the time of finishing the mystery of god

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The Mystery of God

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Page 1: The Time of Finishing the Mystery of God

The Mystery of God

Page 2: The Time of Finishing the Mystery of God
Page 3: The Time of Finishing the Mystery of God

Mystery of Godliness

[Paul asks that prayers be made], “that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel.” Eph. 6:19.

“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” Col. 1:27,28.

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And this is the mystery of God today and forever--God manifest in the flesh, in human flesh, in flesh, laden with sin, tempted and tried. In this flesh God will make manifest the knowledge of Himself in every place where the believer is found. Believe it and praise His holy name!

This is the mystery which today in the third angel's message is again to be made known to all nations for the obedience of the faith. This is the mystery of God, which in this time is to be "finished,"--not only finished in the sense of being ended to the world, but finished in the sense of being brought to completion in its grand work in the believer.

This is the time when the mystery of God is to be finished in the sense that God is to be manifest in the flesh in every true believer, in every place where that believer shall be found. This is, in deed and in truth, the keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

"Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world," I have revealed God in the flesh. Our faith is the victory that has overcome the world. Therefore, and now, "Thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ and maketh manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place." RH Sept. 29, 1896

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Defeat the Devil under Christ Leadership: believing in the ability of JESUS to save us amply, fully, completely, and entirely from sin! JESUS is able to save to the uttermost (Hebrews 7:25)

“And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly…” Rom. 16:20

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Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin. (Hebrews. 4:14-15)

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And he (JESUS) said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. (LUKE 10:18-20)

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The union of the divine with the human is one of the most mysterious, as well as the most precious, truths of the plan of redemption. It is of this that Paul speaks when he says, "Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh." 1 Tim. 3:16. While it is impossible for finite minds fully to grasp this great truth, or fathom its significance, we may learn from it lessons of vital importance to us in our struggles against temptation. Christ came to the world to bring divine power to humanity, to make man a partaker of the divine nature.

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But what is the mystery of God? -- The mystery of God is the gospel. Proof: in Eph. 3:3 Paul says, "By revelation he made known unto me the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel . . . . Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now . . . might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. . . . That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God." For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." Eph. 3:3-11, 17-19: Col. 2:9.

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Then let the Lord by his Spirit so draw us to himself; let the heart be so opened to that power, to the fellowship of that mystery, to the Spirit of God, that he may implant there Jesus Christ, his grace and his virtue. And as we hold our hearts open to him always, and to none but him, as a flower to the sun, we obtain in all its fulness, his righteousness, his power, his salvation, his mercy, his truth, his joy, his gladness, his peace—O, and his eternal life! THREE ANGELS MESSAGE by A T. JONES 1897 p. 47

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"Great is the mystery of godliness; for God was manifestin the flesh." The Son of man received up into glory, that means ourselves. And in that he brought to us the infinite privilege of glorifying God. That was worth the price that he paid. We never could have dreamed that the privilege was so great. But God looked upon the privilege, Jesus Christ looked upon the privilege, of what it is to glorify God. And looking upon that, and seeing where we had gone, it was said, It is worth the price. Christ said, "I will give the price." And "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son," and thus brought to us the privilege of glorifying God. THREE ANGELS MESSAGE p.[383]

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And as Jesus began, at His birth, as a little child in human flesh and grew up and finished the work that God had given Him to do, so you and I, born again, growing up in Him in all things, come presently to the day when we, as did He, shall say and say in righteousness, "I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work thou gavest me to do." For it is written, "In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished." We are in that day. We have that mystery given to us to give to the world. It is to be finished for the world, and it is to be finished in those who have it.But what is the mystery of God? "Christ in you, the hope of glory." "God . . . manifest in the flesh." Then in these days that mystery is to be finished in one hundred and forty-four thousand people. God's work in human flesh, God being manifested in human flesh, in you and me, is to be finished. His work upon you and me is to be finished. We are to be perfected in Jesus Christ. By the Spirit we are to come unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. July 18, July 25, August 1, 1899

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Paul uses the same symbolism: “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” Ephesians 5:31, 32. “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it. That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27. The Bible would not have used these illustrations if God had not intended marriage to hold a high place of honor among the institutions He has planted. God, who in the beginning made them male and female, in the marriage relation created the best possible condition for man to attain God's ideal. Man has perverted this ordinance of God as he has others. Christ, who came to restore that which had fallen into decay, also restored the sacrament of matrimony to its original status. He wants it to be held in honor and to serve the purpose of God. THE FAITH OF JESUS P. 138

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That is the mystery of God: "Christ in you, the hope of glory;" God manifest in the flesh. It is not simply Christ manifest in the flesh; it is God manifest in the flesh. For when Jesus came in the world himself, it was not Christ manifest in the flesh; it was God manifest in the flesh; for "he that hath seen me, hath seen the Father.“ Christ emptied himself, in order that God might be manifest in the flesh, in sinful flesh; and when he comes to us, and dwells in us, upon our choice, bringing to us that divine mind of his which is the mind that empties self wherever it goes, wherever it can find an entrance, wherever it can find any place to act, the mind of Christ is the emptying of self, is the abolishing of self, the destruction of self, the annihilation of self. Therefore when, by our choice, that divine mind comes to us, the result is as certain that ourselves will be emptied as that the mind dwells in us. And as soon as that is done, God works fully and manifests himself, in sinful flesh though it be. And that is victory. That is triumph. And thus with the mind we serve the law of God. THREE ANGELS MESSAGE by A T. JONES

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Christ has bound Himself to humanity with bands that shall never be sundered. The earth has been given to the children of men, and Christ, having bound Himself to us, will come with His own when this earth is given to the saints of God. Is this the meaning of the mysterious passage by Paul in Ephesians? Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord the church: for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church." Ephesians 5:25-32.The union between Christ and the church is here spoken of under the symbol of marriage. As Christ loves the church so men ought to love their wives. "For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh." The meaning of this verse is plain. There is no mystery about it. Yet Paul says, "This is a great mystery." What mystery can there be about a man's leaving his father and mother and being joined to his wife? How the two become one flesh may be a mystery, but apparently this is not what Paul has in mind, for he adds the significant words: I speak concerning Christ and the church.“ THE FAITH OF JESUS p. 229

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'What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” This statement is based on the fact that “he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” Verses 4-6. Paul, quoting the statement, “They two shall be one flesh,” makes the observation that this is a great mystery, making it symbolic of the union of Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:31, 32.)

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“Write the vision, and make it plain upon

tables, that he may run that readeth it.”Hab. 2:2

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“But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished,……”Rev.10:7

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“But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished,……” Rev.10:7 (So CHRIST can dwell in you forever)Finishing the Mystery of God.—“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.” Act 3:19.“And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Daniel 8:14. “For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.” Lev 16:30.

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The Great Time Prophecies

Of Daniel 8 & 9

Jesus Second Coming31AD 34AD

70 Weeks X 7 = 490 Years

“Unto …(2300) days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Dan. 8:14

2300 days = 2300 years

YearlyAntitype

of yearlyMinistration

Finishing the

mystery

Antitype of the Daily Ministration

“Light from the sanctuary illumed the past the present, and the future” GC 423.

Daily

69 Weeks X 7 =483 Years

27AD

1 Wk = 7dys =7 Yrs 3½ dys=3½yrs

3½ dys=3½yrs

1844ADFinal Close

of Probation

7 Last Plagues

1810 Yrs

457 BC

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PreparationTime

CHURCH MILLITANT

CHURCH TRIUMPHANT

Little Time of TroubleCountry Living

Growing own Food

DeathDecree Armageddon

Jacobs Time of Trouble

Get ReadyThe Day & Hr.

No Mediator

CHURCH VICTORIOUS

Trouble Coming Upon the Earth

Trouble Continuing I also saw that many do not realize what they must be in order to live in the sight of the Lord without a high priest in the sanctuary through the time of trouble. Those who receive the seal of the living God and are protected in the time of trouble must reflect the image of Jesus fully. {Early Writings page 71.1}

"Said the angel, "Deny self; ye must step fast." Some of us have had time to get the truth and to advance step by step, and every step we have taken has given us strength to take the next. But now time is almost finished, and what we have been years learning, they will have to learn in a few months. They will also have much to unlearn and much to learn again. Those who would not receive the mark of the beast and his image when the decree goes forth, must have decision now to say, Nay, we will not regard the institution of the beast.{Early Writings page 67.2}

"Time is almost finished. Do you reflect the lovely image of Jesus as you should?" Then I was pointed to the earth and saw that there would have to be a getting ready among those who have of late embraced the third angel's message. Said the angel, "Get ready, get ready, get ready. Ye will have to die a greater death to the world than ye have ever yet died." I saw that there was a great work to do for them and but little time in which to do it. EARLY WRITINGS PAG 64

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...The finishing of the mystery of God is the completion of the great plan of salvation in connection with Christ’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. In the type the yearly round of service was finished on the tenth day of the seventh month. In the antitype Christ entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary at the end of the 2300 days, to finish the great plan of salvation. The mystery of God was to be finished, as He had declared by His servants, the prophets; and the cleansing of the sanctuary spoken of by Daniel, is only another expression signifying the same thing as the finishing of the mystery of God. Hence the seventh angel began to sound at the close of the 2300 days, in 1844, when the cleansing of the sanctuary, or the finishing of the mystery of God, commenced.” White, James, Life, 211,212.

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In the Days When He Shall Begin to Sound.—“In the days, i.e., years, of the beginning of the voice of the seventh angel, the work of human probation is finished. Rev.10:7. This, as we have seen, involves the closing up of the immense work of our High Priest. It also requires the proclamation of the final warnings to mankind.” Andrews, TJ, 36.Its finishing must, as a matter of course, be the close of this work. It will be finished when the number of God’s people is made up, when mercy ceases to be offered, and probation closes. Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith

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The cleansing of the sanctuary and the finishing of the mystery of God are identical as to time and are also so closely related as to be practically identical in character and event. The finishing of the mystery of God is the ending of the work of the gospel. And the ending of the work of the gospel is, first, the taking away of all vestige of sin and the bringing in of everlasting righteousness--Christ fully formed--within each believer, God alone manifest in the flesh of each believer in Jesus, and, secondly, on the other hand, the work of the gospel being finished means only the destruction of all who then shall not have received the gospel (2 Thess. 1:7-10), for it is not the way of the Lord to continue men in life when the only possible use they will make of life is to heap up more misery for themselves. THE CONSECRATED WAY p. 58,59, 60

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And then in the righteousness, the peace, and the power of this true faith, let every soul who knows it spread abroad to all people and to the end of the world the glorious news of the priesthood of Christ, of the cleansing of the sanctuary, of the finishing of the mystery of God, of the times of refreshing come, and of the soon coming of the Lord "to be glorified in His saints and to be admired in all them that believe...in that day" and to "present to Himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing" but "holy and without blemish.“

"Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a Minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." THE CONSECRATED WAY p. 66

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The heavenly temple, the most holy place, was opened in A. D. 1844. At that time the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary began; and, in the very nature of the case, must soon close. We are now living in the great day of atonement. Now is the time when it is urgent upon everyone to confess his sins, to put away all his transgressions, to be a partaker of the intercession of Christ, to wash his robes, and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. For since 1844 the Seventh Angel has been sounding; soon the mystery of God will be finished, the work of the gospel will be closed, and the unmixed wrath of God and the Lamb will be poured upon all the wicked of the earth.

"And there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament." Rev. 11:19. Why is this called the ark of His testament? -- Because within it is His testimony, as there was in the earthly temple, which was a pattern of the heavenly. "In the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee." Ex. 25:21. But what was the testimony, or testament, that was put in the ark? "He gave unto Moses, when He had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God." Ex. 31:18. "And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables." Chap. 32:16.

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Law is an expression of character, a revelation of mind. For this reason the law of God is important. It is a part of God, as it were, and reveals Him. It is a transcript of His character, a finite expression of the infinite. In it we are given a glimpse of the mind of God; a view of what constitutes the foundation of His government. As God is perfect, so His law is perfect. As God is eternal, so the principles of the Ten Commandments are eternal. As God is -unchangeable, so the law is unchangeable. This must of necessity be so. The law, being a transcript of the character of God, cannot be changed unless a corresponding change takes place in God. But God does not change. “I am the Lord, I change not.” Mal. 3:6. With God there “is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:17. He is “the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8. Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. (REVELATION. 22: 14). Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. (REVELATION. 14: 12).

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GOD’S DEMONSTRATON: The demonstration which God intends to make with the last generation on earth means much, both to the people and to God. Can God's law really be kept? That is a vital question. Many deny that it can be done; others glibly say it can. When the whole question of commandment keeping is considered, the problem assumes large proportions' God's law is exceedingly broad; it takes cognizance of the thoughts and intents of the heart. It judges motives as well as acts, thoughts as well as words. Commandment keeping means entire sanctification, a holy life, unswerving allegiance to right, entire separation from sin, and victory over it. Well may mortal man cry out, Who is sufficient for these things? Yet, to produce a people that will keep the law is the task which God has set Himself and which He expects to accomplish. When the statement and challenge are issued by Satan: “No one can keep the law. It is impossible. If there be any that can do it or that have done it, show them to me. Where are they that keep the commandments?” God will quietly answer, Here they are. “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12.

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THE final demonstration of what the gospel can do in and for humanity is still in the future. Christ showed the way. He took a human body, and in that body demonstrated the power of God. Men are to follow His example and prove that what God did in Christ, He can do in every human being who submits to Him. The world is awaiting this demonstration. (Romans 8: 19) When it has been accomplished, the end will come. God will have fulfilled His plan. He will have shown Himself true and Satan a liar. His government will stand vindicated.

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The day of final judgment includes not only the blotting out of the sins of the righteous but also the eradication of sin from the universe. It includes the placing upon the head of Satan all sin for which he is responsible, and the “cutting off” of all who had not afflicted their souls. So likewise in the sanctuary service the sins were placed on the head of the scapegoat after the cleansing of the sanctuary had been completed. Then those who had not repented were “cut off.” (Leviticus 16:20-22; 23:29) Thus it shall be in the end of the world. “It shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remains in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem.” Isaiah 4:3. God shall again cleanse His people. Those who remain in Zion shall be holy, “everyone that is written among the living in Jerusalem.” The rest will be shaken out, cut off.

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God, and Christ the life of God. That is what we are to preach. Well, what is that all summed up in one thing? What expresses it? The Gospel. What is it to preach the gospel? It is to preach the mystery of God, which is Christ in men the hope of glory.What has God given to us to give to the world but "the everlasting gospel to preach unto every kindred and nation and tongue and people"? Rev. 14:6. THREE ANGELS MESSAGE by A T. JONES 1893 p. 148The Third Angel's Message is the embodiment of the very gospel of Christ, wherein "is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." Rom. 1:16, 17. In Christ, by faith of Christ, the believer in Jesus finds the keeping of the commandments of God, which is the righteousness of God. Thus the keeping of the commandments of God is the gift of God: it is the "free gift" of the righteousness of God "which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe." And this is the Third Angel's Message: "Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."

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The wonder is what God can do that through and in sinful flesh. That is the mystery of God,—God manifest in sinful flesh. In Jesus Christ as he was in sinful flesh, God has demonstrated before the universe that he can so take possession of sinful flesh as to manifest his own presence, his power, and his glory, instead of sin manifesting itself. And all that the Son asks of any man, in order to accomplish this in him, is that the man will let the Lord have him as the Lord Jesus did. Jesus said, "I will put my trust in him." And in that trust Christ brought to every one the divine faith by which we can put our trust in him. And when we do so separate from the world, and put our sole trust in him, then God will so take us, and so use us, that our sinful selves shall not appear to influence or affect anybody; but God will manifest his righteous self, his glory, before men, in spite of all ourselves and our sinfulness. That is the truth. And that is the mystery of God, "Christ in you, the hope of glory,"— God manifest in sinful flesh. THREE ANGELS MESSAGE by A T. JONES

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Which tie is the closer, that which binds a son to his father, or that which binds a man to his wife? We believe the latter. Originally God said, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” Genesis 2:24. Paul, quoting this in Ephesians 5:32, applies it to Christ, saying, “This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”Christ's love for His church has not made His love for the Father any less intense. Rather the opposite is true, if that were possible. Christ loves the Father more, and the Father loves the Son more-we speak after the manner of men because of their common love for man. Yet it is true that Christ's love for His church impels Him to be with them.Christ, the Son of the Living God. The earth is given to the children of men, and as Christ has become one of us, He chooses to live with us and be one of us. Thus He will, in a certain sense, leave His Father and cleave to His wife, of which Paul speaks. Thus it comes to pass that Christ will be with us, take up His abode on the earth made new, and in a real sense become Immanuel, God with us. (Matthew 1:23.) THE FAITH OF JESUS by M L. Andreason

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“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” 1John 3:2.“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.” 1 Thess. 4:16,17.

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1Corinthians 15:51,52.