“Now let us look, dear friends, at the separate items of that detailed coming. We have already, more than once, alluded to the secrecy of the return of our Lord for His people, and people are puzzled over the language used by Paul’s description of the return. ‘The Lord shall come with a shout.’ Then the world at large will hear Him coming? No; we think not. Or, if they hear a sound, they will not understand it.
“The Lord’s voice in His spiritual revelations is never heard save by the Lord’s people. But there is the voice of the archangel—how about that? The same rule applies to that, we think.
“There were godly shepherds watching their flocks at night, near Bethlehem, and there was a whole host of angels singing, but the Bethlehemites did not hear. No one appears to have heard or seen anything save the godly shepherds. The same, we believe, applies to the ‘trump,’ the call of God.
“In this connection it is interesting to note a fact that probably was in the mind of Paul when he wrote thus to the Thessalonians. The Roman army used three special trumpet-calls in connection with departure—with marching.
“The first meant, ‘Pull down tents.’
“The second, ‘Get in array.’
“The third, ‘Start.’
“Did Paul, moved by the Holy Ghost, translate these three clarion notes in the topic of 1 Thess. iv. 16, after this fashion:
“1. ‘The Lord Himself.’