IN THE LAST TRUMP

        The "day of the Lord" is a very important factor in determining the time element of the Lord's second coming. The student of the Word should give very careful attention to the study of this day. Indifference toward the true significance of the frequent references to this day will not encourage an honorable division of the Word of Truth. This day is called "the day," "the last day," "the day of Christ," "the day of judgment," "the day of the Lord," "the day of God," etc., but it always refers to the same period of time. Sometimes it is the beginning of this day that is especially significant, at other times it is the end of this day to which attention is directed.
        It is of no little significance that God worked six days and rested the seventh (Gen. 1 & 2; Heb. 4). God does not do things without having a purpose or design to them. The work of creation was not so great that God was unable to perform it within one day, or even one second, had He so desired. Why, then, did He bless and sanctify the seventh day? Surely, he rested that day, but God does not become tired that he should need to rest. Why did God ordain that Israel work six days and rest the seventh? The Bible teaches that the Law was typical; a shadow of good things to come (Heb. 10). Israel was to work six days and rest the seventh day. There is definitely a far reaching application to these days. That application is simply this: The six days of work represent the six thousand years of bondage to which God has subjected man and all the earth. The seventh day on which God rested teaches us that the earth and those united with the Son will rest a thousand years upon this earth. After the one thousand years have ended, the earth with all its works, the elements, and the heavens will be melted with fervent heat, and then will come the new heaven and new earth.
        This seventh thousand years is the day of the Lord. It is His day; the day when He will shine forth as the lily of the valley; the bright and morning star; the one who is altogether lovely. The day of the Lord is the day when the Lord will truly be Lord over all the earth.
        The time interval from the first advent of our Lord to the end of the Millennium is called the "last days," or, "latter days." Look at Acts 2:16-17, for instance, where the apostle Peter is speaking of the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. "But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." Look also at Heb 1:1-2: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds." Other scriptures in the New Testament such as II Pet. 3:3 and II Tim. 3:1 are very clear on the matter. In the Old Testament one should study such passages as Gen. 49:1; Num. 24:14; Deut. 4:30; 31:29; Isa. 2:2; Ezek. 38:8, 16; Dan. 2:28; 10:14; and many others.
        Since the last three millenniums (5th, 6th, and 7th) are referred to as the "last days," or, "latter days," it is only natural that the last millennium (the 7th) should be referred to as the "last day." Do we find such references in the inspired Word? We certainly do and with special significance. Look at John 6:39, 40, 44, and 54 where we read words which came from the Lord's own lips. "And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day....No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day....Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day." Let us also look further at John 11:24. "Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day." I read after one writer who spoke of Martha as a poor unlearned woman because she did not know that the resurrection would take place before the last day. As I read such careless statements I was made to wonder if this writer would also call Jesus unlearned and ignorant of the time of the resurrection. How careless can we become?
        Not only do we find the reference to the "last day" in its proper order, but Jesus Himself says that the last day is the time of the resurrection. The Greek says, "in the last day," not merely "at" the last day, which some might interpret to mean just shortly before that day. Inspiration says that the resurrection of the just is "IN" the LAST day.
        Now, look also at John 12:48 where we find the Lord putting the judgment also "in the last day." One will observe that the references to this "last day" include the time from the first resurrection to the time of the second resurrection. This day is clearly the last millennium before the new heaven and new earth mentioned in Rev. 21. Why should these references to this "last day" be so specific? If it is possible to add still greater emphasis, then it might be seen by the usage of both classifications (last days, and, the last day) within the same discussion. This is done twice by the apostle Peter -- once in Acts 2:16-20, and once in II Pet 3:3-12.
        The day of the Lord is a day of judgment. "Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead" (Acts 17:31). Compare also, Rom. 2:5; II Pet. 3:7; Jude 6; etc. This day begins with judgment (I Thess. 5:2-3; Luke. 21:34-36; etc.). It will also end in judgment (Matt. 11:22, 24; II Pet. 3; Rev. 20:11-15; etc.). For the faithful servants of the Lord it will be a day of rest, joy, boldness, etc. (Eph. 4:30; II Tim. 4:8; I Jno. 4:17; II Cor 1:14; Heb 3 and 4; etc).
        Some writers have tried to make a difference between the "day of the Lord," "the day of Christ" and "the day of God," but to take a Bible and a good concordance and study the references made to each of these will surely reveal that they are the same day. The attitude of the child of God is to be precisely the same toward both the "day of Christ" and "the day of the Lord" -- an attitude of expectancy (I Cor. 1:8; 3:13; 5:5; II Cor. 1:14; Phil. 1:6, 10; I Thess. 5:2-8; etc.). That the "day of God" is the same as the other two, please examine Rev. 16:14; 6:17; Rom 2:16; etc. A close examination of I Cor. 1:7-8 will reveal that the "revelation" of Christ, "the day of the Lord," "the day of the Lord Jesus," and "the day of the Lord Jesus Christ" will all begin at the same time. It is wise to examine all these scriptures before passing any judgment.
        II Pet 3:10 says, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night: in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." Without a doubt, the day of the Lord is the thousand years in which Christ and His saints will reign on the earth. This day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night and will end with the dissolving of the present earth and heavens. Some seek to apply this verse to the shaking of the earth at the beginning of the Millennium, but I cannot follow that application though a good argument is made.
        Now, I believe that we are better prepared to examine some other significant passages in the proper manner. Let us look at II Thess 2:1-8. In verse 1 Paul states his primary object of discussion, viz., the coming of our Lord and our gathering together to Him. In verse 2 he teaches that the coming of the Lord and our gathering together to Him will be simultaneous with the coming of the day of Christ (the Greek text says, "the day of the Lord"). Verse 3 says plainly that two things must take place before the day of Christ comes. The first of these is a great falling away. The second is the revelation of the man of sin. Paul does not have reference to the time the Antichrist makes the covenant with the Jews, but rather to the time he breaks it. The Antichrist will be revealed by his wicked deeds and blasphemous assertions when he stands in the temple of God claiming that he is God. By no honest means of interpretation can we gather from this passage that there will be a gathering together of the saints to the Lord before the man of sin is revealed -- not even before the day of the Lord dawns.
        It was my belief in the earlier days of my ministry that verse 7 had reference to the rapture of the saints, but this cannot be. The statement, "only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way," has reference to the Holy Spirit in the capacity of His indwelling the churches, without a doubt. But you will observe that He is not taken out of the world, but only out of the way, or path, of the Antichrist. The Holy Spirit's restraint upon the Antichrist must be lifted before the Antichrist can come to full power. You will also observe that the Holy Spirit must be taken out of the way (middle, path) before the man of sin in revealed. The saints are not gathered to the Lord until after the man of sin is revealed. If we say that the expression, "taken out of the way," means "taken out of the world," then we would have the churches of the Lord here on the earth for a short length of time without the indwelling Spirit. Such will not happen. We must understand that the Holy Spirit is not taken out of the world, but merely moved out of the path of the Antichrist. The Holy Spirit will still indwell the true churches here on earth during the three and one half years that the Antichrist is in full power.
        I Thess. 4:13-18 is always applied to a supposedly secret coming of our Lord for His saints some three and one half or seven years before His coming in glory. We must understand that chapter divisions in the Bible are a work of man apart from inspiration. Chapter 5 deals with the same subject as that of chapter 4. Chapter 4 tells what will happen. Chapter 5 tells primarily when it will happen.
        Please mark the words carefully. "But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." Paul used the conjunction to link I Thess. 4:13-18 with the day of the Lord which is the one thousand years in which Christ shall reign on the earth.
        Christ shall descend "from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God" at the same time the day of the Lord begins. The day of the Lord will not begin until after the man of sin has been revealed in the midst of the week. The man of sin is not revealed until after the Holy Spirit is moved out of the way (path). Let me remind the reader that the Lord will judge us according to our willingness to receive the Holy Spirit's instructions. If we divide the Word of Truth correctly, it is because the Spirit has instructed us thus. If we divide it incorrectly, it is because we have refused the instructions of the Spirit. We cannot have contradictory divisions of the Word and both or all of them be correct. Therefore, let us NOT try to divide the Word of Truth in I Thess. 4:13-17 without going into chapter 5 as the spirit intended for us to do.
        While we are examining these matters in I Thess. 5, let us look further at the day of the Lord. Study carefully verses 1 through 8. True church saints are spoken of as belonging to the day of the Lord (verses 5 and 8). The day of the Lord is spoken of as the daytime, while the present age is spoken of as nighttime. The present age is a time of darkness. The day of the Lord, to which we belong, is a time of light -- the light of God's righteousness will shine throughout the whole earth. Could it be more clear that the day of the Lord is the Millennium, which will begin with the Second Advent of Christ?
        But some may ask, "If Christ comes all away to the earth at this time, then why are the Saints caught up to meet Him in the air?" My answer is that just as a child runs out with joyful shouts to meet its father as he returns from a trip, or from work, so will we rapturously ascend to meet our loving Master as He returns from His present heavenly dwelling. Yet possibly it can be better understood by the fact that if most of the Saints do not rise into the air and circle the earth, they will have to proceed through the earth to meet the Lord above Matt. Zion. This passage in 1 Thess. 4:13-18 surely says that we will meet the Lord in the air, but it does not say that we will be with Him in the air forever. The passage says nothing about the saints remaining in the air with the Lord for any period of time, not even an hour. They only meet the Lord there.
        Chapter 5 verse 3 speaks of the sudden destruction (wrath of God) that shall come upon this present world when the day of the Lord begins. This surely harmonizes with the foregoing comments concerning the beginning of the wrath of God at the same time Christ comes in glory. The world is shouting peace and safety under the tyrannical rule of Antichrist, Satan is mocking at the truth of God though he knows he has but a short time; then sudden destruction shoots forth from the presence of the Almighty as boiling lava from a smoking, heaving volcano, to envelop the whole Earth.
        A thorough study of I Thess. 4:13-18 and 5:1-10 with the other scriptures already mentioned will reveal that the chief coming of the Lord for His saints, and the glory coming with His saints both happen in one event. Remember that I Cor 15 and I Thess 4 and 5 deal with the same subject and the same time element: the last trump.

        In Matt. 24:25-28 Jesus continues to speak of the time immediately after the abomination of desolation stands in the holy place. He says that in those days there will be many who will stand up and say that Christ has made some secret appearance here, or there, or some other place. Jesus said for us not to believe such proclamations because, "as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Jesus went on down through verse 31 speaking of the same subject, declaring that it would be "immediately after the tribulation of those days."
        The language of Matt. 24 is quite consistent. In verse 3 the disciples asked Jesus when would be the sign of His coming (body presence). The next time He refers to His coming (same Greek word) is in verse 27 concerning the lightning. With all Jesus said about the false claims that Christ is here, or there, in this chapter, we can be assured that He definitely meant for His disciples to understand clearly the unmistakable proof of His presence.
        Verse 28 is of no little significance. It is directly connected with the lightning coming of Christ that Jesus said, "For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together." What is it about a carcass that will attract the "eagles" for many miles around? One of those hungry birds will never miss finding the desired carcass. What an excellent illustration Jesus used here! The eagles do not have to tell each other that the carcass is in the desert, or in the secret chamber, or here, or there, for they all quickly find the desired object. Jesus says, in substance, that we have no need to be distracted by the wild cries of Satan's eagles that Christ is here, or there, for every one of the Lord's hungry eagles will quickly recognize their desired Master, and will hurriedly gather themselves around about Him. How very beautiful is the understanding!
        Look further at the harmony between Christ, Paul and John, the three who had so much to say about the coming Antichrist. Here in Matt. 24 Jesus speaks to the disciples of a great many things which must take place before His return to establish the kingdom and reign for a thousand years. Repeatedly He tells them of things that must come to pass, and then tells them that the "end is not yet." They would be hated and put to death among all nations, but such things were to be only the "beginning of sorrows." Finally Christ speaks to them of the coming Antichrist who would work great wonders and cause terrible destruction throughout the earth. No doubt the disciples were listening with burning hearts, desiring most of all to know when the end of these things would be when the saints would be gathered together to the Lord. Jesus repeatedly says that this thing is not the end, nor is that thing the end; and when He finally comes to the desired time, He says that it would be as manifest as the presence of lightning, and that at that time the saints will be gathered together to the Lord. The desired time comes after the reign of the Antichrist.
        Turning back to II Thess. 2, we find that Paul also said that our gathering together to the Lord would come only after the reign of the Antichrist. In the book of Revelation, the apostle John says the same things. The coming of the Lord is not until the sixth seal and the seventh trumpet which are the same in time development.
        I ask the question, Can we produce even one scripture that will definitely teach that there is a rapture even of the faithful before the tribulation begins? I have analyzed every scripture connected with the coming of the Lord that I could find and I am convinced more than ever that there shall not be a rapture of any kind until the reign of the Antichrist is broken by the appearing of our Lord in glory.

Daniel 7:22, 25 says that the saints shall be given into the hands of the man of sin and he shall wear them out for three and one half years. Rev. 13:7 says that power will be given to the first Beast (the Antichrist) to make war with the saints and to overcome them. Rev. 6:9-11 speaks of the souls of many saints under the altar in heaven who had been slain during the tribulation because of the testimony which they held. Rev. 7:9-17 tells us of a very great multitude which no man could number, who had come up out of the great tribulation, and had washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. In Luke 17:22 we read, "And he said unto his disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it." There have been times like this for God's people in the past, and there will be many more days of the same in the future. Certainly the saints of the Lord (faithful as well as unfaithful) are going right on through the reign of the Antichrist until the day of the Lord shall dawn. The Antichrist shall do his best to wipe out the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ from the earth while he is in power, and millions of saints will be slain during his reign of terror. Many (like the souls under the altar) will cry out for the coming of the day of the Lord and will be told to wait for a "little season."
        In the above paragraph one will see that there will be a great multitude of saints in every nation after the tribulation has begun. It has already been shown by an abundance of scriptures that the rapture does not take place until the reign of the Antichrist is ended by the out-burst of God's wrath. Yet, I want to consider another scripture that shall throw a great amount of light upon the matter.
        Let us examine II Thess. 2:9-12 with the thought of whether or not there will be many people saved after the Antichrist begins his reign of terror. Paul says that the man of sin will come "with ALL power and signs and lying wonders, and with ALL deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; BECAUSE THEY RECEIVED NOT THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH, THAT THEY MIGHT BE SAVED." Verse 11 and 12 says, "For THIS CAUSE (because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved) God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a (the) lie. That they ALL might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." This passage most clearly teaches that everyone who has not been saved at the time the Antichrist is revealed will be doomed.
        Attention is called to Joel 2:32 and Acts 2:21, which seem to teach that some will be saved. First I might mention that it seems that Peter made the verse applicable to the Jews to whom he was speaking; whosoever of them that would believe would be saved. On the other hand as we study the passages it seems most likely to fit the exact time of the Lord's coming in glory. To study Luke 13:35 in this connection will aid in the interpretation. Jesus said that Israel would not see Him until they cried, "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." The force of the statement is that when they make such a cry they shall see the Lord. No doubt Joel 2:32 and Acts 2:21 refer to the time Israel will call upon the Lord for salvation. Compare also Matt. 23:39; Rev. 1:7; Rom. 11:15; etc.
        We do not want to array one scripture against another, therefore it remains that (as II Thess. 2:9-12 teaches) very few, if any (outside of Israel), will be saved after the Antichrist comes into full power in the midst of the week. To study Rev. 13:3-4, 15-17 in connection with II Thess. 2:9-12 will add even greater force to the fact that very few will be saved within the limits of the great tribulation. It remains then, that the great number we find in the tribulation are there because there was no coming of the Lord (and no rapture) prior to that time.
        The statement has been made, "You're not going to put me through the tribulation." To this I say first that I will have nothing to do with putting anyone through the tribulation, whether I interpret the Scriptures correctly or not. In the second place such an attitude could become Pharisaical if we are not very careful. Surely we do not think that we are too good to suffer as many of the saints of old have done. From the language Paul used in Phil. 3:10 and II Tim. 4:6-8 it seems that he had a desire to die the death of a martyr for Christ's sake. Heb. 11:35 says certain saints were pleased to be tortured for the cause of the Lord. The Bible abundantly teaches that those who are consecrated to the service of God will greatly rejoice in persecutions and sufferings for Christ's sake. Millions of saints down through the ages have cheerfully given their lives in martyrdom as a testimony of their faith in the coming of the Lord of glory.
        I heard one preacher preach that many of God's people had a potato vine for a backbone. I heard another preacher refer to many Baptists as having a spaghetti backbone. Those may appear to be hard terms, but I will frankly confess that I am pretty much of a coward when it comes to the thought of really suffering for the cause of Christ. How shameful it is that men will twist the teachings of God's Word in order to ease their flinching consciences concerning the element of suffering that goes with the reproach of the cross of Christ! But the Word says that with much tribulation we will be accounted worthy of the kingdom (Acts 14:22; II Thess. 1:1-7; etc.).
        May God give us the courage to say from the heart, "If God is pleased to get greater glory out of me by a martyr's death, than by a faithful life, then let me die that blessed death." May our desire be that, whether by living or by dying, the Lord will receive the greatest amount of glory out of our testimony.

        The reader should be thoroughly convinced by now that the thief coming and the glory coming are the same; nevertheless, I will present a few more thoughts to show how far the Lord intended for us to go with the thief element.
        Let us first recall that both Paul and Peter said that "the day of the Lord" will come as a thief in the night (I Thess. 5:2-3; II Pet. 3:10). The day of the Lord is the thousand years that Christ shall reign over the earth. Both Paul and Peter spoke of this day in connection with the judgment and wrath of God that would be poured forth upon the earth, which is also the way in which Jesus spoke of that day in Luke 21:34-36. How can we compare the coming of that day to the coming of a thief? We can make the comparison only in the suddenness and unexpectedness of the approach. We can carry it no further because the scriptures carry it no further. The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, but when it arrives every living creature will know it.
        The flood of Noah's day caught that present world as a thief in the night (Matt. 24:36-43). Those people could have known about the approach of the flood through the preaching of Noah, but they refused to heed his warnings as truth. Though the flood came as a thief in the night, there is one thing for certain, when it did come, they all knew it. Please take note of the fact that those times when the Lord's coming is compared with that of a thief, it is in connection with the day of the Lord and the judgment of God upon the earth by the flood in the days of Noah. The day of the Lord will come as a thief, yet it will be public to all the earth. The flood came as a thief, yet it was public to all the world. The Lord will certainly come as a thief, yet it will be public to all the world.
        In Matt. 24:23-27 Jesus told His disciples not to get excited if, at the time the abomination of desolation stands in the holy place and the tribulation begins, a great many voices begin also to proclaim that Christ has made a secret coming somewhere. Because, "as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." We can just as easily say that lightning comes as a thief in the night. It comes very suddenly and unexpectedly. The next time there is a storm when the lightning is flashing, just try to set the exact time of the flash and see where you get. You know it will flash just any time, but you cannot tell the exact time.
        Jesus said His coming would be as a thief in the night, yet Paul said that that day should not overtake us as a thief. When we stand on the porch, or at the window, looking at the rolling, black clouds in the sky, and hear the thunder rumbling all around us, we always await the flash of lightning across the heavens. Even so, those who are watching and praying (Luke 21:34-36), who are wise (Dan. 12:10), who are awake spiritually (I Thess. 5;4-8), as they hear the rumbling of the forces of Satan on every side during the reign of the Antichrist, when Satan's lightning is striking the death blow to multitudes of the saints, they will know that the day their Lord will light up the heavens and the earth with His glorious presence is very close. These wise ones will be waiting very eagerly in great anticipation of that most blessed hour.