That the Lord Jesus will personally and visibly come to
this earth again is a truth so generally admitted
that, but little argument is needed on the subject. I will, however, quote a
few testimonies in proof of it. Predictions of
His two comings run like two golden threads throughout the Old Testament: the first as a humble Sufferer, the next
as a royal Conqueror. Hence, Peter
says the prophets
"testified beforehand the sufferings of the Messiah, and the glories following
these," [1
Peter 1:11]
The first promise of redemption implies both comings; the first, at which the serpent was to
bruise his heel; the second,
at which He will bruise or crush the
serpent's head. [Genesis
3:15]
Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousand of hus saints" and Jude refers this prophecy to the future
judgment. [Jude
14]
Job says,
"He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; and
though after my skin worms destroy this body,
yet in my flesh shall I see God -
Yehovah."
[Job 19:25-27]
The margin says, "After
I shall awake," i.e., by a
resurrection, as the word is
used elsewhere,
"Many that sleep
in the dust of the earth shall awake" [Daniel 12:2]
"I go that I may awake him." [John 11:11]
When can that standing upon the earth be except at the
resurrection, when
"the Lord himself shall
descend
from heaven and the dead
in the Messiah shall
rise"? [1
Thessalonians 4:16, 17]
"Our God shall come and dshall not keep silence; a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous
round about Him. Gather my saints together
unto me." [Psalm
1:3, 4]
Paul evidently refers to the same event as:
"the coming of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, in flaming fire, and our
gathering together unto Him. [2
Thessalonians 1:7, 8; 2:1]
"And his feet
shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on
the east." [Zechariah 14:4, 5]
"The place of his throne, and the place of the soles of his feet" will be in the New Jerusalem on earth. [Ezekiel 43:7; Revelation 22:3]
Two trees, when some distance off in front of you, if viewed nearly on a line with each other,
will not seem so far
apart as they really are. But on placing yourself
between
them you see the real distance. So,
we
are now living between the advents, looking back
on the one and forward to the other.
But the prophets who lived before both advents often delineated them
somewhat prospectively, and nearly in the same breath, without describing the long interval between; so that,
to the careless reader, events belonging to the first advent seem almost to blend with events belonging
to the second. See Isaiah 9:6, 7;
Zechariah 9:9, 10;
Micah 5:2]
Turning now to the New Testament, his advent as a
sufferer
becomes a matter of history, while
his
future advent as a royal Conqueror still remains
a prediction, and is foretold in
clear and glowing language.
"They shall see the son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven
with power and great glory." [Matthew
24:30]
“The bridegroom] came, and they that were ready went in
with him to the marriage."
"After a long time, the Lord of those servants cometh, and reckons with them." [Matthew 25:10, 19]
"When he was returned, having received the kingdom, he commanded those servants to be called." [Luke 19:15]
In these three parables, if the going away was literal so
must the return be. And this reminds us of the
testimony
given when he literally
and visibly ascended from the mount of Olives
"This same Jesus which is taken up from you into
heaven shall so come in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven." [Acts 1:11]
Surety this ought to be an end of controversy on the subject. If he ascended visibly and personally, he must come visibly and personally. And with
wonderful harmony this prophecy of the two white-robed messengers agrees with that in Zechariah 14:4, which declares that
“His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east."
This is the identical mountain from which He ascended. I once heard that some preacher said, "It would be egregious nonsense to say that the Lord Jesus will ever come to this cursed earth again." I dislike to repeat such language, except to show how entirely opposed it is to the Bible; for, after the testimonies already produced, we see that it would be egregious nonsense to say that He will not come to this earth again. Would that the whole of the Episcopal creed were as true as the 4th article, says,
"The Messiah did truly rise again from death, and took
again his body, with flesh, bones, and all things
appertaining
to the perfection of man's nature, wherewith he ascended into heaven, and there sits, until he return to judge all men at the last
day."
This is not mortal and corruptible but immortal and incorruptible "flesh and bones."
[Luke 24:39]
It does
not read "flesh and blood," for Spirit becomes the vitalizing element
in the bodies of the risen saints,
which will be
"fashioned like unto" that of their Lord. [Philippians 3:21]
Such a body will have
"flesh and bones, and all things appertaining
to the perfection" but nothing to the imperfections
of man's nature.
The fact that the Lord's Supper is still an ordinance of the called-out Assembly of God is proof that the Lord has not yet come "a second time," for "as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you show the Lord's death till he come, [1 Corinthians 11:26; Hebrews 9:28]
Hence the constant attitude of the Christian is that of
looking for" and "waiting for" His return, nor can any but those
who "love His appearing" have a
well-grounded hope of obtaining the "crown of righteousness. Hebrews 9:28; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 2 Timothy 4:8]
Death is not the Lord's coming, for when the early Christians talked of one's waiting "till He come," they meant that such an one should not
die. [John 21:22, 23]
And they were perfectly right in this, for Paul himself
repeatedly taught it "We
shall not all sleep” but some will be "alive and remain unto the coming of
the Lord” and these, together with
the risen saints, will be caught away to meet the Lord. [1 Corinthians 15:51; 1 Thessalonians 4:15, 16, 17]
Thus,
believers who are then dead shall live, and those who are then alive
"shall never die." [John 11:26] Death is
near, but the Lord's coming may be nearer. Let one more quotation suffice to
prove the Lord's literal and
personal coming "The
Lord himself shall descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in
Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them in the clouds, to meet the Lord." [1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17]
Here is the personal descent of the Lord himself, and the
righteous dead are personally and literally raised, and, together with those who are
personally and literally alive
and remain, they are caught away to
meet the Lord. This is a personal meeting, a
personal resurrection and a personal descent of the
Lord; and it would be wickedly torturing Scripture to try to
give it a mystified or figurative meaning. The
mere
expression "to meet," ‘eis
apantesin’,
proves it personal, for that is its meaning in its threeother occurrences in the
New Testament. [Matthew
26:1, 6; Acts 28:15]
That the Millennium (the period of one thousand years
mentioned six times in Revelation 20) does not commence until after the Lord
Jesus comes, is evident from the following reasons:
1st. During the entire absence of the Bridegroom the Congregation is represented as in a
mourning and fasting
state that does not accord with millennial prosperity
and glory.
"Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the
bride-chamber mourn as long as the bridegroom
is
with them? but the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken from them,
and then shall they fast." [Matthew 9:15]
At the return of the bridegroom, however, the great command
goes forth,
"Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come,
and his wife has made herself ready." [Revelation 19:7]
The parable of the ten virgins proves that return to be personal:
hence the mourning and fasting period extends
to the personal advent, instead of ending a thousand
years before it. [Matthew
25:1-10]
This argument alone is enough to prove that we can have no
millennial glory so long as the bridegroom
is
away; but the glorious Millennium will most appropriately follow His return.
2nd. And, most plainly, as the coming of the heavenly
Bridegroom does not find the Congregation in a
millennial but a mourning state, so neither does it find the world in a
millennial state, but as it was in
the days of Noah (i.e.,
"filled with violence" instead of "knowledge of the Lord." [Genesis 7,13; Isaiah 11:9).
It will be like Sodom and Gomorrah. The wheat and tares will be growing together, and
scarcely any of "the
faith on the earth." Luke 17:26-30;
18:8; Matthew 12:30]
The Greek definite article here refers to the true faith.
No doubt he will
find much false or unscriptural faith,
for that abounds. After such plain declarations as this, how can any one doubt
the premillennial advent?
3rd. The Scripture has not said that the gospel would
convert all nations among whom it was preached,
but the purpose of God in sending it to them was
"to
take out of them a people for His name." Hence, we are not to expect the conversion of
all nations under the gospel dispensation. [Acts 15:14]
4th. If the gospel of the kingdom, when carried into all
the world by the apostles, did not millennialism
even one nation, though aided by the gift of tongues and working of miracles,
how can it hereafter be expected
to millennialism all nations without those aids? It is when the judgments of
the Lord are "made manifest" by the
conquering power of the returned Messiah, that the remnant of the inhabitants of the world "will learn
righteousness," after vast numbers of them shall have been destroyed.
[Revelation 15:4 ; Isaiah 26:9; Psalm 58:10, 11; Zechariah 14:16]
The kingdom to be established in the covenanted land,
though like a mustard-seed or leaven at first,
will
quickly grow and spread by miraculous conquest, and "fill the whole earth."
5th. "The whole world lies in wickedness," and "all that
will live godly in the Messiah Jesus
will suffer persecution." [1 John 5:19; 2 Timothy 3:12]
This is perfectly appropriate to a sinning world and a suffering congregation; and no doubt it will be appropriate until the Saviour comes. But
would it be at all applicable to a
millennial dispensation when Satan is bound, the world converted, and
persecution has ceased?
6th. The blessed Saviour, in giving an outline of events
from His first until His second coming, has
described a long period of tribulations and wrath upon the Jews, and also the downward tread of Jerusalem "until the times of the
Gentiles be fulfilled."
Now it must be admitted that the joyful millennium will not commence until that
tribulation ends. And yet it is "IMMEDIATELY," and not a thousand years, after that tribulation
ends that the signs of the second advent are seen. Hence, there is
no
room for the Millennium between the advent and the tribulation; the advent must
therefore be premillennial. To obtain a clear view of the prophecy in a few
words, read it in this order
"There shall be great distress in the land and wrath
upon this people. And they shall fall by the
edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations; and
Jerusalem shall be trodden
down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled [Luke 21:23, 24]
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall he sun be darkened, and the moon shall not
give her light, and
the stars shall fall from heaven, and
the powers of the heavens shall be shaken; and
then shall appear the sign of the son of
man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes
of the earth mourn, and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven
with power and great glory." [Matthew 24:29, 30]
7th. And as the Saviour did not predict a Millennium of
rest and triumph between the first and second
advent, neither did Paul predict such a season as
obtaining before the advent, but rather a great
apostasy
from the faith, which would last until the Lord's coming. [2 Thessalonians 2:1-8] The word
coming
in (vs.8) is ‘parousia’ the same word that in (vs
1) is translated "coming;" which
coming (in vs.1)
the "Comprehensive Commentary" says, "All the best commentators, ancient
and modern, understand of the
Messiah’s second advent.
“It must therefore mean the same in (vs. 8) where it is combined with another word
which also signifies a personal
appearing. That word is ‘epiphaneia’, here rendered "brightness,"
but in its five other occurrences
it is translated "appearing." [Timothy 6:4; 2 Timothy 1: 10, and 4:1,8; Titus 2:13]
Parousia also means a personal coming, as "the coming ‘parousia’ of Stephanas, Fortunatus," &c,
who brought substantial help to Paul. [1 Corinthians 15:17]
Either of these words is held sufficient in other passages to prove a real and personal appearing and presence.
And
when both are united as in the case before us, how is it possible that they should mean anything less than the literal, real and personal arrival and
presence of the Lord
Jesus?
Thus, we
find no room for a millennium between Paul's day and the personal advent, but
the mystery of iniquity which did
already work was to continue its desolating career until destroyed at the
Lord's coming.
8th. So also, in
John's prophecy. The Bible does not speak of an eighth trumpet. Hence, I conclude
that the seventh trumpet of which John speaks is
"the last trumpet" at which time Paul says
"the Lord himself shall descend from heaven," and
the dead in the Messiah
arise. [1
Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16]
John places the resurrection, &c, under the seventh
trumpet which, I think, sufficiently identifies it with the last trumpet of Paul. [Revelation 11:15-18]
Now the argument is this, that, up to the sounding of the
seventh trumpet is a scene of wars, commotions, persecutions, and sufferings, with no room
nor interspace for thrusting in edgewise a thousand years of peace and prosperity;
and the seventh trumpet itself is "the
third woe" [Revelation
11:14]
Hence, that
period must come after the seventh trumpet, and therefore after the advent and
resurrection. Now if it would be
absurd to say that the seventh trumpet is not
sounded
until the end of the millennium,
would it not be equally so to say that the advent does not occur till the end
of the millennium? I think this argument alone
concerning the seventh trumpet is enough to prove the advent pre-millennial.
Thus, I find neither in the prophecy of Daniel nor Paul any space or room for the Millennium before the advent.
If you will study Zechariah 14:1-5, I think that you will find
that chapter to bean invulnerable fortress of proof that the Lord Jesus will come before the
Millennium.
Notice:
Matthew
16:27; 24:30, 31; 25:31; Jude 14. All these references relate
to the second coming.
The first,
Matthew 15:27, shows it to be the time of rewarding the
righteous, and this identifies
it with the seventh trumpet period, in Revelation 11:15-18.
Then, after describing several wonderful changes in the
mount of Olives and adjacent country which have
never yet occurred, and the mere naming of which proves that the prophet is not
referring to any past
coming, he proceeds in (vs. 12-15) to describe the great overthrow of adversarial persons that will occur in the vicinity of Jerusalem at the
advent.
Neither does history record any such overthrow as this at
any time in the past; it must he future. And then, AFTER the advent and AFTER that conquest
of nations, the prophet goes on in (vs.
16-21) to describe the glorious millennial age
of peace and blessedness when
the "left" or spared remnant of the nations shall flock to Jerusalem: "from year to year to worship the
King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles."
This implies the deliverance of Jerusalem and the
establishment of the kingdom of God over the entire earth, two events which the prophet had
merely glanced at in (vs. 9 and 11).
Absurdly enough some have imagined that the gathering of
“all nations against Jerusalem, (vs. 2), was
fulfilled at the Beast Power –
revived Ottoman empire invasion. But this is only a partial captivity,
for "HALF of the city shall go forth into
captivity, and the residue of the people shall NOT be cut off from the city." Why? They will protected by the two witness that will
be in Jerusalem at that time, that can call down fire and stop the rain and
thus protect the remnant that remains in Jerusaelem.
The Beast Power invasion does not at all agree with this, for then 70 A.D., the whole city was destroyed, nor was the Beast Power nation all nations.
Scott says, "The Roman victors forbade any Jew to dwell in their ancient inheritance, or to come within sight of Jerusalem; the foundations of the old city were ploughed up."
If one will "rightly divide the word of truth" he
can perceive that by the Roman invasion was fulfilled,
not the prophecy of Zechariah, but of Micah
"Therefore, shall
Zion for your sake be pillowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high
places of the forest" [Micah 3:12]
I believe that the Saviour's feet will as literally and
truly stand on the Mount of Olives at his
return, as they did when Hhe was formerly here. Certainly, he literally ascended from that mountain, and will so come in like manner. [Acts 1:11], To say that verse 4 was fulfilled at the
Roman invasion by the standing of the feet of
Titus on the Mount of Olives would be a monstrous torture and perversion of this prophecy. And besides,
the great earthquake, rending the mountain and forming a "very great valley" between, did
not occur when Titus invaded Jerusalem; it is an undivided mountain to this day, and will remain so until the Lord comes. Notice, too, that no such
perennial streams are now flowing
out east and west from Jerusalem as verse 8 describes; and this also shows the
prophecy remains to be accomplished. It proves,
too, that the earth will not be blotted out of existence when he comes, for "summer and winter"
will still go on, during which those two rivers will run, the one to the Mediterranean and the other to the Dead
Sea. The going of "all nations" to Jerusalem once a year (vs. 16)
was not fulfilled under the Mosaic dispensation, for that required the Jews
alone to go thither for worship;
and they had to go thrice a year. [Deuteronomy
16:16] Nor does the compelling of all nations to go to Jerusalem to worship, and
the withholding of rain from the wicked, apply to the present dispensation, for the Lord now "sends rain on the just and on the unjust" [Matthew 5:45], and no
nation is required to go to Jerusalem to worship. These predictions, therefore,
must belong to a dispensation
yet to come, the Millennium, after the advent.
How can the resurrected saints reign during the Millennium [Revelation 20:4], unless those two inseparable events; the advent and resurrection; take place before it? One of the classes to be raised will be "them that were beheaded" Now if the beheading be literal, why not the rising also? If there were any doubt about the literalness of the rising from the dead, that doubt ought to be set aside by the explanation which the Spirit here gives of the vision; "This is the first resurrection"
I conclude that the word resurrection ‘anastasis’ is twice used here in its most literal sense; for, if there be any enigma in the preceding
verses, it is certainly not customary to explain an enigma in language that is itself
enigmatical, or to explain one figurative expression by another equally figurative. That the first resurrection
includes all the righteous dead, we learn from other and supplementary portions of Scripture. [1 Corinthians 15:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:16] "The resurrection of the just" is a "resurrection ‘ek nekron’ from among the dead" as the Greek
implies, and hence it is a first
resurrection, for it leaves other dead remaining in the grave till the end of
the Millennium, where they will be
raised at the White Throne Judgement. [Luke 14:14; 20:35; Revelation 20:11]
Those who shall rise first are firstborns, ‘prototokoi’. [Hebrews 12:23]
How could the first resurrection
be only the reviving of a martyr-like disposition, seeing that Satan will then
be bound, and no one left to act
the part of persecutor; martyrdom implies severe persecution. Those who talk of such a reviving, basing their notion on
the case of Elijah and John, ought to first be able to prove that any inspired writer has ever
once declared the coming of John to be the resurrection of Elijah. As to the word souls,"
the Commentary of Jamieson, Faussett and Brown very truly says, "Souls is often used in general for
persons, and even for dead bodies" In Numbers 9:6, 7, where the English has "dead body of a
man," the Greek has ‘psuche
anthropou’,
"soul of a man." Balaam said, "Let
me (Greek, ‘hee
psuche mou’, '
the soul of me,
margin 'my soul ') die the death of the righteous." Numbers 23:10] If then "the soul of me " means
"me" in that place, why should not "the souls of them" mean "them" in this
place? When we read that "eight souls" were saved in the ark, does
anybody imagine that their bodies were not saved?
Here let me quote what one or two modern writers have to say as to the manner of interpreting these
verses in Revelation
20:4-6. Bishop Newton, an
Episcopalian, born 1704, says,
"This prophecy remains to be fulfilled, even though the resurrection be
taken only for an allegory, which yet
the text cannot admit without the greatest torture and violence." Dean
Alford, probably the greatest scholar which the
Episcopal Church has had in its communion for a long time, says, "Those who lived next to the
apostles, and the WHOLE congregation
for
three hundred years understood
these verses in the PLAIN and LITERAL sense. As regards the text itself, no legitimate treatment of it will extort
what is known as the spiritual interpretation now in fashion. If the first resurrection is spiritual, then so
is the second, which I suppose none will be hardy enough to maintain; but if the second is literal,
then so is the first, which, in common with the whole primitive congregation and many of the best modern
expositors, I do maintain and receive as an article of faith and hope."
To affirm that the
Messiah will
not come till the end of the Millennium is daring to affirm that he will not come for a thousand years yet,
in as much
as we know the Millennium has not begun. This
putting
off the advent a thousand years is contrary to the watching, waiting and
expectant attitude which
Christians are required to maintain.
"Watch you,
therefore; for you know
not when the Master of the house comes, at
even, or at midnight, or at the
cock-crowing, or in the morning; lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. Let your loins be girded about, and your
lights burning; and you
yourselves like unto men that wait
for their Lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocks, they
may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the lord when he comes shall find watching" [Mark 13:35, 36; Luke 12:35, 36, 37]
The
reasons given in this article are but a fragment of the evidence which
might be brought in proof that the personal coming
of the Lord Jesus will occur before the Millennium. Having proved from Scripture that the advent will
take place before the Millennium, allow me, before closing this part of the subject, to glance
briefly at the history of this teaching.
Eusebius, born in Palestine about A.D. 270, and who is called "the father of ecclesiastical history," tells us that Papias said, "That there will be a Millennium after the resurrection from the dead, when the personal reign of the Messiah will be established on this earth." History Eccles. 3:39. Irenaeus informs us that Papias was "the hearer of John and a companion of Polycarp." Against Heresies, B. v, chapter 33, Clark's edition. Those advocating this in modern times are called Pre-millenarians, and those who think the advent will not occur till after the Millennium are called post-millenarians.
On the doctrine of Pre-millenarians the "Dictionary of Religious
Knowledge," by Abbott and Conant, says, "These
views may be traced to the earliest history of the church, and were advocated
by the fathers up to the 4th century. They then
declined, till the Reformation gave them a new impulse, since which time they have prevailed
through the entire church to a large extent."
Macauley, the historian, in his essay on the Jews, remarks, "The Christian believes, as well as
the Jew, that at some future period the present order of things will come to an
end. Nay, many Christians believe that the Messiah will shortly establish a kingdom on the earth, and
reign visibly over all its inhabitants. The number of people who hold it is very much greater
than the number of Jews residing in England. Many of those who hold it are distinguished by
rank, wealth, and ability. It is preached
from the pulpits in both
Scottish and English churches. Noblemen and members of Parliament have written in defence of it. They expect that before
this generation shall pass away, all the kingdoms of theearth will be swallowed
up in one divine empire."
On the 30th and 31st of October and 1st of November 1878, a
great "Prophetic Conference" assembled in New York and agreed on the
following among other resolutions:
"II. The prophetic words of the Old Testament
Scriptures, concerning the first coming of our
Lord
Jesus Christ, were literally fulfilled in his birth, life, death, resurrection and
ascension; and so the prophetic
words of both the Old and New Testaments concerning his second coming will be literally fulfilled in his visible bodily return to this earth in
like manner as he went up
into heaven; and this glorious Epiphany of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus
Christ, is the blessed hope of the
believer and of the Church during this entire dispensation."
"III. This second coming of the Lord Jesus is everywhere in the Scriptures represented as imminent, and may occur at any moment;
yet the precise day and hour thereof is unknown to man, and known only to God."
"IV. The Scriptures nowhere teach that the whole world
will be converted to God, and that there will
be a reign of universal righteousness and peace before the return of our
blessed Lord."
The conference was composed of prominent members of the
following denominations: Baptist, Congregational,
Methodist, Presbyterian and Episcopal.
It is very important to remember that although there will
be a very great destruction of the ungodly
at the advent, yet mortal nations that survive God’s wrath will exist on earth
during the Millennium, and be subject to the laws of made by the Theocratic Government that will be established
by the Lord Messiah, in which the resurrected saint – holy ones will co-rule
with the Lord Messiah inthat dispensation. Thus, during the first thousand years after the Lord Jesus takes possession of the earth
there will be a glorious fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham:
"Your Seed
shall possess the gate of his
enemies; and in your seed shall
all the nations of the earth
be blessed." [Genesis
22:17, 18]
As in the promise, so in its fulfillment, the blessing comes after the taking possession of the gates of his enemies i.e., after his conquest of the world. In his sending the Gospel to the Gentiles and
taking out of them a people for his name the Seed of Abraham gives an
individual foretaste of the national blessedness
which the world will enjoy during the Millennium, which will be the grand fulfillment of that promise. As to the
present condition of the nations, "a vail that is spread over all
nations," both Jews and Gentiles. [Isaiah 24:7]
Darkness covers the earth, and gross darkness the people. [Isaiah 50:2]
"The whole world lies in wickedness." 1 John 5:19]
"All nations" are "deceived" by Satan, the god of this world and the prince of the power of
the air” [Revelation 18:23]
But in the Millennial age, after the fearful judgments of
the second advent are over, and the
Messiah
has entered upon his peaceful personal reign, this promised
blessedness will be realized in its fullness; for
then
Satan shall be bound so "that, he shall deceive the nations no more till
the thousand years shall be fulfilled." Then "the Gentiles shall come unto the
Lord from the ends of the earth and shall say "Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and
things wherein there is no profit." [Jeremiah 16:19]
Also, the
Beast and the False Prophet will have been destroyed in the lake of fire.
Revelation 19:20; 20:3]
And
"at that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of
the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered
unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem; neither shall they walk any
more after the imagination of
their evil heart." [Jeremiah
3:17]
Yea "All nations shall flow unto it. . .. Nation shall
not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war anymore." [Isaiah 2:2-4]
"Every one that is left of all the nations which came
against Jerusalem shall even go up from year
to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of
tabernacles." [Zechariah
14:16]
"All people, nations and languages shall serve
Him." [Daniel
7:14]
"All nations shall come and worship before" his.
[Revelation
15:4]
Remember, these testimonies are the voice of Scripture;
they must be fulfilled. And you must confess that
when they are fulfilled in the future millennial state of the world "all
nations" will indeed be blessed
religiously, politically, socially, and even physically, as they have never
been blessed before.
But of course, we are not to suppose that the now deceased people of the world will be raised from the
dead and allowed to enjoy the blessedness received by the saints – holy ones, for
they died as they lived, "without
hope" being "alienated from the life of God through the ignorance
that was in them." And
hence they have no part in "the first resurrection." Ephesians 3: 12; 4:18]
The millennial subjugation of all nations implies that of
the Jews also, and the bringing of them under
the sceptre of Messiah after their conversion. The title "King of the
Jews" is one of the gems treasured
up in "the unsearchable riches of the Lord Messiah," and is destined yet to
be worn upon his
divine brow, and thence to scintillate its holy
light over a subdued and peaceful world. They have now been abiding
"many
days without a king" [Hosea 3:4, 5], but
the Father has declared the son to be
a "Governor that SHALL rule my people
Israel." [Matthew
2:2, 6; John 1:49]
Their rejection of him at His first appearance is no proof that they will do
the same at his
second coming. They rejected
Moses at the first, but submitted to him at the second time, he being then
clothed with power to destroy
their enemies.
"Your people
shall be willing in the day of your 'power" [Psalm 110:3]
There seems to be a typical meaning in the remarkable fact
that "at the second time Joseph was made
known to his brethren." [Acts 7:13]
Moses and Joseph were typical of the Messiah in some things, especially, I
think, in this. When they accept the
returning Messiah as their King they will indeed have a Governor "from the midst of them," and a
King "whom Yehovah
has chosen." [Jeremiah 30:21; Deuteronomy
17:15]
Prophecy affords abundant testimony to the future
conversion and restoration of Israel.
"He that scattered Israel will gather him and keep
him, as a shepherd doth his flock." [Jeremiah 31:10]
If this means the literal Israel scattered from the literal
land, must it not also mean the literal Israel
gathered
to the literal land? Their national
conversion and restoration of course do
not mean the eternal salvation of
every individual Jew that ever lived. Their national
deliverance from Egypt was not a
deliverance of every individual Jew who had ever died and been buried in Egypt.
Concerning the restoration, Micah
is very plain and unmistakable. In describing a state of things, which all who
are even slightly acquainted with history must
admit has never yet obtained, and which belongs only to the glorious days of Messiah's reign, Micah
says:
"And he shall judge many people, and rebuke strong
nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords
into plough-shares and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift
up sword against nation, neither shall they learn
war anymore. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall
make them afraid, for the mouth of Yehovah of
hosts has spoken
it. . .. In that day, says
Yehovah, I will assemble
her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted.
And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a
strong nation, and Yehovah shall reign over them in
mount Zion from henceforth even forever." [Micah 4:3, 4, 6,7]
Remember that this is the same Micah who a few verses after
predicted that our Lord would be born
in Bethlehem; and as his Bethlehem is a
literal Bethlehem in the land of Judea, so we must conclude that his Zion will be a literal
Zion in the same land. By
"her that halted" and "her that is driven out" is meant the
Jewish nation, driven out of the land,
and “led away captive into all nations" for their many sins. But that
since their last dispersion
they have never been thus assembled and gathered and made a strong nation is
evident from their present dispersed
and weak condition, and also from the intensely warlike condition of the other nations. For contemporaneously or "in
that day" of Israel's gathering, the rest of mankind, even including "strong nations afar off," shall be rebuked into peace, so
that they shall beat their swords into ploughshares
and their spears into pruning-hooks, neither will they learn war anymore. All
the military schools, arsenals, conscriptions,
militia, and volunteer companies found among the "strong nations" of the earth, declare as with
loud-mouthed artillery tones that such a state of things has not yet obtained.
Moreover we are bound to conclude that when the nations are
thus at peace, and Israel thus restored,
the Lord will reign over them in mount Zion just as literally as he was born in
Bethlehem.
Whatever partial restoration of Jews to Palestine may have
taken place it cannot be the one here spoken
of by Micah who is foretelling a final restoration and settlement, inasmuch as it is to be "forever" That word
"forever" puts a stop to their wanderings, and shuts out the idea of
any subsequent dispersion, such as
that by the Romans in A.D. 70. And since Micah's testimony that "Yehovah shall reign over them in mount Zion from
henceforth even forever" is in almost the exact words of Gabriel's, "He – as the agent of Yehovah shall
reign over the house of Jacob forever" the great truth is made to flash
upon our minds that both are alluding to the same
grand epoch, and describing a state of things future even at the birth of the Messiah.
"Therefore,
behold the days come, says
Yehovah, that
they shall no more say Yehovah
lives who brought up the children of Israel out of
the land of Egypt ; but Yehovah
lives who brought
up, and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and
from all countries whither I had driven them; and
they shall dwell in their own land." [Jeremiah 23:7, 8; Isaiah
11:11, 12; 13:1, 7; 4922, 26; Jeremiah 30:8, 9; 31; Hosea 3:4, 5]
This great national restoration under the Messiah as their King will, as a
necessary consequence, be attended with their national conversion to the Messiah, see Zechariah 12. Thus, Paul in speaking beyond a doubt of this
event, says, "Blindness in part
has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in."
"And so, all
Israel shall be saved as it is written. There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer,
and shall turn away ungodliness
from Jacob." [Romans
11:25, 26]
"And it shall come to pass in that day that Yehovah shall set His hand again the
second time to recover the remnant of His people which shall be left,
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." [Isaiah 11:11]
On this verse the Commentary of Jamieson, Faussett &
Brown very truly says, "Therefore
the coming restoration of the Jews is to be distinct from that after the
abylonish captivity, and
yet to resemble it. The first restoration was literal, therefore so shall the
second be, the
latter, however, it is implied here, shall be much
more universal
than the former”
They will then no longer "abide in unbelief," for
Yehovah
"will give them a heart to know Him;" will "take away the stony heart" of unbelief, "put
His Spirit within them," and "turn away ungodliness from them." This, plainly enough, accounts
for their great national conversion.
[Jeremiah
34:7; Ezekiel 35:26, 27; Romans 11:2626]
"Without faith it is impossible to please God" [Hebrews 11:6]
but
their faith will be largely the result of sight, somewhat after the manner of
Thomas who would not believe
otherwise. Paul too was converted by seeing the Lord Jesus; and that event
seems to foreshadow and illustrate the future
conversion of his brethren.
Perhaps it may not be a waste of time to glance briefly at
what several uninspired writers have said
on the subject. Dr. William Jenks, Editor of the "Comprehensive
Commentary," says on Romans 11:26: "The Editor is at a loss to conceive
how any attentive reader of the prophecies can come to any other conclusion than that there is yet to be a
glorious restoration of the Jews; probably to their own land, certainly to the Church and Gospel
privileges; and this has been, as Whitby shows, the constant doctrine of the Church." On Isaiah 52:1, Scott says, "Nothing can be
supposed more interesting than the
future restoration of Israel to the church and to their own land; no event is
more evidently predicted in
Scripture." C. H. Spurgeon, the London Baptist preacher, says, "I think we do
not attach sufficient importance
to the restoration of the Jews. But certainly, if there is anything promised in
the Bible, it is this.
I imagine that you cannot read the Bible without seeing clearly that there is
to be an actual restoration
of the children of Israel. May that happy day soon come! For when the Jews are
restored, then the fullness of
the Gentiles shall be gathered in; and as soon
as they return, then shall Jesus come upon
mount Zion to reign with His ancients gloriously, and the halcyon days of the
Millennium shall then
dawn." Sermon vii, A.D. 1856.
Tertullian, about A.D. 200, says: "At his last coming he will favour with his acceptance and blessing the circumcision also, even the race of
Abraham, which by-and-by is to acknowledge him.
If, as some "Adventists" have thought, there is
to be no mortality during the thousand years, but
only
an immortal aud perfected population on the earth, wherein would that thousand
years differ in one
single respect from the great and infinite eternity beyond? The fact that it is
called "THE thousand
years" proves it will be a special
thousand years, differing from all that ever went before it, or that shall ever come after it. (The
"light" of that millennial clay will not be "clear" like
the perfect glory of the
great eternity beyond nor "dark" like the present state, but it shall
be peculiarly "one day which shall
be known to Yehovah." The common day is succeeded by darkness,
but that millennial day will be succeeded
by the greater splendour of endless glory, for "at evening time it shall
be light")
Why should there be mediatorship "after the order of Melchizedek"
during the thousand years if no one shall
then be living in the mortal state to need mediation?
And why should leaves be provided "for the healing of
the nations" if there shall be no nations to need healing? [Revelation 22:2]
And why bind Satan lest he should "deceive the
nations" if there shall then be no one in the mortal state liable to being deceived?
How can there be a rebellion of mortal nations at the end
of the Millennium if they shall all be blotted
out
of existence a thousand years before? [Revelation
20:3, 8] Indeed why should the millennial subjects of the Messiah and the saints be called
"the nations" at all, if they are not still in the mortal state?
Surely immortals could not be punishable by plague and
drought as the "left" of the nations will be if they come not up to Jerusalem to worship. [Zechariah 14:16-19]
Also, the
memorial sacrifices to be offered in that age,
indicate the presence of mortality still pleading for pardon and reconciliation through the blood of the Messiah. (Those emblematic sacrifices will commemorate and point to the "one
sacrifice" on the cross: as
the Lord's supper does in the present
dispensation. [Zechariah
14:21; Ezekiel 14:15-25]
Believers, gathered out of the present dispensation are "a kind of first-fruits;" does
not this imply a harvest
from the millennial dispensation that is to
follow? and, of course,
that harvest will have to be gathered
from a mortal race. [James 1:1]
Probation, with its consequent liability to transgression anddeath, existed in Eden in the days when the Lord condescended to walk and talk with Adam and Eve.
Then why not believe it will exist in the Millennium while the Messiah and his redeemed are reigning personally on earth? If the Edenic s tate closed with the rebellion and expulsion of Adam and Eve who had beheld its wonders, and if thousands of Israelites rebelled and were destroyed after what they had seen in the wilderness, is it unreasonable to believe that some of the mortal population will rebel and be destroyed after beholding the wonders of the Millennium?
If the burning of which Peter speaks occurs at the close of the thousand years, would it not still be an event pertaining to "the day of the Lord - Yehovah," to the evening of that day, inasmuch as "one day is with Yehovah- the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day"? We must not suppose that all things predicted of "the last day" or the "day of the Lord" will take place in twentyfour hours after he comes. One meaning of "day” according to Webster, is "any period of time as distinguished from other time." The Greek word for “day" (hēmera) has also that meaning in seme places, as "At that time [hēmera) there was a great persecution” Acts 8:1. "Man's judgment" margin, "day" (Greek, hēmera); [1 Corinthians 4:3] The American Bible Union's edition (1866) has the following note on this verse:
"Man's day: namely, the present, in contrast with the
coming day of the Lord"
Man's day, you know, has been a very long one; but I trust it is now "far spent," and that we shall soon behold with joy the glorious day of the Lord. Peter tells us to heed the prophets, and some of the similar expression in their writings are evidently figurative, as,
"The Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste and turneth it upside down. . . The land shall be utterly emptied and utterly spoiled. . . The earth mourneth and fadeth away. . . The curse devoured the earth. . . The inhabitants of the earth are! burned and FEW MEN LEFT." [Isaiah 14:1, 3, 4, 6].
But for those three last words, one might have thought the prophet meant the literal destruction of the earth and its population; but those words prove that the material globe and some of its inhabitants were to survive those judgments. (v.v. 13-16) prove the same, for "when thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done."
Heavens and earth often denote those in and those under authority. Thus Moses when speaking "in the ears of all the congregation; both princes and people; said, "Give ear, O you heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth." [Deuteronomy 31:30; 32] Hence also persons offering in degree of authority are called sun, noon and stars. [Genesis 32:5-10]
If Peter's words be taken figuratively they denote the passing away of all human governments "with a great noise" of outpoured wrath on the wicked; after,vhich a new and heavenly order of things will be ntroduced. But if they be taken literally they denote rather the regeneration or renewal than the annihilation of the material globe, for after the conflagration it is still called "earth" [2 Peter 3:13] and the covenants of promise plainly enough indicate that, in its glorified state, it is to be the perpetual inheritance of the righteous. As "a new (kainē) creature" does not mean another creature but only the same, changed for the better; so "a new (kainē) earth" does not mean another earth but the same, renewed.
At the close of the Millennium, when the mortal nature, shall have disappeared, the kingdom will be delivered up to the Father. [1 Corinthians 15;24]. Sin and death having ceased, Mediatorship will be a vacated office because the work of reconciliation will be perfected and completed; and the breach between man and his Creator thoroughly repaired. Hence the delivering up denotes that "subjection" or subordination to the Father im plied in the cessation of Mediatorship. The Father willthen come into a more direct connexion with the earth than He had done while the Mediatorial office was existing.
Transgressors will have been "rooted out" of the earth, and "the perfect" alone left remaining on it. [Proverbs 2:21, 22]
Thus will be fully realized the Saviour's prayer, not that His people should be taken out of the world, but kept from the evil. [John 17:15]. Then earth and heaven will, as it were, be turned into one; for the will of God shall thenceforth be done in earth " as it is in heaven " i.e. perfectly , absolutely, and throughout its whole extent by a glorified population of sinless and immortal beings made in bodily constitution "equal to the angels'' and "partakers of the divine nature." Such will be the endless and blissful state beyond the Millennium. The delivering up of the kingdom is therefore merely a change in the manner of its administration, but not an end of the kingdom itself, for it shall have "no end." [Luke 1:32, 33; Daniel 7:14; Psalm 89:29, 36, 37]
If allowed to conjecture we might suppose that perhaps the vast harvest of immortalized ones gathered out of the illennial dispensation will be placed under the eternal sovereignty of the Lord Jesus and his pre-millennial saints. (There seem to be degrees of authority among the angels, as indicated by the title archangel i.e. chief angel).
Be this as it may, all who are accounted worthy to inherit the kingdom, in whatever capacity, will enjoy an endless life of unspeakable glory and happiness.
Will you come to the Saviour that you may inherit that kingdom and that life? He says, "Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out." [John 6:37].
See an instance in one of His miracles. The great quietude of the ancient Sabbath day had come over the populous town of Capernaum. In the synagogue that day the Lord Jesus had wrought a miracle, and the fame of it had spread from house to house till the city was thrilled with excitement.
The other afflicted, hearing with joy that the great Prophet of Israel was in the city, wanted to go or be carried to him that they too might be healed. But the Pharisees had persuaded them that it was not lawful even to be healed on the Sabbath. So they waited till sunset, when the Sabbath closed, having begun at sunset of the previous day. How anxiously those afflicted ones, tossing on beds of pain, must have looked out of the windows to see if the sun was nearly down ! In one house perhaps it was a beloved son or daughter almost delirious with a burning fever, in another, an aged mother or father paralytic for years; all beseeching their friends to help them to see the Saviour before his departure from the city. And when, in the beautiful twilight, they came and gathered about the door, "He laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them;" none were slighted.What a joyful night was that! Some, perhaps, eating the first mouthful that they had relished for weeks; others, cured of lameness, walking and praising God; others, restored to their right mind, conversing with circles of wondering and delighted friends.
It is the same Jesus who offers to cure you of sin and give you eternal life at last. Then why not, with out waiting for another sunset, apply at once to so great a Physician?
Naaman was told to "wash, and be clean." Will you too, poor sinner, wash and be clean from the leprosy of sin. "Be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." Hear the poor Greek woman crying to the Saviour for the mere "crumbs" of mercy; that her daughter may be healed. With humility and faith she falls down at his feet, saying, "Lord help me;" and at once He speaks the healing word. Then how gladly she rises up and hurries home, where, if she had other children, I can imagine they must have come running to meet her, throwing up their little white hands and shouting "O mother ! mother ! sister is well ! sister is well !
On a special occasion the Saviour was teaching the people, "and the power of the Lord was present to heal them;" and His power is here toay THE GOSPEL is "the POWER OF GOD unto salvation to every one that believeth." [Romans 1:16] It has a regenerative power, for "of his own will begat he us by the WORD OF TRUTH. . . and this is the word which by THE GOSPEL is preached unto you." [James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23, 25]
Hence it is called in another place "the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation" [Ephesians 1:13]
The regenerative process is threefold; mental, moral, and
physical:
“first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in
the ear." [Mark iv, 28]
The mental and moral parts of the process consist in [p 263] believing and obeying THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM; the physical part, in being born of the Spirit at the resurrection.
Unless you submit to the two first, you can never hope to experience the third and completing part of this process. Then why not, at once, believe and obey the gospel of the kingdom?
"The time is short;" if the Lord come not very soon, death will; for the longest human life is brief, compared to eternity. When the dread summons of death arrives, the plow, axe, hammer, yardstick, needle, pen, and all such implements must be laid aside; and then, may be, when too late, you will want to talk of the great hereafter. Ah ! I can imagine a house of mourning from which the family physician has turned away in despair, for none but Jesus and the resurrection can help the sufferer now. Enter the sick room. Some persons are leaning against the wall, weeping; others are walking about with hushed voices and softened tread, and eyes filled with tears that will not be suppressed. Draw near the bedside ! Do you know the sufferer? Yes, for though much changed by illness, yet some of the features remain; it is one of you that are listening to the gospel-invitation today ! And shall it be well with you in that hour; no remorse and terror, but all calm and peaceful resignation? It depends on the life that you live. O then, I beseech you to begin this day, to live a Christian life.
Written in the 1800’s by
Wiley Jones an elder in the called-out Assembly and edited by Bruce Lyon
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