Church Go through the Tribulation?

It is next in order for us to investigate our Lord's teaching embodied in the parable of the wheat and the tares, for this scripture is interpreted by many to teach a post-Tribulation rapture of the saints. By those taking this position it is assumed that, on the day when Christ returns to the earth in a visible and bodily form, Isreal will be converted, the sleeping saints will be raised, the Antichrist will be slain, the saints then living upon earth will be translated, and the kingdom of God will be established upon the earth. The foundation for this belief is, as we saw in the first article of this series, based upon the information which is found in Isaiah, chapter 25. But in my investigation of that passage I showed that it does not teach what it is supposed to. The reader would do well to study this article in the January issue of this magazine before going on with this present study.

Some Preliminary Considerations Necessary for the Understanding of the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

When any one reads the Book of Matthew, chapter 13, he is impressed instantly with the thought that the writer records seven parables that were spoken on the day of our Lord's ministry, which is recognized as one of the busiest of His entire ministry. By looking at the parallel accounts, especially that given by Mark, the student will see that the Lord on this occasion spoke more than seven parables. While this is a fact, it is also true that Matthew, guided by the Spirit, selected seven of these parables and presented them. Evidently there was a reason for the selection of these. As all students know, the number seven indicates perfection or completeness. This statement is beyond question. We may conclude from this premise that these seven parables are presenting to us one great complete unit of truth. Each parable contributes its part to the presentation of the theme under discussion. Each of the parables is related to the others in the series.

The first one is that of the sower, who is none other than the Son of man, and who went forth to sow seed, which in this instance, is the Word of God. In his sowing, the seed fell on four different types of soil. All of the seed was alike, vital and alive. But all did not produce alike, the reason being that the soil was different.

Following this parable our Lord gave the one which we are now studying, the parable of the wheat and the tares. As we have just seen, the seed in the first parable was the Word of God. In the second parable the seed sown in the field is the sons of the kingdom. The tares, or the darnel, as it is properly called, are the sons of the wicked one. This fact shows that the second parable is a development and an unfolding of the first one.

In the third parable the kingdom of heaven is compared to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, and which although it was the least of all seeds, developed into an abnormal growth. Thus there is advancement and development set forth in the third parable.

In the fourth one the same kingdom of heaven is compared to leaven which a woman put in three measures of meal. The leaven continued to permeate the meal until it affected all. Thus we see progress and development, even though it is of the evil kind.

In the fifth likeness the kingdom of heaven is compared to a treasure which a man found in a field. He therefore sold everything that he had and purchased the field in order that he might have the treasure. Here the idea of progress and development is no longer accentuated, but that of the value of the treasure, which probably represents the Chosen People, Israel, is set forth. In the sixth parable the kingdom of heaven is compared to a pearl of great price. When the merchant discovered this gem, he sold everything that he had and purchased it. Many good commentators believe that the pearl here signifies the body of believers, the church. I am inclined toward this position.

Finally, the last parable is that of the dragnet which sets forth events connected with the consummation of the age. Just as the dragnet is thrown out into the water and is dragged up to the beach and catches of every kind before it, so is the kingdom of heaven. The fisherman sit down and gather the good fish into their vessels, but they cast the bad away. This last parable represents events connected with the second coming of Christ, of His purging out of the kingdom of heaven all things that are evil, and of the gathering together of that which is good and which has been brought in by the great gospel net.

Since the first parable began with the personal ministry of our Lord and the last one deals with His return at the close of the age, and since there is progress and development, as we have already seen, set forth by the three of the other parables, one cannot avoid the conclusion that these parables are all connected, and that they are presenting the truth with reference to the kingdom of heaven.

What is the kingdom of heaven? one asks. It has been answered that the kingdom is Christendom, for it was started by the preaching of the truth by the Son of God and has been carried on through the centuries in the same manner. Of course it will be terminated by the glorious, bodily return of our Lord at the end of the Tribulation, when He comes to set up His kingdom of glory upon the earth. I believe that the movement called the kingdom of heaven in this passage is Christendom, but I believe that this term is too narrow. My reason for this position is this: Those who are represented by the wayside soil upon which the good seed fell that was devoured by the birds of heaven are the people who simply hear the Word but do not receive it into good, honest, believing hearts. The devil, therefore, takes this Word away from them lest they should believe and be saved. Thus those people who hear the Word are by virtue of their having heard the message brought into the kingdom of heaven. In view of he parable of the sower I am convinced that the kingdom of heaven thus represented in Matthew, chapter 13, has in it every man, woman, and child who have heard the Word—whether or not they accept it. Hearing the Word puts one, according to this parable, into the kingdom of heaven.

But being born again, as Jesus taught Nicodemus, puts one into the real kingdom of God, the spiritual kingdom as it exists today. Should I illustrate the kingdom of heaven and the spiritual kingdom graphically, I would draw a large circle on the board and call that the kingdom of heaven and would assert that everyone, be he infidel, atheist, agnostic, or a believer, is, by virtue of his having heard the Word, brought into the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand I would put a small circle in the center of this larger one and call that the spiritual kingdom mentioned by Jesus in His conversation with Nicodemus.

This kingdom of heaven began with Jesus and His preaching and continues throughout the Christian Era and will culminate with the personal, bodily return of the Lord in glory at the end of the Tribulation.

As I have already noted, the parable of the wheat and the tares shows the progress and development of the movement of Christianity which was inaugurated by Christ. At the same time this parable compares the entire Christian Dispensation with all its activity with the raising of one crop. The wheat is sowed in the fall; it grows through the winter; comes to fruition in the early summer and is harvested. Thus only one cropping season is used here as an illustration to set forth the beginning, the development, the growth of Christendom, and finally its conclusion at the second coming of our Lord. While we recognize that the planting, the growing, and the harvesting of one crop are used to set forth the truth with reference to Christendom throughout the entire Christian Age, we shall not try to force the parable and make it go on all fours. Those who heard Christ during His personal ministry and accepted Him, and those who have heard the gospel throughout the Christian centuries and who accepted Christ have died and passed on into the future. But in the parable of the wheat and the tares plants spring from the seed and continue throughout the season to the harvest period, when the tares, or darnel, are gathered together, bound in bundles and burned, whereas the wheat is gathered into barns for storage. In our interpreting this passage we shall not be too literalistic and try to read something into the passage which the Lord did not intend.

It is possible for us to make a deduction from a parable which might be contrary to some plain, positive teaching of a passage whose meaning cannot be disputed. In the event of such a deduction we shall do well to reject this and adhere to the plain, unmistakable meaning of a given passage whose significance cannot be doubted.

The Interpretation of the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

"Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that sowed good seed in his field: 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away. 26 But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27 And the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? Whence then hath it tares? 28 And he said unto them, An enemy hath done this. And the servants say unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he saith, Nay; lest haply while ye gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn" (Matt. 13:24-30).

We have seen above that the kingdom of heaven represents Christendom, including within its boundaries all who hear the Word. It began by the personal ministry of Jesus and will continue throughout the age unto His second coming. The Son of man is the sower who sowed the good seed in the field. While men slept, however, his enemy came and sowed tares, or darnel, among the wheat and went away. When the wheat developed heads, the tares were seen to be tares and were differentiated form the wheat. The servants of the householder came and reported their discovery and asked if he had sowed the tares. The householder affirmed that an enemy had sowed these among the wheat. To their question as to whether or not they should pull up these tares, he replied in the negative, stating that they should let all remain until the harvest, at which time he would say to the reapers that they should gather the tares first into bundles and burn them, but should gather the wheat into his barns. This is a plain, simple narrative of the parable.

Now let us see the Lord's interpretation.

"36 Then he left the multitudes, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him saying, Explain unto us the parable of the tares of the field. 37 And he answered and said, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 38 and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one. 39 and the enemy that sowed them is the devil: and the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels. 40 As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned with fire; so shall it be in the end of the world. 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and them that do iniquity, 42 and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears, let him hear" (Matt. 13:36-43).

After Jesus returned to the house, the disciples came and asked Him to explain the parable of the tares. In interpreting it to them, He declared that He, the Son of man, had sowed the good seed; that the field was the world; that the good seed were the sons of the kingdom; that the tares were the sons of the evil one; that the enemy who sowed the tares was the devil; and the harvest was the end of the world. At this future time the Son of man will say to the angels, who are the reapers, that they must gather up the tares, bind them in bundles to burn. At this future time, the Son of man will send forth His angels who will gather out of His kingdom all things that are evil and will cast them into the furnace of fire. At that time the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

The field in which the seed is sown is the world. This fact should cause people to refrain from applying this passage to church discipline, as it has so very frequently been interpreted. In the Epistles, as well as in the instructions of our Lord to the disciples, church discipline is taught. But the kingdom of heaven is the great movement that is launched and carried forward by the preaching of the Word and is in the world. The tares are not to be rooted up now. Along with the good are the evil ones sowed by the devil. It is not the business of the Christians to attempt to annihilate nor to uproot falsehood and error in the form of individuals or groups that are living beside them. The Lord will attend to their case at His second coming, for He will instruct His angles to do that. The tares are in the world and are not in the church. It is the business of Christians to attend to the group of believers and not to meddle with false institutions that the devil has sponsored and caused to spring up along beside the real true chruch.

The Lord in giving the parables said that the householder would say, "In the time of the harvest…" the reapers should first gather up the tares and bind them in bundles for burning before gathering the wheat into the barns. The gathering up of the tares is during the time of the harvest. Everyone knows that the time of the harvest is not a single day, but is a period of time that extends over possibly a month or so. Everyone who is familiar with the growing of wheat knows this fact. Since the reapers are to gather out the tares during the harvest as set forth in the parable, in the consummation of the age the reapers, the angels, are to gather out of this great kingdom of heaven all of the tares. Just as the harvest of the wheat covers days, so the harvest at the end of the age covers a period of time, seven years in duration as we learn from related passages.

That the consummation of the age does not denote a single day, as is supposed by many, but is a period of time is evident from this parable. Confirmation of this position is found in such a passage as Hebrews 9:26. In this verse we are told that "… but now once at the end of the ages hath he [Christ] been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." There have been various ages in the past. When Christ came nineteen hundred years ago and suffered and died, He came in "the consumation of the ages." The consummation of the ages certainly was reached when Christ was here, during His three and a half years of public ministry. The age which was thus introduced by His advent into the world continues to run on, and following this age will be the Millennial Age. Yet the time of Christ's coming and ushering in this age is called the end of the ages. From this fact we can see that the expression, consummation of the ages, cannot be pinned down to a single year, but is a period of years. In the same way we must understand the consummation of the present age mentioned in the parable of the wheat and the tares. When we reach the consummation of the age, God will send forth reapers to gather out all the tares from among the wheat. When we turn to the Book of Revelation, we see that various angels are conducting the different judgments which fall upon the earth during the Tribulation and which will purge out all the wicked from the earth. In view of these facts we are certain that the Tribulation Period is here called the consummation of the age. We know that the judgments of the Tribulation will be so very terrific that the bulk of humanity will be swept from the face of the globe. On this point hear what the Lord said through Isaiah in speaking of the day of Jehovah, the Tribulation Period of seven years, "And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for iniquity: and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. 12 I will make a man more rare than fine gold, even a man than the pure gold of Ophir" (Isa. 13:11,12). On this point also see Isaiah 24:6.

When the wicked are thus removed—the tares pulled up—the righteous that are left will enter the kingdom of righteousness at the second coming of out Lord and will shine forth as the stars in the kingdom of their Father.

The subject of the rapture of the saints does not come within the view of this passage. It is simply not discussed. The Lord was only speaking of the destruction of the wicked from the face of the globe during the period of the harvest, the Tribulation Period, and the final gathering together of the wheat into the barns. Then the righteous the wheat in this instance, will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. This parable has not the slightest bearing upon the subject of the rapture of the saints—whether that event occurs before the Tribulation or at its conclusion.

We have learned from the discussion of I Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 that the rapture of the saints and the resurrection of the righteous occur before the Tribulation—God has not appointed us unto wrath but unto the obtaining of salvation, deliverance, from that wrath. We shall also learn in the discussion of Matthew, chapter 24, and Luke, chapter 21, that the rapture of the saints who are living immediately before the Tribulation begins will occur then.

My closing word is that we be careful not to read something into the Word that is not there. And at the same time, we should be certain not to overlook facts that are presented in the passage. Let us try to expound the Word and not try to prove a man-made theory.

The Rapture as Presented in Matthew, Chapter 24

In our investigation of the theme, "Will the Church Go Through the Tribulation," we have come to the point of studying this subject as presented in the Olivet Discourse, which is found in Matthew, chapters 24 and 25. This is such a very important passage, I am asking the reader to study carefully Matthew, chapters 24 and 25; Mark, chapter 13; and Luke, chapter 21.

In order to understand the subject of the rapture as presented in Matthew, chapter 24, a person must have a clear grasp of the entire setting of the discourse. In this connection let me say that there is but one gospel, though there are four records of the same. Matthew wrote his record of the life and teaching of our Lord and put his message in the terminology that was understandable to the Jew. Mark wrote the same gospel message for the Romans and put it into language that would appeal to them, and that was readily understandable by them. At the same time Luke wrote his record of this one gospel for the Greeks, who loved beauty, and put it in language that they could understand. It is therefore a mistake for us to conclude that, since Matthew's record was primarily written to convince the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah, it is therefore not for us. There is but one gospel. It is for all peoples. Whatever Jesus said as is recorded by Matthew must be studied in the light of the setting in which each statement appears. When we study the Olivet Discourse, we can see that our Lord had a world-vision and was discussing the matter of the end time.

The occasion of Jesus' uttering this most marvelous message, which brings together to a great extent the teaching of the prophets in one mighty discourse, was on the last day of His public ministry when He went out from the Temple. As He was going, His disciples called His attention to the beautiful stones that had been used in the construction of the edifice. They were very much interested in it as the national shrine. They had their hearts set more or less upon material, nationalistic things and not so much upon spiritual matters as they should have had. Our Lord therefore foretold the complete demolition of the Temple. This naturally shocked them.

When He made His prediction concerning the destruction of the Temple, which we know was accomplished by the Romans under Titus in A.D. 70, the Apostles obviously thought that He was speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem as had been foretold in such passages as Zechariah, chapter 14. It is important that we recognize this fact. My reason for making this assertion is the following: When Jesus mentioned the destruction of the Temple, immediately they thought of His coming in power and glory when His feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives and He will end the age and introduce the era of righteousness. Hence they asked Him what was the sign of His coming and of the end of the age. If anyone will turn to Zechariah, chapter 14, he will see that, at the beginning of this chapter, there is a prediction concerning the destruction of Jerusalem in the "day of Jehovah," which catastrophe is brought to a conclusion by the personal, bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ and His standing in that day upon the Mount of Olives. When He thus appears, He brings this age to a close and introduces the great Kingdom Age. At that time Jehovah will be recognized as the one true and living God. Everything in Zechariah, chapter 14, presents those three outstanding points, namely, the destruction of Jerusalem in the day of Jehovah—the Tribulation—the second coming of our Lord, and the end of this dispensation and the introduction of the Millennial Age. When, therefore, our Lord mentioned the destruction of the Temple, instantly the Apostles thought that He was talking about the destruction of Jerusalem in the day of the Lord, foretold in Zechariah, chapter 14, and parallel passages. They therefore naturally thought of the two other associated ideas, namely, His coming and standing on the mount of Olives and His bringing the present era to a close and introducing the Millennial Age. The well-known psychological law of association of ideas makes this interpretation imperative. It is therefore logical in view of all the facts.

I. The Two Questions Asked by the Apostles

When Jesus sat upon the Mount of Olives, the four disciples—Peter, James, John, and Andrew—came to Him and asked Him two questions. The first one pertained to the time when this special prediction would be fulfilled. Our Lord indeed answered that question, but Luke only (Luke 21:20-24) recorded His answer. It is most important that we understand this fact; for, if we think that Matthew and Mark recorded His answer to the first question, we shall introduce confusion into Olivet Discourse as presented by these two evangelists. This consequent confusion of the records might be illustrated by a double exposure in a camera. When the film is by mistake exposed a second time, this new view is superimposed upon the first one. Haziness, indistinctness, and confusion are thus stamped upon the negative. The same thing is true when we attempt to read into Matthew, chapter 24 (and also Mark 13) our Lord's answer to the question as to when His definite prediction concerning the destruction of Jerusalem would occur.

That Matthew did not record that answer is very clear when we follow the line of thought as it is developed in Matthew, chapter 24. The disciples asked Him concerning the end of the world, or age, the Christian Dispensation (Matt. 24:3). Our Lord warned them against following false messiahs who would arise from time to time (vs. 4). Since they were thinking in terms of Zechariah, chapter 14, which foretells the final siege of Jerusalem, Jesus warned against their reaching false conclusions with reference to the outbreak of some war or a rumor of war. Hence in verse 6 He said that local wars would come to pass because the conditions that produce them are here. But the disciples were not to be alarmed, for the outbreak of such a conflict would be indicative of nothing pertaining to the end of the age—"These things must needs come to pass; but the end is not yet" (vs. 6). The end of what? There is but one answer—the end of the age about which they asked. Once more in verse 14 the Lord declared that the gospel shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations "… and then shall the end come." The end of what? The end of the age. Thus in these verses 4-14, there is no room for anything save a discussion of the end of the age, as we shall presently see—with the one exception of verses 7 and 8 which we shall discuss presently.

After making the statement concerning the preaching of the gospel to all nations and the end's coming immediately, our Lord began verse 15 with these words: "When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation …" The adverb "when" and the conjunction "therefore" link indissolubly verse 15 and that which follows to verse 14, which, as we have just seen, speaks of the end of the age. By studying verse 15 in connection with Daniel 9:27 and its context in the light of Revelation, chapter 13, we know that Matthew 24:15 is speaking about an event of the first magnitude which occurs in the middle of the Tribulation, namely, the Antichrist's setting up his image in the Temple at Jerusalem. A close examination of verses 15-28 of this chapter shows that our Lord was speaking of the latter half of the great Tribulation Period. There is nothing in it that can be legitimately taken from its context and applied to events that occurred a the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The context in Luke shows that he was talking of the events of A.D. 70. The facts of the context of Matthew, chapter 24, show conclusively that our Lord, in these verses, was talking about the time of the Tribulation. Each event proves to be a crisis with Israel. Like situations demand similar language to describe them. Thus the similarity of the situation explains the agreement in the language. Matthew 24:29, which advances the thought discussed in verses 15-28, begins this way: "But immediately after the tribulation of those days …." Thus we see in verses 29-31 our Lord speaks of His glorious, bodily, personal return to the earth. This little survey of the first 31 verses shows that, in this portion of Matthew's record, there is no place for His discussion of the first question relative to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. But this point will become still more apparent when we look particularly at the second question and at verses 6, 7, and 8.

The second question which the Apostles asked was this: "And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" Obviously the Apostles thought that there would be something which would serve as a sign to them, and which would be indicative of the approach of the time for the Lord to come and for Him to close this age. The coming of which they were asking Him was evidently His coming in fulfillment of Zechariah, chapter 14, when His feet stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives. The word rendered "world" is literally one indicating an age. The Apostles therefore understood that there would be some sign which would, by it occurring or coming to pass indicate that our Lord's glorious return to close the age was at hand.

In answering them, Jesus warned them that there would appear false messiahs at various times, who would lead many astray. Since they were thinking of the final siege of Jerusalem, He warned them not to draw any hasty deductions whenever a war should break out. A local war would have no prophetic significance. Hence, when such a one would start, they were to continue their work as usual, not being perturbed by anything; for "the end is not yet," declared Jesus. The reason for His making this assertion is found in the next verse: "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and earthquakes in divers places." What is the significance of this passage? Nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom is an Old Testament idiom indicating a conflict that begins by on group's rising up against another and the conflagrations' spreading until it affects all the territory which was before the prophet's mind when he used this expression. Since Jesus had a world-outlook, as is evident from the entire context, His use of the idiom could indicate only one thing, namely, a world-conflict attended by famines, pestilences, and great earthquakes which would begin by one nation's rising against another nation and would develop until it became global in its proportions. To the Apostles who wanted a sign by which they could tell that His coming and the end of the age were approaching, Jesus said for them to pay no attention to anything until they should see a global war, attended by famines, pestilences and great earthquakes in different places. Then, speaking of these four things, which occur at the same time, He declared that "… all these things are the beginning of travail."

To what did He refer when He said, "All these things"? There is but one answer which is, a world war, famines, pestilences, and great earthquakes. These, declared our Lord, are the beginning of travail. A more graphic rendering is "the first birth pain." Our Lord's use of this expression is an echo of one that was familiar to the psalmists and the prophets, who spoke of what we call the great Tribulation as a period of travail, of childbirth. What the first birth pain or warning pain is to the expectant mother, a world war, attended by famines, pestilences, and great earthquakes in different places, is to the world—they are its first birth pain or warning pain announcing that that time is approaching for the Lord to return and to bring this age to a close and to establish the new era of righteousness.

In verses 9-28 Jesus gives a detailed description of the Tribulation Period, and the Tribulation Period alone. As suggested above, verses 29-31 bring us to the conclusion of the Tribulation, to the coming of the Lord and His establishing His world-wide reign.

II. A Second View of the Closing of the Age

In 24:32-25:46 we have an illustration of what is known as the law of recurrence. This principle, according to which the prophets spoke, might be illustrated by the artist's procedure of painting a portrait. At the first sitting he does what he technically calls "blocking out" the portrait. At the second and subsequent sitting he simply brightens up or brings out certain features made at the first sitting and also new details. Hence he brings his portrait to completion and perfection. In verses 1-31 the Lord Jesus "blocked out" the picture of the future—from His time through the Christian Dispensation (vs. 6) to World War I (vs. 7); then throught the Tribulation (vss. 8-28) to His glorious return and the setting up of the millennial kingdom (vss. 39-31). Then 24:32-25:46 He brought out more clearly certain details that were only briefly touched upon in the preceding verses and added some very definite and new information. We may thus call 24:32-25:46 His work at the "second sitting."

This section of the discourse is begun by a parable concerning the fig tree and closes with the judgment of the living nations when "…the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory" (25:31). At this "second sitting" we may say that the Lord Jesus touched up the features of the picture, beginning with the sign of His coming and of the end of the age—a world war attended by famines, pestilences, and great earthquakes in divers places—and continuing to the beginning of the Millennium. It is very important that we see this point clearly, which is established by all the facts of the context. To a thorough study of the first part of this portion, which deals especially with the rapture, let us now give special attention.

"Now from the fig tree learn her parable: when her branch is now become tender, and putteth forth its leaves ye know that summer is nigh; 33 even so ye also, when you see all these things, know ye that he is nigh, even at the doors" (Matt. 24:32,33). What is meant by the fig tree? In answering this question, some call our attention to the fact that the fig tree is used as a symbol of the Jewish nation, which position is absolutely true as is demonstrated by certain passages when studied in the light of their contexts. But we are never to take a passage as metaphorical or figurative unless the facts of the given context indicate such a meaning. According to our Lord's statement in this passage, when the fig tree puts forth its tender buds and leaves, those observing that natural phenomena know that the summer is close at hand. In any section of the world, when the flowers begin to come up and the trees start to budding, the people at that time know that spring is fast approaching. Is there anything in this context to indicate a departure from this literal meaning? One will seek in vain for such evidence. We must therefore consider the parable of the fig tree as an object lesson that Jesus draws from a literal, natural fig tree or any other tree, as is indicated in the parallel account in Luke 21:29. As those living when the fig tree buds in the spring know that the summer is near, in the like manner those who are living and see "all these things" can draw a conclusion with reference to the nearness of our Lord's return. They can know He is nigh, even at the doors."

What is indicated by the expression, "all these things"? Two answers are given to this most important question. One group of students tells us that the things referred to are those that are mentioned in the verses above. What is given to us in the preceding section? Beginning with verse 7 and running through verse 31, we see a prophecy concerning the sign of the second coming and the end of the age, the terrific judgments of the great Tribulation Period, the bodily visible return of our Lord in glory at the end of the Tribulation, His gathering His elect from the four corners of the earth, and His setting up His millennial reign. Could the term "all these things," include all of these events? Everyone who will look at the situation will reply that such a thing as that is impossible; for the visible, bodily return of our Lord is included in the "all things" in the previous section. Let us assume that our expression embraces the things that He has just mentioned. In this case His coming and His establishing His kingdom is a part of "all these things" which constitute the sign of His coming and the end of the age. But such a conclusion is self-contradictory and obviously illogical. We must therefore reject that thought that our term "all these things," can be used in its ordinary, literal meaning; because that reduces the passage to an absurdity. It must therefore have a limited meaning or a restricted meaning. The facts demand this conclusion. That it does have a limited meaning, a technical usage, is apparent to us when we look back at verse 8, where the same expression, in both the original and in the translation, appears. As we have already seen, Jesus in explaining His prediction that the disciples were not to look for the end of the age when there should break out some war, declared that "the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and earthquakes in divers places. But all these things [a world war attended by famines, pestilences, and great earthquakes in divers places] are the beginning of travail." Such a global conflict is the first birth pain which warns the world that its time to be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God is right at hand. Thus the technical or limited meaning of our expression signifies a world war with which occur famines, great earthquakes in divers places, and pestilences, which last item is added in Luke's record of this same prophecy (Luke 21:11). According to Jesus such a world catastrophe is the sign indicating the near approach of His return and of the end of the age. According to this statement, then, no one had a scriptural right to proclaim that the second coming of Christ and the end of the age were at hand until a world war occurred attended by famines, pestilence, and great earthquakes—these things being the sign of the coming and of the end of the age.

What is nigh, even at the doors? The Revised Version has in the text "He is nigh," but in the footnote the neuter pronoun it appears. A glance at the original shows that this is an elliptical expression. Either "he" or "it" must be supplied. As to which a person cannot be dogmatic when he looks at verses 32 and 33 alone. When he takes the whole passage into consideration, and when he remembers that Jesus was answering the Apostles' question relative to the sign of His coming and of the end of the age, the conclusion is borne in very strongly upon the heart that the probable translation is "He [Jesus] is nigh, even at the doors."

When the sign of His coming and of the end of the age occurs, the generation seeing it shall in nowise pass away "till all these things be accomplished." What is meant by "generation"? According to modern statistics a generation is looked upon as being from thirty-five to forty years. Jesus was not looking at things from the modern point of view but from the scriptural standpoint. According to Moses in Psalm 90:10 a generation is threescore and ten years, "or even by reason of strength fourscore years." There is no other scriptural statement that limits a generation or modifies this statement. Hence we must accept it as the scriptural norm for the life-span of a generation.

According to the Lord Jesus the generation which witnesses the sign of the end of the age, a world war with its attending circumstances, will not pass away until all these thing shall be accomplished. Was Jesus talking about a generation that has spent half of its life before this sign occurs as the one that shall not pass away until all the things mentioned shall be accomplished? Was he talking about one that had lived three-fourths of its time when the sign occurs? To signify such an idea would be trifling with words. Since Jesus was giving a very definite idea of time by His use of the word generation in this passage, there is but one meaning, in the light of the context, that it can have.

It can only mean the generation that was rising when the sign occurred, and that was old enough to read the Scriptures and then look around about and recognize the things occurring as the fulfillment of the prophecy. I made hundreds of test cases of this interpretation during World War I. On every occasion when I could talk with a person in the teen-age, I did so and interpreted—verse by verse and word by word—the prophecy without applying the passage to anything. Invariably, without an exception these young people would speak up and say, "That's what is going on now!" Between World War I and World War II, I continued my test cases, talking to literally hundreds of teen-agers. Having explained the word of the prophecy, I never made any application of the predictions to what had already occurred in 1914-1918. Invariably however, these young people without exception, so far as I can recall, spoke up and said in substance, "That's what occurred in 1914-1918." Thus I am convinced that those in the teen-age, back in 1914-'18, constituted the generation of which our Lord was speaking in this verse when He said, "This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished" (24:34).

What is the significance of the expression, "all these things," in verse 34? When we remember that we are to take every word at its primary, ordinary significance unless the facts of the context indicate clearly otherwise, we shall have to understand the expression to indicate all the events given in the prediction (vss. 3-31)—unless the facts of this context demand a departure from the expression demanded in verse 33. But we shall look in vain for such limiting or modifying elements. We must, therefore, conclude that the events referred to in "all these things," in verse 34 include all the items in the prophecy, including the Lord's coming and setting up of His millennial reign, found in verses 3-31.

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but this prediction shall in nowise pass away. But concerning the day and hour (of His coming) no one knew, declared our Lord. He himself denied that He knew. Of course at that time He did not know, but now since He has been glorified and has laid off the human limitations, He of course knows. To what do the words, "… of that day and hour knoweth no one …" refer? In the light of the fact of these verses it can refer to one thing and only one thing, namely, the Lord's being near, "even at the doors." Thus it can mean nothing but the coming of the Lord. But when will that coming occur? This question is answered in the following verse. "And as were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man" (vs. 37). But Noah lived nine hundred and fifty years. What days of Noah are here in review? The answer is found in the next verse: "For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, 39 and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of Man. (vss. 38,39). Obviously the days of Noah were the days immediately prior to the Flood. Jesus drew a parallel between the coming of the Son of man immediately before the Tribulation, which He has already discussed in the preceding part of the prophecy. As the people of the world were engaged in the normal pursuits and were entirely unaware of the impending crisis of the Flood, so said Jesus, the people of the end time immediately before the Tribulation will be pursuing their regular vocations and pleasures, being unaware of the impending crisis of the Tribulation. These days of crisis before the Tribulation are called the days of the giving in marriage, buying and selling in the usual way as is implied by this context, by the time the Tribulation is brought to a close—after which Jesus comes in glory and in power. If a person will only read Revelation, chapters 6,8,9 and 16, he will see that the judgments of the Tribulation are so very terrific that there will be left nothing but chaos by the time the Tribulation is over. In no sense of the term will the people be in a position to be eating, drinking, buying and selling, planting and reaping, etc. On the contrary, they will be in the caves of the earth, crying out to the rocks and mountains to fall on them, and to hide them from the coming of the Son of man. Thus the coming of which Jesus in this passage is speaking is a coming which precedes the Tribulation. From this conclusion there can be no escape.

When this coming occurs, "then shall two men be in the field; one is taken, and one is left. In our Lord's discoursing on this same subject as is found in Luke 17:25-27, He spoke of the time of the rapture as being at night. At that time two men will be lying on a bed at night; one will be taken and other will be left. Also two women shall be grinding at a mill; one will be taken and the other left. When the rapture occurs, it will be nighttime in certain portions of the globe, but daytime in others. Jesus gives evidence that He knew what that the world was round in these statements.

When the rapture occurs, the people of the world will be lulled into a false feeling of security; for at that time, before the day of the Lord—the great Tribulation—they (men in general) will be preaching the doctrine of peace and safety. They will think that men will have solved the problems of human misery and misunderstanding. They will therefore believe that they have put civilization upon a firm, unshakable basis, without fear of the recurrence of various ills which have plagued the human family from its beginning. When they are thus convinced of that proposition, sudden destruction comes upon the unsuspecting world, the great Tribulation bursts upon the earth. But that civilization will be on a very low plane as was that of the days of Noah. But everyone will be in the whirl of society, trade, and commerce, looking forward to the future with expectation and without any premonition of what will occur. When the world will be in that condition, suddenly will come the day and the hour when the Son of man will come and will take His servants out of the world, but He will leave those who are not His servants.

Further confirmation that this is the correct interpretation concerning the coming of the Son of man mentioned in Mathew 24:32-44, and that the rapture occurs before the Tribulation is found in the fact that the world will not be eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage by the time the Tribulation is over. On the contrary people will be hiding in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains and saying to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him who sits upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath is come (Rev. 6:17).

In view of all the facts as presented in Matthew, chapter 24 and 25, the coming referred to in 24:32-44 is Christ's descent from heaven to the air to raise the dead in Christ, and to catch up the living saints. Subsequent to that event, the Lord will reward those who are raised and those who are thus caught up, as we see in Matthew 24:45-25:30. At the end of the Tribulation—seven years later—the Son of man will come in His glory with the holy angels and judge the living that survive to that time. When He does this, He will allow those on His right hand to enter the kingdom prepared for them before the foundation of the world, the millennial kingdom.

By a thorough study of the entire Olivet Discourse found in Matthew, chapters 24 and 25, Mark, chapter 13 and Luke, chapter 21, we see that Jesus gave as the sign of His coming and of the end of the age a world war attended by famines, pestilences, and great earthquakes in different places. To the rising generation of the era when the sign occurs, Jesus gave the warning: "Even so ye also, when ye see all these things [a world war], know ye that he [Jesus] is nigh, even at the doors." This is His coming for His people prior to the Tribulation, which event will occur in order to deliver them the coming wrath of the Tribulation.

This is the glorious hope of the believer. We should always be ready, looking forward to that joyous event. It will be glorious for those who are Christ's, and who are expectantly and earnestly looking forward to His coming. But to those who are not His, it will be a sad day—for they will be left behind. May you and I dear Christian friends, be always found about our Father's business, endeavoring to snatch souls from an eternal hell by the proclamation of the good news that Christ suffered and died for our sins and was raised for our justification.

Come, Lord, and tarry not:
Bring the long-looked-for Day;
O why these years of waiting here,
These ages of delay?


Come, for Thy saints still wait:
Daily ascends their sigh;
The Spirit and the Bride say, Come;
Dost Thou not hear the cry?


Come, and make all things new;
Build up this ruined earth,
Restore our faded Paradise,
Creations' second birth.


Come, and begin Thy reign
Of everlasting peace;
Come, take the kingdom to Thyself,
Great King of righteousness!

Horatius Bonar

The Question of the rapture as set forth in
The Olivet Discourse According to Luke, Chapter 21

In last month's study we examined Mathew's record of the Olivet Discourse which is found in Matthew, chapters 24 and 25. Mark's account runs in the same groove as that of Matthew, only it is much abbreviated in comparison with the latter's narrative. Luke, in his record, supplements the information that is given in the accounts of Matthew and Mark. A person must therefore study all three records if he is to have a clear picture of what our Lord spoke in the message known as the Olivet Discourse.

If I am permitted to think of the development of the thought of the discourse found in Luke, chapter 21, and express it in terms of cross-country tours, I would say that our Lord makes three "trans-dispensational journeys." I am thinking of course in terms of transcontinental trips exclusively.

I. The Occasion of Our Lord's Speaking the Prophecy

The Apostle called the Lord's attention to the large stones and valuable offerings that had been deposited in the Temple by devout people. It is to be remembered that Herod the Great, about 20 B.C. began to remodel the Temple, tearing it down piecemeal and rebuilding it up a more magnificent scale. Naturally the Jews were very much interested in their central shrine. Even the Apostles had great regard for it and called the Lord's attention to the very large stones used in the construction.

But our Lord cooled their enthusiasm by prophesying that the Temple would be completely destroyed, even to the extent that one stone should not remain upon another that had not already been thrown down.

As soon as He made this prediction, the disciples asked Him, according to Luke's account, two questions, namely "When therefore shall these things be? [the destruction of the Temple according to this prediction]"; and, "What shall be the sign when these things are about to come to pass?" The Apostles understood that there would be some sign or some event that would be indicative of the nearness of the time when the prediction would be fulfilled.

By our looking at Matthew's account, we see that they asked another question: "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world [or, the consummation of the age]?"

When we take both accounts and study them together as they shoud be, we see that the Apostles, as soon as Jesus foretold the demolition of the Temple, thought that He was speaking of its destruction in the day of Jehovah, as is foretold in such passages as Zechariah, chapter 14. Believing that He was talking about the fulfillment of this passage, they naturally asked Him what would be the sign of His return in fulfilment of this prophecy, at the conclusion of this age, and the introduction of the next one, the millennial kingdom. As we saw in last month's study, Matthew devoted all his attention to our Lord's answer to the second question, the one relating to His coming and the end of the age. But this element is seen reflected even in Luke's account—although He gave us the two questions regarding when the prediction of our Lord would be fulfilled, and what would be the sign when it was soon to be accomplished.

This prediction was uttered in A.D. 30. This is therefore the standpoint from which the sermon must be studied. In the margin of our Bible opposite verses 5-7 we could put the date, A.D. 30.

II. The First Trans-Dispensational Journey

"8 And he said, 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. 9 And when ye shall hear of wars and tumults, be not terrified: for these things must needs come to pass first; but the end is not immediately. 10 Then said he unto them, Nation shall arise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11 and there shall be great earthquakes, and in divers places famines and pestilences; …" (Luke 21:8-11a).

Verses 8 and 9 give us a running survey of the entire Christian Dispensation, beginning with A.D. 30 and going up to the world war, famines, pestilences and great earthquakes, which constitute the sign—the infallible sign—of the end of the age. Thus in the margin of our Bibles we may write the expression, "The Christian Age," opposite verses 8 and 9. In verse 8 we see that there would appear false messiahs, from time to time, during our Lord's absence from the earth. From verse 9 we also learn that wars and tumults would arise; "for these things must needs come to pass first"—before the events mentioned in verse 10 and 11a—"but the end is not immediately." If we had Luke's record alone, we would not understand what was meant by the word end; but when we lay this record beside the account of Matthew or that of Mark, we know that the end of which our Lord was speaking is the end of the age, and about which the Apostles asked Jesus. The "wars and tumults" mentioned in this verse are the same as the "wars and rumors of wars" mentioned in Matthew 24:6. The conditions which produce wars and conflicts between nations continue to exist. So long as the cause of conflicts is here, just so long will there be wars. A glance at the Christian Dispensation shows that there have been throughout this age war after war. Thus in the light of verses 8 and 9 of our passage, we see that Jesus was talking about the wars that would characterize the Christian Age.

Having spoken to the disciples about the end in verse 9, our Lord in a most impressive manner foretold a world war attended by famines, pestilences, and great earthquakes in different parts of the world which, according to Matthew 24:7, is the sign of the end of the age. As we saw in last month's study, the expression "nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom," is an idiomatic expression of the Old Testament which indicates a war that begins on a small scale by one nation's rising up against another and then another one's coming into the struggle until the conflict takes on proportions affecting all the territory that was before the prophet's mind when he used this idiom. Since Jesus had a world-outlook in the Olivet Discourse, and since He used this idiom, it can mean nothing but a world war which would be attended by famines, pestilences, and great earthquakes in different places of the world. Such a conflict with these various calamites, declared Jesus, would be the sign of the end of the age. We had just such a conflict as that in the years 1914-'18. Everyone who has given any consideration to this subject whatsoever recognizes that we had just those very things at the time of the great war. We know that there would be more than one world war. We know that there will be three world wars during the great Tribulation Period. Whether or not there will be any other world wars between now and the beginning of the Tribulation, no one can say. There have thus been two world wars, and there will be three world wars during the Tribulation. Which of these, one may ask, is the one referred to by our Lord in verse 10, 11a. Obviously the first one. Such an interpretation is the only one that makes sense. Thus in the margin of our bibles opposite verses 10 and 11a we might put the date 1914-'18.

In the last part of verse 11 Jesus declared that there would be terrors and great signs from heaven. Did such visible manifestation in the heavens appear in connection with World War I. Or have they occurred since then? The answer is a most emphatic denial: These have never occurred. But, since our Lord said that they would, we may be certain that they will come to pass exactly as He said. But when? No one knows. We are now in the year 1948. Sometime in the future these will occur. Let us therefore express the year when they will occur in an algebraic form: Thus I would say, In the year 1948 plus x these great signs and terrors will come to pass. The letter x is of course the algebraic symbol indicating the unknown quantity. Last year I said that these signs would take place in the year 1947 plus x. Next year if the Lord permits me to live and I express myself along this line, I shall say that these will occur in the year 1949 plus x. Thus, in the last of verse 11, we have reached the year 1948 plus x. This is the farthest point that our Lord reached in His first trans-dispensational thought journey.

III. The Second Tran-Dispensational Journey

"12 But before all these things, they shall lay their hands on you, and shall persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my names sake. 13 It shall turn out unto you for a testimony. 14 Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate beforehand how to answer: 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to withstand or to gainsay. 16 But ye shall be delivered up even by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. 17 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. 18 And not a hair of your head shall perish. 19 In your patience ye shall win your souls"(vss. 12-19).

Let us bear in mind that, at the end of verse 11, we are in the year 1948 plus x. But verse 12 begins with these words: "But before all these things, they shall lay their hands on you…" The disjunctive conjunction "but" introduces a thought contrary or opposite to the one which He had just expressed. The prepositional phrase, "before all these things," is temporal in its connotation. By the use of this conjunction and this temporal phrase our Lord turned from the year 1948 plus x and came back to the time when He was speaking, namely, to the year A.D. 30. This fact becomes immediately apparent to one who has read thoughtfully verses 12-19 quoted above. In this quotation our Lord told His disciples the experiences that would comfort them as His representatives. Thus in the margin opposite verses 12-19 I would put the date, "A.D. 30 plus."

Let us bear in mind that in the statement, "But before all these things they will lay their hands on you…," our Lord made His second trans-dispensational journey, traveling from 1948 plus x back to A.D. 30.

An examination of the Book of Acts shows that persecutions soon began against the early Christians. Peter and John were cast into prison and were beaten and sent forth from the presence of the Sanhedrin, being charged not to preach any more in Christ the resurrection from the dead (Acts, chapters 4 and 5). Persecution arose against Stephen (Acts, chapter 7). Saul of Tarsus persecuted the church (Acts, chapter 9). In Acts, chapter 12, we read of the killing of James and of Herod's intention to slay the Apostle Peter. From early church history traditions have come down to us concerning the sufferings and persecutions of which the early disciples were subjected. Thus this particular prediction was literally fulfilled in both Jewish and Roman persecutions of the Christians.

IV. The Third Trans-Dispensational Journey

"20 But when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that her desolation is at hand. 21 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. For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. Woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days! For there shall be great distress upon the land, and wrath unto this people. 24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led captive into all the nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

25 And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows; 26 men fainting for fear and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. 27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory" (vss. 20-27).

In verses 20-27 our Lord made his third trans-dispensational journey, going from the year A.D. 30 to the year which in algebraic phraseology might be designated as 1948 plus x plus 7. The term, 1948 plus x, brings us to the time immediately before the great Tribulation Period, which is a time of distress of seven years' duration. Thus when we add seven to the term, 1948 plus x plus 7, we are brought to the very last year of the Tribulation—to the time when our Lord Jesus Christ shall rend the heavens and return to this earth to set up His glorious kingdom in the world.

In verses 20-24b our Lord has left A.D. 30 and has gone out to A.D. 70, the year when Jerusalem fell, the Jewish commonwealth of nations collapsed, and the Jews that survived that terrible ordeal were carried into the slave markets of the world and sold into bondage. All Bible students recognize that this is a prophecy by our Lord concerning the destruction of the Jerusalem, which we know occurred in A. D. 70.*

*[The rationalistic critics recognize that these verses foretell the destruction of Jerusalem which occurred at the date mentioned above; but since they do not believe in predictive prophecy, they claim that Luke wrote his record of the Gospel after A.D. 70. Obviously such date-setting is the result of rationalistic prejudice, which discards all sane logical thinking. The Evangelist Luke wrote both the Gospel bearing his name and the Acts of the Apostles. All the evidence shows that the Acts was written around the close of the A.D. 63. Luke was written before this, as one may see by glancing at the prologues of both Luke and of the Acts. Thus Luke was written before A.D. 70.]

The Apostles had asked to know the time when Jerusalem would fall and the sign which would be indicative of the approach of that event. Jesus answered by telling them that, when they should see Jerusalem encompassed by armies they could know that the time for its desolation was at hand. He gave the disciples specific instructions to leave the city after the armies had encircled it. To one who does not have faith, these instructions would seem ridiculous. Unbelief would reply that He should have told them how they would know the time was approaching for the armies to surround the city in order that they might get out before that encirclement. Jesus knew that Titus would withdraw his armies after having encompassed the city, and that then would be the proper time for those in the city to leave. For some unknown reason, according to history, Titus withdrew his armies. The Christians in Jerusalem followed the instruction of our Lord, fled down to the Jordan Valley, crossed the river, and went up to a place on the east side called Pella. According to the traditions that have come to us, not one drop of Christian blood was spilled in the final siege and fall of Jerusalem.

Jesus said, according to verse 24a and b, that the Jews in Jerusalem would fall by the edge of the sword and be carried captive into all the nations. Then He made the further prediction that Jerusalem would be trodden down of the Gentiles. It was trodden down of the Gentiles in A.D. 70. The city then was completely destroyed.

In the temporal clause with which verse 24 ends, we have these words. "… until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Jerusalem, as we have just seen, was trodden down in A.D. 70. Jesus said that it would remain in this condition until the times of the Gentiles should be fulfilled." The times of the Gentiles are doubtless the centuries during which the Gentiles have right and authority over the city and the land and exercise their sovereignty. The usual position, that the times of the Gentiles began with the conquest of the Jewish state by Nebuchadnezzar and continues until the land of Palestine goes back into the hands of the Jews, is doubtless the period that is referred to as "the times of the Gentiles." In round numbers they have been running for approximately 2500 years. From all indications in the Scriptures and in the world around about us today, many devout, sincere Bible students are of the opinion that we are approaching the close of the age. Many are of the profound conviction that we are very much nearer the end of the age than most of us possibly suppose. But we must not speculate of guess in regard to these matters. On the contrary, let us have a "thus saith the Lord" for every position which we take.

Verse 25 begins with these words: "And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars; …" When we read this statement, instantly our minds go back to the last clause in verse 11 which foretells that there shall be terrors and great signs from heaven, which miraculous occurrences will take place in the year 1948 plus x. Thus immediately we associate the miraculous events of verse 11 with those of verse 25. As we consider this fact, let us remember that, in verse 12, by the expression, "But before all these things they shall lay their hands on you…," our Lord in His trans-dispensational thought journey left the year 1948 plus x and went back to A.D. 30. Then in verses 20-24b He left A.D. 30 and came out, on His third trans-dispensational journey, to the year A.D. 70. Finally, by His use of the expression, "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled," He left A.D. 70 and came out to the year 1948 plus x, the year when these miraculous events will occur in the heavens and upon the earth. These facts show us that verses 12-24 are parenthetical. Now for further clarification of this point, dear friend, read verses 10, 11, omit verses 12-24, and follow verse 11 with verse 25. You will then see that there is no break of thought. In other words, in verses 25 and 26, Jesus takes up the thought which He dropped with the last clause of verse 11.

In the year 1948 plus x "… there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars," great terrors and signs from heaven. There will be a cause for these abnormal conditions. Regardless of what the cause is, of what is lying back behind these heavenly portents, these forces or powers will likewise affect the earth; for we are told immediately that, when these signs occur in sun, moon, and stars, there will likewise be "… upon the earth distress of nations." This statement is to be taken literally at what it says. The nations will be in dire need. They will be in perplexity; they will be at their wits' end; they will be unable to cope with the situation that has arisen because of these abnormal conditions in the heavens above, and that affect the earth. But special attention is called to the fact that these heavenly phenomena affect the seas until the waves and billows roar. From time to time there have been hurricanes at sea; there have been the monsoons and the typhoons; but those natural phenomena which we see all the time are nothing in comparison with the great tidal waves which will be caused by these abnormal conditions in the heavenly bodies. There can be little doubt that these great billows and tidal waves will sweep inland on different continents and destroy vast areas.

When the reports of these disturbances at sea come in by radio and tell of the destruction of untold shipping, those who are listening over the radio will be terrified. Many who have weak hearts will succumb and will die, fainting for fear and for expectation of the things which are coming to pass on the earth. The beginning of these signs and wonders will start on a small scale, but they will continue to increase until the powers of the heavens will be shaken. When we take this passage in the light of parallel ones, such as II Peter, chapter 3, we know that the shaking of the heavens and the dissolution of the celestial bodies will occur at the very end of the Tribulation—at the time when our Lord is revealed from heaven in flaming fire, coming and taking vengeance upon all who know not God and who obey not the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (II Thess., chap. 1).

Since the shaking of the powers of the heavens occurs in final and complete form at the end of the Tribulation, it will come to pass at the time when Jesus comes, as we see in verse 27: "… then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." When? When the powers of heaven are shaken. But the powers of heaven are shaken only at the very end of the Tribulation. Then Jesus comes to take the world-government into his own strong hands. Thus we see, in verse 27, the Lord has left the year 1948 plus x when the signs first occur and has gone to the end of the Tribulation, the year which is properly designated as 1948 plus x plus 7. With this verse He completes His third trans-dispensational journey in this marvelous discourse.

V. The Rapture of the Church

"But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads; because your redemption draweth nigh" (vs. 28). Our Lord declared that, when these things—the terrors and great signs from heaven, signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and upon earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows… —begin to come to pass, the disciples are to look up and lift up their heads; because their redemption draws near. If this passage were the only one which bears upon this subject, we probably would be forced to the conclusion that the redemption of the saints occurs at the end of the Tribulation. In other words, we would be forced to believe that the church will pass through the Tribulation and will be raptured only at the very conclusion—at the time when Jesus rends the heavens and descends from glory to the earth to begin His glorious reign. But we know from related passages that these signs do not begin to come to pass at the very end of the Tribulation. The prophet, in Joel 2:28-30, told us that there will be a revival in Israel starting together with signs in the sun, moon, and stars and other supernatural phenomena "before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh." The great and terrible day of Jehovah is the Tribulation, when God pours out His judgment upon the world. It lasts seven years. For a description of this day of Jehovah see Isaiah 2:10-4:1; Zephaniah 1:14-18. According to Joel these supernatural occurrences in the heavens and upon the earth begin before the day of Jehovah, before the Tribulation. According to the Apostle John, in Revelation 6:12-17, there will be a recurrence of these supernatural phenomena in the heavens and upon the earth. Again, in what might be called the second quarter of the Tribulation, there will be other signs, somewhat different from these just mentioned, that will take place in Revelation 8:12. Again these supernatural phenomena will recur in the latter half of the Tribulation (Rev. 16:8-11). This information we gather from the writing of John the Apostle. But our Lord, in speaking of the conclusion of the Tribulation, declared in Matthew 24:29 that, immediately after the Tribulation of those days, these signs in the sun, moon, and stars will recur. At that time will appear the sign of the Son of man in the heavens, coming with power and great glory. Thus from the information which Joel, John, and Jesus gives us, we see that these signs in the sun, moon, and stars begin before the Tribulation. Then they seem to clear up only to recur in the first part of the Tribulation upon the breaking of the sixth seal. Again the blowing of the fourth trumpet (Rev., chap. 8) the sun will be affected. Again the earth and men will likewise be affected by the scorching heat from the sun. At that time the kingdom of the Antichrist will be darkened. This occurs about the middle part of the latter half of the Tribulation (Rev. 16:8-11). Then it seems that phenomena pass by temporarily, only to come back in full force at the very end of the Tribulation.

Jesus knew what Joel had said and what John would say regarding these signs and spoke accordingly. Since, therefore, the Lord told us that our redemption draweth nigh when these signs begin to come to pass, and since they begin to come to pass before the Tribulation, we can know that our redemption draws near before the Tribulation.

But what is meant by our "redemption"? Remember that the language was spoken to the disciples of Jesus and is applicable in a special manner to believers who are living at the time when the signs occur immediately before the Tribulation. At that time we receive our adoption, to-wit, the redemption of our bodies. The souls of those who have been born again have already been redeemed; but their bodies are to be redeemed. How will they be redeemed? When Jesus descends from heaven to the air, raises the dead in Christ, that is their bodies, and catches up the living saints and immortalizes their bodies. In this manner the saints obtain their redemption. In view of the entire message of Luke, chapter 21, we see that the rapture can occur only at the time when these signs begin to come to pass. But since they begin to come to pass before the Tribulation, then the rapture must occur before the Tribulation.

How long after these signs begin to come to pass will it be until the rapture? No one knows. That glorious event may occur one minute after these signs begin; or an hour; or a day. It is foolish for anyone to speculate, on this point. We cannot go beyond a "thus saith the Lord." Jesus said, "When these things begin to come to pass," then you, my disciples, "look up, and lift up your heads; because your redemption draweth nigh." No Christian has a right to expect the rapture of the church until these events do begin to come to pass. The very moment they begin to come to pass then intelligent, well-taught Christians have a right to expect the rapture momentarily. The one thing that concerns us is that we be living in close fellowship with Him and be found busily engaged in His affairs.

VI. The Nearness of the Kingdom

"29 And he spake to them a parable: Behold the fig tree, and all the trees: 30 When they now shoot forth, ye see it and know of your own selves that the summer is now nigh. 31 Even so ye also, when ye see these things coming to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh. 32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished. 33 Heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away" (vss. 29-33).

To the disciples our Lord spoke a parable: "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." Matthew, in his account which is parallel to this one, makes mention of the fig tree only. Luke said that Jesus called attention not only to the fig tree, but also to all the trees. By some expositors the fig tree has been understood symbolically as referring to the Jewish nation. According to this interpretation, the disciples are, when they see signs of national life beginning again in Israel, to conclude that the coming of the Lord is near at hand. Thus our attention is constantly called to this new national life in Israel as the budding of the fig tree.

I admit that, when the fig tree is used symbolically, it does refer to the Jewish nation. See Joel 1:6,7 in its context. But we are never to say that the fig tree is used figuratively, symbolically, in any passage of the Scriptures unless the facts of the immediate context indicates the same and unless related passages likewise point to a symbolic meaning. A person is therefore merely speculating if he departs in this passage from the literal import of the fig tree. Whenever the fig tree begins to bud in the spring the one observing that natural phenomenon knows that summer is near at hand.

In a manner analogous to this observation the generation seeing "all these things"—a world war, famines, pestilences, and great earthquakes in different places, which is the infallible sign of the end of the age—may know that the kingdom of God is close at hand. The kingdom of God comes when Jesus returns to earth at the end of the Tribulation (Matt. 16:28; Mk. 9:1). On this point compare Matthew 25:31-46. In other words, the generation seeing the infallible sign of the end of the age will likewise witness the glorious coming of Christ and the establishment of the kingdom of God upon earth.

VII. Special Promise to Those Whose Lives are Pure and Clean

"34 But take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you suddenly as a snare: 35 for so shall it come upon all them that dwell on the face of all the earth. 36 But watch ye at every season, making supplication, that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

In these verses our Lord warned His disciples to be very careful lest they should become absorbed with satisfying the flesh, lest some should yield to the appetites of the flesh and become drunkards, and lest some might be engrossed with the cares of life and be unable to discern the approach of the day of their redemption and the coming of the Lord to accomplish that redemption. People who do not know God, and many of the born-again people who are not taking their soul's interest very seriously will be unaware that the time for those supernatural portents in the heavens above and the earth beneath is at hand. When these great disturbances come upon the earth as a result of these supernatural signs in the heavens, there will be great calamities that will engulf many, and that will sweep myriads of people from the face of the globe. There can be little doubt that there will be numbers of Christians in the danger zone when these things begin to pass. Those Christians who are not taking their relationship to Christ very seriously but who are simply living for worldly ambitions and the like will be swept off the earth with the ungodly, if they are in the danger zones, that is, they will be killed and will have to pass out of this life—though they are born-again people—through the portal of death. They will be killed by these terrific upheavals in the natural world resulting from these supernatural signs in the heavens. They will not prevail to escape those things. This statement does not imply that they will be lost. They will not be. If they are once saved, they are saved forever. But they will be just like Christians who are in some danger zone today, when there is, for instance a terrific explosion, which takes Christian and non-Christian alike.

Our Lord encouraged His people to lives of purity, consecration, and separation and promised that those who are thus heeding His admonition, when these signs begin to come to pass, will not be swept off by these calamities and leave this world through the portal of death. On the contrary, He will protect them so that they are not killed by these catastrophes; but they will remain until the very moment when Jesus descends from heaven to the air. Then He will raise the dead in Christ and catch up those—all Christians—who will be alive at that time. Thus Christians are urged to live a separated life and to pray that they may be protected when these catastrophic events occur at the beginning of these signs from heaven.

My dear brother in Christ, it behooves you and me in these days to study the Scriptures very, very carefully; to lay our all upon the altar; to live for God; and to work for Him as we have never done before. We do not know when these signs may begin to come to pass. So far as you and I know, they may begin to come to pass the next second; or week. When they do begin, then we can expect the shout from the sky calling us out of this the world to this present evil age. What we intend to do for God, let us do it and do it with all of our heart and with all rapidity. "The king's business requireth haste."

"Rejoice, all ye believers,
And let your lights appear!
The evening is advancing,
And darker night is near:
The Bridegroom is arising,
And soon will He draw nigh.
Up! Pray and watch and wrestle;
At midnight comes the cry.


"Our hope and Expectation,
O Jesus! Now appear;
Arise, Thou Sun, so longed for,
O'er this benighted sphere!
With hearts and hands uplifted,
We plead, O Lord! To see
The day or our redemption,
That brings us unto Thee!"
From the German of Laurentius Laurenti, 1700.

The Great Commission
A Study of Matthew 28:18-20

In our investigating the question as to whether or not the church passes into and through the Tribulation, we have come to the consideration of a most important passage, the Great Commission, Matthew 28:18-20. A misunderstanding of this passage and the necessary implications drawn therefrom together with certain unwarranted inferences deduced from it have led to hopeless confusion in many quarters. A proper understanding of this passage, together with Matthew 10:23 and Matthew 24:3, will clarify the situation. In order to do this, we shall have to examine the understanding of this position on the part of those brethren who believe in the post-Tribulation rapture. Following this we shall have to examine the stand that has been taken by many sincere, earnest Bible students relative to these passages. Finally, by a scientific exegesis we can arrive at the meaning and the harmony of the teaching of these three passages.

I. The Position Regarding the Great Commission as Understood by Those Believing in a Post-Tribulation Rapture

Those brethren holding to the position that the church goes through the Tribulation examine carefully the "restricted commission" as it is recorded in Matthew, chapter 10. In verse 23 they find this language: "But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone through the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come." This commission was not completed and never will be carried out until the Son of man actually comes in glory and power. This coming evidently refers to His advent in glory at the conclusion of the Tribulation. About this position there can be no doubt whatsoever.

In Matthew 24:3 we are told that the Apostles asked Jesus two questions which are, "Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" The "things" concerning which they asked were the fulfillment of the prediction which Jesus made relative to the destruction of the Temple, which event occurred in A.D. 70. Matthew does not record our Lord's answer to this question. The second inquiry pertained to His coming, His presence in the world, and the end or consummation of the age—the Christian Age, during which He, being in rejection, is at the right hand of God in heaven. In view of these facts the coming concerning which they asked is evidently His coming in glory at the end of the Tribulation. This position is confirmed by our looking at Zechariah, chapter 14, which obviously was in the Apostles' minds when they asked these questions. Hence the coming and the end of the age synchronize and find their fulfillment at the end of the Tribulation. When all these facts are taken into consideration, there cannot be any doubt concerning the interpretation.

At one or our Lord's post-resurrection appearances to the disciples He gave the commission as recorded in Matthew 28:18-20: "And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. 19 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 Spirit: 20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." In this passage our Lord, though absent personally from His disciples during this period, promises to be with them unto the consummation of the age, that is to the very end of the Tribulation, when He returns in glory. These verses, therefore, are speaking of the glorious manifestation of our Lord when He returns to set up His millennial kingdom on the earth. Any other interpretation of this passage is an abnormal one and is to be rejected. Jesus, in His giving this commission, assumed that there will be true believers in Him at the time on the earth—even to the very day when He returns, takes over the kingdom of the world, and begins His reign. Since these three passages speak of the same coming—our Lord's advent at the end of the Tribulation—and since believers are seen in Matthew 24:22 and in Matthew 28:20 to be on the earth at the time when Jesus does appear, these good brethren are convinced that the church continues upon earth into the Tribulation and through to the very end of it. They are therefore correct in seeing in these passages true believers, genuine born-again people, on the earth during the Tribulation. But there are other passages which speak of our Lord's coming as His "presence," and which are interpreted by those who believe that the rapture occurs before the Tribulation as referring to His descent from heaven to the air to raise the dead in Christ and to catch up the living saints. An examination of the word in the Greek text translated "presence" shows that it does occur in passages which are correctly interpreted as referring to His coming to the air for His saints and also to His coming at the end of the Tribulation with His saints. But those brethren who believe in the post-Tribulation rapture insist that this word "presence" often translated "coming" refers only to His visible manifestation at the end of the Tribulation. They therefore say that it is impossible for the same word to refer to His coming with all the saints at the conclusion of it—even though these two events are separated only by the seven-year period of the Tribulation.

In answer to them I wish to call attention to the fact that there are two usages of language—the absolute and the relative. Both types we find in the Scriptures. As an example of the latter usage, may I call attention to Matthew 3:5 which declares that there went out to John the Baptist "Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about the Jordan," and they were baptized by him, confessing their sins. In Luke 7:29 we are told that the Pharisees rejected against themselves the counsel of God, not being baptized by John. Is there a contradiction? Never! Matthew used the language relatively speaking. The great majority of the people went forth and accepted John's preaching and baptism. There was a small minority who did not. A fine example of the absolute use of language, contrasted with the relative, is to be found in comparing Matthew's statement with that of Mark relative to the disciples who asked questions regarding the destruction of Jerusalem, Christ's return, and the end of the age. Mathew says that the disciples came to Jesus and asked Him two questions. Mark used absolute language and stated that there were four disciples who did the asking, Peter, James, John, and Andrew. Abundant are the examples of the two uses of language. Jesus and the Apostles could speak of His coming for His saints, which occurs before the Tribulation as the "end of the age." At the same time, or on another occasion, they could speak absolutely of His second coming which occurs at the end of the Tribulation. Let us bear these usages in mind as we study these passages. It is therefore possible that some of the statements on this point are used relatively whereas others are employed in the absolute sense of the term.

II. The Position of Certain Other Premillennial Brethren

According to this group the church is taken out of the world before the Tribulation. On this point, as we shall see, they are correct. They also tell us that the Holy Spirit is taken out of the world and leaves it when the church is raptured. As proof of this position one is referred to II Thessalonians, chapter 2. I have never been able to see the force of this argument, since the Apostle says that there is that which hinders and he who hinders. There is nothing in the context that would lead us to a definite conclusion as to what or who is the hinderer. Information on this point, however, is found in a parallel passage, which deals with the events of the same time. This Scripture is Daniel 11:36-41. But for lack of space I cannot examine this point.

Moreover these excellent brethren tell us that a remnant of the Jews during that time will preach the gospel of the kingdom and bring about a great interest in spiritual things. But since, according to the hypothesis, the Holy Spirit is no longer in the world there can be no genuine salvation under the preaching of this remnant of Jews, for the Holy Spirit is the one who regenerates the heart. If He is out of the world at that time, as this theory supposes, there can be no genuine conversion. Moreover, these good brethren understand by the gospel of the kingdom, which will at that time be preached, only the prophetic announcement that the time is at hand for God to establish His millennial reign upon earth. This they understand to be the import of this message.

These brethren believe that the "restricted commission," which was begun by the Apostles, and which was never completed by them, will be taken up by this Jewish remnant after the church is gone. This remnant will announce to the Jews especially that the time is ripe for Messiah to return and to establish His kingdom. Those taking this position, after whom I have read, do not seem to be very clear in their presentation of the case. Some even go so far as to speak of the bride of Christ as consisting of the Jews who accepted Christ in the beginning of the Christian Dispensation and those who accept Christ after the church is gone. The church is called the body of Christ and began at the close of the Acts of the Apostles and will be completed at the time of the rapture. Of course those taking this position are few and are, in my judgment, extremists.

III. The Proper Explanation

I am of the profound conviction that the church of Jesus Christ was established on the first Pentecost after His resurrection. Of course, there was much preparatory work done during the days of John the Baptist and the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus. Christ ascended forty days after His resurrection and ten days before Pentecost. On that memorable day the Holy Spirit came (Acts, chapter 2.) Prior to this time, as we see in Matthew 16:18, Jesus spoke of the church and of its being established in the future. After Pentecost, Luke, in Acts, speaks of the church as being in existence. In view of these facts we are driven to the conclusion that the church was established when the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost and brought together all the believers and indwelt them.

According to Matthew 16:18 Christ declared that He would build His church upon the great fundamental proposition that He is the Messiah. He further assured the disciples that the gates of Hades should not prevail against it, the church. There have always been believers in the Lord Jesus from the time of the establishment of the church until the present, and there will continue to be until He comes in glory at the end of the Tribulation. Additional proof that there will be true believers upon the earth during the Tribulation is seen from Matthew 24:22: "And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." Some brethren think that the elect, mentioned in this verse, are the Jews. This is indeed a possible interpretation. There are others, however, who are convinced that the elect of this passage are the believers. In the New Testament the believers are called the elect. Though I cannot be dogmatic on this point, I am inclined to believe that it includes both believers from among the nations and also the Jewish remnant. I see nothing that is in anywise contradictory to this interpretation.

A careful scrutiny of the Olivet Discourse found in Matthew, chapters 24 and 25, Luke, chapter 21, Mark, chapter 13, shows that Jesus delivered this massage to His disciples, His learners, those who believe in Him. Throughout these passages one sees that Jesus spoke as if those believers would be living here during the Tribulation, as well as during the entire Christian Dispensation. We know from this fact that He was not implying that the Apostles to whom He was speaking directly and immediately would continue to live all through the Christian Dispensation and all through the Tribulation to His glorious manifestation. Since such a position as that is absurd and since there have been believers throughout the centuries and will be on through to the end of the Tribulation, we must believe that this language was addressed to believers throughout the entire dispensation. But the believers of the first, or the fifth, or the tenth, or the fifteenth centuries will not be alive upon the earth during the Tribulation. But there will be believers here upon the earth at that time. They are, of course, those who are living at the time and who put their faith in Jesus. But who are they?

The Word of God is the seed of the kingdom, as we learn in the parable of the sower, Matthew, chapter 13. Just as seed in the material kingdom produces plants, each after its kind, so the sowing of the seed, the Word of God, produces believers whenever it is sowed. It was God's good pleasure through the preaching of the gospel to save them that believe. The Word may be preached orally from the pulpit, in private conversation, by radio, and by the printed page. This seed does not always germinate and produce immediately. Sometimes it lies dormant in the heart of the one who has received the message. Later, often many years later, this seed germinates and produces a true believer. These facts are indisputable. We can therefore see how there can arise believers, even in remote parts of the world where there are no Christians. The Bible can be distributed, or can be providentially taken to some tribe that has never known of Christ. Christian literature can likewise be providentially carried to the place where Christ has never been mentioned. Honest hearts can read this literature or the Scriptures, themselves. God can and does accept the one who in this manner believes the message and receives Christ.

We have seen in the two former articles which discussed Matthew, chapter 24, and Luke, chapter 21, that our Lord in these two passages most clearly taught that He would catch up all living believers during the days of apostasy immediately preceding the bursting forth of the Tribulation judgments upon the world. The evidence presented in those two articles is indisputable. I need not, therefore, reiterate it. I believe that, in fulfillment of the promises of those two passages, as well as the one in I Thessalonians 5:9, Christ will catch up the living saints out of the earth and deliver them from the wrath to come, the great Tribulation; for He has not appointed us to that wrath, but unto the obtaining of salvation, deliverance from it. These Scriptures are clear and unmistakable regarding the rapture of the church before the Tribulation.

But we see believers on the earth after the church has been raptured and after the judgments of the Tribulation are coming thick and fast on the world. Who are they? There is but one explanation: Those who accept Christ after the rapture. How is it that they become believers? As I said above, the Word is the seed of the kingdom. It has vitalizing power. When it is sowed in honest hearts desirous of knowing the truth, it will produce. I also above called attention to the additional fact that, in very few instances, does the seed, when it is first implanted in the heart of a person, produce. Usually men delay, procrastinate, and put off until sometime in the future that which they should do. Thus there will be many people in whose heart the Word of God is sowed by the Christians before the rapture occurs. This seed will fall in the dry soil of indifferent hearts. After the judgments of the Tribulation begin, life takes on a different aspect for them. These judgments will be to that seed sowed in their hearts what the rain is to the seed that has been sowed in dry, literal soil—they will cause the seed to spring forth and produce believers.

From Revelation, chapter 7, we see a mighty army of 144,000 Jewish servants of God. These are sealed, so that none of the judgments can touch them. Immediately after this vision we see another of an innumerable host of people who are saved from every race, tribe, tongue, and nation, who come out of the Tribulation, and who wash their robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. When we view these two visions in the light of the Old Testament prophecy, we can come to but one conclusion, which is that these 144,000 Jewish servants of God are the ones who evangelize the world, and who bring about this mightiest of all revivals—one in which countless hundreds of millions of people will be brought to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, will be regenerated and saved, and will go home to glory to be with God forever and ever.

How do these 144,000 Jews who will evangelize the world in the Tribulation get the truth? I believe that we who are giving the message to Israel now are sowing the seed, the Word of God, in the dry soil of indifferent hearts throughout all Israel. Many hundreds of thousands of them are reading the literature of the Biblical Research Society that is being sent to world-Jewry. The hearts of most of them are the dry soil into which the seed falls, but in which it does not germinate, because there is no moisture. But when the rains come in the form of the judgments of the Tribulation, this seed will germinate and produce genuine believers who will arise in the strength of the God of Israel and take this message to the four corners of the earth.

All people who are assisting in this world-wide ministry of the proclamation of the truth to all Israel are engaging in the seed-sowing which will yield the greatest harvest in the form of souls saved of all ages. It is a glorious thing to be now a co-worker with God, to fall in with His plans, and to receive His blessing now and abundant reward for services rendered throughout all eternity.

From this rapid survey of the facts as they are presented in the Scriptures we see that there would be Christians, believers in Christ, from Pentecost until the very day on which Christ returns in glory at the close of the Tribulation. But the Christians who will be living upon the earth immediately before the Tribulation will be taken out of the world by ther rapture. The work of the kingdom of God will be carried across into the Tribulation Period by the seed which is now being sowed in the hearts of men, especially in the hearts of Israel. This seed now being sowed in the hearts of the people of Israel will immediately after the rapture produce a harvest of 144,000 Jewish "Pauls" who will do more in the first part of the Tribulation along the line of revival in the sense of leading souls to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ than has ever been accomplished in all the history of the world. At the conclusion of the Tribulation those believers who are still alive on the earth will then be raptured. Their bodies will become immortalized and glorified at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ with His saints. Then all of us who are saved will live with Him during the thousand years; those who have suffered and sacrificed for Christ will reign with Him. Our rewards will be according to the service rendered, the quality of the work done, and the spirit in which we serve the Master.

THE COMING OF THE KING

As we have already seen in a former study, the Old Testament prophets frequently blended a description of the two advents of the one Messiah into a single picture. They likewise often spoke of events, usually similar in nature, which were separated by centuries, as if they were a single event. If such delineations were the only passages which we have, we would be unable to see the two widely separated events and to distinguish them. But when such passages of Scripture are read in the light of other statements which speak of two events but separate them by an interval of time, we can see clearly that frequently they blended the remotely existing events into a single picture. Since the prophets of the Old Testament did this, there is no surprise then to us if our Lord Jesus and the Apostles in a manner similar to the Old Testament prophets blended descriptions of two events that are very much alike in their purpose and that are closely associated, being separated only by the short period of the Tribulation which is seven years in duration.

It is an excellent study to examine the four types of messianic prophecy. There is one type that simply speaks of the first coming of Messiah and the events connected with it as if that were the only thing and as if this first coming was not in anywise to be connected with anything else. At the same time these prophets in other passages spoke simply of the second coming of the Messiah and of His sitting upon the throne of David and reigning from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. There is still a third type of messianic prophecy which blends remotely removed events into a single picture, the type of prophecy which we have just been discussing. The fourth and last type consists of a blueprint, as it were, of Messiah's redemptive career, consisting of His first coming, His rejection, His death, burial, resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the throne of God, His session there during the period of His rejection, and finally His return when Israel penitentially pleads for Him to come and save her. It is absolutely imperative that we understand these four differint types of prophecy as set fourth in the Old Testament, if we are to comprehend the New Testament message of prophecy. (For a full study of this aspect of the subject see the article entitled, "The Four Types of Messianic Prophecy," in my volume, The World's Greatest Library Graphically Illustrated.)

There is a word in the original Greek Testament which is translated by "presence," "coming," "arrival," and "appearance." This word does have these various connotations, as may be seen from the different contexts in which they appear, both in biblical Greek and in kóine Greek—the vernacular Greek of our Lord's day and time.

For instance, this word occurs in Matthew 24:3, in the question which the disciples asked Jesus: "What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" this word literally means "being along beside," hence presence. An examination of Matthew, chapter 24, shows that the presence or the coming that is here referred to is what is known among Bible students as the personal, visible, bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth, which will occur at the end of the Tribulation.

And in Matthew 24:27 this same word occurs again. From the facts of the immediate context it is clear that our Lord was talking about His visible coming when His glory will emblazon the heavens—as the lightning flashes from the east to the west. But in verse 37 it is quite evident, as I showed in the study on Mathew, chapter 24, that this word speaks of His coming before the Tribulation for His saints, when two men will be plowing in the field and one will be taken and the other left; and when two women will be grinding at a mill, one will be taken and the other left. (For proof of this position see the article entitled "The Rapture as Presented in Matthew, Chapter 24," in the June issue of the Monthly). This same coming of Jesus for His saints before the Tribulation is referred to by our Greek term in verse 39. An examination of the whole Olivet Discourse shows that, as just stated, verses 3 and 27 refer to the glorious visible coming of the Lord at the end of the Tribulation, whereas the facts of the immediate context of verses 37 and 39 prove that He was talking about the coming of the Son of man before the Tribulation for His saints. Our term occurs in I Thessalonians 4:13-18. When the prediction is studied in the light of the following verses (5: 1-11), it is seen that the coming, or the presence is here referred to is none other than the coming of the Lord Jesus for His saints in order to take them out of the world, delivering them from the wrath to come, the Tribulation Period. An examination of the various occurrences of this word in the New Testament reveals the fact that it is used interchangeably for the coming of the Lord for His saints and at the same time for the coming of the Lord with His saints at the end of the Tribulation.

In the Greek Papyri, the literary remains of the vernacular Greek of the New Testament days this same word often occurs. Very frequently it is used in describing the arrival of a king, an emperor, or a high government official. On certain occasions when one of the great political dignitaries was to come to a community, certain preparations were made and festivities were provided. In commemoration of such a visit often coins were struck. Such appearance of kings and potentates was called in the vernacular of the New Testament times the coming, arrival, or presence of such and such a dignitary. The word expressing this thought is the same one which was used interchangeably in the New Testament to refer to the coming of Jesus to the air for His saints before the Tribulation and also His coming with His saints at the end of the Tribulation.

There are three words that are used interchangeably in the New Testament, even though they have a different etymology. They are not exact synonyms from the standpoint of origin, but from that of usage. They were frequently used synonymously. These words are parousia, epiphania, and apocalypse. The first of these terms is the one to which I have just called attention, and which was used interchangeably to speak of the coming of Jesus for His saints and also with His saints. As we have just seen, Matthew 24:3,27,37, and 39 give examples of this word and show the double usage to which it was put.

In Titus 2:11-14 we have these words: "For the grace of God hath appeared, bringing salvation to all men, 12 instructing us, to the intent, that, denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world. 13 looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a people for his own possession, zealous of good works." The word, appearing, in the original text, rendered in verse 11 "appeared" is eiphane. Here it is clear from the context that it is speaking of the grace of God which appeared in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth to die for our sins. Of course this looks back to His first coming; but in verse 13 we have the phrase: "… Looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." The same word, only in the noun form, is used here and is rendered "appearing" in our version. From the context it is clear that this term refers to the second coming of our Lord, which is yet future. Though we may not be dogmatic on this point, it is quite likely that the appearing of which the Apostle is speaking is Christ's visible, bodily, glorious appearing which occurs at the end of the Tribulation. The blessed hope is tied with the appearing by the use of the one article before the two nouns, hope and appearing. But this is the appearing of the glory of the great God. This adjunct seems unquestionably to refer to the glorious appearing of Christ at the end of the Tribulation.

But, says one, I thought that the blessed hope is the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to the air for His saints. How, then, can it refer to His glorious manifestation at the conclusion of the Tribulation? When we remember the Old Testament usage and custom of blending similar, though widely separated events, and describing them in a single picture, we can see how easily the Apostle could blend the blessed hope of Christ's coming for His saints before the Tribulation with His coming with His saints at the conclusion of it. A person is driven to this conclusion when He takes all the facts into consideration, and when he studies the various appearances and different shades of meaning of this marvelous term.


In II Thessalonians 2:8 we have all three of the words under consideration used "And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of this mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming." The word translated "revealed" is the rendering of the word apocalypse which appears in the verb form. The word epiphane is rendered by the term "manifestation," whereas parousia is translated as "coming." From the entire context we see that these three terms are used in this connection to refer to the glorious, visible, bodily return of Jesus at the end of the Tribulation.

The same word, apocalypse, as a noun appears in I Peter 1:13 and is rendered "the revelation of Jesus Christ." Since these terms are used interchangeably, and since there is a blending of Christ's coming for His saints before the Tribulation with His coming with His saints after the Tribulation, it is impossible for one to be dogmatic as to the exact point which Peter had in mind here. There are, however, some elements which favor its being interpreted as referring to the glorious coming at the end of the Tribulation.

A close study of Luke 17:28-37 in which passage the word apocalypse appears and a comparison of this with a like passage in Matthew 24:32ff, shows that the word apocalypse is used in Luke 17:28-37 to refer to the coming of the Lord Jesus for His saints before the Tribulation.

From this short survey of these three words it becomes evident that there is a blending of the two phases of the Lord's return. All the data in connection with each occurrence of these words which are used synonymously must be taken into consideration. When all the facts are known, it becomes apparent that there is no contradiction in the phraseology. Neither is there any support for the position that the church goes through the Tribulation and is raptured only at the conclusion of the time of judgment.

THE DAY OF KING MESSIAH

As a person reads literature dealing with the subject as to whether or not the church goes through the Tribulation, he finds great stress laid upon the terms, "in that day," "the day of Jehovah," and, "the day of Christ." The leaders of those who believe that the church goes through the Tribulation seem unanimous in interpreting these and like expressions as referring to the actual twenty-four-hour day on which the Lord Jesus Christ will descend from heaven to the air at the end of the Tribulation. Hence every time these expressions occur, they are made to refer to that literal day when He makes His appearance. In order for us to understand this subject properly, we must therefore investigate the scriptural usage of these terms.

I. The Us of the Word DAY in General

In Genesis, chapter 1, we see the word day used to refer to twenty-four hours, consisting of the period of darkness which is followed by that of the light. This of course is caused by earths revolving upon its axis. "And there was morning and there was evening, day one." In Genesis 2:4 the word day is used in a different sense: "These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven." thus the six days of labor mentioned in Genesis, chapter 1, are lumped together and are spoken of as "the day" in which God created and made the earth and heaven. It therefore has a broader meaning, embracing all of those days.

At different places in the Scriptures the word day is used to refer to the period of light as contrasted with the night, their period of darkness. For instance, in the "long day" of Joshua, of which we read in Joshua 10:12-14, the word day is used to refer to the period of light in contrast with that of darkness.

In our ordinary language we often use the word day in a figurative sense. We are all familiar with such expressions as, "in our father's day and time," and "in our day." Here the word day is used to refer to the period of our generation or our lifetime, or our fathers lifetime. Obviously day is used in various senses. It is therefore necessary for a person to ascertain from the facts of the immediate context in which an expression occurs the exact meaning of the term.

II. Use of the Word DAY in the Prophetic Writings

There is little discussion as to the meaning of the word day in the historical portions of either the Old or New Testament, since the facts are very clear and admit of little controversy. It is therefore in the prophetic scriptures where the differences of interpretation arise. Our investigation must of necessity center around the phrases, "in that day" and "the day of Jehovah."

A. In That Day

If we follow the golden rule of interpretation which states that we should take every word at its primary, usual meaning unless the facts of the immediate context indicate clearly otherwise, we shall see that this phrase has two different meanings, one, the usual, literal signification; the other, a technical connotation referring to a particular time yet in the future. Sometimes, as we are reading in the Scriptures, we see a definite prediction that the prophet made relative to some event or period of time. In developing his theme he has used the phrase, "in that day." Naturally, in such a connection as this, our phrase means the time when the events just mentioned will be fulfilled. We must recognize this fact and interpret accordingly. In the messages of the prophets, however, we also see the expression, in that day, occurring and find no connection with any definite prediction to which it can definitely and indissolubly be connected. As an excellent example of this usage, the reader should turn to Isaiah, chapter 19. In verses 1-15 we have a prediction that has already been fulfilled. This was done when Egypt was torn to shreds by civil warfare, when her entire industrial potential was destroyed and havoc reigned everywhere. But in verse 16 our expression, in that day, occurs. Obviously the predictions of verses 16 and 17 were not in anywise connected with the prediction of the preceding verses. In verse 18 there is a prediction that "In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan, and swear to Jehovah of hosts." There were no five cities in Egypt speaking the language of Canaan at that time, that is, five all-Jewish cities. The expression, in that day, could not therefore refer to or be tied up with the prediction of verses 1-15. Again, in verse 19 we have the same expression and are told that in that day there will be an altar to Jehovah in the land of Egypt and a pillar at the border thereof to Jehovah. There was no altar, an obelisk, erected in Egypt in connection with this national catastrophe. This phrase therefore had no connection with the preceding prophecy. Again, in verse 23 and 24, the same expression occurs, speaking of something that is in the future without any connection with the original prophecy.

We may look again at Isaiah, chapter 17. In verses 2 and 3 is a prediction concerning the overthrow of Damascus and the kingdom of Ephraim. This prediction has been literally fulfilled. In verses 4-6 is the prediction which has never been fulfilled, and which is designated as being fulfilled "in that day". The people of Israel have never been reduced to such small numbers as is foretold in these verses. Again, in verses 7 and 8, we see the same expression, in that day. This phrase introduces a prediction that men in general will turn away from their idolatry and look to their Maker, the Holy One of Israel. This prediction has never been fulfilled and has no connection with the original prediction found in verses 2 and 3.

I could continue and examine other contexts in which this phrase occurs frequently and could show that it is not tied up with some definite prediction that has already been fulfilled. In view of this fact we must recognize the further fact that this phrase has a technical meaning. I might illustrate its significance by the following: Those who used to hold the postmillennial view, and who believed that there would be a great judgment day when all would be gathered before the throne of God and would be separated as sheep are separated from the goats, constantly spoke of that time of the great (supposed) assize of the nations as the judgment day. Frequently they referred to it and spoke of certain things occurring "in that day." Thus the phrase, the judgment day or, in that day, took on a definite technical meaning which was understood generally. The prophets constantly spoke of the day of Jehovah and delineated that time of sorrow and distress in the most lurid colors. Thus in the mind of the people the day of Jehovah was a period of great distress and sorrow. Instead of using the regular term "day of Jehovah," the prophets simply used our phrase, in that day. An examination of every context in which this expression occurs, and in which it does not have an immediate connection with a foregoing prophecy, it has this technical meaning. Since, however, this period of judgment terminates with the glorious appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ to establish His kingdom upon earth, and to reign for a thousand years in righteousness over the nations, our phrase, in that day, was extended to embrace the reign of the Messiah along with the period of wrath—especially the beginning of Messiah's reign.

That we may see this fact, let us turn to Isaiah 11:10: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting-place shall be glorious." Now let us examine the context. Verses 1 and 2 of this chapter foretell the first coming of Messiah. Verses 3-5 are clearly a description of His second coming and of His judging the nations. The Christian Dispensation is passed over in silence between these two predictions regarding the first and the second coming. Verses 6-9 tell about the lifting of the curse from the earth as it will particularly affect the animals. Following this prediction, we are told that it shall come to pass in that day that the root of Jesse, King Messiah, shall have a glorious resting-place. Thus the phrase, in that day, in verse 10 is clearly pointing to this prediction that is yet to be fulfilled at the coming of Christ and His millennial reign.

But in verse 11 we have the same phrase, in that day, which clearly refers to the final regathering of Israel all over the world. In verse 11 we see that the Lord will put forth His hand again the second time to regather His people from their world-wide dispersion. Read verses 11-16 of this chapter. In these verses the term, in that day, refers to the entire period of time during which God will yet regather Israel and restore her to her homeland.

We see this same phrase recurring in Isaiah 12:1. By an examination of that which follows, we see that it refers to the establishment of the reign of Messiah upon earth. Chapter 12 is part of the oracle found in chapter 11. There should have been no break by chapter division. When we examine therefore this expression, in that day, as it occurs in verses 10 and 11 and again in 12:1, we see that this term embraces the period of time when God begins the restoration of Israel, extends through that preparatory movement preceding the Tribulation proper, and passes over into the reign of Christ upon earth. Though I could show example after example which would corroborate this position, on account of lack of space I must desist.

B. The Day of Jehovah

The term, the day of Jehovah, is another most important expression that demands examination. In Isaiah 2:11-22 we find the following description of it:
"11 The lofty looks of man shall be brought low and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.
"12 For there shall be a day of Jehovah of hosts upon all that is proud and haughty, and upon all that is lifted up; and it shall be brought low; 13 and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, 14 and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up, 15 and upon every lofty tower, and upon every fortified wall, 16 and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant imagery. 17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols shall utterly pass away. 19 And men shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the holes of the earth, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of the majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily the earth. 20 In that day men shall cast away their idols of silver, and their idols of gold, which have been made for them to worship, to the moles and to the bats; 21 to go into the caverns of the rocks, and into the clefts of ragged rocks, from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake mightily the earth. 22 Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein is he to be accounted of?"

The impression which one who has no preconceived ideas before examining this passage receives is that it is a prediction of a period of time during which God is overthrowing the civilization of the world and is establishing His reign of righteousness. Again we see the day of Jehovah set forth in the most graphic manner in Isaiah 13:6-14:20. The impression which one receives from a reading of this passage is that it is likewise a period when God's judgments are falling thick and fast upon the earth. It is a time when there will be unusual phenomena in the heavens above and distress of the nations upon the earth. At that time the population of the world will be reduced to a minimum by the judgments of the Almighty. This period of the day of Jehovah will culminate in the overthrow of the final king of the world empire and the destruction of Babylon the city, which is destined to rise out of the dust of the past and to play the role that is foretold in Isaiah and Jeremiah's predictions concerning the ancient city.

In this day of Jehovah Israel will be brought back to God and will be acceptable to Him as we see in 14:1,2. Thus the impression which this passage makes upon our mind is that the day of Jehovah is a period of judgment which culminates in the appearance of Messiah to deliver the world and to restore Israel to favor with Him.

This same period of destruction by the wrath of God is set forth vividly in Isaiah 24:1-20. It is followed immediately by the incarceration of the forces of evil in the pit of the abyss and Jehovah's reigning in Mount Zion—the millennial reign of our Lord.

For lack of space I must pass over many important passages in Jeremiah and Ezekiel concerning the day of Jehovah and turn now to Zephaniah's statement of it.

"14 The great day of Jehovah is near, it is near and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of Jehovah; the mighty man crieth there bitterly. 15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 a day of the trumpet and alarm, against the fortified cities, and against the high battlements. 17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against Jehovah; and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as dung. 18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of Jehovah's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he will make and end, yea, a terrible end, of all them that dwell in the land" (Zeph. 1:14-18).

Unquestionably this is a period when God is pouring out His judgments on the world and bringing low the pride and haughtiness of man. This is designated as "the day of Jehovah's wrath." Evidently it is the period when God is sending His judgments upon the world to punish the people for their sins.

Again we see the day of Jehovah when God gathers all nations against Jerusalem to battle. In this siege half of the city is captured and every depredation of warfare is commited. This period of fighting is brought to a conclusion by the personal appearance of Jehovah, the Lord Jesus Christ, and by His standing upon the Mount of Olives. He then establishes His reign of righteousness upon the earth. It will take some time for the nations to gather their armies to Jerusalem. This day of Jehovah could not possibly be a literal day of twenty-four hours. Obviously Zephaniah is talking about what we know will occur at the close of the Tribulation.

The word Jehovah has four different connotations in the Old Testament. The context must be consulted to determine the specific meaning in a given case. An examination of the usage of this Ineffable Name shows that sometimes it refers to the Holy Trinity; at other times to Jehovah the Father; in still other places to Jehovah the Son; and again, to the Holy Spirit. This fact must be kept clearly in mind as we pursue the study.

C. Day of the Lord

In I Thessalonians 5:1,2 we have this language: "But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that aught be written unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." Here the expression, "the day of the Lord," occurs. In 4:15 above Jesus is referred to in the term "the coming of the Lord." Again, in verse 16, He is spoken of as "the Lord himself." In the expression, "the day of the Lord," we are logically bound to interpret this expression as referring to the day connected vitally with the Lord Jesus. He evidently will be in charge. But this day of the Lord is obviously a time of sudden destruction, which will come upon the world as travail upon a woman with child, and the people who know not God will not escape. But the children of God are not appointed unto that period of destruction and wrath; but on the contrary are appointed to the obtaining of salvation (deliverance) from it. It is clear therefore that this day of the Lord is one of wrath into which the born-again ones, the saved, will not enter, but from which they will be delivered.

D. Day of Christ

We have already seen by a glance at certain Old Testament passages that the day of Jehovah is a period of time when God is pouring out His wrath upon the world. We have also seen that the word Jehovah sometimes refers to Jehovah the Son. Since the Apostle Paul was speaking of this day of the Lord and designating it as a time of sudden destruction and a time of God's wrath, we may be certain that Christ is the one who is in charge of the pouring out of the wrath of God at that time. Further confirmation of this position is found in the fact that the word in the Greek text rendered Lord is the same term that the Greek Version of the Old Testament renders the name Jehovah. Hence the day of Jehovah in the Old Testament, the period of wrath, is therefore the day of Christ's wrath when He is superintending the sending forth of these judgments upon the world.

Additional proof of the correctness of this position is seen in the fact that the Lord Jesus comes up to the throne of the Almighty and takes the book out of His hand—the book that is sealed with seven seals (Rev., chaps. 4 and 5). Having this book, the Lord Jesus breaks the first seal. Then one of the living creatures issues the order for the rider on the white horse to come forward, which command is obeyed. The same thing is true with the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, each of which comes forth at the breaking of a separate seal. It is Christ who breaks all the seals. When He breaks the seventh, seven angels who have the seven trumpets of God get ready to sound their instruments, each in his turn. When the seventh trumpet sounds, the seven angels who are to pour out the last of the plagues of God upon the world prepare to do so and in turn do it. The seven bowl judgments develop out of the seventh trumpet, and it in turn develops out of the seventh seal. But Christ is the master of ceremonies over the entire program of the judgments of God that will be poured out during the Tribulation. As He breaks the seals, the angelic host under Him put the spiritual machinery into motion that results in these judgments of God which devastate the world. Thus in a correct and literal sense we can speak of this period of the Tribulation, which runs for seven years, as "the day of Christ." The people upon the earth at that time will recognize this as the time of "the wrath of the Lamb" and then will say that "the great day of their [God and Christ] wrath is come; and who is able to stand?" (Rev. 6:16, 17). This day of the wrath of God and the Lamb, as suggested above, consists of 1260 days—the first half of the Tribulation; and forty-two months, or "time, times, and half a time"—three and one half years, the total being seven years. A casual view of Revelation, chapters 6-19, shows that these seven years are a period of the wrath of the Lamb who is master of ceremonies at that time. Thus the facts found in the Book of Revelation lead to the irresistible conclusion that this period of wrath administered by the Son of God is the very day of Jehovah mentioned constantly by the Old Testament Prophets.

In this connection let us look at this same expression, "the day of the Lord," which is found in II Thessalonians 2:2. This day of the Lord is interpreted by many to refer to the very day, a period of twenty-four hours, on which Christ will return visibly and bodily to the earth. Is such an interpretation possible? Never—in view of the facts of this context. Paul wrote to the brethren at Thessalonica especially regarding the coming of the Lord and their being gathered together unto Him—that is, concerning the rapture, the coming of Jesus for His saints. The Apostle was very eager that they not be deceived in any manner regarding the rapture by those who were declaring "that the day of the Lord has come." The word in the original rendered in the Revised Version by "is just at hand" is in the perfect tense and, if properly rendered, shoud be translated as "has come." If this expression refers to the day on which Jesus comes, as is asserted, then it would be impossible for anyone to be deceived after it has already come. The reason for this assertion is that, when Jesus does come at the end of the Tribulation, every eye shall see Him—and even those in Sheol, the lost will see Him. If then this day of the Lord refers to the little day of twenty-four hours on which Jesus comes to earth, then it was foolish for Paul to say that he did not want any of those Thessalonians to be deceived in regard to that matter. This expression, then cannot refer to the literal day on which Christ comes.

What then, does it refer to? There is but one meaning which it could possibly have, which is its regular meaning in the phraseology of the Old Testament designated as "the day of Jehovah." This day, as we have already seen, is a time of wrath—a period of seven years of judgments—during which years Christ the Lord is the master of ceremonies and is directing the movements and the judgments of the Tribulation.

In certain passages of the New Testament reference is made to the day of Christ. For instance, in Philippians 1:6 Paul spoke of his "being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ." Of course, this "day" culminates with His visible, bodily return. As to whether or not Paul was simply speaking of the Tribulation or His coming at the end of it we cannot say. The information is not given. It could be either. In I Corinthians 1:7, 8 we read of "the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ" and also of "the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." We have already seen in these studies that the words revelation, coming, and manifestation are all used interchangeably. The day of Chrsit here may be either the Tribulation Period or the very last day of it. The facts are not sufficiently clear to enable us to be dogmatic on this point. Thus we shall have to hold our judgment in suspense until we can gather some fuller and more definite details—if such be possible. In Philippians 1:10 our expression occurs again. Once more the details are not sufficient for us to be dogmatic in giving the exact meaning of this expression. The term day of Christ appears again in Philippians 2:16. Here, however, it seems to refer to the end of the Tribulation, the day on which Jesus returns with His saints.

E. Day of God

We have one more expression which we should examine before closing. In II Peter 3:12 the Apostle speaks of "the coming of the day of God," by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. When is this fulfilled? An examination of Isaiah 34:1-7 shows that these heavenly bodies are dissolved when God has indignation against all the nations. When does he have indignation against all the nations? In the Tribulation, as is asserted time and time again in the Old Testament. Peter, here, echoing the prediction of Isaiah, chapter 34 says that "the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat …" (3:10). What is the day of the Lord according to the Old Testament? It is the Tribulation Period. Thus this day of the Lord and the day of God, from the facts given here, are clearly the same thing.

Summary

In conclusion, let us summarize our findings. The expression, in that day, as a technical term always refers to the Tribulation or things connected therewith, which culminates and develops into the glorious reign of our Lord who comes visibly to the earth at the very end of the Tribulation.

The expression, the day of Jehovah, (in the Common Version, day of the Lord) always refers to the Tribulation which is a period of wrath of seven years' duration.

The phrase, the day of the Lord, or the day of Christ, in the New Testament has the same significance as the day of Jehovah, referring to the period of wrath when Christ, who is master of ceremonies of that period, will direct the carrying out of the program of punishment of the world by the plagues of God. This period culminates with the visible, bodily return of the Lord Jesus at the end of the Tribulation, who sets up His reign of glory and reigns from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. Hence, the day of Christ, often does mean His reign upon the earth.

In view of all the data we see that each expression which has been investigated must be studied in the light of its context and interpreted accordingly.

THE THREE INSTALLMENTS OF THE FIRST RESURRECTION

In our investigation of the question, "Does the Church Go Through the Tribulation?" we have seen that much confusion arises from an inaccurate understanding of various terms and phrases used in both the Old and the New Testaments. We have also learned that, according to our Lord's prediction found in Matthew, chapter 24, and Luke chapter 21, and of Paul's statement in I Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, the rapture of the saints occurs before the Tribulation begins. About this position there can be absolutely no question when all related passages which bear upon this question are interpreted scientifically, in the light of the facts of each context and also in the light of the drift of thought of the Scriptures.

We are at this time ready to bring together much of the information which we have thus far learned in this series, to correlate the data, and to fit it into the outline of such a comprehensive passage as that which occurs in I Corinthians 15:20-28.

But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the first fruits of them that are asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all died, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ's at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be abolished is death. 27 For, He put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is excepted who did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all" (Cor. 15:20-28).

As we study this passage, we see the general scheme of things which it sets forth. We wish to find out where the three installments of the first resurrection occur. It is necessary therefore that we look at the development of the thought as set forth in this passage. There are certain of its high points, around which all other events revolve.

I. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Christ died for our sins and was raised for our justification (Rom. 4:23-25). As in Adam all died, so also in Christ shall all be made alive again. The first man Adam sinned and brought death and destruction upon the entire race. The second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, died in our stead, was buried and was raised because of our justification. Is the resurrection, which is the result of Christ's coming forth from the realms of death, the resurrection of the righteous only or the resurrection of all men? This is a debatable question, and excellent students are found on both sides. When we view this passage in the light of other Scriptures, it is clear that the resurrection of the righteous is the result of Christ's having been raised from the dead. Moreover, all people, both the saved and the unsaved, will be brought back to life: one being raised to a resurrection of life; the other to a resurrection of condemnation. (See John 5:28,29.) In view of the uncertainty as to which of these interpretations is correct, we shall not continue the investigation on this point. We know that the resurrection of Christ is the keystone of the history of all humanity, past, present, and future. Had Christ not been raised from the dead, the situation of humanity would have been entirely different. But praise God! He was raised from the dead! Testimony for His resurrection is found in the Four gospels and in statements that appear here and there in Acts, the Epistles, and the Book of Revelation.

II. The First Installmen of the Resurrection-Christ, the Firstfruits

"But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits …" (I Cor 15:23). The initial installment of the first resurrection occurred when Christ came forth from the tomb nineteen hundred years ago. There are, let us observe, two resurrections—the first which precedes the Millennium; and the second which follows the Millennium.

"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

"7 And when the thousand years are finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 and shall come forth to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, God and Magog, to gather them together to the war: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up over the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down out of heaven, and devoured them. 10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are also the beast and the false prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

"11 And I saw a great white throne and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire. 15 And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:4-15).

According to this passage there are only two resurrections: the one which precedes the thousand years' reign of Christ and the one which follows it. Those who come up in the first resurrection are said to be blessed; those who appear in the second after the Millennium are condemned. Evidently these two resurrections are the ones to which Jesus referred in John 5:28,29.

But there are three installment of the first resurrection. The first of these is spoken of as "Christ the firstfruits …" Christ arose on the third day after His burial. When He came forth from the tomb, He brought forth those who had been held as captives in Hades. The saints who were raised at that time appeared to chosen witnesses in the city of Jerusalem when Christ re-appeared to the disciples (Matt. 27:51-53). When Christ ascended on high, those who had been released from Hades and those who appeared with Him in the Holy City went with Him to grace His triumphs into glory when He returned to the Father's house. Those who were thus raised with Christ are spoken of as the first part of the first resurrection.
 

III. The Second Installment of the Resurrection-They That Are Christ's at His Coming

Those who are Christ's at His coming are the ones spoken of in I Thessalonians 4:13--5:11 and I Corinthians 15:50-58. In both of these passages we read of the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the rapture of the saints living at that time. But we have already seen in a previous study that the raising of the dead in Christ and the catching up of the living saints mentioned in these passages occur before the Tribulation. One of the reasons being assigned for this interpretation is this: The day of the Lord is a period of wrath and indignation (Thess. 5:1,2). But the church is not appointed unto wrath; on the contrary, she is to be delivered from it. Thus the church on earth will be raptured out of the world and the dead in Christ will be raised before that wrath is poured out upon the world.

Since the rapture of the church occurs before the Tribulation, and since the initial installment of the first resurrection occurs at the time of the rapture, the first installment of the resurrection occurs before the Tribulation.

Some brethren insist that the presence of the Lord is a term which applies only to the glorious bodily, physical manifestation of Christ at the end of the Tribulation. It is difficult for them to conceive of this term's being applied to the coming of Jesus for His saints before the Tribulation when He descends from heaven to the air, raises the dead in Christ, and catches up the living saints, which, as we have seen in these studies, occurs before the Tribulation. The events connected with the descent of Christ to the air for His saints are spoken of and blended in with those that we know occur at the end of the Tribulation when Jesus comes and is revealed from heaven in flaming fire, taking vengeance on all who know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (II Thess., chap. 1). To these brethren it is impossible for Paul to speak of Christ's coming for His saints before the Tribulation in connection with events which occur when Christ comes at the end of the Tribulation with His saints. There should be no difficulty whatsoever for anyone who is familiar with the Old Testament prophecy. Frequently we see passages that blend a description of the first coming of Christ, which occurred nineteen hundred years ago, with those that will take place when Jesus comes at the end of the Tribulation in power and great glory. A typical example of blending of the two comings of the one Messiah, is to be found in Zechariah 9:9,10: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy king cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass. 10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off; and he shall speak peace unto the nations: and his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth." Yet these two appearances, though separated by approximately two thousand years are blended into a single picture. There are numerous examples of this method of presenting two widely separated events as a single unit. Another example for instance, is Isaiah 11:1-5. Verses 1 and 2 speak of Messiah's first appearance, whereas verses 3-5 describe vividly and graphically the events of His second coming. The entire Christian Dispensation is passed over in silence, which comes in between the events foretold in verses 1 and 2 and those which occur at His second coming as described in verses 3-5.

Since we are convinced that the Lord is coming to the air to catch up the living saints and to raise the dead in Christ before the Tribulation, and since we know that, at the conclusion of the Tribulation, He is coming all the way to earth with His saints when He will raise the dead in Christ and catch up and immortalize those saints who have turned to Him during the Tribulation, and who have not died during that time of wrath, the expression "then they that are Christ's at his coming," embraces those who are raised before the Tribulation, and who are caught up at the same time, and those who are raised at the end of the Tribulation together with those who are translated at this latter time.

IV. The Third Installment of the Resurrection-At the End of the Tribulation When Christ Returns

As we have just seen, Paul's phrase, "then they that are Christ's at his coming," unites both the second and the third installments of the first resurrection into a single event. This expression also combines those who are raptured before the Tribulation and those who are caught up at the conclusion of it. This same blending of the rapture of the saints which we know occurs before the Tribulation with that of those who are immortalized at the conclusion of it appears in such passages as Isaiah 25:6-8: "And in this mountain will Jehovah of hosts make unto all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. 7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering that covereth all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He hath swallowed up death for ever; and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people will he take away from off all the earth: for Jehovah hath spoken it."

It is clear from this context that there looms upon the horizon of this passage the visible, bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth at the conclusion of the great Tribulation Period, when He will destroy the veil of darkness that is over the face of all the peoples, and when He will set a table of spiritual things before all nations, to which they will come and of which they will partake. At that time death is swallowed up by Jehovah and all tears are wiped away from all faces. Also the reproach of His people Israel will be taken away from the face of the globe. This is perfectly clear to everyone who is unbiased, and who will examine all the facts.

When, however, we turn to I Corinthians 15:50-54, which passage is parallel with I Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, we know that this Corinthian quotation is speaking for the resurrection of the dead in Christ and catching up of the living saints before the Tribulation. Yet in this passage Paul quotes from Isaiah, chapter 25 a verse regarding the rapture and applies it to the catching up of the saints before the Triubulation. In view of all these facts, we can see that, in the Isaiah passage, there is a blending of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ for His saints before the Tribulation with His coming with His saints at the conclusion of that period of wrath.

At the end of the Tribulation the Lord Jesus will come in glory and power as the rider on the white horse of whom we read in Revelation 19:11-16. When Christ comes as described, the martyrs of the Tribulation Period—both those who die in the first half (Rev. 6:9-11) and those who in the second half are slain because of their refusal to worship the beast—will come to life and will reign with Christ a thousand years (Rev. 20:4). When these Tribulation martyrs are thus raised, the saints who survive the Tribulation will be translated. Thus at the end of the Tribulation the third installment of the first resurrection occurs.

V. The Millennium

"But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ's at his coming" (I Cor. 15:23). A glance at the verse shows that the whole Christian Dispensation, the period of time between the resurrection of Christ, the firstfruits, and those who are His at His second coming for His saints, is covered by the adverb "then." This is a period of approximately two thousand years. In verse 24 we have a second "then" in the sentence, "Then cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the Kingdom of God, even the Father…" If the first "then" in verse 23 covers two thousand years, certainly the second "then" can cover the period of the reign of Christ upon the earth, which is a thousand years. He must reign until He has put all rule and authority under His feet. This period of His reign is known in theological terms as the Millennium, which word means a thousand years. The Old Testament prophets spoke in the most glowing terms of this marvelous reign of our Lord upon the earth.

VI. the Judgment of the great White Throne

"For he [Christ] must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be abolished is death" (vss. 25,26). Christ must reign until He has subjected all things under His feet. The last of these things is death. At the conclusion of the thousand year's reign of Christ, death and Hades are cast in the lake of fire, as we see in Revelation 20:11-15. Satan, likewise, is cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10).

At that time the judgment of the great white throne will be set. Christ will mount the throne, the books will be opened, and another book which is the book of life. Everyone whose name is not written in the Lamb's book of life will be banished to outer darkness forever and ever: "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:11-15).

"That judgment-seat, impartial in decree,
Accepts no bribe, admits no subtility;
No orator persuasion may exert,
No perjured witness wrong to right convert,
But all things, hid in night,
Shall then be dragged to light."

From the Greek of St. Theodore of the Studium, 826.-Christ in Song (1871).

At the time of the judgment of the great white throne, the material universe will pass out of existence. This is seen in verse 11 of the quotation just given. The Lord Jesus during His personal ministry foretold that the heavens and the earth would pass away, but that His words should not pass away. This prediction of our Lord's will be fulfilled at the end of Christ's reign—at the judgment of the great white throne.

VII. The Eternal Heavens and the Eternal Earth

When the present material universe passes out of existence, God will create the eternal heavens and the eternal earth. Then everlasting Jerusalem, the city four-square, will come down out of the new heavens and rest upon the eternal earth. It will be in this Jerusalem that all the saved will live forever and ever with God, with Christ, and with the Holy Spirit. What a wonderful reunion awaits those who are redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ!

From this hasty sketch of this marvelous blueprint as set forth in I Corinthians, chapter 15, we can see where in the plan of the ages the three installments of the first resurrection, together with the rapture of the saints, occur. May this brief study stimulate us to a greater desire to continue the investigation of this most important question.

Will The Church Go Through The Tribulation?
Some General Conclusions

In eleven studies thus far we have examined various passages and texts which have been advanced as proving that the church passes into and through the Tribulation, and that it is only caught up out of the world when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in flaming fire at the end of this period of wrath. In these studies I have called attention to the principal passages that are referred to, although on account of lack of time I have not been able to enter into a thorough investigation of this subject as I would like to do. But what has been presented, I think, is sufficiently clear to show that the Scriptures do teach that the church will be raptured before the Tribulation. In this concluding article, however, I wish to gather together, in outline, some of the testimony as presented in these eleven previous studies. In doing so, I shall present the positive evidence for the pretribulation rapture and then shall summarize the principal passages that are resorted to in an effort to prove the contrary position.

I. Pre-Tribulation Rapture

The Olivet Discourse, which is recorded in Matthew, chapter 24 and 25, Mark, chapter 13, and Luke, chapter 21, is one of the most important prophetic pronouncements in the entire Revelation of God. This was delivered by our Lord at the very conclusion of His public ministry.

The occasion of His speaking this message was as follows: He foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, which He knew would come in A.D. 70. The Apostles misunderstood His reference, thinking that He was talking about the destruction of Jerusalem in the day of Jehovah, as set forth in such passages as Zechariah, chapter 14. In this prophetic utterance Zechariah mentioned the siege of Jerusalem in the day of Jehovah and the city's being overrun, to one-half of its territory, by the enemy. At the crucial moment Jehovah appears, and His feet stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives. His coming to earth brings this age to a close and introduces the great Millennial, or Kingdom, Era. In the minds of the Apostles, therefore, the destruction of Jerusalem in the day of Jehovah, the second coming of Christ, the end of the age, and the introduction of the new era were associated. Hence the mention of the destruction of Jerusalem brought up into the field of consciousness the other related ideas of the Lord's personal return to the earth, the close of this age, and the introduction of the new era. They therefore asked Him two questions: First, when would these things be—the destruction of Jerusalem which He had foretold; and what would be the sign of His coming and of the consummation of the age. Matthew omitted our Lord's answer to the first question and devoted the entire time to His reply to the second question, which is a double one. The disciples understood that there would be some one sign which would be indicative of His return to this earth and of the close of this age.

Since they were evidently thinking of the prediction of Zechariah, chapter 14 which foretells the final siege of Jerusalem by the armies of the world, Jesus warned them not to draw any hasty unwarranted conclusions with reference to the close of the age—whenever a war, a local conflict might break out. He therefore declared that regional wars and uprising would characterize the age during His absence, but He assured them that the end would not be whenever some of these local conflicts would take place. His reason for making this assertion is that, before the end of the age comes, there must be a world-war—nation rising against nation, kingdom against kingdom—attended by famines, pestilences, and great earthquakes in divers places. This idiom, taken from the Old Testament, meant in the mouth of the prophets a war that affected all the territory before the prophet's mind when he used it. Since Jesus had a world outlook in the Olivet Discourse, and since He used this idiom, it meant only one thing: a world war, attended by famines, pestilences, and great earthquakes in different places. Jesus said, in substance, that the Apostles should not look for the end of the age when a local war should take place, but should wait until a world war should burst forth upon the world which would be attended by famines, pestilences and great earthquakes in divers places. When said our Lord, you see such a global conflict you may know that this is the sign, the infallible sign of the end of the age (Matt. 24:9).

Such a global conflict is the first birth pain or the beginning of travail. This period of travail is the Tribulation. The prophets in like manner compared it to childbirth. Jesus began to talk about this period of travail in verse 8 and continued on the same theme to verse 28. Since the Tribulation is brought to a conclusion by the personal, visible return of the Lord, He naturally discussed that event as the culmination of it. In verses 29-31 He added further details, stating that there would be Egyptian darkness covering the earth and signs in the heavens at the conclusion of this period of wrath. At that time He will come and gather His people from the four corners of the earth. Thus with verse 31 Jesus takes us to the time when He comes visibly and bodily to the earth and establishes His kingdom upon earth.

In verses 32 and 33 He spoke the parable which is taught by the fig tree. A fig tree is a fig tree and indicates one in this passage. (It is a mistake to say that it is used symbolically here to refer to the Jewish nation.) When the fig tree begins to put forth its leaves and bud, the one observing that natural phenomena knows that summer is near. Our Lord declared that in the same manner those who see all these things can likewise draw a deduction with reference to His second coming. But what are "all these things" referred to in verse 33? Two interpretations of this phrase are given. One says that it means all the things which precede His second coming—the things of the Tribulation mentioned in the preceding verses and culminating with His visible return to the earth, His second advent. This interpretation is impossible because all the events included in the "all these things" are indicative of the second coming and precede it. It is therefore illogical to include all of the things mentioned in the preceding speech.

It must therefore have a technical meaning and not the literal sense. Does it have such a meaning in this passage? Most assuredly. In verse 9, Jesus having mentioned a world war, famines, pestilence, and great earthquakes in divers places, stated that "all these things" (a world war, famines, pestilences, and great earthquakes) constitute the first birth pain, which events are prophetic of the period of travail that brings this age to a close. The Apostles had asked for the sign indicative of His coming. Jesus asserted that the infallible sign of the momentous event will be a world war, famines, pestilences and great earthquakes in divers places. The generation that is living and is old enough to observe the march of time, to interpret the prophecy, and to identify the current events as fulfilling the prediction, is the generation that shall in no wise pass away until all that is embraced in the prophecy—including the second coming—comes to pass.

The proposition, stated differently, I would say that, according to Jesus, the generation thus seeing these things should not pass away until the prophecy is completely fulfilled. Have we had such a world crisis? The best interpreters who are accurate in their thinking, and who take the Scriptures at their face value unless there is something in the context indicating a departure from the literal meaning, are convinced that the world experience the first birth pain in the form of World War I with its attendant evils.

Jesus then foretold that the same conditions which existed in the days of Noah would prevail in the days of the Son of Man immediately before the Tribulation. In the days of Noah before the Flood men were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage buying and selling, and engaging in all earthly pursuits and pleasures until the very day that Noah entered the ark. The Flood came and took them all away. Jesus said that similar conditions will exist in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. The world will be doing the same thing, being engrossed in material things and having no interest whatsoever in spiritual matters. When they are thus enthralled, the days of the Son of Man will dawn upon the world. Two men will be plowing in a field. One will be taken, and the other left. Two women will be grinding at a mill. One will be taken, and the other left. Next, Jesus drew a parallel between the days of Noah which were before the Flood, a catastrophic event, and the days of the Son of Man which precede immediately the Tribulation. Since He speaks of the catching up of one out of the world and of the leaving of the other, there is but one conclusion to which we can come, and which is that this passage has reference to the rapture of the saints prior to the Tribulation. No one who is willing to let the language speak for itself—interpreting everything literally unless there is some warrant in the context pointing to a figurative meaning—can see in this passage anything other than the rapture of the church before the Tribulation burst forth upon the world.

As already stated, Luke's record of the Olivet Discourse is found in chapter 21 of his Gospel. In verses 10, 25, and 26 the Lord spoke of the terrors and the great signs from heaven the signs that will appear in sun, moon, and stars, and upon earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the seas and the billows. At that time men's hearts will faint, and they will expire because of fear of those things that will come upon the earth "for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory" (Luke 21:26,27). The coming of the son of man in glory can mean nothing but the bodily, visible return of our Lord at the end of the Tribulation.

In the next verse our Lord declared, "But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads because your redemption draweth nigh." Since Jesus was speaking in verse 27 of His return at the end of the Tribulation and since in verse 28 He foretold that, when these signs begin to come to pass, the redemption of the disciples draws nigh or is at hand, some have concluded that this is absolute proof that the rapture does not occur until the end of the Tribulation. If this were the only passage which deals with the subject, we would have a right to conclude that possibly it does not occur until our Lord comes in glory and power. We must in this connection remember that Joel foretold in chapter 2:28-32 that there will be signs in sun, moon, and stars and upon earth similar phenomena before the great and terrible day of Jehovah comes. The great and terrible day of the Lord is the great Tribulation Period. Since John in the book of Revelation told us that these various signs throughout the universe will reappear during the Tribulation at different times, since Jesus said that there would be a recurrence of these signs immediately after the Tribulation of those days, and since the signs mentioned by Jesus in Luke, chapter 21, begin before the Tribulation and recur at stated intervals during that time, we are to expect our redemption when these signs begin to come to pass. Now since they begin to come to pass before the Tribulation, we cannot reach any conclusion other than that the rapture of the church occurs before the Tribulation. If language means anything at all, it means this. It is impossible for us to twist the wording of Scripture and force upon it any conclusion other than this one. Of course, we may force the Scriptures to say something that they do not assert, but our thus construing them will not change His Word, which is settled eternally in the heavens. From this passage then we see that the rapture of the church occurs when these signs, which start before the Tribulation, begin to come to pass. Praise God for the assurance which has come to us from the lips of our Lord that the church, the believers in Him, will be taken out of the world before the Tribulation.

Confirmation of the position just taken, which rests upon the words of our Lord, is found in Paul's statement in I Thessalonians 4:13-5:11. Paul is speaking about the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the catching up of the living saints. Christ descends from heaven to the air, and like a general, issues His command, calling forth the dead in Christ and catching up the living saints out of the world. This language cannot be construed in any manner other than that of referring to the rapture of the living saints. But those believing in the post-Tribulation rapture tell us that Christ's coming and issuing commands as a monarch can be only at the end of the Tribulation; for, according to their theory, He comes in that capacity only at the end of the Tribulation. For this position they do not offer any proof. When Jesus arose from the dead, He declared that all authority in haven and in earth had been given into His hands. John in Revelation, chapter 1, declared that Christ is the ruler of the kings of the earth. In view of these statements we see that He has all authority and can now issue commands and does so. Occupying this position and having such authority, He as the generalissimo of all the forces of the entire universe can issue His call when He descends from heaven into the air for His saints. In fact, everything in the passage is in favor of His doing this thing.

The division indicating chapter 5 should never have been placed here, for it obscures the unity of the prophecy which begins with 4:13 and continues to 5:11.

After speaking of the rapture of the church, the Apostle declared that concerning the times and the seasons of that event the Thessalonian Christians needed no one to teach them; for they knew that the day of the Lord, the great Tribulation, would come upon the world suddenly, as travail upon a woman with child. Though it will come upon the world unawares, it will not thus come upon the children of God; for they are children of light and know the signs of the times, which indicate the approach of that time of great judgment. Since we are children of light and have the facts, we are to act as such and continue our testimony for the Lord Jesus. We are to continue our fight for the right and fear nothing; "for God appointed us not unto wrath, but unto the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him" (I Thess. 5:9,10). This period of wrath into which the Lord did not appoint us (but, on the contrary, decreed that we should be delivered from it) is none other than the day of Jehovah, the great Tribulation. We will be delivered from it whether we are asleep or awake, that is, whether we are living or dead. This will be accomplished by our Lord's descent from heaven to the air to raise the dead in Christ and to catch up the living saints out of the world.

From the positive teaching of our Lord in Matthew, chapter 24, Luke, chapter 21, and the inspired Apostle Paul in I Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, we see that the church is not to go into this period of wrath, into the Tribulation, but is to be delivered from it by our Lord's descending from heaven to the air to raise the dead in Christ and to catch up the living saints. Thus they leave this earth and go into the presence of Christ and remain with Him during the Tribulation. At the end of that time the Lord will come with His saints all the way to the earth. The proof is absolute and positive, therefore, that the church does not enter into the Tribulation.

II. Objections Answered

In our studies we have had an opportunity to look at a number of passages which have been misunderstood and interpreted to mean that the church passes through the Tribulation. In this concluding study I can only call attention in the briefest manner possible to some of these passages.

The parable of the wheat and the tares according to Mathew 13 is interpreted as teaching that the wheat and the tares—the saved and the lost—are to remain together until the harvest, till the end of the age. According to this theory God will let the wheat, believers, remain in the world until the very end of the Tribulation, at which time Jesus will come and gather out the wicked and will allow the righteous to remain here upon earth. It is assumed that believers are left here until the very end of the Tribulation. Those thus interpreting this passage are endeavoring to make the parable go on all fours and are losing sight of the main point. The kingdom of heaven began at Pentecost and will continue unto the consummation of the age, which is brought to a sudden conclusion by the visible, bodily manifestation of the Lord Jesus. But in the consummation of the age God will send His angels to gather out the tares and to bind them for burning. At the same time He is reaping His harvest of wheat and gathering it into the garner of heaven. The whole Tribulation Period is the time of separation. It is a well-know fact that the judgments of the period will sweep away the wicked out of the world. It is also a Scriptural fact that God will begin to gather His wheat at the time of the rapture, which, as we have seen precedes the Tribulation. It will be finished at the end of the Tribulation. In view of all the facts, then we see that the parable of the wheat and the tares is in perfect accord with the scriptural teaching in general.

In I Corinthians 15:50-58 the Apostle speaks of the rapture of the saints. This interpretation is beyond question; but in this passage Paul quotes Isaiah 25:8 as being fulfilled at the time of the rapture. Our post-Tribulation-rapture friends turn to the Isaiah 25:8 and its context and force upon it an unnatural and illogical construction. They call our attention to the fact that the rapture of the church is referred to in the statement: "He hath swallowed up death forever (Isaiah 25:8). This phase of their interpretation is correct. Anything different on this special point is inaccurate and erroneous. The reason for this statement is that the Apostle Paul, in speaking of the dead in Christ and of the catching up of the living saints, applied these words in I Corinthians 15:54 to that glorious future event. These brethren call our attention to the further fact that the Lord, in the Isaiah passage, in this connection speaks of Himself as wiping away all tears from all faces and of taking the reproach of His people away from the face of the earth, but understand that all of these events will take place in the space of twenty-four literal hours. In support of this proposition they refer to the expression, "In that day," of verse 9 and assert with boldness that this phrase can refer to only one thing, namely, the literal day upon which Jesus rends the heavens an descends to the earth. If this interpretation be correct, the rapture of the saints does not occur until the end of the Tribulation; but is this construction correct? An examination of the use to which the prophets, especially Isaiah, put this phrase shows that it, when used as a technical term, cannot be limited to a literal day of twenty-four hours—unless the evidence of a give context shows unmistakably that fact. But the context does not favor that interpretation. There is nothing that indicates such a thought.

In his speaking of the swallowing up of death Isaiah speaks of it as an accomplished fact, "He hath swallowed up death forever." Then he looks into the future and asserts that God will wipe away tears and will take the reproach of His people away from the earth. Thus when death has been swallowed up, the reproach of God's people, the Jews, will not yet have been romoved. When we look at the entire context, we see that God will make a feast of fat things for the nations of the earth; He will destroy in Jerusalem the face of the covering that covereth all peoples; He will wipe away all tears from all eyes and will take away the reproach from His people. When all these things are done in that day, He will already have swallowed up death forever; that is, the rapture—for this expression, Paul declared, refers to the rapture—will have already become an accomplished fact. In view of these facts it is illogical for one to assert that the rapture of the saints does not occur until the end of the Tribulation. The very opposite of this position is correct, as an examination of Isaiah's statement in the light of Paul's interpretation of it indicates.

Brethren insisting that the church passes through the Tribulation again call our attention to Paul's statement in I Corinthians 15:22-26: "22 For as in Adam all died, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ's at His coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be abolished is death." According to verse 22 all died in Adam; in like manner all shall be made alive in Christ. The question comes, in this connection, as to whether or not this being "made alive in Christ refers to spiritual life or to the more probable thought of all people being raised from the dead—some to a resurrection of life and others to a resurrection of condemnation. There would have been no resurrection if Christ had not been raised. Prior to the death of Christ all, both saint and sinner, upon death went down to Hades. Since Christ died and arose again, all will be raised from the dead. The saved will come up in the first resurrection, which precedes the Millennium; the lost will at the close of the Millennium come up in the resurrection of the condemnation before the judgment of the great white throne and hear their doom. Hence, all will be raised, or have a resurrection body, because of the fact that Christ came forth from the realms of the unseen world and appeared in His resurrection body. Those who accept Christ will come forth into a blessed resurrection with immortal life and glorified bodies; those who are lost will come forth from Sheol to live in separation from God forever, yet they will have their own type of resurrection body. Such seems to be the thought which Paul is developing in I Corinthians 15:20-28.

If, however, in this passage he was referring only to the blessed and saved and their resurrection, he was talking of those who come up in the blessed resurrection which is the first one and which occurs before the Millennium.

In verse 23 Paul asserted that each one would come in his own order or regiment. By his use of this term, which was originally a military phrase, the Apostle thought of the resurrection as occurring at different times and of different groups passing along as if in procession. He therefore said that the first in the resurrection procession was Christ (and those who were raised with Him when He came forth from the dead). This group marched forth across the stage, figuratively speaking, nineteen hundred years ago. The second section or group of the resurrection are those who are Christ's "at His coming." The argument is made here that the "coming" can refer only to the visible, bodily return of Jesus. The raising of the dead in Christ and simultaneous catching up of the saints will, according to this explanation, occur at Christ's physical, bodily return to the earth at the end of the Tribulation. Those taking this position call our attention, with great gusto, to the fact that Paul is pointing out each regiment as it passes by, and that this second group will come forth only at the end of the Tribulation. Upon this explanation there can therefore be no resurrection of the dead and no catching up of the saints immediately before the Tribulation. To the uninformed person this exposition of the passage seems to be conclusive; but when the facts are known, it becomes apparent that this explanation is far from true. We have already seen that both Jesus and the Apostle Paul (Matthew, chapter 24, Luke, chapter 21, and I Thessalonians (4:13-5:11) teach unmistakably and incontrovertibly the rapture of the saints before the Tribulation when Jesus descends from heaven to the air, raises the dead in Christ, and catches up the living saints. Moreover, we have seen that the term parousia, rendered "presence," a coming or arrival; epiphany, translated "manifestation;" and apocalypse, rendered "revelation," are all used in various contexts synonymously. We have also learned in our study of the Old Testament that the two comings of the Messiah which are separated by approximately two thousand years are blended into a single picture as if they constitute one event. If the Old Testament prophets could thus present in a single picture two events so very widely separated in point of time, certainly it is no violation of the use of language and logic for Christ and the Apostles to blend the coming of the Lord for His saints before the Tribulation with the description of His coming with His saints at the end of it. The facts are that it is natural for the New Testament writers thus to blend these events into a single statement. That seems to be what Paul has done in the passage under review. The coming of Christ to the air for His saints is but a phase of His coming. Hence, those who are raised and raptured immediately before the Tribulation constitute part of the regiment or group that is mentioned as "they that are Christ's, at his coming." Those therefore that are raised at the end of the Tribulation and those that are raptured, the Tribulation saints, constitute the rest of this group that is called "they that are Christ's, at his coming."

The adverb "then" appearing in verse 23 covers the entire Christian Dispensation. Christ was raised in the beginning of this era; the they that are Christ's are also raised at the time of the rapture of the saints at Christ's second coming. Hence, this adverb covers a period of approximately two thousand years. Verse 24 begins with this statement, "then cometh the end …" The end of Christ's reign does not come upon His return to this earth. As we learn from other passages, His visible, earthly reign begins then, and He continues as the Sovereign of the world for one thousand years. Since the word "then" in verse 23 covers nearly two thousand years, certainly this same word can comprehend the one thousand years of our Lord's reign.

By the end of Christ's thousand-year reign He will have put all rule and authority under Him. The last one being subjected will be death. At that time the judgment of the great white throne will be set. Christ will mount that throne; all the wicked dead will be brought before this judgement bar, and Christ will pronounce doom upon the lost.

At that judgement of the great white throne the material universe which now exists passes away. After that event Christ creates the eternal order. The eternal Jerusalem comes down out of the eternal heavens and rests upon the eternal earth. There the righteous will be with God for ever and ever.

In this brief passage from the Corinthian Epistle we see the outline of events as they cluster around the different groups of those who come up in resurrection life.

Frequently our attention is called to Revelation 11:15-19. Here we read of the seventh angel who sounds his trumpet. When he does this, the announcement is made from heaven that the kingdom of the world, the kingdom of the Antichrist, which will be universal, has become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ. The sounding of this seventh trumpet occurs in the middle of the Tribulation. The kingdom of the Antichrist does not actually become the kingdom of Christ until the end of the Tribulation is reached when Christ appears in person, slays the Antichrist, and casts him into the lake of fire. Thus these verses that follow as a sequence upon the blowing of the seventh trumpet are looking forward to the results which will come when the kingdom of the world becomes the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. Hence, the twenty-four elders who sit on thrones before God fall down and worship Him saying: "We give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast; because thou has taken thy great power, and didst reign. 18 And the nations were wroth, and thy wrath came, and the time of the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name, the small and the great; and to destroy them that destroy the earth" (Rev. 11:17,18). These four and twenty elders are likewise looking forward to the end of the Tribulation when the Lord Jesus Christ actually has conquered the antichrist and has taken the world government into His hands. Looking forward to the time, they speak of it as "the time of the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name …" Thus at the end of the Tribulation the judgment seat of Christ will be established, and He will give the reward to His servants the prophets and to the saints. Those who have served the Lord and have sacrificed for His cause will be rewarded according to their works.

The correctness of this interpretation is further confirmed by the last statement of verse 18: "And to destroy them who destroy the earth." Those who destroy the earth are themselves destroyed by the time the Tribulation closes. In fact, they will be destroyed by the personal coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth.

This passage in Revelation, chapter 11, neither suggests nor implies that the saints are not raised until the end of the Tribulation. This thought has to be read into the passage in order for us to see it there. But reading into the passage the resurrection of the prophets and the saints as occurring at the end of the Tribulation and knowing that Paul connects the rapture of the saints with the resurrection of the dead in Christ, these good brethren see the church raptured only at the end of the Tribulation. If this is the teaching of John, he contradicted the Lord Jesus Christ and Paul. But we will not countenance such a thought for one moment. This passage is in perfect harmony with the rest of the Scriptures. When dealt with scientifically, it is seen to say nothing about the time of the resurrection of the saints of God or of the rapture.

If a person will only recognize the general principles which I have set forth during this series of studies, he will see conclusively that there is not a scintilla of evidence supporting the proposition that the church goes through the Tribulation and is raptured at its close.

My prayer is that God may open our eyes to see the truth and incline our hearts unto His Word. May He grant to us boldness and power to proclaim the Word of God in love to all to whom we minister.

(End of this Series)