TEN SELECTED WRITINGS
1
MULTIPLE RAPTURE
By W. M. BEIRNES
THE
unsound and unscriptural teaching that the Church must go through the
tribulation comes as a result of a misunderstanding of
the Scriptures dealing with the resurrection and translation of the saints. The
generally accepted theory along this line of prophecy is that all the believers
are translated to heaven at one time. This is incorrect. There will always be
confusion on this line until the believers come to recognize the fact that the
book of the Revelation
definitely shows the rapture of the saints in different orders and at different
times during the seventieth week of Daniel while the judgments of the Revelation are
in progress. It is at the “time of trouble such as never was” that the angel said to Daniel,
“thy
people shall be delivered, EVERY ONE
that shall be found written in the book.”
Only the Bride of Christ escapes the
tribulation judgments as described in the book of Revelation. The reason I say
this is that there are other tribulation judgments upon earth before those
described in the Revelation. Matthew, in chapter 24: 7, 8, describes a world war followed by famines, pestilences and
earthquakes as the indication that we have entered “the beginning of sorrows.” We are now in that period,
and tribulation judgments are being visited on the earth in preparation for the
revelation of the man of sin and the rapture of the saints in their “own
order”. Matthew 24: 1-14 gives us a picture of world events and signs preceding
the rapture of the Bride, while verses 15-31 picture events after the rapture of the Bride of
Christ, during which time other saints are resurrected and
translated to heaven, and the antichrist rules the world.
Paul says, “for as IN ADAM all die, even so IN CHRIST
shall all be made alive, BUT every man in his own order:
Christ the firstfruits; afterwards they that are Christ’s at his coming”
(1 Cor. 15: 22-23).
“EVERY MAN
IN HIS OWN ORDER” reveals the facts verified in the book of Revelation. Until this truth so plainly stated in the Scriptures is understood
there will always be great confusion among the people of God.
The first order of the first resurrection was Christ. He became the
“firstfruits” of them that slept, the
“first
begotten of the dead,”
and the PRINCE of all the redeemed regal saints. See Revelation 1: 4-6, 13-18.
The second order of the first resurrection took place a moment after
Christ came out of the grave. Study the events in Matt. 27: 50-54. “MANY bodies of the saints
which slept arose, and came out of their graves AFTER HIS RESURRECTION.” Here is a literal resurrection of
many of the Old Testament saints. They are described
in heaven as “Living Creatures,”
and testify that they are redeemed from the earth, and that they shall reign on
the earth. They say that they have been made unto God kings and priests. They
are associated with the Lamb, the four and twenty
elders and the 144,000 and all together are called “firstfruits.”
The third order of the first resurrection will be the New Testament
Bridehood saints, and these will escape the great tribulation judgments visited
upon the earth under the reign of the antichrist. This order is
described in Rev. 4: 1-5. These verses give the rapture scene
in detail. They are seated upon thrones and crowns are placed upon their heads.
They also have harps and golden vials full of odours which are the prayers of
saints. Together with the Living Creatures they
testify that they are regal saints (Rev. 5: 8-10). They are translated to heaven
before the opening of the seals for they are glorified, enthroned and crowned
before the scaled book is brought forth. They cannot be angels as some affirm
for it cannot be said that angels are redeemed from every kindred, tongue,
people, and nation.
It is inconsistent to say that we are now living under any of
the seals. If that were true then the rapture of the Bride is over and we are
left behind. When the Lamb of God takes the scaled book to open it the Living
Creatures and Elders praise God in heaven and give their testimony as to their
position in the first resurrection. When Christ takes the book these redeemed
and glorified saints fall down before the throne of God and of the Lamb, and shout the praises of our Lord and Saviour.
This group of saints escape the reign of the antichrist and
the judgments that fall in the time of great tribulation. After prophesying of
those times of tribulation, Jesus warned his followers, “Watch and pray that ye may
be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to
stand before the Son of man” (Luke
21: 36). This admonition would be unnecessary
if there was to be no escape. He has no reference here to
tribulations that come to all Christians. “In the world ye shall have
tribulation.” We
cannot escape those tribulations, but we can, if we will take
heed, escape THE tribulation under the reign of the antichrist.
Isaiah, the prophet, speaking with confidence of his own resurrection,
and thinking of others, says, “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 (tribulation) 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:
19-21).
Again, after Zephaniah vividly described the tribulation in the first chapter, He admonishes the
people of God to seek righteousness and meekness, adding, “it may be ye shall be HID in the day of the Lord's anger.” He will hide the Bride of Christ from
this dispensation in the heavens before any of the seals are opened. In
God’s message to the
The fourth order of the rapture occurs sometime after the translation of
the Bride of Christ and before the second revelation of the antichrist to the
whole world at the beginning of the forty-two months of his reign over a
federated world. They are described in Rev. 7: 9-17. The angel tells John this unnumbered company is translated to heaven “out of the great tribulation.” They do not have thrones nor
are they crowned. This is the great harvest of the earth. They are raptured
during the tribulation. This statement is so clear and emphatic that even a
child should understand.
The fifth order of the rapture is seen in Rev.
12. Immediately before
the opening of the second seal God seals 144,000 of the children of
The sixth order of the rapture takes place just before the Armageddon
battle. See Rev. 14: 14, 15. These saints are the final harvest of the earth. They are
not numbered. They tell us in their testimony that they lived during the time
the mark of the beast was forced upon the people of
the world, but that they had gotten the victory over it (Rev.
15: 2-4). They are raptured just before the
seven last vials of God’s wrath are poured upon the earth, and are
strictly tribulation saints.
The seventh order of the resurrection consists only of those who are martyred during the entire tribulation. From the time of
the rapture of the four-and-twenty elders, martyr’s blood will flow as
rivers. Millions of the foolish virgins will be martyred
during the first part of the tribulation and millions will refuse the mark of
the beast and be martyred during the last three and one-half years, and
together they are resurrected and go into the thousand years reign. See Rev.
6: 9-11, and 20: 4-6. In this
last Scripture it is stated, “This is the first resurrection.” Literally it is the
completion of the first resurrection. Our friends who believe the entire Church
goes through the tribulation and are translated at the revelation of Christ as
described in Rev. 19 quote this as proof, but it does not
prove their point.
There are two precious Scriptures often quoted as proof that
all believers the world over, living and dead, will be translated at the same
moment, but if that is so there could be no translation of the saints until
after the battle of Armageddon or at the time of the battle when the
tribulation martyrs are raised. Paul in 1 Thess. 4: 14-18, and 1 Cor. 15: 51-53, is merely stating that the dead
saints are first raised, and then the living ones changed and together caught
up to be with Christ, but the book of Revelation gives us the scenes of the
different orders of the rapture. It reveals the time when each order is
raptured or resurrected.
Our good friends who do not believe in the millennial reign of
Christ on earth base their theory on the Scripture which
states the fact that both the wicked and the righteous are raised from the
dead. They stick by their theory and ignore the plain statements of the Word
regarding the thousand year reign. They conclude that
since the righteous and the wicked are mentioned in the same verse or chapter
there must be a general resurrection. In like manner
multitudes of pre-millennialists are missing the mark by doing the same thing
regarding the resurrection and translation of the saints at the coming of
Jesus, and are being led into many grave errors. The purpose of Satan in this
is to keep the multitudes of believers from making the necessary preparation
for a place in the Bride of
Christ. Let us face the facts; the hour is late, midnight is approaching, and
with it comes the midnight cry waking every believer the world
over, but then it will be too late to obtain the oil (the Holy Spirit). The new birth is not enough. Forget the wide differences of
opinion as to what takes place in the heart of the believer who receives the
Holy Spirit in His fulness, and seek Him at the point of full surrender until the witness comes.
- The Midnight Cry.
* * *
2
THE KINGDOM A REWARD
THERE
are passages of Scripture which plainly indicate that
only those who are fully given up to the Lord, and are faithful to Him, will
share the place of administration with Christ. We do not agree in every
particular in what Mr. R. Govett has said upon this point, but the following
quotation is of interest.
“Will all believers, then, reign with Christ? By no means. The Kingdom of the thousand years is never said to belong to those who only believe. There are
not a few texts addressed to believers which declare
that certain classes of them shall not enter the kingdom.
1. Those whose
(active) righteousness shall not exceed that of the Pharisees (Matt. 5:
20).
2. Those who, while professors of
Christ’s name, do not the will of His Father (Matt. 7: 21).
3. Those guilty of
strife, envy, and contention. (Luke 9: 46-50; Mark 9: 33-50; Matt. 18: 1-3).
4.
Rich disciples (Matt. 19: 23; Luke 6: 24; 18: 24).
5. Those who deny
the Millennium (Luke 18: 17; Mark 10: 15).
6. The unbaptized
(John 3: 5).
7. See also 1 Cor. 6: 9, 10; Gal. 5: 19-21; 6: 7, 8; Matt. 10: 32, 39; 16: 26; 18: 17, 18; Luke 9: 26.”
Those who sit on the throne are evidently
crowned ones, for the throne-sitters are always those who are crowned.
We know from many Scriptures that all the saints will not
be crowned, and therefore all will not enjoy the high places of sitting on the
throne. Christ’s injunction to the Church at
Yet again we listen to what our Lord
said to the disciples, when some of them were desirous of sharing in
Christ’s earthly kingdom, and when, also, Peter called attention to what he
had given up for the sake of the Lord (Matt. 19: 28), “Verily I
say unto you, that ye who have followed Me,
in the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit on
the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon
twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
What an urgent call this is to go in for all that the Lord has
for us, for those who are willing to suffer with Him now will surely reign with
Him in His coming glory.
Again, John says, “I saw,” and this time it was those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus, and
because of the Word of God. This body of martyrs is a special set of people.
They are evidently a part of that company which John had previously seen, and
who are described under the fifth seal as those who had been slain because of
the Word of God, and because of the testimony which
they held. “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar
the souls of them that were slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which they held.” “And white robes were given unto them: and it was said unto them, that
they should rest yet for a little season, until
their fellow-servants also, and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled” (Rev. 6: 9-11). The whole company is
now seen.
This special class is further described as those who had not
worshipped the beast nor his image, nor received his
mark on their foreheads or on their hand. We know there will be a terrible time
of slaughter after the - [‘accounted
worthy to escape’ members of the] Church is removed, and during the Great Tribulation,
so much so that not a single believer of those days will escape death.
This martyred company will share a peculiar privilege in a
distinct resurrection which is called the First. We must
not confuse the First Resurrection with the pre-resurrection of 1 Thess. 4, when the dead in Christ are raised. Many will say that we
thought the first resurrection included the redeemed of this dispensation, and
they come to this conclusion because of the word “first.” Dr.
Bullinger has gone into this matter of first and second in a very explicit way,
and I cannot do better than quote in extenso what he says:-
“This is the first
resurrection: or this completes the first resurrection. There is an ellipsis of
the verb in this sentence; and we may supply ‘completes,’ having in
mind the several resurrections which shall before then
have taken place. It is also a fact that, when two ordinal numbers are used in such a connection as this, they are used relatively.
The one is first in relation to the second, which
follows: and not to what may have occurred before. In like manner, the second
stands in relation to the first. Hence, in English we always say, in such
cases, former and latter, where we have only two things thus related: and not
first and second, unless there are more to follow in the series. It is the same
in chapter
21: 1,
where we read of the new heavens and the new earth: ‘for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.’
“Here again we have two things
standing in related contrast, the ‘first’ and the ‘new’; i.e., the new and the one that immediately precedes
it: the former, and not the ‘first’. For the present heavens and earth which are now (2 Peter 3: 7) are not the first. For Scripture tells us
of three, of which the present is the second. In 2 Peter 3: 6, 7, 13, we read of the first - the world that ‘then was’ (Gen. 1: 1) of the second - ‘the heavens and the earth which are now’; and of the third -
‘a new
heavens and a new earth,’ for which we now look. This (second of three) is what
is called in Rev. 21: 1, the ‘first’ of the latter two.
“Hence this ‘first resurrection’ is
the former of the two mentioned in this verse: and not the resurrection of the
Church (the Body of Christ, revealed in 1 Thess. 4: 16, 17. This special resurrection (1 Thess. 4: 16) must be carefully
distinguished from that which is called the ‘first resurrection’ in Rev. 20: 6. The word ‘first’ in 1 Thess. 4 : 16, does not refer to ‘the first resurrection,’ so called in Rev. 20: 6, but merely records the order of events, and simply states
that ‘the
dead in Christ’ will ‘rise first’; i.e., before the taking up of either them or the
living saints.”
This interpretation is confirmed by what
Paul says in writing to the Church at
All these who share in what the Spirit calls the First
Resurrection are said to be “blessed and holy,” and shall reign with Christ
for a thousand years. They are “blessed” because of the special honour that will
be placed upon them, and they are “holy” because they shall share in this separated and consecrated place of holy dignity, and their
special reward is that they shall not only be with Christ, but shall reign with
Him in manifest glory during that time which we know as the Millennium.
- Prophetic News.
* * *
3
THE PRIZE
By MISS E. M. LEATHES
BEYOND
the wondrous gift of Eternal Life in Christ Jesus, Paul unveils a marvellous
secret of a prize to be won, and a priceless treasure
to be secured by all who are willing to count the cost. We find him declaring
with eager intensity, “I press on, if so be that I
may lay hold on that for which also I was laid hold on by Christ Jesus.”
“Brethren,” he cries, “I count
not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing
I do, forgetting the things that are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal unto the Prize of the Upward
Calling of God in Christ Jesus.” And what is the Goal towards
which Paul is stretching every nerve and flinging away every hindrance that he
may reach it? He then reveals his most thrilling secret. “Howbeit,” he declares, “what
things were gain to me, those have I counted
loss for Christ. Yea verily, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord: for Whom I suffered the loss of all things,
and do count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ” (or win) (Phil. 3: 12, 13, 14, 7, 8. Amer. R.V.)
And for those who are out to win this
prize the Apostle gives another illustration. Paul had probably watched the
runners who competed for the prize in the Greek Games, when the winner received
a laurel crown. “Know ye not,” he asks, “that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even
so run; that ye may attain.” We know that the competitors in these
races had to undergo a very arduous physical training beforehand. So Paul
continues, “Every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in
all things. Now they do it to receive a
corruptible crown but we an incorruptible. I
therefore so run, as not uncertainly so fight I,
as not beating the air: but
I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage:
lest by any means, after
that I have preached to others, I myself should
be rejected” (or disapproved from the prize) (1 Cor. 9: 24-27. Amer. R.V.) Note the Lord’s words to the lukewarm
I am certain there are many of God’s intrepid followers
today, who are being tested beyond all their natural
resources: it is at such a time when absolute reliance on God alone will avail.
A free translation of 2 Cor. 12: 10, runs thus- “I take pleasure in being without strength,
in being chased about, in being cooped up in a corner, for when I am without
strength, I am dynamite.” And now comes to us ringing down the
centuries from the depths of a Roman dungeon the triumphant shout of that old
battered and wounded warrior, Paul. He exclaims, “I have fought the good fight, I
have finished the course, I have kept the faith:
henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of
Righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous judge, shall
give to me at that Day; and not to me only,
but also to all them that have loved His Appearing”
(2 Tim.
4:
7,
8.
Amer. R.V.)
- The Midnight Cry.
* * *
4
WHY I BELIEVE CHRIST IS COMING
By Wm. G. CHANNON.
FOR more
than a score of years now the truth of the Lord’s Return has been with me
something more than an article of creed; it has helped
my life, and shaped my thinking. It was this particular truth perhaps more than
any other, which induced me to commit my life to the
work of the ministry.
In my early teens I had that
revolutionary experience which is known by the old-fashioned term of “conversion.” It was by means of a very unlettered
man, who knew more about grace than about grammar, that I became converted.
He was the instrument which God chose to bring me to Himself,
and build me up into the Christian faith.
I can never forget how one afternoon as I left the train to
continue on my further journey to school, I saw outside an Anglican Church an
announcement to the effect that in that Church certain days would be given to
the contemplation of the truth of the Second Advent. The names listed on the notice-board were names which in the past were well-known. So I decided that for a few afternoons, instead of studying
trigonometry, I would go and listen to the addresses that were to be given on
the Second Advent. There I learned that one day “this same Jesus” would come again. I grant you
there was a good deal said that was beyond me.
As I look back over the years I ask myself the question,
“What has this truth of the Second Coining meant
to me?” To begin with it gave me a new sense of awe at the wonder of
redemption’s Plan. I had grasped the fact that in our Lord’s
redemptive mission there were four great epochs; but I
had yet to learn that these all awaited their consummation. As to His Incarnation I could worship the infant Redeemer at
This truth, further, gave me a better understanding of the Word of God. I would even go
so far as to say that, in many respects, the truth for which we stand here is a
key to the Scriptures. There are large tracts of the Bible
which cannot be understood apart from it. Almost
one-third of the word of God is devoted to it in one or other of its aspects;
sixteen of the prophetic books of the Old Testament, part of the Psalms,
a large section of the four Gospels; some part of almost all the Epistles, give
to this truth a prominent place; whilst the last book in the Bible, the Book of
the Revelation, is almost entirely given over to events
associated with it. It is not too much to say that, in my experience,
this truth made the Bible a new Book to me.
Furthermore, it gives me a better understanding of the true function of the Church. You know the popular fallacy, that it is
the business of the Church to Christianise society, to convert the world. What
a hope! If the Church is to be so enlarged as
eventually to embrace all nations, then I submit to you on any showing, she is
fighting a losing battle. If I really believed that it was the business of the
Church to convert humanity, I should forthwith quit the ministry. I search the
Bible in vain for any commission to convert the world. We are to evangelise it,
but we are never led to believe that men everywhere
will accept our message; on the contrary, we are assured that they will reject
it; but it is still obligatory on our part to bear witness to it. This truth
taught me that these are the days when God is calling out a people from the
world, a people for Himself, and that when that work
is complete, Christ will return for, and reign with, them. Many a time that
thought has helped me to keep my sanity in the face of great odds. That is what
God is doing.
Then also this truth gave to me an added incentive to holiness of life. “Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself,
even as he is pure” (1 John 3: 3). Here was the thought
which came to me in the glow of my early enthusiasm. This truth was to
influence my conduct, I must do nothing, say nothing, go nowhere, which would, in any way, be inconsistent with the thought that at
any time Christ might come. Let me be
found in all things doing His will, that I be
not ashamed before Him at His Coming. That, I know, has been, and I
trust, is your experience. If His death affords the means, then His Coming
supplies the inspiration for a holy life. And, of
course, when I use the word “holy” I do not mean anything squeamish. When I talk about holiness I mean something very practical, and very
beautiful, too.
Then I found that this truth gave me a quickened zeal for service. There are those
who say that the Second Advent cuts the nerve of Evangelism. That is utter nonsense!
I could prove it to be such on many grounds. Some of
our greatest and most successful missionaries have been Second Adventists. When
Moody discovered the truth that Christ would return he
affirmed that he put two days’ work into every one. I know what it did
for me; I was filled with a zeal to make Him known; it
gave me a desire to go out into the open-air and to speak simply, and yet
faithfully, for Him. Did not the same desire possess the Apostle Paul? “For
what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not
even ye in the presence of our Lord
Jesus Christ at His coming?”
This truth gave me a keener appreciation of the Holy Communion service. To the vast
majority who observe this Service it is simply one of remembrance. But I discovered that the Communion Table was, in effect, a
bridge; and I could never convey in words the thrill that was mine when next I
broke bread and poured out the wine; for it was not only a service that was
retrospect, but one which gave me a glorious prospect “Till He
come.” Every
time we come to the Lord’s Table we pass another
milestone. The thought is not only that of remembrance, but hope. Incidentally,
how do those who reject this truth explain the words which
they use at the Communion Table, “Till He come”? Thank God
in Churches where the pulpit has been silent on this truth, the Table has
always been eloquent.
Furthermore, this truth gives me the power to comfort the bereaved. Paul used this
truth for the self‑same purpose. “Wherefore comfort one another
with these words.” This truth is a healing balm to the heart that has been
crushed and broken by bereavement.
This truth also gives me the solution as to the goal of history. It did a great thing for me when it did
that. Every thoughtful person must have a philosophy of history. Surely we all ask ourselves at times, “What is the meaning, and purpose, and aim of human existence?”
How often we hear it said, “What is it all going
to lead to? What are we here for? Do men just live and
die, and is this process to go on indefinitely? Is this dismal process never to
be arrested?” Yes, every thoughtful person must have some view as
to the manner in which the chapter will wind up. This Book tells me that man,
unaided by God, has always failed, and that he always will. It tells me that
there will be wars and rumours of wars. I learn from its pages that men’s
hearts will fail them for fear for what is coming on the earth. God knows that
is true. Someone said recently that the atomic power is here to stay. “Yes”, was the retort, “but are we?” I learn from the Word of God that human standards of government will give way to His righteous
reign, when “the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our
Lord and of His Christ.”
I do not know when the Saviour will return, but I know He is coming. I am not
confused as to what the issue of it all will be. Let the world go down in
darkness, and it surely will, we know that there is coming the dawn of a new
day. We live in a world of delusions, Man can never fulfil the promises that he
makes. We know what is to be the goal of all human history. It lies in the
Return of Christ to reign.
Let me conclude with this. In my 18th year I went to a great meeting in the Royal Albert Hall; the
Chairman was Dr. F. B. Meyer, and Miss Pankhurst was
one of the speakers; and the Rev. Walter Young led the choir. At the close of
that meeting Dr. Meyer asked everyone present to
stand. And after he had repeated the words “Surely
I come quickly,” I shall never forget how the cry rang out from that great multitude
gathered there, “Even so, come Lord Jesus.” The years have sped by since then.
Tonight our faces are towards the sunrise, and we say with renewed intensity: “Even so, come,
Lord Jesus.” And He will.
- The Advent
Witness.
* * *
5
LAWLESSNESS IN THE CHURCH
N0
contributing cause of anarchy has been more potent and virulent than the dissolvent
of destructive criticism disintegrating the Word of God, and it is remarkable
how this was foreseen even in the nineteenth century.
Dean Stanley, in his farewell sermon at Christ Church, Oxford (December, 1863),
said:- “It is possible, no doubt, to see in the
advance of critical knowledge a dreary winter of unbelief, which is to be the
beginning of the end of the world, and to shrivel up every particle of
spiritual life.” A discredited Bible spells a lawless world.
Professor Delitzsch said before the German Emperor that there can be no greater
error of the human mind than to regard the Bible as a personal revelation of
God:- “With my hand on my heart, I declare that
we require no revelation other than that which every man carries in his own
conscience” (Daily Chronicle, Jan. 14, 1903). In quarters less
virulent, yet no less dangerous, it is the correct thing to hunt Divine
inspiration off the field. “It should be a part of the
obligation to truth,” says Dr. R. F. Horton, in his Yale
Lectures, “which every living preacher feels laid upon him, to deliver
the Church from the confusion, and the mischief, and the error which have been
incurred by this one baseless notion that a book written by human pens and
handed down by human methods, transcribed, translated, compiled by fallible
human minds is, or can be, as such, the Word of God.” The
tragedy is that men of apparent spirituality and devotion, and with a
regenerate love of Christ, can so blindly lay the obvious
foundations of apostasy. Canon Liddon is
said to have died of a broken heart when Bishop Gore and the Lux Mundi school accepted destructive criticism: he saw the end. “This fight is killing me,” exclaimed Mr.
Spurgeon of the downgrade controversy, two months before he died. The last
battle between the Church and the world will be on the Inspiration of the
Scriptures; and it is the defection of the Church, passing over to the
world’s view in a great betrayal, which will force the last crisis. Even
as far back as 1863, Bishop Wilberforce wrote, in his triennial charge:- “It may be that what we
hear around us now are the echoes of the coming footfall of the great
Antichrist.”
* * *
6
EPITOME OF
3 Centuries of Persecution Gospel:
spread far and wide through much persecution.
12 Centuries of Corruption: Heathen
rites, legends, and tradition supplanted by the Word of God.
1 Century of Reformation: The greater
part of
3 Centuries of
Stagnation: Missionary work in unreached parts of
EVEN a
cursory glance at the foregoing outline of
Three centuries of Persecution. For the first three centuries after Christ’s
ascension, the gospel made rapid progress throughout the
Parts of Europe and parts of Africa which
were within the bounds of the
In
Twelve centuries of corruption. When
From that time on, the heathen and Christian religions began
to blend into one. The early purity of the church was gone, and heathen rites
were incorporated, with a Christian veneer, into the elaborate ritual of the church which was patterned after the highly organized
government of the empire.
For twelve long, dark centuries
One century of reformation. Into this spiritual blackness broke a long-delayed
shaft of new light. The sixteenth century saw the Reformation. But while we thank God for all that this new awakening
accomplished, we must not view this period out of perspective. The Reformation,
blessed as it was to many, left millions of other
Europeans still unreached. The Reformation did not evangelize
Three centuries of stagnation. Yet
-
* * *
7
PREPARATION FOR THE KINGDOM
By MAJOR W. F. BATT
WE
Christians “shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” * and give account of
ourselves to God. That is the day in which He will reward
every man according to his works. It is the time when our Lord takes
account of how we have used the gifts and talents He has given us. One will
say, “Lord, Thy pound hath gained
ten pounds,” and his Lord will say, “Well, thou
good servant: because thou hast been faithful in
a very little, have thou authority over ten
cities.” ** Likewise the servant who had gained five talents. This is the time
when the Lord shall cause His good and faithful servants to sit down to meat
and will gird Himself and will come forth and serve them.*** Today we rejoice
in Christian fellowship; we gather in faith round the Lord’s Table: but
what a glorious prospect we have to look forward to when we shall sit down with
all those who throughout the ages have been faithful, and when the Lord Himself
shall minister to us, when we shall see Him as He is.
* Rom. 14: 10, 12. ** Luke 19: 16-27. *** Luke 12: 37.
But this is not for all Christians. There was a servant with one talent who kept his talent in a
napkin: the standard was too high - “I feared Thee, because Thou art an
austere Man”; * he had preserved his talent instead of trading
with it. “Thou wicked and slothful servant,” the Lord will say, “Take
therefore the talent from him ... and cast ye the unprofitable servant into
outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” **
* Matt. 25: 26, 28, 30. ** Luke 19:
24.
Now is the time the Lord chooses the team with which He will
rule the world. Our position on that day will depend on the faithfulness of our
Christian life in this Day. The Christian who has willingly given his life to
hard-working and faithful Christian work will be chosen
for a place of honour on that Day. Likewise the escapist Christian, the lazy
Christian, the backward and useless Christian in this life will be useless to
Him in that Day. Our position in the [Millennial] Kingdom depends entirely on the quality of our
Christian life today. Today God is training us for that Day. If He has put us into a task where we need courage, resource, endurance, sound judgment, where we must take responsibility, it is because He is training us for that great Day. On our performance in this
age will depend our place and duties in the Kingdom.
It shall be said in that day, “Lo,
this is our God; we have
waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” * What joy and vindication of
God’s glory! What glory! What a prospect we have if we are faithful, if
only we are holy.
* Isaiah 25: 9.
“Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be
accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” *
* Luke 21: 36.
- Practical Christianity.
* * *
8
HADES
By HERBERT BEIBER, D.D.
THE Word
of God teaches us that man is a tri-unity. He consists of a material part
called the body, and immaterial parts called spirit and soul. With the spirit man has God-consciousness. By death is meant the separation of these component parts. In the
Word of God life is always union, and death is always
separation. In death the spirit and soul are separated
from the body. We know where the body goes. It is placed
in the ground awaiting the resurrection.
Where do the spirit and soul go? In the Old Testament
we are told they go to Sheol. This word is used
sixty-five times. It is translated “hell” thirty-one times, the “grave” thirty-one times, and the “pit” three times. In the New Testament the spirit and soul go to Hades, which is the same
place as Sheol. Hades is used eleven times and is translated
“hell” ten times
and “grave” once. Proper nouns should never be translated in going from one language to
another. So in the American Revised Version you will find
Sheol. Sixty-five times in the Old Testament and Hades eleven times in the New
Testament. Seventy-six times we are told where the
spirit and soul go at death. They go to Sheol or Hades, the place of
disembodied [souls and] spirits.
But where is Sheol or Hades? Death and
Sheol are linked together thirty-three times. Death
gets the body. Sheol or Hades gets the spirit and the [disembodied] soul. But
where is Sheol or Hades? “But those that seek my soul to destroy it
shall go into the lower parts of the earth” (Psalm 63: 9). Here we are told
that Sheol or Hades is in the lower parts of the earth. We know where the earth
is, for we are living on it. When folks died in Old Testament times, they did
not go up; they went down. In the Old Testament we are
told twenty-two times that when folks died they went down into Sheol. Psalm 55: 1: “Let death seize upon them
and let them go down quick into Sheol.”
Now we want to know - do the godly and
ungodly mingle with each other in Sheol as they mingle on earth? Jesus answers this question when He
unveils the unseen for us in Luke 16: 19-31. This
is not a parable. It is an unveiling. A rich man dies and goes to Sheol. A poor
man, Lazarus by name, dies and also goes to Sheol, but
Jesus tells us that Lazarus was in a place called Abraham’s bosom and
that he was in conscious bliss. The rich man was in torment. Between Abraham’s bosom where
Lazarus was and the place of torments where the rich man was, a gulf was fixed. The Greek calls this gulf a chasm.
Two ungodly men were crucified with
Jesus. The one became penitent and prayed the Lord to remember him when he came
into his kingdom. Jesus replied, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.” Now we have two names for the
compartment in Sheol where Lazarus was, Abraham’s bosom and the Old
Testament paradise. When Jesus and the penitent thief died, where did they go?
They went to Sheol, to Abraham’s bosom, to the Old Testament paradise.
Jesus was there three days [and three nights].* / ** / ***
- Tabernacle Bulletin.
[* NOTE: Conditions for the Dead in Sheol / Hades today are unchanged!
The theory that Christ emptied Sheol of all
the holy dead at the time of His Ascension into Heaven
(after His Post-Resurrection ministry), is a lie which some regenerate
believers teach and doggedly believe today!]
** The conviction (shared by Dr. Beiber)
that all Paradise has now been emptied, and the saved taken to Heaven, is upset
by the fact that both saved and unsaved come up out of the tombs (none from
Heaven) in a resurrection yet to come: “they
that have done good, unto the
resurrection of life; and they that have done ill, unto the resurrection of
judgment” (John 5: 29). The ‘Paradise of God’ (Rev. 2: 7), to which Paul was caught up (2 Cor. 12: 4), is in Heaven; but the ‘Paradise’ in which our
Lord met the Thief (Luke 23: 43) must be
in the underworld [of the dead] , for our Lord never ascended into Heaven before His Translation.”
*** TRANSLATION
“The truth stated by Scripture - that the translation of
Enoch was a reward - is obvious to commentators, and is undeniable.
John Angel James, a leading Nonconformist of the
nineteenth century, says:- “Enoch’s translation was a testimony to the whole world
of God’s approval of his conduct.”
Dr. Gouge says:-
“To be translated from earth to heaven is a great reward. Enoch did that which
moved God to translate him: work must be
done before reward can be expected.” Gilfillan says:-
“One reason why this honour was conferred on him
was to show his transcendent excellence.” Calvin says:- “The Scripture shows that this translation was a proof of the
Divine love towards Enoch by connecting
it immediately with his pious and upright life.” John Gill, Spurgeon’s predecessor
by a hundred years, says:- “He was a walker with God, and the course of his conversation
was holy and upright; which was the reason of his translation, a high honour
which was bestowed upon him.” “God
translated him; FOR before his translation
he hath had witness borne to him that he had been well-pleasing unto God” (Heb.
11: 5).”
* * *
9
THE LORD’S WARNING
By R. H. BOLL
“BUT watch ye
at every season, making supplication that ye may prevail to escape all these things
that shall come to pass, and to stand before the
Son of man” (Luke 21: 36).
This sentence concludes our Lord’s prophetic discourse
as recorded by Luke. It is very evident from this:- (1) that certain things shall come to
pass; these are in part mentioned in the preceding part of the discourse (verse
25ff);
(2) that by watchfulness and
supplication we may prevail to escape all those things; (3) that those who so escape shall stand before the Son of man.
First let us examine some of the peculiar
and meaningful words the Saviour used in this sentence.
Agrupneite - watch ye;
not the usual word gregoreo, but a term implying sleeplessness, as of a burdened
heart. It is the word used in Mark 13: 33; also, significantly, in Eph. 6: 18.
Deomenoi - making
supplication; meaning to make urgent request; stronger word than proseuchomai, to pray.
Katischuste - prevail; ischuo means to prevail; katischuo, to prevail against or over something or
somebody; to overcome, to get the upper hand. The mob cried out till their voices prevailed (Luke 23: 23) and they got their wish.
Ekphugein - to escape; the simple word “phugo” means to flee when strengthened with
“ek” it means to flee out of some danger or evil
situation, to escape.
Stathanai - to stand; but to be exact it means “to
be stationed,” for it is a passive form of “histemi,” to stand.
Emprosthen - before; more
literally “in front of.”
These are remarkable words. That the heavenly wisdom of the
Lord Jesus used them with purpose and determination needs not to be said. Let us then, having examined these outstanding
words, try to take in the meaning of the verse. It forms the final word of the
conclusion. To get its force we must look at the two verses pireceding:- “But take heed to yourselves, lest
haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of
this life, and that day come on you suddenly
... as a snare; for so
shall it come upon all them that dwell on the face of all the earth”
(Luke 21:
34,
35).
It is worthy of particular notice how the Lord distinguishes
between His own, the disciples He addresses, and “them that dwell on the face
of all the earth.”
These latter are “earth-dwellers,”
in the bad sense; people who have settled down here below, “men of
the world whose portion is in this life” (Ps. 17: 14) as contrasted with those who are “sojourners
and pilgrims” (1 Pet. 2: 11). Upon such “that day” will come “suddenly,
as a snare” - which obviously, in the Lord’s warning, must be
considered as a dreadful calamity, by all means to be avoided.
He solemnly cautions His disciples not to let their hearts be
taken up with self-indulgence, drunkenness or the cares of this life which
choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful (Mark 4: 19); for in that case would “that day” come upon them “suddenly,
as a snare,” precisely as it will upon the earth-dwellers (Comp. Rev.
3:
3).
Now to our verse. Here the Lord Jesus marks out the
course necessary for His own who are to escape the terrible things that shall come to pass and who shall be permitted to stand before the
Son of Man. It is for them:-
To watch at every season. Though He points out certain signs,
at the inception of which they should look up and lift up their heads, for the
time of their redemption draweth nigh (Luke 21: 28) - there is never a time when they should not watch - signs
or no signs. For the signs may go unnoticed, and we may
easily misjudge our times. The only safety lies in watching always. (See
here Mark 13 : 35-37).
Making supplication. This, being a participle, shows that
the supplication is to go on during the constant watching. If they are to watch
at every season, so must they be making supplication at every season, constantly.
And for what this constant, urgent
prayer? That they may prevail to escape all the things that
are to come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. Both the
escape, on the one hand, from the calamities and judgment of that day and the
privilege of being placed “in front of” the Son of man are here made
contingent on watchfulness and prevailing prayer.
If anyone asks how this harmonizes with the widely-held tenet
of “the eternal security of the believer”
and the doctrine of salvation by grace - I would be far from detracting one
whit from the plain face value of any of God’s precious promises. But let
me say this - that if your faith in those promises sets your soul on fire to
serve God, to work and watch and pray, and to do all His good will gladly, then
there is no doubt that you have truly understood, and your faith in His
gracious promise is having its intended result and manifestation. But if yours is a sort of pleasant fatalism that tends to
make you careless and easy going, you have surely misunderstood something
somewhere. And you surely need the Lord’s
warning.
Let us watch and make supplication always that we may escape
the things that shall come upon the world and be accounted
worthy of the
- Herald of His Coming.
* NOTE: “The Lord is now selecting and training the kings
and rulers for the coming new age in His great plan of redemption. ‘Unto him that hath loved us
and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and
priests unto God and his Father’ (Rev. 1: 5, 6). ‘And we shall reign on the earth’ (Rev. 5: 10). A warless world to last
1,000 years will some day be a reality, but only those who have parted company
with sin and the world will ever have any place in that greatly to be desired
‘New Order.’
‘Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first
resurrection on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall
reign with him a thousand years.’ - W. F.
BEIRNES.”
* * *
10
WORLD CONDITIONS AT THE TIME
OF THE RAPTURE
By Wm. F. BEIRNES
No sooner will the United States of Europe be
formed with its president at the head and the covenant with the Jews
confirmed than every true believer the world over will recognize exactly where
we are prophetically, for these events will strike the hour of midnight with no
uncertain tones. After the covenant, the Jews will flock back to
In the beginning it will not have the
appearance of a threat to world peace. The people will see only the nations of
Coming directly to the point in question, the Psalmist (Ps. 2: 2) says that the kings and rulers of
the earth will “take counsel together.” This will necessitate international
conferences. It is a little difficult at this stage of the end time drama to
visualize a time in the near future when the true born-again Christians will
become such a problem that kings and rulers will call United Nations Conferences to discuss the matter and determine what to
do about it, but that time is coming.
It is on the prophetic agenda.
Bills will be brought before
legislative assemblies in all nations for quick passage against the
Lord’s anointed ones. Lawmakers convened in Government sessions will make
impassioned speeches in favour of bills providing drastic measures for dealing
with the offenders. The maximum sentence will make the death penalty mandatory.
The great cry in the council chambers will be, “Let
us break their cords from us.”
The bills will be passed quickly and signed into law. Machinery
will be set up in all nations to enforce every provision.
The ten virgins, described in Matt. 25: 1-13, have time to inquire about obtaining the necessary oil to be ready
when the Bridegroom comes. It is
evident from this parable that every believer both
foolish and wise will know definitely before the rapture that he is ready or is
in danger of being left behind. The events of each passing day will make
the imminence of the rapture more certain and increase the excitement among the
wise and foolish virgins.
The awakened virgins, knowing the antichrist is come, will
preach that this great president of the United States of Europe is the prophesied “man of sin - The vile person
- son of perdition,” etc. they will denounce the United
States of Europe as the “beast kingdom.”
They will endeavour to persuade the Jews that they are accepting a false
messiah as their deliverer. They will preach that the rapture is due and that
this will be followed by the great tribulation judgments described in the book
of Revelation - the opening of the seals under which wars,
revolutions, famines and pestilences will sweep the
world.
Seeing the federated nations of
The awakened Christians will come in for great persecution from
the rulers of the nations. Their powerful preaching of the coming of Christ
will bring them into direct conflict. National leaders, realizing that if this
were to continue, the programme for world federation and peace will be
jeopardized and the ratification of treaties by popular vote so necessary, may be lost, take drastic steps to silence those
who are giving out the midnight cry. All who persist in preaching Second Coming
Truth will be arrested and imprisoned. Trial for
sedition or for treason will make newspaper headlines. The prisons of the
country will be filled with saints of God. Even in
It is only reasonable to suppose that there will be a day set
for the mass execution of many thousands of the leaders. The motive will be to
silence, through fear, the rest of the virgins. Plans may be
made for public executions to be carried out in every large centre over
the world in thousands of places at the same moment. What a
day that will be! Let us visualise people gathered by the thousands and
tens of thousands in every centre of public execution. Bands are playing and
flags flying. Radio announcers are giving a word picture of all that is
happening. Soldiers are lined up with fixed bayonets
in the line of the death march to great scaffolds or before firing squads. The
hour finally arrives and the officers deputized for the purpose go to the
prisons from which the saints are to be brought forth.
The officers open the doors of the prisons and soldiers rush in for their victims .... BUT to their
amazement there is nothing but old clothes lying around where the saints
suddenly put off the old and were clothed in immortality and caught up to be
with their Lord. Then, “He that
sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision.” After consultation the officers in confusion and consternation are
forced to bring the news to the throngs waiting in expectation for the scene of
the death march that something very strange has taken place over which they
have no control. They are saying as in the case of the apostles, “the
prisons truly found we shut with all safety, and
the keepers standing without before the doors.” But before
they are through making the disappointing announcements messages will come from
various parts of the country of other strange happenings and of missing ones.
Every cemetery will be molested, for graves will be
found opened and the monuments toppled over and broken. A world‑wide
earthquake at the moment of the rapture will add to
the confusion. The leaders who planned this mass execution are in derision. The
whole world knows the rapture of the Bride of Christ has taken place. They will
not see the saints go, but they will know they are gone. It will be the greatest
world‑shaking event of all time. The rage of the national leaders will
rise again, and the foolish virgins left behind will bewail their conditions
and declare the tribulation is now present. Wholesale executions of the foolish
virgins will follow as indicated in the Fifth Seal.
Immediately following the rapture
“God will speak
unto them (the
nations) in his wrath and vex them in his sore
displeasure.” Tribulation judgments will begin to fall.
- The Midnight Cry.
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