Matthew Chapter 24
VERSE 31 “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
The Sinaitic MS omits the word "sound", which we believe to be in harmony with the general teachings of the trumpets.
“This work (of gathering His elect) will be in progress in the interim, during the "harvest."
The angels (messengers of the new King of earth) will do a separating work, NOT between the church and the world, but a separating work in the nominal church-- among nominal professors, the present "heavens".
This work is represented under various symbolic descriptions—it is the gathering of the wheat from the tares into the barn (Matt. 13:30); it is the gathering of the good fish into baskets and the casting of the unsuitable fish caught in the gospel net back into the sea (Matt. 13:47-49); it is the gathering of his jewels (Mal. 3:17); it is the calling of "my people" out of Babylon (Rev. 18:4); it is the midnight cry to the virgins, which separates the wise from the foolish (Matt. 25:6); and in this prophecy it is the gathering of the "elect" (the true Christians, the fully consecrated) from all the non-elect of Christendom (the nominal Christians, those not consecrated), from the four winds--from every quarter.
We are not to expect spirit-angels to appear with wings and to fly through the air blowing a great trumpet, and here and there catching away some of the saints--no more than we are to expect to become literal fish and to be put into literal baskets, or literal grains of wheat to be put into a literal barn. The angels or messengers used by our Lord in this harvest gathering will, we believe, be such messengers as he has used in his service throughout this age—earthly servants, begotten of his holy Spirit--"new creatures in Christ Jesus."
The "great trumpet" we understand to be the antitypical "trumpet of Jubilee," the "seventh trumpet," as symbolic as were the preceding six (Rev. 11:15-18), none of which ever made any literal sound. It has been symbolically sounding since October 1874, and will continue to the end of the Millennium. With the beginning of this trumpet began the "harvest" and the reaping and separating, which must continue until the "elect," the "wheat," are all gathered out of the present heavens (ecclesiastical systems)--unto the Lord.
The "angels" (messengers) are those who carry the message of the Lord's Word which produces the separation and gathers his elect to himself.
It is the privilege of the faithful people of God who are now translated out of darkness into the marvelous light-- who are permitted to see and hear those things which others do not see and hear, to be co-workers with their Lord as his angels--messengers or servants--in this as well as in all the other features of the work, throughout the age. By his grace such have plowed and sowed and harrowed and watered, and now the same class may also reap with the Chief Reaper.” (D 600-602)
We will take a look at another perspective on this verse in our next post.
VERSE 31 “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
The Sinaitic MS omits the word "sound", which we believe to be in harmony with the general teachings of the trumpets.
“This work (of gathering His elect) will be in progress in the interim, during the "harvest."
The angels (messengers of the new King of earth) will do a separating work, NOT between the church and the world, but a separating work in the nominal church-- among nominal professors, the present "heavens".
This work is represented under various symbolic descriptions—it is the gathering of the wheat from the tares into the barn (Matt. 13:30); it is the gathering of the good fish into baskets and the casting of the unsuitable fish caught in the gospel net back into the sea (Matt. 13:47-49); it is the gathering of his jewels (Mal. 3:17); it is the calling of "my people" out of Babylon (Rev. 18:4); it is the midnight cry to the virgins, which separates the wise from the foolish (Matt. 25:6); and in this prophecy it is the gathering of the "elect" (the true Christians, the fully consecrated) from all the non-elect of Christendom (the nominal Christians, those not consecrated), from the four winds--from every quarter.
We are not to expect spirit-angels to appear with wings and to fly through the air blowing a great trumpet, and here and there catching away some of the saints--no more than we are to expect to become literal fish and to be put into literal baskets, or literal grains of wheat to be put into a literal barn. The angels or messengers used by our Lord in this harvest gathering will, we believe, be such messengers as he has used in his service throughout this age—earthly servants, begotten of his holy Spirit--"new creatures in Christ Jesus."
The "great trumpet" we understand to be the antitypical "trumpet of Jubilee," the "seventh trumpet," as symbolic as were the preceding six (Rev. 11:15-18), none of which ever made any literal sound. It has been symbolically sounding since October 1874, and will continue to the end of the Millennium. With the beginning of this trumpet began the "harvest" and the reaping and separating, which must continue until the "elect," the "wheat," are all gathered out of the present heavens (ecclesiastical systems)--unto the Lord.
The "angels" (messengers) are those who carry the message of the Lord's Word which produces the separation and gathers his elect to himself.
It is the privilege of the faithful people of God who are now translated out of darkness into the marvelous light-- who are permitted to see and hear those things which others do not see and hear, to be co-workers with their Lord as his angels--messengers or servants--in this as well as in all the other features of the work, throughout the age. By his grace such have plowed and sowed and harrowed and watered, and now the same class may also reap with the Chief Reaper.” (D 600-602)
We will take a look at another perspective on this verse in our next post.
