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Rev.-The revelation of Christ and His saints (Col. 3:4; 1 Thes. 3:13), in flaming fire (2 Thes. 1:7-10) to execute judgment on the earth. Jude 14-15.

This is Christ's second coming to the earth. Acts 1:11; Deut. 33:2; Zech. 14:4-5; Mat. 16:27; 24:29-30. J-Judgment of the nations, or the quick. Mat. 25:3146; 19:28; Acts 10:42; 1 Pet. 4:5.

Antichrist is destroyed. 2 Thes. 2:8. The Beast and the False Prophet are taken. Rev. 19:20. Gog and his allies are smitten. Ezek. chapters 38 and 39.

Satan is bound. Rev. 20:1-3; Rom. 16:20.

R. T.—Resurrection of the Tribulation Saints, which completes the First Resurrection. Rev. 20:4-6.

Mill'm.-The Millennium. Christ's glorious reign on the earth for 1,000 years (Rev. 20:4) with His Bride, 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 5:10; Isa. 2:2-5; 4; 11:1-12; 25:6-9; Isa. 65:18-25; Mic. 4:1-4; Zeph. 3:14-20; Zech. 8:3-8; Zech. 8:20-23; 14:16-21.

S-Satan loosed for a little season, and destroyed with Gog and Magog. Rev. 20:7-10; Heb. 2:14.

Res.-The Resurrection of Judgment. Rev. 20:12-15; John 5:29; Dan. 12:2.

J. W. T.-Judgment at the Great White Throne of all the remaining dead. Rev. 20:11-15.

Death and Hell destroyed. Rev. 20:14; 1 Cor. 15:26. E. E.-Eternity, or rather, The aions to come. Eph. 2:7.*

*These events, we believe, are plainly foretold in the Word, though we would not be dogmatic as to the precise order in which they are given above (see preface). But we trust it will enable the reader to apprehend, in some degree, the extent to which the future has been revealed, unto us, by the Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21; John 16:13; 1 Cor. 2:10) and to realize that ETERNITY ITSELF will not be a blank, or statue like condition, but a continually unfolding manifestation of God to us throughout the "ages to come" (Eph. 2:7) even the "AGES OF AGES.' See Greek Gal. 1:5; Eph. 3:21; Phil. 4:21; 1 Tim. 1:17; 2 Tim. 4:18; Heb. 13:21; 1 Pet: 4:11; Rev. 1:6, 18; 4:9, 10; 5:13; 7:12; 10:6; 11:15; 14:11; 15:7; 19:3; 20:10; 22:5. See page 218.

CHAPTER IX.

Rapture and Revelation.

Two things are of vital importance, in order to the right understanding of this subject, and these are:

First. The distinction between the Rapture and the Revelation.

Rapture means to be caught up, or away.

Revelation (ȧTоKáλvis-apokalupsis) means Appearing or shining forth or manifestation.1

The Rapture occurs when the Church is caught up to meet Christ in the air,2 before the tribulation; and

The Revelation occurs when Christ comes, with His saints, to end the Tribulation, by the execution of righteous judgment upon the earth.3

At the Rapture, Christ comes into the air for His saints.4

At the Revelation, He comes to the earth with them.5 He

(1) Rom. 8:19. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

(2) 1 Thes. 4:14. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

17. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, so shall we ever be with the Lord.

(3) 2 Thes. 1:7. And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.

8. In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

9. Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

10. When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe.

Jude 14. And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints.

15. 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 spoken against him.

(4) John 14:3. 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.

(5) 1 Thes. 3:13. To the end he may stablish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

certainly must come for them before He can come with them. The assurance that God will bring them (Greek— lead them forth) with Jesus (1 Thes. 4:14) is evidence that He will first come for them, they being caught up to meet him in the air. Verse 17. The Greek word here rendered "to meet" signifies a going forth, in order to return with. The same word is used in Acts 28:15, where the brethren came out to meet Paul and had a season of thanksgiving with him at Appii Forum and the Three Taverns, when he was on his way to Rome. This exactly accords with our being caught up to meet Christ and afterward returning to the earth with Him.

Again, at the Rapture Christ comes as the Bridegroom' to take unto Himself His bride, the Church.3

At the Revelation, He comes, with His bride, to rule the nations.9

Zech. 14:5. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

(6) Acts 28:15. And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum, and the Three Taverns; whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage.

(7) Mat. 25:10. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage and the door was shut.

(8) Eph. 5:25. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

26. That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.

27. That he might present it to himself а glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it

should be holy and without blemish.

28. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

29. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

30. For we are members of his body.

31. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

32. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

(9) Rev. 2:26. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

27. And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

Rev. 5:10. And madest them to be unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon the earth.

At the Rapture He comes only to meet the saints in the air, 1 Thes. 4:17.

At the Revelation, He comes to the earth,10 and His feet stand upon the same Mount Olivet from which He ascended.11

At the Rapture the Church, like Enoch, is taken out of the world.12

At the Revelation, the Millennial Kingdom is begun.12

In Luke 21:28, the Rapture is referred to at the beginning of the Tribulation. "When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." (Redemption here meaning the first resurrection, same as in Rom. 8:23.) 13

In Luke 21:31, the Revelation is referred to, when "these things" (the Tribulation) have come to pass, and the kingdom of God draweth nigh.

Rev. 19:15. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

See also Rev. 12:5. Which also (10) Acts 1:11. 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.

(11) Zech. 14:4. 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.

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(12) Acts 15:13. And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:

14. Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.

15. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,

16. After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:

17. That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.

(13) Rom. 8:23. 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 body.

The Rapture may occur any moment.14

The Revelation can not occur, until Antichrist be re vealed, and all the times and seasons (which point to the day of the Lord) in Lev. 26, Daniel and Revelation be fulfilled.

The Revelation ushers in the day, the Day of the Lord.15 The failure to make this distinction has led to great confusion among commentators upon this subject.

For instance: In 2 Thes. chapter 2, the apostle, in the first verse, speaks of the Rapture, to-wit: the coming of the Lord and our gathering together unto Him, of which He had written so fully in the previous epistle, especially in the 4th chapter.

In the second verse he speaks of the Revelation, or Day of the Lord, which could not come, except there be a falling away first, and the "man of sin" and "that wicked," or the Antichrist, be revealed.

And yet, most commentators have argued that the apostle, in both of these verses, referred to one and the same event, and thus they have made Scripture contradict itself.

But we see plainly, that Paul had no intention of contradicting Christ's admonitions, unto all, to watch for His coming, as being imminent. Mark 13:35-37; Luke 12:3540. He only made the distinction, as above stated, between the Rapture and the Revelation. The persecuted Thessalonians thought that they were in the Tribulation, and that the Day of the Lord had set in.† But Paul corrects them, first by reminding them that the Lord had not come for

*Greek, the oldest MSS. read κvρiov = Lord, not XPLOTOÛ = Christ. See Bengels' Gnomon and others.

† évéσтηKev (enesteeken) which authorized version renders "at hand," means to be present, or to have set in. See same word in Rom. 8:38; 1 Cor. 3:22; 7:26; Gal. 1:4; Heb. 9:9, in each place rendered "present."

(14) Mat. 24:42. Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

(15) 1 Thes. 5:2. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as

a thief in the night.

Luke 17:30. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

Aiso 2 Thes. 1:7-10; 2 Pet. 3:10-12, etc.

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