CHAPTER XXXIII.

 

THE MILLENNIUM.

 

 

THE Antichrist will continue his reign till the close of The Great Tribulation.  In fact, the burning of the city of Babylon, the capture of Antichrist and the false prophet, and the destruction of the armies of the earth, as given in the last verses of the 19th chapter of Revelation, are the very last scenes of The Great Tribulation.  With these events the present age comes to a close.  The next age to follow we call “The Millennium.”  The word “millennium” means any period of a thousand years.  Since man fell into sin and the Devil took possession of this world there have elapsed nearly six successive millenniums; but these millenniums have been years of sorrow, trouble, and sin, and while the coming “thous­and years” will not witness complete deliverance from these things, yet they will be years of so much greater prosperity and deliverance than have been since the fall of man, that we very fittingly designate that period of time as “The Millennium.”

     In the discussion of this phase of our subject, we wish to speak of it from the following standpoints:

 

     1. Opening Events.

     2. Social Conditions.

     3. Condition of Temporal Affairs.

     4. Closing Events.

 

Let us look to God for divine illumination and help in the study of these mighty truths.

 

1.  Opening Events.  One point, upon which we have al­ready had much to say, but which should be mentioned here, is the time of the end of this age.  Many teach that one age over­laps another, and that we are now living in the evening of the Gentile Age and in the dawning of the Millennial Age.  This

 

208

 

THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS.

 

 

I do not see nor believe.  There is no evidence that these two ages overlap.  “The end” of an age is always at the time ap­pointed. (See Dan. 11: 27.)  Just where one age closes an­other begins.  One age no more overlaps another than one day overlaps another.  We are now living in the evening of the Gentile Age, but the Millennial Age is not now dawning.  The Millennium will not dawn until the close of The Great Tribula­tion.  The end of The Great Tribulation will be the end of the Gentile Age.  In connection with the opening of the Millennial Age we wish to note the following points:

 

     (a)  The Binding of Satan.

     (b)  The Setting up of Thrones.

     (c)  The Literalness of these Things.

 

Let us study these points as we find them given in detail in Rev. 20: 1‑6.

 

     (a) The Binding of Satan.

 

First, and angel appears.  There is every reason to be­lieve that this angel is Jesus Christ.  The fact that he is called “an angel” does not contradict this view.  In many places in the Bible Jesus appears as an angel.  The whole achievement is of such a character as to seem incongruous to take the arrester of the chief of all evil as any other than the Christ.  A mere created angel, however powerful, would not be able to chain down a being so mighty and so powerful as the Devil.  I take it, then, that this Being of whom we read in Rev. 20: 1, is no other than Christ, the Son of God.

Jesus comes down from heaven.  Just a while before this time, He comes down as “The Mighty Conqueror” to tread upon His foes.  The battle of Armageddon has been fought.   The fowls have been filled with the flesh of kings, of captains, of mighty men, of horses, and of all classes of men, both free and bond, both small and great.  It would seem that from the field of battle “The Mighty Conqueror” makes His way back

209

 

THE MILLENNIUM.

 

 

to heaven, to appear again soon as “an angel” to bind and to cast into the pit the chief enemy of God and man.

This angel has in his hand the key of the bottomless pit.  This farther identifies Him to be Jesus (Rev. 1: 18).  In the 9th chapter of Revelation this key “was given” to Satan for a time, but here it is again in the hand of Jesus.  He comes down and unlocks the bottomless pit for the purpose of putting Satan therein.

He has “a great chain in His hand.”  The chain is for the purpose of binding the Devil.  Satan is a mighty being.  It takes a strong hand to hold him, so this chain is a great one.  Its exact dimensions are not given, but it is “great” enough to hold fast the arch‑enemy of God and man.

Satan is bound.  Jesus lays hold on him and binds him and casts him into the bottomless pit.  The time of his imprison­ment is given as one thousand years.  As to whether these emis­saries of Satan, the demons and fallen angels, will be bound with him, I do not know.  It is my opinion that only Satan him­self will be bound.

Already we can begin to anticipate the blessedness of the Milliennial Age.  If there was nothing more to follow, we rejoice to know that for one thousand years the Devil will not be allowed to walk about.  What a blessed deliverance in this alone.  Yet, still more glorious things are to follow.  Hal­lelujah!

     (b) The Setting up of Thrones.

The next step in the opening of the Millennial Age is the setting up of thrones.  Just the order in which these thrones will be arranged is in no one passage given.  By putting many passages together, however, we should be able to form some idea of their arrangements.  Of Jesus it is said: “The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.”— Luke 1: 32.  We know that David’s throne was at Jerusalem.  The Old Testament abounds with prophecies that Jerusalem is to be the capital during the Millennium. (See Isa. 2: 1‑4; 9: 7;

 

210

 

THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS.

 

 

33: 20; 66: 10-13; Jer. 3: 17; Joel 2: 32; Amos 9: 11; Micah 4:1, 2; Zech. 14: 8‑11.)  Hence, it is beyond dispute that the throne of Jesus will be at this time set up in the city of Jerusa­lem.  John says: “I saw thrones, and they that sat upon them. . . . .And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”  “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne.”—Rev. 3: 21.  “I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”—Luke 22: 29, 30.  “The saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the king­dom for ever, even for ever and ever.”—Dan. 7: 18.  From these Scriptures it is clear that the saints will occupy thrones along with Jesus.  It is reasonable that the throne of Jesus will be in a central position, with the thrones of the saints arranged around the central throne in circles.  The arrangement of the thrones in the air (Rev. 4: 2‑4) may be an index to the ar­rangement of the Millennial thrones.  The fact that the saints are to rule all nations (Rev. 2: 26, 27; 12: 5) may indicate that these thrones will be scattered throughout the earth.  Anyway Jerusalem will be the capital city and the place where the throne of Jesus will be.

 

     (c) The Literalness of these Things.

 

One great error of Bible teachers is to spiritualize all these things.  Men tell us that Satan will never be literally bound, and that these thrones will never be literally set up in the earth.  Men have told me that the prophecy concerning the binding of Satan is fulfilled every time demons are cast out of a man, and that the Millennial throne is set up every time a person is converted.  It is strange to me how men of reason and of any degree of spirituality can so far misconstrue the positive statements of God’s Word.  It only takes a bit of reasoning to see that the spiritual theory here breaks down at both ends and in the middle.

 

211

 

THE MILLENNIUM.

 

 

     It is not “demons” that are here bound; it is “The dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan.”  If this refers to personal deliverance from the Devil, then every person that is thus delivered is entirely free from the Devil for a thousand years, and then the Devil gets them again.  If the Millennial throne is a throne set up in an individual heart at conversion, then we are not converted till the resurrection, for “This is the first resurrection.”  Here again men spiritualize and say that conversion is resurrection.  Paul did not see it that way, however, for he was converted on his way to Damascus, and thirty years afterwards he said that he was striving that “If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.” —Phil. 3: 11.

     The binding of Satan is a literal transaction.  The thrones set up are literal thrones.  The resurrection is a literal resur­rection of the bodies of the saints.  The thousand years are one thousand literal years.  The reign of Jesus is a literal reign.  That the saints will sit on literal thrones and reign with Jesus is a literal fact.  Jesus and the saints who reign with Him will be in their glorified bodies.  Many think that glorified bodies can not be seen with the natural eye; but Peter, James, and John saw Moses and Elijah on the mount of Transfiguration, “who appeared in glory.”  It is asked: “How can glorified bodies occupy material thrones?  I answer: Moses and Elijah appeared on a literal mountain.  “The mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”—2 Ki. 6: 17.  “The angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.”— Matt. 28: 2.  “When they shall rise from the dead, they are as the angels which are in heaven.”—Mark 12: 25.  Thus when we take these statements of the Word literally, we have no trouble in adjusting matters; but to spiritualize these statements is to mystify the whole truth.

     May the lord grant that all of our readers may learn to take God at His Word.  May we get a proper conception of

 

212

 

THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS.

 

 

these mighty truths that have been written for our learning.  Let us rejoice in the hope of the realization of these blessed years that are to come.  Think of the time when Satan shall be bound in the bottomless pit and no longer allowed to tempt us, when Christ shall be King of the whole earth, and when the glorified saints shall sit on thrones with Him.  Such hopes fill me with joy.

 

     2.  Social Conditions.

Let us now study the social conditions of the Millennium.  This phase of the subject may be viewed from the following standpoints:

 

     (a) Political.

     (b) Judicial.

     (c) Moral.

     (d) Religious.

     (e) The Animal Creation.

 

Let us consider each of these in the light of the Word.

     (a) Political.

 

     From the days of Nimrod till now the world has ever been agitated more or less with political campaigns and the rise and fall of kings and rulers.  It is true that government is an ordi­nance of God (Rom. 13: 1, 2), but the Devil has much to do with the manner in which the governments of the world are conducted.  When Jesus comes down from heaven with a great chain in His hand, He lays hold on the “Dragon.”  This title of Satan refers to his connection with earthly sovereignties and his administrations through the political powers of this world.  He is the “Dragon” now as he has been since the days of Nimrod, and he will continue as the “Dragon” until the con­federated kings of the earth fall once for all at the battle of Armageddon, and Satan is bound in the pit.  Never after­wards will he have anything to do with the rulership of the world.  He is loosed from the pit at the close of the thousand

213

 

THE MILLENNIUM.

 

 

years, but he does not appear as the “Dragon.”  (See Rev. 20: 7‑10.)  During the Millennium the government of the whole world will be solely in the hands of Christ and His saints.  Christ will be the Supreme Ruler, while the saints will be the sub‑regents.  “The Lord shall be King over all the earth.”—Zech. 14: 9.  “The government shall be upon his shoulder.”—Isa. 9: 6.  “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign with Christ a thousand years.”—Rev. 20: 6.  “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”—Matt. 5: 5.  “And the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.”  Dan. 7: 22.  Thus we get a picture of the political condition of the world during the Millennium.  What a beautiful picture it is!  What a happy time that will be!  Satan bound.  No political quarrels.  No contentions among the nations.  Peace, harmony, union, and love among all the rulers of the world.  No unjust laws will be made.  The weak will not be oppressed by unjust measures.  One very beautiful thing about it is: “Of the increase of his gov­ernment and peace there shall be no end.”—Isa. 9: 7.   May that happy day soon come!

 

     (b) Judicial.

 

Christ and His saints will be not only the political sover­eignties of the world, but the judicial powers as well.  Jesus will be the Great Chief Justice, while the saints will be the associate justices.  David was both king and judge.  “David reigned over all Israel; and David executed judgment and justice unto all his people.”—2 Sam. 8: 15.  The prophecy is that “He (Christ) shall judge among the nations.”—Isa. 2: 4.  “He hath prepared His throne for judgment.  And he shall judge the world in righteousness; he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.  The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.”—Psa. 9: 7‑9.  “A king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. . . . And this is his name whereby

214

 

THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS.

 

 

he shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness.”—Jer. 23: 5, 6.  “Judgment was given to the saints of the most High.” —Dan. 7: 22.  “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?”—1 Cor. 6: 2.  “When the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”—Matt. 19: 28.  The Judgment administered during the Millennium will be a judgment of the living nations.  What a glorious time that will be!  A time when perfect justice will be meted out to every man. Today it is next to impossible for any one to receive justice from civil judges; but during the Millennium it will not be so.  Christ will judge among the nations in equity.  Every man will receive justice, for judgment will be administered without respect to persons.  May that blessed day soon arrive.

 

     (c) Moral

 

With Jesus and His saints at the head of the government, of course, the moral standard of the world will be high.  No doubt, the Bible will figure largely in the rules and laws of that Age.  Such things as thefts and robbery will be unknown.  There is no doubt that Jesus will at once do away with all intoxicants, and the sale of such things as tobacco, opium, morphine, etc.  We can’t think of such things being sold under a wholly Christian government.  Those who use such things will be few in number.  Every newspaper today brings the account of some immoral conduct.  Fights, homicides, slan­ders, murders, slaughters occur every day.  In the Millennial Age it will not be so.  How good it will be when all these things are done away!  Yet, this is not all.  The moral stan­dard of the world will be raised in regard to another feature, as is expressed by these beautiful words of prophecy:  “They shall beat their swords into plow‑shares, and their spears into pruning‑hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”—Isa. 2: 4.  “I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth,

215

 

THE MILLENNIUM.

 

 

and will make them to lie down safely.”—Hos. 2: 18.  This is a beautiful picture.  A world with no war in it!  There will be peace throughout the world.  The reign of Christ will be so characterized by peace that He is called “The Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9: 6).  Micah, in the fourth and fifth chapters of his prophecy, gives a beautiful picture of this reign of peace.  Some things he says are as follows: “None shall make them afraid.”  “I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers.”  A good time this will be to all who desire to live godly.  How I long to see that day!

 

     (d) Religious.

 

It would seem that where such conditions as are described above prevail that there would not be a person who would not gladly yield his life and heart to Christ; but such will not be the case.  Although the Millennium will be a great step above this age, it will not be an age of perfect peace.  It will not be the best age this world will ever see. Sometimes now we are amazed, that under the most favorable circumstances and re­ligious influences there are those who will not yield themselves to God.  Great is the hardness of the hearts of men!  Even when the visible, personal Christ shall reign as King over the whole earth, and Satan is bound in the pit, all men will not yield their hearts to Him.  When the poet said: “Perfect peace shall reign in every heart, and love without alloy,” he spoke a general truth, but there will be exceptions to the rule. There will be hearts in which perfect peace will not reign. If all would yield gladly to God’s law, “the rod” would not be needed.  Jesus says:  “He that overcometh . . . . to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers.”—Rev. 2: 26, 27.  Of Jesus it is written: “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”—Psa. 2: 9.  From these Scrip­tures it appears that some men will have to be brought to

 

216                      

 

THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS.

 

 

obedience, even during the Millennium, by the rod.  Men have, such stubborn wills.  In one of Isaiah’s prophecies concerning the Millennuim, he says: “The sinner being an hundred year old shall be accursed.”—Isa. 65: 20.  This proves that there will be sinners on earth during the Millennium.  It seems that under such favorable circumstances every sinner would be saved, but not so.  Still, we may look for great revivals.  The greatest revivals that the world has ever known will come during the Millennium.  “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.”—Micah 4: 2.  “At the 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.”—Jer. 3: 17.  This sounds like a mighty turning to God.  No doubt the saints will take part in teaching the nations of the earth the way of salvation just as they take part in the government.  That will be a glorious day indeed.  May it soon come!

 

     (e) The Animal Creation.

 

This glorious day will not affect man alone.  It will bring about a wonderful change in the attitude and disposition of the animals.  Isaiah prophesies: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.  And the cow and the bear she shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.  And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den.  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. 11: 6‑9.  In the animals today there is animosity and fear.

 

217

 

THE MILLENNIUM.

 

 

The wolf desires to tear the lamb; the lamb fears the wolf. The leopard would destroy the kid; the kid would run from the leopard.  In the Millennium it will not be so.  The child will lead the lion by his beard.  The cow will not fear the bear, neither will the bear hurt the cow.  The children will play with the reptiles, and the serpents will not hurt the children.  What a beautiful picture!  What a glad day!

Along the social line, then, the Millennium will bring a great reform in politics.  The whole earth will be in one king­dom, and at the head of that kingdom Christ will sit. In the judicial matters of the world, there will be a great reform.  The moral standard of the world will be higher than ever be­fore.  The Lord will pour out His Spirit “upon all flesh,” and with few exceptions every one on earth will be saved.  The animosity that exists between the members of the animal kingdom will be destroyed.  “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”

Oh, glad Millennial day!  How we shall welcome thy coming!

 

     3.  Condition of Temporal Affairs.

 

Having already considered the opening events of the Mil­lennium, and the special conditions of that period, we now come to enquire into the condition of temporal affairs during these years.

(1) The saints shall inherit the earth.  What a different order from things at present!  Today most of the land belongs to the ungodly, but during the Millennium it will be in the hands of the saints.  Jesus said: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”—Matt. 5: 5.  David also tells us that the meek shall inherit the earth (Psa. 37: 11).  The earth itself was given to man at his creation, but it was taken from him by the devil.  God said to Adam: “Have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every

 

218

 

THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS.

 

 

living thing that moveth upon the earth.  And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed.”—Gen. 1: 28, 29.  From the time that man fell, most of the land has been in the hands of Satan’s people, but the earth rightly belongs to the saints, at God is going to give it back to them.  It is to the saints that Jesus will say at the last day: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD.”—Matt. 25: 34.  Here it stated that the kingdom of the saints was prepared at the foundation of the world.  That means that the world was prepared for the saints.  Hence, the saints shall inherit the earth.

 

     (2) There will be a reformation in agricultural productions.  Perhaps we have no direct Scriptural grounds for this statement, but it is readily inferred from the fact that saints shall possess the earth.  God asks the question: “Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and you labor for that which satisfieth not?”—Isa. 55: 2.  We can not think of the saints raising on their farms during the Millennium anything that will be injurious to the body.  Therefore all narcotics, such as tobacco, the poppy plant, etc., will be thrown out of cultivation.  Only such things will be raised as will make bread.  Of course, the Millennium will not witness complete deliverance from thorns, briers, and those things which hinder the growth of useful plants; but poisonous plants will cease to be cultivated.

     (3) There will be a great increase in the production of food plants.  The ground will bring forth abundantly.  God says: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.”—Amos 9: 13.  This means that the fields will bring forth such an abundance of grain that it

219

 

THE MILLENNIUM.

 

 

will be impossible for the farmer to gather in one crop of grain before time to plant the next crop.  Instead of the greater part of the year being spent in war, as is often the case, the entire time shall be spent sowing the fields and reaping the fruits of the earth.  What a blessed time!  In the prophecies of Isaiah we read: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks.”—Isa. 2: 4.  This indicates such a need of farming implements that the weapons of war shall be converted into agricultural tools.  Hence, the abun­dant harvest is here implied.

     (4) Man’s life will be greatly lengthened.  Let us quote from Isaiah again: “There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed.  And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.  They shall not build, and another in­habit; they shall not plant, and another eat; for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.”—Isa. 65: 20‑22.  This indi­cates that during the Millennium no one will die under a hundred years of age.  The average age of a man will be lengthened to the age of a tree; so that when, as a rare occur­ence, one shall die at an hundred years old, his death shall be spoken of as the death of a child.  The person who lives to be a hundred years old without giving his heart to God will be accursed.  It would seem that during a time like the Millen­nium every sinner would yield to God; but it will be otherwise.  How hard is the heart of man!  Today one man builds a house, and then dies and leaves it for others; but during the Millennium the man who builds will live long enough to dwell for centuries in his own house.  Today one man plants an orchard, and his children eat the fruit thereof; but during the Millen­nium the one who plants will live long enough to eat of the fruit.  In fact, man’s age shall be the age of a tree.  All this

 

220

 

THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS.

 

 

will be true because the average age of man will be greatly lengthened.

     (5) There will be a great revival in business matters.  Perhaps we have no direct Scriptural ground for this stated but it is clearly implied from the facts that we have already given you.  Every department in the business world is dependent upon the farmer for bread.  “Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.”—Gen. 3: 17.  Every child of Adam has to depend upon the ground for food and clothing.  When the ground produces a scanty harvest it is felt in every department of life; when the ground produces abundantly there is prosperity in all the business world.  Today by the time a man gets his business well on foot he dies and leaves it to another; during the ­Millennium a man will live for centuries to carry on the business he himself established.  From the fact that the fields will bring forth such an abundance of grain, and that man’s life will be so greatly lengthened, it is evident that there will be great prosperity in the business world.

     (6) There will be, no doubt, great progress in the field of invention.  There are several Scriptures which indicate that such will be the case.  Modern inventions are signs not only that the Gentile Age is coming to a close, but that the Millennial Age is drawing near.  The Millennial Age will be an age ahead of the present age in every respect.  Man will be getting back nearer to his Primeval state.  Many today are saying that man is now enjoying the highest state of civilization he has ever known, but I am sure they are mistaken.  There evidences both in Scripture and in the world about us that man has seen a day in which he enjoyed a higher state of civilization than he now enjoys.  Jesus said, “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”—Matt. 24: 37.  Here we have the positive statement that the days of the coming of the Son of Man are to be as the days of Noah were.  I am sure this means more than many have thought.

221

 

THE MILLENNIUM.

 

 

Solomon says, “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.  Is there anything where­of it may be said, See, this is new?  It hath been already of old time, which was before us.”—Eccl. 1: 9, 10.  Modern in­ventions are only bringing us to a place where the world once was.  The Millennial reign will, of course, witness a great ad­vancement along these lines. “Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”—Dan. 12: 4.  “The char­iots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation, and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.  The chariots shall rage in the streets: they shall jostle one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings.”—Nahum 2: 3, 4.  These prophecies are being fulfilled now in the passenger trains, trolley cars, auto­mobiles, etc., but there is no reason why we should not have greater improvements during the Millennium. Therefore, I say that there will be great progress in the field of invention.

     (7) The management of temporal affairs will be in different hands.  “In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the Lord’s house shall be like the bowls before the altar.  Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts.”—Zech. 14: 20, 21.  This implies that all things, even the most common, shall be sacred to Jehovah.  “HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD” shall be inscribed even upon the horses’ harness, upon the buggies, upon the wheels of the vehicles, upon the street cars, upon the locomotives, and upon every article of household and kitchen furniture.  The pots used for boiling, etc., shall be as holy as the bowls used for catching the blood of sacrificial victims.  “Every pot,” even in the private houses, shall be deemed holy, so universal shall be the conse­cration of all things and persons.  As we pass down the streets and broadways of our cities, instead of seeing the advertise­ments of whiskey, tobacco, drugs, etc., we shall see written on

 

222

 

THE SECOND OF JESUS.

 

 

every building and bulletin board, “HOLINESS UNTO THE Lord.”  Everything will be under the management of consecrated persons.  The business world will be run by God’s people.  Everything that is injurious to health will be cut out of the line of merchandise.  Hence, at every corner upon every block, around every house, and on the farms, “HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD” will meet our eye.

     (8) There will be a great reformation in literature.  Here again we have no direct Scriptural ground, but such can clearly implied from that which has preceded.  The enemy sowing down the world with literature that is detrimental to the spiritual welfare of everybody.  Nude pictures, salacious books and immorally suggestive writings abound everywhere even in Christian homes.  During the Millennium all these things will be done away.  Every book, every magazine, every paper, every pamphlet, every picture, will preach “HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD.”

     Thus we have given you a picture of temporal affairs during the Millennium.  We have seen that the earth will be in the hands of the saints, that there will be a reformation in agricultural productions, that there will be a great increase in the production of food plants, that man’s life will be greatly lengthened, that there will be a great revival in the business world, that there will be great progress in inventions, that the management of temporal affairs will change hands, and that there will be a great reformation in literature.

 

     4. Closing Events.

 

     Rev. 20: 7‑15 furnishes the Scripture for the basis of this division of our subject.  The scenes here depicted are alarming and startling.  May God help us in the study of these important truths, and make these facts awakening to the unsaved. 

     (1) Satan is loosed.  At the beginning of the Millennium, Satan was bound.  During the thousand years he will continue bound in the bottomless pit.  Verse 7 says, “When the thous-

223

 

THE MILLENNIUM.

 

 

and years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.”  Verse 3 of this chapter says that “he must be loosed for a little season.”  Just how long that season will be, no one is able to say.  Perhaps this “little season” is only a few months, or a few years at most.  He is loosed out of prison, and allowed to walk the earth again.  It was Christ that bound him, and Christ alone will be able to loose him.

     (2) The nations are deceived.  Satan is loosed for a specific purpose.  During the Millennium there will be great revivals in religion, as I have shown already.  Almost everybody will be saved.  Satan, being bound in the pit, will not be here to impede the progress of religion as he does now.  However, God seems to purpose that every one be tried by Satan, so that those who stand faithfully against his wiles shall be better prepared for service in the ages to come.  All who have lived before the Millennium have been tempted and tried by the Devil; so God seems to permit the Devil to tempt and try the nations of the earth at the close of the Millennium in order that all may stand on an equal footing.  Of course, a few will die during the Millennium, and thus escape the tempter’s snare, but the great masses of the people will be living still.  If this is not the purpose for which Satan is loosed, I am un­able to determine it.  The Word is: “Satan; shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth.”  The implication is that these nations have been converted during the Millennium.  They have yielded themselves to Christ.  They are the nations in the four quarters of the earth, that is, those nations that are living far away from Jerusalem, the capital city of the world.  It would seem that at a time when Jesus sits upon His throne reigning as King of the whole world no person would get his eyes off of Jesus and be de­ceived by Satan during the closing days of the Millennium, but many people will do so.

     (3) Gog and Magog are gathered together to battle. Just what nations are meant by Gog and Magog is a question.  No

 

224

 

THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS.

 

 

doubt but that they are Gentiles.  At the second coming of Jesus, the Jews as a nation will accept Him as their Savior.  They will never deny Him again.  They will never be deceived.  Yet, many of the Gentiles who accept Christ during the Mil­lennium will be deceived by Satan during the “little season.”  Satan deceives them with the argument that if they will join him and go up to battle against Jerusalem, that they can de­throne the King, and capture the city for themselves, and then they will have possession of the whole earth.  These nations are so foolish as to believe him, and so they join his ranks and gather together to battle from the four quarters of the earth, a great multitude, “the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.”  They are gathered together to battle, i.e., for the pur­pose of war.  Satan purposes to make war against the King.  This great multitude, therefore, will consist not of all classes —weak and strong alike, but only of the men of war.  They will come with their armor—their swords and their guns, their horses and their cannon.  They will come prepared for battle.

     (4) Jerusalem is besieged.  Satan brings his forces against Jerusalem, because it is the capital city of the world.  There is the place where Jesus has His throne.  It is the center of the Millennial kingdom.  The forces come from earth’s re­motest bounds, and go up on the breadth of the earth, and gather into one great army around the city of Jerusalem.  The Word is: “They compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city.”  Satan believes that he can take Jesus off the throne, and take the world for his possession.  So he be­seiges the city.

     (5) The heavens melt with heat.  While Satan is arrang­ing his forces, and getting ready to make an attack upon the King of kings, a terrible thing happens.  The Word is: “Fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.”  Peter speaks of the same event, when he says: “The elements shall melt with fervent heat” (2 Peter 3: 10‑12).  This fire

225

 

THE MILLENNIUM.

 

 

falls upon Satan, and upon the forces that he has gathered from the four quarters of the earth.  The nations who have gathered for battle are devoured.   We understand by this that the fire literally burns them up, i.e., their bodies.  Of course, their souls go to hell, where all the wicked dead go.  This pur­pose to capture Christ is thus defeated.

     (6) Satan meets his final doom.  “The Devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”  At the opening of the Millen­nium Satan is bound in the bottomless pit, but now he is cast into the lake of fire.  The bottomless pit is in the heart of the earth, but the lake of fire is beyond the stars.  The lake of fire is where Satan meets his final doom.  Thus ends the last rebellion that will ever be known on earth or in heaven.  Satan will never be allowed to put his finger inside the universe any more.

     Just here I wish to note the four falls of Satan.  Much has already been said concerning each of them separately in these pages; but since Satan here meets his final doom, it is proper to mention here in one place all four of these falls.  These four falls are so many steps towards his final doom.  He was once an angel in heaven.  His first fall was from heaven itself. (See Ezek. 28: 13‑17; Luke 10: 18.)  Still he has his throne in the air (Eph. 2: 2), and he is allowed to go even into the presence of God (Job 1: 6).  His second fall is yet future.  It will take place at the resurrection and translation of the saints at the second coming of Jesus.  He will then be cast out of the air down to the earth (Rev. 12: 9).  During The Great Tribulation he will be roaming the earth, having great wrath (Rev. 12: 12).  At the opening of the Millennium Satan will be bound with a great chain, cast into the bottomless pit, shut up, and a seal placed upon him (Rev. 20: 2, 3).  That will be his third fall.  At the close of the Millennium, he will be cast

 

226

 

THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS.

 

 

into the lake of fire (Rev. 20: 10), which will be his fourth fall and his final doom.

     (7) A great white throne appears.  There is nothing as­cribed to this throne but “greatness” and “whiteness.”  These two characteristics indicate immeasurable power, and pure, complete, unmingled, and invincible justice.  This is not the eternal throne of the Father, nor the throne of Rev. 4: 2, nor the throne of the Son (Rev. 3: 21), but a special throne set up for a special purpose.

     (8) A judgment follows.  This is indeed the purpose for which the throne is set up.  It is a judgment throne.  The Judgment Day, as we have before shown, continues for more than a thousand years.  The throne of Rev. 4: 2, is a judgment throne, but it is the throne from which judgment is admin­istered during The Great Tribulation—it is the throne of the morning of the great Judgment Day.  The thrones of Rev. 20: 4, are judgment thrones, but they are the thrones from which judgment is administered during the Millennium.  This throne differs from all the other thrones.  It is a throne set up in the evening of the great Judgment Day.  One sits upon the throne.  He is the Judge of the quick and the dead.  The wicked dead of all ages are brought before this throne and judged.  The dead, small and great——big sinners and little sinners, kings and subjects, learned and ignorant, civilized and barbarous, emperors and beggars, refined and vulgar, all alike, stand before God.  The books are opened—the books in which the deeds of this company are recorded.  Another book is opened, which is the book of life.  This book is searched to see if it contains the name of any one of this great company.  Its pages are searched, but the implication is that they are searched in vain.  It would seem that all of this great throng are sinners.  The dead are judged out of these things which are written in the books according to their works.  Each man is judged according to the way he lived on earth.  Each deed and word and thought of man is recorded in these books, and

 

227

 

THE MILLENNIUM.

 

 

at the judgment it will be brought to light.  God has declared that even the secrets of men’s hearts shall then be made known.  Every man will be judged with equity.  This judgment will be a just one.

     (9) A resurrection occurs.  Some think that the resur­rection occurs before the judgment, but I am inclined to follow the order as given in the 20th chapter of Revelation.  Jesus is declared to be the Judge of the quick and the dead.  He is the Judge of the “quick” as quick, and of the “dead” as dead.  The living do not die in order to be judged, neither do the dead live in order to be judged.  A resurrection, anyway, is never an introduction to a judgment, but it is the result of a judg­ment already passed.  Hence, we read: “The hour is coming, in which 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 5: 28, 29.  “The rest of the dead (the wicked) lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” —Rev. 20: 5.  This is the last resurrection.

     (10) The wicked meet their final doom.  “The wicked shall be turned into hell (that is, Sheol, or Hades, in the heart of the earth), and all the nations that forget God.”— Psa. 9: 17.  When the wicked die they go into virtually the same place in which Satan is bound during the Millennium.  After the final judgment is over, and the wicked dead are resurrected, they are cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20: 14), “outer darkness” (Matt. 8: 12), where the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and the Devil are (Rev. 20: 10) to be tor­mented forever and ever (Rev. 14: 11).  The wicked will never get back into God’s universe any more.  This is their final doom.

     With these few events the Millennial Age will close.  In this chapter we have studied that Age.  A beautiful study it is.  That Age is still future.  Away with the doctrine that is now spreading over the earth that we are already in the Millen­-

 

228

 

THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS.

 

 

nial Age.  This is a false idea.  Men talk of the age in which we now live as the grandest age spiritually the world has ever known, or ever will know; but the facts are there has never been an age in which evil spread more rapidly, and a more demoralized age has never been known since the days of Noah.  However, we are looking for a better day.  The Millennial Age is fast approaching, and soon Jesus will come for His Bride, The Great Tribulation will follow, and then the Millennial Age will quickly come.