VERSE 13-14 continued “Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, [but] their works follow [with] them.” Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.”
“If the commonly accepted view of a physical rapture of both the living and the dead saints were beheld visually by the world, this spectacle would hinder the development and trial of tarrying Christians who would die thenceforth. In other words, it would prove an obstacle to the purification and trial of the Great Company class, who do not participate in the first resurrection (Rev. 20:6) but are dealt with next in the divine arrangement prior to the inauguration of the Kingdom.
Moreover, it is difficult to reconcile the various prophecies of the Second Advent if they are all considered and understood from a purely literal or physical standpoint. The complexity is further increased if all the prophecies are thought to converge and meet their fulfillment in a single stupendous event occurring at the moment of the Lord’s arrival.
Consider:
Messiah is pictured as coming with a shout (1 Thess. 4:16); having a sword in his mouth and a sword upon his thigh (Rev. 19:15; Psa. 45:3); holding a trumpet, a book, a sickle, a key, and a chain in his hand (1 Thess. 4:16; Rev. 10:2; 14:14; 20:1); and being seated on a white cloud, a white horse, and on the right hand of the power of God (Rev. 14:14; 19:11; Matt. 26:64).
As the various prophecies marking the First Advent did not all materialize on one single occasion, so these and other Scriptures can be harmonized when understood to depict various activities and events taking place during the period of the Second Advent—the character of which is portrayed in figurative and spiritual symbolism's.
However, the purpose at hand is not to attempt to reconcile these events but, rather, to note that a distinct time interval or period of inspection is indicated by several of the prophecies which touch upon the first features of the Master’s return and the work associated with his presence. The Lord’s people are told he will sit as a refiner of silver and gold (Mal. 3:3). The seated posture of Christ suggests a period of testing and trial, not immediate judgment.
In the present life the Christian (NOT the world, the non-believer) is under judgment, and this is especially true today, as the setting of this prophecy of Malachi has its real application in the latter days, i.e., in the days of the Master Refiner’s return. No mock trial or refining work will be found necessary for footstep followers of the Redeemer in the life beyond the veil; instead, there will be commendation and proportionate reward for having done good in the previous life.
Those of the secondary spiritual class, the Great Company, will receive less honor, being deemed merely worthy of life. And those previously enlightened by the Holy Spirit who “have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world [age] to come,” but are subsequently proven unfit for life, and thus are worthy of Second Death (Heb. 6:4–8), will have no part in the resurrection to life at all; it will not be necessary for them to hear a sentence pronounced remanding them to the abyss or eternal sleep of death. To be raised to hear such a sentence would be meaningless—it would serve no good purpose and would not be a trial in the true sense of the word, as the fate of this class was sealed earlier. The trial, testing, and refining of the spiritual seed class takes place down here on earth, prior to their reception to honor and glory.
Time is an important factor, and since this judging work is not instantaneously concluded, the Master is shown seated on a white cloud while engaging in harvesting work (Rev. 14:14). In Matt 13:48 the gospel net is being drawn to shore, and the Lord’s messengers or fishers of men are shown seated while the sorting work is being accomplished. Rev 3:20 describes the Lord as standing at the door in these latter days, knocking and awaiting the response of the faithful few who are rewarded with food in due season. The door through which the Master comes to his people is not the portal of death but the portal of one’s heart which, when opened unto Jesus in these days of the seventh or last epoch of the Church’s experience, will be filled with bounties new and old and will receive a confirmation of the blessedness of the Master’s presence in a special sense (Dan. 12:12).
These are but a few of the many Scriptures that give an insight into the nature of Jesus’ present judgment, which begins with the “house of God” (1 Pet. 4:17). Suffice it to say that a period of trial is indicated for his professed people tabernacling here in the flesh during the harvest at the end of the age.
Continued with next post.
