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EARNESTLY CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH:
CLARENCE LARKIN:
THE SECOND COMING CHRIST PART 2
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THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH. THAT IS WHY HE IS GOD.

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III. AS TO MANNER CONTINUED WHAT WILL BECOME OF THOSE WHO ARE LEFT BEHIND? This is a sad question, but it is eagerly asked by many. What saith the Lord? “Then said one unto Him, Lord, are there FEW that be saved? And He said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait (narrow) gate : for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in (when He comes), and shall not be able, when once the ‘Master of the House’ is risen up, and hath SHUT THE DOOR, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, open unto us; and He shall answer and say unto you, I know not whence ye are: then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in Thy presence, and Thou hast taught in our streets. But He shall say, I tell you, I KNOW YOU NOT WHENCE YE ARE; DEPART FROM ME, ALL YE WORKERS OF INIQUITY.” Luke 13:23-27. The time of the closing of the door is revealed in the Parable of the “Ten Virgins.” It will be when the Bridegroom comes, and those that are ready (the “Wise Virgins”) have gone in with Him to the “Marriage.” When the “Foolish Virgins” come later, and say”Lord, open to us,” He will answer-“I KNOW YOU NOT.” That is, I never knew you. You were only mere professors. Then follow the words-“Watch therefore (be ready), for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh.” Matt. 25: 1-13. Note that the persons shut out are not those who never heard the Gospel, but those who had been professing followers of Jesus, who had eaten and drunk in His presence and even gone out to meet Him. It may readily be supposed that the taking away of loved ones at the Rapture will cause many of those left behind to seek the Lord, but as the Holy Spirit goes back with the Church, and for the time being ceases His Office Work of Regeneration, who is to convert those who are left? There is a passage in Hebrews that has troubled many a sincere soul who has feared that they had committed the “Unpardonable Sin.” It is this “For if we sin (continue to sin) willfully after that we have received the knowledge (that is know about it) of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.” Heb. 10:26. The preceding verse shows that this warning is connected with the Lord’s Coming-“So much the more, as ye see ‘The Day’ approaching-the “DAY OF THE LORD.” The expression-“there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,” implies that those who thus sin against their knowledge are without hope. That there will be a “Great Multitude” saved after the Church is “caught out” in the “Time Space” between the “Rapture” and the “Revelation,” is clearly revealed in Rev. 7:9-17, and some of them may be of those “left behind,” but they will have to pass through great tribulation and suffer a martyr’s death for refusing to worship the “Image of the Beast.” Rev. 13: 11-17. And we read that-When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed (at the close of the Great Tribulation) from Heaven with His mighty angels, in “flaming fire” He shall take vengeance on them that “KNOW NOT GOD,” and that “OBEY NOT THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.” II Thess. 1:7-10. Let us not run the risk of being left behind. WHAT HAPPENS BETWEEN THE RAPTURE AND REVELATION After the Saints are “caught out” they are to be judged. This judgment takes place at the “Judgment Seat of Christ.” The Scriptures speak of five separate judgments. They differ in five general aspects. As to “Subjects,” “Time,” “Place,” “Basis of Judgment” and “Result.” For a complete description of these judgments see my larger Book on “Dispensational Truth.” The judgment of the Believer is threefold. At the Cross as a “Sinner” for sin; this is Past. John 5: 24. As a “Son;” this is Present, and consists of “self-judgment” and confession, or else the punishment of chastisement. I Cor. 11: 31, 32. As a “Servant;” this is future, and is a judgment for “Works” at the “JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST” “We must all appear before the ‘Judgment Seat of Christ,’ that every one may receive the things ‘done in the body’ according to that he hath done, whether it be ‘good’ or ‘bad’ (worthless).” II Cor. 5: 10. THE JUDGEMENT SEAT OF CHRIST The pronoun “We” occurs 26 times in the chapter, and in every instance it means the Believer, and the Epistle is addressed to the “Church” and “Saints” at Corinth, so the judgment here spoken of is for Believers “only.” The “Time” of this judgment is when the Lord comes (I Cor. 4: 5), and the “Place” is “in the air” (I Thess. 4: 17) and before the judgment Seat of Christ. It will not be a judgment in the sense of a “trial” to see whether the judged are innocent (saved) or guilty (lost), for it is a judgment of the “saved only.” It will be like the judges’ stand at a Fair, or Race Track, where rewards are distributed to the successful contestants. Paul describes such a scene in I Cor. 9:24-27. It is not a judgment for sin, but for “works.” This judgment is described in I Cor. 3: 11-15. “Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones (valuable building stones, as marble, etc.), wood, hay stubble; every man’s ‘Work’ shall be made manifest; for the ‘Day’ (Judgment Day) shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by ‘fire,’ and the fire shall try every man’s ‘work’ of what sort it is. If any man’s work ‘abide’ which he hath built there upon he shall receive a reward.’ If any man’s work shall be ‘burned’ he shall suffer ‘loss;’ but ‘he himself shall be saved;’ yet so as by fire.” The result of this judgment is “reward” or “loss.” All our “bad” and “dead works,” represented by the wood, hay and stubble, will be consumed, and only our “good works” shall remain. There is much which passes for Christian service which is merely human and secular, and does not count in our eternal reward. For those who deserve a “reward” it will be The Crowning Day. After the Grecian games were all over the runners, wrestlers, and successful contestants assembled before the “Bema,” or judges’ stand, which was an elevated seat on which the Umpire sat, and the winners received a “corruptible crown” of “laurel leaves.” Some had no reward, they had lost the “Victor’s Crown.” But while there was no reward there was no punishment, they were not cast out. The New Testament speaks of Five Crowns. 1. The Crown of “LIFE.” This is the “Martyr’s” crown, and is mentioned twice. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation (testing), for when he is ‘tried’ (at the judgment Seat of Christ), he shall receive the ‘Crown of Life’ which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him.” James 1 : 12. “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer; behold, the Devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried (tested) and ye shall have tribulation ten days; be thou faithful ‘unto death,’ and I will give thee a ‘Crown of Life.”‘ Rev. 2: 10. Notice it does not say “until” death, but “unto” death. They were not to recant, but to remain faithful unto a martyr’s death. To recant was to lose the crown. This refers to the martyrs of the Tribulation Period. 2. The Crown of “GLORY.” This is the “Elder’s” or “Pastor’s” crown, given by the Chief Shepherd when He shall appear. But it is not for those who serve for “filthy lucre” or “lord it over God’s heritage.” I Pet, 5: 2-4. 3. The Crown of “REJOICING.” This is the “Soul Winner’s” crown. Those brought to Jesus by us will be our “crown of rejoicing” at His Coming. I Thess. 2:19, 20. Phil. 4: 1. 4. The Crown of “RIGHTEOUSNESS.” This is the crown of those who “love His appearing and will be given in ‘that day' – the Day of His Appearing. II Tim. 4:8. 5. The “INCORRUPTIBLE” Crown. This is the “Victor’s” crown, and is for those who “keep under their body.” I Cor. 9: 25-27. Who do not yield to their fleshly lusts. Who do not permit themselves to be diverted from the work for the Master by worldly amusements and pleasure, nor saturate their body with drugs. If we do not want to be “ashamed at His Coming,” I John 2:28, let us see to it that we keep our body “under” and so live that we shall secure a crown. THE ROYAL WEDDING After the Saints have been “caught out” and “judged,” they, as the “Church,” will become the “Bride of Christ.” The “Marriage” of the Church is prophetically referred to by Jesus in the Parable of the “Marriage of the King’s Son” (Matt. 22: 1-14), and is consummated in Rev. 19: 7-9. “Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to Him: for the 'Marriage of the Lamb' is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of Saints. And he saith unto me, write, Blessed are they which are called unto the MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB.” Notice that it does not say the “Marriage of the Bride,” but the “Marriage of the LAMB.” That grand event will be not so much the consummation of the hopes of the Bride, as it will be the consummation of the plan of God for His Son, arranged for before the foundation of the World. Eph. 1: 4. The “Marriage of the Lamb” is the consummation of the joy of Christ as a MAN. It would not have been possible if Christ had not been born in the flesh. Otherwise it would have been the union of “dissimilar natures,” for the “Bride” is of “human origin.” This is why Jesus took His “human nature” back with Him to Heaven, and today we have in Heaven the MAN Christ Jesus. I Tim. 2: 5. While the “Bride” was chosen for Christ “before the foundation of the world,” the “espousal” could not take place until Christ assumed humanity and ascended to Heaven as the Man Christ Jesus. There have been many long betrothals but Christ’s has been the longest on record. He has been waiting for His Bride nearly 1900 years, but He will not have to wait much longer. Soon Heaven shall resound with the cry – “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him, for the Marriage of the Lamb is Come.” Rev. 19: 7. There have been many royal weddings of international interest, where the invited guests and spectators witnessed a spectacle magnificent in its appointments, and rejoiced in a union that bound together different nations. But the wedding of the Lamb and His Bride the Church will surpass them all, for it shall unite Heaven and Earth in a bond that shall never be broken, for what God (the Father) shall join together, no man shall ever put asunder, and that union no divorce shall ever break. The Bride shall be “arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of Saints.” Rev. 19: 7, 8. The word “righteousness” is plural, and should read “righteousnesses.” Not the imputed righteousness of Christ, but the “righteous acts and works” of the saints themselves, that shall remain after they have passed through the “fiery test” of the “Judgment for Works” at the “Judgment Seat of Christ.” I Cor. 3: 11-15. What a contrast there will be between the purple and scarlet colored dress, and jewel bedecked person, of the “Harlot Wife” of Antichrist (Rev. 17: 3, 4), and the spotless white robe of fine linen of the Bride of the Lamb. During the time occupied by the “Judgment of Believers” and the Marriage of the Lamb in the Heavenlies, there will be awful times on the earth. The Jews will have, in large numbers, been gathered back to their own land, Palestine. About this time ten of the Nations occupying the territory of the old Roman Empire will enter into a Federation of Nations. Among the “Ten Kings” of those nations will arise the “Antichrist.” He will soon prove himself to be a “Great Ruler” and will be made PRESIDENT. The Government will be a “Democratic Monarchy.” The President will make a “Covenant” with the Jewish people. It may be a Covenant restoring to them their own land and recognizing their national existence. Whatever its character, the Prophet Isaiah speaks of it as a “Covenant with DEATH and HELL.” Isa. 28: 15. For 3/ years the President of the Federation will keep the Covenant. Then he will break it. For the balance of his reign 3/ years he will cause an awful persecution of the Jews, called by Jesus “The Great Tribulation.” Matt. 24: 21, 22. For a description of this period see my larger work. In the Middle of this period, or at the time when Antichrist shall break the Covenant, there will be WAR IN HEAVEN, and Satan will be cast out into the earth and he will incarnate himself in Antichrist. Rev. 12: 7-9. The Antichrist will then become known as “THE BEAST,” and a second Beast will arise (Rev. 13: 11-17) called the “FALSE PROPHET.” Rev. 16:13; 19:20. These three will make up the “Satanic Trinity.” The Dragon (Satan) will be the “Anti-God.” The Beast will be the “Anti-Christ,” and the False Prophet will be the “Anti-Spirit.” See Chart Number 4. CHART NO. 4: THE SECOND COMING Click Here For A MUCH, Slower Loading Larger Image The “Tribulation Period” of 3½ years will be the “Judgment of the Jews.” As all of God’s promises to the Jews are earthly, their Judgment must be earthly. This judgment is a “National Judgment.” For all their national sins God is going to make them “Pass Under the Rod.” Ez. 20: 34-38. He is going to cast them into his “MELTING POT.” Ez. 22: 19-22. Malachi 3: 1-3. In the midst of their “fiery trials” in this time of “Jacob’s Trouble” (Jer. 30: 4-7; Dan. 12: 1), they will cry to the Lord as they did amid the brick-kilns of Egypt and God will send them Him of whom Moses was a type, even the Lord Jesus, who shall then come “with” His Saints in the “Second Stage” of His Coming, the Revelation, and as He shall descend upon the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:4), they shall look upon Him whom they “pierced” and a nation, the Jewish Nation, will be re-born in a day. Ezek. 36: 24-27. Isa. 66: 8. When Christ comes for the Saints at the Rapture, He will be the “Morning Star.” Rev. 22: 16. When He comes with His Saints at the Revelation He will be the “Sun of Righteousness.” Malachi 4:2. When Christ shall come back at the Revelation He shall find the armies of Antichrist gathered together at Armageddon (Rev. 16: 13-16), and He shall destroy them with the “Sword of His Mouth” (Rev. 19: 15, 20, 21), and the “Beast” and the “False Prophet” shall be cast alive into the “Lake of Fire.” Then all the Gentile Nations will be summoned to the Valley of Jehoshaphat for judgment, and the “Son of Man” shall sit upon the “THRONE OF HIS GLORY,” a throne erected on the earth, and He shall judge the Nations for their treatment of His brethren-the JEWS, during the “Great Tribulation,” and those nations that fed and clothed them and visited them when in prison will be known as the “Sheep Nations,” and He will say to them-“Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” That Kingdom is the “Millennial Kingdom.” But to the “Goat Nations,” the nations that neglected the Jews during the Tribulation, He will say-“Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the Devil and his angels,” and “these shall go away into everlasting punishment.” Matt. 25: 41-46. That is, the “Goat Nations” as nations will be destroyed, not one of them shall exist as a nation during the Millennium, and the wicked individuals that compose them will perish and be eternally lost. For a more full treatment see my book on “Dispensational Truth.” THE REVELATION At the “Second Stage” of Christ’s Second Coming, the “Revelation,” we shall behold His “Glory.” When Jesus came the first time He was disguised in the flesh. The “Incarnation” was the hiding of His Power, the veiling of His Deity. Now and then gleams of glory shot forth as on the Mt. of Transfiguration; but when He comes the Second Time we shall behold Him clothed with the glory He had with the Father before the world was. The “Revelation” will be as sudden and as unexpected as was the “Rapture.” The sun will rise on that day strong and clear. Gentle breezes will waft themselves over the earth. There will be no signs of a storm or of the coming judgment. The people will be buying and selling, building and planting, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. The statesmen will be revolving in their minds new plans for the world’s betterment. The philanthropic will be devising new ways to help the people. The pleasure-loving will be seeking new sources of pleasure. The wicked will be plotting dark deeds; and the unbelieving will be proving to their own satisfaction that there is no God, no heaven, no hell, no coming judgment, when suddenly there will be a change. In the distant heaven there will appear a “POINT OF LIGHT,” outshining the sun. It will be seen descending toward the earth. As it descends it will assume the form of a bright cloud, out of which shall stream dazzling beams of light, and flashes of lightning. It will descend apace as if on the wings of the whirlwind, and when it reaches its destination over the brow of the Mt. of Olives it will stop and unfold itself to the terrified and awe stricken beholders, and there will be revealed to them Jesus seated on a “White Horse” (Rev. 19: 1116) and accompanied with His Saints and the armies of Heaven. Then shall be fulfilled what Jesus foretold in His Olivet Discourse- “Then shall appear the sign (a cloud) of the Son of Man in heaven ; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of Heaven WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY.” Matt. 24:30. A PRACTICAL DOCTRINE But why, you ask, should we put so much emphasis on the “Second Coming of Christ”? Why not talk and preach about the practical affairs of life? About the social and commercial problems of the world and their solution through the Gospel? The answer is that the only way to solve these problems is for Christ to return, and the longer His “Return” is delayed, the longer it will be before these problems are solved. 1. AS TO THE JEWS. The Jews are a downtrodden people. Their only hope is the Return of the Lord. When He comes back they shall be restored to their own land and become a nation again. “Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the Children of Israel out of the Land of Egypt ; but the Lord liveth that brought up the Children of Israel from the land of the NORTH (Russia) and from ALL THE LANDS whither He had driven them; and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.” Jer. 16: 14, 15; Isa. 43: 5-7. And they shall never again be dispersed. “For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.” Jer. 24: 6. This has never as yet been fulfilled. 2. AS TO JERUSALEM AND PALESTINE. “Thus saith the Lord Jehovah; in the day that I will cleanse you from all your iniquities I will cause the cities (of Palestine) to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be builded. And the land that was desolate shall be tilled. . . And they shall say, this land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden.” Ez. 36: 33-35. Joel 3: 18. Joel 2: 24-26. “Thus saith the Lord of Hosts; there shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.” Zech. 8: 4, 5. Zech. 14: 20, 21. 3. AS TO THE NATIONS. When the Lord Jesus Christ returns He will sit upon the “Throne of His Glory” at Jerusalem, and shall separate the “Sheep Nations” from the “Goat Nations,” and only the “Sheep Nations” will survive as nations and be permitted to become part of the Millennial Kingdom. Matt. 25: 31-40. These nations will become righteous. “And it shall come to pass that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to keep the ‘Feast of Tabernacles.”‘ Zech. 14: 16. As the result of all this the nations “shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid.” Micah 4: 3, 4. Isa. 2: 4. The only way then to stop wars and labor troubles and all socialistic and anarchistic movements is for Christ to return and set up His Millennial Kingdom. 4. AS TO SATAN. The only way to get rid of Satan and all his evil influences and powers is for Christ to come back, for when He comes back Satan will be bound and cast into the Bottomless Pit for 1000 years. Rev. 20: 1-3. 5. AS TO THE EARTH. Since the Fall of Man the earth has been cursed with thorns and thistles and all kind of insect pests and disease germs, and man by the sweat of his face has been compelled to earn his daily bread. Even the brute creation became carnivorous and learned to prey upon each other, and the “whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” Rom. 8:22. But all this will be changed when Christ comes back, for then “the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.” Isa. 5: 1. “Then shall the earth yield her increase.” Psa. 67: 6. And the ploughman will “overtake the reaper,” and the treader of grapes him that “soweth seed.” Amos 9: 13. THE BLESSED HOPE The Second Coming of Christ is “The Blessed Hope.” Writing to Titus Paul said-“Looking for that ‘Blessed Hope,’ and the ‘Glorious Appearing’ of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.” Titus 2: 13. Most Christians when speaking of their “Hope” mean their “Hope of Salvation,” but we cannot “hope” for a thing we have and salvation is a present possession if we are trusting in Christ as our Saviour. The Christian’s “Hope” then is the “Return of His Lord.” Man is a three-fold being, he has a body, a soul, and a spirit, for him to die is to lose his “body.” Now he knows that he cannot get his body back until the Resurrection and he also knows that there can be no Resurrection until Christ comes back. Therefore to him Christ’s return is “The Blessed Hope,” not only that if he dies he will then be raised, but it is to him the “Hope” that Christ will come back before he dies and he shall be “caught up” to meet Him in the air without dying. I Thess. 4:13-18. “The Blessed Hope” is also a “Purifying Hope.” “And every man that hath this hope in him PURIFIETH HIMSELF.” I John 3:1-3. That is, every one who is looking for the Lord’s return will try to keep himself pure. It will make us “Patient.” “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the Coming of the Lord. . . . Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts; for the Coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” James 5: 7, 8. It will make us “Watchful.” “Watch ye therefore, for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, or in the morning; lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all WATCH.” Mark 13:35-37. If we are watching for the Lord we will be careful of our conduct. We will not want Him to come and find us doing questionable things, or in questionable places. We will not want to hoard money, nor spend our money in an extravagant manner, we will want to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven by contributing to missions. We will see to it that in our homes there is no kind of literature, or art, or pictures, or anything that we would not like His pure eyes to see if He were to be a visitor in our home. In short, “The Blessed Hope” helps us to cling lightly to this world. It will not make us idle and negligent, butt will fill us with zeal to be found a faithful servant at His return. For this reason it is a noteworthy fact and a witness to the power of the doctrine, that those who believe it are the most consecrated, unselfish, and strenuous workers in the Master’s service. This “Hope” will also keep us from being “ASHAMED” at His Coming. “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. If we are watching for Him and our house is in order, and we are ready to give a faithful account of our Stewardship we shall not be ashamed before Him at His coming. Matt. 25: 14-30. The “Hope” of the Lord’s Premillennial Return fills the heart of those who believe it with joy. In Luke 24: 52 we read that when Jesus was parted from His Disciples and ascended into Heaven, that “They returned to Jerusalem with GREAT JOY, and were continually in the Temple, PRAISING and BLESSING God.” That seems strange conduct on their part, for naturally we would suppose that His Departure would have filled them with sadness. But when we recall that, when He Ascended, two men stood by in white apparel and told them that Jesus would come back again, we can understand their joyfulness. Acts 1: 11. It has often been said in opposition to the doctrine of the Second Coming, “If Christian people believe that Jesus is soon coming back why do they build houses and churches and make investments and plan for the education of their children and so on?” The answer is that Jesus’ coming back will not do away with the need for houses and churches and education. The world moved on just as before after His First Coming, and it will do the same after His Second Coming. People will need homes and churches. Business will go on as before, and the unconverted children of Christian believers will be left behind and need homes and education and means to live on. The prosperity of the world will be greater during the Millennium than ever before. So there is no occasion for those who are looking for the Lord’s Return to neglect the affairs of this life. What we as Christians hope for is that the Lord will come back and take us out of the world before the awful days of the “Tribulation Period” come, and then when they are over and Jesus comes back to reign we shall come back with Him as glorified beings to rule and reign over the Millennial earth, and probably visit churches where once we worshiped, and institutions that our money built. The preacher of the Doctrine of the Premillennial Coming of Christ wields a “two-edged sword.” The unbeliever when urged to become a Christian may say I am young and there is plenty of time and so may put off the time of decision, but when he is told that it is not a question of time, or the mere salvation of his soul, but that Jesus may be back at any time and it is a question of being ready to meet Him, then he sees the importance of immediate decision. Dear reader of this pamphlet, are you a Christian, and as a Christian are you a believer in the “Blessed Hope,” and are you looking for the speedy coming of the Lord, and doing all you can to hasten His Return, and thus bring back THE KING? If not, I beseech you to drop everything and settle the question of whether you will be “caught up” to meet the Lord in the air when He comes, and thus escape the awful days that are coming on the earth-days in which no one can buy or sell unless he has the “Mark of the Beast,” and all those who have that “Mark” are eternally doomed. Rev. 13:15-17. The Transfiguration A Rehearsal of the Second Coming Because Jesus said on the day when Peter confessed-“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matt. 16: 13-28), “Verily, I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of Man COMING IN HIS KINGDOM,” there are those who contend that the fulfillment of those words required the return of Jesus, and the setting up of the Kingdom during the lifetime of the Disciples, and that therefore because no literal Kingdom was set up during the lifetime of the Disciples, Jesus must have meant a “Spiritual Kingdom,” which they claim was inaugurated on the “Day of Pentecost” and that Jesus now reigns through the Church. Is this true? If not, what is the explanation of Jesus’ words? [Note From The Webpage Editor: We have removed a disparaging comment by Larkin attacking the chapter divisions of the King James Bible because it like all attacks are: an unmerited attack. Even the perversions of the scriptures have chapter divisions at the same point as the PERFECT KING JAMES BIBLE.] “Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of Man COMING IN HIS KINGDOM. And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was TRANSFIGURED before them: and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light.. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias (Elijah) talking with Him.” Matt. 16: 28; 17: 1-3. In this “Transfiguration Scene” we have a fulfillment of Jesus’ words, that there were some, only three, Peter, James, and John, of His Disciples, who should not “taste of death” until they saw the Son of Man “Coming in His Kingdom,” for the “Transfiguration Scene” was a “rehearsal” of the “Second Stage” (Revelation) of Christ’s Second Coming. Like as John was transported across the centuries into the “Day of the Lord,” and had revealed to him in the Book of Revelation the things that are to come to pass in the “Latter Days,” so Peter, James and John had a “Foreview” on the Mount of Transfiguration, of the Coming of Christ in His Glory. In that “Scene” Moses was a type of the “First Resurrection Saints” (Jude 9), and Elijah of those who shall be “caught out” without dying (II Kings 2: 11) ; and their glory on the Holy Mount is a sample of the Glory of the Saints at the Rapture. That this is a correct interpretation of Jesus’ words is clear from the statement of 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 (Glory). For He received from God the Father Honor and Glory, when there came such a voice to Him from the ‘Excellent Glory.’ This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this Voice which came from Heaven we heard, WHEN WE WERE WITH HIM IN THE HOLY MOUNT” (the Mount of Transfiguration). II Pet. 1: 16-18. (Matt 17:5 ) From the use of the word “COMING” in this passage we see that the “Transfiguration Scene” was a “Foreview” of the “Second Coming,” and was a fulfillment of Jesus’ words that some of His Disciples should not taste of death until they saw the Son of Man “Coming in His KINGDOM.” Another passage has been cited in the attempt to prove that the Coming of the Son of Man is only spiritual. It is “But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another; for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of Man BE COME.” Matt. 10: 23. These words were addressed to the “Twelve Disciples.” Jesus sent them forth to preach, that “the Kingdom of Heaven was AT HAND.” They were limited in their ministry to the “Lost Sheep of the House of Israel,” and were forbidden to go to the Gentiles or Samaritans. Matt. 10: 1-7. They never finished their work. The King was rejected, and the offer of the Kingdom at that time was withdrawn, hence the Coming of the Son of Man was postponed. But the Gospel of the Kingdom is to be renewed after the Church is “caught out,” and will be preached by the “Two Witnesses” (Moses and Elijah) and the “Godly Remnant” of Israel during the “Tribulation Period,” and when they shall, in that day, have gone over the “Cities of Israel,” Christ will return to the Mt. of Olives. THE SONG The Spirit World As the purpose of the “First Stage” of Christ’s Second Coming is to reunite the “Soul” and “Body” of the “Righteous Dead,” as well as to “catch out” the “Righteous Living,” it will be helpful to have some knowledge of the “Spirit World.” We must not forget that man is a “trinity,” composed of “body,” “soul,” and “spirit” (I Thess. 5:23. Heb. 4: 12), and that the “soul” is the body or home of the “spirit” between the death of the physical body and its resurrection, and that our physical or material body corresponds to our “soulish body” as the glove does to the hand that it covers, and that our “soulish body” can see, and hear, and feel, and think, and speak. As proof of this we have the story of the “Rich Man and Lazarus.” Luke 16: 19-31. This is not a parable, for parables do not give proper names, as Abraham and Lazarus, but is an account of the state of the Righteous and Wicked in the other world. As we know from the narrative, the bodies of both Lazarus and the Rich Man were buried on the earth. The account then is descriptive of what happened to them in their disembodied state in the “Underworld,” and from it we learn that they could see, hear, feel, thirst, talk, and remember, proving that they had not lost self consciousness, and that there is no such thing as SOUL SLEEP. We also must not forget that to the Jew “Abraham’s Bosom” was a type of “Paradise.” “The Underworld” (Hades) in Christ’s day was made up of two compartments, “Paradise” and “Hell,” separated by an “impassable gulf.” See the Chart, “The Heavens,” page 34, letters “P,” “H,” and “K.” “Hell” is the abode of the souls of the Wicked between the death and resurrection of their bodies. After the resurrection of their bodies, and their judgment before the “Great White Throne” (W), the Wicked go to the “Lake of Fire” (G). Rev. 20: 12-15* [*For a full account of the “Spirit World” see the writer’s book on “The Spirit World"] When Jesus died on the Cross His body was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea (Matt. 27: 57-60), and His soul went to Paradise, where He had an engagement that day to meet the soul of the “Penitent Thief” (Luke 23:43), whose body was buried in the “Potter’s Field.” It was in their “Soulish Bodies” then that they met in Paradise. When Jesus’ “soul” returned from “Paradise” on the third day to reoccupy His body in Joseph’s tomb, He did not return alone, He led “captivity captive” (Eph. 4: 8-10) and brought out with Him all the souls of the “Righteous Dead” imprisoned in the Paradise section (P) of the “Underworld,” and placed them in the “Paradise” of the “Third Heaven” (E), to which Paul was caught up. II Cor. 12: 1-4. This is clear from other scriptures. Jesus said the “Gates of Hell” (Hades, the Underworld) should not prevail against the Church. Matt. 16: 18. Then “Hell” (Hades) has gates to prevent the escape of its inmates. What Jesus did before He came back from the “Underworld” was to seize the “Keys of Hades,” unlock the “Gates” of the “Paradise Section” (P) and empty it of its inmates, and then lock it up that it might remain empty. As proof of this we have Jesus’ declaration to John on the Isle of Patmos, 66 years later, when He said-“I am He that liveth, and was dead: and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen: and have the ‘KEYS OF HELL’ (Hades) and of DEATH (the Grave).” Rev. 1: 18. Jesus then by His Resurrection unlocked not only the “Paradise Section” of “Hades” and transferred the souls of the “Righteous Dead” to the “Paradise Section” of the Third Heaven, but He also has the “Keys of DEATH,” that is, of the “GRAVE,” and when the time comes He will unlock the graves of the dead and resurrect their bodies. As far as we know the souls of the “Wicked Dead” are still in the “Hell Section” of the “Underworld,” and will remain there until the “Second Resurrection” at the close of the Millennium, when they will return to the earth and get their bodies, and then go to the “Great White Throne judgment,” from which they will be consigned to the “Lake of Fire.” Rev. 20: 12-15. From what has been said we see that the souls of the “Righteous Dead,” since the resurrection of Jesus, go to the “Paradise” of the “Third Heaven” (E), that they may be “WITH THE LORD.” Phil. 1:23. II Cor. 5:8. There they will remain until the time comes for the “Rapture of the Church,” when they will return with Jesus, and while He tarries in the air (I Thess. 4: 17), they will continue on to the earth (see Chart) and re-enter their resurrected and glorified bodies, for we read that when Jesus comes back He will bring with Him the souls of those who “SLEEP IN JESUS.” I Thess. 4:14. The expression, “Sleep in Jesus,” has no reference to “Soul Sleep,” but is a term applied only to the bodies of the “Righteous Dead,” and signifies that we are to think of the bodies of the “Dead in Christ” as only sleeping or resting. While “Paradise,” as a suburb of Heaven, is a glorious place, it does not follow that the state of the Righteous there is more blissful than, it was in the “Paradise Section” of the Underworld. We must not forget that while the souls of the Righteous in Paradise are free from sorrow and sickness, and enjoy the society of the saints of all ages, their state is more one of rest and waiting than of activity or service (Rev. 6:9-11), for it is a state of limitation and incompleteness, for they have not as yet received their resurrection body with all its glorious powers, nor been judged so as to receive their reward, or crown, if they are entitled to any. The description of Heaven and the New Jerusalem as given in the Book of Revelation is still future, and the things there described will not come to pass until after the Rapture of the Church. From this we see the meaning of the Apostle when he says-“We groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY” (Rom. 8:18-23); and as this is not possible until the Return of the Lord Jesus, who will then change our “vile body,” that it may be fashioned like unto His GLORIOUS BODY” (Phil. 3:20-21), we should be doing all we can to hasten His Return.