Graves’ Signs of “the End”

by J. R. Graves, 1883 A.D., in

The Work of Christ in the Covenant of Redemption; Developed in Seven Dispensations. An excerption out of part III, Eschatology: ch. IX, The Marshaling of the Nations. The Nations of Europe and Asia Marshaled for the Last Great Battle of Gog and Magog—This Accomplished by Three Unclean Spirits like Frogs—They Symbolize What?—The Time When, and the Place Where this Battle will be Fought. Friday Evening of the Worlds Great Week.; ch. X, The Church of Laodicea Symbolizes the Character of the Churches of Christ in the Last Days of this Dispensation. And ch. XI, The Coming of Christ for His Saints. The Second Coming of Christ under two Aspects—He Comes “into the Air” for His Saints—The “Resurrection of the Just”—The Translation or Rapture of Living Saints—They meet their Lord in the Air and receive their Glorified Bodies.

The nations of Europe are armed to the teeth, and the vast standing armies of all these kings cause the very earth to groan beneath their weight, and the populations are being exhausted in feeding them. A general war is expected and inevitable by every Cabinet of Europe, and then – the End. ...

The reader need not doubt these combinations, nor the ultimate result—the frogs are at work. This war, the last, may burst forth any day, and, once commenced, will not close until the armies engaged are destroyed by the manifest judgment of Christ at his coming.

The Unmistakable Signs of Christ's Coming.

The disciples, after hearing his predictions of his coming and of the ending of the Gospel or Gentile Dispensation, eagerly asked what would be the sign of the coming and of the end of the age that would close at his coming. I will suppose my readers as eagerly ask me to answer these two questions, but essentially one. I will endeavor to find the answers to both of these questions, under the same division, and present not only the Saviour's teachings, but also of his apostles, whom he instructed.

From these sources we learn that his coming, and the close of this Dispensation will be immediately preceded by the following portentous signs:

1. Gross ignorance of divine things will be prevalent among all classes, with respect to his coming.

In his address of comfort to Zion and Jerusalem, in view of his immediate appearing, Christ Jehovah puts these words into the mouth of his prophet :

“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen above thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen above thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.”—Isa. 60:1-3.

“But the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand.”—Dan. 12:10.

“And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”-2 Thess. 2:10-12.

2. A great apostasy from the faith once delivered to the saints on the part of its professors.

“Nevertheless when the Lord cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”—Luke 18:8.

If this is not equivalent to an assertion that there will not be a saint on the earth at his second coming (see future chapter), it certainly indicates that there will be very few indeed at that time.

“Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day [i. e., the coming of Christ] shall not come, except there come a falling away first.”- 2 Thess. 2:3.

“Now, the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons; speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their consciences seared with a hot iron.”— 1 Tim. 4:1-2.

“There shall be false teachers among you who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you; whose judgment lingereth not and their damnation slumbereth not.”-2 Pet. 2:1-3. (Read onward to the end.)

3. A general unbelief in Christ's coming, abounding iniquity, hypocrisy, untruthfulness, disobedience to parents, and scoffing Infidelity.

We learn from God's Word to what depths of abominable iniquity and infidelity the world had reached, “while the long suffering of God waited, in the days of Noah”—and how few believed God's Word, spoken by him concerning the coming flood; and also the wickedness and infidelity of Sodom and Gomorrah, in the days of Lot. And Jesus said this would be the case with the whole world just before his coming, and he gave it as one of the signs of his coming:

“And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat and they drank [i. e., to drunkenness], they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so shall it be when the Son of man is revealed.”—Luke 17:26-31.

What more irrefragable proof than this could be framed in human language, that the world is not to be converted before the revelation of the Son of God from heaven, and consequently that his coming is pre-millennial ? And is not this a graphic picture of the present state of the world—an inveterate unbelief in his second coming, and a presumptuous recklessness under its proclamation, and an inordinate greed for lust and gain? I quote other passages only to emphasize this clear statement of Christ :

“This know, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthoughtful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those who are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. Now, as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth; men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further, for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.”-2 Tim. 3:1-10.

“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last clays scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming ? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”-2 Pet. 3:3-4.

Perhaps there never has been a time since Christ's ascension when the very idea of Christ's personal coming, and the near approach of it, would be more generally met with this identical scoff than now, or by a larger number of the professed friends, and even ministers of Christ!

Could a darker picture possibly be drawn of the moral condition of the world, out of Christ, than this? Christ will make their destruction manifest unto all men at his coming. With this dark and fearful picture of universal and most abominable wickedness before their eyes, how can any candid mind believe that the world is to be converted before Christ comes?

Thus we have delineated before us the state of the churches, and of the world, just prior to the coming of the Lord for his saints, to take them away from the most terrible evils to come upon all them left upon the face of the whole earth. There is but one commendable feature connected with all this, and it is given as a sign of the end.

4. There will be an extensive spirit of inquiry, among the faithful few followers of Christ, concerning his coming.

The Saviour has left on record most emphatic commands to his faithful disciples to watch for and recognize the signs of his near approach, and pronounced especial blessings upon all who do study his word and compare the events that are transpiring among the nations, with the moral condition of the world and the spiritual state of the churches; with the signs he has given we must believe that “the wise”—the truly justified in Christ—will, in a good measure, understand the things, and be found ready and waiting for his appearing.

“And none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise [the justified] shall understand.”--Dan. 12:10.

A distaste for prophetic study, to search and to understand what is written concerning Christ's second coming, should be to each professor of Christianity a satisfactory evidence of unregeneracy. But many will search most diligently into these prophecies as the time of the end approaches, and great attainments in a knowledge of them will be made.

“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book [not always, but only] to the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”—Dan. 12:4.

“Many shall endeavor to search out the sense, and knowledge shall be increased by their means.”(A. Clark.)

“And there will be many teachers who will understand, for they will give the timely warning of the Bridegroom's approach, and all the wise virgins will hear and be prepared to go into the marriage.”(On Matt. xxv.)

This sign is being fulfilled in this, our day, as is evidenced by the numerous new books and tracts almost weekly offered to the public in this country and England, and the Prophetical Conferences that have been held in New York and London; and the papers, weekly and quarterly, devoted to the discussion of prophecy and the signs of the second coming. These must find patrons, and by the thousands, or they would not be published. It is said that not less than three hundred ministers of eminence and scholarship in England, and nearly one thousand in America, have embraced pre-millennial views, and are engaged in studying the prophecies, and many of these preach and write upon the subjects. Many are indeed diligently searching the teachings of God's Word with respect to Christ's coming, and knowledge upon this subject is being largely increased and widely diffused.

CHAPTER X.

The Church of Laodicea Symbolizes the Character of the Churches of Christ in the Last Days of this Dispensation.

H

AVING considered the predicted state of the nations, their political agitations and marshalings for a general conflict, let us now notice the religious aspects of society and state of the churches, given by Christ as signs of his near coming—his being at the door and knocking.

What is the predicted state of the Church of Christ at the close of this dispensation?

The sure word of prophecy on which I rely, for it most certainly is a prophecy, is Christ's message to the last of “the seven churches in Asia.”

It is true that various views are entertained by expositors, with respect to these letters, as there is touching the Revelation itself; and, since these letters partake of the character of the book in which they stand, I will briefly state...that of the historical interpreters, or those who hold that the prophecy embraces the whole history of the church and its foes, from the time of its composition to the end of the world. The expositors of this school, while they differ among themselves in detail, agree in regarding the Book of Revelation as a continuous prophetic history of the church, describing in symbolical language the various phases through which it was ordained to pass; and they look for the proper interpretation of the book largely to the events which have occurred in the history of the church thus far.

The view held, though in different forms, by the greater number of evangelical scholars, and the one I fully adopt, the reasons for which I will briefly lay before the reader.

1. These letters containing messages, like all the other parts of the book, were by an angel dictated to John in ecstatic vision when an exile in the Isle of Patmos. In this respect they are like the revelations made to Daniel by the angel, and must be explained by the same laws of interpretation—i. e., those governing symbols.

2. The messages to these churches are all prophetic.

This revelation was given by Christ to show unto his servants what things must shortly come to pass (Rev 1:1)). These messages, as well as the book, must be interpreted by the same rules—symbolically.

The simple explanation upon this view is: The seven cities bearing these names were all the churches then existing on the peninsula, which the Isle of Patmos overlooked, called Proconsular Asia. Since these seven churches were then the sole representatives of Christianity in all Proconsular Asia when he wrote this, and because the inditing spirit knew there never would be any others, the Saviour selected them to symbolize all his churches that would exist until the close of the Dispensation. Each church, with the characteristics and trials given it, was designed to symbolize the characteristic and trials of all his churches during the period it represented. In this respect they partake of the character of the seven seals, trumpets and vials, for these divided all prophetic time into periods—i. e., each one characterized by its own peculiar characteristics and trials. Thus, in the history of the seven symbolic churches, we have presented a complete panoramic history of Christianity from the first century until, in answer to the prayers of a long-waiting Bride, the Lord shall come....

We trust God will raise up some one in our day to write a history of the churches of Christ, by developing the historical application and fulfillment of what is predicted of these seven symbolic churches i. e., the churches of Christ in the seven periods of the Gentile Dispensation. If our view is correct, that they have a symbolical import, then does the Word of God establish the fact disputed by some of our own writers (to their shame be it said), that Christ has preserved a succession of witnessing churches until now, and will until his return.

1. These seven churches are in prophetic accordance with the other parts of the Apocalypse, and John gives us no room for other conclusions.

2. No proof exists that the actual state of those seven churches was described at the time of writing these addresses, and a forced construction is given by literal expounders.

3. No one can support, from historic details, a reasonable and literal accomplishment of the things contained in the addresses to those churches; the candlestick is removed, not from one, but from all.^†

4. The addresses close with an application to all the churches i. e., of the age to which the prophecy alludes, and not to the one church only bearing the inscription of the address.

5. The state of the things at Pergamos does not accord with that church being “the seat of Satan,” which must be at Rome, agreeably to other plain passages, and which is allowed by McCrie and others.

6. The other symbols of the Apocalypse are divided into prophetic periods; and there is not the least indication from the writer of a change in the mode of address.

†Those who hold the literal view must believe that the Catholic Hierarchy is the true and apostolic church of Christ, since a few dilapidated churches and ignorant Catholic priests remain in Philadelphia, and their services are in a language they do not understand.

7. It is “a revelation of things to come,” but if the things in those churches actually existed, John could have forwarded an epistle to each church, as the other apostles did, and so have rectified the abuses without calling it “a revelation of things which must shortly come to pass,” the character the whole book sustains. And finally and conclusively-

8. The seven churches were in one small proconsulate, and within a circle whose diameter would be only sixty miles, and they would all, therefore, possess a like characteristic, and they must have all suffered from the same false teachers and impostors; and it is certain, they would all have suffered from the same persecuting edicts—a few of the members of one church could not suffer and the others not, or, one church suffer and the others not.

Admitting that the symbolic view is the correct one, and that these churches represent church periods, as the trumpets do State periods, and admitting that the universal belief of the Jews is correct, viz., that six thousand years closes the world's week, and the seventh introduces the world's grand Sabbatism, there remained about two thousand years from the First to the Second Advent of Christ, and this divided by seven, the number of church periods, the average length of these periods would be about three hundred years.

But the blasts of the trumpets were some longer and some shorter, so the periods symbolized by the churches, or “lamp-stands,” varied in duration. One period may' have been only one hundred, another one hundred and fifty, and yet another three hundred or more years.

Ephesus was the first city and capital of proconsular Asia, and it is made the symbol of the first and most distinguished period of Christianity. The very word, if derived from ephesis, signifies ardent zeal, intense desire, and may be designed to express the fervent love and labors of the churches in the first period, and their eager desire after the knowledge of and communion with Christ. It is a striking fact that the character as well as the trials here ascribed to the church at Ephesus, characterized the churches for two hundred years after John wrote this, and it is also true that at the close of the third and at the beginning of the fourth there was an abatement of primitive zeal and works. It is also evident that the churches of this age alone could be troubled with a class of religious teachers who claimed to be “apostles,” but were apostates. And it must be evident to all that these pseudo-apostles would not have infested one church only, and allowed all the rest to go free, but would have troubled the seven equally, if this language is to be interpreted literally. This covered the whole period from Patmos until the rise of Constantine, A. D. 303. The prophecy concerning Smyrna, the next symbolic church, is so strikingly fulfilled in the history of the next period, embracing the three following centuries, that I can not forbear noticing it here :

“I know thy works and tribulation and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them who say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison that you may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days ; be thou faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.”—Rev. 2:9-10.

There is as conclusive evidence of the symbolic as of the prophetic character of this message.

The very name of the church signifies myrrh—bitterness—indicating the bitterness of poverty, persecutions and imprisonments that was in store for them; also the term “Jew,” and “synagogue of Satan,” and “ten days,” are all symbolical terms. There were no Gentiles who endeavored to pass themselves upon this church as Jews; there was no organization known as “the synagogue of Satan,” nor was there ever a persecution that lasted only ten literal days. Then if these were indeed literal churches, not some of the members only of one church, but all zealous, active members of all these churches would have suffered persecution. But it is a fact that the edict of persecution by Diocletian, commencing A. D. 303 and closed in 313 lasting just ten years, aimed at the extermination of all Christians in the empire. The reader of history also is aware that the first apostasy took place in the reign of Constantine, A. D. 313-30, under whose auspices the first man-invented religious organization was formed, and this claimed to be the church of Christ, and its members alone Catholic Christians, true “spiritual Jews, and they denounced all true Christians as heretics. This manmade church is here pronounced by Christ the “synagogue—church—of Satan,” and can any one doubt that every man-invented church organization is likewise a “synagogue of Satan”? What is said of one other church, the Philadelphia, is worthy of special note. This church, according to our theory, symbolized the church period from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries. “These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth, . . behold I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.” Through the instrumentality of the religio-political revolution of the sixteenth century, the churches of Christ enjoyed the first taste of religious liberty they had known in ten centuries, and that door has never been closed to them, but opened wider and wider. It was opened only to this church, and if it is not here used as a symbol, how can this Scripture be reconciled to unrelenting facts?

But Christ further says:

“Behold I will make them of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet and to know that I have loved thee.”

The human persecuting religious organizations, that sprang up in the sixteenth century, claiming to be the only true churches of Christ, are here symbolized by these false Jews, and Christ himself says they are of the synagogue of Satan—that organization which he at first pronounced the synagogue of Satan. But I may be delaying the attention of the reader too long from the symbolic church under discussion.

The Laodicean Age.

As the Ephesian church symbolized the apostolic age, the first period, so the Laodicean., the last period; and the terms used to describe its character are symbolic of the general condition of the churches of the period covered by the symbol. The very name selected to symbolize the period, like the names of the other churches, is significant. It is compounded of two Greek words, laos, the people, and, dike, judgment, and indicates, that, in this age, the people or nations will be judged; and it may very properly be called the Judgment Age.

This is the view that Dr. Gill takes of this name:

“It signifies the judgment of the people, for in this church state, at the end of it, will bring on the general judgment [he should have said the judgment of the wicked nations—Matt. xxv.] the Judge will now be at the door indeed, standing and knocking, and they that are ready to meet the Bridegroom when he comes, will be admitted into the nuptial chamber, and sit down with him on his throne, in the thousand years kingdom, at the close of which will be the second resurrection,” etc. (Com. in loco.)

Mark the peculiar address to this church, and what may be implied in it. He refers to his own title, “the faithful and true Witness,” thus reminding them of the mission to which he had appointed them, “ye shall be witnesses unto me,” which, at the close, would be fulfilled in them. Not only the opening address, but the closing promise, indicates the severe trial through which, at last, they had to pass to their thrones and crowns.

He does not charge this church, as he did others, with unsoundness touching vital doctrine, but with a sinful laxity and indifferentism both as to their faith and practice; a tepidness and milk-warm sentimentality, that was nauseating; an easy accommodating themselves to influences around them, that was more sinful than even positive coldness with respect to the truth committed to them. They had become rich in their own estimation, having “need of nothing,” boastful, self-sufficient and arrogant, when he who sees the heart saw they were miserably “poor, blind and naked.” Yet, notwithstanding all this, he gives them the assurance that he loves them, and the proof of it in that he rebuked and chastened them; for whom God loves, he does not let alone.

Now let us look for the application of this Symbol. The Laodicean Church state embraces a period extending from the Philadelphian state until the Second Advent. There are good and sufficient reasons to place its commencement about A. D. 1776, when the church in Europe and America ceased to suffer from the civil rulers the vigorous persecutions that had followed it onward from the days of John the Baptist. From this period the churches multiplied, and, their substance no longer distrained for “fines and penalties,” they commenced to rapidly increase in “this world's goods”—on account of their great numbers and wealth they began to be esteemed respectable, and treated with consideration, by those who had persecuted and shed their blood. In turn, the witnesses of Christ began to weaken in the boldness and faithfulness of their testimony against the heresies and Antichristian position the sects occupied towards the kingdom of Christ, and in this way, with thief-like stealthiness, a false liberalism stole in upon the churches which had fruited into full affiliation with manifest heresies in their organized forms, and fellowship with the teachers of those heresies by public association with them.

Notice again the charges brought against the churches of this period, not because they had departed from or renounced any vital, fundamental doctrine of Christ, but their sinful indifferentism, nauseating tepidness and lukewarmness with respect to all that pertain to the honor and cause of their Divine Master. They had not only become indifferent in the defense of the faith delivered to them, but lukewarm in their opposition to the destructive errors that threatened the corruption and very existence of His Truth. But more than this, the churches of this period had become, in their own estimation, “rich and increased in goods”-had become more than self-complacent, even boastful, saying, we “have need of nothing.” The goods and riches in this passage are symbolic, and represent a species different from themselves, i. e.. its numbers, its social influence, the number and the talents of its ministry, its activities and ability to accomplish desired results, and its respectability.

Now all this is true of the churches of Christ in this age as it never has been since Christ established his church on earth; and, when I allude to his church, I mean those organizations that, in their form of government, the order of their ministry, the form of their ordinances, the character of their membership, and their form of doctrine, conform to the teachings of the New Testament, and that have been known since the fourth century as Waldenses and Anabaptists.

We, as a people, have vastly increased in numbers—over two millions of adult members in America alone; and we are continually boasting of this sort of wealth. But how poor in a really regenerated and truly spiritual membership we may be, the one who walks amid the golden candlesticks alone knows, and he pronounces us miserably “poor.” Doubtless there never was so large a proportion of our membership unregenerated as it is to-day, and becoming yearly more so through the specious revivals and periodical excitements that sweep over the land under the control of professional revival makers and their singers, by which thousands are pressed into our churches unrenewed in heart and with sadly perverted views of Christianity. We were never before possessed of so much material wealth. Cathedral-like temples for worship, costing from $50,000 to hundreds of thousands, are seen in our larger cities and more populous towns. These are the monuments of our pride rather than of our piety; for in them are buried, as in the earth, the talents the Lord committed to his disciples to put into active employment for the conversion of the heathen, and the extension of his kingdom until he comes. It was not until the churches became corrupted, not until piety lapsed into pride, that costly houses were built. While the apostles lived, only the plainest edifices were provided for public worship, and indeed few churches owned the houses they worshiped in—Paul had no meeting house in Rome, and he nowhere exhorted the brethren to build one.

We have, as a people, won a high social position on account of our wealth, intelligence and refinement, and of this we are proud and boastful, and it has become a cross we feel quite unable to bear, to sacrifice all this by a faithful advocacy and defense of the doctrine of Christ, so unpopular and hateful to the world and false religionists.

We have already become proud of our ministers, and boast of their number, their talents and power, but the thoughtful observe with saddened hearts that as they become eminent and popular, the temptation to “save their lives,” i.e., enhance their personal influence and popularity, to win the favor of men and to gain or retain rank with educated teachers of the popular religious errors of the day, is far too strong with most, and they are influenced to affiliate with them, and thus acknowledge them before the world as their equals in all things that constitute true ministers of Christ. It would be quite unsupportable for one of our ministers in any of our cities or towns not to be allowed a seat in the evangelical pastors' conference. This is a trap that seldom fails to commit our preachers to a recognition of the preachers of all the sects as truly evangelical ! Thus they surrender every inch of ground upon which to stand to protest against their errors, and, as witnesses, their voices are effectually hushed, and they lose their moral courage and sink down into indifferency with respect to the maintenance of all the principles that distinguish us from the adherents of false doctrine.

We may not shut our eyes to the painful truth; Spiritual declension and religious indifferentism, wide-spread, inveterate and increasing, characterize the churches of this period, and furnish indubitable proof to us that we have progressed very far into the Laodicean church period. Where only a score of years .ago there was, in comparison to the present, an ardor of life, a zeal for, and devotion to the distinguishing principles and doctrines of Christ, and a cheerful liberality in giving to extend the cause, there is to-day almost the absence of life manifested; and, as to warmth, only a little less than the coldness of death. It is even urged that the preaching and defense of the doctrines and ordinances of Christ is at the sacrifice of all that is spiritual in religion, and it does not fail to bring down upon the head of the offender the bitter opposition and persecution of his own brethren. It seems now to be considered as the highest type of spirituality to indorse, by affiliating with, one form of religion as fully equal to another, and to regard that man as only a “sectarian bigot” who will hold and “teach the ordinances as they were delivered,” and have no religious association with false teachers. It is boldly maintained from the pulpit and the religious press that a zeal for the doctrines and ordinances of the church is an evident sign of lack of spirituality; and it has passed into an adage with some, that such “are more partisans than Christians.” And those ministers and public teachers are held up as models of piety who ignore ecclesiasticism altogether, and consider one religious organization equal to another, however unscriptural in its form, or heretical in its doctrine, and freely co-operates in religious meetings. This is called Christian liberality, and a “catholic spirit; “but it is a sickly and sinful sentimentalism.

Our ministry is feeling this declension most severely, for so little interest is taken in the stated preaching of the Word that they are driven to the fields and the school-rooms to feed their families. Our religious press is feeling it, for only here and there a Christian family patronizes a religious periodical. Our missionaries, in home and foreign fields, are withheld or recalled from the white harvest field because the churches refuse them bread.

If this state of things is allowed to continue, what must the end be ? Evidently this spacious liberalism and indifferency, if left to grow, will work the extinction of true Christianity. But the Master will not let those he loves alone, he will rebuke and chastise them into dutiful obedience. He has been for years past raising up within his churches a body of witnesses to plead for the maintenance of our principles, and to rebuke those who would approve, fellowship, and affiliate with the teachers of acknowledged heresies, and while, as yet, these are lukewarm when compared with the faithful witnesses and martyrs of old, yet there is pleasing evidence that the tone of their protest has yearly acquired depth and strength and boldness.

The statement of the 19th verse—”As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten : be zealous therefore and repent “—seems to us pregnant with meaning. He can not recover his church from its sinful lukewarmness by letting it alone—he must rebuke and chasten it. In this message, by the angel of the church, he administers a severe rebuke, and he may rebuke them instrumentally by the agency of the faithful witnesses he is raising up in their midst, to protest against their indifferency and sinful inconsistencies, while he foreshadows the fact that he has chastisements in store for them. The fires of persecution by which his martyr church was kept purified must be rekindled, the persecuting power he has restrained for a sea, son, while his church has grown rich and degenerate, must he let loose to chastise them until they will be awakened out of their state of apathy and indifference. It may be necessary, in order to recall them to their senses, for those self-same organizations with which they “have lived deliciously “to shed their blood and waste them, as they did in former ages. They will then be made to see and feel the true character of these organizations, 1. e., that they are opposed to the true churches, as they are to the truth of Christ. Persecutions yets await the churches of Christ, which, in comparison to those of the past, are denominated by the Holy Spirit, “The Great Tribulation,” and only those who are able to pass through it, and triumphantly overcome, will be allowed to sit down with Christ on his throne. The Laodicean church state, then, closes with Christ being at the door and knocking, which event will be considered in the next chapter.

CHAPTER XI.

The Coming Of Christ For His Saints.

The Second Coming of Christ under two Aspects—He Comes “into the Air” for his Saints—The “Resurrection of the Just”—The Translation or Rapture of Living Saints—They meet their Lord in the Air and Receive their Glorified Bodies.

THE Second Advent of Christ manifestly has two aspects or comprises two events:

1. His coming into the air for all his saints, and

2. His visible appearing in glory to the whole world with all his saints.

The first is that aspect of his coming which relates to the resurrection of all the righteous dead and the translation of all the then living saints, and the second is that aspect which relates to the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles—the world. He comes not in the same manner to his friends and his foes.

I propose in this chapter to examine what the Scriptures teach concerning the first of these two wonderful and most desirable events.

Christ directly foretold that the last event, just preceding his appearance to the world, would be “a time of trouble such as never had been experienced since there was a nation on this earth, and such as never will be again,” which has been denominated “The Tribulation Period,” occasioned by the pouring out of the vials of the last plagues upon a guilty world of implacable enemies of God.

Just preceding this event, Christ will come into the air-Paradise—and with the voice of a trumpet, awaken “those that are asleep in Jesus,” from Abel to the one who died but an hour before, restore to them their bodies glorified, and immediately after catch up, change and glorify all the saints then living on the earth. Thus all the saints who have ever lived on earth will be taken up and receive their glorified bodies, and will evermore be with the Lord. These raised and changed saints are, doubtless, those referred to by Paul as “those who are Christ's at his coming,” and by John (Rev. vii.) the 144,000, a definite for an indefinite number.

While all Christian expositors hold and teach that there will be a resurrection of all the dead, they are divided upon the question whether it be a simultaneous or a mixed resurrection, i. e., do the Scriptures teach that there will be a distinction as to time between the resurrection of the righteous and of the wicked? The settlement of this question is of the first importance to a Scriptural Eschatology—to the right understanding of the doctrine of the things that must shortly come to pass. The proper interpretation of the Scriptures—not human opinions—must and will settle this question.

The Faith Of The Old Testament Saints.

It was the general belief of all orthodox Jews that the resurrection of the just would precede, and be separate from that of the unjust. Martha's answer to Jesus is sufficient proof of this.

“Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”—John 11:24.

She refers to the resurrection of the just only, and not to a mixed resurrection of saints and sinners; the ground for this faith they must have derived from their Sacred Scriptures.

Daniel, alluding to a resurrection at the time of Jacob's trouble, says :

“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.

“And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever.”—Dan. 12:2-3.

Tragelles translates this, “Many from among the sleepers shall arise, . . these shall be unto everlasting life; but those (the rest of the sleepers who do not awake at this time) shall be unto shame.”

This resurrection to everlasting life entitled the saints to see face to face and to be associated with their Redeemer.

Job's faith also took hold on this hope which he expressed, notwithstanding all the attempts of critics to rob his language of the idea. To our mind he said nothing sensible unless he expressed this hope of the ancient saints:

“For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and in after time will stand upon the earth; and after this my skin is destroyed, yet in my flesh^† shall I see God : whom I shall see for my self and my eyes behold, and not another.”(Job 19:26-27.)

Before considering the passages in the Old and New Covenants referring to the resurrection, I wish to call attention to this fact in their construction, viz.:

That in all passages which refer to the indiscriminate resurrection of the dead it is h anastasiv twn necrwn, the resurrection of the dead; but when the resurrection of the righteous is alluded to, it is ec twn necron, the resurrection from or out of the dead. That the preposition from is never used when the resurrection of the wicked is spoken of. I refer the reader to Acts 17:23; 23:6; 24:21; 1Cor.15:12-42.

Lightfoot recognizes this as an invariable rule.

“‘The general resurrection from the dead,’ says Prof. Lightfoot, ‘whether good or bad, is h anastasiv twn necrwn (e.g., 1 Cor.15:42); on the other hand, the resurrection of Christ, and of those who rise with Christ, is generally [h] anastasiv [h] ec necrwn^, (Luke 20:35; Acts 4:2; 1 Peter 1:3); the former includes both the anastasiv zwhv and the anastasiv. crisewv ( John 5:29 ); the latter is confined to the anastasiv zwhv.’”

† This is rendered by some (Conant, Ewald, et al.) sine carne mea —without my flesh—and these interpret it to teach an existence beyond the grave; while C. V. and Rosenmuller, tamene carmine mea videbo Deum, i. e., corpore mea redintegrato, in my body restored I will see God my Redeemer. And this has been the hope of Christians in all ages.

CHAPTER XII.

THE TRANSLATION OF ALL LIVING SAINTS.

T

Christ comes into the Air for his Saints—They are suddenly Caught up, Glorified and Receive their Rewards—They remain in Paradise until the Tribulation Period has Passed.

HIS is what is called by writers on Eschatology, “The Rapture of the Saints,” the taking of them away from the evil to come, from the tribulation and distress of nations (Matt. 24:21) which will take place during the period intervening between the coming of Christ for his saints and his appearing to all the world with his saints.

I have shown that the righteous dead will first rise, after which all the saints, then living on the earth at that time, will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Paul tells us that—

“The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel ¹ with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first; 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, [not heaven, not in sight of men, but into Paradise, whence the dead saints came for their bodies] and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”—1 Thess. 4:16-17.

It will not be announced by trumpet sounds audible to the world, or characterized by the visible pomp and pageantry that will make notable his coming with his saints to judge the nations, but his sleeping saints will hear his voice, and come forth, and their open graves may be the only evidence to the living wicked that they have been raised, while the living saints will be silently as suddenly caught away, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, to meet their Lord in the air”—Paradise—and the sudden absence from their midst of all the recognized righteous will be the only warning of their coming doom the wicked will ever receive. For, instead of the world growing better until entirely or mostly converted before the coming of Christ, and, in fact, to constitute his coming, as the opponents of a pre-millennial and personal coming teach, “evil men and seducers will wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived,” and scoffing infidelity will be the characteristic feature and sign of the last day.

“Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for, since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”—2 Pet. 3:3-4.

The translation of God's children above the clouds of heaven, there to remain during the period that God visits an unbelieving, wicked world with desolating punishments, is most clearly revealed both by the prophets and Christ himself through his evangelists and apostles. Isaiah foretells it in these words :

“Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth also shall disclose her blood and shall no more cover her slain.”—Isa. 26:20-21.

Christ refers us to the days that were before the flood and in connection with it, as foreshadowing the state of the world and the scenes in connection with his second coming:

“And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. . . . I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken and the other left. And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord ? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.”—Luke 17:26-37.

The disciples very naturally asked where they should be taken. Christ only answered them, “Where the body is, there also the eagles will assemble.”

That is, where he was in his glorified body, thither the whole body of his people, raised and glorified, would be gathered together unto him, to be evermore with him.

It seems worthy of remark that in the above passage Christ evidently anticipates the discoveries of scientists by some thousand of years, indicating as he does the spherical form of the earth and its revolution on its axis, making day and night in different localities at the same time. At one place it will be evening, at another midnight, at another cock-crowing, at another morning, or, as in the passage just quoted, in one part of the world two men will be asleep together at the time for slumber, in another two women will be preparing the morning meal, and in another part, still further east, two men will be plowing the field, when one will be taken, mounting up as on the wings of an eagle, to meet the Lord in the air, and the other shall be left to the deluge of wrath that shall break in successive waves of desolation over an utterly godless world.

Paul alluded to this event as a gathering together unto Christ:

“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him.”(2 Thess. 2:1. See 1 John 4.)

This promise of being caught away from earth and “gathered together unto Christ,” and with all his brethren, was to Paul, as it should be to us, a most precious promise, and how comforting it was to the souls of those persecuted and suffering saints.

But let us for a moment look to the days before and in connection with the flood.

Was not the translation of Enoch, the eighth from Adam, prior to God's visiting the wickedness of the age with his desolating fury, a prophecy of the translation of the saints before the distress of nations and the inauguration of a new dispensation ? But when God's judgments were ripe and ready to fall upon the ungodly antediluvians, did he not remove Noah and his family from among them by inclosing them in the chambers of the ark? Was there a saint without the ark after Noah and his family entered? How long was it after God closed the door before the deluge came? Were these not days of fearful suspense and torturing anguish and despair ?

So it will be at the unseen coming of Christ for his saints; they, and they alone, will hear his voice, and in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, will be silently caught up to meet the Lord in the air—Paradise—whither the risen saints have just preceded them to receive their glorified bodies.

Christ, in his last address to his disciples, assures them of his return for them, at which time he would receive them unto himself, nevermore to be separated from him.

“And 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. See Rev. 14. also.)

The last sound that lingers upon our ear as the formula of the communion is repeated, is a refrain of this blessed hope: “For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup ye show the Lord's death till he come—till he come.”

Paul minutely describes this momentous and, to the child of God, most glorious event:

“Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead [i. e., righteous dead] shall be raised incorruptible, and we [all who may then be living] shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is thy sting? O grave [Hades], where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, 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.”— 1 Cor. 15:51-58.

To the church at Thessalonica thus :

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. 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 them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven 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. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”—1 Thess. 4:13-18.

“Prevent them which sleep.” He did not use this word, but a Greek word which means “to precede “or “go before,” and this was the meaning of our English word “prevent” three hundred years ago, and we still find the term “prevenient “sometimes used, e.g., “prevenient grace,” grace going before an act. The saints who are upon the earth when Christ comes for his saints, will not, in the Rapture, precede or go before those whose bodies are in their graves, for the dead in Christ will first rise, and then the living ones will be caught up to meet them in Paradise.

“Oh, what rapture shall thrill the hearts of the redeemed, what ecstasy of bliss shall ravish the sorrowing, tempted, troubled disciples of Jesus, when responding to his shout that will sound to the world only as a strange clap of thunder, they shall in the twinkling of an eye be changed into the likeness of his glorious body, and together with the risen saints, hand in hand with some whose graves have cast a shadow all along their pathway of life, they shall ascend to be with him forever, and to be done with sin and suffering forever! But what amazement and horror must seize upon the careless, the unbelieving, the worldly, when the husband shall miss from his side the wife who had wept bitter tears over his rejection of her Saviour, and the child shall look around in vain for the mother whose entreaties had been disregarded, and the friends who mingled their sympathies shall silently and suddenly part to meet no more!

‘“What horrors shall roll o'er the Godless soul,
Waked from its death-like sleep;
Of all hope bereft, and to judgment left
Forever to wail and weep!

‘“O worldling, give ear, while the saints are near!

Soon must the tie be riven,
And men, side by side, God's hand shall divide,
As far as hell's depths from heaven.

‘“Some husband whose head was laid on his bed,
Throbbing with mad excess,
Awakes from that dream, by the lightning's gleam,
Alone in his last distress:

‘“For the patient wife, who through each day's life
Watched and wept for his soul,
Is taken away, and no more shall pray—
For the judgment thunders roll !

‘“The children of day are summoned away;
Left are the children of night—

Sealed is their doom, for there’s no more room;
Filled are the mansions of light!’”

This day of the resurrection of the dead and the rapture of the living saints is called in the Scriptures

The Day Of Our Redemption.

It is properly so called because our perfect redemption, purchased by the precious blood of Christ, will not be consummated and made manifest until that day, for not until then will we exchange these bodies of our humiliation for bodies fashioned like unto the glorious body of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul, writing to the church at Philippi, says:

“For our [politumenos, not conversation, but registration as citizens]-citizenship is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our vile body—[the body of our humiliation] that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all this unto himself.”—Phil. 3:20-21.

Paul points to this day as the time when the saints will have, through Christ, the victory over death and Hades; for the living righteous will not be touched by the sting of death, and the righteous dead will be delivered as .”prisoners of hope” from the custody of Hades into the glorious liberty of the children of God. It is called the “Day of our Redemption,” since it is the carrying of our adoption into effect, manifesting us to the world as the sons of God.

“And when these things begin to come to pass then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”—Luke 21:28.

“And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our bodies.”—Rom. 8:23.

“And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”—Eph. 4:30.

This work Christ secured by his resurrection from the dead.

“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”—Heb. 9:12.

It is by pre-eminence called the day of our salvation that is drawing daily nearer.

“And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to wake out of sleep, for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”—Rom. 13:11.

No one who had been .in heaven could say this, but as nothing imperfect has, or can ever enter heaven and stand in the presence of God, therefore no saint will ever appear there until redeemed and perfectly saved, body as well as soul. All saints will be glorified.

The Manifestation Of The Sons Of God.

It is the day when the saints will be for the first time made manifest to the angels and the world as the sons of God, by the act of glorification, being made like Christ—the body like its glorious head:

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”—1 John 3:2.

The sense of this will be made clear by a more literal rendering :

“It hath not yet been made manifest, or seen, what or how glorious we shall be.” No saint has ever yet been glorified, and, therefore, made fit for heaven, or to be presented before the Father and the holy angels, and when one is glorified and presented, at that same time all will be glorified together.

This event is called the “manifestation of the sons of God.”

“For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.”—Rom. 8:19.

The Judgment of Rewards, or the Justification by Works.

It is when Christ comes for his saints that they will appear before him to be justified by their works and receive the judgment of awards for all they have labored and endured, sacrificed and suffered for him in this world. “We [Paul is addressing Christians] must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things he hath done, whether good or bad.”(2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:12.) Then will the parable of the talents be fulfilled and the servant who made ten talents, by the faithful use of the talents intrusted, be made ruler over ten cities, and the one who made five, over five cities, while the evil, who was only a professed servant, will be left with those whose resurrection will be to shame and everlasting contempt. That there will be different awards, positions of honor and glory, according as our works are found to be by the impartial Judge, is recognized by the inspired writers under both dispensations. Daniel says:

“They that be wise—[i. e., justified, barely saved, and nothing more] shall shine as the brightness of the firmament [with an undistinguished light] and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever.”—Dan. 12:3.

Paul says:

“There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars : for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead.”—1 Cor. 15:41-42.

Salvation is solely by grace, and is not in the least conditioned upon our works; but God graciously rewards his children for each good work they have done from the right motive, love to him, even the giving to his disciples a cup of cold water; but there will be some, and very many ministers, who will receive no reward in that world, no position of honor, but barely salvation.

Paul, in his first letter to the church at Corinth (ch. iii.), seems to address a warning to ministers and master-churchbuilders under Christ, the Great Architect, and he warns his fellow-laborers to take heed with what material they build upon the foundation Christ has laid.

“And if on this foundation any one build up gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, straw, the work of each will become manifest, for the day will show it, because it is revealed by fire, and so every one's work, whatever it is, the same fire will prove. If the work of any one remain which he built up, he will receive a recompense; if the work of any one shall be consumed, he will suffer loss; he himself, however, will be saved, but as through a fire”(Emp. Diaglott)—

Escape with nothing but his bare life.

If this is of universal application, to sinners as well as to saints, then the doctrine of universal salvation is taught by this passage - i. e., all men saved, but their evil deeds - sins —burned up,—as though the sin could be punished and the sinner receive no detriment!

The Prize Day.

This will be the day that the prizes will be awarded to Christians—not salvation, which is a free gift and not contingent upon works, but something more than salvation, and which does depend upon the Christian's works and his faithfulness in this life.

“Behold, I come quickly,” says the Rewarder to his churches, “and my reward is with me to give every man as his works shall be [deserve]. No Christian has yet received his reward; the apostles have not theirs; therefore, no one has yet enjoyed the reward of heaven. This Christ and the Holy Spirit positively assert.—John 3:13; Acts 2:34.

“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize ? So run, that ye may obtain. . . . And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.”—1 Cor. 9:24-25.

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”—Phil. 3:14.

The fruition of heaven in the very presence of God must be the highest prize, and those who have attained to that fruition have gained the highest prize. But no prize will be given until Christ appears.

It Is The Crowning Day.

Those who are rewarded with the highest vocation, i. e., to reign with Christ, will receive their crowns at Christ's coming, but not before. There can be no doubt of this.

Peter says :

“And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”—1 Pet. 5: 4.

Paul says :

“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”-2 Tim. 4:8.

How is it that, notwithstanding these clear and explicit teachings of the apostles, we constantly hear it from the lips of our most learned ministers, editors and authors, as well as generally from those called unlearned, when speaking of a departed saint, “He has gone to his reward,” or, “He has received his reward,” “He has received his crown of glory,” “He is reigning with Christ in heaven,” etc. ? Do they not know that Christ has not yet been crowned, and that he is not reigning in heaven, and, as Messiah, will never reign there, but when he is crowned and reigns, it will be on the throne of his father David, which was an earthly throne ? If any Christians are now crowned and reigning in heaven, over whom, pray, are they reigning—who are their subjects ? Not God, nor the angels, and certainly not over one another! No...

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