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EARNESTLY CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH:
CLARENCE LARKIN:
THE SECOND COMING CHRIST PART 1
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THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH. THAT IS WHY HE IS GOD.

Do you know for a fact that if you were to die today that you would not go to hell? If you do not know, click here.

CHART NO. 1: THE TWO COMINGS Click Here For A Larger Image The Second Coming of Christ “In My Father’s House are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 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 14:2-3. There is no fact in history more clearly established than the fact of the “First Coming‛ of Christ. But as His “First Coming‛ did not fulfill all the prophecies associated with His “Coming,‛ it is evident that there must be another “Coming‛ to completely fulfill them. It was because the religious leaders of Christ’s day failed to distinguish between the prophecies that related to His “First Coming,‛ and those that related to His “Second Coming‛ that they rejected Him. Peter tells us (I Pet. 1: 10, 11) that the prophets themselves did not clearly perceive the difference between the “Sufferings‛ and “Glory‛ of Christ. That is, they did not see that there was a “TIME SPACE‛ between the “Cross‛ and the “Crown,‛ and that the “Cross‛ would precede the “Crown.‛ But we have no such excuse. We live on this side of the “Cross,‛ and we can readily pick out all the prophecies that were fulfilled at Christ’s “First Coming‛ and apply the remainder to His “Second Coming.‛ It is clear then that Christ’s “First Coming,‛ important as it was, is not the “doctrinal centre‛ of the Scriptures, that is, Christ’s “First Coming‛ was not the centre of a circle that contains all doctrine, but was one of the foci of an ellipse of which the other is the “SECOND COMING." This is shown on Chart No. 1 (ABOVE). The Chart takes in the whole Mediatorial Work of Christ, Prophetic, Priestly and Kingly. This is included in an ellipse, the foci of which are the “First‛ and “Second‛ Comings of Christ. The “Cross‛ represents His “First Coming‛ and the “Crown‛ His “Second Coming.‛ Between the “Fall‛ and the “First Coming‛ we have the “ALTAR,‛ which points backward to the “Fall‛ and forward to the “Cross.‛ Between the “Comings‛ we have the “TABLE‛ which points backward to the “Cross‛ and forward to the “Second Coming.‛ Between the “Second Coming‛ and the surrender of the “Kingdom‛ we have the “THRONE,‛ which points backward to the “Second Coming‛ and forward to the surrendering of the “Kingdom.‛ The Apostle Paul in his epistles clearly distinguishes between the “Comings‛ and their doctrinal significance. In his letter to the Hebrews he classifies Christ’s “appearings‛ as “Hath He appeared‛ (Heb. 9:2′6), “Now to appear‛ (Heb. 9:24), “Shall He appear‛ (Heb. 9:28). In his letter to Titus (Titus 2: 11, 12), he brings out the doctrinal significance of these “appearings.‛ As a Prophet He died for our “JUSTIFICATION,‛ as a Priest He lives at the right hand of God not only as our Advocate, but our “SANCTIFIER,‛ and when He comes again as a King it will be for our “GLORIFICATION." CHART NO. 2: THE MOUNTAIN PEAKS OF PROPHECY Click Here For A Larger Image On Chart No. 2 we see how it was that the Old Testament Prophets failed to distinguish between the “First‛ and “Second‛ Comings. From the prophet’s “view-point‛ he saw the Birth of Jesus, the Crucifixion, the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the Antichrist, the Sun of Righteousness, the Millennial Kingdom, Ezekiel’s Temple and the New Heavens and the New F,a: th,, as “Mountain Peaks‛ of one great mountain, but we standing off to the side see these peaks as belonging to two different mountains with the “Valley of the Church‛ in between. And more we see that there are two more valleys, one, the “Millennial Valley,‛ separates the “Second Coming‛ from the “Renovation of the Earth by Fire‛ (II Pet. 3: 7-13), and the other is the Valley of the “Perfect Age." While the First and Second Comings of Christ are separated by this Dispensation they are nevertheless not complete in themselves, the Second necessitated the First, and the First demands the Second. They are both necessary to complete the Plan of Salvation. The First Coming was for the salvation of my “SOUL;‛ the Second is for the salvation of my “BODY,‛ for there can be no resurrection of the body until Christ comes back. THE SECOND COMING I. AS TO THE FACT 1. THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS HIMSELF. Matt 16: 27. “For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels, and then he shall reward every man according to his work." Matt. 25: 31, 32. “When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the `Throne of His Glory;’ and before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats." John 14: 2, 3. “In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 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 21: 22. “If I will that he tarry till I come what is that to thee? Follow thou me." 2. THE TESTIMONY OF HEAVENLY BEINGS. Acts 1: 10, 11. “And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel ; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This SAME JESUS, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come IN LIKE MANNER as ye have seen him go into heaven.” This passage declares that the SAME JESUS shall return IN LIKE MANNER as He went, that is, that His return will be visible and personal. The two “men” that “stood by” were probably Moses and Elijah. They appeared with Jesus on the Mt. of Transfiguration, they were doubtless the “two men” who testified to the women at the tomb that Jesus had risen (Luke 24: 4, 5), and they will be the “Two Witnesses” that shall testify during the Tribulation. Rev. 11: 3-12. 3. THE TESTIMONY OF THE APOSTLES PAUL “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, 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: 20, 21. “Looking for that `Blessed Hope’ and the `Glorious Appearing’ of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” Titus 2: 13. “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the ‘Second Time’ without sin unto salvation.” Heb. 9: 28. JAMES “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.” James 5: 7. PETER “For we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of his majesty.” II Pet. 1: 16. Peter here refers to the Transfiguration of Christ on the mount (Matt. 17: 1-5), which was a type of His Second Coming. Moses was a type of the “resurrection saints,” and Elijah of those who shall be translated without dying. Peter, James and John were a type of the Jewish Remnant that shall see Him when He comes, and the remaining disciples at the foot of the mount, unable to cast the demon out of the boy, of those professed followers of Jesus who shall be left behind at the Rapture, and who shall be powerless to cast the demons out of the demon-possessed people of that period. JUDE “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoke against him.” Jude 14: 15. JOHN “And *now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.” I John 2: 28. “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.” Even so, Amen. Rev. 1: 7. 4. THE TESTIMONY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER. “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.” I Cor. 11: 26. The Lord’s Supper is not a permanent ordinance. It will be discontinued when the Lord returns. It is a Memorial Feast. It looks back to the “Cross” and forward to the “Coming.” An engagement ring is not intended to be permanent. It is simply a pledge of mutual love and loyalty, and gives place to the wedding ring. So the Lord’s Table may be looked upon as a betrothal pledge left to the Church during the absence of her betrothed. Paul in all his epistles refers but 13 times to Baptism, while he speaks of the Lord’s return 50 times. One verse in every 30 in the New Testament refers to Christ’s Second Coming. There are 20 times as many references in the Old Testament to Christ’s Second Coming as to His First Coming. THE FIVE THEORIES While the majority of professing Christians admit the fact of the Second Coming of Christ, they are not agreed as to the “manner” or “time.” There are five theories as to the Second Coming. 1. That His Coming Again Is “SPIRITUAL” and Was Fulfilled at Pentecost. It was not Christ but the Holy Spirit that came at Pentecost, and his coming was conditioned on Christ’s absence, for Jesus said, “It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter (H. S.) will not come unto you; but if I DEPART, I will SEND HIM UNTO YOU.” John 16: 7. If the Holy Spirit is only another manifestation of Christ, then they are identical, and that NULLIFIES THE TRINITY. The fact is, the whole New Testament was written after Pentecost, and declares over 150 times that the Second Coming of Christ was still future. And more, none of the events predicted as accompanying the Second Coming occurred at Pentecost, such as the Resurrection of the “Dead in Christ,” the Translation of the “Living Saints,” the “Binding of Satan,” etc. 2. That the “CONVERSION OF THE SINNER” is the Coming of the Lord. This cannot be, for at conversion the sinner comes to Christ, not Christ to the sinner; and the sinner’s conversion is the work of the Holy Spirit, and not the work of Christ. It is true that there is such a thing as the spiritual indwelling of Christ in the believer, but His Second Coming, like His First Coming is to be an outward, visible, personal coming. 3. That “DEATH” is the Coming of the Lord. The text that is used more than any other for funeral sermons is -“Watch, therefore; for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh.” Matt. 25: 13. The context shows that this refers to a future coming of Christ. Christ could not come to the earth every time a person dies for two reasons – (1) A soul passes into eternity every second, and this would necessitate Christ’s remaining continuously on the earth. (2) Christ is engaged in His High Priestly functions in the Heavenlies, and could not leave them to come to the earth for the souls of the dying. The fact is, that at death the believer goes to Christ. Christ does not come for him. Death is always spoken of as a departure. “Absent from the body, present (at home) with the Lord.” II Cor. 5: 6-8. If Jesus had meant by His Second Coming “Death,” He would have said to His Disciples-“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will send `Death’ to bring you to myself,” but He did not. He said-“I will come again and receive you unto myself.” The last chapter of John’s Gospel settles the matter. Peter said to Jesus-“Lord, and what shall this man (referring to John) do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that that disciple (John) should not DIE.” John 21: 21-23. We see from this that the Disciples did not think that the “Coming of the Lord” meant “death.” There was a great difference between these two things in their mind. Death is an enemy (I Cor. 15: 26, 55), it holds us in the grave, it robs the body of its attractiveness, it is the “Wages of Sin” (Rom. 6: 23), and the result of God’s wrath, while the Second Coming of Christ is a manifestation of His love. Christ is the “Prince of Life.” There can be no death where He is. Death flees at His coming. When He was on earth nothing could remain dead in His presence. His Coming is not death but resurrection. He is the “Resurrection” and the “Life,” and when He Comes, He will change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His “Glorious Body.” Phil. 3:20, 21. 4. That the “DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM” in A. D. 70 by the Romans Was the Second Coming of the Lord. The Lord was not present at the destruction of Jerusalem. It was destroyed by Roman soldiers, and none of the things that are to occur at the “Second Coming” occurred at the destruction of Jerusalem, such as the resurrection of the dead, the translation of living saints, and the physical changes that are to occur at Jerusalem and in the land of Palestine at Christ’s coming. Zech. 14: 4-11. Ez. 47:1-12. Christ’s purpose in coming back is not to destroy Jerusalem, but to RESTORE it. It must be trodden down of the Gentiles until the “Times of the Gentiles” are fulfilled, “then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Luke 21: 24-28. The Book of Revelation, written 26 years after the destruction of Jerusalem, speaks of the Second Coming of Christ as still future. 5. That the “DIFFUSION OF CHRISTIANITY” is the Second Coming of the Lord. This cannot be true, for the “Diffusion of Christianity” is gradual, whereas the Scriptures declare that the “Return of the Lord” shall be SUDDEN and UNEXPECTED, as a “Thief in the Night.” Matt. 24: 27, 36, 42, 44. I Thess. 5: 2. Rev. 3: 3. Again the “Diffusion of Christianity” is a process, while the Scriptures invariably speak of the “Return of the Lord” as an EVENT. The diffusion of Christianity brings Salvation to the wicked, whereas the “Return of the Lord” is said to bring not salvation but SUDDEN DESTRUCTION. I. Thess. 5: 2, 3; II Thess. 1: 7-10. II. AS TO THE TIME Of the exact time we cannot be certain. When Jesus was on the earth He said-“But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither (not yet) the Son, but the Father.” Mark 13: 32. After His Resurrection and before His Ascension, He refused to satisfy the curiosity of His Disciples, saying to them-“It is not for you to know the `times’ or the `seasons’ which the Father hath put in his own power.” Acts 1:7. Jesus knew of Daniel’s prophecy of the “Seventy Weeks” (Dan. 9:20-27), but He fixed no dates for their fulfillment. The student of prophecy is not to be a “date-setter,” but he is to watch. “Signs” are for the Jew. There is nothing to prevent Christ coming for His Church at any time. While we do not know the day or the hour of Christ’s Coming we know that it will be PRE-MILLENNIAL By Pre-Millennial we mean before the Millennium. That is, before the period of a”Thousand.d Years” spoken of in Rev. 20: 1-6. This period is spoken of in other scriptures as “The Kingdom,” and is described in glowing terms by the prophets as a time when the earth shall be blessed with a universal rule of righteousness. The passage in Rev. 20: 1-6 simply tells us that the length of the period shall be 1000 years. The very structure of the New Testament demands that Christ shall return before the Millennium. Here are a few reasons. 1. When Christ comes He will RAISE THE DEAD, but the Righteous dead are to be raised BEFORE the Millennium, that they may reign with Christ during the 1000 years, hence there can be no Millennium before Christ comes. Rev. 20: 5. 2. When Christ comes He will SEPARATE THE “TARES” FROM THE “WHEAT,” but as the Millennium is a period, of UNIVERSAL RIGHTEOUSNESS the separation of the “Tares” and “Wheat” must take place BEFORE the Millennium, therefore there can be no Millennium before Christ comes. Matt. 13: 40-43. 3. When Christ comes Satan SHALL BE BOUND, but as Satan is to be bound during the Millennium, there can be no Millennium until Christ comes. Rev. 20: 1-3. 4. When Christ comes Antichrist is to be DESTROYED, but as Antichrist is to be destroyed before the Millennium there can be no Millennium until Christ comes. II Thess. 2:8; Rev. 19:20. 5. When Christ comes the Jews are to be RESTORED TO THEIR OWN LAND, but as they are to be restored to their own land BEFORE the Millennium, there can be no Millennium before Christ comes. Ez. 36:24-28; Rev. 1: 7 (Zech. 12: 10). 6. When Christ comes it will be unexpectedly, and we are commanded to watch lest He take us unawares. Now if He is not coming until AFTER the Millennium, and the Millennium is not yet here, why command us to watch for an event that is over 1000 years off? III. AS TO THE MANNER PART 1 He will return in the SAME MANNER as He went. Acts 1: 11. He went up BODILY and VISIBLY and He shall come in like manner. He went in a cloud, and He will return in a cloud. “Behold, He cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.” Rev. 1:7. The only difference will be that He went up alone, He will return as a King (Luke 19: 12), followed by a retinue of the angelic hosts. “For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with his angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.” Matt. 16: 27. His “Return” however will be in TWO STAGES He will come first into the region of our atmosphere, and the “dead in Christ,” and the “living saints” shall be “caught up” to meet Him “IN THE AIR.” Then after the risen and translated saints have been judged and rewarded for their works, and they, as the Church, the Bride of Christ, have been married to Him, He will come with them to the earth and land on the Mount of Olives, the place from whence He ascended. “And His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.” Zech. 14: 4. The First Stage of His Return is called “THE RAPTURE;” the Second Stage-“THE REVELATION.” The time between the two Stages is not less than seven years, and is occupied in the heavens by the “JUDGMENT OF BELIEVERS FOR WORKS,” and on the earth by “THE GREAT TRIBULATION.” See Chart No. 4, p. 36. THE RAPTURE The Rapture is described in I. 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 them which are asleep. For the Lord HIMSELF shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel (Michael) and with the trump of God; and the DEAD IN CHRIST shall rise first; then we which are ALIVE AND REMAIN (saints only) 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.” From this we see that “The Rapture” will be twofold. 1. The Resurrection of the “DEAD IN CHRIST.” 2. The Translation of the “LIVING SAINTS.” This twofold character of “The Rapture” Jesus revealed to Martha when He was about to raise her brother Lazarus. He said to her. “I am the `Resurrection and the Life,’ he that believeth in Me, though he were dead yet shall he LIVE (First Resurrection Saints) ; and whosoever LIVETH (is alive when I come back) and believeth in Me shall NEVER DIE.” John 11: 25, 26. This twofold character of The Rapture, Paul emphasizes in his immortal chapter on the Resurrection. “Behold, I show you a Mystery, 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, and we shall be changed. For this Corruptible (the dead in Christ) must put on incorruption, and this mortal (the living saints) 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, WHERE IS THY VICTORY?” I Cor. 15:51-57. The last two lines refer only to those who are “changed without dying,” for it is only those who will not die who can shout “O Death, Where Is Thy Sting? “O Grave, Where Is Thy Victory?” In II Cor. 5: 1-4, Paul expresses his longing, and the longing of the Saints, to be among those who should not be “unclothed” by Death, but who should be “clothed upon” by Immortality “without dying.” “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle (the body), were dissolved (that is die), we have a building of God, an house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. For in this (body) we groan, earnestly desiring to be `clothed upon’ with our house which is from heaven; if so be that being `clothed’ we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle (the body) do groan, being burdened; not for that we would be `unclothed’ (by death), but ‘clothed upon’ (by immortality), that `mortality’ might be swallowed up of life.” In his letter to the Philippians, while Paul hopes that “If by any means he may attain unto The (out from among the dead) Resurrection, yet he pressed toward the mark for the ‘prize’ of the High (out and up) Calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 3: 11-14. That is, while Paul would esteem it a great thing to “rise from the dead” at the First Resurrection, and be “caught up” with those who should be “changed,” yet he would esteem it a “prize” if he could be caught up “without dying,” that is, live until Jesus came back. THE RAPTURE WILL BE A “SURPRISE” “Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready; for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man COMETH.” Matt. 24:42-44. “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.” Rev. 16: 15. “But of the ‘times’ and the ’seasons’ brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the ‘Day of the Lord’ (the day of His Return), so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, ‘Peace and Safety;’ then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape.” This refers to the Second Stage ,of Christ’s Coming, the “Revelation,” when He shall take vengeance upon His enemies. II Thess. 1: 7-10. But Paul adds-“But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day (the day of His Return) should overtake you as a thief.” I Thess. 5: 1-4. We see from this that when Christ comes back it will be when we are not expecting Him. He will come as a thief comes. A thief does not announce his coming. He comes for a certain purpose. He does not take everything there is in the house. He takes only the precious things, the jewels, the gold, the silver and fine wearing apparel. He does not come to stay. As soon as he secures what he is after he departs. So Jesus at the Rapture will come and take away the saints only. The thief leaves much more than he takes. He leaves the house and the furniture and the household utensils. So the Lord at the Rapture will leave the wicked and the great mass of the heathen behind for those who will be taken will be comparatively few. We must not forget in our study of this subject that there are to ,cc two resurrections of the dead. The first, of the Righteous dead before the Millennium, and the second of the Wicked dead after the Millennium. Rev. 20: 4-6. The subject cannot be treated fully in this pamphlet but will be found in the author’s larger work on “Dispensational Truth,” in the chapters on “The Resurrection” and “Spirit World” with charts. THE RAPTURE WILL BE “ELECTIVE” It will not only separate the saints from unbelievers, but it will separate husbands from wives, brothers from sisters, friends from friends. “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.” Luke 17:34-36. The words “men” and “women” in this passage are in italics. That means that they are not in the original, and so the passage should read there shall be “two in one bed,” husband and wife, or two brothers, or two sisters, or two friends. Two in “bed” indicates night; two grinding at the mill, morning or evening; two in the field mid-noon. This shows that the Rapture will happen all over the earth at the same time or as the Apostle describes it in a “moment,” or the “twinkling of an eye.” “As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man Be” (Matt. 24: 27) is the way Jesus puts it. The “Rapture” will be the most startling “event” of this Age and Dispensation. As it is to occur in the “twinkling of an eye” and all over the earth at the same time, that part of the world that is not asleep will witness the event. As to the “Shout of the Lord,” the “Voice of the Archangel,” and the “Trump of God” we do not know whether their sound will be heard and distinguished by others than the “dead in Christ” and the “living saints.” We know that one day the Father spoke to Christ in a voice that He understood, but the people who stood by mistook it for “thunder.” John 12: 28, 29. When the Lord appeared to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus and spoke to him, the men that journeyed with him stood speechless, “hearing a voice,” but seeing no man, and not understanding what was said. Acts 9:3-7. We know however that the “dead in Christ” will hear the sound, for it will be “intensely penetrating.” There will be no graves so deep, no catacombs so rock covered, no pyramids or mausoleums so thick, but what the sound shall reach their depths and the “dead in Christ” shall hear the cry-“awake ye sleeping saints and arise from the dead, it is MORNING, the morning of the FIRST RESURRECTION.” On the morning of that glorious day the air will be filled with the “spirits” of the “Dead in Christ,” come back to earth to get their bodies, raised and glorified. Whether the cemeteries and country church yards will look like ploughed fields, and monuments and grave slabs be overturned and vaults and places of sepulchre be shattered by the exodus of those who found their last resting place there, and thus testify to the fact of the literal bodily resurrection of the dead, or whether the sainted dead shall slip out of their sepulchres without disturbing them, as Christ arose and left the tomb without breaking the seal, the angel rolling away the stone simply to show that the tomb was empty, we are not told, only the event itself will disclose the manner of the First Resurrection. If the dead slip out of their places of sepulchre without disturbing them, the First Resurrection will be secret and probably unknown to the world, but it will not be so with the “Living Saints” who arc translated. If it is night on our side of the globe when the Rapture occurs the community will wake up in the morning to find all the real Christians gone, disappeared in the night. Many may hear the sound of the “Midnight cry” “BEHOLD THE BRIDEGROOM COMETH,” but thinking it only thunder, will turn over for another nap, but in the morning they will find the bedroom door locked, with the key on the inside, just as they locked it before retiring, and the clothes of the loved one who occupied the room with them lying where they were placed when taken off the night before, but that loved one, who was a Christian, missing. Husbands will wake up to find that Christian wives are gone, and wives will wake up to find Christian husbands gone. Brothers and sisters will be missed, and dear children absent, and not an infant will be left behind. Many faithful servants and employees will not report for duty, and the world will awake to the fact that the Bible is true, and the much despised doctrine of the Pre-Millennial Coming of the Lord to gather out His saints is no fanciful interpretation of Scripture. If it be day with us when the Rapture occurs, the “EVENT” will be startling. As it was in the days of Noah (Matt. 24: 36-39), the people will be eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, buying and selling, planting and building. If it be at a pleasant time of the year, the boats, and cars, and parks will be filled with pleasure seekers. If it be in the midst of the week, and during the business hours of the day, the shops and stores will be filled with shoppers and the mills with toilers, and the streets of the cities lined with men and women and children on pleasure and business bent. Suddenly a noise from heaven will be heard like a great peal of thunder. The people will rush to doors and windows, and those on the streets and in the fields will look up to see what has happened. To the vast majority it will be but a startling and alarming sound, but to many it will be the “VOICE OF THE LORD.” But when the people recover from their surprised and affrighted condition they will discover that a great many people are missing, and that the missing were the best people in the community. The large Department Stores, Banking Institutions, Manufacturing Plants, and other places of business will find their working force depleted by the loss of faithful employees. People walking on the streets will find their companions gone, and the street car lines will be blocked because of absent motormen, conductors and teamsters. Railroad and steamboat lines will be crippled, and confusion will reign everywhere. In many homes the servants will be missing and members of the family will come home to find loved ones gone. At first the whole thing will be a Mystery, until some one who had heard or read about the “Rapture of the Saints,” realizing what has happened, will explain the situation. But one of the surprises of that day will be that so many professing Christians, and among them many ministers and Christian workers, will be left behind, while some who were not known to be Christians will be missing. The next day’s papers will be full of what happened the day before, and many of them will be swelled to twice their ordinary size by the pressure on their advertising columns for information as to missing ones, and for help to fill important vacancies and positions of trust. For a few days the excitement will be intense. Then the people will settle down to the inevitable. With the exception of a few who will repent and turn to God, the mass of the people will become more hardened and wicked than before, and some who lost loved ones will be embittered. As the Holy Spirit will have gone back with the “Raptured Ones,” and the “Saints,” the SALT of the earth, been taken out, there will be nothing to prevent the rapid degeneration and “Moral Putrefaction” of those who are “left,” and sin and iniquity and all manner of crime and worldliness will increase and pave the way for the manifestation of Antichrist, under whose administration the world will rapidly ripen for judgment. WHO ARE TO BE TAKEN THE WISE VIRGINS “They That Were Ready Went in with Him to the Marriage and the Door Was Shut.” Matt. 25: 10. Some claim that “all” the Church are to pass through the Tribulation (see Chart 4) ; others that “all” the Church are to be caught out before the Tribulation, while some claim that only the “waiting” and “Watching” Saints shall be caught out before the Tribulation, and that the rest must pass through it. The latter base their claim on Heb. 9: 28, where it says-“Unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” While this might apply to the living when He appears, it certainly cannot apply to the dead. There are tens and hundreds of thousands who “fell asleep in Jesus” who never heard of the Premillennial Coming of the Lord, or at least never grasped its meaning, and who therefore never “watched” and “waited” and “looked” for His Appearing. They surely are “In Christ”; and the “Dead in Christ” are to rise at the Rapture. Paul does not say in I Thess. 4: 16, 17, that it will be the “dead” who “watched” and “waited” and “looked,” and those who are “alive” and “watch” and “wait” and “look” for His Appearing that shall be “caught out,” but the dead “In Christ,” and we who “Are Alive And Remain.” The order of the Resurrection is-“Christ the ‘First Fruits,’ afterward they that ‘are Christ’s at His Coming.’ “ Paul says – “Behold, I show you a Mystery; we shall not all ’sleep,’ but we shall ALL Be Changed.” I Cor. 15:51. Then there is another fact that we must not forget, and that is, the Unity of the Church. “For as the Body Is One, and hath many members, and ALL the Members Of That One Body, Being Many ARE ONE (BODY; so also is Christ. For by One Spirit are we ALL Baptized Into One Body.” I Cor. 12: 12, 13. All then who have been “born again” (John 3: 3-7) are part of Christ’s “Body,” and we cannot conceive of Christ’s “Body” being divided ; part of it remaining “asleep” in the grave, and part of it “raised in glory” ; part of it left to pass through the Tribulation, and part of it “changed” and caught up to meet Him in the air. If “all” the Church are to pass through the Tribulation, then instead of waiting and watching “for the Lord,” we should be waiting and watching “for the Tribulation,” which is contrary to the teaching of Christ Himself. Matt. 24:42-44. The Tribulation is not for the perfecting “of the Saints.” It has nothing to do with the Church. It is the time of “Jacob’s Trouble” (Jer. 30: 7), and is the “Judgment of Israel,” and it is God’s purpose to keep the Church Out Of It. Rev. 2: 10. The Book of Revelation is written in chronological order. After the fourth chapter the Church is seen no more upon the earth until she appears in the nineteenth chapter coming with the Bridegroom “from” Heaven. The entire time between these two chapters is filled with appalling judgments that fall upon those that “dwell on the earth,” and as the Church is not of the earth, but is supposed to “sit together in ‘Heavenly Places’ in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2: 6), she will not be among those who “dwell on the earth” in those days. The confusion is largely due to the fact that students of Prophetic Truth do not distinguish between Christ’s coming FOR His Saints, and WITH His Saints. The former is called the “Rapture,” the latter the “Revelation.” Numerous passages in scripture speak of Christ coming “with” His Saints (Zech. 14: 5, Col. 3: 4, I Thess. 3: 13, I Thess. 4: 14, Jude 14), but it is evident that they cannot come “with” Him, if they had not been previously caught out “to” Him. All such passages refer therefore to the “Revelation” and not the “Rapture.” The typical teaching of the Scriptures demand that the Church be caught out “before” the Tribulation. Joseph was a type of Christ and he was espoused to, and married Asenath, a Gentile bride, during the time of his “rejection by his brethren,” and “before the famine, which typified the Tribulation, because it was the time of “Judgment of his Brethren.” This is the time of Christ’s rejection by “His Brethren”-the Jews, and to complete the type He must get His Bride the church, “before” the Tribulation. Moses, who is also a type of Christ, got his bride, and she a Gentile, “after” his rejection by his brethren, and “before” they passed through the Tribulation under Pharaoh. Ex. 2: 23-25. Enoch, a type of the “Translation Saints,” was caught out “before the Flood, and the Flood is a type of the Tribulation, and Noah and his family of the “Jewish Remnant” or 144,000 sealed ones of Rev. 7: 1-8, who will be preserved through the Tribulation. How thrilling the thought that some of us shall not die, that in a moment, in the “twinkling of an eye” without being unclothed by the ghastly hands of Death, and instead of the winding sheet of the grave, we shall be instantly changed and clothed with the glorious garments of immortality. What a transport of joy will fill our being as we suddenly feel the thrill of immortality throbbing through our veins., and find ourselves being transported through the air in the company of fellow Christians and of our loved ones who fell asleep in Jesus. What welcome recognitions and greetings there will be as we journey up with them to the “Bridal Halls of Heaven,” where we shall join in the new and triumphal song of Moses and the Lamb. Rev. 5: 9, 10.