Scripture Text – Matthew 24:3-14
Three Classes of People
According to Paul’s writing in 1 Corinthians, there are three groups of people in the world today. Paul writes this:
Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God. – 1 Corinthians 10:32.
All men on the earth belong to one of these three classes. The Jew is one who is the natural descendant of Abraham, through Isaac and Jacob. The Gentile is one who is not a descendant of Abraham. The Church is the body of believers, either Jew or Gentile, who have trusted in the finished work of Christ, who have been born by the Spirit and are, therefore, saved—heirs of eternal life through His Name. You are either a member of the first, the second or the third group—for there are no others. Either you are a Jew, a Gentile or a Christian. At the time of the coming of the Lord these three classes will be on the earth, and at His coming, He will have a message for each of these groups. To the Church, He will shout from the air:
“Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.” – Song of Solomon 2:10–12.
To the nation of Israel the archangel will utter this message:
“Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel . . . then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant . . . moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them . . . my tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (Ezekiel 37:21-27).
The Trumpet of God
Just as the coming of the Lord has a message for the Church and for Israel, so, too, it, has a message for the Gentile nations, who have rejected the Christ and persecuted His people. The text says, “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.” – 1 Thessalonians 4:16 (emphasis mine). The trumpet in Scripture had two meanings (in the economy of Israel). When the trumpet was blown once it meant that the Israelites should prepare to march. When the trumpet was blown twice, it was a call to war. Here in 1 Thessalonians 4, we have both meanings. The trump will call God’s people to march, and we shall be caught up to meet Him. It will also be the signal for the nations to prepare for war, for after the Church is taken out the nations will assemble themselves and the end will come in the battle of Armageddon, resulting in the utter defeat of the enemies of the Lord. This call to war is given in Joel in very clear terms:
Blow 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 is coming, For it is at hand . . . The LORD gives voice before His army, for His camp is very great; for strong is the One who executes His word. (Joel 2:1, 11).
Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, Let all the men of war draw near, Let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ ” Assemble and come, all you nations, And gather together all around. Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O LORD. “Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. – Joel 3:9–12.
The coming of the Lord will be the signal that marshals the armies of the world for the last great and final conflict, which will result in a complete victory for Christ and the establishment of His long promised millennial kingdom. Then the prayer which has ascended from millions of hearts for nineteen centuries will finally be answered:
“Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.” – Matthew 6:10.
To Be Continued
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
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