The Kingdom-No. 5 by John Harvey Waggoner

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · May 5, 1874

The Kingdom.—No. 5.

By John Harvey Waggoner

The strongest objections urged against these truths we will notice. The most plausible is presented in the following from a tract on the Age to Come, by J. Marsh. Quoting 1 Cor. 15: 23–28, he says:—

“The particular points in these passages to which we would now call especial attention, are the commencement, close, and character, of the reign of Christ. “1. His reign commences at his coming. “2. It will continue until his enemies are subdued, or destroyed, the last of which is death. “3. One grand object of that reign is to subdue or destroy his enemies. “These points are clear and most conclusively proved by the evidence in the case. The number of years between the commencement and close of this reign, Paul does not tell, but John does. He gives us to understand that it will be a thousand years. Rev. 20.”

Another advocate of that theory, J. M. Stephenson, says:—

“His reign commences with ‘his coming,’ and the resurrection of ‘them that are his’ and terminates, as independent king, with the destruction of ‘the last enemy’—death. By Rev. 20: 5, 6, we learn that ‘the rest of the dead lived not again till the thousand years were finished;’ that then ‘the second death’ is to have ‘power over them,’ and they will be devoured ‘Verse 9. Then the Son, having reigned until he has put all enemies under his feet, ‘delivers up the kingdom to God even the Father,’ and becomes subject himself, that the Father ‘may be all in all.’”

The plausibility of these declarations has carried many away with them, but it is easy to show their fallacy. As they lay so much stress upon their expositions of 1 Cor. 15: 22–28, we will quote the text for the benefit of the reader.

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order; Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all enemies under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.”

Of this important text we offer the following exposition:—

1. “The end” is an expression used in the New Testament to denote the termination of the day of salvation, or the time of Christ’s coming. In every instance, with only one exception, when it is used without a direct qualification, the context shows that it refers to the end of this age. In the exceptional instance, John 13: 1, the context clearly shows the sense of its use. If the reader wishes to test our assertion, he will please examine Matt. 10: 22; 24: 3, 6, 13, 14; 13: 39 (compare 24: 30, 31); 28: 20; 2 Cor. 1: 13, 14 (compare 1 Thess. 2: 19); Rev. 2: 26. The text in question is so clear in its reference as to leave no room for doubt. “Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. THEN COMETH THE END.” Here is brought to view the coming of Christ, but not one word about the 1000 years, nor any other subsequent period. We are not inclined to grant what is asserted—that it refers to the termination of the 1000 years, as that is the very point in dispute, and if it be true, they should prove it, and not rest it on their bare assertion. And this brings us to notice.

2. “The end” is not synchronous with the delivering up of the kingdom. The text reads, “Then cometh the end WHEN HE SHALL HAVE DELIVERED up the kingdom to God.” By this it appears that the kingdom will be delivered up before the end; and, of course, the end cannot refer to “the close of the reign,” as Mr. Marsh has it. Mr. Stephenson makes it the close of an “independent reign,” which is no better; for it may be the close in one sense as well as another, so far as the question of time is concerned. But it is not the close of the reign in any sense—they are separate events. And he makes the delivering up necessary “that the Father may be supreme.” But when we consider the relation the two thrones sustain to each other, and that Christ receives his own throne by the gift of the Father, the idea is truly absurd that Christ must deliver up to the Father the throne of David, that the Father may be supreme! as it implies that by the gift of the throne of David to Christ, the Father’s throne—the throne of all the universe—lost its supremacy.

This idea of an “independent reign” is evidently thrown in to obviate a difficulty into which many have rushed by limiting the reign of Christ on his own throne. Thus, it does not look consistent to talk of “the close” of a reign of which the Scriptures say “there shall be no end.” But the difficulty is not, and cannot be, obviated. Both of these writers agree that he will reign till a certain work shall be accomplished, and that it will be accomplished in 1000 years subsequent to the advent. And as he reigns till a certain point and then delivers up the kingdom, if their view of the reign be correct it must also be correct to call it the end of the reign. But the prophet said, “Of the increase of his government and peace THERE SHALL BE NO END; upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth, even forever.” Isa. 9: 7. And the angel said, “The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1: 32, 33. Paul, quoting the words of the psalmist, says, “Unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever.”

To evade the force of this testimony it has been said that the term forever applies to limited duration. That it is sometimes so used, we admit, but not in these passages. All must admit that it is sometimes applied to unlimited duration, denoting eternity. And when it is used in a limited sense, there must be something in the connection to show in what sense it is used, otherwise it would be ambiguous or indefinite, and should not then be offered to prove anything. We are warranted in saying it is used in its fullest sense, or unlimited, when referring to that of which it is said, “there shall be no end.” If “the end” and “no end” are used to signify the same thing, the result must be only confusion. It seems very evident that the reign and kingdom which continues till a certain time and is then delivered up cannot be that one which does not pass away, is forever, and has no end. We next notice that,

3. The work of subduing his enemies is never, in the Scriptures, ascribed to Christ. Mr. Marsh’s third point is, “One grand object of his reign is to subdue or destroy his enemies.” And Mr. Stephenson says, “Then the Son, having reigned until he has put all enemies under his feet, delivers up the kingdom.” Yet, notwithstanding this opinion is advanced with such confidence (and upon it, indeed, the whole theory of the Age to Come rests), it is altogether unscriptural. In 1 Cor. 15: 23–28, as in Zech. 6: 12, 13, there are two persons brought to view, and the pronouns he and him refer to both, and so they must be referred, to preserve the sense of the text and to harmonize it with other scriptures. The view advocated by the teachers of the Age to Come, contradicts other passages and destroys the sense of this. To show the utter absurdity of the idea that Christ subdues his enemies and puts them under his feet in that or any other age, we here quote the text, leaving out the pronouns and inserting the name, according to that view. It will then read as follows:—

“Christ the first-fruits: afterward they that are Christ’s at Christ’s coming. Then cometh the end, when Christ shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when Christ shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and power. For Christ must reign till Christ hath put all enemies under Christ’s feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For Christ hath put all things under Christ’s feet. But when Christ saith, All things are put under Christ, it is manifest that Christ is excepted which did put all things under Christ. And when all things shall be subdued unto Christ, then shall the Son [Christ] also himself be subject unto Christ that put all things under Christ, that God may be all in all.”

This is worse—far worse, than nonsense; yet how will the “Age-to-Come” believer avoid accepting this as the substance of his faith? It is evident that Christ becomes subject to him that puts all things under him; and if he subdues his enemies and puts them under his own feet, as they declare, then it is equally evident that he becomes subject to himself! Against this fallacy we present the truth that,

4. The Father subdues the enemies of Christ, and puts them under his feet. Before bringing other scriptures to bear on this fact, we give another rendering of the text, supposing this declaration to be true:—

“Christ the first-fruits: afterward they that are Christ’s at Christ’s coming. Then cometh the end, when Christ shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when the Father shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and power. For Christ must reign till the Father hath put all enemies under Christ’s feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For the Father hath put all things under Christ’s feet. But when the Father saith, All things are put under Christ, it is manifest that the Father is excepted which did put all things under Christ. And when all things shall be subdued unto Christ, then shall the Son [Christ] also himself be subject unto the Father that put all things under Christ, that God may be all in all.”

With the beauty and truthfulness of this view all must be struck at a glance. The error of the other view is in referring the pronouns to Christ throughout, when it is evident that they refer to both Father and Son immediately after both are introduced in verse 24.

Thus it is proved clearly that the Father puts his enemies under the feet of his Son, or crowns him King and Lord over the kings and lords of this world. And this act of the God of Heaven in investing his Son with kingly power over his enemies is, in the prophecy, entitled, setting up the kingdom. And this is the only act of the Father, brought to view in the Scriptures, which answers to that event.

J. H. WAGGONER.