The study of II Thessalonians, chapter 2, concerning the rapture and the Tribulation, has led us to the consideration of the world-wide revival to be conducted by the 144,000 Jewish evangels.

The question naturally arises, "If the church is raptured before the Tribulation, how can there be evangels during that time?"

These 144,000 will certainly not be in the Church; for, if they were they would be taken up at the time of the rapture, which precedes the Tribulation. They will evidently learn the truth in the first part of the Tribulation. But How? When we visualize the situation that is presupposed in Revelation, chapter 7, we must realize that we who have the truth now must give it to Israel before the rapture. Our giving the Word to Israel is like the sowing of seed in a dry, barren field which has, however, a few moist spots here and there. Honest truth seekers into which hearts the seed falls today and who accept the Lord are added to the body of Christ and will be taken up at the time of the rapture. But most of the seed that we are now sowing in Israel is falling on the dry ground of particularly uninterested hearts. When, however, the judgments of the great Tribulation begin to fall upon them, this seed will germinate in the hearts of 144,000 Jewish men. Through the power of the Spirit, they will proclaim the truth to all nations and will win untold hundreds of millions of people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in the first part of the Tribulation.

What a wonderful opportunity we have of investing in the Lord's cause by calling forth and equipping these future evangels for that major role which they are to play in the history of the world.

Practically all who are seeking the truth during the first part of the Tribulation will accept the Lord Jesus Christ, and many of them will be martyred (Rev., chapter 6). But hosts of people, because of their pleasure in unrighteousness, will not receive a love of the truth as it is presented by the 144,000 evangels. When people spurn their opportunity to receive the truth, God sends them strong delusions in order that they might believe a lie and be condemned (II Thess. 2:10-12). When, therefore, the Antichrist goes to Jerusalem, sits in the Jewish temple which will be rebuilt, and performs miracles, those who have gone through the world-wide revival of the first half of the Tribulation, and who will have spurned the truth, will be blinded, hardened, and deluded.

The Antichrist will demand that all people worship him as God and that they receive his mark on their right hands and on their foreheads. Those who will have rejected the truth will readily take the mark of the beast and, thereby, will seal their doom for time ad eternity. The Antichrist, by his actions, at that time will bring the work of God throughout the world to a standstill. The prophet Habakkuk, foreseeing this stopping of the work of God in the middle of the Tribulation prayed: "O Jehovah, revive thy work in the midst of the years; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy" (Hab. 3:2). In answer to the petition of Habakkuk, and doubtless to those of many others, God will revive the work at that time; but the conditions of the latter half of the Tribulation will make it impossible for believers to carry on as openly as before. I believe that the preaching of the gospel will, to a certain extent, go underground; but it will, nevertheless, continue, as we learn from the announcement of the angel "flying in mid heaven having eternal good tidings to proclaim unto them that dwell on the earth, and unto every nation and tribe and tongue and people" (Rev. 14:6).

Many of those who will be saved during the latter half of the Tribulation will, like many during the first part, go to glory by way of the chopping block.

Paul, then, in this Second Epistle to the Thessalonians showed the disturbed converts the impossibility of their already being in the Tribulation and their having missed the rapture. He set the timetable straight, so to speak and, in so doing, reaffirmed that the rapture of the Church will occur before the Tribulation.

In our investigation regarding the rapture of the Chruch, whether it is before the Tribulation, in the middle of, or at the end of it, we have studied this subject as it has been developed in the Scriptures, beginning with the fifth chapter of Genesis where we read of the rapture of Enoch, the seventh from Adam. In this survey we have come to the consideration of the rapture as set forth in the Book of Revelation. We have learned that a text apart from its context is but a pretext. A person can take any passage of scripture out of its context, can warp and twist the words, and can make them mean something entirely different from that which was in the writer's mind when he wrote the passage. In order that we might have the correct slant upon the rapture of the Church as presented in the Book of Revelation, we must have a general idea of the flow of thought as this amazing drama unfolds before our eyes.

A General View of the Book of Revelation

According to Revelation 1:19, this book falls into three natural divisions, which are, first, "the things which thou sawest"; secondly, "the things which are"; and thirdly," the things which shall come to pass hereafter." Obviously the expression "the things which thou sawest" refers to the vision of the glorified Son of Man who appeared to John, and concerning whom we have a full and detailed account in chapter one. Of course, the introductory matter which naturally precedes the presentation of this vision is given in the beginning of the chapter. The expression "things which are" pertains to the churches which were in the little province of Asia, in the western part of Asia Minor, and to each of which a copy of the Book of Revelation was sent. These churches were represented by the seven golden candlesticks or lampstands, of which we read in chapter one. To each of these seven churches a special letter was written. These seven special messages are found in chapters 2 and 3. Thus one is absolutely correct in understanding that the things which are included in the expression "the things which are" can only be the seven churches thus designated in these letters.

Though the churches were in existence at that time, they probably foreshadowed the entire Christian dispensation, each one briefly reflecting the dominant characteristics of the different periods into which church history subdivides. Such a situation finds its parallel in the parables of the kingdom of heaven set forth in Matthew, chapter 13. As various prophetic students point out, these seven parables unmistakably reflect the entire Christian dispensation. The first one, the parable of the sower, starts with Christ who is the sower par excellence. The parable of the dragnet, the last one of the series, deals with the end-time and the second coming of Christ. An examination of those intervening indicate that they clearly reflect the principal characteristics of different periods of church history—the apostolic age (30-100), the sub-apostolic age (100-323), the period of temporary triumph (323-600), the Dark Ages (600-1517), the Reformation (1517-1648), and the Modern Period of Missions (1648 to the present time). A close scrutiny of the seven letters to the seven churches—a study of them in the light of the parables of the kingdom and a general knowledge of the periods of church history—confirms the conviction that probably the letters to the seven churches of Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, likewise cover in prophetic outlook the entire Christian dispensation, which comes to a conclusion with the second coming of Christ.

The third division of the Book of Revelation, designated by John as "the things which shall come to pass hereafter," embraces chapters 4-22. This third major section of the book falls into four subdivisions. It deals with the unfolding drama which follows the Church Age, namely, the Tribulation; the Second Coming of Christ; the Millennial reign of our Lord upon the earth and the Judgment of the Great White Throne; and the Ages of the Ages, during which the eternal heavens and the eternal earth continue. The first section of the third major division logically divides into four parts; namely, a Vision of Heaven chapters four and five; and the Great Tribulation chapters 6:1-20:3; the personal reign of Christ upon earth 20:4-15; and the Eteranl Order, Revelation, chapters 21 and 22.

To the Church at Philadelphia the Lord made the following promises: "Because thou didst keep the word of my patience I also will keep thee from the hour of trial, that hour which is to come upon the whole world, to try them that dwell upon the earth" (Rev. 3:10). The Lord promised that He would keep those who observe His Word scrupulously from the hour of trial, which is to come upon the entire earth. When we take this statement at its face value, we are driven by logic to conclude that it refers to the world-wide Tribulation, which is coming upon all the earth at the end of the Christian dispensation. In this series of studies, we have had occasion to examine various prophecies with reference to this period of world-wide testing during which the judgments of God will purge out the wicked and sinners from the earth preparatory to the establishment of the kingdom of God upon earth among men. This promise was made to the faithful Church at Philadelphia, which reflected the conditions of the end time and typified those who are faithful and true to the Lord at the close of this dispensation. To them the promise is made that the Lord will save them from the hour of trial, the Tribulation. We therefore see in Revelation 3:10 a promise that the Lord will take the Church out of the world at the end of this dispensation. By so doing, the Lord keeps them from that great hour of trial.

Following the letters to the Churches in chapters 2 and 3 is the third major division of the book. In this section not one word is said about the Church. All logicians realize that the argument from silence must be handled with great caution and be carefully scrutinized. There are, however, times and circumstances that lift such an argument to the level of practical certainty. Such a situation is to be expected here in view of the Lord's promise to keep His people from the Tribulation.

At the same time we read of those who turn to the Lord in the Tribulation. They, of course, are not the Church which is taken out of the world before the Tribulation begins—as we have seen throughout this entire investigation. In this section of Revelation we see saints of God in the following passages: 6:9-11; 7:9-17; 14:13; and 16:15. The saints mentioned in these scriptures are those who turn to the Lord after the rapture of the Church, accepting Him at different times during the Tribulation as the facts of the entire book prove. They, therefore, are not members of the Chruch, the body of Christ of the present dispensation, but they are saved and will be with the Lord forever and ever.

Some excellent brethren have seen in the following words a reference to the rapture: "After these things I saw, and behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, a voice as of a trumpet speaking with me, one saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must come to pass hereafter. 2 Straightway I was in the Spirit: and behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and one sitting upon the throne" (Rev. 4:1,2). A casual glance at these verses shows that they have nothing whatsoever to do with the rapture. John tells us that, after he was given the letters to the seven churches, there was a voice inviting him, John the Apostle, to leave earth and to ascend into heaven, which invitation he accepted. It was, therefore, John who in this passage goes into heaven and not the saints. Of course, John ascended into heaven in the vision which was granted him, and in which he saw the entire panorama of the closing scenes of this Age, the introduction of the Millennium, and the Eternal Order. Revelation 4:1,2, therefore, has no bearing upon the subject of the rapture of the Church.

A Running Survey of Revelation, chapters 19-22

Revelation, chapters 6,8, 9, and 16, gives us the chronological order of the events as they will occur during the Tribulation. Chapters 7 and 10-15 give us the stage setting, so to speak, of the Tribulation as it progresses to the end. With the last verse of chapter 16, we reach the end of the Tribulation. In keeping with the law of recurrence—a law well understood by prophetic students—John gives us a second and extended view of three major events of the Tribulation. The information in these chapters, 17, 18, and 19, supplement that which has already been given us through chapter 16, which as stated above, brings us to the close of the Tribulation. Chapter 17 gives a full and detailed account of the overthrow of Babylon the harlot, the great ecclesiastical octopus that will grip the world in its tentacles during the first half of the Tribulation, and that will be destroyed by the Antichrist in the middle of the Tribulation. Chapter 18 is a statement, replete with information, of the overthrow of Babylon the city, which occurs at the end of the Tribulation—three and a half years after the overthrow of Babylon the harlot. In chapter 19 we have a prediction concerning the marriage supper of the Lamb, verses 1-10, which takes place immediately before the Lord's return to the earth at the end of the Tribulation. In verses 11-21 appears one of the sublime prophecies of our Lord's visible, bodily return to the earth to take over the affairs of the world and to establish His kingdom upon earth. Here He is pictured as a rider upon a white horse, wearing diadems, crowns of royalty. Following Him are the armies of heaven on white horses. He alone goes into battle and conquers the armies of the Antichrist and overthrows the world government. The armies of heaven, accompanying the returning Lord and King, are only observers of the final and complete overthrow and conquest of all human and satanic opposition to God and Christ.

The next item of the unfolding drama is the binding of Satan and the forces of evil and the casting of them into the pit of the abyss where they are confined for the thousand years, during which the Lord will reign upon the earth. The imprisonment of Satan and his underlings is essential to the establishment of a reign of righteousness. He is the deceiver of the nations of the world and the one who engineers and sponsors all unrest, commotions, rebellions, and wars. He and those spirits serving him must therefore be put where they cannot influence the human mind and heart in order that there may be a reign of peace, tranquility and absolute righteousness in a warless world.

When Satan and his forces are thus bound in the pit of the abyss Christ sets up His long-awaited reign of righteousness in Jerusalem. "2 And it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of Jehovah's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow into it. 3 And many peoples shall go and say Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach of his ways, and we will walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. 4 And he will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples; And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Isaiah 2:2-4). "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will perform this" (Isaiah 9:6,7).

The saints of God then mount thrones, and reign under and along with Him. "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" (Rev. 20:4). John tells us that he saw thrones and they sat upon them and judgment was given unto them. Who are the ones sitting upon these thrones and exercising judgment? The antecedent of the first pronoun they of this verse can be none other the armies of heaven mentioned in 19:14, the hosts of saints who come back to the earth with Christ when He returns in fulfillment of this prophecy. When the Church is raptured, as we learn in I Thessalonians, the saints become associated with Christ and from that time onward they accompany Him, regardless of where he goes (I Thess. 4:13-18). In the light of this passage we know that the Church saints will be with Christ when he returns. From these facts, we are driven to the conclusion that the armies of Heaven here seen are the saints, a part of them being the Church saints, who return with the Lord Jesus when He comes to earth at the end of the Tribulation.

The second group of those who will sit upon thrones during the reign of our Lord are next mentioned in Revelation 20:4: "And I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the Word of God." These words obviously are taken from Revelation 6:9-11. Certain ones who turn to the Lord at the beginning of the Tribulation will suffer martyrdom, as we see in this last reference. When we look at this passage in the light of its immediate context, we see that those constituting this group of martyrs are the saints who turn to the Lord in the first part of the Tribulation. They are slain for the testimony of Jesus and for the Word of God.

The third group of Revelation 20:4, seen seated on the thrones and judging, are thus described; "And such as worship not the beast, neither his image, and receive not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand." Clearly this group consists of the ones martyred by the Antichrist, who attempts to force them to take his mark upon their hands or foreheads. When they refuse to do so, he martyrs them. When does this reign of terror and savage butchery begin? In the middle of the Tribulation, as we see in Revelation, chapter 13. Thus this third and last group consists of those who are martyred under the reign of the personal Antichrist during the latter half of the Tribulation. Being put to death by man's ruthless inhumanity, they came to life by the power of the risen and all-conquering Redeemer and reign with Christ a thousand years.

At the end of the Millennium, Satan is unloosed for a little season. He stirs up a movement against Christ which is annihilated by divine power and intervention (Rev. 20:7-10).

In 20:11-15 we have a prophecy regarding the Judgment of the Great White Throne before which all the lost—raised from the dead—are made to appear and to hear their condemnation and doom. At that time the present material, physical universe passes out of existence (Rev. 20:11).

After the Judgment of the Great White Throne, God creates the Eternal Order, which is described in chapters 21 and 22. All the saved from this earth will be transferred to the new and eternal earth where they will live in the eternal Jerusalem with God and Christ forever and ever. Such visions stir our hearts and cause us to look forward with the greatest of anticipations to the realization and the enjoyment of unalloyed bliss, fellowship and service in the Lord's cause.