CHAPTER IV.

 

THE END OF THE AGE.

 

 

THE Greek word “Aioon” means age; the Greek word “Kosmos” means the universe, the earth, the inhabitants of the earth, the adornment, worldly affairs, the whole circle of earthly goods.  We read in so many places in King James’ translation of the Bible about “the end of the world.”  In all the places where this expression is used the Greek is “aioon,” and the better translation is “the end of the age,” as it is given in many of the revised texts.  The idea that the “Kosmos,” the literal earth, shall have an end arose from the wrong trans­lation of the word “Aioon,” and is misleading.

     The Greek word “Aioonios” means (1) without beginning, (2) without an end, (3) without beginning or end, that which always has been and always will be.  It is our word eternity.  The word “aioon,” especially in the singular, refers to a limited duration of time with a beginning and an end.

     In our last chapter we tried to show you that God ordained the ages before the ages began, and each age has its time to close, and that each age closes with some special event.   In this chapter we wish to look forward to the end of this present age.  According to points already established, we must expect this age to close at an appointed time, and with a special event.  At what time, and with what event will this age close?

     In seeking an answer to this question we must remember that the event which closes this age is the event which opens the age to come.  There is no intervention of time between the close of this age and the beginning of the next.  The ages fol­low each other in rapid succession.  They do not overlap each other.  The event which closes this one begins the other.

     In what age are we now living?  Surely this is the gospel age.  This is the Dispensation of the Holy Ghost.  This is the

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THE END OF THE AGE.

 

 

age of the Gentiles.  In speaking about the destruction of Jeru­salem, Jesus said, “For there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.  And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”—Luke 21: 23, 24.  Jerusalem is now trodden down of the Gentiles, therefore we know that this is the Gentile age.

     What age will immediately follow the age in which we now live?  In many places it is stated that the age to come will be an age of judgment.  In Matt. 13: 24 we read, “The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field.”  The parable then goes on to state that an enemy came and sowed tares in the field.  “The harvest is the end of the age . . . . as therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this (the gospel) age.”  Matt. 13: 39, 40.  Peter tells us that “The heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, re­served unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” 2 Peter 3: 7.  This age is to close with judg­ment, and the age to come is to be an age of judgment.

     Some have an idea that the coming of Jesus for His Bride will close the Gentile age; but this is a mistake.  The Gentile Age will close at an appointed time; but we have already shown that the coming of Jesus for His Bride is an event that is likely to take place at any time.  We nowhere read that God hath appointed a time at which He will catch the Bride away; but we do read in Dan. 8: 19, “For at the time appointed the end shall be.”  Paul tells us in Acts 17: 31, “He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness,” and Peter exhorts us to “Be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thous­and years as one day.”—2 Peter 3: 8.   And in Rev. 20: 4 we read of a class of saints who shall sit upon thrones, and judg­ment shall be given unto them, and they shall live and reign

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THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS.

 

 

with Christ a thousand years.  This thousand years of judg­ment will be the Millennial Age, and the same event that closes the Gentile Age will usher in the Millennial Age.

     Judgment begins at the house of God long before the judg­ment of the world proper sets in.  God hath appointed a day in which He will judge the world; but the judgment of the house of God does not begin at an appointed time.  The Great Tribulation is a kind of judgment; but the judgment of the living nations begins proper at the close of The Great Tribu­lation.

     “For then shall be great tribulation . . . . and except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”—Matt. 24: 21, 22.  How is it that the tribulation days can be short­ened, and yet close at an appointed time?  The shortening takes place at the beginning.  The Great Tribulation will be­gin soon after the saints are caught away.  The Millennium will begin at the close of The Great Tribulation.  No Scrip­ture teaches us that the Millennium will begin earlier than the appointed time: but the Bible does teach us that the coming of Jesus for His Bride is delayed from time to time.  Since The Great Tribulation is to occupy the time between the catching away of the Bride and the Millennium, we must conclude that the shortening of The Great Tribulation takes place at the beginning.

     We have already shown you in Chapter II that the coming of Jesus is ever imminent.  Since the day of Pentecost there has not been a point of time at which Jesus was not likely to come.  Paul expected Jesus to come in his day.  If Jesus had come in Paul’s day, all these nineteen centuries would have been occupied by The Great Tribulation.  Of course, the human family could not have continued through it.  Those days have been shortened, that is, the coming of Jesus has been delayed.  Every day that Jesus tarries shortens the tribulation days.

 

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THE END OF THE AGE.

 

 

However, the time will arrive when “He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.”—Heb. 10: 37.

Let us remember that this shortening of the tribulation days is for the sake of the elect.  How can the delay of the coming of Jesus be in the interest of the elect?  It gives them the opportunity of preparing themselves for His coming.  In other words, Jesus would have come long ago if His Bride had been ready for Him.  God’s people have been too slow in get­ting themselves ready for the coming of the Lord.  Hence, His coming has been delayed.  As soon as the Bride is ready “He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.”  Peter, in speak­ing about the coming of Jesus, exhorts us to “Account that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you.”—2 Peter 3: 15.  “The long suffering of our Lord” refers to His holding back the tribulation judgments from the world: and every day that He holds back the tribu­lation judgments gives the people of God another day to pre­pare themselves for His coming.  So let us account that the long suffering of God is salvation for us.  For the sake of the elect those days are shortened.

There are those who are teaching that when once the Bride is gone there will be no more opportunity for obtaining salvation.  This is a mistake.  As long as man lives on earth he has an opportunity for seeking God, excepting the few individuals here and there who have committed the unpardonable sin.  Some misunderstand the purpose of The Great Tribulation.  God pleads with man for his heart and life.  If God cannot persuade man to surrender to Him by coaxing, He will often send judgment in order to bring man to Him.  The Great Trib­ulation is the judgment of God sent upon man to bring him to Christ.  If God should cut man off from the possibility of sal­vation at the beginning of The Tribulation, there would be no need of The Tribulation.  If it was final retribution God is going to pour out upon man during The Tribulation, He would

 

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THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS.

 

 

send man to hell at once.  All judgment sent upon man while here in this world is for the purpose of bringing him to Christ.  Certainly, men will have an opportunity to receive salvation during The Great Tribulation.

Another error taught in connection with the above theory is that the Holy Ghost leaves this world when the Bride does.  I have personally questioned some of those who advocate this theory, and the only Scripture any one has ever been able to give me for the support of their doctrine is: “Only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.”—2 Thess. 2: 7.  We are told that the one here referred to as hindering the Antichrist from being revealed is the Holy Spirit.  This is a hasty jump at an unwise conclusion.  There are many pas­sages in the Word, as we shall show you in future pages, that indicate that the Holy Spirit remains here during The Tribu­lation.  The one referred to in the above Scripture as hindering the revelation of the Antichrist, is, no doubt, the Bride.  This is evident from the fact that the Greek word here translated “taken” is “genetai” to be born.  There is no sense in which the Holy Spirit will ever be born, but there is a sense in which the Bride is to born.  A birth is not the beginning of a life, but it is the bringing of one life out from another life.  The Bride­hood saints are now a figure within the body of believers; and the resurrection and translation will be a birth of this inward figure out from among the outward figure, or general body of believers.  The fact that the Bride is here spoken of in the masculine gender does not contradict the position I have taken.  In many places in the Word are masculine qualities assigned to the Bride, especially where she is spoken of as possessing great strength.  So rest assured that the Holy Ghost will re­main here during the tribulation days, preparing men and women for the marriage supper of the Lamb.

     There are those who are teaching that when the Gentile Age closes there will be no more chance for a Gentile to obtain salvation.  This is a mistake.  The close of one age and the

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THE END OF THE AGE.

 

inauguration of another does not mean that any living nation has an opportunity of salvation no more; but it only means that the form of worship is changed to a more perfect plan, and he, out of any nation, who will conform to God’s way can be saved.  A Gentile can be saved as readily during the Millennial Age as he can during the Gentile Age.  Yea, far more so.

     The Millennial Age will witness a great ingathering of Jews (Jer. 31), “And so all Israel shall be saved.”—Rom. 11: 26.  The fact that all Israel shall be saved does not mean that all the Gentiles shall be lost.  “Now if the fall of them (Israel) be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?”— Rom. 11: 12.  “For if the casting away of them (Israel) be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?”—Rom. 11: 15.  These two verses, last quoted, should settle the question, and teach us all that salvation will be offered to all living nations after the Gentile Age has closed.

     In conclusion, let me beg you not to misunderstand, and think that I am teaching a second probation.  I am teaching that God offers salvation to every living person so long as he abides on the earth, except he has committed the unpardonable sin.  The Gentile Age closes at the end of The Great Tribula­tion, but salvation will be free to every one just the same.