The Millennium

XXXII. THE MILLENNIUM - Dual Plan

The millennium referred to in the 20th chapter of Rev, denotes the time set apart for the establishment of the Messianic kingdom. The government set up by the Messiah will then develop the everlasting kingdom. The revealing angel said to Daniel that the saints of the most High "shall take the kingdom and possess it forever", and that the "kingdom and dominion under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High." (Dan. 7: 18, 27.) Thus the power and the dominion comes into the hands of the righteous, who then rule the kingdom under the supervision of the Messiah and establish it for the people who are called forth to inherit it in the second resurrection, which takes place at the end of one thousand years.

By wars, revolutions and the judgment of God, the earth is first brought into a chaotic state, described by the prophet Jeremiah thus:

"I beheld the earth and, lo, it was without form and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord and by his fierce anger." (Jer. 4: 23-26.)

At that time the Lord will shake both the heavens and the earth as he says by Isaiah:

"Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof," etc. (Is. 24: 1.)

Earthquakes and subterranean explosions, in connection with the terrible wars, will leave the earth a confused mass. Where are its inhabitants who live at that time? The contexts show that. Jeremiah saw them flee into thickets; he saw them climb the rocks as they fled from the cities (Jer. 4: 29). Isaiah saw them enter into the rocks and hide in the dust "for the fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty." (Is. 2: 10, 21.) But at the same time, he speaks of a remnant that appears as "the gleaning grapes, when the vintage is done." Of those he says:

"They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord, they shall cry aloud from the sea." (Is. 24: 13, 14.)

The righteous remnant is still on the earth, but is then entirely separated from the ungodly. Then comes the binding of the red dragon. John says:

"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which Is the Devil and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him," etc. (Rev. 20: 1-3.)

That binding is explained in Rev. 19: 20. The angel (or messenger) represents the movement that will finally make way for the "Prince of Peace" and his kingdom. By the "burning and fuel of fire," every implement of war will be destroyed (Is. 9: 4-6) ; thus, they will return the same way they have come: namely, by fire.

"And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and 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." (Is. 2: 4.)

Now, in order to show how darkness can replace light, lie replace truth, Satan replace God, we will present a "heavenly vision" (?) of the prophetess of the S. D. Adventists. She says:

"Here is Satan's home, with his evil angels, through the 1,000 years. Here they will be confined, and wander up and down over the broken surface of the earth, and see the effects of his rebellion against God's law. The effects of the curse which he has caused, he can enjoy through the thousand years. Limited alone to the earth, he will have no privilege of roaming around to other planets, to tempt and to annoy those who have not fallen." (The great controversy, p. 212.)

According to her heaven-given (?) vision, the devil would finally destroy all the works of the Messiah and make a clean sweep of everything; then he would "roam around" in pure joy over his unlimited success. That would certainly suit any enemy. She thinks he would be lonesome, and that this would be his punishment! None but the father of liars could give such visions. We will here raise a sevenfold battery of truth against it.

1. Dan. 2: 44. "And in the days of these kings (the fourth divided universal kingdom) shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed . . But it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever."

Does this text prove that God's kingdom will be set up on the earth 1,000 years after the kingdom of Nimrod ( denoted by "these kingdoms") is destroyed? No! The stone cut out of the mountain without hands, which represents God's kingdom, will break in pieces all these kingdoms now existing, and it instead will grow until it fills all the earth. (v. 35.)

2. Dan. 7: 17, 18. "These great beasts, which are four, are four kings (kingdoms), which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even for ever and ever."

When will the saints take possession of the kingdoms of the world—on this or on the other side of the 1,000 years? After the 1,000 years, the saints would not need to take it, because there would be no power laying claim to it, and the "lonesome devil" would have no weapons to fight with.

3. Matt. 13: 41-43. "The Son of man shall send forth his angels (messengers, both visible and invisible), and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity."

When will the messengers carry out the above-mentioned cleansing work in the kingdom where offenders and iniquitous persons exist? At the end of this age, referred to as the "harvest of the world." After they get the kingdom clean, will they then leave it for the devil to roam about in? Will they go somewhere else while he has a joyous time over the fact that he beat them out of their cleansed home? Oh, no! Christ says, "Then (not 1,000 years after that), shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."

4. Matt. 25: 31-34. "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory, and before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats."

When will this kingly act take place—on this or on the other side of the 1,000 years? This side—the preceding chapter settles that. When the Lord has thus separated the righteous from the iniquitous, where will he place them ? He says to them, "Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." They inherit the kingdom first given to Adam as the property assigned to them by the Father from the beginning of time; after waiting for it 6,000 years, they finally possess it. Now, would they be the children of light if they would let the old devil take it from them again for another 1,000 years

Ah, old deceiver, you fooled "that woman" greatly that time. You will have to take that statement back!

5. Acts 3: 20-25. "And he (thei Father) shall send Jesus the Messiah, whom the heaven must receive until the restitution of all things."

Does that restitution, calling for Christ's return to the earth, take place at the beginning or at the close of the 1,000 years? It takes place at the second advent of Christ, of course. After everything is restored as it was before sin entered into the world, will the restored property then fall into the hands of the devil a second time so that the true owners will not even have as much of a chance as Adam and his family to hide in some corner of their inheritance? Wouldn't that please the old rascal though!

6. Rev. 11: 15. "And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever."

When does the seventh angel sound? Before and in connection with the second advent of Christ. That war-trumpet prepares the way for the saints to get possession of the kingdom. When the kingdom is subject to the Messiah, will he give it back to the Anti-Messiah for another 1,000 years? Not much! Satan, of course, would like to have everybody believe such a thing, because then he would have greater power in his actions against the conquering-work of the Messiah.

7. Rev. 19: 6, 7. "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude; and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth!" (Has taken the kingdom.)

When is that chorus heard—on this or on the other side of the 1,000 years? They sing, because the marriage of the Lamb is at hand. It is the Bride that sings the song of love and triumph. The context shows that the song is sung simultaneously with the burning of Babylon. Matt. 22: 1-12 further proves that the marriage-feast comes off as an expression of joy over the victorious battles against the nations. It follows the defeat of the nations as a feast of joy over the grand success. The old serpent is defeated. His kingdom is burnt down; the beast and the image are captured; and the entire power, built up by man as the result of his falling away from God's government, is broken. Now, does it look reasonable that God himself, the Messiah, and all the resurrected multitude would agree with the devil and let him agair tramp about at will on the precious property so dearly paid for? Oh, shame on you, old fiend! You are too late now to make your propositions good; you are doomed and your advocates with you, unless they repent.