the purifying hope of Christ’s return. ; The rapture hope is used “ to arm the > appeal, to point the arguments and to enforce the exhortations” of the en- § tire New Testament. This “ looking : for the Lord,” and this blessed and comforting and purifying hope — all of this attains full significance only when we view the coming of Christ 1 as pretribulational. Revelation 3:10-11 is a most im- j portant passage: “ Because thou hast ; kept the word of my patience, I also ; will keep thee from the hour of ■ temptation, which shall come upon j all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold I come quick- j ly, hold that fast which thou hast, j that no man take thy crown.” In this passage we are told that there is an hour of temptation, an hour of trou ble that is coming to try those that dwell upon the earth. But the prom ise is given clearly, not that the saints of the Lord Jesus Christ will be kept from trouble in that hour, but that they shall be kept from the hour itself. It does not speak of safe passage through the horn-, but of complete ex emption from it. It is for this reason that we have called our recent book upon the pretribulational return of Christ, “ Kept From the Hour.” Hav ing studied the matter in great detail over the course of the past ten years, dealing with all the major texts and facing all the problems of impor tance, we are thoroughly persuaded that the pretribulational position is scriptural and has far more to com mend it than any alternate view. The Bible clearly sustains the view that the Church shall in no wise enter into the Tribulation. With limited space, we have been able to introduce only a little of the evidence for pretribulationalism. Nor have we entered into a discussion of the exegetical problems which exist. But we do trust that sufficient has been given to encourage the saints and assure them that when the day of Tribulation breaks upon the earth, the Church will by glorious rapture experience have entered into the pres ence of the Lord. Lift up your heads, pilgrims aweary, See day’s approach now crimson the sky; Night shadows flee, and your Beloved Awaited with longing at last draw- eth nigh. Oh, blessed hope! Oh, blissful promise! Filling our hearts with rapture divine. Oh, day of days! Hail thy appearing; Thy transcendent glory forever shall shine!
we shall reign on the earth.” We rec ognize that the things contained here in this song are true of the Church of Jesus Christ. We have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. We have been saved out of every kindred, and tongue and people and nation. We have been made a generation of kings and priests unto God, and certainly it is true that we shall reign upon the earth. We believe therefore, that the pres ence of these 24 elders in heaven is a very significant thing. For, you see, when John in his vision enters heaven and looks down upon a world where the Tribulation rages, he does not find the Church. But as he looks about him in heaven, he sees the Church in the presence of the Lord. This occurs be fore a seal of j u d g m e n t has been opened, before a trumpet of judgment sounds, before a vial of the wrath of God is poured out upon the wicked. The conclusion which may be drawn from the passage is obvious* Of course, the Bible does not come out clearly and say, “ The rapture of the Church w ill occur before the Trib ulation.” Were that so, there would be no disputation at this point. But there are many wonderful truths in the Bi ble that do not lie immediately upon the surface. For example, the Bible does not say directly that God is a Trinity, although there is an abund ance of evidence to prove that such is true. So it is with the time of the rap ture. However, we do have statements such as these: Philippians 3:20 “ Our citizenship is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.” We have seen how the Thessalonians turned to God from idols and to “ wait for His Son from heaven.” This looking, this waiting for the coming of Christ, indicates that the coming of the Lord Jesus is viewed in the New Testament as im minent. In fact, some had ceased their work, and all had to be exhorted to patience. This is hardly the attitude of men who believed that the coming of Christ could not be for yet another seven years. L i k ew i s e , we have Titus 2:13: “ Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ.” I thoroughly agree with Dr. Barn- house, who said: “ If the church must enter the Tribulation, then farewell blessed hope, then welcome the coffin, then thrice welcome the undertaker!” W e hav e 1st Thessalonians 4:18 which speaks of the coming of the Lord as a com forting hope. Certainly it would not be a comforting hope to tell a persecuted church that worse things were yet in store. Then again, we have 1st John 3:3 which speaks of
crowns, nor are they ever enthroned in the presence of the Lord. All the evidence points to the fact that these individuals are men, and more than that, that these are representative men. The office they bear is that of a representative. They function in a representative way. Likewise 24 is a Biblical number of representation. However, we are not left to speculate as to their identity. They bear five positive marks of identification, and these should suffice to clarify who they are and what their function may be in heaven. First of all, their position. The elders are seated before the Lord in a place of high honor. There is a royal association between their thrones and the great central throne. It is signi ficant that to the Church alone is co enthronement promised. The Church has the right to this privilege, for she will be there as the very bride of Christ. Secondly, their worship. The first recorded act of the elders is to wor ship God. Without exception, wher ever they are seen in the Revelation, they are prostrate before the feet of the Lord. Such an attitude would be expected of saints just recently ush ered into the presence of Christ. Thirdly, their raiment. The elders are clothed in white raiment, which normally speaks of the righteousness of saints. We believe that the rai ment they wear constitutes addition al proof that these are not angels, but are redeemed men. Fourthly, their crowns. The fact that the elders are crowned shows that the rapture and the resurrection of Church saints are past, for disem bodied spirits do not wear crowns. The fact that the elders have their crowns indicates that the Bema seat judgment for rewards has also taken place, e v i d e n t l y r e c e n t l y . The Church, fresh from scenes of earthly conflict and having just received their crowns, in gratitude and in humility cast their every reward before the feet of Him who alone is worthy to receive it. Details such as these all help us to identify the elders as repre sentative of the Church of Jesus Christ, recently caught up in rapture experience and now rejoicing in the presence of her Lord. The fifth mark of identification is the song of the elders. Turn now to the book of Revelation, chapter 5, verses 9 and 10: “ And they sung a new song saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and
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