THE COMING OF THE LORD FOR HIS SAINTS.
(FIRST STAGE.)
THE RAPTURE AND FIRST RESURRECTION. '[EPOCH 7]
AS soon as the Church has run its course on the earth, and the last believer is gathered in to complete the Bride of the Lamb, that auspicious day (the brightest and happiest that ever dawns for believers), so long expected and desired, will arrive, and the blessed Lord Jesus will suddenly come forth from the seat of His glory to gather together the fruits of His redemption work into His immediate presence, according to His gracious promise, " If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:3).
This translation to glory is often called the Rapture (though the word is not used in Scripture), as the saints will be suddenly caught up from the earth, and, with entrancing delight and unspeakable joy, will rise to meet their Divine Lord in the heavens.
If we gaze with contemplative wonder and admiration on the grandeur of Elijah's ascent in a chariot of fire, what shall we say of the splendor and magnificence of that scene when the Lord Himself shall come in grand majestic power to meet that countless host of risen saints, in their new spiritual bodies,—" fashioned like unto His glorious body,"—to welcome and to conduct them to the mansions which He has gone to prepare 1 As nothing has ever occurred to which we could compare the wondrous scenes of this coming day, we utterly fail in our highest efforts of imagination to conceive the fullness of glory, joy, and exultation that will be then manifested.
The astounding fact that confronts us at the present day is, that there should be found Christians who actually do not take any interest whatever in this sublime subject, never speak of it, or teach it; while some even venture, in spite of Scripture, to deny that such an event will take place! And yet the Word of God, when carefully read, plainly sets forth the personal coming of the Lord before the millennium to take up His saints.
What then, we might ask, has produced this general apathy and indifference—and in some cases downright opposition—with regard to a subject of such great importance? Mainly, misinterpretation of God's Word and tradition, for which the so-called learned divines and theologians have much to answer, who by their highly elaborated theories and skilful criticisms, have made the Word of God of none effect, with reference to this as well as to many other subjects. The wise and prudent in their own eyes have never been the custodians of God's secrets, but they are revealed to the babes (Matt. 11:25).
Satan, too, has ever been specially busy (as we might expect he would be), striving to divert the souls of men from thinking of, and looking for, a personal Christ. Christ they may have in a vague, religious, and sentimental way, but the person of the Christ is what the devil ever wages war against, and he intensely dislikes to see a soul truly in communion with Jesus Christ; while the Lord's coming in the clouds with great power and glory—as the prelude to Satan's being driven from his present seat of power in the heavens—is what he naturally dreads above everything.
Still it is lamentable to think that so many true children of God should be deprived of the consolation of this " blessed hope," through the subtle devices of our great adversary, who has used not a few learned teachers, and even some good men, as instruments (though they knew it not), to pervert this precious and soul-comforting truth.
Of the many passages in Scripture referring to this personal coming of the Lord, the fullest and most explicit is that wonderfully graphic account of the Rapture given in 1 Thess. 4:15-17, " For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent (or go before) them which are asleep. 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: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." How plain and simple, and yet how superlatively grand is this description of the glorious day for which we are waiting.
Let us consider for a moment the seven points of this special revelation given to the apostle Paul by the Lord Himself.
(1.)" We which are alive and remain "—saints living on the earth at the time of His coming, and the use of the personal pronoun " we " in the present tense, shows us that these saints expected He might come in their day, for of the Thessalonians it is said, " Ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for His Son from heaven" (1 Thess. 1:9, 10). They were evidently taught by Paul to look for it at any moment, and it is the happy privilege of every Christian to say, " We which are alive and remain." We look not for death, the grave, and the worm, though we may be called to "sleep through Jesus," to be "absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."
(2.)" Shall not prevent them which are asleep." All the saints from Adam down to that time, who have fallen asleep through Jesus, will have their resurrection bodies first, or just before the living saints. We shall not go before them; but even if there be any interval between, it will be very short, as all will be changed, " in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye," for the two companies go up together to meet the Lord. In Heb. 11:40, we read, " That they (Old Testament saints) without us should not be made perfect "i.e., should not have their new bodies. All the Old as well as all the New Testament believers will be thus translated to heaven on the same day and hour.
(3.)" The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God." The Lord leaves His seat in heaven, and descends into the regions of the air, with a shout (as of a great military commander calling his forces together), and thus summons His saints into His glorious presence. Two other sounds will be heard—the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God.
The saints only, we may reasonably presume, will hear these, which by the mighty power of God will instantly gather them —a glorified host—in the air: The world may hear nothing, and see no signs, but it will suddenly miss the departed saints; while those who have an intellectual knowledge of the coming of the Lord will know at once, to their dismay, what has taken place,—" We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed " (1 Cor. 15:51, 52).
(4.)"The dead in Christ shall rise first," that is, just before the living saints are changed, as we have already noticed.
(5.)" Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds:" As already remarked, the two companies shall be caught up together to meet the Lord.
What a scene of surpassing grandeur! Not a solitary Elijah going up in a chariot of fire, but untold millions of glorified saints mounting upwards in the power of God, clad with the radiance of heaven itself, and doubtless filling its vault with their loud hallelujahs! How paltry and insignificant is all that man calls great and grand in the pageantries of the world, compared with the splendor of this heavenly scene 1 Who would not wish to be there? Well, thank God, every true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ will certainly be in that company, and God grant that all the readers of these lines may have their place among that happy throng.
(6.)" To meet the Lord in the air." Oh, the joy and ineffable delight that will then thrill every heart of that vast multitude, when they first see Him face to face, and behold His glory! Moreover, the joy of the Lord Himself, when "He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied," will be reflected on their beaming countenances, and all heaven will rejoice together.
The Lord on this occasion, only descends into the air. It is at the second stage of His appearing that He comes to the earth.
(7.)"And so shall we ever be with the Lord." What an immensity of meaning is in those words, "Forever with the Lord." They are indeed unfathomable, for who could measure the blessedness of spending an eternity in His Divine presence, beholding His glory?—" Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me" (John 17:24).
From these, and other references, it is supposed that the Rapture will be silent and invisible to the world, though, of course, they will immediately realize the consequences of it, in the sudden departure of so many Christians, and will then be fully aware of what has happened.
Indeed, we may naturally suppose that great consternation and alarm will be produced throughout the whole of Christendom by such a stupendous event as the sudden disappearance of these believers,—probably without any immediate warning; while the effect upon nominal Christians, who may have flattered themselves that all was right, and that they were ready, will no doubt be terrible in the extreme, when they realize the agonizing fact that the Lord has indeed come, and that they have been left behind and rejected, like the foolish virgins. To this large class of professors that day will indeed be an awful awakening.
Looking at the parable of the ten virgins, it would seem as if, just before the Lord's coming, when the cry, "Behold the Bridegroom!" goes forth more loudly than ever, there may be a widespread and deep impression of the impending nearness of the event, so that many nominal Christians—the foolish virgins—will begin to inquire after the truth, saying, " Give us of your oil; for our lamps are going out." But while going to get it, they so long delay earnestly seeking the Lord, that the Bridegroom comes, and not being ready, they are left without, and to their great sorrow find that the door is shut.
The impression is certainly increasing every day as to the approaching nearness of the Lord's coming, and many more are now joining in the cry, " Behold the Bridegroom!" May not this therefore be the time referred to in the portion of the parable to which we have just alluded? If it be so, what a solemn call to all to be ready without delay, lest they, like the foolish virgins, be found without the " one thing needful," when the Lord comes.
This translation of the saints at the first stage of the Lord's coming is frequently alluded to throughout the New Testament, but is never referred to in the Old, because the Church—the mystery hidden from ages—was not formed in those days; therefore the translation of that which was not then in existence, and was not even alluded to in prophecy, could not be mentioned. In 1 Cor. 15:51, 52, the change at the Rapture is also spoken of as " a mystery." " Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed."
It will be, as we have already seen, the time of the " first resurrection,"—" Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such 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. 20:6). See also 1 Corinthians 15., where it is specially dwelt upon.
It is also alluded to in Rom. 8:23 as the time to which all true saints of God are ever looking forward. " Even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body; " " There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body;" and it is this latter that will be given to us on that day.
We are told (most marvelous thought) that this spiritual body will be like the Lord's glorious body—" Who shall change our vile body (or body of humiliation), that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself " (Phil. 3:21); "We know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is " (1 John 3:2).
While the foregoing are some of the leading references to this deeply interesting and important subject, there are many others which it would be well carefully to examine and compare; but as they are too numerous to quote in full, a list of the principal ones is given in the footnote below.
When we come to consider the second stage, a similar list of the leading passages referring to it will be given.
One very prevalent error with regard to this subject, which has had the mischievous effect of turning away the minds of many Christians from the reception and right understanding of this blessed truth, is the extraordinary notion that the words in 1 Thess. 4, and similar passages, describe the " last day of judgment at the end of the world!" And not only this. The judgment of the nations of Matt. 25:31, 32, and Rev. 19:11-21, and the judgment of the white throne (more than a thousand years later, Rev. 20:11, 12), are mixed together, and made to appear as one and the same event, to take place "at the end of the world," after which the earth will be burnt up!
Nothing could be more contrary to the teaching of Scripture than such an erroneous notion, and it shows us how carelessly the Word of God is read, even by many who undertake to explain it to others.
One of the chief objects I had in view in devising the chart was to call special attention to this particular error, as well as to others connected with it, by showing on a diagram (which, by directly appealing to the eye, is more easily understood and remembered), the relative positions of the three great epochs referred to above, and the events both which take place between each, and which follow after them; so that their positions with regard to each other, and the time when they are to occur, might be seen and clearly understood.
Now a glance at the chart will enable any one to comprehend this in a moment, for it will be seen that after the line in the heavens, which is intended to mark the first stage of the Lord's coming—i.e., Epoch 7—the day of tribulation is indicated by a darkly shaded space. This will be of some years' duration, as shown in Dispensation G, and described farther on. Then the next line from heaven to earth—i.e., Epoch 8—marks the second stage of the Lord's coming; after which we have the millennium, and the last apostasy, before we come to the judgment of the white throne (Epoch 10), so we thus see a series of six successive and totally different events, with plainly stated intervals of time between them.
To confound these three very distinct epochs (the first and second stages of the coming of Christ, and the judgment of the white throne), between each of which numerous events are to occur, cannot but be the cause of immense confusion, and of a complete derangement of dispensational truth.
It is therefore hoped that the perusal of these remarks, together with the representations on the chart, may induce many to re-examine the Word more closely with reference to these important points, and may thus lead them to a fuller and more correct apprehension of the matter.
With regard to the two stages of the Lord's coming,—to which frequent allusions have already been made, there appears to be considerable divergence of thought. Many Christians who clearly hold, and rightly teach, the pre-millennial advent of Christ, say that He will come at the close of the present age, to take up the Church, and to judge the nations; and they thus make the Rapture and this judgment concurrent events—not seeing that the day of tribulation is to intervene between them.
This misapprehension has frequently caused much confusion in the interpretation of many of the Scriptures directly relating to the subject, and of others connected with it.
In some passages, it is true, these two appear to be represented as one, for in reality there is only one coming, but it is to be in two stages—first in the air, and second to the earth, with an interval of some years between. As one example out of many others, Titus 2:13 may be cited, " Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ."
Seeing it is most important to be clear about this, I would now direct attention to some of the chief points of difference between these two, as well as to their bearing upon other events at the time of the end:—
1. Nothing is mentioned as occurring before the first stage, because it was to be an ever-present thought, and was to be looked for at any moment during the whole time the Church remained on earth, even though the Lord should tarry for centuries.
The Thessalonians understood this, for they were waiting for God's Son from heaven (1 Thess. 1:10), and were surprised when any of their number died, as they doubtless cherished the inspired words of Paul in his first epistle to them, "We which are alive and remain," expecting to tarry here until the Lord should come. But with regard to the second stage, certain definite events were to take place before it should come to pass. This they did not understand at first, and hence the apostle writes his second epistle to correct their mistake, and to give them a clear knowledge of the difference between the two.
Consequently in 2 Thess. 2:1, 2, we have them put side by side and contrasted. "The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto Him," in verse 1, gives us the first corresponding with 1 Thess. 4:17; and in verse 2 we have the second, " The day of Christ," which is a totally different period. Then the apostle shows that this second shall not come except there be a falling away first, "and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition." In verses 7 and 8, we have further particulars as to the time when the Antichrist shall appear. "Only he who now letteth (or restraineth) will let, until he be taken out of the way; " that is, the Church, in the power of the Holy Ghost, now restrains, but when it is taken to heaven at the Rapture, that wicked (or lawless) one shall be revealed, " whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming." Thus we have the two stages again referred to, "taken out of the way," signifying the first when Christ comes to take the Church up to heaven, after which comes the revelation of the Antichrist; and then the second when the Lord appears to consume him with the brightness of His coming.
Here we have three distinct events in regular order:—
(1.) The first stage of the coming of Christ to take away the Church.
(2.)The presence and awful career of the Antichrist.
(3.)The second stage of Christ's coming and the destruction of the Man of sin. So that before this second Antichrist must appear on the scene, to fulfill his terrible mission, and continue for a few years to deceive the nations—specially in the East—with his lying wonders.
To regard these two different phases of the Lord's coming as identical, or to think that they are to happen at the same time, is obviously contrary to Scripture, and is therefore a serious mistake, calculated to produce sad confusion.
2. At the first the Lord comes FOR His saints (John 14:3; 1 Thess. 4:15-17, &c.), but at the second He comes WITH them. "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints" (Jude 14). In Rev. 19:11, 14, we read that John saw heaven opened, "and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True (the Lord Jesus coming forth to judge the world),... and the armies in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean,"-evidently risen saints. Now these saints must be taken to heaven before they can thus come with the Lord; they are seen there at the "marriage supper of the Lamb," previously to their coming out with Him to execute judgment.
3. The first stage of Christ's coming will most probably be invisible to the world, as it is not stated in Scripture that any shall see or hear Him except the saints who are caught up on that occasion. These shall suddenly, and it may be silently, disappear, being changed "in the twinkling of an eye," and caught up to heaven, doubtless to the great consternation of all who miss them. But when our Lord comes to judge, the whole world shall see Him. "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him:... and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him " (Rev. 1:7). " Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven" (Matt. 26:64).
4. At the first the Lord will come to deliver all true Christians living at the time from the "Great Tribulation," by taking them up to heaven, so that it will be a time of great rejoicing for them; but at the second He will execute judgment on the ungodly nations of the world, and there will be fearful scenes of terror and wailing at the destruction of the wicked. "Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matt. 24:30). This will be the judgment of the living nations, as described in Matt. 25:31-46, but certainly not that of the dead at the great white throne, which is to take place more than a thousand years later (Rev. 20:11, 12).
5. At the first the Lord is seen as the Bridegroom coming for His Bride, the Church, as we find in the parable of the Ten Virgins; while at the second He will come as the Nobleman to reckon with His servants, to give rewards to the faithful, and to punish the unfaithful, as stated in Matt. 25:14-30, and Luke 19:12-26.
6. The first will be the time of the resurrection of all true believers from the days of Adam downwards. "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection," while the raising of the wicked dead, to appear before the great white throne, will not (as we have already said) take place till more than a thousand years later.
7. At the first stage the Lord meets the saints in the air (1 Thess. 4:17), but at the second He will come to the earth. "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east" (Zech. 14:4, and Acts 1:11). [This point is more fully examined further on.]
To these seven points of difference we might yet add another, derived from the striking figures that are employed to point to these two aspects of the Lord's coming (the " MORNING STAR" and the " SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS "), taken in connection with the portions of Scripture in which they occur.
It is a remarkable fact, and worthy of special notice, that one of these expressions occurs in the last chapter of the Old Testament, and the other in the last chapter of the New. To the Jewish saints the hope of Israel is given, in the closing words of their Scriptures, and to their last prophet, Malachi, " But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings" (Mal. 4:2).
To the Christian, the Hope of the Church is presented in the closing words of the New Testament, as the coming of the "Bright and Morning Star." The morning star is the harbinger of day, seen in the heavens just before the sun rises; and it is for Christ's appearing as such that we Christians are now looking, the prelude to His coming later on (after a short interval of terrible darkness—the great tribulation), to the godly remnant of Jewish saints as the Sun of Righteousness; then to shine forth in all the full splendor and glory of the millennial day.
To the true Church Christ will soon come as the " Bright and Morning Star," and we are exhorted to take heed to the sure word of prophecy "as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the Day Star arise in your hearts; " but to the Jewish remnant, at the end of the tribulation, He will come as the "Sun of Righteousness" to heal their backslidings, to restore them to the full favor of God, and to deliver them from all their enemies.
Thus we see the two different phases of the Lord's coming very plainly set forth in these instructive passages.
One other point it may be well to look at before closing this chapter on the Rapture, and that is the TIME when it is to take place.
For centuries people have been asking the question," When will the Lord come? " And many have striven to answer it by various ingenious theories and calculations. But all in vain, for the simple reason that not one word is given in Scripture to guide as to this. On the contrary, we are expressly and plainly told that this secret is only known to God Himself. "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is" (Mark 13:32, 33). One would think that with such emphatic words as these given by the Lord Himself, no person would ever attempt for a moment to discover the time when He should come. Yet many, strange to say, have actually ventured, in the most daring and positive way, to name not only the year and the month, but also the very day, when the Lord is to come! And what is also most astounding is the fact that these would-be prophets profess to deduce their calculations from the Word of God itself!
These irreverent attempts have produced incalculable mischief, as the enemy has not been slow in making use of them (in all probability he has been the instigator of them) to bring all prophetic truth, and especially the coming of the Lord, into sad disrepute with many, who do not take the trouble to study the Word for themselves.
But while it is going against Scripture to attempt to fix the date of Christ's coming, we may, I think, profitably consider the relative time of His second advent as to both its aspects; that is to say, the position it occupies in Scripture with regard to all that precedes and follows after it; for we thereby gain a fuller and more comprehensive view of the surrounding events themselves.
We know that as soon as the history of the Church on earth comes to an end, it will be taken up to heaven by the Lord; and, as we see that its history closes with Laodicea at the end of Rev. 3, we are naturally led to conclude that its translation occurs, or is implied in the prospective vision as taking place, between chapters 3. and 4., though this is not expressly stated. Some of the chief scriptural reasons that seem to warrant this conclusion may be briefly given as follows:—
1. The Church is never represented on the earth in the book of Revelation after chapter 3., which we certainly may assume would not have been the case if it had not been removed to heaven; for it is inconceivable that nothing should be said about it during all the momentous transactions under the seals, trumpets, and vials, &c. (chapter 6. and onwards), if it were upon the earth during these judgments.
2. The first view we have of saints, or believers, immediately after chapter 3., is the four and twenty elders seated on thrones, with golden crowns on their heads. This could be no other company than the saints of the first resurrection: as is clearly proved by their song, in which they refer to themselves and other believers as redeemed to God by Christ's blood "out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation" (Rev. 5:9).
3. The door opened in heaven, and John being called to "come up hither" (chap. 4:1), appear to involve the taking up of the Church and the saints of the first resurrection, as, when the time arrives, they will be summoned in like manner by the " shout " of the Lord, to enter into heaven through the door that He will then open for them (1 Thess. 4:16). Besides, it is a significant fact that John, who had seen the history of the Church on the earth from an earthly standpoint—Patmos—is at this juncture caught up to heaven to look at everything henceforth from a heavenly one. Does not this seem to imply that the Church being now regarded in the vision as taken up, John, as a member of it, was also brought there in spirit, that he might see the scenes that follow (chap. vi. and onwards) from that heavenly point of view, from which he, together with all the other members, should ultimately see the very same events actually taking place?
4. It cannot be said that the day of tribulation spoken of by Daniel, chap 12:1, and by our Lord in Matt. 24:21, has yet come to pass. No such time as that described in those, and other, passages has ever appeared in history. This dark period is evidently future. With reference to it, our Lord has given to the saints represented by the Philadelphian Church a most precious promise (applicable to all true believers living on the earth when the Lord comes), that they should be kept from, or out of, it. "Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth" (Rev. 3:10).
After chapters 4 and 5 (in which two glorious heavenly scenes are displayed), we take it that the day of tribulation begins (chap. 6.) with the opening of the first seal of judgment, under which and the three following ones—the four horses—terrible and unprecedented wars will be causing intense distress and suffering, and the most fearful consequences throughout Europe and the East,—the " beginning of sorrows." But before this we see the Church and the Old Testament saints safe in heaven as the "four and twenty elders," showing that Christ had previously come to take them out of all these scenes of tribulation, and had thus fulfilled His gracious promise to the Philadelphians.
5. After Rev. 6 a marked change appears in the moral and religious order of things on the earth; for at this time we see God beginning to resume His dealings with His ancient people, the Jews, in accordance with former Jewish principles; so that the character of the religious institutions and observances of God's faithful servants of that day appears again to assume the former Jewish aspect, unlike in every respect to the Christian or Church order of the present time. This plainly shows us that the Church could not be on the scene after chapter 6, and must therefore have been previously removed.
6. Neither of the two companies of saints mentioned in Rev. 7, the one hundred and forty-four thousand Israelites, and the palm-bearing Gentiles, could possibly be the Church, because both are represented as passing through the great tribulation, though specially preserved by God through it, and coming out safely at the end of it to enjoy millennial blessings on the earth. Not a word is said about their going to heaven, and the description of them does not agree with the Church state.
Nor could the witnesses in chapter 11 be said to be the Church, because everything about them is Jewish, and the central scene of their testimony is Jerusalem.
Other considerations as we go on will, I trust, tend to confirm the foregoing statements, and to convince the reader that it is a most important point to see that the Lord will come to take up the Church before the great day of tribulation and the millennium which succeeds it.
" O happy morn! the Lord will come
And take His waiting people home
Beyond the reach of care;
Where guilt and sin are all unknown:
The Lord will come and claim His own,
And place them with Him on His throne,
The glory bright to share.
The resurrection-morn will break,
And every sleeping saint awake,
Brought forth in light again;
O morn, too bright for mortal eyes!
When all the ransomed Church shall rise,
And wing their way to yonder skies—
Called up with Christ to reign."