What is the purpose behind the altering of one of the greatest hopes of the Christian Church, the hope of the coming of the Lord to govern the earth? It is to keep Christ and His saints in the spirit realm; to drive them out of the material realm so Satan and Antichrist can inherit the earth.

When Christ returns to earth He shall destroy Antichrist. Christ in the saints shall destroy Antichrist. Therefore, by continually emphasizing the leaving of the saints, the whole nature and purpose of the Kingdom of God is thrown into chaos.

The issue is that of Christ in the flesh; not Christ in the spirit realm, not Christ in Heaven, but Christ in the flesh in the world.

Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. (Luke 24:39)

This is the hope of the Kingdom of God. This is the hope of the mature saints. This is the hope of the first resurrection from among the dead.

By minimizing the bodily resurrection and emphasizing the flight of the saints to Heaven the way is left open for Antichrist to inherit the earth.

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. (I John 4:4)

It would be much better for us on the earth if Satan, the Antichrist, the False prophet, the rebellious angels, and the demons all went to Heaven where God would deal with them appropriately. The earth belongs to us!

Antichrist operates through deception. It is only as we are filled with God in Christ that we can escape being seduced away from the truth. God's protection against Antichrist is the spirit of truth in the saint, not the flight of the believer to the spirit realm.

As we study the Old Testament prophecies relating to the Day of Christ we discover that the saints will be on the earth throughout the reign of Antichrist and will serve as deliverers and protectors for all who choose to seek God's help in those terrible days.

See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. Each man will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land. (Isaiah 32:1,2—NIV)

Finally God in Christ will rise up in the saints and crush Satan.

Not only will we be preserved throughout the days to come, we also will serve, as did Joseph, as deliverers and protectors of God's elect, of all who seek the Lord, and perhaps of some of the nations of the earth as well. It is our belief that the lives and ministries of Elijah and Elisha typify the power of deliverance that will be given to the elect in the last days.

The remnant of the churches, the people who do know their God, will not be removed from the earth. Through Christ they will overcome and will emerge more than conquerors.

. . . but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. (Daniel 11:32)

To be continued.