EVENTS OF THE MILLENNIUM.
By M. C. W.
IN past numbers, it has been shown that the day of the Lord began at the close of probation, that at that time the seven last plagues began to be poured out, and that in connection with the last plague, the Son of God appears in glory with all his holy angels. At the presence of Christ, the "remnant of the wicked are slain, the righteous dead are raised incorruptible, the righteous living are made immortal; and, together with Christ, escorted by an innumerable company of angels, the faithful ascend to the city of God. The time between the pouring out of the first plague, when the day of wrath begins and probation closes, and the last trump, when Christ appears, is called in the prophecy of Rev. 18:8 "one day," or a literal year. The coming of Christ, the resurrection and translation of the just, the slaying of the wicked, and the desolation of the earth, mark the beginning of the thousand years. Here the Bible millennium begins, not in glory, but so far as regards this earth, enshrouded in darkness. Where are the saints during this period? We have before shown that they were taken to the "Father's house," the city of God in Heaven. Here, associated with Christ, they judge the wicked dead; here they live and reign with Christ a thousand years. Rev. 20:4. Jesus told his disciples, who had forsaken the world, who were condemned by that chosen nation of Israel, that nation which had rejected God, that they should sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Matt. 19:28. The tables would then be turned. Those condemned on earth by the greater part of the professed people of God, would in the future judge those apostate tribes; not in revenge, however, but in sorrow and strict justice. Paul admonishes the Corinthians to "judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes" (1 Cor. 4:5), from which it may be legitimately inferred that at that time the saints will judge. And this is what Paul expressly states further on. In chapter 6:1 he reproves them for going to law before the unjust, and not before the saints. Surely those who have been in some measure enlightened by the Spirit of God, ought to be able to judge between brethren of the same faith. "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge [evil] angels? how much more things that pertain to this life." It is the fulfillment of this prediction by Paul that John sees, as recorded in Rev. 20:4. This reign is therefore in Heaven, not on the earth. "But do the saints judge the wicked?" asks one. We answer, Yes, why not? The Bible expressly declares it, and why not believe it? Abraham, the father of the faithful, asked the question, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Gen. 18:25. That question will be answered to the faithful. They have believed God without always seeing the why and the wherefore. God will reveal to them that their faith was not misplaced; he will demonstrate to the redeemed host the wisdom of all his decisions. Therefore holy angels are commissioned to keep infallible records of men's lives, with the motives which actuated their deeds. See Ex. 32:32; Ps. 139:16; Matt. 12:36; Ps. 50:21; Dan. 7:10; Mal. 3:16, et al. God in his infinite knowledge does not need these records, but his people need them. And during the thousand years those who have died out of Christ come in review before God and the saints, in their records, and their deeds are weighed, and their sentences apportioned accordingly. Rev. 20:12. The question of Abraham is then answered, and with one acclaim the saints raise the song, "Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." Rev. 15:3. As before shown, under the seventh plague the earth shall be "utterly emptied." Isa. 24:3. Thus the prophet speaks of the death of the wicked under the fearful judgments of God:— "And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days they shall be visited." Isa 24:21, 22. The wicked are punished by the plagues. Under the burning glory of Christ's coming they die, and are gathered into the vast charnel-house of the dead, this desolate earth. But this death is not eternal. After many days they shall be visited again. John tells us how long a period these many days are. "But the rest of the dead [the wicked] lived not again until the thousand years were finished." Rev. 20:5. This is conclusive. If the righteous dead, the blessed and holy, are raised, and the saints are all taken to Heaven, if the "remnant" of the wicked are slain (Rev. 19:21) and those who were dead remain so, there is not one wicked human being alive during the thousand years, and there is not one human being either good or evil alive upon the earth. Upon this desolated earth Satan is confined. Rev. 20:1-3. The word translated "bottomless pit," in verse two, is abussos, the Greek word which corresponds to the Hebrew word tehom, translated "deep" in Gen. 1:2. In the Septuagint tehom is translated abussos. They both refer to the empty and desolated earth. Here Satan is confined to ponder over the ruin he has wrought. He cannot leave for other worlds, and the dead are beyond the reach of his power. It seems evident, however, that there will be animal life on the earth during this period, but not human life. The most graphic picture of the earth in this frightful loneliness is found in the double prophecy of Isaiah, referring to Idumea and to the earth as the antitype of Idumea:— "And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up forever; from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it forever and ever. But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it; and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing. And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof; and it shall be a habitation of dragons, and a court for owls. The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screechowl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow; there shall the vultures also be gathered, everyone with her mate." Isa. 34:9-15. The earth is waste, empty, and desolate. The palaces of emperors, the courts of kings, the halls of legislation, know no sound of life save the scream of the wild fowl or the fierce growl of some beast of prey, which has sought these ruins as shelter from the fierce blasts of fiery heat which sweep over the sin-ruined earth. The hoarse wind howls its dirges over the dead; and Satan and his minions in remorseless despair contrast the result of their hellish work with their former home in Heaven. It is the Sabbath of the earth. Palestine was deprived of the Jewish nation for seventy years till the land had enjoyed her sabbaths (2 Chron. 36:20, 21), so the earth is desolated of all her inhabitants. Those who have rejected God are dead, the righteous are in Heaven, and the earth is worn out and at rest, and this condition remains till the close of the thousand years. Certainly the millennium, so far as this earth is concerned, is not to be desired. The pall of death will hang over this world at that time, where men, in the boasting of error, predict life and peace and joy. Would that their prediction were true, if it were God's will. But the "sure word of prophecy" has drawn another picture in order that the world may be warned of the evil to come. There is life and peace, but it is in the presence of God in Heaven. Infinite Mercy has set before us life and death; therefore choose life "before the day of the Lord's fierce anger come upon you."