CHAPTER
VI.
THE
TWO APPEARINGS.
IT
seems to be hard for some people to understand just how our Lord is to return
to the earth. Many say to me,
“The Scriptures seem to conflict so on this subject that I can’t understand
the manner in which our Lord is to come.”
In this chapter we wish to clear up some things that seem dark to
many people.
Let
us remember that there are to be two appearings connected with the second
coming of Jesus. The first
appearing is to catch away the saints; the second is to set up His throne upon
the earth. At His first appearing
the saints go up; at His second, they come down.
After His first appearing The Great Tribulation begins; after His
second it closes. At His first
appearing He does not touch the earth; at His second, His feet stand upon the
Mount of Olives. At His first
appearing He is seen only by a few; at His second, He is seen by all.
His first appearing will be sudden; His second, gradual.
At His first appearing, sinners are not disturbed; at His second, all
nations wail. At His first
appearing there is no visible conflict; at His second, there is The Great Day
of God Almighty—The Battle of Armageddon.
His first appearing is ever imminent; His second takes place at an
appointed time.
If
the student of “The Second Coming” will keep all the above points in
memory He will see harmony between many Scriptures that otherwise will seem to
conflict. We now wish to prove
all the above by the Word.
In
Chapter II we gave many Scriptures showing that His first appearing is ever
imminent; in Chapters III and IV we made an effort to show you that His second
appearing will occur at an appointed time.
We do not discuss those points
32
THE
SECOND COMING OF JESUS.
here:
but from the following Scriptures you may know the truth of the other
foregoing statements.
“For
as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth
unto the other part under heaven, so shall also the Son of man be in His
day.”—Luke 17: 24. “For 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. For
wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered
together.”—Matt. 24: 27, 28. “They . . . . knew not until the flood
came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and
the other left.”—Matt 24:38‑41. “I tell you, in that night there
shall be two met; in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be
left . . . . And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said
unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered
together.”—Luke 17: 34‑37. “And
take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with
surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon
you unawares. For as a snare
shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to
escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son
of man.”—Luke 21: 34‑36. “And
unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto
salvation.”—Heb. 9: 28. “For
the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in
the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the
Lord.” — I Thess. 4: 16, 17. “For
yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the
night.” — I Thess. 5: 2. “Now
we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus
33
THE
TWO APPEARINGS.
Christ,
and by our gathering together unto him.”—2 Thess. 2: 1.
“Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors
about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation
be overpass. For, behold, the
Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their
iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her
slain.”—Isa. 26: 20,21.
From the above quotations it is evident that His coming is: (1)
Sudden—“as the lightning.” (2)
To catch away the saints—“the one shall be taken,” “we shall be caught
up.” (3) Not to the earth—“to meet the Lord in the air.”
(4) Prior to The Great Tribulation—“watch and pray that ye may
escape all these things.” (5)
To the few—“as a thief in the night.”
(6) Not visible to the sinner—“they knew not.”
(7) Not to fight a visible conflict, but to quietly catch away the
saints.
In contrast with the above Scriptures, we set before you the following:
“Yet
have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son;
this day have I begotten thee. Ask
of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the
uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in
pieces like a potter’s vessel.”—Psa. 2: 6‑9.
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the
Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be
exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the
mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us
of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the
law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and
they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into
pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword
34
THE
SECOND COMING OF JESUS.
against
nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”—Isa. 2: 2‑4.
“Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to
establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The
zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”—Isa. 9: 7.
“I saw in the night visions and, behold, one like the Son of man came
with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought
him near before him. And there
was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations,
and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion which
shall not pass away . . . But the saints of the most High shall take the
kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.
Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints
of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under
the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High,
whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and
obey him.”—Dan. 7: 13, 14, 18, 22 and 27.
“And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and
fire, and pillars of smoke. The
sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great
and terrible day of the Lord come.”—Joel 2: 30, 31.
“And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which
is before Jerusalem on the east.”—Zech. 14: 4.
“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” —Matt. 24: 30.
Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those
things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be
shaken. And then shall they see
the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.”—Luke 21: 26,
27. “This same Jesus, which is
taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner
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THE
TWO APPEARINGS.
as
ye have seen him go into heaven.”—Acts 1: 11.
“Only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume
with the Spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His
coming.”—2 Thess. 2: 7, 8. “Behold,
the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon
all.”—Jude 14, 15. “Behold,
he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which
pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of
him.”—Rev. 1: 7. “And the
angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth,
and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of
the winepress, even unto the horse bridles.”—Rev. 14: 19, 20.
“And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew
tongue Armageddon.”—Rev. 16: 16. “And
I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was
called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war . .
. . And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses,
clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite
the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the
winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God . . . And the remnant
were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse.”—Rev. 19: 1
1‑21. “And I saw thrones,
and they sat upon them and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls
of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God,
and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had
received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and
reigned with Christ a thousand years.”—Rev. 20: 4.
From the above quotations it is evident that His coming is: (1)
Gradual—“Jesus shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into
heaven.” (2) To bring back the saints
36
THE
SECOND COMING OF JESUS.
—“The
Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints.” (3) To the earth—“His
feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives.” (4) After The Great
Tribulation—“And then (after the shaking of the powers of heaven) shall
they see the Son of man coming. (5) To all—“To execute judgment upon
all.” (6) Seen by all—“Every eye shall see Him, and all nations shall
wail because of Him.” (7) To fight a visible conflict in the great day of
God Almighty, in the battle of Armageddon — To gather them to the battle of
that great day of God Almighty, into a place called Armageddon, and I saw
heaven opened, and the remnant were slain.” (8) To set up His throne upon
the earth—“ His government upon the throne of David.”
Taking all the above in consideration, it is easy to see that there
must necessarily be two appearings of our Lord connected with His second
coming. It is not at all hard to
see that one appearing is for the purpose of catching away the saints; while
the other is for the purpose of setting up His throne.
It is also an easy matter to understand which of these appearings takes
place first. Surely, He could not
bring the saints back until He first catches them away.
We have shown you also that He catches away the saints before The Great
Tribulation begins, and that He sets up His throne upon the earth after it
closes. So let us all get it
clearly before us that, connected with the second coming of Jesus, there are
to be two appearings.