WITHIN recent years there has been a considerable upsurge of interest, especially among Fundamentalist Christians, in Jesus' Second Coming and His Thousand-year Reign over the earth with His Church. This upsurge has been caused mainly by the signs of the times, which demonstrate that we are living in the very end of the Gospel, or Church, Age.
Among these signs of the times are the great increase of travel and knowledge (Dan. 12:4; Nahum 2:3, 4); Fleshly Israel's return to their homeland, their gaining control of all of Jerusalem, their recovering gradually from their blindness in part, and their conflicts with the Arabs (Jer. 16:13-18; Amos 9:11, 14, 15; Luke 21:27-36; Rom. 11:11, 15, 25-27); a great increase in crime, wickedness, moral laxity and the exposures of evils (2 Tim. 3:1-9, 13; Matt. 24:12; Luke 12:2, 3; 1 Cor. 4:5); the rapid deterioration of morals in the family, government, business, schools, literature, art, music, entertainment, etc. (2 Tim. 3:1-9, 13); the prevalence of unbelief, false belief, false Christs and false prophets (Matt. 24:24-26; Luke 18:8; 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 4:1-4); the fuel and food crisis, runaway inflation, disordered nature, overpopulation and famine (Isa. 47:14, 15; Ezek. 7:12, 19; 14:19; Zeph. 1:18; Luke 21:11); gigantic war preparations, rapid development of horrible weapons, hot and cold wars, revolutions, conflicts between capital and labor and much terrorism and anarchy (Joel 3:9-14; 1 Kings 19:11, 12; James 5:1-8); great unrest, and people fearing greatly as to the present and future (Luke 21:25, 26); the great increase of Spiritism, occultism, Satanism, etc. (Matt. 12:26; 24:26); and, generally, the presence of a worldwide humanly unmanageable crisis (Psa. 107:23-27; Zeph. 1:17; Luke 21:25-27).
There are two lines of thought as to Jesus' Second Coming that have been advocated by Christian people in general, namely, Pre-Millennialism and Post-Millennialism.
Pre-Millennialism, the teaching that Christ comes before the Millennium, to reign with His Church for a thousand years and to convert the world then, has in the minds of most professing Christians largely supplanted Post-Millennialism, the teaching that Christ comes after the Millennium to take over a converted world and to wind up all earthly things. It is becoming more and more evident to thinking people that the world is not being converted, but rather that the proportion of non-Christians to Christians is increasing rapidly (see our books The Divine Plan of the Ages and The Millennium).
With the upsurge of interest in Jesus' Second Coming there is increased hope in many Christian believers that they soon will be united with Jesus in the things eternal, the heavenly glory, in what is commonly known as the rapture, though the word rapture is not found in the Bible.
The noun rapture and the adjective rapt are derived from the Latin word rapere (raptus), which means "to snatch, to seize, to carry away." But both rapt and rapture have attached to them also the thought of lofty emotion, ecstasy, ecstatic joy, love, etc.
Accordingly, when the rapture is referred to by many professing Christians, especially Fundamentalists, they use the word to refer to our Lord Jesus, in the first, or secret, part of His Second Coming, secretly and suddenly catching up to Himself all true Christians then living into the heavens, the spiritual realm, to be eternally united to Him, their heavenly Bridegroom, in eternal ecstatic joy, bliss, felicity and blessedness.
One widely circulated rapture illustration portrays a scene outside a beautiful home. A woman who was hanging out laundry and a little girl who was riding a tricycle are pictured as being bodily whisked away skyward, whereas a boy mowing grass, obviously picturing a non-Christian or an untrue Christian, remains behind.
A widely circulated tract entitled "The Missing Ones" presents the time of the rapture as being one of great calamities, consternation, fear and distress, with trains suddenly losing their engineers, vehicles their drivers, families their best members, etc., and the missing persons bureau as being swamped with calls. Some have bumper stickers on their cars, warning that in case of the rapture their cars will be driverless.
Many claim that after the rapture, there will arise from among those remaining on earth a powerful ruler—an individual—as the Antichrist, showing himself as God in a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, causing all people in general to worship him and to receive his mark in their forehead and hand, and persecuting severely all who refuse to do so, in what is called "the tribulation," to be ended by the second phase of Jesus' Second Coming, in which He overcomes and destroys Antichrist and begins His Millennial Reign.
Some claim that the period between these two phases of Jesus' Second Coming will be 3½ years. Others say it will be 7 years, usually teaching that the 70th week of Dan. 9:24-27 will then be fulfilled. However, this view is erroneous, for Daniel's 70th week was fulfilled along with the other 69 at the time of Jesus' First Advent, as we have shown clearly from many lines of evidence, in BS 463 (a copy free on request).
Ideas sometimes have become so imbedded in our minds, so much a part of ourselves, that we can scarcely part with them. Yet how many of us have found that our ideas concerning the Scriptures have required modification, the reason being our more or less imperfect understanding.
To many it becomes a trial to have long-cherished theories, such as the detached 70th-week teaching, interfered with; but to all who have the childlike spirit of Christ, namely, a readiness to accept unhesitatingly the Father's Word (not the teachings of men which conflict with it—Rom. 3:4; 1 Cor. 2:5), there is no trouble; for they say, "I of myself know nothing at all on the subject, and if I have received an idea unsupported by God's Word I don't want it. I want only the Truth, not my own ideas independent of God's Word, for it alone can sanctify (John 17:17); give me the Truth, no matter what idol it may overthrow."
To such only we have some things to say touching the long-cherished teaching that true Christians living at the time of Jesus' Second Advent will never die a physical death. The Scriptures quoted to support this concept, when carefully considered, do not uphold such a thought; and other Scriptures teach positively that all members of Christ's Body would, like their Head, Example and Forerunner, die physically. Let us together carefully examine the subject in the light of the following considerations on Scriptures usually regarded as the basis of the idea that some of the saints were to be exempted from physical death.
Among these signs of the times are the great increase of travel and knowledge (Dan. 12:4; Nahum 2:3, 4); Fleshly Israel's return to their homeland, their gaining control of all of Jerusalem, their recovering gradually from their blindness in part, and their conflicts with the Arabs (Jer. 16:13-18; Amos 9:11, 14, 15; Luke 21:27-36; Rom. 11:11, 15, 25-27); a great increase in crime, wickedness, moral laxity and the exposures of evils (2 Tim. 3:1-9, 13; Matt. 24:12; Luke 12:2, 3; 1 Cor. 4:5); the rapid deterioration of morals in the family, government, business, schools, literature, art, music, entertainment, etc. (2 Tim. 3:1-9, 13); the prevalence of unbelief, false belief, false Christs and false prophets (Matt. 24:24-26; Luke 18:8; 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 4:1-4); the fuel and food crisis, runaway inflation, disordered nature, overpopulation and famine (Isa. 47:14, 15; Ezek. 7:12, 19; 14:19; Zeph. 1:18; Luke 21:11); gigantic war preparations, rapid development of horrible weapons, hot and cold wars, revolutions, conflicts between capital and labor and much terrorism and anarchy (Joel 3:9-14; 1 Kings 19:11, 12; James 5:1-8); great unrest, and people fearing greatly as to the present and future (Luke 21:25, 26); the great increase of Spiritism, occultism, Satanism, etc. (Matt. 12:26; 24:26); and, generally, the presence of a worldwide humanly unmanageable crisis (Psa. 107:23-27; Zeph. 1:17; Luke 21:25-27).
There are two lines of thought as to Jesus' Second Coming that have been advocated by Christian people in general, namely, Pre-Millennialism and Post-Millennialism.
Pre-Millennialism, the teaching that Christ comes before the Millennium, to reign with His Church for a thousand years and to convert the world then, has in the minds of most professing Christians largely supplanted Post-Millennialism, the teaching that Christ comes after the Millennium to take over a converted world and to wind up all earthly things. It is becoming more and more evident to thinking people that the world is not being converted, but rather that the proportion of non-Christians to Christians is increasing rapidly (see our books The Divine Plan of the Ages and The Millennium).
With the upsurge of interest in Jesus' Second Coming there is increased hope in many Christian believers that they soon will be united with Jesus in the things eternal, the heavenly glory, in what is commonly known as the rapture, though the word rapture is not found in the Bible.
The noun rapture and the adjective rapt are derived from the Latin word rapere (raptus), which means "to snatch, to seize, to carry away." But both rapt and rapture have attached to them also the thought of lofty emotion, ecstasy, ecstatic joy, love, etc.
Accordingly, when the rapture is referred to by many professing Christians, especially Fundamentalists, they use the word to refer to our Lord Jesus, in the first, or secret, part of His Second Coming, secretly and suddenly catching up to Himself all true Christians then living into the heavens, the spiritual realm, to be eternally united to Him, their heavenly Bridegroom, in eternal ecstatic joy, bliss, felicity and blessedness.
One widely circulated rapture illustration portrays a scene outside a beautiful home. A woman who was hanging out laundry and a little girl who was riding a tricycle are pictured as being bodily whisked away skyward, whereas a boy mowing grass, obviously picturing a non-Christian or an untrue Christian, remains behind.
A widely circulated tract entitled "The Missing Ones" presents the time of the rapture as being one of great calamities, consternation, fear and distress, with trains suddenly losing their engineers, vehicles their drivers, families their best members, etc., and the missing persons bureau as being swamped with calls. Some have bumper stickers on their cars, warning that in case of the rapture their cars will be driverless.
Many claim that after the rapture, there will arise from among those remaining on earth a powerful ruler—an individual—as the Antichrist, showing himself as God in a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, causing all people in general to worship him and to receive his mark in their forehead and hand, and persecuting severely all who refuse to do so, in what is called "the tribulation," to be ended by the second phase of Jesus' Second Coming, in which He overcomes and destroys Antichrist and begins His Millennial Reign.
Some claim that the period between these two phases of Jesus' Second Coming will be 3½ years. Others say it will be 7 years, usually teaching that the 70th week of Dan. 9:24-27 will then be fulfilled. However, this view is erroneous, for Daniel's 70th week was fulfilled along with the other 69 at the time of Jesus' First Advent, as we have shown clearly from many lines of evidence, in BS 463 (a copy free on request).
Ideas sometimes have become so imbedded in our minds, so much a part of ourselves, that we can scarcely part with them. Yet how many of us have found that our ideas concerning the Scriptures have required modification, the reason being our more or less imperfect understanding.
To many it becomes a trial to have long-cherished theories, such as the detached 70th-week teaching, interfered with; but to all who have the childlike spirit of Christ, namely, a readiness to accept unhesitatingly the Father's Word (not the teachings of men which conflict with it—Rom. 3:4; 1 Cor. 2:5), there is no trouble; for they say, "I of myself know nothing at all on the subject, and if I have received an idea unsupported by God's Word I don't want it. I want only the Truth, not my own ideas independent of God's Word, for it alone can sanctify (John 17:17); give me the Truth, no matter what idol it may overthrow."
To such only we have some things to say touching the long-cherished teaching that true Christians living at the time of Jesus' Second Advent will never die a physical death. The Scriptures quoted to support this concept, when carefully considered, do not uphold such a thought; and other Scriptures teach positively that all members of Christ's Body would, like their Head, Example and Forerunner, die physically. Let us together carefully examine the subject in the light of the following considerations on Scriptures usually regarded as the basis of the idea that some of the saints were to be exempted from physical death.
