fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but also to all them that loved his appearing" (II Tim. 4:7-8). The faithful shepherds of the flock shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. It was with this in view that the Apostle Peter exhorted elders to "Tend the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not of constraint, but willingly, according to the will of God; nor yet for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as lording it over the charge allotted to you, but making yourselves ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall be manifested, ye shall receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away" (I Pet. 5:2-4).

7. When our Lord returns, HIS PEOPLE SHALL LIVE AND REIGN WITH HIM. John says, "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither His image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon

their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years" (Rev. 20:4). This passage seems to refer primarily to the tribulation saints, but by implication it includes all those who have believed in Jesus in this present dispensation. Certainly the Bride must reign with her Husband, and we are explicitly told in Rev. 5:9, 10, that our Lord has made those whom He purchased of every tribe and tongue and people and nation to be a kingdom unto God and priests and that they shall "reign upon the earth."

III.

The Results of the Return of our Lord as regards Israel.

1. THERE SHALL BE GREAT JOY AMONG HIS PEOPLE ISRAEL BECAUSE OF OUR LORD'S RETURN. The prophet Isaiah, speaking of that day says, "It shall be said in that day, Lo this is our God, we have waited for Him and He will save us; This is Jehovah, We have waited for Him. We will be glad and rejoice in his salvation." This can hardly be limited to Israel, but the context seems to clearly imply that the primary reference is to them. Why Israel shall rejoice will become evident enough as we study the further

results of His coming again. But as great as their joy shall be, it shall begin with a great mourning; mourning over their sin, and especially over their former rejection of their King. The prophet Zechariah tells us in Zech. 12:8-14, "In that day shall Jehovah defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of Jehovah before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives

apart; the family of the house of the Shimeites apart, and their wives apart; all the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart." But following their mourning a fountain shall be opened for sin and for uncleanness (Zech. 13:1) and Jehovah Himself shall go forth to fight against all their enemies (Zech. 14:1-3).

2. Following upon what has just been said, THE RETURN OF OUR LORD JESUS SHALL RESULT IN ISRAEL'S DELIVERANCE IN THE DAY WHEN HIS TRIALS AND SUFFERINGS CULMINATE. We read in Zech. 14:1-4, "Behold, a day of Jehovah cometh when the spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall Jehovah go forth, and fight against those nations: as when he fought in the days of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the mount of Olives shall be cleft in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very

great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north and half of it toward the south." History in our day seems to be fast heading up toward the day when these promises shall be fulfilled.

3. In connection with the Return of our Lord, THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SHALL BE

GATHERED TOGETHER FROM AMONG THE NATIONS, FROM THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE EARTH AND

BROUGHT AGAIN INTO THEIR OWN LAND. This is promised over and over again in the prophecies of the Old Testament. We read in Is. 11:11, 12, "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, that shall remain, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the Islands of the sea. And he will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." In a similar way we read in Ezek. 36:24, "For I will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land." And again in the 37th chapter, 21st verse,