OUR FAITH AND HOPE; Or, Reasons Why We Believe as We Do.
By James White
NUMBER THREE—THE MILLENNIUM.
AND I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. Rev. xx, 4, 5. The word millennium signifies a thousand years. And while there is a general agreement in relating the word to the period named in the text, all do not agree as to the character of the millennium. The popular view of this subject is, that the world is to be converted, and that all men will become holy. This happy state of things, it is said, will continue one thousand years, during which time Christ will reign with his people spiritually. At the close of the millennium, Christ will come the second time, and the Judgment will take place. The scriptural view of the subject is that the world will not change for the better, but, rather, for the worse, unto the end, and that the last days will be perilous, and like those of Noah and of Lot. Christ will come at the commencement of the one thousand years, and will raise the righteous dead, and change to immortality the righteous who shall be living, and reign personally with them one thousand years. At the close of the millennium the wicked dead will also be raised, and receive their punishment in the second death. Says John, “And I saw [not a converted world, but] thrones [of judgment] and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.” He then mentions that portion of the martyrs of Jesus who had been beheaded, and also the victors over the beast, his image, and his mark, representing all the righteous; and adds, “They lived [were raised to life] and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead [the wicked] lived not again [were not raised from the dead] until the thousand years were finished.” The millennium of the Bible is to open with the revelation of the Son of God from Heaven, the destruction of the living wicked, the resurrection of the just, and the change to immortality of the living righteous. It is a period in which Christ will reign personally with the just of all ages who have suffered with him. 2 Tim. ii, 12. And this period is bounded at each end with a resurrection. Christ plainly declares that “all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” John v, 28, 29. And Paul testifies “that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.” Acts xxiv, 15. But it is left to the Revelator to place these resurrections one thousand years apart, at each end of the millennium. In the further consideration of this subject we propose to examine those texts usually quoted to prove that the world will be converted, and enjoy a period of peace and universal holiness in this mortal state, and then bring forward those portions of sacred Scripture which prove that no such state of things can exist prior to the second coming of Christ and the Judgment. The principal texts relied upon to prove the world's conversion are the following: 1. “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” Ps. ii, 8. As sufficient evidence that this text does not prove the conversion of the world, we quote the verse following it: “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.” 2. The stone cut out of the mountain without hands, shall roll until it becomes a great mountain, and fills the whole earth. All the proof for the world's conversion, found in the above, is in quoting the text wrong. Here is the text as it reads: “Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and break them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” Dan. ii, 34, 35. In this remarkable portion of prophecy, the following points are worthy of notice. First, the stone smote the image upon his feet, and brake the iron, clay, brass, silver and gold to pieces together. Here is destruction, not conversion. Second, they became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors, and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them. And here is illustrated the removal of all earthly governments from the territory of the kingdom of the God of Heaven. Third, then the stone became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. In this prophecy the stone has nothing in common with the image. The image, a symbol of earthly governments, and all wicked men, is first removed, and then the stone fills the whole earth. If it be said that dashing the heathen to pieces [Ps. ii, 9,] and the breaking of the image to pieces, [Dan. ii, 34,] mean the conversion of the world, then Paul's words, “The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly,” means the conversion of the devil. 3. A nation shall be born in a day. Here is another incorrect quotation. Isa. lxvi, 8, reads: “Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.” This text has no allusion to the conversion of sinners; but evidently refers to the resurrection of the just. 4. “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.” But let it be borne in mind that this is under the third woe. When it is also said, “And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged, and that thou shouldst give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldst destroy them which destroy the earth.” Rev. xi, 15, 18. 5. “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and then shall the end come.” Matt. xxiv, 14. The preaching of the gospel of the kingdom as a witness unto all nations, is the first sign of the end mentioned by our Lord in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew. And is this work nearly accomplished? Those who teach the world's conversion think the great work but just begun. They would have the gospel preached to all nations, every individual hear it, believe it, obey it, and all become holy by it. What then? The end? No, not until the world enjoys a sinless period of one thousand years. But our Lord says nothing of the conversion of the world, or any portion of the human family, in this verse. He simply declares, (a) “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world,
(b) “For a witness unto all nations,
(c) “And then [not one thousand years after, but THEN] shall the end come.” 6. They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” Micah iv, 3. The same is in Isa. ii, 4. No passage in the Bible is relied on with more confidence to prove a temporal millennium than this in Micah iv, and no one can be presented more plausibly in its favor. Yet the evidence against the construction given is very strong; so strong that the text would never have been used for that purpose, had the harmony of Scriptures been kept in view. The whole text as quoted for that doctrine is as follows: “But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain178of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of host hath spoken it. For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.” The expression in verse 4, “for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it,” is supposed to indicate that the state of things thus described will surely come to pass; but by reading verse 5 we learn that the “many nations” are still speaking, and they confess that “all people will walk every one in the name of his god,” which is quite inconsistent with the state they are anticipating. But the Lord speaks in verses 6, 7, as follows: “In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; and I will make her that halteth a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth even forever.” And thus it is made to appear that “in that day,” when “many nations” are prophesying of peace and safety, the Lord's remnant people are driven out and afflicted. Therefore we judge that this is not a prediction which the Spirit of the Lord has made, but is one of those spoken of in Eze. xiii, 7: “Whereas ye say, The Lord saith it; albeit I have not spoken.” But we have more and very decisive testimony in regard to the state of the nations in the last days. Says the Lord by the prophet Joel: “Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles: Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up; beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.” Joel iii, 9-13. This is very important testimony in this connection, as it is the exact opposite of what “many nations” are saying at that same time. They prophecy of peace. The Lord says, Prepare war. They say, Swords shall be beaten into ploughshares, and spears into pruning-hooks. The Lord says, Beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears. This is a difference not to be lightly passed over. That this prophecy of Joel does refer to the last days, even to the closing scenes of this world's history, is evident from verse 13. “Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe,” &c. Jesus himself says in Matt. xiii, 39: “The harvest is the end of the world.” And all of verse 13 corresponds with Rev. xiv, 14-20, wherein the Lord Jesus is represented as coming to reap the harvest of the earth, and gathering the clusters of the vine of the earth, and casting them into the great winepress of the wrath of God. Again, Joel's prophecy continues: “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision; for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake, but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” Verses 14-16. The chronology of this prophecy cannot be mistaken. It is the ushering in of the day of the Lord. It is when the Lord's voice is heard from Heaven, shaking the heavens and the earth. Jeremiah speaks of the same time and event, and also speaks of the destiny of the nations of the earth, at that time. “Therefore prophecy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations; he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.” Jer. xxv, 30-32. Instead of the nations' no more lifting up the sword against each other, in the last days, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and the sword shall devour them. No careful reader of the letter of Paul to the Thessalonians can be surprised to find a discrepancy between the declarations of the Lord and that of “many nations,” in the last days. Paul says “The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them.” 1 Thess. v, 2, 3. How strikingly is this saying of Peace and safety, fulfilled in the preaching of the temporal millennium, the conversion of the world, and the prophecy of peace among the nations; while Scripture and facts combine to show that the world is sinking lower and lower, the wicked are waxing worse and worse, and the nations are making far greater preparations for war than at any former period. How evident that “the battle of the great day of God Almighty” is impending, and the people of the world are preparing the snare for their own sin, by prophesying peace, or singing the popular song of the “Good time coming,” when destruction is ready to fall upon them. 7. All shall know the Lord, from the least to the greatest. Heb. viii, 11. This is in the promise of the new covenant, and relates first, to the condition of each individual with whom the new covenant is made; and, secondly, to the fullness of the blessings of the gospel when all are brought into harmony with God in the everlasting state. Both ideas are embraced in the promise. But that every individual will be converted, or that all of any generation this side of the immortal state, will be converted and come to the knowledge of God, the Scriptures do not teach. This promise is made concerning those with whom the Lord makes the new covenant. Now, although every thing has been done that can possibly be done to ratify the covenant, or make it of force, yet we cannot say that it is actually made “with” any individual until that individual is brought into covenant relation with God. But when they are so brought into covenant relation with him, according to the promise, the law of God is written on their hearts: then they know God; for John says, “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.” 1 Jno. ii, 3. This, of course, cannot apply to the unconverted; and all who remain impenitent are not embraced in the promise. 8. The glory of the Lord shall fill the earth as the waters cover the sea. There are three texts which speak of this, as follows: “But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” Num. xiv, 21.
“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Isa. xi, 9.
“For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Hab. ii, 14. It is a great mistake to apply these texts to the temporal millennium, or to the earth in its present, sin-cursed state. Because of transgression, the Lord by his prophet says, “Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.” Isa. xxiv, 6. Peter says this prophecy will be fulfilled in the day of the Lord, which is the day of Judgment and perdition of ungodly men; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements, and also the earth, melt with fervent heat. He then adds, “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” 2 Pet. iii, 13. When the earth is renewed; when the curse is removed; when the ungodly have all perished in the day of Judgment, and none but the righteous are left to inherit the new earth, then will the glory of God fill the earth. In Rev. v, 13, a prophecy is given as follows: “And every creature which is in Heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever.” But this can never be fulfilled upon the earth in its present, sin-cursed state, with the ungodly dwelling upon it. They will continue to dwell upon it till the day of the Lord, for the Scriptures connect its destiny with theirs. The burning of the great day comes at once upon it and them.