PLAINER WORDS SINCE 1968
Issue # 433
April 14, 2018
CHAPTER EIGHT
FUTURE NOT INTO THE PRESENT
The fifth great principle to observe in Bible study as we continue to follow the precept to RIGHTLY DIVIDE THE WORD OF TRUTH is:
1. TRUTH THAT BELONGS TO A FUTURE DISPENSATION MUST NOT BE READ INTO THE PRESENT
(1). “The Great Tribulation” belongs to the coming Dispensation—the Pre-Millennial Kingdom of God. It speaks “concerning Israel and Judah” and refers to the last three-and-a-half years of the Kingdom of God Dispensation. According to Daniel 9:24-25, “Seventy Weeks” (490 years) are decreed upon “thy people” (to wit, the Jews), and the Holy City during the manifest Kingdom of God. The Bible clearly prophecies that the Seventy Weeks are to take place upon Israel
The Tribulation will be a time of testing for what will be the Greatest Nation upon earth, Israel, during God’s manifest Kingdom. During the reign of King Jesus Christ from Heaven, for hundreds of years, He gradually begins to relax His restraints imposed upon the world. As the restraints of evil are lifted, this gives way to the rise of Satan’s “evil agent,” the Antichrist. The Antichrist rises to power, in the last days of next Dispensation. He becomes a ruler in what we refer to as the Middle East. Through wars, deceit, and cunning international policies, he wins the favor of many of the influential Jews, who have feigned allegiance to Christ and His Government. In fact, the Wicked-one orchestrates a “covenant” with the apostate Jews, in Jerusalem (Dan. 9:27). He lulls “to sleep” the influential apostates with his flatteries and promises of “false security:”
“He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven’ [i.e., seven years]. In the middle of the 'seven' [forty-two months] he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing [of the temple] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him" (Dan. 9:27) NIV.
It is in the “middle” of the Daniel’s Seventieth Week that the tribulation intensifies and becomes the GREAT TRIBULATION. These three-and-a-half years for Israel will be such a time of trouble that unless “those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened” (Matt. 24:22).
This will be a time when the nation of Israel will undergo tremendous persecution at the hands of the Antichrist. The entire Chapter of Matthew Twenty-four should be read in this light. This will be when the “man of sin,” to wit, the Antichrist, enters into the re-built Temple, and “he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God” (2 Thess. 2:4) RSV.
This signals the time for the faithful Jews, who are in Jerusalem, to flee. “When ye [the faithful Jerusalem Jews] therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)”( Matthew 24:15).
“Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matt. 24:16-21).
The desecration of the Holy Place by the “man of sin” is fair warning; not for the Church, which is His Body, but for the Christian Jews of Judea just prior to the consummation of the Kingdom of God. This doesn’t have reference to the limited catastrophe of A.D. 70 by Titus the Roman General., for Matthew 24:21 has the reference to the greatest of all Tribulations (cf. Dan. 12:1). The Tribulation awaits the end of the Pre-Millennial Kingdom of God, which Paul calls “the Day of Christ.”
Notice the word “Then” in Matthew 24:16. “Then;” the use of this temporal particle, here, and in Matthew 24:21 and 23, puts all the events of this section within the framework of the final three and one-half years of Daniel’s Seventieth Week. The terrors of persecution under Antichrist will make immediate flight necessary (Rev. 12:6 and 14). No time will be available for preparation. Inevitable hardships are foretold. But, they can rest assured that God has a place prepared for them, to be protected for three-and-a-half years (Rev.12:6). The armies of the Antichrist can march and demonstrate in all of the streets of Jerusalem during this time but, he and his armies dare not enter into the wilderness, or the mountains where the Jews are under the protection of God Almighty.
Now, truth peculiar to the Great Tribulation is not to be read into this present dispensation. Some who embrace Acts 28 stand mired, in confusion, as they try to make this Dispensation of Grace be part of the Great Tribulation, by insisting that the Appearing, i.e., the “Epiphaneia,” of 2 Timothy 4:1 will be incorporated into the 2nd Coming (the Parousia) of Jesus Christ.
There has been misunderstanding and controversy between Christians, for centuries, regarding whether the Church will go through the Tribulation or not. The problem results in failure to rightly divide the Word of Truth.
One group proclaims that believers will pass through all of the Tribulation; others say only a part of the Church will pass though it at all. Another group teaches that all of the Church will pass through a part of the Tribulation; and there is another group that teaches none of the Church will pass through any of it.
We will not attempt to make comments on all the diversities of opinion regarding this. The problem is a basic one, and that is failure to clearly understand what the Church of this present dispensation is—the Dispensation of the Grace of God. Today’s Church is the Church of over which Christ Jesus is the Head. This is Truth of the “Mystery.”
The Tribulation is to be seven years in duration, and the last three-and-one-half years of it is termed “the Great Tribulation.” Bible teachers, for years, have used 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 as words of comfort for Christians, assuring them that the Church will not have to go through the Great Tribulation. They fail to recognize that the “Church of God,” during the Book of Acts, is not the Church of this present dispensation. The careful student, however, recognizes that the Church of this present dispensation is not associated with the Great Tribulation; whereas the “Church of God” is to be associated with the Great Tribulation. Most Bible teachers insist that the “Church of God” and the Church over which Christ Jesus is the Head are the same. This insistence that the two are the same results in the confusion and the controversy.
The unbiased student who is interested in what the Bible says, not what it is presumed to teach, recognizes that the “Church of God” looks for its Tribulation hope to be realized at “the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we (i.e., that are alive) shall be changed” (1 Cor. 15:52). It says, clearly, that the time of this event will be at the last trumpet. With this, agrees 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, “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.” The conscientious student, then, must ask; “When is the “last trump, or trumpet sounded?”
Allowing the Bible to interpret itself, we learn that the last trumpet in the Bible is sounded at the end of the Tribulation. The Book of Revelation speaks of seven angels, and seven trumpets. In Revelation 8:2 ,the seven angels are given seven trumpets, and in Revelation 8:6, the seven angels prepare to blow the seven trumpets. The angels sound the trumpets in the following order:
1. First angel sounded the first trumpet—Rev. 8:7.
2. Second angel sounded the second trumpet—Rev. 8:8.
3. Third angel sounded the third trumpet—Rev. 8:10.
4. Fourth angel sounded the fourth trumpet—Rev. 8:12.
5. Fifth angel sounded the fifth trumpet—Rev, 9:1.
6. Sixth angel sounded the sixth trumpet—Rev. 9:13.
7. Seventh angel sounded the Last Trumpet—Rev. 11:15.
According to the Bible, which is different from most traditional teachings, the last trumpet sounds and in Heaven great voices say, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15). On earth, when the “last trump” sounds the “dead in Christ rise” and those who are alive and are believers will be “caught up” to meet the Lord Jesus in the air. These will be the “raptured ones.” They meet the Lord in the air and escort Him back to the earth. The “rapture” occurs at the end of the manifest Kingdom of God—not the beginning. One word of warning: according the Scripture there is no such things as a SECRET RAPTURE which was popularized by Hal Lindsay’s writing of “The Late Great Planet Earth, and the authors of the series of novels under the category of “The Left Behind Series: Dr. Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins.
In order to properly place truth, dispensationally, the student should take his concordance and notice the occurrences of the following words and how many times each are mentioned in the Word of God; “trumpet” is mentioned 61 times; “trumpets” are mentioned 51 times; “trumpeters” are mentioned 4 times; and “trump” is mentioned 2 times. That is a total of 118 times. In checking this out, it will be noticed that not one single time do any of these words occur in Paul’s Prison Epistles, in which the Church, which is His Body is in view. Trumpets are connected with Israel and the “Church of God.” The “Church of God” was on the scene between Acts 2 and Acts 28. It was set aside. After Acts 28, the Church of “The Mystery” was ushered in. It was revealed as being a “new creation,” “one new man” (Eph. 2:15), “one body” with Christ being the Head (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 2:19). This new calling has no association with any trumpets; either the first or the last. The “Church of God,” did, however, look to the “last trumpet” because that is when great voices in heaven loudly announce that the warring nations have been overcome by the “Lord and His Christ and He shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15).
If the “law of first mention” in Scripture means anything at all, it ought to show us that when the “first trumpet” is mentioned, it was sounded to call Israel together (Ex. 19:13). The trumpet was to sound for Israel to gather together for “the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon Sinai” (Ex. 19:11). So, in the Bible, the first mention of the trumpet is in Exodus 19: 13, 16 and 19 and it was a signal, or call for Israel to be brought forth “out of the camp to meet with God” (Ex. 19:17) Likewise, so shall the “last trumpet” be a signal, or a call for another group, the “Israel of God” [Church of God]” to be brought forth to “meet the Lord,” but this, is not to be at Sinai, but rather “in the air.” Thus, there is a definite correlation between the first trumpet (Ex. 19) and the last trumpet (1 Thess. 4:16; 1 Cor. 15:52; Rev. 11:15).
The first trumpet sounded in Exodus 19:13 and the last trumpet will sound in Revelation 11:15. The student who adheres to the principle of “right division” recognizes that whatever church, or calling is resurrected and “caught up” must, of necessity, go through the Great Tribulation; that is, go through to at least the “Last Trumpet.”
As careful workmen, we should be ever aware that there will be a price to pay for careless and slip-shod workmanship in rightly dividing the Word of Truth. I can think of no greater price to pay, for wrongly dividing the Word, than to be required to live throughout the entire Pre-Millennial Kingdom of God as one designated as an “ASHAMED WORKMAN.” How will the “ashamed workmen” be identified? We are not told. But, we believe the Scripture requires that a distinction be made, in the age to come, concerning “APPROVED WORKMEN” and the “ASHAMED WORKMEN.” We do not treat, lightly, Paul’s admonition “to rightly divide the Word of Truth.” The world, in the coming Kingdom of God, will know who those were who failed to take, seriously, the COMMAND of 2 Timothy 2:15:
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.”
The careless may make great pretenses about their “right division.” They may fly “the Right Division Flag” over their writings and pronouncements. But, it becomes abundantly clear that they lack a genuine “love” (“agapao”) for the next great divine phenomenon that is to take place which will be the “Appearing” of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom (2 Tim. 4:1).
“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His APPEARING” (2 Tim. 4:8).
Truth about “the last trump” belongs in the Future Dispensation, that is to say, The Day of Christ, and it must not be read into Present Truth. All confusion disappears when the Kingdom of God is properly understood in the dispensation where God has placed it—following the Dispensation of the Grace of God.
Many who fail to “rightly divide” insist that the church does not go through the Tribulation. The Church, which His Body does not, but the Church of God does.
The problem is a basic one of confusing the calling of the Church of God with the calling of the Church of the Mystery. They insist that the two are the same. That, of course, compounds the problem and creates the continuing division and bickering between the various Christian groups.
The careless teach that the “last trump” and “the trumpet” of 1 Corinthians 15:52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16 are the “last trumpet of the Church age.” This does not line up with the Scripture, however. They fail to point out what is the first trumpet of the Church age. They are unable to give a chapter and verse in the Bible on which they can provide evidence of their claim.
A believer whose hope rests upon the “shout,” “the last trump,” and the “trumpet” must not be surprised to find that before this very noisy event takes place, approximately a 700 year Dispensation of the Pre-Millennial Kingdom of God will be established with Christ ruling the world from His Heavenly Throne.
To read Tribulation Truth into this Dispensation of the Grace of God results in the insistence that the “last Trump” of 1 Corinthians 15:52 is not really the “last trump.” The Bible sets forth in plain English that the Last Trumpet will sound-forth in Revelation 11:15, “And the seventh angel sounded [the seventh trumpet]” which is the last one to be blown..
The failure to believe God, concerning this, results in a dimming of the Blessed Hope (Titus 2:13) of the Church, over which Christ Jesus is the Head. In Philippians 3:14, it is referred to as our Calling on High (i.e., “the high calling”). But, those who clearly see the difference between the hope of the “last trump” and the Blessed Hope, which relates to Present Truth, are able to rejoice because they “have been made to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col. 1:12). This Blessed Hope is to be realized long before Israel’s “last trump” is sounded.
(2). “The 144,000” mentioned in Revelation 7 and 14 are not to be read, or interpreted as Present Truth. These 144,000 will be literal Israelites chosen by God; twelve thousand from the twelve literal tribes of Israel. The Bible clearly states that the 144,000 are sealed out of “all the tribes of the children of Israel” (Rev. 7:4).
In Revelation 7, we note that they are sealed; we notice that Revelation 14 gives the reason they will be sealed. The reason they will be sealed in Revelation 7 is that they might pass through the Great Tribulation, unscathed.
In Revelation 14:1-3, the vision reveals the 144,000 have received the promise of Revelation 3:12; “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him My New Name.”
The 144,000 forms a company of evangelists who completes the great commission of Matthew28.
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world [aion = age]. Amen” (Matthew28:19-20).
These will be, supernaturally, protected to go through and come out the awful testings and judgments of the Great Tribulation.
“These are they which were not defiled with women: for they are virgins” (Rev.14:4). This is not a Figure of Speech. These are truly virgins. This will be an important qualification for being one of the 144,000. This, perhaps, shoots holes in the modern-day claim of being one of the 144,000. These are they that are “not defiled with women.” As such, they would certainly not succumb to false religious systems. These will be preserved from the doctrines of Balaam and Jezebel; for in the Great Tribulation, there will arise a prophetess who shall teach the servants of God to commit fornication and eat things sacrificed (Rev. 2:14, 20) in the religious system of the Anti-Christ. The “depths of Satan” will be reached (Rev. 2:24). As fornication was an obligatory rite of pagan idolatry, so shall it be in the infamous religious system and will be practiced during the consummation of the Kingdom of God. This doctrine will be a Satanic device which the unsaved Jews will embrace in order to gratify the lusts of the flesh under the cloak of religion. However, there will be multitudes that refuse to submit, or partake of this, and thousands will suffer martyrdom for abstaining (Rev.7:9-17.15:1-4).
While most prefer not to take, literally, these facts but prefer to think they are figurative, or symbolic, we choose to believe what God says. We reject the imaginations of men and accept the revelation of God on the matter. We believe Him and conclude that just as He reserved 7,000 in the days of King Ahab (1 Kings 19:18. Rom. 11:4) so shall He preserve 144,000 during the Great Tribulation.
Thus, we should notice that the 144,000 will be Israelites, who are virgins, who are sealed (preserved) and go through the Great Tribulation preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom [Government] of God to the nations. They will be under intense hatred for preaching in the Name of Christ. They refuse to believe “the Lie” (no guile is found in their mouth, Rev. 14:5), and they repudiate the “doctrine of Balaam” and the teaching of the prophetess, identified as Jezebel. Jezebel was King Ahab’s wife, and she was wicked to the core. She was thrown out of a window from the palace by her slaves and died (2 Kings 9:3). She was left for the dogs to devour which they did. But, her bones were buried. Is this a woman with the wicked character such as “Jezebel” (Rev. 2:20-23)? Or, could this prophetess be the Old Testament Jezebel, alive again, to torment Jewish believers and during the Great Persecutions of the Jewish believers perhaps even Elijah? Just asking.
By no stretch of the imagination can any of these events find their place in the Dispensation of the Grace of God. If we join together what God has kept separate in His Word, we will get error instead Truth.
What is gained by being disobedient to 2 Timothy 2:15? What advantage do we have by always reading the present Church into passages which speaks of Israel during consummation of the Pre- Kingdom of God? In fact, the opposite is true. We gain nothing and lose so very much by insisting that all Scripture is to be interpreted of the Church, which is His Body.
Truth which relates to the future dispel must not be read backwards into the present Dispensation. Thus, by rightly dividing the Word of Truth we are enabled to distinguish between the 144,000 and members of the Church over which Christ Jesus is the Head. The difference is very important.
(3). “The Day of Jesus Christ”—As we continue to consider the Fourth Rule for Bible study, we will mention, again, that “Truth That Belongs to a Future Dispensation Must Not Be Read Into the Present Dispensation.” There are two future events we are compelled to mention. These two dispensations are, perhaps, the most misunderstood in the entire Bible. One is “The Day of Jesus Christ.” This magnificent administration of God is not even acknowledged in most Christian circles. Even those who lay adhere to the “Acts 28:28 Position,” for the most part, ignore the Day of Jesus Christ. Those who don’t totally disregard this Day confuse it with “The Day of the Lord.” The workmen who endeavor to “rightly divide the Word of Truth” (2 Tim. 2:15) see two future dispensations. And, they are not in any way, connected to one another, except the “Day of Christ” comes before the “Day of the Lord.” In plainer words, they teach that the “Day of Christ” is the same as “The Day of the Lord.” It will be pointed out in this review that the two days are not the same, and a distinction must be made in order to glean the Truth of each.
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:19-21).
The Apostle Peter, in Acts 3:19-21, was divinely enabled to speak concerning “the times of refreshing” which is to come from the presence of the Lord. He was talking about the “restitution of all things” which was, perhaps, the major theme of the Hebrew Bible because he stated that God spoke about it “by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.” In Paul’s writings, he was inspired to refer to this future dispensation as the Day of Christ. This term is grossly misunderstood by most Bible students. Failure to “see” its significance, results in missing the plot of the Bible. The Lord Jesus Himself spoke about His Coming Day, but most Christians are unaware of Him having a Day. We’re not talking about a twenty-four hour day but a period of time marked by the Supremacy of Christ in all matters—the Day of Christ.
The Lord Jesus told the Pharisees in John 8:56; “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it, and was glad.” Jesus Christ said that Abraham saw (i.e., perceived) His Day. How did Abraham “see” His Day? God revealed Christ’s Day to him; hence, Abraham saw the Day of Christ by faith and was “glad.”
Notice Paul's references to the Day of Jesus Christ:
1 Cor 1:8. “Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Cor 5:5. “To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”
2 Cor 1:14. “As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are our’s in the day of the Lord Jesus.”
Phil 1:6. “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
Phil 1:10. “That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ:”
Phil 2:16. “Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.”
The Day of Christ begins with “His Appearing (the Epiphaneia) and His Kingdom (basileia)” (2 Tim.4:1). This is the blazing forth of the glory of the great God, even our Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13). This is when the hope of the calling of the Mystery is realized. This is when our faith gives way to sight. This is the next event on God's prophetic clock. This is when Christ Jesus, in His role as the Head of the high calling, convenes [calls into session] His Ecclesia (Church), which is His Body. As the Great Convoker, He, alone, calls His Ecclesia into session. This marks His assumption of sovereignty over the nations. Those who have been divinely selected into “the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14) will either be raised out from among the dead, or will be changed from mortal to immortal and will take their place, or station in His Pre-Millennial Government.
For two-thousand years, Christ has, silently, been building His Ecclesia (Church). Ever since Acts 28, He has been calling and choosing those who are to be revealed as members of this present body of believers who are to be “called on high.” He is silently calling and building His Ecclesia on the grounds of Present Truth. The religious Christian world is unaware of this. Most Christians believe He is active in building the visible church, and they are unaware that the visible church is the work and contrivance of men.
The Lord is building upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone; “In Whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In Whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit” (Eph.2:21-22). The hope of the present calling will be realized when 2 Timothy 4:1 and Titus 2:13 take place.
Most all Bible commentaries squeeze, and force, Truth which is related to the Kingdom of God into the Millennium. To do so, overlooks one of the great dispensations found in all of Scripture; the dispensation of the Pre-Millennial Kingdom of God which is next. The next dispensation is “The Day of Jesus Christ” and is, also, referred in the Bible as:
The “latter days” (Jer.23:20; 30:24; Dan.2:28; 10:14. Hos.3:5).
The “last days” (Gen.49:1; Isa.2:2; Mic.4:1; Acts 2:17). These must not be confused with the “last days” (2 Tim. 3:1) of this present dispensation.
“My Day,” as previously pointed out in John 8:56.
“The regeneration” as found in Matthew 19:28. Regeneration means to generate again. This speaks of the restoration of the earth and mankind to their pristine state as it existed before the Flood.
“The times of refreshing”─ Peter uses this expression in, Acts 3:19, to highlight one aspect of the Kingdom of God when it comes. The refreshing times discloses the fact that the “curse” will be lifted which is intimately associated with the “manifestation of the sons of God” (Rom. 8:19) and mankind being delivered from “the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom. 8:21).
“The times of restitution of all things,” Peter declares in Acts 3:21, was a subject which all of God’s holy prophets spoke about “since the world began.” Literally, it is the “times of the restoration of all things.” The Lord Jesus Christ mentioned the fact that Elijah truly shall come first and restore all things (Matt. 17:11). This restoration is to precede the Second Coming of Christ. Most all of the Hebrew and Christian scholars declare that the restoration takes places along with the Second Coming.
Concurrently, with the many events taking place when Christ Jesus assumes sovereignty over mankind and the nations, the Holy Spirit will actively and aggressively restrain evil (John 16:7-13). People who sin will die for their own sin (Jer. 31:30). However, the following is a provision for sin during the “Day of Christ:”
“If we [mortals living at the time] confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
The Holy Spirit will hinder transgressions because man’s conscience will have been quickened [made alive].
The “Day of Christ” is synonymous with all of the above, including the Kingdom of God, and comes before the tribulation and the Second Coming (Parousia) of Christ.
During the Day of Christ, heaven and earth will be governed by Christ Jesus from His heavenly Throne. This dispensation is set in contrast to the Millennium, to wit, the Day of the Lord. To say the two are the same is to say that “one-plus-one equals one.”
Most all Christians realize that the Day of the Lord (i.e., the Tribulation and the Millennium) begins with apostasy, revolution, bloodshed and violence which will be an unprecedented event in all of human history. The Old Testament has a lot to say about this Day—the Day of the LORD. Isaiah speaks about the Lord's imposition upon the world of His Millennial Rule; “For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger with wrath, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord will be many” (Isa. 66:15-16).
Psalm 50:3 says; “Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: A fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him.” Psalm 97:3; “A fire goeth before Him, and burneth up His enemies round about.” These verses relate to Jesus Christ Personally returning to earth to put an end to the nations’ revolt against His Rule from heaven (2 Thess. 2:1-12).
When the Pre-Millennial Kingdom of God comes to Israel, it comes silently, “without observation” (Lu.17:22). It will not come suddenly or dramatically. Its coming is likened; “as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear” (Mark 4:26-28).
When the Kingdom comes, it comes without calamity with no harm being done to anyone. Notice a much overlooked passage: “He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench, till He send forth judgment unto victory” (Matt.12:19-20). Matthew quotes from Isaiah 42:1-4 which informs us that the Kingdom (i.e., God’s Government) begins with the Gentile nations. Israel will not be a nation at this time. They will still be scattered, or dispersed among the nations. While ruling over the nations, the Lord begins His work of re-gathering the Jews. Over time, He leads them back to the Promised Land ─as believers. No unbelieving Jew will be brought back to Palestine; no, not one! The unbelieving will remain scattered among the nations. [This brings up the question; ‘What about the Israel that now is?’ All we’ll say, for now, is the present Israel is not of God’s doing. See www.Plainerwords.com “THE GRAND HOAX”. It is un-Scriptural to think that Israel will be back in her land in “unbelief.” When He brings them back, there will be no disputes regarding Israel’s borders, or whose land it is].
“And I will purge out from among you [believing Israel] the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they [unbelieving Israel] shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD” (Ezk.20:38).
If words have any meaning, then, we must conclude that something begins silently, mysteriously, without observation, without strife, without Christ being heard, and without damage being inflicted. On the other hand, something else begins (i.e., the Lord’s Day) with a colossal display of vengeance, wrath, and cataclysmic punishment which will be openly displayed.
It is a contradiction to insist that the two descriptions relate to the beginning of the same event. In plainer words, the Prophetic Word informs us that there is coming the “Day of Christ” which is another term for the coming Kingdom of God. We are met with a non-Scriptural term, TheMillennium which relates to the 1000 year reign of Christ upon the earth. The Biblical term for this is the “Day of the Lord.” It is essential to distinguish between the two. The Holy Spirit does. We should do so, also. The onset of the “Tribulation” begins the Day of the Lord which includes the Second Coming of Christ and His rule of the world from earthly Jerusalem
If we force all truths connected to the Day of Christ into the Day of the Lord, the result is utter confusion. Not only that, but we rob the Lord Jesus Christ of His Day of Exaltation.
During the Day of Christ, He will draw, or compel, all men unto Himself. He will be exalted from the earth as every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord to the Glory of God the Father. His Day begins with “His appearing and His Kingdom,” and He begins to judge the quick and the dead. (2 Tim.4:1). This is when the glory of the great God, even Jesus Christ our Savior, blazes forth (Titus 2:13). Isaiah speaks of this event in 40:5: “And the glory of the LORDshall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” and at the same time.
What will be seen is the “GLORY of the LORD,” not the LORD descending from Heaven; to this Numbers 14:21 agrees: “But truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.” When the Kingdom comes, “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters covers the sea” (Hab.2:14). The Psalmist says; “And blessed be His glorious Name forever: and let the whole earth be filled with His glory” (72:19). The world will experience the unveiling of His Glory without Christ Jesus leaving His Heavenly Throne. The shining forth of the glory of God takes place before the Day of the LORD. It is noted in Isaiah's vision that the seraphim see Christ's Day and say; “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of Hosts: the earth is full of His glory.”
During the Day of Christ, the “times of refreshing comes from the presence of the LORD.” All things are rejuvenated while the Heavens retain Christ (Acts 3:19-21). The pristine, pre-Noah flood conditions will be re-created (Isa. 65:17; 66:22).
When the Day of Christ begins, all of mankind will be enlightened by the Holy Spirit and realize that Jesus Christ is LORD! What a marvelous day this will be. Christ will begin His benevolent rule of the world. Then, He will begin converting His ancient people, Israel. Read Ezekiel 20:23-33, and notice how the Lord begins a work in their hearts and will lead them back into the Holy Land as a Christ-believing people. As the Day of Christ draws to a close, the restraints of the Spirit are gradually withdrawn.
Then, there comes a “falling away” from the enlightenment. Apostasy will set in which leads to the rise of the man of sin. Satan deceives the world except for the elect. Nations conspire against the rule of Christ’s Government and desire to overthrow His rule (Psalm 2). Because of the revolt, the Lord sends a strong delusion so that most people should believe “the Lie.” The Great Tribulation begins. The “abomination of desolation” takes place in the re-built Temple. The Lord Jesus returns and destroys the Wicked One with the brightness of His coming [Parousia], and He condemns all who chose to believe not the truth and had pleasure in unrighteousness.
This ends the Day of Christ, and the Day of the Lord begins. The Great Tribulation ends with the Parousia of Christ, to wit, the Second Coming (1Thess. 4:16).
Satan will be bound and is cast into the bottomless pit. Christ will rule the nations “with a rod of iron;” sitting upon the Throne of David in Jerusalem for 1000 years.
The Lord Jesus Christ rules and governs the world from Heaven during the Day of Christ. But, He rules the world from Jerusalem during the Day of the Lord.
(4). “The Lord’s Day”—Layers of tradition have been piled upon Truth to such an extent that as much emphasis is placed upon traditional teaching as is placed upon the teaching of the Word of God Itself. In order for individuals to distinguish the difference, much UNLEARNING is required. A fresh look at the Bible is required and needed in order to learn its Truth. Only as we compare spiritual things with spiritual and, then, rightly divide what we have compared, can we expect our faith to stand in the Word of God and not in the wisdom of men’s words.
Traditional Christianity is found wanting when it comes to the expression, “the Lord’s Day,” as it makes reference to the first day of the week. Pastors continue to refer to Sunday as “the Lord’s day.” Continuous repetition of this in our younger days led us to think that Sunday was, indeed, set aside, by God, as the one day of the week that was to be devoted to Him. This is accepted by the majority of Christians as factual as well as Scriptural. It is neither.
Israel did observe a Sabbath day. [In fact, they observed “Sabbath days,” as well (Col. 2:16)]. It is, clearly, the seventh day of the week and not the first. When confronted with this, some say that Sunday, the first day of the week, is the “Christian’s Sabbath.” No Scriptural proof is put forth; just a simple declarative statement—“Sunday is the Christian’s Sabbath.” The Apostle Paul informs the members of the Church, which His Body that the observance of days, especially “Sabbath days” are only shadows of things to come and have no place in the present calling (Col. 2:16-17).
This study, “Plainer Words - A Study on Right Division,” is not going to consider how orthodoxy has misused Scriptural terms to promote its own purposes, but rather, to point the reader to what the Bible actually refers to in the term “the Lord’s Day.” The only place in the entire Bible that this expression occurs is found in Revelation 1:10.
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.”
Before the expression, “the Lord’s Day,” is studied we should consider what is meant by “in the Spirit.” “I was in the Spirit”—this expression is also found in Revelation 4:2. 17:3, and 21:10. A look at these gives us additional information on what is meant to be “in the Spirit.” Some expositors, today, treat it as an ecstatic state which John was in on a Sunday while on the Isle of Patmos.
“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne” (Rev. 4:1-2).
“So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns” (Rev 17:3).
“And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God” (Rev. 21:10).
This indicates that by means of, and through the power of the Spirit, John saw “the Lord’s Day.” John was transported by spiritual power into the scenes that will take place during “the Lord’s day.” As yet, we have not traversed the subject pointing the reader to what “the Lord’s Day” is, but we will do so after we gather an understanding of what actually happened to John on the Isle of Patmos.
The expression refers to a future dispensation when man is abased, and the Lord is exalted. Today, man is supreme. Man is exalted. Man rules and misrules. Man judges and misjudges. For nearly six-thousand years, man has governed. The great need of this age is good government. Man has been in charge and is the worker of untold corruption. Governments get progressively worse. The time is approaching for Psalm 119:126 to be the cry of the hungering heart, “It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law.”
What we read about the Apostle John being “in the Spirit” is reminiscent of the prophet Ezekiel. In order to see the “visions of God,” Ezekiel had been under the direct influence and power the of Holy Spirit (Ezek. 1:1). We can learn how this was probably accomplished by reading Ezekiel 8:3;
“And He put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem …”
In Chapter 40:2-3, we read; “In the visions of God brought He me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south. And He brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.” Notice additionally;
“Afterwards the spirit took me up, and brought me in a vision by the Spirit of God into Chaldea, to them of the captivity. So the vision that I had seen went up from me. Then I spake unto them of the captivity all the things that the LORD had shewed me.” (Ezek. 11:24-25). These things concerned the restoration of Israel (Ezek. 11:16-20).
In view of these things, why should we go out of our way to ascribe the expression, “in the Spirit,” to an unscriptural meaning? It clearly means that for John to have seen the things that were to “shortly come to pass” (Rev. 1:1), he was under the direct influence of the Spirit of God and was Divinely enabled to see the things that were yet future.
Before we progress any further in our exposition of “the Lord’s Day,” it is imperative that the Bible student understands the Old Testament usage of this phrase. In the Old Testament, the day of the Lord is rendered “the day of the LORD.” The word, “LORD,” is the translation of the Hebrew word,“Yahweh.” Joseph Rotherham, in his literal translation, never translates “Yahweh” as “LORD.” He leaves the Name “Yahweh” untranslated. Notice what “The Emphasized Bible, A Literal Translation,” by Joseph B. Rotherham’s version:
Exodus 3:15-16, “And God said yet further unto Moses—Thus shalt thou say unto the sons of Israel, Yahweh, the God of your fathers, Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob hath sent me unto you.”
Now, notice Rotherham’s version of Exodus 6:1-3: “Then said Yahweh unto Moses, Now shalt thou see, what I will do to Pharaoh—for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand he shall drive them out from his land. Then God spake unto Moses—and said unto him—I am Yahweh: I appeared, therefore, unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as God Almighty, although by My Name Yahweh was I not made known to them.”
In the Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament), the name, “Yahweh,” is not spelled out; the vowels were dropped, and they spelled God’s name as YHWH. It has been said that out of reverence for His Name, the Jews did not spell it out. For some reason, the King James translators suppressed God’s Name which I, respectfully, think was wrong. If we knew God’s Name in the Old Testament, the English speaking world could more readily identify Jesus Christ as God Himself. (I am digressing a bit, but it seems essential to cover this).
The Authorized Version translated “Yahweh” as “LORD.” All letters are capitalized, but the “O-R-Ds” are in smaller upper case letters than that of the “L”. According to Vines, the word, “Yahweh,” occurs 6,828 times in the Old Testament., It is translated “LORD” 6,824 times and only four times, is it translated “JEHOVAH” which is the anglicized spelling of Yahweh. With this said, we will continue to consider the “Day of the LORD.”
When the Dispensation of the Grace of God ends, God will usher in His Pre-Millennial Kingdom in which the Lord Jesus Christ will reign over the governments of the world from Heaven’s Throne. It will be a time when Christ is the preeminent Personage of the universe. His Government will be in the earth, and the so-called Lord’s Prayer will have come to fruition—the will of God will be done in the earth as it is in Heaven. Hundreds of years of peace, joy, health, and abundance will be enjoyed by the world’s population. But, as the age (the Day of Christ) begins to wind-down, the Holy Spirit’s controls and restraints of evil are gradually lifted and evil, rears its ugly head, and then; “the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, AND THE LORD ALONE SHALL BE EXALTED IN THAT DAY. For the day of the LORD … shall be upon everyone that is proud and lofty, and upon everyone that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted IN THAT DAY” (Isa. 2:11-12, 17).
This reference to the “the LORD’s Day;” that is, when He is [again] exalted, and He begins to regain control, and begins to put down the nations rebellion against His Government, He allows the beginning of sorrows to commence, followed by a time of tribulation, only to be followed by the Great Tribulation. This will be a time when He will punish Israel for her unfaithfulness. However, Yahweh will deliver most of His people from the holocaust, that is to say, the Great Tribulation. However, many of His Jewish saints will suffer martyrdom during the Great Tribulation. The remaining faithful ones in Judea will have found a hiding-place in the mountains prepared for them by God (Matt. 24:16). Their rescue will accomplished by the Second Coming of Christ (His Parousia).
The “Day of Jesus Christ” must be rightly divided from the “Day of the LORD.” Your average Church-going Christian has never heard of these two days. Even many Christians who teach the Word of God are “blind” when it comes to distinguishing between the “Day of Jesus Christ,” and the “Day of the LORD.” A number of those who minister the Word to others “resist the truth” as did Jannes and Jambres (2 Tim. 3:8).
Please take note to the following prophecies and how they relate to the “Day of the LORD.”
“Howl ye [Israel]; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty” (Isa. 13:6).
“Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible” (Isa. 13:9-11).
The “Day of the LORD [Yahweh]” will be full of judgments and darkness. Ezekiel connects the “Day of the LORD” with judgment.
“Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD” (Ezek. 13:5).
Joel, also, connects “the Day” with judgment.
“Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come” (Joel 1:15).
The Day of the LORD is characterized by wrath, destruction, tribulation, war, darkness, death, and the rise of the anti-Christ. “For this cause God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thess. 2:11-12). Whereas, the Day of Christ is characterized by peace, truth, light, joy, life, and the world-wide recognition that “Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God, the Father” (Phil. 2:11). The Day of Christ precedes the Day of the LORD; if the distinction between the two is not recognized the result, is the student gets error, confusion, disorder, and gross misunderstanding.
Joel continues to prophecy about the dreadful day of the LORD.
“Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them” (Joel 2:1-3).
“And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?” (Joel 2:11).
“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision” (Joel 3:14).
This speaks of the armies of anti-Christ and his confederates as they gather in the valley called
Megiddo [Decision]. thus, becoming a component part of ARMAGEDDON, the scene of the last conflict with anti-Christ (Rev 16:16).
The Prophet Amos is not silent on the subject. He refers to the Day of the LORD and warns those ho say they are ready for it to come, but they are not spiritually ready.
“Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light …Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?” (Amos 5:18, 20).
Obadiah writes in the fifteenth verse saying, “For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head”
Zephaniah makes much of the Day of the LORD.
“Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests. And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD’s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel” (Zeph. 1:7-8).
Malachi calls our attention to the fact that Elijah will show-up before the Day of the LORD. In plainer words, he makes his resurrection appearance during the Day of Jesus Christ, not during the Age of Grace.
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Mal. 4:5-6).
The Lord Jesus Christ will be exalted from the earth during the His Day (Day of Christ), and again during the Day of the LORD.
“For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low” (Isa. 2:12).
Ezekiel wrote that the “sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia.”
“For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen. And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down” (Ezek 30:3-4).
In the great chapter of Zechariah 14 we see an unmistakable reference to the Second Advent, the Parousia, of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee” (Zech. 14:1).
The “Day of the LORD” begins when the “Day of Jesus Christ” ends. The “beginning of sorrows” (Matt. 24:8) signals the beginning of the “Day of the LORD.” False ministers of Christ appear in Jerusalem, wars and rumors of wars become prevalent, nation shall rise against nation, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes come upon the world scene—these are the beginning of sorrows. This will be followed by the Tribulation when judgment falls upon disobedient Israelites, and great calamity is found in Israel.
The rise of the anti-Christ and his tyranny prevail in Israel and, especially, in Jerusalem. This Lawless one desecrates the Temple and commits the “abomination of desolation,” as spoken by Daniel (Dan. 9:27 & 11:31). The result will be, the anti-Christ is destroyed, as well as all of those who chose to believe his Lie.
“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 [Parousia]” (2 Thess. 2:8).
The Presence of Christ, in Jerusalem, ends the Great Tribulation and begins His 1000 year reign on earth. His reign for a millennium needs to be rightly divided from His reign FROM heaven. The Day of Jesus Christ speaks of the time in which Christ rules the world from His heavenly Throne; whereas, the Day of the Lord speaks of His rule of the world FROM Jerusalem.
The Day of the Lord (NT text for OT LORD) plays an important part of Paul’s didactics of his epistles to the Thessalonians.
“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night” (1 Thess. 5:2).
Peter, also, wrote concerning the Day of the Lord and re-states Paul’s phrase: that it will come “as a thief in the night,” meaning the “Parousia” will slip-up on those who are not watchful.
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10).
We, also, find a mention of it:
“That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the Day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” (2 Thess. 2:2-3).
You should notice that the word, “Christ,” in the second verse of 2 Thessalonians 2, is the translators’ rendering of the Greek word “kurios.” Kurios” is used in the Greek New Testament 751 times. It is never translated as “Christ,” with the one exception being in 2 Thessalonians 2:2. The King James translators translated “kurios,” seven-hundred-thirty-five times as “Lord,” four times as “sir,” eleven times as “master”—and “Christ” only once. The question must be asked, “Out of the 751 times that ‘kurios’ was used, ‘Why did they only choose to translate it once as Christ?’” The Greek word for Christ is “christos” Yet many Bible students willing ignore this Biblical fact.
The translators, so it seems, allowed their theological bias to over-rule the translation of “kurios.” Check any concordance and you will find “kurios” is NEVER TRANSLATED AS CHRIST. The Greek word for Christ is “Christos.” This is, clearly, not a simple mistake, but it is a gross distortion of the Truth the Spirit is trying to impart. The name or title of “Christ” is “christos” in the Greek dictionary.
The Day of Christ was not in view in Paul’s Second Chapter of 2 Thessalonians. The incorrect translation has baffled many dispensationalists.
If we recognize that two dispensations are not one, then, we can see through the “smoke-screen” of this incorrect rendering of the word, “kurios.”
Paul, emphatically, states that there must “come a falling away.” This falling away comes as a prelude to the Day of the Lord—not the Day of Christ. As students, we are aware that we have been commanded to “rightly divide the Word of Truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). This commands that we acknowledge the difference between these Two Days; even if the translators did not.
We have, now, come full circle and looked at all of the verses that speak of “the Day of the Lord.” This brings us back to Revelation 1:10 where we began. The weight of the Scripture which we have set forth should be sufficient to show that when the Apostle John said, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,” he was not saying that he felt especially spiritual on a Sunday. Rather, he was, indeed, transported in mind by means of a vision. Under the control of the Spirit, he was transported into the future dispensation which the Old Testament Prophets referred to as THE DAY OF THE LORD. To read Revelation 1:10 in such a manner as to make the “Lord’s Day” mean the first day of the week would tell us practically nothing. However, reading Revelation 1:10, in the light of the “Day of the Lord,” tell us practically everything. The “Book of Revelation” is concerned with information infinitely more important and vast than the first day of the week. There is no Scriptural evidence that the first day of the week was ever referred to as “the Lord’s Day.”
Truth that belongs to the future must not be read into the present. When it is undispensational, terms are invented and error develops; consequently, the Truth is veiled, or hidden.
~~END of CHAPTER EIGHT~~
Copyright © Thomas L. Ballinger 2018
First Printing 1975
Major Revision 2011