Anyone is at liberty to use material from this book with or without credit. In preparing this book the writer has received help from many sources, some acknowledged and many unacknowledged. He believes the material herein set forth to be a true statement of Scripture teaching, and his desire is to further, not to restrict its use.

Broadly speaking there are three general systems which profess to set forth the teaching of Scripture regarding the Second Coming of Christ and the future course of the Kingdom. They are: Postmillennialism, Amillennialism, and Premillennialism.

The essential presuppositions of the three systems are similar. Each holds that the Scriptures are the word of God and authoritative. Each holds to the same general concept of the death of Christ as a sacrifice to satisfy Divine justice and as the only ground for the salvation of souls. Each holds that there will be a future, visible, personal Coming of Christ. Each holds that every individual is to receive a resurrection body, that all are to stand before the judgment seat of Christ, that the righteous are to be rewarded in heaven, and that the wicked are to be punished in hell. Each of the systems is, therefore, consistently evangelical, and each has been held by many able and sincere men. The differences arise, not because of any conscious or intended disloyalty to Scripture, but primarily because of the distinctive method employed by each system in its interpretation of Scripture, and they relate primarily to the time and purpose of Christ's coming and to the kind of kingdom that is to be set up at His coming.

It should be helpful at the beginning of this study to define each of the systems as clearly as possible. Exact definitions cannot be given since numerous variations are found within each system. However, we submit the following as essentially correct. The first is our own. The latter three, including that of Dispensationalism, which is a radical form of Premillennialism, are given by Dr. J. G. Vos, a recent writer and son of Dr. Geerhardus Vos who for many years was a professor in Princeton Theological Seminary. These definitions are presented as the most accurate and comprehensive that we have found.

Postmillennialism is that view of the last things which holds that the Kingdom of God is now being extended in the world through the preaching of the Gospel and the saving work of the Holy Spirit, that the world eventually will be Christianized, and that the return of Christ will occur at the close of a long period of righteousness and peace commonly called the Millennium.

This view is, of course, to be distinguished from that optimistic but false view of human betterment and progress held by Modernists and Liberals which teaches that the Kingdom of God on earth will be achieved through a natural process by which mankind will be improved and social institutions will be reformed and brought to a higher level of culture and efficiency. This latter view presents a spurious or pseudo Postmillennialism, and regards the Kingdom of God as the product of natural laws in an evolutionary process, whereas orthodox Postmillennialism regards the Kingdom of God as the product of the supernatural working of the Holy Spirit in connection with the preaching of the Gospel.

"Amillennialism is that view of the last things which holds that the Bible does not predict a 'Millennium' or period of world-wide peace and righteousness on this earth before the end of the world. (Amillennialism teaches that there will be a parallel and contemporaneous development of good and evil—God's kingdom and Satan's kingdom—in this world, which will continue until the second coming of Christ. At the second coming of Christ the resurrection and judgment will take place, followed by the eternal order of things—the absolute, perfect Kingdom of God, in which there will be no sin, suffering nor death)."

"Premillennialism is that view of the last things which holds that the second coming of Christ will be followed by a period of world-wide peace and righteousness, before the end of the world, called 'the Millennium' or 'the Kingdom of God,' during which

Christ will reign as King in person on this earth. (Premillennialists are divided into various groups by their different views of the order of events associated with the second coming of Christ, but they all agree in holding that there will be a millennium on earth after the second coming of Christ but before the end of the world)."

"The false system of Bible interpretation represented by the writings of J. N. Darby and the Scofield Reference Bible, which divides the history of mankind into seven distinct periods or 'dispensations,' and affirms that in each period God deals with the human race on the basis of some one specific principle. (Dispensationalism denies the spiritual identity of Israel and the Church, and tends to set 'grace' and law' against each other as mutually exclusive principles)."

The word millennium is derived from two Latin words, mille, meaning thousand, and annum, meaning year. Hence the literal meaning is a thousand years. The term is found just six times in Scripture, all in the first seven verses of the twentieth chapter of Revelation, an admittedly difficult and highly symbolical portion of Scripture. The prefixes Post-, A-, and Pre-, as used with the word designate the particular view held regarding the thousand years. Premillennialists take the word literally, holding that Christ will set up a Kingdom on earth which will continue for precisely that length of time. Postmillennialists and Amillennial-ists take the word figuratively, as meaning an indefinitely long period, held by some to be a part, and by others to be the whole, of the Christian era.

Similarly, the word Chiliasm, more commonly used in early Church history than at the present time, comes from the Greek word chilias, also meaning thousand. The early Christians who believed that Christ at His coming would set up a one thousand year Kingdom were called Chiliasts. In their historical setting the words Chiliasm and Premillennialism have been used as synonyms, and it is commonly understood that today those who bear the name Premillennialists are logically the same as those who formerly were known as Chiliasts, although their systems differ in several important respects.

that while historic Premillennialism has held that the Church will go through the Tribulation, Dispensationalism holds that the Church will be raptured and so taken out of the world before that event, and that following the Rapture there will be a seven year period, during the first half of which the Jews are in covenant relationship with the Antichrist and dwell in Palestine but during the last half they endure terrible presecution under the Antichrist. At the end of the seven year period Christ returns, annihilates the Antichrist, and establishes His Kingdom in Jerusalem. The Jews are to have a position of special favor in the Kingdom, and are to remain a body distinct from the Gentiles throughout eternity. Dispensationalists are thus double "pre-s" —pre-tribulation Pre-millennialists. This distinction is of great importance to the Dispensationalists, for it gives them a seven year period, allegedly the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy (9:24-27), during which time all the events foretold in Revelation chapters 4 through 19 are to be fulfilled. That the Dispensationalists do attach great importance to this distinction is shown by the vigor with which they attack their fellow Premillennialists who are Post-tribulationalists, that is, who hold that the Church does go through the Tribulation.

Another prominent feature of Dispensationalism is its doctrine that when the Jews rejected Christ's alleged offer of the Davidic Kingdom, the Kingdom was withdrawn, and the Church was then set up as a substitute,—this present church age being therefore an interlude or parenthesis period, during which time God deals with man through the Church until the return of Christ, when in turn the Church is to be taken away and the Kingdom established.

Dispensationalism is a comparatively recent development. These distinctive views were first effectively set forth by John N. Darby, a leader in the Plymouth Brethren group in England, about 1830, and later popularized by the Scofield Reference Bible. The real origin of the system, however, was considerably earlier, as we shall show when we discuss the history of the movement.

Primarily through the influence of the Scofield Reference Bible, with its explanatory Notes printed on the same page with the text, these views have now become the prevailing

tenets of Premillennialism in the United States. They have never found creedal statement in any of the larger Protestant denominations, but are held by individuals throughout the denominations, and they are the standard belief of various Pentecostal and Holiness groups, which as a rule are not noted for scholarship or scientific research. They have been further popularized by the Bible institutes, most of which are dispensational in their teaching. These views have been just as consistently rejected and opposed in most of the theological seminaries, where scholarship and research are given more prominence, and by a large majority of the outstanding theologians.

There can be no doubt but that Premillennialism lends its-self more to an emotional type of preaching and teaching than does Postmillennialism or Amillennialism. It gives something definite to look for in the immediate future and charges the present with portentous possibilities. While many who hold it do not so exploit it, it often has been used in that manner by those who are less restrained.

Premillennialism tends to make the Bible a textbook of ready reference, rather than a source book from which statements are to be collected, compared, placed in their logical relations, and so worked up into a Systematic Theology. It professes to "take God at His word," and to "accept the plain statement of truth as God has revealed it." Such reasoning has its place when directed against the Modernists who reject the doctrine of the full inspiration of the Scriptures. But it is out of place when directed against those who while accepting the doctrine of the full inspiration of Scripture nevertheless acknowledge that much truth is conveyed through figurative expressions. The fact of the matter is that God's revelation as found in the Bible contains many deep mysteries and secrets which always have and probably always will challenge the intellects of even the wisest of men. Superficial statements about taking God at His word and about the plain harmony of God's word are illusory and ought to be their own refutation. Rejecting such easy solutions, we are deeply grateful for the rich heritage that the scholars and theologians of the Church have handed down to us. The deeper understanding of the Scriptures and the correlation of these doctrines is not some-

thing that can be completed in a day, or even in a lifetime, but is a task for the Church throughout the centuries. Dr. William H. Rutgers writing on this subject has well said: "If men are engaged in intellectual battle for centuries to settle the Chris-tological problem, and so many other theological questions, it is not to be expected that eschatology, the most difficult problem of theological science, will be solved differently. The positive-ness and assurance with which many of these Bible students speak concerning the future of God's program, is but pride and arrogance" (Premillennialism in America, p. 42).

Premillennialism thrives best and makes its greatest gains in time of war or of national crisis when people are anxious and worried about the future. Premillennial clergymen from all denominations gather in "prophetic conferences" to discuss impending events such as the establishment of the nation of Israel in Palestine, the future movements of Russia or Germany, signs that the apostasy has about run its course, etc., as these are assumed to be foretold in the "hidden" wisdom of Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, or the Book of Revelation.

The earlier forms of Premillennialism as well as the present dispensational doctrines have been held usually, if not always, by a minority of Christian people. The distinctive dispensational doctrines occupy a much less prominent place in European than in American church life.

There are, then, three principal views concerning the return of Christ: the Postmillennial, which holds that He will return after the Millennium; the Premillennial, which holds that His return precedes the Millennium; and the Amillennial, which holds that there is to be no Millennium at all in the generally accepted sense of the term. Dispensationalism, sometimes looked upon as a fourth view, is in reality only a more extreme form of Premillennialism.

Little pretense can be made to originality in this book. Most of what is said here has been said before by scholars much superior to the present writer. The primary purpose of the present work is to make available in summarized and systematized form the information concerning these eschatological problems that has been wrought out through generations of careful study by the

best scholars that the Church has produced, to separate truth from error, and to express that truth as clearly and convincingly as possible. The Scripture quotations are from the American Standard Version of 1901 rather than the King James Version since the former is a more accurate translation.

We have said that each of the millennial views has been held by men of unquestioned sincerity and ability. Among Postmillennialists should be mentioned first of all the great Augustine, whose eminently sound interpretation of Scripture set the standard for the Church for nearly a thousand years. In later times there were Rev. David Brown, a Scotch Presbyterian minister, and a considerable number of systematic theologians, the Hodges at Princeton (Drs. Charles, Archibald A., and Caspar Wistar Hodge, Jr., the latter having been the writer's revered teacher), Dr. W. G. T. Shedd, Dr. Robert L. Dabney, Dr. Henry B. Smith, Dr. Augustus H. Strong, and Dr. Benjamin B. Warfield. Probably the most influential books from the postmillennial viewpoint have been The Second Advent, by David Brown (1846, revised 1849), which for many years was recognized as the standard work on the subject, and Dr. Charles Hodge's Systematic Theology (1871). In more recent times Dr. Warfield (died, 1921) has been recognized as the outstanding postmillennial theologian. His influence was exerted through a period of more than thirty-three years as Professor of Systematic Theology in Princeton Theological Seminary and as Editor of the Presbyterian and Reformed Review and later as one of the chief contributors to the Princeton Theological Review. A book by Dr. James H. Snowden, The Coming of the Lord (1919), has proved to be of special value. This latter book contains a strong refutation of Premillennialism, although Dr. Snowden did not distinguish clearly between Premillennialism and Dispensationalism.

The postmillennial position has been much neglected during the past third of a century, most of the discussion having centered around Premillennialism and Amillennialism. This has led some

to conclude that Postmillennialism is no longer worthy of serious consideration. Alexander Reese, for instance, a Premillennialist, in his book The Approaching Advent of Christ (1937), expressed his opinion in these words: "Here one can but make the arbitrary statement that the postmillennial interpretation of Origen, Jerome, Augustine, and the majority of the Church theologians ever since, is now as dead as Queen Ann, and just as honorably buried." (p. 306.) Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer in an Introduction to Dr. Charles Feinberg's book, Premillennialism or Amillennialism? (1936), says, "Postmillennialism is dead," a statement which he later qualifies by saying that it is dead in the sense that it offers no living voice in its own defense when the millennial question is under discussion. That, however, is not true today, and it was at least debatable at the time it was made. That such was also Dr. Feinberg's opinion was indicated by the title of his book, and by his almost complete ignoring of Postmillennialism.

But such statements are, to say the least, premature. Since Postmillennialism has been so ably supported by outstanding theologians and ministers whose influences continue at the present time, and since it occupies such a prominent place in a number of standard theological works, it seems rather curious to find Premillennialists attempting to assign it merely an antiquarian interest. One cannot help but feel that in these cases the wish is father to the thought. Dr. Warfield, who in the opinion of the present writer is to be ranked with Augustine, Calvin, and Charles Hodge as one of the four outstanding theologians in the entire history of the Church, was a Postmillennialist, and his collected writings, reprinted in ten large volumes, continue to exert a strong influence in theological circles. Postmillennialism, like Christianity itself, has often suffered reverses. But after each such period of neglect or misunderstanding it has been re-asserted with even more power and conviction. Such no doubt will be the case after the present period of neglect has run its course. We must remember that Premillennialism too was in almost total eclipse for a thousand years, between the time of Augustine and the Reformation, and that during the Reformation period and for a long time afterward it was held by only a few small sects that were considered quite heretical. Furthermore, Amillennialism as a system was not clearly developed nor aggressively set forth

until very recent times. Two recent books, Israel and the New Covenant (1954), by Mr. Roderick Campbell, and Revelation Twenty (1955), by Rev. J. Marcellus Kik, Associate Editor of Christianity Today, are written from the postmillennial viewpoint; also Mr. Kik's earlier book, Matthew Twenty Four (1948). In any event, we believe that the true eschatological system can be set forth only on the basis of Postmillennialism, and that a careful study of Scripture will establish that fact.

Among Amillennialists we find a considerable number of able men, nearly all in recent years: Dr. Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Revised Edition, 1941); Dr. Geerhardus Vos, The Pauline Eschatology (1930); Dr. Albertus Pieters, Studies In The Revelation of St John (1937), and The Seed of Abraham (1950); Professor Floyd E. Hamilton, The Basis of Millennial Faith (1942); Dr. George L. Murray, Millennial Studies (1948); Dr. William H. Rutgers, Premillennialism In America (1930); Dr. Abraham Kuyper, Chiliasm or the Doctrine of Premillennialism (pamphlet); Dr. Martin J. Wyngaarden, The Future of the Kingdom (1934); Dr. William Hendriksen, More Than Conquerors (1939); Dr. William Masselink, Why Thousand Years?; and Rev. William J. Grier, The Momentous Event (1945). Among these the present writer has found the books by Pieters, Hamilton, Murray and Rutgers particularly helpful.

Outstanding writers from the viewpoint of Historic Premillennialism include: Rev. Alexander Reese, The Approaching Advent of Christ (1937); Dean Alford, The Greek Testament (1874); Dr. Nathaniel West, The Thousand Years in Both Testaments (1880); Dr. E. B. Elliott, Horae Apocalypticae (4 vols., 5th ed., 1862); Dr. H. Grattan Guinness, The Approaching End of the Age (1880); Dr. S. H. Kellogg, The Jews, or Prediction and Fulfillment (1883); Dr. Henry W. Frost, The Second Coming of Christ (1934); and Dr. George E. Ladd, Crucial Questions About the Kingdom of God (1952), and The Blessed Hope (1956).

Outstanding dispensational writers include: John N. Darby, Synopsis of the Books of the Bible (5 vols.), and other writings; Dr. C. I. Scofield, The Scofield Reference Bible (1909, revised 1917); Dr. William E. Blackstone, Jesus Is Coming (1878, revised 1908); Dr. Jesse F. Silver, The Lord's Return (1914); Rev.

James M. Brookes, Maranatha (1870); Dr. James M. Gray, Prophecy and the Lords Return (1917); Dr. Arno C. Gaebelein, The Return of the Lord (1925); Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology (1948); Dr. Charles L. Feinberg, Premillen-nialism or Amillennialism? (1936, enlarged 1954); Dr. John F. Walvoord, The Rapture Question (1957); and Dr. J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come (1958).

There are also other writers who have dealt with special aspects of the Second Coming, as for instance, Dr. Oswald T. Allis, whose valuable book, Prophecy and the Church, deals particularly with the dispensational view. Dr. Allis is an Anti-Chiliast, but is not to be classed as either a Post- or Amillennial-ist.

We have defined Postmillennialism as that view of the last things which holds that the Kingdom of God is now being extended in the world through the preaching of the Gospel and the saving work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of individuals, that the world eventually is to be Christianized, and that the return of Christ is to occur at the close of a long period of righteousness and peace commonly called the "Millennium." It should be added that on postmillennial principles the second coming of Christ will be followed immediately by the general resurrection, the general judgment, and the introduction of heaven and hell in their fullness.

The Millennium to which the Postmillennialist looks forward is thus a golden age of spiritual prosperity during this present dispensation, that is, during the Church age, and is to be brought about through forces now active in the world. It is an indefinitely long period of time, perhaps much longer than a literal one thousand years. The changed character of individuals will be reflected in an uplifted social, economic, political and cultural life of mankind. The world at large will then enjoy a state of righteousness such as at the present time has been seen only in relatively small and isolated groups, as for example in some family circles, some local church groups and kindred organizations.

This does not mean that there ever will be a time on this earth when every person will be a Christian, or that all sin will be abolished. But it does mean that evil in all its many forms eventually will be reduced to negligible proportions, that Christian principles will be the rule, not the exception, and that Christ will return to a truly Christianized world.

Postmillennialism further holds that the universal proclamation of the Gospel and the ultimate conversion of the large major-

ity of men in all nations during the present dispensation was the express command and meaning and promise of the Great Commission given by Christ Himself when He said: "All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matt. 28:18-20).

We believe that the Great Commission includes not merely the formal and external announcement of the Gospel preached as a "witness" to the nations, as the Premillennialists and Amil-lennialists hold, but the true and effectual evangelization of all the nations so that the hearts and lives of the people are transformed by it. That seems quite clear from the fact that all authority in heaven and on earth and an endless sweep of conquest has been given to Christ and through Him to His disciples specifically for that purpose. The disciples were commanded not merely to preach, but to make disciples of all the nations. It was no doubtful experiment to which they were called, but to a sure triumph. The preaching of the Gospel under the direction of the Holy Spirit and during this dispensation is, therefore, the all-sufficient means for the accomplishment of that purpose.

We must acknowledge that the Church during the past nineteen centuries has been extremely negligent in her duty, and that the crying need of our time is for her to take seriously the task assigned to her. Instead of discussions of social and economic and political problems, book reviews and entertaining platitudes from the pulpit the need is for sermons with real Gospel content, designed to change lives and to save souls. The charge of negligence applies, of course, not only to ministers, but equally to the laity. Every individual Christian is called to give his witness and to show his faith by personal testimony, or through the distribution of the printed word, or through the generous and effective use of his time and money for Christian purposes. Christ commanded the evangelization of the world. That is our task. Surely He will not, and in fact cannot, come back and say to His Church, "Well done, good and faithful servant," until that task has been accomplished. Rev. J. Marcellus Kik has said:

"That there is still a remnant of paganism and papalism in the world is chiefly the fault of the Church. The Word of God is just as powerful in our generation as it was during the early history of the Church. The power of the Gospel is just as strong in this century as in the days of the Reformation. These enemies could be completely vanquished if the Christians of this day and age were as vigorous, as bold, as earnest, as prayerful, and as faithful as Christians were in the first several centuries and in the time of the Reformation" (Revelation Twenty, p. 74).

In contrast with this, Premillennialism holds that the world is not to be converted during this dispensation, that it is, in fact, vain to hope for its conversion before the return of Christ. It holds rather that the world is growing progressively worse, that the present age is to end in a great apostasy and rebellion climaxed by the reign of the Antichrist and the battle of Armageddon, at which time Christ comes with sudden and overwhelming power to rescue His people, destroy His enemies, and establish a one thousand year earthly kingdom with Jerusalem as its capital. Many seem convinced that we now are in the last stage of the Laodicean apostasy, and that the end is very near. Premillennialism thus despairs of the power of the Gospel to Christianize the world, and asserts rather that it is to be preached only as a witness. Whereas Postmillennialism holds that Christ's coming closes this age and that it is to be followed by the eternal state, Premillennialism holds that His coming is to be followed by another dispensation, the Millennium, or kingdom age, and that the final resurrection and judgment do not take place until one thousand years later. It has also been a standard doctrine of Premillennialism in every age that the coming of Christ is "near" or "imminent," although every generation of Premillennialists from the first century until the present time has been mistaken on that point.

Premillennialism, in its dispensational form, divides the second coming of Christ into two parts: (1) the Rapture, or His coming "for" His saints, at which time the righteous dead of all ages are to be raised in the "first resurrection," the righteous living translated, and both groups caught up to meet the Lord in the air; and (2) the Revelation, which occurs seven years later, at the close of the Great Tribulation, at which time Christ re-

turns to earth "with" His saints, overpowers the Antichrist, defeats and suppresses all His enemies, raises the righteous dead who have died or who have been killed during the Great Tribulation, and establishes His Kingdom on this earth. At the close of the Millennium the wicked dead are to be raised in a final resurrection, and this in turn is followed by their judgment and the introduction of the eternal state. The Millennium in which the Premillennialist believes is thus a direct and personal rule of Christ over this earth.

Amillennialism, too, differs from Postmillennialism in that it holds that the world is not to be Christianized before the end comes, that the world will in fact continue much as it now is, with a parallel and continuous development of both good and evil, of the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. It agrees with Postmillennialism, however, in asserting that Christ does not establish an earthly, political kingdom, and that His return will be followed by a general resurrection and general judgment. Post- and Amillennialists thus agree that the Kingdom of Christ in this world is not political and economic, but spiritual and now present in the hearts of His people and outwardly manifested in the Church.

Amillennialism, as the term implies, does not set forth a Millennium at all. Some Amillennialists apply the term to the entire Christian era between the first and second advent of Christ. Some apply it to a relatively Christian and peaceful era, such as the Church enjoyed after the bitter persecution of the first three centuries, at which time Emperor Constantine made Christianity the preferred religion of the Roman Empire. Others apply it to the intermediate state. The position of the Amillennialist does not necessarily preclude him from believing that the world may be Christianized before the end comes, but most Amillennialists have not so held. Rather they have preferred to say that there probably will not be much relative change. In support of this they cite the parable of the wheat and the tares, in which both grow together until the harvest. Historically the main thrust of Amillennialism has been much stronger against Premillennialism than against Postmillennialism, since it interprets Revelation 20 symbolically and does not believe that Christ will reign personally in an earthly kingdom.

It should be remembered, however, that while Post-, A-, and Premillennialists differ in regard to the manner and time of Christ's return, that is, in regard to the events that are to precede or follow His return, they agree in regard to the fact that He will return personally and visibly and in great glory. Each alike looks for "the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). Each acknowledges Paul's statement that, "The Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God" (I Thess. 4:16). Christ's return is taught so clearly and so repeatedly in Scripture that there can be no question in this regard for those who accept the Bible as the word of God. They also agree that at His coming He will raise the dead, execute judgment, and eventually institute the eternal state. No one of these views has an inherent liberalizing tendency. Hence the matters on which they agree are much more important than those on which they differ. This fact should enable them to cooperate as evangelicals and to present a united front against Modernists and Liberals who more or less consistently deny the supernatural throughout the whole range of Bible truth.

One difficulty that we constantly face in this discussion is that of an inadequate terminology. The use of the prefixes "pre-" and "post-", as attached to the word "millennial," is to some extent unfortunate and misleading. For the distinction involves a great deal more than merely "before" or "after." The Millennium expected by the Premillennialist is quite a different thing from that expected by the Postmillennialist, not only in regard to the time and manner in which it will be set up but primarily in regard to the nature of the Kingdom and the manner in which Christ exercises His control.

The Postmillennialist looks for a golden age that will not be essentially different from our own so far as the basic facts of life are concerned. This age gradually merges into the millennial age as an increasingly larger proportion of the world's inhabitants are converted to Christianity. Marriage and the home will continue, and new members will enter the human race through the natural process of birth as at present. Sin will not be eliminated but will be reduced to a minimum as the moral and spiritual environment of the earth becomes predominantly Christian. Social, economic and educational problems will remain, but with their unpleasant features greatly eliminated and their desirable features heightened. Christian principles of belief and conduct will be the accepted standards. Life during the Millennium will compare with life in the world today in much the same way that life in a Christian community compares with that in a pagan or irreligious community. The Church, much more zealous in her testimony to the truth and much more influential in the lives of the people, will continue to be then as now the outward and visible manifestation of the Kingdom of God on earth. And the Millennium will close with the second coming of Christ, the resurrec-

tion and final judgment. In short, Postmillennialists set forth a spiritual Kingdom in the hearts of men.

On the other hand the Millennium expected by the Premillen-nialist involves the personal, visible reign of Christ as King in Jerusalem. The Kingdom is to be established not by the conversion of individual souls over a long period of time, but suddenly and by overwhelming power. The Jews are to be converted not as individuals and along with other groups of the population, but suddenly and en masse at the mere sight of Christ, and are to become the chief rulers in the new Kingdom. Nature is to share in the millennial blessings and is to become abundantly productive, and even the ferocious nature of the wild beasts is to be tamed. Evil, however, does not cease to exist, nor is it necessarily decreased in amount, but it is held in check by the rod-of-iron rule of Christ, and at the end of the Millennium it breaks out in a terrible rebellion that all but overwhelms the saints and the holy city. During the Millennium the saints in glorified bodies mingle freely with men who still are in the flesh. This latter element in particular seems to us to present an inconsistency,—a mongrel kingdom, the new earth and glorified sinless humanity mingling with the old earth and sinful humanity, Christ and the saints in immortal resurrection bodies living in a world that still contains much of sin and amid scenes of death and decay. To bring Christ and the saints to live again in the sinful environment of this world would seem to be the equivalent of introducing sin into heaven. As the amillennialist William J. Grier has observed, such a company would indeed be a "mixtum gatherum."

Amillennialists, of course, reject both the post- and the pre-millennial conception, and are usually content to say that there will be no Millennium at all in either sense of the word.

The terms are, therefore, somewhat inaccurate and misleading. For that reason some theologians hesitate to label themselves either post-, a-, or premillennial. But no more appropriate terms are available. These terms serve at least to distinguish the different schools of thought, and their meaning is generally understood.

But while the three schools differ in regard to the meaning of the word "millennium," that does not mean that the word itself is meaningless, nor that the distinctions between the systems

are imaginary or unimportant. Quite the contrary. Actually these systems represent widely divergent views concerning this very important subject, which, as we shall see, have far-reaching consequences.

A broader and perhaps more accurate terminology has been suggested by some—that of Chiliasts and Anti-Chiliasts. Chiliasts would then include both Historic Premillennialists and Dis-pensationalists, while Anti-Chiliasts would include both Post-and Amillennialists without making it necessary to choose between these.

Furthermore, the fact that some who designate themselves Amillennialists hold that the present Church age constitutes the Millennium and that Christ will come at the close of the Church age might seem to make them Postmillennialists. But since the primary tenet of Postmillennialism as generally understood is that the coming of Christ is to follow a golden age of righteousness and peace, those who look upon the entire Church age as the Millennium are not commonly referred to as Postmillenial-ists.

On postmillennial principles a strong emphasis is thrown on the universality of Christ's work of redemption, and hope is held out for the salvation of an incredibly large number of the race of mankind. Since it was the world, or the race, which fell in Adam, it was the world, or the race, which was the object of Christ's redemption. This does not mean that every individual will be saved, but that the race as a race will be saved. Jehovah is no mere tribal deity, but is described as "the Lord of the whole earth," "a great King over all the earth" (Ps. 97:5; 47:2). The salvation that He had in view cannot be limited to a little select group or favored few. The good news of redemption was not merely local news for a few villages in Palestine, but was a world message; and the abundant and continuous testimony of Scripture is that the kingdom of God is to fill the earth, "from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth" (Zech. 9:10).

Early in the Old Testament we have the promise that "all the earth shall be filled with the glory of Jehovah" (Nu. 14:21); and Isaiah repeats the promise that all flesh shall see the glory of Jehovah (40:5). Isaiah was set for "a light to the Gentiles," and for "salvation unto the end of the earth" (Is. 49:6; Acts 13:47). Joel made the clear declaration that in the coming days of blessing, the Spirit hitherto given only to Israel would be poured out upon the whole earth. "And it shall come to pass afterward," said the Lord through His prophet, "that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh" (2:28); and Peter applied that prophecy to the outpouring that was begun at Pentecost,—"But this is that which hath been spoken through the prophet Joel . . ." (Acts 2:16f).

* Some of the material in pages 22 to 47 is taken from an earlier book by the present writer, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination, pp. 130-143.

"All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; And they shall glorify thy name" (Ps. 86:9).

"All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn unto Jehovah; And all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee"

"Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, And the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession" (Ps. 2:8).

The 47th Psalm sings of the sovereignty of God, and of His rulership over the nations:

"For Jehovah Most High is terrible; He is a great King over all the earth. He subdueth peoples under us, And nations under our feet . . . For God is the King of all the earth; Sing ye praises with understanding, God reigneth over the nations: God sitteth upon his holy throne" (vss. 2-8).

Probably nowhere is the universal reign of Christ stated more strongly than in the Messianic 72nd Psalm:

"In his day shall the righteous flourish, And abundance of peace, till the moon be no more. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, And from the River unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; And his enemies shall lick the dust.

The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall render tribute: The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: All nations shall serve him . . . All nations shall call him happy . . .

"All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; And they shall glorify thy name" (Ps. 86:9).

"Jehovah saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thine enemies thy footstool" (Ps. 110:1).

We call special attention to the fact that this latter verse from the 110th Psalm means that Christ is to conquer all. The right-hand position is the position of power and influence. This conquest is now in process of accomplishment as He advances against His enemies. His mediatorial reign from the right hand of God is to continue until all of His enemies have been subdued. In the New Testament Christ Himself quoted this verse to prove His Deity (Luke 20:42,43). Peter too quoted this verse (Acts 2:34,35) to prove that what had happened at Pentecost was the fulfillment of Psalm 110:1. He thus saw its fulfillment, not as a cataclysmic act coming at the day of judgment, but in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church during the present age. This process is to continue until all of Christ's enemies have been placed under His feet, so that He reigns over all the earth.

There is no mistaking the meaning of these announcements found in the Psalms. They are as unambiguous as anything that can be spoken by the most sanguine advocates of foreign missions in this twentieth century. Yet they come from the time of David, and most of them are from his pen. By him the Holy Spirit, for twenty-nine centuries, has been bearing witness that God's visible Church is destined to embrace all the nations that He has created on the whole face of the earth. A time is coming when they shall acknowledge the Lord as their Ruler. They have long forgotten Him, but one day they shall acknowledge His claims and turn to Him, even in the uttermost parts of the earth. Says Mr. Kik:

"The Covenant concept of 'all nations blessed' comes to the fore in the poetry of the Psalter. The composers of the Book of Praise of the Old Testament looked for the triumph of the Church upon earth. There are no better missionary hymns than those contained in the Psalms. One of the contributing factors to present-day pessimism, gloominess, defeatism within the Church is the omitting of the Psalms from the hymn books" (Historic Reformed Eschatology, p. 17).

In Isaiah 2:2,3 we read: "And it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of Jehovah's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many peoples shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem." In the book of Hebrews "Mount Zion," God's holy mountain, is spiritualized to mean the Church (12:22). Hence in this prophecy it must mean that the Church, having attained a position so that it stands out like a mountain on a plain, will be prominent and regulative in all world affairs.

Ezekiel gives us the picture of the increasing flow of the healing waters which issue from under the threshold of the temple; waters which first were only to the ankles, then to the knees, then to the loins, then a great river, waters which could not be passed through (47:1-5). Daniel's interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream taught the same truth. The king saw a large image, with various parts of gold, silver, brass, iron and clay. Then he saw a stone cut without hands, which stone smote the image so that the gold, silver, brass, iron and clay were carried away like the chaff of the summer threshing floor. These various elements represented great world empires which were to be broken in pieces and completely destroyed, while the stone cut out without hands represented a spiritual kingdom which God Himself would set up and which figuratively would become a great mountain and fill the whole earth. "And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever" (Dan. 2:44). The generally accepted interpretation of the dream is that the four parts of the image represented four successive empires, the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, the Macedonian empire of Alexander the Great, and the Roman empire. In the light of the New Testament we see that the final kingdom, represented by the stone cut out without hands, was the one that Christ set up, which indeed was set up while the Roman empire still was in existence. The Church,

an institution not of human but of divine origin and therefore described as "cut out without hands," was destined to outlast and break in pieces all of the anti-Christian kingdoms, that is, convert and transform them, and so, figuratively, to become a great mountain and fill the whole earth, so prominent will it be in every phase of human life.

In the vision which Daniel saw, recorded in chapter 7, the beast made war against the saints and prevailed against them for a time,—but, "the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom" (vs. 22).

Jeremiah gives the promise that the time is coming when it will no longer be necessary for a man to say to his brother or to his neighbor, "Know Jehovah"; "for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them" (31:34). The last book of the Old Testament contains a promise that "from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles, saith Jehovah of hosts" (Mal. 1:11).

In the New Testament we find the same clear teaching. At the Jerusalem Conference James cited the prophecy of Amos 9:11,12, that in the days to come God would pour out spiritual blessings on His people, "that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations that are called by my name,"—Edom here being taken as typical of Jehovah's enemies; and James, speaking by inspiration and quoting this prophecy, gives it a wider interpretation, saying that "the residue of men," and "all the Gentiles," are to "seek after the Lord" (Acts 15:17). This clearly implies the world-wide conversion of the nations.

The New Testament puts a strong emphasis on the fact that it is the world that is the object of Christ's redemption. "Christ is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world" (I John 2:2). "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him" (John 3:16,17). "The Father hath sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world" (I John 4:14). "Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). "We have heard for ourselves, and know that this is

indeed the Saviour of the world" (John 4:42). "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12). "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself" (II Cor. 5:19).

The parable of the leaven teaches the universal extension and triumph of the Gospel, and it further teaches that this development is accomplished through the gradual development of the Kingdom, not through a sudden and cataclysmic explosion. There we are told that "The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened" (Matt. 13:33). The Kingdom of heaven, like leaven, transforms that with which it comes in contact. All the meal was transformed by its contact with the leaven. Similarly, Christ teaches, society is to be transformed by the Kingdom of heaven, and the result will be a Christianized world. Premillen-nialists cannot admit this. To do so would contradict their whole system. Hence they seek another meaning, and where Christ says the Kingdom of heaven is like leaven, they say that the leaven is not symbolical of the Kingdom of heaven, but of evil. J. S. Silver, one of their representative writers, says: "Literally, it denotes sin, therefore here it means apostasy" (The Lord's Return, p 247). And another representative writer, W. E. Blackstone, says: "We believe that the leaven in the parable of Matthew 13 represents . . . the false doctrines which have crept in and so pervaded the professing church that it has, in the main, become merely formal and nominal" (Jesus Is Coming, p. 95). We are at a loss to understand how any one professing to take the Bible at face value, particularly those who lay great stress on literal interpretation, can deliberately contradict the words spoken so clearly and unequivocally and make them mean the exact opposite, in this case, false doctrine. These are the very people who protest so strongly against "spiritualizing." Anyone who can so change the meaning of Scripture can make it mean anything that he pleases. According to this interpretation Christ is to be understood as saying in effect that, "The kingdom of heaven is like an evil influence which brings the whole world into a state of apostasy." This is an example of the extremity to which some will go, the forced interpretation to which they will resort, in defending a theory. They would never arrive at such a meaning if they were not attempting to avoid the clear implication of the parable.

Premillennialists seize upon the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:14, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (King James Version), as proving their doctrine that the gospel is to be preached only as a "witness," or as a "testimony" (American Standard Version), and therefore that it is not intended to convert the world. This verse in itself may not be decisive as to the purpose and effect of such preaching. But such definitely was not the case when Christ gave the Great Commission to the disciples. There He said: "All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matt. 28:18-20).

Here we are told that "all authority" in heaven and on earth has been given to Christ for the performance of this work. Commenting on this point Dr. Snowden says: "All authority includes all power of every kind that is applicable to this task. Jesus Christ can never have any more power than He has now, for He now has all there is. Premillenarians put their confidence in some 'rod of iron' with which Christ will 'smite down all opposition' when He comes, but Christ now has omnipotence and has pledged it to the present work of preaching the gospel for the conversion of the world." He goes on to say that, "The Greek word translated 'make disciples of is a strong one, meaning not merely to 'preach' or 'evangelize' but to convert into disciples . . . We have in this commission express and inescapable teaching that the gospel is preached not simply for 'evangelizing' or 'for a witness', but for the deeper work of conversion . . . These nations are to be converted into Christian disciples, and this work is not done but only begun when they are 'evangelized,' or simply had the gospel preached to them. Jesus here speaks in world terms, here is the splendid universality of His gospel . . . Premillenarians say that Christ the King is absent and tell us what great things He will do when He comes again. But Christ Himself assures us He is present and is even now with us in our work ... To reduce this great commission to the premillenarian program of preach-

ing the gospel as a witness to a world that is to grow worse and worse until it plunges into its doom in destruction, is to emasculate the gospel of Christ and wither it into pitiful impotency. This is to send the gospel out into the world as a futile thing, foreordained to failure from the start. No, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and Jesus Christ, marching in the greatness of His strength, sends us on no empty errand of uttering a message that will die away in the air on an unheeding and hostile world, gathering only a few out of its innumerable multitudes and consigning the vast majority to destruction, but He sends us to 'make disciples of all the nations' and thereby win the world itself" (The Coming of the Lord, pp. 98-103).

We find that Christ's work of redemption truly has as its object the people of the entire world and that His Kingdom is to become universal. And since nothing is told us as to how long the earth shall continue after that goal has been reached, possibly we can look forward to a great "golden age" of spiritual prosperity continuing for centuries, or even for millenniums, during which time Christianity shall be triumphant over all the earth, and during which time the great proportion even of adults shall be saved. It seems that the number of the redeemed shall then be swelled until it far surpasses that of the lost.

The writer of the Apocalypse says: "I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all the tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands; and they cried with a great voice, saying, Salvation unto our God who sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb" (Rev. 7:9,10). God has chosen to redeem untold millions of the human race. Just what proportion of the race has been included in His purposes of mercy, we have not been informed; but in view of the future days of prosperity which are promised to the Church, it may be inferred that much the greater part eventually will be found among that number. Assuming that those who die in infancy are saved, as most churches have taught and as most theologians have believed, already much the larger proportion of the human race has been saved.

In Revelation 19:11-21 we have a vision setting forth in figurative language the age-long struggle between the forces of good and the forces of evil in the world, with its promise of complete victory. There we read:

"And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True; and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. And his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems; and he hath a name written which no one knoweth but himself. And he is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood; and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure. And out of his mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and

he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty. And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

"And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, Come and be gathered together unto the great supper of God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, and small and great.

"And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight,wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that worshipped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burnetii with brimstone: and the rest were killed with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, even the sword which came forth out of his mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh."

The best explanation of this passage we believe is that given by Dr. Warfield. He says:

"The section opens with a vision of the victory of the Word of God, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords over all His enemies. We see Him come forth from heaven girt for war, followed by the armies of heaven; the birds of the air are summoned to the feast of corpses that shall be prepared for them; the armies of the enemy—the beasts and the kings of the earth—are gathered against him and are totally destroyed; and 'all the birds are filled with their flesh/ It is a vivid picture of a complete victory, an entire conquest, that we have here; and all the imagery of war and battle is employed to give it life. This is the symbol. The thing symbolized is obviously the complete victory of the Son of God over all the hosts of wickedness. Only a single hint of this signification is afforded by the language of the description, but that is enough. On two occasions we are carefully told that the sword by which the victory is won proceeds out of the mouth of the conqueror (verses 15 and 21). We are not to think, as we read, of any literal war or manual fighting, therefore; the con-

quest is wrought by the spoken word—in short, by the preaching of the Gospel. In fine, we have before us here a picture of the victorious career of the Gospel of Christ in the world. All the imagery of the dread battle and its hideous details are but to give us the impression of the completeness of the victory. Christ's Gospel is to conquer the earth; He is to overcome all His enemies . . .

"What we have here, in effect, is a picture of the whole period between the first and the second advents, seen from the point of view of heaven. It is the period of advancing victory of the Son of God over the world, emphasizing, in harmony with its place at the end of the book, the completeness of the victory. It is the eleventh chapter of Romans and the fifteenth chapter of I Corinthians in symbolical form: and there is nothing in it that was not already in them—except that, perhaps the completeness of the triumph of the Gospel is possibly somewhat more emphasized here . . .

"As emphatically as Paul, John teaches that the earthly history of the Church is not a history merely of conflict with evil, but of conquest over evil: and even more richly than Paul, John teaches that this conquest will be decisive and complete. The whole meaning of the vision of Revelation 19:11-21 is that Christ Jesus comes forth not to war merely but to victory; and every detail of the picture is laid in with a view precisely to emphasizing the thoroughness of this victory. The Gospel of Christ is, John being witness, completely to conquer the world. He says nothing, any more than Paul does, of the period of the endurance of this conquered world. Whether the last judgment and the consummated kingdom are to follow immediately upon its conquest— his visions are as silent as Paul's teaching. Rut just on that account the possibility of an extended duration for the conquered earth lies open: and in any event a progressively advancing conquest of the earth by Christ's Gospel implies a coming age deserving at least the relative name of 'golden'" (Article, The Millennium and the Apocalypse; reprinted in Biblical Doctrines, pp. 647, 648, 662).

To us who live between the first and the second coming of Christ it is given to see that conquest taking place. Revelation 19:11-21, we believe, is a description of the spiritual warfare which rages through the centuries, in which as followers of our

great Captain it is our privilege to have a part. In verse 14 we are told that those who follow the Rider on the white horse are "clothed in fine linen, white and pure." Surely Christ's elect are His soldiers. Earlier in this same chapter, verse 8, we were told that the Church, as the bride of the Lamb, has arrayed herself "in fine linen, bright and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints." Hence the righteous acts of the saints who through the centuries constitute the Church evidently play an important part in this great conquest. Paul gives an insight into the nature of this battle when he says: "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:11,12). Here we learn who the real enemies of Christ's kingdom are. Our conflict is revealed as not primarily against evil human beings, but rather against spiritual hosts of wickedness. Here, too, we learn that in this holy war Christians are Christ's soldiers, and that it is through their victory that His victory is won.

How long the conquest continues before it is crowned with victory—we purposely use the word "conquest," rather than "conflict," for Christ is not merely striving against evil, but progressively overcoming it—or how long the converted world is to await her coming Lord, we are not told. Today we are living in an era that is relatively golden as compared with the first century of the Christian era. This progress is to go on until on this earth we shall see a practical fulfillment of the prayer, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven"—and the mere fact that Christ Himself taught His disciples thus to pray certainly indicates that it is a petition that God desires and wills to answer. As we get the broader view of God's gracious dealings with the sinful world, we see that He has not distributed His saving grace with a miserly hand, but that His purpose has been the restoration to Himself of the whole world.

We have quoted Warfield's view regarding a future golden age. Another of America's most brilliant theologians, Jonathan Edwards, gives the following exposition of the postmillennial position.

kingdom of Christ set up on the ruins of it, everywhere throughout the whole inhabitable globe. Now shall the promise made to Abraham be fulfilled, that 'in him and in his seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed'; and Christ now shall become the desire of all nations, agreeable to Hagai 2:7. Now the kingdom of Christ shall in the most strict and literal sense be extended to all nations, and the whole earth. There are many passages of Scripture that can be understood in no other sense. What can be more universal than that in Isaiah 11:9, Tor the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea/ As much as to say, as there is no part of the channel or cavity of the sea anywhere, but what is covered with water; so there shall be no part of the world of mankind but what shall be covered with the knowledge of God. It is foretold in Isaiah 45:22, that all the ends of the earth shall look to Christ, and be saved. And to show that the words are to be understood in the most universal sense, it is said in the next verse, T have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.' So the most universal expression is used (Dan. 7:27), 'And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High God.' You see the expression includes all under the whole heaven."

Early in the Old Testament the promise was given to Abraham that his posterity should be a vast multitute,—"In blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore" (Gen. 22:17); "I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth; so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then may thy seed also be numbered" (Gen. 13:16). And in the New Testament we discover that this promise refers not merely to the Jews as a separate people, but that those who are Christians are in the highest sense the true "sons of Abraham." "Know therefore," says Paul, "that they that are of faith, the same are sons of Abraham"; and again, "If ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise" (Gal. 3:7, 29).

Isaiah declared that the pleasure of Jehovah should prosper in the hand of the Messiah, that He should see of the travail of

His soul and be satisfied (53:10,11). And in view of what He suffered on Calvary we know that He will not be easily satisfied.

The idea that the saved shall far outnumber the lost is also carried out in the contrasts drawn in Scripture. Heaven is uniformly pictured as the next world, as a great kingdom, a country, a city; while on the other hand hell is uniformly represented as a comparatively small place, a prison, a lake (of fire and brimstone), a pit (perhaps deep, but narrow): (Luke 20:35; Rev. 21:1; Matt. 5:3; Heb. 11:16; I Peter 3:19; Rev. 19:20; 21:8-16). When the angels and saints are mentioned in Scripture they are said to be hosts, myriads, an innumerable multitute, ten thousand times ten thousand and many more thousands of thousands; but no such language is ever used in regard to the lost, and by contrast their number appears to be relatively insignificant (Luke 2:13; Is. 6:3; Rev. 5:11). The description of the great white throne judgment as found in Revelation 20:11-15 closes with the statement: "And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire"—language which indicates that in the judgment the normal thing will be that the names of the great majority of earth's population are written in the book of life. Such language implies that those whose names are not written there are the exceptional—we may even say, rare—cases.

"The circle of God's election," says Dr. W. G. T. Shedd, "is a great circle of the heavens and not that of a treadmill. The kingdom of Satan is insignificant in contrast with the kingdom of Christ. In the immense range of God's dominion, good is the rule, and evil is the exception. Sin is a speck upon the azure of eternity; a spot upon the sun. Hell is only a corner of the universe."

Judging from these considerations it appears, if we may hazard a guess, that the number of those who are saved may eventually bear some such proportion to those who are lost as the number of free citizens in our commonwealth today bears to those who are in the prisons and penitentiaries; or that the company of the saved may be likened to the main stalk of the tree which grows and flourishes, while the lost are but as the small limbs and prunings which are cut off and which are destroyed in the fires. This is the prospect that Postmillennialism is able to offer. Who even among those holding other systems would not wish that it were true?

But, it may be asked, do not the verses, "Narrow is the gate, and straightened the way, that leadeth to life, and few are they that find it," and "Many are called, but few chosen" (Matt. 7:14; 22:14), teach that many more are lost than saved? We believe that these verses are meant to be understood in a temporal sense, as describing the conditions which Jesus and the disciples saw existing in Palestine in their day. The great majority of the people about them were not walking in the way of righteousness, and the words were spoken from the standpoint of the moment rather than from the standpoint of the distant Judgment Day. In these words we have presented to us a picture that was true to life as they saw it about them, and which in general has been true even up to the present time. But we may ask, in view of the future prosperity promised to the Church, are we not entitled to believe that as the years and the centuries and ages flow on the proportion following "the two ways" shall be reversed?

These verses are also designed to teach that the way of salvation is a way of difficulty and sacrifice, and that it is our duty to address ourselves to it with diligence and persistence. No one is to take his salvation for granted. Those who enter into the kingdom of heaven do so through many tribulations; hence the command. "Strive to enter in by the narrow door" (Luke 13:24). The choice in life is represented as a choice between two roads, —one is broad, smooth, and easy to travel, but leads to destruction. The other is narrow and difficult, but leads to life. "There is no more reason," says Dr. Warfield, "to assume that this similitude teaches that the saved shall be fewer than the lost than there is to suppose that the parable of the Ten Virgins (Matt. 25:Iff) teaches that they shall be precisely equal in number; and there is far less reason to suppose that this similitude teaches that the saved shall be few comparatively to the lost than there is to suppose that the parable of the Tares in the Wheat (Matt. 13:24ff) teaches that the lost shall be inconsiderable in number in comparison with the saved—for that, indeed, is an important part of the teaching of that parable" (Article, Ave They Few That Be Saved?). And we may add that there is no more reason to suppose that this reference to the two ways teaches that the number of the saved shall be fewer than the number of the lost than there is to suppose that the parable of the Lost Sheep teaches

that only one out of a hundred goes astray and that even that one eventually will be brought back—which indeed would be absolute restorationism.

The redemption of the world is a long, slow process, extending through the centuries, yet surely approaching an appointed goal. We live in the day of advancing victory, although there are many apparent set-backs. As seen from the human viewpoint it often looks as though the forces of evil are about to gain the upper hand. Periods of spiritual advance and prosperity alternate with periods of spiritual decline and depression. But as one age succeeds another there is progress. Looking back across the nearly two thousand years that have passed since the coming of Christ we can see that there has indeed been marvelous progress. This process ultimately shall be completed, and before Christ comes again we shall see a Christianized world. This does not mean that all sin ever will be eradicated. There always will be some tares among the wheat until the time of harvest—and the harvest, the Lord tells us, is the end of the world. Even the righteous fall, sometimes grievously, into temptation and sin. But it does mean that Christian principles of life and conduct are to become the accepted standards in public and private life.

That a great spiritual advance has been made should be clear to all. Consider, for instance, the awful moral and spiritual conditions that existed on earth before the coming of Christ,— the world at large groping helplessly in pagan darkness, with slavery, polygamy, the oppressed conditions of women and children, the almost complete lack of political freedom, and the ignorance, poverty, and extremely primitive medical care that was the lot of nearly all except those who belonged to the ruling classes. Today the world at large is on a far higher plane. Christian principles are the accepted standards in many nations even though they are not consistently practiced. Slavery and polygamy have practically disappeared. The status of women and children has been improved immeasurably. Social and economic condi-

tions in almost all nations have reached a new high plateau. A spirit of cooperation is much more manifest among the nations than it has ever been before. International incidents which only a few years ago would have resulted in wars are now usually settled by arbitration. As an evidence of international good will witness the fact that the United States this fiscal year (July, 1957 to July, 1958) appropriated more than three billion dollars for the foreign aid and mutual security program, and since the end of World War II has given to other nations more than sixty billion dollars for these purposes. Since our population is approximately 170,000,000, this means an average contribution of $350 for every man, woman and child in the United States. And this does not include the other very considerable sums that have been given by individuals, churches and other organizations. This huge amount of goods and services has been given freely by this enlightened and predominantly Protestant nation to nations of other races and religions, with no expectation that it ever will be paid back, an effective expression of unselfishness and international good will. That record has never been even remotely approached before by this or any other nation in all the history of the world.

Recently the London Times, the leading newspaper in England, after commending the wisdom and generosity with which the United States acted, said: "There are other things so obvious to us that we take them for granted. But because silence can be misunderstood it is worth saying once again that no nation has ever come into possession of such power for good or ill, for freedom or tyranny, for friendship or enmity among the peoples of the world, and that no nation in history has used those powers, by and large, with greater vision, restraint, responsibility and courage" (Issue of March 23, 1954).

Today there is much more wealth consecrated to the service of the Church than ever before; and, in spite of the defection toward Modernism in some places, we believe there is far more really earnest evangelistic and missionary activity than at any time in the past. This is indicated by a number of developments. We cite particularly the following.

Up until the time of the Reformation the Bible had been a book for priests only. It was written in Latin, and the Roman

Church refused to allow it to be translated into the languages of the common people. But when the Reformers came on the scene all that was changed. The Bible was soon translated into all of the vernacular tongues of Europe, and wherever the light of the Reformation went it became the book of the common people. Decrees of popes and church councils gave way to the Word of life. Luther translated the entire Bible into German for the people of his native land, and within 25 years of its appearance one hundred editions of the German Bible came off the press. The same was true in France, Holland, England, and Scotland. Protestant Bible societies now circulate more Bibles each year than were circulated in the fifteen centuries that preceded the Reformation.

Publishers report that more than 8,000,000 copies of the complete Bible were sold in the United States in 1956. Sales were up about 10 per cent from 1955, which was the previous record year. Incidentally, it is interesting to notice that of the above number the King James Version easily held its place as the popular favorite, its total sales being more than 6,000,000 copies. The Revised Standard Version sold nearly 1,000,000 copies; the Douay Version, the standard Bible for American Roman Catholics, about 750,000; Jewish Bibles about 70,000; modern speech translations such as Moffatt, Goodspeed, etc., about 25,000; the American Standard Version of 1901 and others about 150,000. In addition to the above total many millions of copies of the New Testament and of portions of the Bible were sold.

During the last 150 years the Bible has been translated into all of the major languages of the world. According to the report given at the 1957 annual meeting of the American Bible Society the complete Bible, Old and New Testament, is now available in 210 languages and dialects, the complete New Testament is available in 270 more, and at least one book of the Bible, usually one of the gospels, has been translated into 629 more, for a total of 1109 languages and dialects into which the Bible has been translated in whole or in part. (United Press report, Jan. 12, 1957).

Today the Bible is available in whole or in part in the native tongue of 98 per cent of the people of the world. Surely that must be acknowledged as great progress and as a very broad and substantial basis on which to rear the future structure of

Christianity. None of the so-called "best seller" books attain more than a small fraction of the number of Bibles sold.

Furthermore, the Christian message is being broadcast by radio in all of the principal languages of the world. Several evangelical radio programs, with nation-wide or world-wide coverage, have been launched within recent years—e.g., the Lutheran Hour (Missouri Synod), estimated 22,000,000 listeners each week in the world-wide broadcast in more than fifty languages, The Back To God Hour (Christian Reformed Church), The Hour of Decision (independent), The Old Fashioned Revival Hour (independent), to name only a few. There are literally hundreds of other Christian radio programs reaching more limited areas, some of which are heard daily. The gospel is thus brought into many a home and into many a sick room where it would not otherwise be heard, and to many a distant farm or lonely mining or lumber camp, to people on the highways and to ships at sea. How marvelous that is, compared with the very limited proclamation that prevailed for so many centuries! The over-all result is that for the first time in history the people of the entire world have the evangelical Christian message made available to them.

The number of theological seminaries, Bible institutes and Christian colleges in which the Bible is studied systematically is growing faster than the population, and the enrollment is increasing steadily. Numerous Christian magazines with very wide circulation have been established within recent years. A considerable proportion of the new books that come from the press either deal directly with Christianity or with some phase of religion.

During the past two centuries the Christian Church has made great progress and has established thousands upon thousands of local churches. It has become customary in the United States to think of the Colonial period as an age of deep faith. Yet the fact is that a large number of the people who came to these shores during that time did so to escape religious oppression in European countries, and they were slow in establishing new churches. Many had no church connection to begin with, or dropped the connection they did have, as has so often been the case in frontier or pioneer settlements. The Pilgrims and Puri-

tans were the exception to the rule, but while they were strong in some sections other sections were quite different. Professor Leonard Verduin, of the Department of History in the University of Michigan has this to say regarding church membership in the colonial period:

"The first century and a half of American history was a mere elongation of European establishmentism. Throughout the colonies by and large there was a favored church. And, contrary to a legend which one often hears that those were golden days, America was never so near to being post-Christian as it was at the end of those 150 years. Competent historians find not more than 6 per cent of the adult population church-related. Then came the Revolution, and out of it was born the federal constitution. As by a divine economy it was laid down once and for all in the First Amendment that establishment was to be 'out' in this new commonwealth. And, even as a patient sometimes rallies in an amazing fashion at the injection of sulfa, so did this new commonwealth from that moment on witness the return of religion. Steadily, without fluctuation, the figure of the percentage of church membership rises, until today we stand at an all time high—not far below 60 per cent of the population today holding church membership" (The Reformed Journal, Jan. 1953).

We may add that in 1870 church membership in the United States stood at 18 per cent, a percentage increase three times that of the Revolutionary War period. Today it stands at an all time high of 61 per cent, an increase of 4 per cent within the last five years. Of these, 35 per cent are members of Protestant churches, 20 per cent are Roman Catholics (Yearbook of American Churches, 1956). So-called Modernism or Liberalism has indeed risen in some quarters to deny a greater or lesser portion of the faith. But Modernism has nothing positive to offer. Its leading advocates set forth conflicting systems, and in effect acknowledge that the system is bankrupt. We are confident that after the present season of criticism and testing of the foundations is over we shall have a grander and stronger edifice of theology than the ages have yet seen.

Statistics indicate that the world over Christianity has grown more in the last one hundred years than in the preceding eighteen hundred, and that it now has a considerably larger number

of nominal adherents than the combined total of any other two world religions. These figures show that of a total world population of about two and one-half billion there are approximately 800,000,000 Christians, 350,000,000 Confucianists (including Tao-ists), 320,000,000 Moslems, 310,000,000 Hindus, 150,000,000 Buddhists, 20,000,000 Shintoists, and 12,000,000 Jews. And while many of those who are counted as Christians are only "nominally" such, the proportion of true Christians probably is as great or greater than is the proportion of true adherents in any of the pagan religions. All of the other religions, with the exception of Mohammedanism, are much older than Christianity. All of the false religions are dying. Christianity alone is able to grow and flourish under modern civilization, while all of the others soon disintegrate when brought under its glaring light.

We feel perfectly confident in asserting that all of the anti-Christian religions and anti-Christian philosophies of our day are demonstrably false. Their histories show what complete failures they have been so far as raising the moral, spiritual and intellectual standards of their adherents is concerned. They await only the coup de grace of an aroused and energetic Christianity to send them into oblivion. In this connection Dr. Albertus Pieters has well said: "In the early church Ebionitism, Gnosticism, Montanism, Arianism and Pelagianism endangered the life of the church. They are rememberd now only by church historians. Later it was Romanism and Socinianism. In modern life it is Unitarianism, Modernism, Mormonism, Russellism, Christian Science, Spiritualism, etc.,—a long list of movements of Satanic origin that comes on like a flood, and for a time make timid believers afraid that the church will be overwhelmed and the gospel permanently lost to the world—but it never comes to pass. The present heresies will disappear as did those of the past" (Studies in the Revelation of St. John, p. 165).

Only within the last one hundred years have foreign missions really come into their own. As they have recently been developed, with great church organizations behind them and with extensive facilities for translating and publishing Christian literature in many languages, they are in a position to carry on a work of evangelism in foreign lands such as the world has never seen before. It is safe to say that the present generation living in India,

China, Japan, Korea, Indo-China and the Near East have seen greater changes in religion, society and government than occurred in the preceding two thousand years. Not only has the foundation been laid in most of these countries for a further evangelical advance, but under the benign influence of the Church innumerable local churches, schools and hospitals have been founded, ethical culture and social services have advanced greatly, and moral standards are much higher today than when the Church was first established. That we may get a truer view of the progress that has been made we cite the following picture of the early world into which Christianity came, as given by Dr. William Hendrik-sen:

"Let us transplant ourselves to the world of John the apostle, and imagine that the slow finger of history's clock is pointing to the first century A. D. Now, look around you in every direction. What a picture of spiritual darkness and desolation! Try to count the many idols that disgrace the streets and sanctuaries of imperial Rome. The abominations, the filth and corruption attendant upon the celebration of pagan festivals, the superstitions, vices, etc., are very staggering. Temples and shrines throughout the world are crowded with ignorant, half-despairing worshippers. We see a few scattered churches established by the efforts of Paul and others. For the rest, heathendom is everywhere triumphant. All the nations—with the exception of the Jews-are under the thraldom of Satan!" (More Than Conquerors, p. 224).

When we contrast the rapid spread of Christianity in recent years with the rapid disintegration that is taking place in all of the other world religions, it becomes very clear that Christianity is the future world religion. There are, however, some who tell us in all seriousness that the world is getting worse. Surely they are prompted to do so only in defense of a theory that clearly is contradicted by the facts. In response to such reasoning Dr. Snowden says:

"The true way of judging the world is to compare its present with its past condition and note in which direction it is moving. Is it going backward, or forward, is it getting worse or better? It may be wrapped in gloomy twilight, but is it the twilight of the evening, or of the morning? Are the shadows deepening into

starless night, or are they fleeing before the rising sun? One glance at the world as it is today compared with what it was ten or twenty centuries ago shows us that it has swept through a wide arc and is moving toward the morning" (The Coming of the Lord, p. 250).

But while great progress has been made as the Church has extended her witness to the far corners of the earth, much the greater part of the work yet remains to be accomplished. Adherents of the pagan religions still outnumber those of the Christian faith, and even within the Church there is a crying need for a fuller knowledge of the contents of the Christian faith and for a much more consistent living in accordance with those principles on the part of professing Christian people. The binding of Satan, described in Revelation 20:1-3, we now perceive to be not a sudden event, but a very long, slow process. It has been in process of accomplishment for more than nineteen centuries, and much progress has been made. But no time limit can be set as to how much longer the process may have to be continued before it is crowned with success, nor how long the era of righteousness will prevail over the earth before the Lord returns. The nineteen centuries that have elapsed since the Christian era began may well indicate that several more centuries, perhaps even millenniums, may be required, particularly if devastating wars yet remain to be fought, as is of course perfectly possible.

Skeptics sometimes point to present day evils and tell us that we are living in a post-Christian age. But, no, there has never yet been a truly Christian age, nor has so much as one nation ever been consistently Christian. The age in which we are living is still pre-Christian.

That the progress of the Church through these years has been slow is due to the fact that Christians in general have not taken seriously Christ's command to evangelize the world. The Great Commission is addressed not merely to ministers and missionaries, but to all Christians everywhere. No distinction is made in this command between ministers and laymen. The command applies to parents rearing their children, to children in regard to their parents, to individuals in whatever relationship they stand to their neighbors or business or social companions, to those who teach in the schools, to employers and employees in their mu-

tual relationships, to writers, newsmen, statesmen, to Christians in general regardless of occupation or station in life. The Gospel is the "good news" of the salvation that God has provided for sinful men, and it should be given out by all who have it,—given out by word of mouth, through the example of a Christian life, and by the effective and generous use of money or property or time as opportunity affords. Oftentimes a word sincerely spoken by a friend or neighbor to one who is outside the Church is more persuasive than what is said by the minister. It has been said: "No one can perform a higher service than this—to make more accessible the riches that are in Christ Jesus." Let Christians everywhere take seriously the command to evangelize the world and the work will be accomplished in a comparatively short time.

"Some day the Christian church will learn to profit by the bitter experience of the church and nation of the Old Covenant. Two very pointed and useful lessons may be learned from the records of the past. Israel had been commanded by God to march in and take possession of the Promised Land. About one year after they left Egypt they reached the borders of the land. Then their faith and their courage failed. 'Let us make a captain,' they say, 'and let us return into Egypt/ What is the result?—forty weary years of wandering among the rocks and the sand of the desert, and the death of that entire adult generation with the exception of two men of faith (cf. Nu. 14; 32:10-13).

"The other lesson is equally profitable and clear. A new army under Joshua entered the land. It won its first signal victory at Jericho. It then met bitter and humiliating defeat. Why? Israel had sinned. The guilty party must be punished and every forbidden thing destroyed before victory could be achieved. When this was done Israel found itself on the side of the Almighty (Joshua 7). God fought for Israel with a mighty hand. The fulfillment of prophecy awaits the day when the church will really believe that God will do all that He has promised to do, and when the church will sincerely aim at entire conformity to the revealed will of God. Then, by the agency of imperfect but faithful men, we may expect God to do what He has promised to do" (Israel and the New Covenant, p. 162).

citing the question asked in Luke 18:8, "When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" And they infer that the answer must be "No." But in order to give a negative answer to this question it is necessary to ignore the many statements in Scripture which describe the latter day glory of the Church. Surely an answer which at first might seem to be implied but which is not given in Scripture should not be allowed to overweigh the many references which speak of the triumph of righteousness in the earth. We submit that a question such as that in Luke 18:8 does not necessarily require a negative answer. When in the farewell discourse to the disciples Jesus asked, "Do ye now believe?" (John 16:31), no answer is given, but we do not believe that the implied answer is "No." When Paul asked, "King Agrippa, be-lievest thou the prophets?" (Acts 26:27), the implied answer might seem to be "No," for there was little to indicate that Agrippa did believe. But Paul quickly adds, "I know that thou believest."

In closing this chapter we should point out that some post-millennial writers, as well as others, have fallen into the error of assuming too rapid progress. Dr. Snowden, for instance, after showing so clearly the error of the Premillennialists in date-setting and in assuming the near return of Christ, went on to make the same kind of an error in assuming that the Millennium was just about to dawn. In his book, The Coming of the Lord, written while the First World War was in progress, he assumed that the successful conclusion of the war, which he saw as in the near future, would put an end to militarism forever, and that it would be followed by a rapid development toward the millennial era. That the lessons learned from the First World War should have had that effect we readily agree. But whether the time will be long or short we have no way of knowing. This we can say: Post-millennialism does not despair of the power of the Gospel to convert the world, but holds rather that it cannot be defeated, that over the centuries it will win its way, and that eventually the goal will be achieved.

In the light of these facts we face the future confident that the best is yet to be. Let Christians everywhere thank God for the progress that has been made and take courage. Their future is as bright as the promises of God.

The great material prosperity of which the Bible speaks as accompanying the millennial era will be, to a large extent, the natural result of the high moral and spiritual life of that time. These blessings too are from God. In numerous prophecies temporal blessings are expressly represented as following in the train of the new covenant blessings. Surely it need not be doubted that when the other characteristics of the millennial era are realized this material prosperity also shall find its place. Godliness and sober living in a real sense bring their own reward. "Seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you," said Jesus (Matt. 6:33). "Godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is," as well as "of that which is to come" (I Tim. 4:8). "The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose" (Is. 35:1). And how appropriate is the prophetic Messianic 72nd Psalm:

"Give the king thy judgments, O God, And thy righteousness unto the king's son. He shall judge the people with righteousness, And thy poor with justice. . . .

He shall redeem their soul from oppression and violence; And precious will their blood be in his sight: And they shall live; and to him shall be given of the gold of

Sheba: And men shall pray for him continually; They shall bless him all the day long. There shall be abundance of grain in the earth upon the top

And they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. His name shall endure for ever; His name shall be continued as long as the sun: And men shall be blessed in him; All nations shall call him happy. . . . And blessed be his glorious name for ever; And let the whole earth be filled with his glory." (vss. 1, 2, 14-19).

"We need not have recourse to the miraculous fruitfulness of the earth which Papias feigned, in order to fulfill this prophecy (Ps. 72). Plenty is the natural consequence of the moral change which takes place in the world at the millennium. The universal righteousness of that happy period will prevent despotism in government, anarchy in the people, as well as the devastations of war, by which the earth is left uncultivated, or its produce destroyed. The religion of that period will civilize savages, and destroy among civilized nations the numerous occupations that minister to the lawless passions of men; thus directing a great multitute of the human race to the useful arts of agriculture, who had been formerly idle and a burden upon the labor of others. The love universally felt and practiced in that period will lead those who have abundance to distribute cheerfully and freely to the necessities of those who may be in need" (TJie Second Advent, p. 400).

By way of background we should remember that when man was created and placed in the garden of Eden he was commanded not only to dress and keep the garden, but that he was given the broader command to "subdue" the earth and to "have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth" (Gen. 1:28; 2:15). That meant that he was to search out the laws of nature and learn how to use them, develop new substances, and in general make himself master of the whole creation. Certainly he is a long way behind schedule on that assignment.

In the Genesis account of the origin of sin we read that as a part of the penalty placed on man for his sin the ground was

cursed (3:17,18). Thenceforth it would bring forth thorns and thistles, so that he would have a never-ending struggle to maintain his existence. The plants and animals and the forces of nature in general, which formerly were for his use and service, then came into a different relationship to him and became in a degree antagonistic to him. His previously pleasant task of dressing and keeping the garden then became "toil," irksome labor; and he must thenceforth earn his bread by the sweat of his face (3:19). And in reality is not much of the waste land condition of the earth the natural and inevitable result of man's indolence, ignorance and generally perverted nature which has come about as a result of his fall into sin? The barren and unimproved stretches of land witness to his neglect. Proper irrigation and cultivation has made many a desert to blossom like the rose. One who has traveled through our arid southwest, particularly through New Mexico, Arizona and southern California, has had opportunity to see what great changes take place when water, fertilizer, improved plant varieties and cultivation are applied to the soil. The luxurious growths and beautiful landscapes that now are to be found in some limited areas are but a small sample of what can be done more efficiently and on a world-wide scale when man returns to the proper performance of the task that was assigned to him in Eden. A field that this year has a beautiful crop of wheat or corn may next year lie unfilled, with the result that weeds and thistles take possession. Man's proper management of the earth, the task assigned to him before the fall, will go far toward restoring a profitable plant and animal life. Remedy the sin condition in man and a marvelous transformation will take place in nature. Luther Burbank and others have done much to bring back toward their original condition many varieties of plants and fruits that in their wild and neglected state had degenerated until they were practically worthless.

A revolution has occurred in transportation, communications, home furnishings, etc., within our own lifetime. Our modes of travel and transportation have changed more within the last 150 years than in the preceding 2,000. George Washington, using the horse-drawn stagecoach which was the best means available in his day, travelled in much the same manner as did

the ancient Persians and Egyptians. The automobile, hard-surface highways, electrical power for lighting and other household uses, the airplane, radio, television, etc., are all comparatively new. And now the new sciences of atomic and solar energy with the prospect for extremely cheap power, and the whole new field of electronics, in which we have as yet hardly more than scratched the surface, give great promise for the future. A leading industrialist recently said: "America is about to enter a new golden age of prosperity which will hinge upon the harnessing of the atom, and the advent of the electronic age." One new discovery follows another, and we see more and more clearly the tremendous potentials that are available for good, potentials that through all these many centuries have remained largely unused.

Knowledge has become very widespread. Schools, even for advanced study, have been made available for all classes of people, and books, magazines, newspapers, libraries, scientific laboratories, etc., make available for all of our people vast stores of knowledge that only two or three generations ago was confined almost exclusively to favored, limited groups.

In the administration of justice great progress has been made as Christian principles have gained wider acceptance. British and American justice today is world-renowned for its meticulous consideration for the rights of the accused and of prisoners. But this is a comparatively recent development. Even in England, generally regarded as the most enlightened of the European nations, as late as the nineteenth century prisoners convicted of comparatively minor offenses were often given long prison terms or even death. A recent book, The Old Bailey And Its Trials, by Bernard O'Donnell (1951), gives a history of one of the most famous law courts, and tells a shocking story of professional witnesses and bribed juries being used to secure convictions, and of executions before drunken hysterical throngs. Conditions among the prisoners were revolting. Sanitation was almost unknown, disease ran rampant among prison inmates. Tortures such as flogging and pressing were used to extract confessions. Prisoners convicted of slandering royalty might have their hands cut off. The vicious practice of fees charged inmates by jail-keepers whereby prisoners had to pay to be supplied with water,

a bed and other necessities, was not stopped until the nineteenth century. There were half-hearted attempts at reform from time to time, but it took parliamentary action during the Victorian period to establish the justice and fairness which prevails today.

Similarly, the progress that already has been made in the fields of health and sanitation have raised the human life span in the United States from 32 years in 1750 until now it is just short of 70 years. Modern surgery and medicine have developed largely within the past 100 years. Medical practice has been changed from a mystic and superstitious procedure to an advanced science. The so-called "miracle drugs," including the sulphas, cortisone and antibiotics, date back only about 20 years, the sulphas having been discovered in 1935. It is not unreasonable to assume that with the continued advance of science, and particularly with the better modes of living that come with moral and spiritual advance, man's life span shall be extended considerably more. Isaiah seems to indicate great longevity for the righteous,—the sinner dying at the age of one hundred years will be accursed, and so unnatural will his death be that it will be looked upon as the death of a child: "There shall no more thence be an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed" (65:20). Only recently Dr. Robert A. Davidson, Department of General Practice at the University of Tennessee medical college, declared to a group of doctors that, "Doctors of the future will spend most of their time maintaining health rather than restoring it. To live to be 115 or 120 will be expected. To live to be 140 will be desired."He added that science estimates the metabolic potential of the human body as it now is at 140 years (The Kansas City Times, Oct. 21, 1955).

But no matter how marvelous this material prosperity may become, it will ever remain but the by-product of the moral and spiritual prosperity that already to some extent characterizes the partially Christianized nations. It is abundantly clear that these blessings do not originate under pagan religions. Many nations that are the victims of those religions have lain in their poverty and ignorance and moral degradation for centuries or even for thousands of years while making practically

no progress. The progress that has already occurred, originating largely in the Protestant nations of western Europe and in the United States, has been achieved in connection with only a limited amount of progress toward the Millennium. What marvels must He ahead when nations the world over are Christian—when the Millennium becomes a reality!

Thus Postmillennialism holds that Christianity is to become the controlling and transforming influence not only in the moral and spiritual life of some individuals, but also in the entire social, economic and cultural life of the nations. There is no reason why this change should not take place over the entire earth, with pagan religions and false philosophies giving place to the true, and the earth being restored in considerable measure to that high purpose of righteousness and holiness for which it was created.

There seems to be a general impression that when we speak of a Millennium we mean a time when the world will be sinless or practically so. We do believe that a time is coming when the people of the world in general will be Christians, a time when Satan will no longer be able to "deceive the nations" (Rev. 20:3). But we do not believe that the Kingdom in this world, even in its millennial fullness and power, will be a perfect or sinless state. Nor do we believe that every person will be a Christian. Yet it is not uncommon to find pre- and amillennial writers inferring or declaring that such are the tenets of Postmillennialism, and using such terms as "ideal perfection," "a perfect world," "convert every individual," and "sinless perfection," to describe the postmillennial position. No representative Postmillennialist teaches those things. Certainly such was not the teachings of Hodge, Dabney, Shedd, Strong, Snowden, or Warfield. Nor is it the teaching of Scripture.

Sinless perfection belongs only to the heavenly life. As long as the person remains in this world, even though he is a truly born again Christian, remnants of the old nature still cling to him, and he falls victim to some extent to such things as selfish desires, envy, jealousy, impatience, etc. All of us still have occasion to say with Paul, "The good which I would I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I practice" (Rom. 7:19). Sanctification is a process which is not complete until death. As long as the present world continues all those born into it are born members of a fallen, sinful race. They can be brought to a state of saving knowledge of God and be turned to a righteous life only through the regenerating and sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. Some experience regeneration in early childhood, others in middle

life or old age, and some never experience it at all. There will always remain problems to vex the saints. In a Christian environment temptations do become much more limited in scope and intensity, but they are never completely eliminated. The wheat and the tares continue to grow together until the harvest, which is the end of the world.

What a tremendous difference there would be in this world if the rank and file of the people were Christians, and if Christian standards were the generally accepted rule in our social, economic, educational and political life! Progress would be incredibly more rapid and permanent, poverty and disease would be largely eliminated, economic and political rivalry would be reduced to a minimum, and the accomplishments of a prolonged era of peace would be preserved instead of being destroyed by periodic wars as has so often been the case up to the present time.

The Millennium is, in fact, simply the full development of the Kingdom of grace as it comes to fruition in this world. This Kingdom begins very small, but it grows and eventually it dominates the whole earth.

In some Old Testament prophecies God's future Kingdom is described under the symbolism of a mountain. In these we have set before us the triumph of the now existing Church as it becomes prominent and influential in all phases of human life. No new weapons are needed for the conquest of the world, nor is there any change of dispensations. Says David Brown, "The Church is already all that she needs to be. She is complete in her living and ever-present Head, having 'all power in heaven and in earth' at her command, and getting it too at the destined periods, when 'the time to favor her is come, even the set time'" (The Second Advent, p. 342).

Snowden expresses his idea of what the Millennium is in the following words: "The world is yet young. Humanity is in its infancy. The centuries stretch out before it in vast vistas. There is before it a prospect of hope and splendid opportunism. The future is rosy with morning light. . . . Truth shall be taken from the scaffold, and wrong driven from the throne. More and more shall He whose right it is reign and the will of God be done on earth as it is in heaven. This will be the millennium. The visions of the Hebrew prophets of the Messianic kingdom shall

be fulfilled in their true spiritual and glorious meaning ... As we gird ourselves for the work of life we may look forward to the time when in the truest sense the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever, Kings of kings, and Lord of lords" (The Coming of the Lord, p. 275).

What then will the Millennium be like? In Acts 9:31 we read that after the bloody persecutor, Saul of Tarsus, had been transformed into a warm-hearted Christian, "The church throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being edified; and, walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, was multiplied." Such rest and its blessed consequences will be one of the chief features of the Millennium. Up until the present time we have seen such rest only within limited circles and over short periods of time. But during the Millennium such a state will exist throughout the Church and over the whole world. "What, then, is the difference between the present and the millennial state?" asks David Brown. "Just the difference," he answers, "between plucking more brands out of the fire than now—between a less and a greater number of converted and holy persons. That is all" (p. 393).

There will be no difference in principle between the teaching and preaching of the Gospel then and now. The difference will be in the extent to which it will become effective in the lives of the people. As Christianity is triumphant now in some family groups and local communities, so it will be then over the entire world. The Millennium, therefore, does not mean an entirely new and different state of things on this earth, but rather the elimination of the great majority of the evil influences that still are so prominent throughout the world, and a correspondingly higher moral and spiritual tone in the lives of the people. Thus, figuratively, the wolf and the lamb shall lie down together,—things formerly antagonistic and hateful to each other will work together in one harmonious purpose. The desert will blossom as the rose-literally, as economic and scientific conditions lead to the development of natural resources and generally prosperous conditions over the world, and figuratively, as moral and spiritual conditions are improved. Poverty and ignorance will be largely eliminated. Health and education will be the general rule, and

In general, then, the Millennium will not involve any change in the nature of Christianity, but only its much wider extension. There will be no elements in it that are not now present on a smaller scale. Then it will be said, "The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign for ever and ever." In the words of David Brown:

"When the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom, under the whole heaven, is given to the people of the saints of the Most High; when Christ's dominion is from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth; when men are blessed in Him, and all nations call Him blessed; when they have beaten their swords into plough-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks—nation not lifting up sword against nation, and none learning war any more:—then, of course, all the earth will be at rest and be still, save in the unwearied activities of well-doing. But even then, as the flesh will lust against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, so salvation in every case will then be as much a triumph of grace over nature as now" (p. 397).

The golden age of righteousness is, of course, not to be thought of as beginning suddenly, or on any particular date. It cannot be pinpointed on the calendar, for it comes as the result of a long, slow process. "The kingdom of heaven cometh not with observation" (Luke 17:20). It is "first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear" (Mark 4:28). Or again, it is "precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little" (Is. 28:10).

The coming of the Millennium is like the coming of summer, although ever so much more slowly and on a much grander scale. In the struggle between the seasons there are many advances and many apparent setbacks. Time and again the first harbingers of spring appear, only to be overcome by the winter winds. It often seems that the struggle has been lost and that the cold of winter will never be broken. But gradually the moderate spring breezes take over, and after a time we find ourselves in the glorious summer season.

Trying to pinpoint the date on which the Millennium begins is like trying to distinguish the day or year when Medieval history ended and Modern history began. The discovery of America by Columbus usually is taken as the landmark dividing the two. At least for us as Americans that is where medievalism ends and where the story of America begins. But that discovery made no immediate change in the life of the world, and in fact Columbus himself died without ever knowing that he had discovered a new world. In retrospect and for convenience we arbitrarily choose a date as the division point between two eras. But in reality one

such age blends into another so slowly and so imperceptibly that no change is recognizable at the time. Only with the perspective of history can we look back and set an approximate date, perhaps within a century or two, as to when one era ceased and another began. So it is with the coming of the Millennium. Undoubtedly it will follow the law of all of the other great periods in the history of the Church, being gradual and uncertain in its approach.

We find that time and again during the Church age there has been progress toward higher moral and spiritual standards, only to suffer tragic setback through a series of wars or retrogressions. Looked at from the standpoint of present day events it may not be possible to say which way the tides are moving. But over the centuries there is progress, great progress if we look back five hundred, or a thousand, or two thousand years. Certainly many of those who tell us that the world is getting worse would change their minds very quickly if they suddenly found themselves back in colonial days, or in the Dark Ages, or in the pre-Christian era.

The following paragraph by Dr. William Hendriksen, Professor in Calvin Seminary, in regard to the "binding" of Satan in Revelation 20:1-3, is much to the point. We differ with Dr. Hendriksen only in that we regard the millennial age as belonging primarily to a future era, while he as an Amillennialist understands it as embracing the entire Church age. But that is beside the point. Says he:

"The Church has become international. The international Church is very powerful; 'like a mighty army moves the Church of God! . . . The particularism of the Old Testament has made place for the universalism of the New. The Bible, just recently, was translated into its thousandth (!) tongue. The influence of the Gospel upon the thought and life of mankind can scarcely be overestimated. In some countries the blessed truth of Christianity affects life in all its phases: political, economic, social, and intellectual. Only the individual who lacks the historical sense and is, therefore, unable to see the present in the light of conditions which prevailed throughout the world before Christ's ascension, can fail to appreciate the glories of the millennial age in which we are now living. Truly, the prophecy found in

Psalm 72 is being fulfilled before our very eyes" (More than Conquerors, p. 227).

We have made much progress during the Christian era, but still, on postmillennial grounds, it hardly seems that even in the most advanced nations of the earth we have seen anything that is worthy of being called more than the early dawn of the Millennium. We might say that as yet we still are engaged primarily in laying the foundation rather than building the superstructure. Some Amillennialists, as we have just seen, deny that there is to be a future golden age on either post- or premillennial principles, and hold instead that the term embraces the entire period between the first and second coming of Christ. We believe, however, that while we are making progress we still have a long distance to go, and that the Millennium will be something much more advanced and glorious than anything that has yet been seen.

We hold that Christ is not merely the potential victor, but the actual victor over sin. During the interadventual reign He is steadily putting into effect the victory that He has won, gradually overcoming the forces of evil, until all His enemies shall have been made the footstool of His feet (Acts 2:35). The dispensation in which we now are is a period of advancing conquest, so that when He returns it is to a converted world. Appropriate here are the words of Dr. Samuel G. Craig:

"Certainly on the basis of Scripture we are warranted in looking forward to a period relatively golden as compared with that which we now enjoy. Christ is today the head of a kingdom, a kingdom that is not merely engaged in conflict with evil but that is triumphing over evil. We are today living in the midst of a period that is relatively golden as measured with the period in the midst of which the New Testament was written. Moreover, Christ is to go on conquering and to conquer until the kingdoms of this world shall have become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ, until in fact the prayer He taught His disciples to pray shall have been realized, 'Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth'" (Jesus As He Was And Is, p. 278).

A truly Christianized world was the goal set before the disciples by Christ Himself, for he said, "Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations." And that this might be a long,

slow process was indicated by the form of the promise that he gave in connection with that command: "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matt. 28:20). The leaven is to work until it leavens the whole lump. The kingdom, like the little mustard seed, is to grow until it becomes a tree. Here too is to be found the fulfillment of the promise, "For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea" (Is. 11:9). John gives us the prophecy that the Devil shall be bound for a thousand years, "that he should deceive the nations no more" (Rev. 20:3). And that this latter prophecy relates not to the intermediate state, nor to the eternal order, but to the present world order, should be clear from the fact that John saw the angel "coming down out of heaven" to the earth, and from the fact that the nations, entities which relate to this present world order, are specifically mentioned. The nations as such have no place in the heavenly kingdom.

The earth during the present dispensation never can, of course, become paradise regained. But a Christianized world can afford a foretaste of heaven, an earnest of the good things that God has in store for those who love Him. In principle Christians already are partakers of the heavenly life. They have been "born anew" or "born from above" (John 3:3); they have been "made alive," whereas they formerly were "dead" through trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1): they are "partakers of a heavenly calling" (Heb. 3:1); they have "tasted of the heavenly gift" (Heb. 6:4); their "citizenship is in heaven" (Phil. 3:20); and Paul says that already God has "raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6). When we are born anew we are born into the Kingdom and partake of the preliminary benefits of the Kingdom even in this world.

Hence we see the world progressing slowly but surely toward an appointed goal. Much progress has been made. Already the beams of the rising Sun of Righteousness are beginning to displace the darkness and confusion and wretchedness and ruin that they are destined to chase away. Says Dr. Warfield, "According to the New Testament, this time in which we live is precisely the time in which our Lord is conquering the world to Himself; and it is the completion of this conquest which, as it marks the

completion of His redemptive work, so it sets the time for His return to earth to consummate His kingdom and establish it in its eternal form" (Article, The Gospel of the Second Coming, in The Bible Magazine, April 1915).

As we read the book of Revelation figurative or symbolical expressions are met on every hand. The churches are symbolized by the seven golden candlesticks. Seven spirits before the throne are used to symbolize the fullness of the one Holy Spirit. We read of the Lamb having seven horns. We do not expect to see a literal lamb, nor seven literal horns, but know that this symbolizes the fullness of the power of Christ. Twelve is the number of the Church, and wherever the Church is mentioned we have this number or its mulitple,—twelve apostles, twenty-four elders, or the totality of God's people symbolized by the number 144,000. In the Bible the number ten stands for rounded totals. Hence we have the moral law summarized in the ten commandments. Ten plagues on Egypt, each directed at a god worshipped by the Egyptians, showed the complete superiority of the God of the Hebrews over the gods of Egypt. In the tabernacle the Holy of Holies, the place in which God manifested His presence, was ten cubits long, ten cubits wide, and ten cubits high. The cube, with all sides equal, symbolizes perfection. A thousand is the cube of ten, and symbolizes vastness of number or time. In Psalm 50:10 the expression "the cattle upon a thousand hills" does not mean that only the cattle on a thousand hills are the Lord's but that all of the cattle on all of the hills of the world are His. When the Lord told Peter that he should forgive his brotlier not seven times, but seventy times seven (Matt. 18:22), He did not mean 490 times, but that he should forgive him as many times as he sincerely asked to be forgiven. The New Jerusalem, of which we read in Revelation 21, is pictured as a city in the form of a cube, 12,000 furlongs (1500 miles) on an edge, a figure which symbolizes prefection, grandeur and vastness. "The length and

breadth and the height are equal," says John. The city was surrounded by a wall 144 cubits high (12 squared), or 216 feet, which to the people to whom John wrote would symbolize absolute safety. Neither the shape nor the dimensions of the city can be taken with mathematical exactness, as if it were a gigantic apartment house.

In Revelation 20 we do not understand John to write of a literal dragon or of a literal serpent. Nor do we understand him to say that the angel has a literal key or a literal chain in his hand with which he binds the Devil. The "thousand years" is quite clearly not to be undestood as an exact measure of time but rather as a symbolical number. Strict arithmetic has no place here. The term is a figurative expression, indicating an indefinitely long period of time, a complete, perfect number of years, probably not less than a literal one thousand years, in all probability very much longer. It is, however, a definitely limited period, during which certain events happen, and after which certain other events are to follow.

Concerning this symbolism of numbers Dr. Warfield says: "It is quite certain that the number 1000 represents in Bible symbolism absolute perfection and completeness; and that the symbolism of the Bible includes also the use of a period of time in order to express the idea of greatness, in connection with thoroughness and completeness. It can scarcely be necessary to insist here afresh on the symbolical use of numbers in the Apocalypse and the necessity consequently laid upon the interpreter to treat them consistently not merely as symbols but as embodying definite ideas. They constitute a language, and like any other language they are misleading unless intended and read as expressions of definite ideas. When the seer says seven or four or three or ten, he does not name these numbers at random but expresses by each a specific notion. The sacred number seven in combination with the equally sacred number three forms the number of holy perfection, ten, and when this ten is cubed into a thousand the seer has said all he could say to convey to our minds the idea of absolute completeness. It is of more importance doubtless, however, to illustrate the use of time-periods to the idea of completeness. Ezekiel 39:9 provides an instance. There the completeness of the conquest of Israel over its enemies is

expressed by saying that seven years shall be consumed in the burning up of the debris of battle: they 'shall go forth,' we read, 'and shall make fires of the weapons and burn them, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the hand-staves and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years' It were absurd to suppose that it is intended that the fires shall actually endure seven years. We have here only a hyperbole to indicate the greatness of the mass to be consumed and the completeness of the consumption. A somewhat similar employment of the time-phrase to express the idea of greatness is found in the twelfth verse of the same chapter, where, after the defeat of Gog 'and all his multitude/ it is said, 'And seven months shall the children of Israel be in burying of them that they may cleanse the land.' That is to say, the multitude of the dead is so great that by way of hyperbole their burial is said to consume seven months. The number seven employed by Ezekiel in these passages is replaced by the number a thousand in our present passage, with the effect of greatly enhancing the idea of greatness and completeness conveyed. When the saints are said to live and reign with Christ a thousand years the idea intended is that of inconceivable exaltation, security and blessedness beyond expression of ordinary language" (Article, The Millennium and the Apocalypse, reprinted in Biblical Doctrines, p. 654).

"The numbers and the indications of persons appearing in this book, are not actual numbers but figurative numbers. There were more than seven churches in Asia Minor. We are not to take the number 144,000 as if that was the number of a man, of those who were saved first. The 1600 furlongs of the stream of blood which reaches unto the bridles of the horses, is not a geographical designation. All these figures are to be understood symbolically" (Article, Chiliasm or Premillennialism, p. 28).

That Calvin understood the "thousand years" figuratively is clear beyond doubt. He dismisses the idea with one brief reference:

"Not long after arose the millenarians, who limited the reign of Christ to a thousand years. Their fiction is too puerile to deserve refutation" (Institutes, Book III; Ch. 25; Sec. 5).

"thousand years" of verses 1-3 and the "thousand years" of verses 4-6 do not relate to the same thing. The Millennium of verses 1-3 relates to a period of the future on earth, during which time the Devil is bound so that he can no longer deceive the nations. The Millennium of verses 4-6, during which time the souls of "them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God" are living and reigning with Christ, relates to the intermediate state, and for each individual soul it covers that period between death and the resurrection. That these "souls" who are living and reigning with Christ are in the intermediate state is indicated: (1) by the fact that John saw them as "souls," not as people with bodies; (2) by the fact that they are contrasted with a second group, "the rest of the dead" (verse 5), hence both groups must be identified with the dead— those who have died in the Lord, of which Revelation 14:13 speaks, and those who have died in their sins and who therefore have no part in the intermediate reign with Christ; and (3) by the contrast between the expression, "the first resurrection," and another figurative expression, "the second death" (verse 14). No one understands this latter term literally as applying to a second physical death. It is commonly understood as referring to the eternal punishment of the wicked. Similarly, "the first resurrection" is a figurative expression, and this event (life in the intermediate state) is so called in order to distinguish it from the resurrection of the body which occurs later. Some, however, understand "the first resurrection" to refer to the regeneration of the soul, that is, to the new birth of the believer, which is followed by a period of sanctification in this life and is crowned by his being taken to heaven to reign with Christ during the period between death and the resurrection. In either case the "thousand years" is to be understood symbolically as relating to an indefinitely long period of time. For the Old Testament saints and for those who died in the early part of the Christian era this reign has already continued much longer than a literal one thousand years.

A question which confronts both Post- and Premillennialism is this: Is there to be a brief but world-wide apostasy and rebellion at the end of the Millennium? Does the large proportion of the human race, after enjoying the high privileges which come with life during the millennial era, turn violently against God and righteousness and attempt to overthrow the Kingdom that has been established?

That such is to be the case has usually been the assumption of Post- and Premillennialism alike. So far as Amillennialism is concerned a final rebellion does not present special difficulty, because it does not expect a future age of righteousness. Most Amillennialists, however, also have expected an apostasy. But on either post- or premillennial principles, and coming at the very height of the millennial reign, such a development does seem to be anti-climactic and to present a very unpleasant feature. Whether the millennial age is looked upon as the result and fruitage of a long and costly campaign of world evangelism, as the Postmillennialist believes, or whether it is looked upon as a divinely established kingdom with Christ ruling in person in Jerusalem, a general apostasy and rebellion in which the Devil is given a world-wide even though brief triumph seems to be entirely out of character. Much of the glory of the Kingdom would seem to be lost with such a rebellion.

The Scripture cited in this connection is Revelation 20:3, 7-10. After the statement that Satan is to be chained and cast into the abyss for a thousand years so that he should deceive the nations no more, we read: "After this he must be loosed for a little time . . . And when the thousand years are finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall come forth to deceive the

nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up over the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down out of heaven, and devoured them. And the Devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are also the beast and the false prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."

This passage contains much figurative language and admittedly is difficult to interpret. However, as stated earlier, we believe that the binding of Satan referred to in verses 1-3, so that he can deceive the nations no more, means that the world is to be Christianized. These verses seem clearly to refer to the earth since John saw the angel coming down out of heaven, and the Devil was bound so that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years are finished. "Nations" relate to earthly life, not to heavenly life. We believe that verses 4-6 are parenthetical and that they refer to the intermediate state.

It is to be remembered in the first place that the Devil already is a defeated and fallen foe, and that he cannot tempt nor injure mankind nor do anything else except as he receives permission from God. Premillennialists have a tendency to underrate the power of God and to overrate the power of the Devil. Some talk as if the Devil were a formidable foe, "the god of this world" in a literal sense, contending on practically an equal footing with God, and winning many victories. We can never understand the course of this world's events unless we keep in mind that God is the absolute and unchallengeable Sovereign of all that exists, and that no event, good or bad, great or small, can take place without either His decretive or permissive will. That he does allow much evil that He could prevent if He chose, is an undeniable fact. But He limits it, controls it, and overrules it for His own glory and the greater good of His people. He often uses one evil person or power to punish another. The power that the Devil and evil men have in this world is like that which the cruel and arrogant king of Assyria exercised toward Israel, who, while pursuing his own plans, was in reality only the instrument of God for the chastisement of Israel (Is. 10:5-15). He was com-

pletely in the hands of God and could go as far as but no farther than God chose to allow him to go. This is the only adequate view of the course of history if we are to understand God's dealings with men.

All of this is clearly brought out in the story of Job. The Devil could not touch Job until given permission, and then could do so only within prescribed limits. In that instance God overruled the Devil's evil designs and made use of them to further the sanctification of His servant. By that means God tested Job's patience, humbled his pride, vanquished his self-confidence, and in the end led Job to trust more deeply in His grace. In the New Testament we read that "God spared not angels when they sinned [the Devil included], but cast them down to hell, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment" (II Peter 2:4). During the public ministry of Jesus the Devil and the demons were immediately subject to His commands. Hence any interpretation that we make of Revelation 20 must be made on the assumption that the Devil is at all times under God's absolute control and subject to His commands.

It may well be, however, that just before the end God does permit a limited manifestation of evil, that it may be seen anew and more clearly what an awful thing sin is and how deserving of punishment. It is quite natural that people who have spent their lives in a comparatively Christian environment, particularly those who have lived during the glorious era which we call the Millennium, would find it almost impossible to believe that the Devil and his followers really are as bad as they are said to be, or as deserving of punishment. Hence just before the final judgment and the assignment of final punishment the Devil is given a degree of freedom. He immediately goes out to gain some followers and with them makes a last desperate attempt to destroy the Kingdom. That he is able to gain some followers should not be thought strange, for even during the Millennium there remain some who are not Christians.

The result is that by his action the Devil reveals himself as the same murderous, lying, deceiving character that he was in the beginning. His rebellion shows again and in a manner that none can fail to understand what a heinous thing sin is, and how deserving of punishment. He goes forth to deceive the nations,

that is, extends his activity world-wide, and succeeds in gaining a large number of followers, a company which as seen from the human viewpoint appears "as the sand of the sea." In reality, however, it is a small group compared with that of the saints of the Church. The latter are described in Revelation 7:3,4 by the symbolical number 144,000—twelve, the number of the Church, squared and multiplied by a thousand to give the idea of vastness and completeness.

We are not to think of the outcome of the "war" spoken of in verses 7-10 as ever actually threatening the safety and security of the Kingdom, nor as ever being in doubt. Though the Devil and his followers are allowed to flaunt themselves in a public demonstration and are very noisy, they are all the time held within strict limits. The rebellion is short-lived, and when it has been allowed to serve its purpose fire comes down out of heaven and destroys both the Devil and his followers. Seen in this light, the short resurgence of evil at the end is in effect a part of, or at least a preparation for, the great final judgment. The over-all result is that God uses the event to demonstrate anew to all intelligent beings throughout the universe how righteous and how just are His ways with all His creatures.

This final "war," of course, has nothing to do with military maneuvers or military weapons, or even with geographical locations. It is the last phase of the spiritual warfare that has been raging between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. It has been shown, we believe, that the great battle described in Revelation 19:11-21 is not a military but a spiritual conflict which rages through the centuries. The war against the saints in Revelation 20:7-10 is of the same nature, although of much shorter duration. The Lord's people have a place of refuge and safety in "the camp of the saints," "the beloved city," and not one of them is lost. "The camp of the saints" and "the beloved city" of verse 9 quite clearly are figurative expressions referring to the Church, which is a source of spiritual strength and wisdom and safety for the saints. The regenerate souls in the true Church, as revealed in Revelation 7:3,4, are sealed so that they cannot be hurt, that is, so that they cannot be led into apostasy by any of the Devil's works. No true saint apostatizes to the service of the

Devil. All the time they are under divine protection, which is symbolized by the fire that comes down out of heaven and devours their enemies. The weapons used by Satan and his followers are false doctrines, heresies, lies, slander, etc., which are directed against the Lord's people. Those who are not born again Christians are easy victims of the Devil's wiles and become his followers. But true Christians are inwardly prepared and ready to meet any such attack and cannot be hurt by any of these things.

Earlier in the New Testament, when writing to the Christians in the Church at Ephesus, Paul used similar language and expounded at length the idea that the Christian is inwardly prepared and secure against the attacks of the evil one. "Put on the whole armour of God," he said, "that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil." "For," he continues, "our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Wherefore take up the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; withal taking up the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: with all prayer and supplication praying at all seasons in the Spirit, and watching thereunto in all perseverance and supplication for all the saints" (Eph. 6.11-18). And to the Corinthians he wrote: "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh (for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds); casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (II Cor. 10:3-5).

To assume that at the end of the Millennium the vast multitude of the saints of God are literally shut up in the city of Jerusalem by their enemies and rendered practically helpless is to assume the absurd. We must ever keep in mind that this is

symbolical language, that what we are seeing is not the reality, but a vision, a great pageant, and that the material symbols are merely used to set forth spiritual truth.

In his recent book, Revelation Twenty, Rev. J. Marcellus Kik makes the following comment regarding the loosing of Satan and the warfare against the beloved city:

"Notice that Satan does not break out of the prison by his own power. He does not break his chains. He is loosed by the Lord . . . The names of Gog and Magog are used much as we might use the names of Hitler and Nazi after our experience in World War II. Hitler and Nazi bring before our minds cruel armies who wrought much damage. We might well term some future tyrant Hitler and some future nation Nazi horde without having Germans in mind. In Revelation the names of the old enemies are used to designate new ones. Gog and Magog represent future enemies of the Church whose names are as yet unknown. This type of interpretation is taught in Revelation 11:8, 'And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified/ Sodom and Egypt are 'spiritualized/ Even so we 'spiritualize' Gog and Magog . . .

"It is difficult for some to conceive of the nature of the opposition. The language is so vivid that it is hard for us to realize that this is not a battle of arms—of sword and gun. Our Lord clearly implies that the battle for Christiainity is not fought with carnal sword. It is a battle between the true Gospel and the false Gospel. It is a battle of truth against error. It is a battle of light against darkness. It is not a war against flesh and blood, 'but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of the world, against spiritual wickedness in high places' . . .

"They compassed the camp of the saints about. The Church is likened to a military camp. This is a figure borrowed from the time of Moses and Joshua when the Church even externally presented the form of a military camp. The twelve tribes with their banners surrounded the Tabernacle on four sides. The camp was in the form of a square; of which the four sides were to be placed toward the four quarters of the compass. This was a type of the heavenly city as seen by Ezekiel 48:20 and the city four-

square of Revelation 21:16. The camp and the City are but different figures of speech to describe the Church upon earth. The Church in heaven will never be surrounded by enemies such as are pictured to us in Revelation 20 . . .

"To others this is the literal city of Jerusalem. Just a little thinking will show how impossible this is. Imagine all the armies of the nations of the world laying siege to one city in Palestine! And you must picture modern armies equipped with missiles, bombs, and planes. The land of Palestine could not contain all the armies of the world. This is figurative language. This is the language of the Old Testament to express the enmity of the world against the Church" (pp. 61-66).

Commenting on the statement that "fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them," Mr. Kik points out that this evidently refers to the second coming of Christ, which occurs at the very close of the Millennium. Says he:

"Since nothing more is written in this prophecy concerning an intervening period between the destruction of Gog and Magog and the resurrection of the dead this must be the final destructive blow. It is the revealing of Christ as described in II Thessalonians 1:7-9, 'And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power'" (p. 69).

It is of further interest in this connection to note that Dr. Warfield believed there will be no resurgence of evil at all at the end, but rather that at the return of Christ the present Kingdom, —then perfected, with the conquering of the last enemy, death,— will be merged into the eternal Kingdom. His view differs somewhat from that which we have set forth in that he understood the entire section of Revelation 20:1-10 to refer to the intermediate state, while we believe that only verses 4-6 so refer. He believed that the "thousand years" was intended to describe the heavenly bliss of the saints in Paradise, in contrast with which the trial time of the Church on earth is described by the term "a little time" (vs. 3). This view made it possible for him to hold that there is no apostasy or rebellion at all at the close

of the golden age of righteousness and peace. As a Postmillen-nialist he believed that the world is to be converted to Christianity before the return of Christ, but he based his view on Revelation 19:11-21 and on the intimations in Romans 11 and I Corinthians 15 rather than on Revelation 20:1-10. He says concerning Revelation 20:1-10:

"The picture that is brought before us here is the picture of the 'intermediate state'—of the saints of God gathered in heaven away from the confused noises and garments bathed in blood that characterizes the war upon earth, in order that they may securely await the end. The thousand years, thus, is the whole of this present dispensation, which again is placed before us in its entirety, but looked at now relatively not to what is passing on the earth but to what is enjoyed 'in paradise.' This, in fact, is the meaning of the symbol of a thousand years. For, this period between the events is, on earth, a broken time—three and a half years, a 'little time' (verse 3)—which, amid turmoil and trouble, the saints are encouraged to look upon as of short duration, soon to be over. To the saints in bliss it is, on the contrary, a long blessed period passing slowly and peacefully by, while they reign with Christ and enjoy the blessedness of holy communion with Him—'a thousand years/

"Of course the passage (xx. 1-10) does not give us a direct description of 'the intermediate state.' We must bear in mind that the book we are reading is written in symbols and gives us a direct description of nothing that is set before us, but always a direct description of the symbol by which it is represented. In the preceding vision (xix. 11-21) we had no direct description of the triumph and progress of the Gospel, but only of a fierce and gruesome war: the single phrase that spoke of the slaying sword as 'proceeding out of the mouth' of the conqueror alone indicating that it was a conquest by means of persuading words. So here we are not to expect a direct description of the 'intermediate state' ... It is a description in the form of a narrative: the element of time and chronological succession belong to the symbol, not to the thing symbolized. The 'binding of Satan' is, therefore, in reality, not for a season, but with reference to a sphere; and his loosing' again is not after a period but in another sphere: it is not subsequence but exteriority that is suggested.

There is, indeed, no literal 'binding of Satan' to be thought of at all: what happens, happens not to Satan but to the saints, and is only represented as happening to Satan for the purpose of the symbolical picture. What actually happens is that the saints described are removed from the sphere of Satan's assaults. The saints described are free from all access of Satan—he is bound with respect to them: outside of their charmed circle his horrid work goes on. This is indicated, indeed, in the very employment of the two symbols 'a thousand years' and 'a little time." A 'thousand years' is the symbol of heavenly completeness and blessing; the little time' of earthly turmoil and evil. Those in the 'thousand years' are safe from Satan's assaults: those outside the thousand years are still enduring his attacks. And therefore he, though with respect to those in the thousand years bound, is not destroyed; and the vision accordingly requires to close with an account of his complete destruction, and of course this also must needs be presented in the narrative form of a release of Satan, the gathering of his hosts and their destruction from above" (Article, The Millennium and the Apocalypse; reprinted in Biblical Doctrines, pp. 649-651).

While we are not able to agree fully with this view, we do believe that the views of such a distinguished theologian must be given consideration in any comprehensive treatment of this subject, and we agree that Revelation 20:1-10 affords no real basis for believing that there is to be a final apostasy in the sense that a large proportion of earth's inhabitants turn against God, or that the safety of the saints is seriously threatened.

We have said that we believe there is to be a final public manifestation of evil on the part of those who never have been righteous, and for the purpose of showing what a dreadful thing sin is and how deserving it is of punishment. But we do not believe that it results in the loss of so much as one of the saints. Furthermore, after we have been shown in Revelation 19:11-21 how complete is Christ's victory and how thoroughly crushed are all His foes, we cannot believe that at the end God as the sovereign Ruler of the world—He of whom the Scriptures say, "The king's heart is in the hand of Jehovah as the watercourses; he turneth it whithersoever he will" (Prov. 21:1); and, "He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the in-

habitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?" (Dan. 4:35)-will suddenly and purposefully throw away that victory and permit the Devil a worldwide triumph even for the briefest time. Once the hard-fought battle is over and such a magnificent victory won we may be sure that it will be properly safeguarded, and that the Devil will never again be allowed to rise as a serious contender against God.

And this we believe is the consistent teaching of Scripture. Perhaps the most definite statement regarding the permanence of Messiah's kingdom is found in Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, where, after indicating the successive world kingdoms that were to rise, Daniel said: "And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever" (2:44). Ezekiel pictures the ever-increasing blessings of Messiah's reign as a flow of healing waters that issue from under the threshold of the temple, first only ankle deep, then to the knees, then to the loins, then a great river that could not be passed through (47:1-5). Zechariah says of the Messianic Kingdom that "his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth" (9:10). The kingdom prophecies in Isaiah and Micah teach a complete victory with never a reference to a final apostasy. Speaking through the Psalmist God said, "Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, And the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession" (2:8).

The New Testament presents the same teaching. The healing stream pictured by Ezekiel finds fulfillment in the life-giving ministry of the Christian Church. The kingdom of heaven is said to be "like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened" (Matt. 13:33). "The residue of men, and all the Gentiles" are to "seek after the Lord" (Acts 15:17). Christ is to sit at the right hand of the Father until all His enemies have been placed under His feet (Acts 2:35)—and there is no reason to believe that those enemies, having once been conquered, will ever again be permitted to rise up and renew the battle.

A striking contrast between the Millennium in which the Postmillennialist believes and that in which the Premillennialist believes is seen in the degree to which evil will be allowed to assert itself during that time and at its close. The Postmillennialist believes that as the Millennium becomes a reality evil will be reduced to a minimum. But the Premillennialist believes that while Satan is to be bound so that he can no longer deceive the nations, those nations nevertheless continue at heart enemies, ready to turn to Satan and to follow his leadership in a war against the saints the moment the thousand years are finished. According to the premillennial view evil is effectively held in check during the Millennium only by the rod-of-iron rule of Christ.

Premillennialists who are accustomed to think of the millennial age as an age of righteousness and peace may be surprised to know what three of their representative men who have been so influential in bringing the system to its present form (Dispen-sationalism) had to say on this subject. John N. Darby, whose influence at the beginning of the movement was so formative says: "Now there are a faithful few, Satan being the prince and god of this world, going against the stream. Then Christ will be the prince of the world, and Satan bound, and obedience will be paid to Christ's manifested power even when men are not converted. When this obedience is not paid, excision takes place, so that all is peaceful and happy. It is a perfect government of the earth made good everywhere. When Satan is let loose and temptations come again, those not kept by grace follow him. I have an impression that piety will decline in the millennium; but it is founded on a figure, so that I do not insist on it; but the rest of what I have said is revealed. That men should fall when tempted, however sad, is nothing but what is very simple. It is the last effort of Satan" (Collective Writings, xi., p. 534).

James H. Brookes, in his Maranatha, presents an even darker picture. Says he: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh and though restrained during the Millennium it will manifest its inherent depravity at the first favorable opportunity, like a tiger long caged and curbed that will bound back to its native jungle with unquenchable thirst for blood when the iron bars are removed" (p. 540, Fifth Ed., 1878).

And Dr. G. Campbell Morgan says: "We have seen that the Golden Age is to be characterized by the direct government of Christ. Sin will still be in the earth; but it will be held in repression and summarily punished as soon as manifested. The nations which Christ will rule with a rod of iron will be to a large extent, disloyal in heart; so that when Satan is loosed for a little season he will straightway deceive them. True, there will be everywhere those who refuse enlistment under his banners; but the picture here is that of an enormous apostasy, the most fearful even seen . . . There is no doubt that to some who have dreamed of the Millennium as a finality, the outlook afterward is disappointing; but ere the kingdom of Jesus Christ in all its glory can be ushered in, the unbelief and disloyalty which lurks in the hearts of men must be brought to a final head . . . All the nations will be under the government of the 'rod of iron/ and will be compelled to submit therefore. In heart, however, the great mass will be rebellious to the end, and will eagerly avail themselves of the opportunity of outwardly throwing off the yoke and entering upon actual conflict when it presents itself in the unloosing of Satan" (God's Methods with Man, pp. 132, 183).

Commenting on this view Dr. Allis observes that it is not an attractive one and then says: "It is not pleasing to think of the Messianic King, the Prince of Peace, sitting enthroned as it were on a smouldering volcano; of a reign of Messiah, peaceful on the surface but seething with hate and muttered rebellion; of people yielding outward obedience because 'excision' is the inevitable consequence of disobedience and opposition, since the rod-of-iron rule can only mean the 'dashing in pieces' of the rebellious like a potter's vessel. When we read that 'the wolf shall dwell with the lamb,' we do not take this to mean that the wolf will be as eager as ever to devour the lamb and be restrained from doing so only by fear of the consequences. We naturally understand it to imply a change of nature; the ravening beast, whether the words be taken literally or figuratively, will no longer desire to devour the lamb. 'They shall not hurt nor destroy' in all God's holy mountain, for the reason that they will not want to, not because they will be restrained by force majeure from doing what they will want to do."

He adds further that according to this view, "The enemies of Messiah will make a show of obedience to a rule which they hate. So we may say that, according to this view, the millennium will surpass all others as the age of hypocrisy and hypocrites. Men, many men, will submit only because they must; and these tiger-men will be waiting with ever growing impatience for the moment when defiance and resistance may offer at least the semblance of a successful issue" (Prophecy and the Church, p. 241).

What a Millennium the Premillennialist has! A thousand years of Jewish supremacy with Jerusalem as the capital, semi-heavenly and semi-earthly, saints in glorified resurrection bodies mingling with sinners in the flesh, a mixed state of mortals and immortals, and all of this climaxed by an unprecedented manifestation of evil at its close! Human life and the work of the world will go on during all that long period very much as now. Men and women will marry and children will be born; people with mortal bodies will live in houses and eat physical food and be subject to sickness and death although not to the same degree as at present. Conditions will be ideal but not heavenly; the earth will be abundantly fruitful; multitudes will honor and worship God while other multitudes will be sullen and resentful. Wicked men will be held in check by the rule of force. To a considerable extent Old Testament conditions will be re-established. "The middle wall of partition" between Jew and Gentile, which Christ has broken down "that he might create in himself of the two one new man, so making peace" (Eph. 2:14,15), is to be built up again and made higher and stronger, and the Jews re-established as the chosen people. Such a Kingdom must of necessity be far inferior in glory to the final Kingdom.

Premillennialists insist that the latter part of Ezekiel, chapters 38 to 48, is to be taken with great literalness as having fulfillment in the millennial kingdom, and as foretelling a restored Israel in the land of Palestine. Thus the temple is to be rebuilt, animal sacrifices are again to be presented to make atonement for the sins of the people (45:15—46:15), the priests will officiate (46:2), the people of the earth will go up to Jerusalem for the appointed feasts (46:9), and Christ personally present and visible only to a comparatively small number of people will enter the temple by

the eastern gate as the priests prepare His burnt-offerings and peace-offerings (46:2,3). Notice that if these chapters are to be taken literally they do not say, as Premillennialists attempt to make them say, that the sacrifices will be only memorial in nature, but that they definitely are called "sin-offerings," "burnt-offerings," and "meal-offerings" (45:22,25). A literalist has no right to give them any other meaning. We prefer to say that these predictions were fulfilled in part when Israel was restored to Palestine at the time of Ezra and Nehemiah and later, and that as regards any parts that did not find fulfillment at that time, Old Testament thought forms are employed to teach New Testament spiritual truths, truths which in that day could be expressed intelligently only through those forms with which the people were familiar.

Frankly, we have no desire for such a state as Premillennialism sets forth, but prefer at death to enter directly into the heavenly Kingdom. Surely it must be evident to anyone that such a state, though for the saints it may be marked by holiness of life, nevertheless leaves much to be desired, and that such a lesser state of things prolonged for a thousand years becomes not an increase but a decrease of blessedness, restraining rather than promoting the coming of the Kingdom of God in its fullness. There is in fact nothing to justify the prolongation of such a futile interval. For the departed saints who have been reigning with Christ a return to earthly life and earthly conditions would be, literally and figuratively, a great "come-down," a serious restriction of the glorious life that they now enjoy. The Premillennialist makes no adequate allowance for the far superior and radically different type of life enjoyed by the saints in Paradise and that to which they would be subjected if brought back to this earth. And as far as those who still are in the flesh are concerned, surely the Lord's physical presence, visible to but a comparatively small number of His people, would mean less than His spiritual presence now experienced by all His people in all parts of the world—unless we are to cease walking by faith and begin walking by sight.

Again we say, What a Millennium the Premillennialist has!— a Millennium preceded by seven years of unparalleled confusion and suffering and persecution during the "Great Tribulation"

and under the reign of Antichrist, and ending with a universal revolt and war against which the saints and even Christ Himself seem to be helpless and from which they are rescued only by fire from heaven! We cannot refrain from asking, Does Christ desert His people at the end of the glorious millennial reign, that they should be shut up in Jerusalem and practically at the mercy of the enemy? Surely that cannot be! How is that strange turn of events to be explained?

And we must ask further, why, if such an important earthly interval lies ahead, why did not Christ and the apostles clearly predict that the temple would be rebuilt, the Levitical sacrifices and rituals re-established, the Aaronic priesthood restored, the Jews again appointed to be a separate and especially favored people, and Jerusalem again made the center of the world's worship in a thousand year Jewish kingdom? There can be but one answer: Such a scheme formed no part of their belief. Far from localizing worship in a temple in Jerusalem, Jesus said, "The hour cometh, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father . . . The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his worshippers. God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:21-24).

It is clear that each of the millennial views has been held and at the present time is held by men concerning whose sincerity and loyalty to the evangelical faith there can be no doubt. That believing Christians through the ages, using the same Bible and acknowledging it to be authoritative, have arrived at quite different conclusions appears to be due primarily to different methods of interpretation. Premillennialists place strong emphasis on literal interpretation and pride themselves on taking Scripture just as it is written. Post- and Amillennialists on the other hand, mindful of the fact that much of both the Old and New Testament unquestionably is given in figurative or symbolical language, have no objection on principle against figurative interpretation and readily accept that if the evidence indicates that it is preferable. This causes Premillennialists to charge that Post- and Amillennialists explain away or reject parts of the Bible. One premillennial writer says:

"Premillennialists insist that one general rule of interpretation should be applied to all areas of theology and that prophecy does not require spiritualization any more than other aspects of truth . . . History is history, not allegory. Facts are facts. Prophesied future events are just what they are prophesied" (Dr. John F. Walvoord, Bibliotheca Sacra, July-Sept., 1951, p. 272).

Another says: "Premillenarians hold to a literal interpretation of the sacred Scriptures, believing that the teachings of Christ and the Apostles are to be understood in a literal sense except in certain places where some other meaning is designated" (Jesse F. Silver, The Lord's Return, p. 204).

This general principle of interpretation has been expressed as, "Literal wherever possible" (H. Bonar), or "Literal unless absurd" (Govett). One does not have to read far in the Bible to discover that not everything can be taken literally. Silver refers

to "certain places" where some "other meaning" is designated. But he gives no rule by which those certain places are to be recognized. We find no labels in the Scripture itself telling us, "Take this literally," or "Take that figuratively." Evidently the individual reader must use his own judgment, backed by as much experience and common sense as he can muster. And that, of course, will vary endlessly from individual to individual.

As an example of what he means by literal interpretation Silver says: "Every prophecy pointing to the first advent of Christ was literally fulfilled to the letter in every detail" (p. 209). That statement has been made in substance by various other Premillennialists. But it simply is not so. The very first Messianic prophecy in Scripture is found in Genesis 3:15, where, in pronouncing the curse upon the serpent God said, "He shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Now that prophecy certainly was not fulfilled literally by a man crushing the head of a snake, or by a snake biting the heel of a man. Rather it was fulfilled in a highly figurative sense when Christ gained a complete victory and triumphed over the Devil and all his forces of evil at the cross. The last prophecy in the Old Testament is found in Malachi 4:5, and reads as follows: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come." That prophecy likewise was not fulfilled literally. Christ Himself said that it was fulfilled in the person of John the Baptist (Matt. 11:14), who came in the spirit and power of Elijah.

Again, we have the prophecy of Isaiah: "The voice of one that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; make level in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain: and the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it" (Is. 40:3-5). This certainly was not fulfilled by a highway building program in Palestine, but rather in the work of John the Baptist who prepared the way for the public ministry of Jesus. John himself said, "For this is he that was spoken of through Isaiah the prophet, saying . . .", and then proceeded to quote these verses (Matt. 3:1-3; Luke 3:3-6).

The words of Isaiah 9:1,2, regarding the people of Zebulun and Naphtali, "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined," are fulfilled figuratively in the ministry of Jesus. For Matthew says: "Now when he heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the border of Zebulun, and Naphtali: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying,

In these words Isaiah clearly was speaking of the spiritual darkness that exists wherever sin rules, and of the spiritual light that would be brought to those lands when the Messiah came.

And when Balaam attempted to pronounce a curse upon the people of Israel he pronounced instead a blessing, and said:

"There shall come forth a star out of Jacob, And a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, And shall smite through all the corners of Moab And break down all the sons of tumult" (Nu. 24:17).

These words are commonly understood as embodying a Messianic prophecy, and as having had their fulfillment in the coming of Christ, who arose like a star out of Israel, and whose kingdom eventually is to embrace the whole world.

Many other Old Testament prophecies in figurative language might be cited, but surely these are sufficient to show that it simply is not true that "Every prophecy pointing to the first advent of Christ was literally fulfilled to the letter in every detail."

That a great deal of the Bible is given in figurative or symbolical language which by no stretch of the imagination can be taken literally should be apparent to every one. We spiritualize these statements because we regard this as the only way in which

their true meaning can be brought out. To cite only a few further examples: In the midst of a very prosaic historical account of the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt the providential and protective power of God is set forth in these words: "Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself" (Ex. 19:4). Palestine is described as "a land flowing with milk and honey" (Ex. 3:8). Read the 23rd or 91st Psalm and note the almost continuous use of figurative language.

The New Testament follows the same practice. To his disciples Jesus said, "Ye are the salt of the earth ... Ye are the light of the world . . . Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 5:13-16). When instituting the Lord's Supper He said: "This is my body . . . This is my blood" (Matt. 26:26, 28). The writer recently heard a Roman Catholic priest argue quite convincingly that these words prove that in the Mass the bread and wine actually are changed into the flesh and blood of Christ. From the standpoint of literalism it would be impossible to refute that doctrine. Speaking to the elders of the Church in Ephesus Paul said: "I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock" (Acts 20:29). To the Philippians he wrote: "Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the concision" (3:2). And to the Galatians: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me" (2:20). The word "blood" is used repeatedly in a figurative sense with reference to the suffering and death of Christ through which salvation was purchased on Calvary, e.g., ". . . in whom we have our redemption through his blood" (Eph. 1:7); ". . . the blood of an eternal covenant" (Heb. 13:20); ". . . and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev. 7:14; etc.). In spiritualizing certain Old Testament prophecies we are in good company, for the New Testament writers often do the same. In his discourse on the day of Pentecost Peter spiritualized the rather extended prophecy of Joel (Acts 2:16-21). James' discourse at the Jerusalem Conference spiritualized the prophecy of Amos (Acts 15:14-18). Literally thousands of such figurative and symbolic expressions are found throughout the Bible, usually

without explanation. It is assumed that the reader will understand. Furthermore, foot washing is clearly commanded by Jesus (John 13:14), and is commended by Paul (I Tim. 5:10); and five times we have the command, "Salute one another with a holy kiss" (Rom. 16:16; I Cor. 16:20; II Cor. 13.12; I Thess. 5:26; and I Peter 5:14). Yet only a very few people take these literally.

To spiritualize certain prophecies or other statements does not mean that we explain them away. Sometimes their true meaning is to be found only in the unseen spiritual world. Pre-millennialists often materialize and literalize the prophecies to such an extent that they keep them on an earthly level and miss their true and deeper meaning. That is exactly what the Jews did in their interpretation of Messianic prophecy. They looked for literal fulfillments with an earthly kingdom and a political ruler, and the result was that they missed the redemptive element so completely that when the Messiah came thy did not recognize Him but instead rejected and crucified Him. The fearful consequences of literalistic interpellation as it related to the first coming should put us on guard against making the same mistake in regard to the second coming.

The general principle of rigid literal interpretation leads to the conclusion that when Christ comes again He will re-establish the throne of David in the city of Jerusalem, and that He will reign in an earthly political kingdom of Jewish supremacy for one thousand years. According to that view the Jews are again to possess all of Palestine and the surrounding areas and are to live there, the temple is to be rebuilt, and the priesthood, temple ritual, animal sacrifices, feasts and fasts are to be reinstituted.

Premillennialists encounter real difficulty, however, and are forced to abandon their literalism when they come to the prophecies which predict that in the new kingdom all the nations of the earth are to go up to Jeruslam every year, and indeed every Sabbath: "And it shall come to pass that every one that is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles" (Zech. 14:16); "It shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to

another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith Jehovah" (Is. 66:23); and, "Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any foreigners that are among the children of Israel" (Ezek. 44:9).

It soon becomes evident that such startling literalism goes a great deal farther than its advocates are willing, or indeed, able to carry it. Taken literally these predictions mean that the whole earth is to become one great Israelitish nation and Church, with but one temple, one form of worship, and one common law. Premillennialists do not want to acknowledge that weekly pilgrimages or universal circumcision is to become the rule during the Millennium. Since they cannot go through with the literal interpretation of their own millennial passages it becomes evident that their principle of literal interpretation is basically wrong.

Premillennialists also encounter difficulty with the Messianic and kingdom prophecies which involve the restoration of the historical conditions of Israel's national life, including her national enemies, not only the great powers of Assyria, Egypt, and Babylon, but the smaller nations of Moab, Ammon, Edom and Philistia, nations that have long since vanished from history without possibility of recall. Note especially: Micah 5:5,6 (following the prediction that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, vs. 2): "And this man [Messiah] shall be our peace. When the Assyrian shall come into our land, and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise up against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: and he shall deliver us from the Assyrian/' Similar references are found relating to Egypt, in Joel 3:19, and to Babylon in Revelation 18:1-24. In the Messianic prophecy found in Isaiah 11 regarding the relationship of the future kingdom to the smaller surrounding nations we read: "And they shall fly down upon the shoulders of the Philistines on the west; together shall they despoil the children of the east: they shall put forth their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them" (vs. 14).

It would require a miracle of raising from the dead the nations referred to if these verses are to be literally fulfilled. We

believe that George B. Fletcher gives the true interpretation when he says: "These verses are a prophecy of the conversion of the Gentiles (vs. 10), and of the return of the remnant according to the election of grace from among the Jews, that is, their return to God in Christ (vss. 11:16). This prophecy began to be fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost when 'Jews, devout men out of every nation under heaven,' were evangelized by the apostle Peter, and returned home to God in Christ, the mighty God. Under a figure of speech these Hebrew preachers are represented as flying from Jerusalem with eager activity upon Philistia to convert it, as an eagle pounces upon the shoulders of a sheep or other animal, its prey (see Acts 8:26-40, Philip's preaching to the Ethiopian eunuch; and 9:32-43, Peter's mission to Joppa)"— Pamphlet, The Millennium, p. 30). This one point alone, that the nations referred to have disappeared from the face of the earth and so could play no part in a future restoration of Israel, should be sufficient proof that the literalistic method of interpretation cannot be defended.

Rejecting the clearly enunciated Scripture principle that the Church has been established as the instrument through which Christ makes a spiritual conquest of the world—He is to sit at the right hand of God where He now is, the position of power and influence, until His enemies have been made the footstool of His feet (Mark 12:36; 16:19; Heb. l:13)—Premillennialism substitutes the view that until He comes again the world is to grow progressively worse, and that at His coming He is to conquer the world and overthrow His enemies in the most gigantic and spectacular and sudden military conquest of all time. He is pictured as using overwhelming force in this conquest in that He rains fire and brimstone from heaven upon His enemies and thus utterly defeats Antichrist and all his hosts. Premillennialism seriously misunderstands the genius of Old Testament predictive prophecy in that it interprets in a literal, materialistic sense those foreviews of the Messianic age which can only be understood in a figurative sense.

In the following passage material objects and familiar ideas of the Old Testament era are used to set forth spiritual truth and to describe an era that had not yet dawned and which therefore could be described intelligently only in the thought-forms and

language with which the people were familiar. "And it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of Jehovah's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many peoples shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem" (Is. 2:2,3).

These words are fulfilled in that the Gospel took its course out from Jerusalem as the disciples went under orders to evangelize all the world, with the Church over the centuries gradually coming into a position of world-wide prominence, gradually increasing in power and becoming more influential in the lives of men throughout the world until it stands out like a mountain on a plain. The attempt to assign specific meaning to each figure of the landscape not only mars the beauty of the picture but obscures the real meaning of the prophecy. When God says, 'They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain'' let not the reader absurdly imagine that He had in mind only that insignificant elevation called Zion, in the southeast corner of the city of Jerusalem. "God's holy mountain," which at that time was the site of the temple and the center of the true religion, is the familiar and endeared name for the Church or Kingdom in the present Messianic age.

When we are told that God will "create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy" (Is. 65:18), Jerusalem, the center of the theocracy and symbol of Old Testament Israel, is used to represent the New Testament Church. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews spiritualizes these passages and shows that their true fulfillment is found in the Christian Church when he says of believers: "For ye are not come unto a mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire . . . but ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable hosts of angels and to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven" (12:18-23); "Having then a great high priest, who hath passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God" (4:14); and, "We have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the

throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man" (8:1,2). Paul, too, spiritualizes the term Jerusalem when he says that, "The Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother" (Gal. 4:26).

Isaiah says: "He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked" (11:4). Similar language is found in Revelation 19:11-21, where Christ is pictured as the rider on the white horse, who slays His enemies with a sharp sword that proceeds "out of his mouth," that is, by the spoken word, the Gospel which is preached by His followers all over the world, and by which He makes a thorough conquest of His enemies. Isaiah says: "They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks" (2:4)—fulfilled in the gradual elimination of wars as the world is Christianized and the energies and resources of the people are devoted to peaceful purposes. Again, he says: "And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fading together; and a little child shall lead them . . . 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 adder's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea" (11:6-9)—that is, forces naturally antagonistic and at enmity with each other shall be gradually subdued and reconciled with each other in a new relationship so that they cooperate harmoniously in Messiah's Kingdom. A fitting example of the wolf dwelling with the lamb is seen in the change that came over the vicious persecutor Saul of Tarsus, who was a wolf ravening and destroying, but who was so transformed by the Gospel of Christ that he became a lamb. After his conversion he lost his hatred for the Christians, and became instead their humble friend, confidant, defender. The Hon eats straw like the ox when men who formerly were strong and cruel and wild by nature are so changed by the Gospel that they become gentle, meek, humble, and feed on the word of life along with those who are members of Christ's Church.

"Since we have here a description of Christ's kingdom which is not composed of beasts, wolves, serpents, lions, etc., but of men, we must understand that 'in all My (God's) holy mountain/ that is, the Church of Christ ('Zion'), the peace that is to reign is of such a nature that those people who formerly were like wolves, bloodthirsty lions, insidious adders will by the grace of God put off their old nature, cease to harm one another, and peacefully dwell together as the lambs of Christ and feed on the green pasture of the Gospel. Of this change of nature St. Paul speaks in plain words (II Cor. 5:17), 'If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new/ Not only the ferocious persecutor Saul who became the Gospel-preaching, soul-seeking Paul is an example (I Tim. 1:13), but the entire history of Christian missions abounds with such examples" (L. A. Heerboth, booklet, The Millennium and the Bible, p. 12).

When Ezekiel says that Israel is to be restored to her land forever (37:24-28), he indicates clearly that those words are not to be taken literally. He says: "And my servant David shall be king over them . . . David my servant shall be their prince for ever" (vss. 24,25). Jeremiah likewise says that David is to be their king (30:9). If we take that literally, then David must be raised from the dead to be the millennial king in Palestine,— David, and not Christ. The literalists say that David is here used as a symbol for Christ. But that is not what the Bible says. To take David as a symbol for Christ would be to "spiritualize" the prophecy away. If the other parts of the prophecy are literal this must be too.

To take these descriptions literally is to miss their real beauty and their great spiritual import. The literalistic premillennial interpretation of many Old Testament passages is, as Rutgers points out, "even beneath the level of certain passages in the Old Testament itself, which transcend the particular, local color and open up the higher spiritual, ethical and universal. These carnal, materialistic notions," he very appropriately adds, "are (but) the 'swaddling clothes' of Judaism" (Premillennialism in America, p. 255).

We have indicated earlier that one of the errors of Premillennialism is that it fails to understand that the Church is New

Testament Israel It persists in thinking of "Israel" as composed only of the physical descendants of Abraham. Dispensationalism carries this principle to an almost unprecedented extreme, and insists that in all cases Israel must mean fleshly Israel, or the Jews, that it can never mean the Church, and that the kingdom prophecies of the Old Testament must be fulfilled to the Jews literally. And since some of these were not fulfilled before the nation of Israel passed out of existence, they tell us that Israel must be re-established in Palestine and these fulfilled in a future age.

But the fact of the matter is that the spiritual relationship is more important than, and takes precedence over, the physical. Paul stated that quite clearly when he said: "Know therefore that they that are of faith, the same are sons of Abraham"; and again, "If ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise" (Gal. 3:7,29). And Christ himself placed the spiritual above the physical when he said, "Whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother" (Matt. 12:50). The Epistle to the Hebrews is one sustained argument that the old forms and ceremonies and relationships have passed away forever, and that all nations and races now stand as equals before God.

The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews has much to say about the endless repetition and the futility of the ancient sacrifices. He shows that their only value was to symbolize and point forward to the one true sacrifice that was to be made by Christ. "We have been sanctified," he said, "through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest indeed standeth day by day ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices which can never take away sins; but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sin for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; henceforth expecting till his enemies be made the footstool of his feet. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Heb. 10:10-14).

Rev. Harold Dekker, one of the speakers on The Back to God Hour radio program, says concerning the futility of the animal sacrifices and the finality of Christ's sacrifice as set forth in this passage:

"Continually, day by day, year after year, God's people made their sacrifices according to the Old Testament law. The writer calls to mind the mountains of herbs and grain and meal offerings which had been brought before the Lord, the rivers of blood which had flowed from millions of sheep and goats and droves of cattle. And then he raises the question, Why the constant repetition? Why the endless pilgrimages to Jerusalem? Why the interminable fires upon Israel's altars? Why the shedding of blood? The reason, says the inspired writer, is that none of these brought lasting relief to troubled consciences. So on and on went the sacrifices/' But of Christ's sacrifice on Calvary he says: "He was surely the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. Let the blood now dry on the horns of the altar. Let the ovens that bake meal offerings now be cooled. Let the sacrificial animals go back to pasture. Final atonement is accomplished! Let all men everywhere now look to the one sacrifice of Christ finished on the cross!"

In its doctrine of an earthly Kingdom with a restored temple, priesthood and sacrificial system, Premillennialism is a recrudescence of Judaism. Snowden has set this forth quite convincingly, and we quote him at length:

"It is one of the plainest universal teachings of the New Testament that the sacrifices of the Mosaic economy were fulfilled in Christ and were then done away as vanishing shadows that prefigured the substance, or as morning stars that heralded the rising of the sun and were then lost in its light." Paul's warnings against a return to these are cited: "How turn ye back to the weak and beggarly rudiments, wherewith ye desire to be in bondage over again? Ye observe days, and months, and seasons, and years"; "For freedom did Christ set us free: stand fast, therefore, and be not entangled again in a yoke of bondage" (Gal. 4:9,10; 5:1). "The Epistle to the Hebrews," says Snowden, "is one long and conclusive argument that the old ordinances are fulfilled and done away in Christ, 'who needeth not daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people; for this he did once for all, when he offered up himself (7:27).

"Who would ever have expected that in the face of all this teaching and of these earnest efforts to rid the Christian Church

of these old ordinances that had served their day as the withered and empty husk has served the corn, there would arise among believers in later times a school of interpreters who would teach that the whole Mosaic system, with its temple and central seat of worship and its seasons and feasts and sacrifices, its passover and its unleavened bread, its daily peace offerings and bloody burnt-offerings and sin offerings, its altar streaming with blood and its smoke and incense, was to be restored in Jerusalem after the second coming of Christ? Who would have believed this incredible thing? And yet this very thing has come to pass and now is . . .

'This doctrine is first rooted in the logic of the system. It is a cardinal principle of Premillennialism that the prophecies of the Messianic kingdom in the Old Testament apply, not to the first but to the second coming of Christ and to the millennial kingdom He will inaugurate. It is a further principle of this system that these prophecies must be interpreted in a literal sense in accordance with its teaching that the Bible means what it says, and to abandon this mode of interpretation in its application to these prophecies would be to concede the principle of figurative interpretation and this again would wreck the system.

"Premillennialism is therefore required by its own logic to take the prophecy of Ezekiel, chapters 40-48, in which an idealized vision of the temple is set forth, including the passover and all the bloody offerings which are expressly commanded (45:21-25), and transfer it bodily and literally to the millennial kingdom in Jerusalem after the second coming of Christ. And this system must do the same thing with all similar prophecies. Isaiah declares: 'And they shall bring all your children out of all the nations for an oblation unto Jehovah, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith Jehovah, as the children of Israel bring their oblation in a clean vessel into the house of Jehovah. [Here we notice that the means of conveyance have long since been outmoded and belong to a distant age. Surely they would not be appropriate for the very advanced and prosperous kingdom that Premillennialists expect in the millennium]. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me,

saith Jehovah' (66:20,23). Zechariah prophesies: 'And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations that came up against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the king, and to keep the feast of tabernacles' (14:16); 'and all they that sacrifice shall come.'

"The inescapable logic of Premillennialism requires that all these and similar prophecies be literally fulfilled in Jerusalem. This is 'judaizing Christianity' with a vengeance. And this is revolting; and some premillennialists do revolt at it. David Brown quotes Increase Mather, a premillenarian, as saying, 'And a most loathsome work they do perform, both to God and man, that dig up the ceremonies out of that grave where Jesus Christ buried them above sixteen hundred years ago'" (The Coming of the Lord, pp. 206-209).

Let there be no doubt but that Dispensationalism does teach the re-establishment of Judaism following the Church age. Lewis Sperry Chafer, late President of Dallas Theological Seminary, says that after the Church age has run its course there is to be "the regathering of Israel and the restoration of Judaism" (Dispensationalism, p. 46). And Merrill F. Unger, also of Dallas Theological Seminary, says: "At the second advent Christ will restore the Judaistic system with far greater glory and spirituality than it ever had in the Old Testament period until its complete dissipation with the destructon of Herod's temple in 70 A. D. The heart and center of re-established Judaism will be the millennial temple, in connection with which Judaism will enjoy its final state of development" (Bibliotheca Sacra, Jan.-March, 1950).

Only to a literalist does the re-establishment of the sacrificial system and temple ritual seem sensible. To a Post- or Amillen-nialist it is too materialistic. Premillennial logic, however, does not permit these sacrifices to be "spiritualized." To do so would remove a cornerstone from the system, and, if consistently carried out would lead straight to conclusions that they are most anxious to avoid.

Some Premillennialists say that the sacrifices to be offered in the Millennium will only be "memorials" of the work that Christ accomplished on the cross. Scofield gives this explanation when he says: "Doubtless these offerings will be memorial, looking back to the cross, as the offerings under the old covenant

were anticipatory, looking forward to the cross" (p. 890). This explanation is also given by G. Campbell Morgan in his book, God's Methods with Man (p. 118). But that explanation contradicts the premillennial principle of literal interpretation of prophecy and cannot be allowed. Ezekiel says plainly that "the priests," "the sons of Zadok," shall again serve, that they shall be given "a young bullock for a sin-offering." He says further: "And thou shalt take the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it [the altar], and on the four corners of the ledge, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse it and make atonement for it" (40:46; 43:19,20). Those who are so insistent that "the Bible means what it says" cannot be allowed to "spiritualize and allegorize" statements such as these when found in sections which they themselves say describe the restoration of the Jews in Palestine during the millennial era. Ezekiel chapters 40-48 is at least twenty times more extensive and detailed than is Revelation 20:1-10, which Premillennialists say must be taken literally. So those who insist on literal interpretation find here a program for the restoration of the Levitical ritual and priesthood, despite the fact that Galatians and Hebrews each makes it plain that the temple, the human priesthood and the ritual have been abolished forever.

In any event, the re-institution of a sacrificial system could not do other than dishonor the sacrifice that Christ made on Calvary, which the Scripture represents as a "once for all" sacrifice (Heb. 7:27). The New Testament has absolutely nothing to say about such memorial sacrifices, nor anything about rebuilding the temple. Furthermore, all memorials are unnecessary when the one to be memorialized is present in person, as Christ will be after His Second Coming. We may also add that one feature of Roman Catholicism that we find particularly offensive is its doctrine that in the Mass the sacrifice of Christ is repeated, that the bread and wine actually are changed into His flesh and blood —"the unbloody repetition of the Mass," as it is called.

"The thought is abhorrent that after Christ comes, the memory of His atoning work will be kept alive in the hearts of believers by a return to the animal sacrifices of the Mosaic law,

the performance of which is so emphatically condemned in passages which speak with unmistakable plainness on this very subject. Here is unquestionably the Achilles' heel of the Dis-pensational system of interpretation. Its literalistic and Old Testament emphasis leads almost inevitably, if not inevitably, to a doctrine of the millennium which makes it definitely Jewish and represents a turning back from the glory of the gospel to those typical rites and ceremonies which prepared the way for it, and having served that necessary purpose have lost for ever their validity and propriety" (Prophecy and the Church, p. 248).

Snowden's conclusion regarding this phase of Premillen-nialism is also worth quoting. He says:

"Enough and more than enough has been said to prove that Premillennialism is a recrudescence of Judaism. It is Judaistic in its method of establishing the kingdom, and above all, in its restoration of the sacrifices after the second coming of Christ. This is indeed renouncing the logic of Paul and 'turning back to the weak and beggarly rudiments' and putting our necks again under the Mosaic yoke of 'bondage.' This is turning the clock of religious development back two or three thousand years. It is putting the altar back in Jerusalem and going back to 'the blood of bulls and goats/ If any premillenarians pause at this or say that they do not hold it, we must repeat that we are not dealing with individuals but with the logic and literature of the system, and there can be no doubt whither the logic leads and what the representative writers teach.

"Truly old forms of religions die hard. Judaism has strange tenacity and still clings to the Christan Church . . . Judaism is a withered husk; the corn has gone out of it. Jerusalem is a splendid memory. The eagle, once it gets out, can never be crowded back into its shell. Christianity has taken its flight from Mount Zion and never will it officially be back there. Jesus Himself swept the kingdom off that mountain-top as its central seat and released it to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations that men everywhere may worship the Father in Spirit and in truth . . .

"Paul with one stroke of his pen 'spiritualized' the whole Old Testament economy when he wrote, 'And if ye are Christ's then

are ye Abraham's seed, heirs according to promise' (Gal. 3:29). Peter also 'spiritualized' the Old Testament and buried the Jewish eschatology when he wrote. 'Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ' (I Peter 2:5). This is the way the New Testament throughout spiritualizes the Old. This is 'the glorious liberty of the children of God' (Rom. 8:21); and when we read these premillenarian interpretations and arguments we hear Paul's earnest and eloquent voice ringing across all these centuries and bidding us, 'stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ made you free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage' (Gal. 5:1)" (The Coming of the Lord, pp. 217-219).

It is admittedly difficult in many instances to determine whether statements in Scripture should be taken literally or figuratively. As regards prophecy, that often cannot be determined until after the fulfillment. Most of the Bible, however, particularly the historical and the more didactic portions, clearly is to be understood literally, although some figurative expressions are found in these. But that many other portions must be understood figuratively is also clearly evident. Even the Premillennial-ists must take many expressions figuratively or they become nonsense. Since the Bible gives no hard and fast rule for determining what is literal and what is figurative we must study the nature of the material, the historical setting and style and purpose of the writer, and then fall back on what for lack of a better name we may call "sanctified common sense." Naturally the conclusions will vary somewhat from individual to individual, for we do not all think alike nor see alike.

It should hardly be necessary to point out that true Post-millennialism is supernaturalistic through and through. Pre- and Amillennialists sometimes represent this system as though it taught the conversion of the world through merely humanistic and evolutionary processes. Present day Modernism does set forth a program of world betterment by natural rather than supernatural means, and opponents sometimes represent that as Postmillen-nialism. But by no stretch of the imagination does such a system have any moral right to be called Postmillennialism. That is not the sense in which the term has been used historically, yet com-

ments of that kind have given rise to much unjust criticism. Representative postmillennial theologians, such as Augustine, Brown, Hodge, Dabney and Warfield, have been consistent supernaturalists and have believed in a fully inspired and authoritative Bible and in the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit as the only means by which an individual can be brought to salvation.

On the other hand the distinguishing feature of present day Modernism by which it is to be identified wherever it shows itself is its more or less consistent denial of the supernatural, i.e., denial of the plenary inspiration of the Scriptures, the Trinity, the Deity of Christ, blood atonement, miracles, final judgment, heaven and hell. It is concerned primarily with this life, and it proposes to reform the world through education, social and economic progress, improved health programs, better relations between capital and labor, etc. Those things are good as far as they go and, wherever possible, should be encouraged. But they are only the by-products of true Christianity.

The fact that different views concerning the Second Coming of Christ and the Millennium have been held and are held should not discourage anyone from making an earnest search for the truth. This situation in the field of Theology is no different from that in the field of Medicine, in which eminent doctors hold differing views as to how certain diseases should be treated or how the human body should be cared for. We have, for instance, medical doctors, chiropractors, osteopaths, surgeons, dietetic specialists, physical exercise enthusiasts, etc. But that does not prevent us from believing in health nor from seeking the best methods to preserve health; nor does it save us from suffering the consequences if we choose wrongly. Nor is the situation in the realm of politics and statesmanship any different. We have various political parties, Republican, Democrat, Socialist, Labor, Communist, etc., each advocating different principles as to how the nation should be governed, and particularly at election time we hear very conflicting opinions. There are various theories of education and of church government. In each of these spheres it is our duty to search diligently for the truth and so far as possible to separate truth from error. Our beliefs concerning the manner and time of the Second Coming of Christ will not change

that event by one iota, but what we believe concerning those matters will very definitely affect our lives and conduct while we are waiting for that event.

It is to be regretted that these differences of opinion even among those who accept the Bible as the inspired and authoritative word of God cannot always be dealt with by unprejudiced exegesis and friendly discussion rather than made the basis for quarrels or tests of orthodoxy. As a general rule Premillennialists, basing their views on a more literal interpretation of Scripture, have a tendency to feel that those who do not accept their system hold a lower view of Scripture and that they are not consistently Christian. One might easily receive the impression from reading premillennial literature that only they believe fully in the Lord's return. It has even reached such a state in some dispensational circles that if one questions the personal reign of Christ in an earthly kingdom he is met with a question such as, "Then you do not believe that Christ is to return?" An examination of Bible institute catalogues reveals that most of them restrict faculty members to the premillennial view. Some are reluctant to graduate a student, or at least will give him a lower grade, if he does not accept that view. Prophetic conference literature presents a one-sided futurism and encourages the inference that opposing views are not evangelical. Some make a hobby of Premillennialism, finding it with remarkable ingenuity in almost every prophecy and vision and promise from Genesis to Revelation, and giving it undue prominence in their preaching—Gray places the number of New Testament references to the coming of Christ at a minimum of 300, and Morgan says that on an average one verse in each 25 in the New Testament refers to it. The differences between Post-, A-, and Premillennialists, which should be treated as comparative non-essentials, actually divide the churches and becomes a serious impediment to Christian fellowship. Unquestionably the vagaries of dispensational extremists, not merely in such sects as Jehovah's Witnesses, Millennial Dawnists, and some Pentecostal and Holiness groups, but also in the conventional evangelical churches, have divided Christians into antagonistic groups and have done much harm to the cause of Christianity.

In discussing these problems, then, two important facts should be kept in mind: (1) Evangelical Post-, A-, and Premillennialists

agree that the Bible is the word of God, fully inspired and authoritative. They differ not in regard to the nature of Scripture authority, but in regard to what they understand Scripture to teach. And, (2) the three system agree that there was a First Advent, and that there will be a Second Advent, which will be personal, visible, glorious, and as objective as was the Ascension from the Mount of Olives.

It should be added that while the Church has debated and reached conclusions and has embodied these conclusions in her creeds as regards all of the other great doctrines of the faith, the subject of Eschatology still remains in dispute as to the manner of Christ's return and the kind of kingdom that He is setting up or will set up in this world. For this reason the Church in practically all of her branches has refused to make any one of the millennial interpretations an article of the creed, and has preferred rather to accept as Christian brethren all those who believe in the fact of Christ's Coming. Hence, while personally we may have very definite views concerning the manner and time of His coming, it would seem that our motto should be: "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity."

Also in connection with the subject of interpretation something should be said about the basic nature of prophecy. Pre-millennialists regard prophecy as history written beforehand. We prefer to say, however, that the primary purpose of prophecy is to inspire faith in those who see its fulfillment, and only secondarily to inform us of what is going to happen in the future. At the time of fulfillment the observer looks back to the author of the prophecy and is led to acknowledge that he could have spoken only by inspiration, and that his message therefore is authoritative and trustworthy. Prophecy thus comes under the general category of miracle, and its primary purpose is to accredit a message or a messenger. This was the purpose set forth when Jesus said: "I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe" (John 14:29); and again, "From henceforth I tell you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he" (John 13:19). Here the primary purpose of prophecy, like that of a miracle in the

As proof that this is the correct principle we find that most of the Old Testament prophecies concerning the First Coming of Christ were so vague and enigmatic that they could not possibly have been understood until after their fulfillment. While some were in language that was easy to understand, such as that He would be born in Bethlehem, that He would be born of a virgin, and that He would heal the sick and afflicted, the meaning of the more important ones relating to the nature of His work of redemption and to the nature of the Kingdom that He was to establish could not be understood until after their accomplishment. As examples of the latter we may cite: the protevangelium, given in Genesis 3:16, "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel"; the extensive prophecy concerning the suffering of Messiah as found in Isaiah 53; various prophecies concerning the nature of the Kingdom that was to be established, as found in Isaiah, chapters 2, 11, 66; the nature of the work of atonement as prefigured in the priesthood, ritual and sacrifices; and the promise made to David that the throne of his kingdom was to be established for ever, involving, as we see in the light of the New Testament, a long line of merely human kings and then a transition to the Messiah who is the true King of Israel. The manner in which the events connected with the crucifixion of Christ as predicted in the Old Testament would be fulfilled could not have been understood until their fulfillment, e.g., that His hands and feet would be pierced (Ps. 22:16); that the soldiers would part His garments among them and cast lots for His robe (Ps. 22:18; John 19:24); that not a bone of His body would be broken (Ex. 12:46; John 19:36); His resurrection (Ps. 16:10; Acts 2:27); and even the death and burial of His betrayer, Judas Iscariot (Ps. 69:25; 109:8; Acts 1:19,20). It was clearly impossible for any Old Testament Jew to draw from these prophecies a plan of the life of the coming Messiah.

The promise given to Abraham that his seed should be very numerous and that through his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed, finds its primary fulfillment, not in the totality of his physical descendants as at first sight would seem to have been indicated, nor even in the descendants through Jacob who

stood in a special relationship to God, but in those who are his spiritual descendants (Gal. 3:7,29); and the seed through which all the nations of the earth were to be blessed was not his descendants in general, but one individual, which is Christ: "Now to Abraham were the promises spoken, and to his seed. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ" (Gal. 3:16). Who could have understood that before it was fulfilled?

"The enigmatic form of prophecy precludes the possibility of the merely human actors in the fulfillment being aware that they are participating in the predicted event. It permits the prescience and power of God to appear, while in no way encroaching on the free agency of man. The advent of Christ, His character, ministry, sufferings, death, and enthronement in glory, are all predicted in the Hebrew prophets in such a manner that no one living prior to their fulfillment was able to read their meaning clearly; and yet the diligent reader today who studies the ancient records in the light of the fulfillment cannot fail to see that he has before his eyes clear testimony to the importance and the supernatural origin of the records in which the predictions appear. The disciples of Jesus probably knew well enough what the prophets had spoken; but their familiarity with the written word did not of itself enable them to see the nature or character of the kingdom over which Messiah would reign. Not until they were compelled by contemporary events did they lay aside their racial preconceptions and recognize the glorious vision of all nations of men united in one universal brotherhood under the risen and glorified Christ" (Israel and the New Covenant, p. 170).

It should be further evident that as the Old Testament prophets used figures of speech with which their people were familiar, that is, language borrowed from the vocabulary of the old economy, such as the land, the temple, the sacrifices, etc., to describe the glories of the Messianic era, so no doubt the New Testament uses terms with which we are familiar to describe the future state which we as yet are able to grasp only faintly. We are told enough to make it clear that great and glorious events

lie ahead; but the manner in which those events are to be accomplished, and the details concerning the future course of the Kingdom both on earth and in heaven are left largely unexplained. In all probability the reahties of the future state will be as different from our ideas concerning them as the realities of the present era have proved to be different from the ideas of the Old Testament Jews.

We must keep in mind that it was the mechanical, literalistic method of interpreting prophecy that led the Jews at the time of Christ to expect a Messiah who would conquer their enemies and set up an earthly political kingdom in Jerusalem. Fastening their eyes on the very letter of Scripture, they became tragically blind to its real meaning and spirit, with the result that when Christ "came unto his own," "they that were his own received him not" (John 1:11), but rejected and crucified Him. This same literalistic principle can also have tragic results in our day, in that it arouses hopes that are false and disappointing. This is particularly true in regard to the view that the Jews still are to be looked upon as God's favored people, that Palestine belongs to them as a matter of Divine right, and that prophecy foretells a glorious kingdom for them in Palestine. It is productive of even more serious results in the Church when it is employed to teach that Christ is to set up a one thousand year political kingdom in this world, and so to divert attention from the real purpose of the Church, which is to evangelize the world during this present age. Nearly a century ago Dr. Charles Hodge warned against the unnatural insistence of Premillennialists on literalism as an ignis fatuus, as he called it, a false or misleading fire which "leads those who follow it, they know not whither." That method proved disastrous for the Jews who tried to predict the details of Christ's First Coming. Most likely it will not work any better for those who attempt to set forth in detail the order of events for His Second Coming.

As a matter of fact no Premillennialist can carry out the principle of literal interpretation consistently. No one has yet devised a sure method for distinguishing between the figurative and the literal. Many statements in Scripture clearly are figurative, and the Premillennialist must spiritualize them no matter how critical he may be of Post- or Amillennialism. No one can

take literally the statement that the saints in Paradise have "washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev. 7:14); or that the victorious saint is to be made a "pillar" in the temple of God (Rev. 3:12); or that the Devil, who is a spirit, can be bound with a chain and shut up in a deep pit for a thousand years (Rev. 20:2,3). We do not take literally Christ's words, "This is my body," and "This is my blood," although these two sentences are composed of very plain, short, simple words. Roman Catholics do take those words literally, and get their doctrines of Transubstantiation and the Mass. It is inconsistent for Premillennialists to pick and choose in deciding what statements they will take literally and what ones they will take figuratively while at the same time criticizing Post-and Amillennialists for accepting figurative or symbolical interpretations when those seem preferable. If figurative or symbolical interpretation is wrong in principle it should not be resorted to at all. Otherwise Premillennialists do previsely what they accuse Post-and Amillennialists of doing,—take Scripture literally where that seems preferable, and spiritualize where that seems preferable. Another principle of interpretation is that when a prophecy or promise has been fulfilled once, there is no valid reason why it must be fulfilled again, or repeatedly. A present day condition involving this principle relates to the State of Israel. Some tell us that since Palestine and the surrounding lands were promised to Abraham and to the Children of Israel, and that since those lands never were fully occupied, or because they later were lost, they now rightfully belong to the Israelis. But in Joshua 21:43,45, we read: "So Jehovah gave unto Israel all the land, which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. . . . There failed not aught of any good thing which Jehovah had spoken unto the house of Israel: all came to pass." In I Kings 4:21 we read: "And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought tribute, and served Solomon all the days of his life." And II Chr. 9:26 tells us: "And he (Solomon) ruled over all the kings from the River unto the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt." Hence we conclude that those promises have been amply fulfilled, and that they do not apply to the present day State of Israel.

"Amillennialism is that view of the Last Things which holds that the Bible does not predict a 'Millennium' or period of world-wide peace and righteousness on this earth before the end of the world."

The author of this definition, Dr. J. G. Vos, has observed further by way of explanation that,

"Amillennialism teaches that there will be a parallel and contemporaneous development of good and evil—God's kingdom and Satan's kingdom—in this world, which will continue until the second coming of Christ. At the second coming of Christ the resurrection and judgment will take place, followed by the eternal order of things—the absolute, perfect Kingdom of God, in which there will be no sin, suffering nor death" (Blue Banner Faith and Life, Jan.-March, 1951).

Amillennialists see no Scriptural evidence for a Millennium on either post- or premillennial principles. Some Amillennialists understand the term to relate to the entire Christian era or Church age, that is, to the period between the first and second advent of Christ. Others understand it to relate to a particular part of this period. Still others, more consistently it seems to us, apply it to the intermediate state. The term is thus used sometimes in a broad, sometimes in a narrow, sense. In the broad sense it denies that the thousand years means that during the Church age there is to be either a period of righteousness and peace as set forth by Postmillennialism, or a personal reign of Christ on earth with the saints as set forth by Premillennialism. In the narrow sense it holds that the thousand years has reference not to anything that happens on earth, but to the reign of the saints with Christ in the intermediate state.

"Some premillennialists have spoken of Amillennialism as a new view and as one of the most recent novelties, but this is certainly not in accord with the testimony of history. The name is new indeed, but the view to which it is applied is as old as Christianity. It had at least as many advocates as Chiliasm among the Church Fathers of the second and third centuries, supposed to have been the heyday of Chiliasm. It has ever since been the view most widely accepted, is the only view that is either expressed or implied in the great historical Confessions of the Church, and has always been the prevalent view in Reformed circles" (Systematic Theology, p. 708).

While not necessarily agreeing that Amillennialism is the only view expressed or implied in the Confessions, nor that it has always been the prevalent view in Reformed circles, Post-millennialism having been at least for a considerable time the prevailing view in American Reformed theology, we believe this analysis is essentially correct. Similarly, Dr. John F. Walvoord, a Premillennialist and editor of the magazine Bibliotheca Sacra, acknowledges that,

"Reformed eschatology has been predominantly amillennial. Most if not all of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation were amillennial in their eschatology, following the teachings of Augustine" (Issue of Jan.-March, 1951).

In regard to Augustine the fact of the matter is that in his teaching there are elements of both Post- and Amillennialism. He is, therefore, claimed by both schools. Dr. Allis has brought this out clearly, and in the following comments has given quite a full and accurate outline of the Augustinian eschatology. Says he:

"The view which has been most widely held by opponents of Millenarianism is associated with the name of Augustine. He taught that the millennium is to be interpreted spiritually as fulfilled in the Christian Church. He held that the binding of Satan took place during the earthly ministry of our Lord (Luke 10:18), that the first resurrection is the new birth of the believer (John 5:25), and that the millennium must correspond therefore to the inter-adventual period or Church age. This involved the interpretation of Revelation 20:1-6 as a 'recapitulation' of the preceding chapters instead of as describing a new age following chronologically on the events set forth in chapter 19. Living in

the first half of the first millennium of the Church's history, Augustine naturally took the 1000 years of Revelation 20 literally; and he expected the second advent to take place at the end of that period. But since he somewhat inconsistently identified the millennium with what then remained of the sixth chiliad of human history, he believed that this period might end about A. D. 650 with a great outburst of evil, the revolt of Gog, which would be followed by the coming of Christ in judgment . . .

"It is to be noted that all forms of the Augustinian view, by which we mean, all views which discover the millennium in the inter-adventual period or in some part of it, whether that part be past, present, or future, may properly be called both amillennial and postmillennial. They are amillennial in the sense that they all deny that after the present dispensation has been terminated by the resurrection and rapture of the saints, there is to be a reign of Christ on earth with the saints for 1000 years before the last judgment. But since they identify the millennium with the whole, or with some part, of the present gospel age, they may also be called postmillennial. In this sense Augustine was a postmillennnialist. But while this is true, the word 'postmillennial' has come to be so identified with the name of Whitby that as used by very many writers on the subject it applies exclusively to that view which regards the millennium as a golden age of the Church which is wholly future, perhaps still remote, and which is to precede the second advent" (Prophecy and the Church, pp. 3, 4).

We have said that in the narrow sense of the term Amillennialism holds that the thousand years has reference to the intermediate state. This view was set forth most clearly by a German theologian Kliefoth (1874). He held that Revelation 20 follows chronologically after Revelation 19. But, not finding what he believed to be Scriptural support for a Millennium on earth, he concluded that the reign of the saints with Christ could only relate to the intermediate state. Since the term has been used in two senses, some confusion was bound to arise. But at any rate we have seen that it is in reality an ancient system. It evidently is in the narrow sense that some Premillennialists have understood it, e.g., Chafer and Gaebelein, who have referred to it rather contemptuously as a new and novel system.

theologians, Drs. Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, and others. On the continent of Europe even to the present day it can justly be called the "Standard Reformed and Lutheran theology." On the other hand the outstanding American theologians of the later nineteenth and early twentieth century have been Postmillenaialists. In comparatively recent years, particularly since 1930, a considerable number of American theologians have produced scholarly books setting forth the amillennial position, as has been indicated earlier in this study. Practically all of these books, however, have been concerned primarily with the refutation of Premillennialism, and have given comparatively little space to the development of the amillennial position. During this same period, particularly since the appearance of the Scofield Reference Bible there has been an almost endless flow of premillennial and dispensational books and articles far surpassing in volume either the post- or amillennial writings.

At the present time Amillennialism is the official view of the conservative Missouri Synod Lutheran Church, which has a membership of more than 2,000,000 and sponsors a world-wide "Lutheran Hour" radio program. It is also the view of the equally conservative Christian Reformed Church, likewise sponsoring an extensive radio program known as the "Back To God Hour," and by the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

Perhaps the best way to set forth the doctrinal position of Amillennialism is to let its leading advocates speak for themselves. This we shall do in considerable detail. Probably the most representative spokesman in the United States is Dr. Louis Berkhof, for 38 years a professor in Calvin Seminary and author of a very excellent Systematic Theology (1941). He says:

"There are very large numbers who do not believe that the Bible warrants the expectation of a millennium, and it has become customary of late to speak of them as Amillennialists. The Amillennial view is, as the name indicates, purely negative. It holds that there is no sufficient ground for the expectation of a millennium, and is firmly convinced that the Bible favors the idea that the present dispensation of the Kingdom of God will be followed immediately by the Kingdom of God in its consummate and eternal form. It is mindful of the fact that the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is represented as an eternal and not as a temporal kingdom (Is. 9:7; Dan. 7:14; Luke 1:33; Heb. 1:8; 12:28; II Peter 1:11; Rev. 11:15); and that to enter the Kingdom of the future is to enter upon one's eternal state (Matt. 7:21,22), to enter life (Matt. 18:8,9), and to be saved (Mark 10:25,26)" (p. 708).

Here we notice particularly his statements that the amillennial view is "purely negative," that any idea of a millennium on either post- or premillennial grounds is ruled out as without Scripture support, that one phase of the Kingdom is acknowledged as being in existence during the present dispensation, and that the present dispensation is to be followed immediately by the Kingdom in its consummate and eternal form.

"The name itself is unfortunate in that it would seem to indicate that its advocates do not believe in the thousand year period of Revelation 20. The name literally means 'no millennium/ while as a matter of fact its advocates believe that the millennium is a spiritual or heavenly millennium, rather than an earthly one of a literal reign of Christ on earth before the final judgment. From one point of view it might be called a variety of postmillennialism, since it believes that the spiritual or heavenly millennium precedes the Second Coming of Christ. The only mention in the Bible of a kingdom of Christ limited to a 1000 years is in the 20th chapter of the Revelation where it is said that the 'souls' are seen reigning with Christ during the 1000 years. The amillennialist interprets this as indicating the spiritual reign with Christ of the disembodied spirits in heaven, during the 1000 years. A thousand, the number of perfection or completion, is held to be the symbolic reference to the perfect period, or the complete period between the two comings of Christ (italics ours).

"The picture of eschatological events, without any discussion at present of supporting Scripture passages, is as follows. Like the premillennialist we view the world as a mixture of good and evil up to the time of the Rapture. We have no hope or expectation that the whole world will grow better until it is all converted to Christianity. We expect that wars will continue right up to the time of the end when Christ comes to set things right. We expect the elect to be gathered out of an evil world, though we believe that the command of Christ to preach the gospel to the whole world must be obeyed, and that it is our duty to endeavor to establish a Christian society so far as it is in our power to do so, but while we have the obligation to do this, we by no means expect that the whole of society will be Christianized. In fact, we expect the forces of evil to grow more and more violent in their opposition to Christianity and Christians. This in no way excuses us from the attempt to propagate the Christian principles as well as the gospel in the world.

"At the close of the present age we expect the forces of evil to head up in a powerful combination of political, economic and

religious power led by the Antichrist. At the close of the reign of the Antichrist or Man of Sin, he institutes a terrible persecution against the Christian Church (not against the Jews as some premillennialists assert). In this terrible tribulation vast numbers of Christians are killed, but at the climax, when the hosts of Satan seem to be on the point of complete victory, during the battle of Armageddon, Christ appears in the Shekinah glory, the resurrection of all men takes place, and the transfigured bodies of the dead and living saints are caught up to welcome their Saviour. Then, as a terrible out-pouring of the wrath of God occurs, smiting the unbelieving nations of the world into destruction, the Jewish people look 'on Him whom they pierced/ repent and believe instantly in their Messiah . . . They too are transfigured with the living Church of Christ, and join in the rapture of the united body of the elect church of Christ of all ages. This completes the number of the elect, and from that point onward there is no more salvation for men . . . After the Judgment, the eternal kingdom of God is established in the new heavens and on the new earth ... It will continue through all eternity" (pp. 35-37).

Dr. Robert Strong, a minister in the Southern Presbyterian Church, in a series of articles on Amillennialism, says:

"The amillennialist sees no ground in Scripture for holding to a millennium of righteousness before the Lord's coming, and he sees the possibility of such a millennium after the second advent expressly excluded in the New Testament teaching. Amillennialism agrees with premillennialism that the Scriptures do not promise the conversion of the world through the preaching of the gospel. It agrees with postmillennialism that the coming of Christ ushers in the last judgment and the eternal state. Briefly outlined, the amillennial view is that, preceding the coming of Christ, there will be a widespread apostasy from the true faith, climaxed by the manifestations of the personal antichrist. Thus the final great rebellion against Christ will be overthrown at the personal appearing of the Son of God, who will come from heaven to take unto Himself His own people and to demolish the forces of Antichrist. The wicked dead will be raised to judgment. The earth and its works will be overwhelmed in fire and a new heavens and a new earth will appear in which only righteousness will dwell" (The Presbyterian Guardian, Jan. 10, 1942).

Dr. Rutgers holds that the Millennium includes both the present age and the intermediate state, and traces the origin of this view to Augustine. In the writings of Augustine, says Rutgers,

"The thousand years is conceived of symbolically, the saints of the church militant on earth and those who have departed are now reigning with Christ and in this sense we are now living in the midst of the millennium, the church-age is identified with the millennial age. (cp. Civitae Dei) . . . Augustine has moulded and directed theological thinking in general, has offered an interpretation of the kingdom of God, the church, the millennial imagery of the Apocalypse which held undisputed sway for more than a thousand years and even after all the enlightenment of modern times, with highly technicalized terminology and specialized study, maintains his hold. He was followed by all the great Latin Fathers, Leo the Great, Gregory the Great, Albertus Magnus, Thomas Acquinas, etc. Chiliasm was thus banished, rejected by the church, and arose centuries later only in schismatic and sectarian movements, where it periodically flourishes up to the present day. In its crude and unscriptural form it never was countenanced by the governing faith of the church" (Premillen-nialism In America, p. 71 (1930).

One of the clearest statements of the amillennial position is found in Dr. George L. Murray's Millennial Studies (1948). He believes that the binding of Satan was accomplished by Christ in His work of atonement at the time of His first advent, referred to in Matthew 12:29—"How can one enter into the house of the strong man, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? And then he will spoil his house." This binding is understood to have restricted Satan not in every way but only in regard to his work of deceiving the nations, so that he no longer is able to prevent the Gospel being proclaimed to them. Previous to that time only the Jews knew the way of salvation, and all other nations were held in heathen darkness. But since that time the Gospel has been carried to the entire world. Concerning Revelation 20:1-10 Dr. Murray says:

"We believe that God led the Seer of Patmos to present here a brief summary of the entire Gospel dispensation, from the first advent of Him who claimed to have come down from heaven, until the second advent, when the kingdom which He founded shall be established in all its glory" (p. 176).

"We believe that the figure of one thousand years presents a definite period of time, measured by and known to God Himself. It is the cycle of time extending from our Lord's first advent to the day of His return. It consists of the period during which the souls of the departed saints reign with Christ. That is what they are doing now. This heavenly reign of theirs is described as 'the first resurrection.' It is with regard to this phrase that many people have become confused, for they think that a resurrection must mean the raising of the body. To be sure, that is the sense in which we generally use the word, but the New Testament speaks very definitely and in many places of the raising of those who have been dead in trespasses and sins to a newness of life . . . When this regenerated soul leaves the body and goes to be with Christ, the spiritual resurrection has reached its culmination, for then the redeemed soul lives and reigns with Christ. This is the first resurrection . . . The so-called millennial reign of the saints and martyrs with Christ is a present reality. The figure of a thousand years represents the period during which they are to reign and live with Him, leading up to His return with them" (Pp. 184-186).

Dr. Albertus Pieters believed that the thousand years, understood symbolically, related to a comparatively tranquil period in church history, that this period began "at the point in history when paganism ceased to be a menace to the Christian Church." He adds that,

"If looked at from the standpoint of the Roman empire, this was at the accession of Constantine the Great. If the barbaric nations to the north are included in the view, it comes some centuries later, in the time of Charlemagne. The thousand years are taken to mean a period of great length ... At the end of the period there will be a revival of the conflict with paganism" (Studies In the Revelation of St. John, p. 305).

Kliefoth was one of the first to hold that the Millennium related not to an earthly state at all, but to the reign of the souls of the blessed dead with Christ in the intermediate state. This, as we have pointed out, is Amillennialism in the strictest sense of the word, for it conceives of the Millennium as something entirely apart from this world.

of Amillennialism is rather difficult to formulate. Different and to some extent conflicting views are set forth by those who call themselves by that name. The word literally means "no millennium." Some relate the Millennium to a part or all of the Church age. Others relate it to the reign of the saints with Christ in the intermediate state. Nearly all understand the term symbolically. As against Premillennialism they hold that there is to be no personal reign of Christ on earth with the saints. As against Postmillennialism they deny that the world is to be Christianized during this dispensation, although some have an element of Postmillennialism in their system in that they hold that Christ comes after the Millennium, symbolically understood. Most of the books written by Amillennialists have Premillennialism as their special targets, understandably so since Amillennialism rejects the 1000 year earthly kingdom set forth by Premillennialism and agrees with Postmillennialism that Christ's coming marks the end of earthly history. In all of these books the positive statement regarding Amillennialism is very brief. This, of course, is understandable if, as Dr. Berkhof says, the system is "purely negative." Only a few brief paragraphs are needed to show what a system is not.

The tenets of Amillennialism, like those of Premillennialism, allow its holders to maintain that the second coming of Christ is "imminent," since they see the Millennium either as the present church age or as the intermediate state which may come to an end at any time. Also, as with the Premillennialists, they usually are inclined to take a pessimistic view of the future of the Church, holding either that conditions will continue until the end much as they now are or that they will grow progressively worse. Dr. Murray, for instance, after a reference to the loosing of Satan for a little while toward the close of the Gospel age adds: "We wonder if we are not witnessing this in our own day." (1948). Millennial Studies, p. 186. Amillennialism agrees with Premillennialism in teaching that a personal Antichrist is to appear shortly before the return of Christ. Dr. Strong says of Christ at His coming that "He consumes Antichrist and his rebel followers in a fiery overthrow that engulfs also the world" (The Presbyterian Guardian, June 10, 1942).

Much of what we would say in refutation of Amillennialism has already been said in setting forth the postmillennial position and does not need to be repeated here. We must say, however, that we understand the Bible to teach very definitely that the world is to be converted to Christianity before Christ returns, and that the amillennial position, which makes no provision for a Christianized world, leaves a whole continent of prophecies unexplained, many of which then become quite meaningless. The kingdom prophecies of the Old Testament, as well as various statements in the Psalms and in the New Testament, often in highly figurative language, surely foretell a future golden age of some kind. We are bound to say that in this regard we agree with the Premillennialists, as against the Amillennialists, that there is to be a Millennium, that there is in fact yet something great in store for the human race before this world order ends. But since we believe that the premillennial notion of an earthly kingdom after the return of Christ is in error, we are convinced that these prophecies and promises must find fulfillment before that event. What shall we say, for instance, to the following?

Isaiah 2:2-4: "And it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of Jehovah's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many nations shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. And he will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."

Micah 4:1-5. Here the prophecy of Isaiah 2:2-4 is repeated in almost identical words, to which the prophet adds: "And they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of Jehovah of hosts hath spoken it. For all the peoples walk every one in the name of his god; and we will walk in the name of Jehovah our God for ever and ever."

Here, in figurative language and under Old Testament terminology of Mount Zion and the house of Jehovah,—which was the only terminology that the people to whom this prophecy was given would have been able to understand—was predicted the world-wide conquest and dominion of the Church, a Christianized people, dwelling securely, free from the devastations of war, and doing righteously. In other places in Scripture the mountain of Jehovah's house is spiritualized to mean the Church. See particularly Hebrews 12:22, where, speaking of the Church it is said: "But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem . . ." In Isaiah 2 we are taught that the Church is to be prominent, like a house on the top of a mountain, or like a mountain on a plain, and that its guidance will be sought willingly in all phases of human life— in the spiritual, social, economic and political realms. The statement that "all peoples shall flow unto it" must mean that people all over the world are to be Christian, and that they will seek to know God's will as it is made known to them through His Word. Their beating their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks, is clearly figurative language, a figure appropriate for the time in which this prophecy was given, but to be fulfilled in a far distant age in which the nations would not spend their energies and substance in destructive wars,—"Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." To "sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree" is again a figure appropriate to that day and age, a symbol of contented peaceful home life, pointing forward to a time of world-wide righteousness on which alone true peace can be based.

Isaiah 11:1-10: "And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of

wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah. And his delight shall be in the fear of Jehovah; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.

"And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall He down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fathng together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear 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 adder's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.

"And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting place shall be glorious."

In Isaiah 11:9 the statement that "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea," clearly foretells a time when righteousness shall be triumphant over all the earth. This fits perfectly into the postmillennial system. It does not fit into the amillennial system. Amillennialists take it to be a description of the final heavenly kingdom, and so place it after the resurrection and judgment. But there is no sufficient reason for assigning it to the heavenly kingdom except that it does not fit into their scheme of things for this world. Verses 1-5 are clearly a prediction of the coming Messiah. Verses 6-9 foretell the nature of the change that is to be wrought in Messiah's kingdom. Verse 10 is another Messianic prediction, declaring that the Messiah shall be "an ensign of the peoples," and that "unto him shall the nations seek." That clearly speaks of this world, not of the next. Isaiah 11:9 loses its force when taken in any other than a postmillennial sense. Similarly, swords and plowshares, and spears and pruning hooks, spoken of in Isaiah 2:4, cannot be thought of as having any place in heaven. This

is, of course, figurative language. It foretells an age of peace, contentment and safety right here on this earth.

Isaiah 42:1-4: "Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul dehghteth: I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry, nor lift up his voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street. A bruised reed will he not break, and a dimly burning wick will he not quench: he will bring forth justice in truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set justice in the earth; and the isles shall wait for his law."

Isaiah 65:17-25: "For, behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people; and there shall be heard in her no more the voice of weeping and the voice of crying. 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 a hundred years old, and the sinner being a 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 shall be the days of my people, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for calamity; for they are the seed of the blessed of Jehovah, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith Jehovah."

Jeremiah 31:31-34: "Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith Jehovah. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel

after those days, saith Jehovah: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Jehovah: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sins will I remember no more."

Joel 2:28: "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh."

Malachi 1:11: "And from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles."

These are very great and precious promises, and certainly they point forward to conditions that have not yet been enjoyed on this earth. They are in fact so far-reaching and expansive that they stagger the imagination. Some amillennialists, finding no place in their system for these conditions, attempt to carry them over into the eternal state. But references to the "nations" (Is. 2:2,4); judging the people with righteousness (Is. 11:4); people dying at the age of one hundred years (Is. 65:20); etc., point unmistakably to this world. Of necessity much Old Testament prophecy, designed for fulfillment in an age that had not yet dawned, had to be given in figurative language. Had our present day terminology been used it would have been unintelligible to the people of that day. The "shoot out of the stock of Jesse," and "the root of Jesse that standeth for an ensign of the peoples" (Is. 11:1-10), quite clearly refer to the coming Messiah. "The mountain of Jehovah's house," "exalted above the hills," or Mount Zion, from which "shall go forth the law, and the word of Jehovah" to the nations (Is. 2:2-4), is the New Testament Church which, divinely established and as the custodian of the Gospel, is the true successor to Old Testament Israel. Today it is carrying the Gospel to all the world, and is exerting a marvelously great influence for good wherever it goes. Compare again (Heb. 12:22,23), "But ye are come [present tense, not future] unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable host of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven . . ." The wolf dwelling with the lamb, the leopard

lying down with the kid, the young child putting its hand unhurt into the adder's den (Is. 11:6,8), evidently means that peoples and forces now hostile and antagonistic and at enmity with each other shall be converted and so changed by Christianity that they shall live and work together harmoniously in Messiah's kingdom. Messiah smiting the earth with the rod of His mouth, and slaying the wicked with the breath of His lips (Is. 11:4), is clearly parallel with Revelation 19:15,21, where the Rider of the white horse wins an overwhelming victory over all His enemies by means of the sword that proceeds out of His mouth, —which we elsewhere have interpreted to mean the conversion of the world to Christ through the preaching of the Gospel. And the words, "dust shall be the serpent's food," Is. 65:25, symbolizes the complete and ignominious defeat of Satan,—whose mouth would be mashed in the ground and filled with dust as his head was crushed under the heel of the Seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15); who was cast down to the earth (Rev. 12:9); all the enemies of Christ, and Satan foremost among them, are to be put under His feet (I Cor. 15:25); and, Paul writing to the Christians in Rome uses the same figure to describe either the victory of the Christian over sin or a particular triumph of the church in Rome over some evil persecuting force of that day when he says, "And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly" (Rom. 16:20). A similar statement is found in the Messianic 72nd Psalm, which describes Christ's conquest of the world: "And his enemies shall lick the dust," vs. 9.

The usual amillennial interpretation of Revelation 20:2 is that the "binding" of Satan took place at the first advent, and that it was accompUshed when Christ triumphed over him at the cross. In other words, the atonement is said to have been the effective means for the binding of Satan, and on that basis the Millennium is said to have begun with the first advent and to continue until the second. The Scripture cited to prove this is Matthew 12:29: "How can one enter into the house of the strong man, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house."

We believe, however, that while the satisfaction which Christ, acting as the sinner's substitute, made to Divine justice (which was the real substance of the atonement) was accomplished at that time, the binding of the Devil spoken of in Revelation 20:2 was not an event that was accomplished at any one particular time, but that it is a long, continuing action, now in process of accomplishment, and that while the Devil has been bound in some respects he has not yet been bound in others. The statement that he is to be bound and cast into the abyss so that he can no longer deceive the nations, teaches that this restraint is to be placed on him during the course of this present world, that is, during the Gospel age, while the nations still are in existence. It cannot relate to the intermediate state, as some say, nor to the eternal state, as others say, for in neither of those cases will the nations have any meaning. Furthermore, the angel who was to bind Satan was seen "coming down out of heaven," to the earth (Rev. 20:1). The Amillennialist cannot avail himself of the explanation given by the Premillennialist, that this restraint on Satan is to occur during the personal reign of Christ on earth, for he does not believe in such a reign. Nor is there much force in the usual amillennial explanation that since the first advent

of Christ the Devil is bound in the sense that he can no longer prevent the proclamation of the Gospel to the nations and so hold them captive as he did in pre-Christian times. That explanation is too narrow and limited. Had that been the effect of the binding of Satan, there should have been no further resistance to the spread of the Gospel after the crucifixion of Christ. Once the atonement was made, it should have been possible to have carried the good news to all the nations without restraint. But we find instead that the Devil's resistance has continued very vigorously, and that even today, nineteen centuries later, some nations still remain almost completely closed, and that many others have received only a very inadequate and superficial witness.

The amillennial interpretation that the binding of Satan took place at the first advent of Christ seems rather far-fetched and unconvincing. It is open to the objection that if that is the meaning of the "binding" of Satan, then the "loosing" spoken of in Revelation 20:3,7, which is the opposite of binding, must mean the reversing of the work of Christ, that is, the annulment of the atonement, or at least a time when it becomes ineffective. But that is impossible even for a little time. We prefer to take Matthew 12:29 as a simple statement of the superiority of Christ over the Devil, and the casting out of the demon recorded in this same context as a proof of the Deity of Christ. In fact, God was as able in Old Testament times as in New Testament times to set free from the bondage of sin those whom He pleased and as many as He pleased. An atonement was necessary in order that sinners might be saved, but its future accomplishment was so sure that salvation was possible even before it was accomplished. The knowledge of salvation was extended to the nation of Israel, and multitudes were saved. Had God so willed he could have extended it to all other nations as well. Jonah was sent to preach to the city of Nineveh, and provision was made for any Gentiles who wished to join with Israel. The Devil had no inherent rights over mankind to begin with, nor any power to tempt or afflict or hold human souls in bondage except as God gave him permission. He was already a fallen creature and under condemnation for sin. Calvin rightly says that the Devil "cannot attempt anything but by the Divine will."

Furthermore, the satisfaction that Christ rendered by His suffering and death was not in any sense made to the Devil, but was made to satisfy Divine justice. The Devil had no right of ownership over human beings, but was from the beginning a usurper. The law that God Himself had established, on the basis of which He proposed to govern the universe, was that sin should be punished with suffering and death. Having made that law and proclaimed it to all intelligent creatures, He could not, after Adam sinned, merely pardon that sin without an atonement. His honor was at stake, and the law had to be enforced as He had said that it would be. The sinner must suffer—or if he is to be spared that suffering God Himself must take the sinner's place as his Substitute and pay that penalty Himself. Consequently, in taking the sinner's place before the Divine law and meeting its full demands in His own person, Christ was rendering satisfaction to Divine justice.

That the Devil was a defeated and conquered foe long before the work of Christ on the cross is shown by the apostle Peter when he says that "God spared not angels when they sinned, but cast them down to hell, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment" (II Peter 2:4). Consequently, the fallen angels, Satan included, had already been cast down to hell and committed to pits of darkness entirely apart from Christ's work of redemption for men. We must, therefore, reject the view that the binding of Satan referred to in Revelation 20:2 was accomplished by Christ's triumph over him at the cross. We hold rather that the binding of Satan is a process continuing through this dispensation as evil is more and more suppressed, as the world is more and more Christianized, and as there is therefore less and less occasion for God to use the Devil as an instrument in the punishing of sinners.

The Scripture most generally referred to by Amillennialists as proof of their position is the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43). Here it is pointed out that the two grow together until the harvest, which is the end of the world. This is taken to mean not only that good and evil continue to exist side by side, which is the real meaning of the parable, but that the proportion between the two remains practically constant as do the stalks in a field. Postmillennialists readily agree that as long as the world continues there will be some evil mixed with the good. Their view of a generally Christianized world does not mean that all individuals will become Christians nor that all evil will be eliminated. In a field of wheat and tares the same proportion does continue through the season, none of the wheat becoming tares, nor any of the tares becoming wheat. But as regards human beings, as one generation follows another, and even within each generation, there is constant change. In fact, theologically speaking, all the members of the human race come into this world as fallen creatures, that is, all are born "tares." But as the Gospel is proclaimed, and as the Holy Spirit does His work of regenerating souls, many, very many, are brought from the realm of darkness to the realm of light. Tares are constantly being transformed into wheat. What that proportion is, and how it varies from generation to generation, is a matter of God's own choosing. The way at least is open and, in view of the many promises of future blessing, we may expect to see an ever-increasing proportion of the world's inhabitants brought from sin to holiness. The biology of grace can effect a transmutation of the species that the biology of nature cannot. Indeed, the transfer of souls from a state of sin to a state of holiness is the

primary purpose of this Gospel age. God is now "bringing many sons unto glory" (Heb. 2:10). The Great Commission that Christ gave to His Church is: "Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations . . ." We are not merely to witness to, but to make disciples of, all the nations. And as that work is efficiently and effectively carried out first individuals and then nations are Christianized.

When Christ was on earth the proportion of wheat to tares was comparatively small. Through the years it has increased greatly. As the kingdom is carried forward and this process is continued there is no reason why the wheat should not become the overwhelmingly greater proportion. Christ has provided an atonement which is infinite in value—sufficient for the redemption of the entire world, efficient for as many as God sees fit to call to Himself. And since, as Paul tells us, this system of redemption was designed to show forth "the exceeding riches of his grace" (Eph. 2:7), we may expect that the final number of the redeemed will be incredibly large, in comparison with which that of the lost will be comparatively insignificant. In strong language the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews tells us, "Since then the children are sharers in flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same; that through death he might bring to naught him that had the power of death, that is, the Devil; and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Heb. 2:14,15). Mankind is now divided into two great classes, the regenerate and the unregenerate; and the Holy Spirit is constantly taking those whom He chooses from the unregenerate and making them regenerate.

Nor can the parable of the wheat and the tares be made to fit into the premillennial scheme, which holds that first all believers are transfigured and removed in the Rapture; for the Lord says, "In the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn" (Matt. 13.30). If the evil are gathered first, as Christ says they are, where then can be found those hosts of evil ones over whom Christ is to rule with a rod of iron in the millennial Kingdom? The Scofield Bible attempts to escape this dilemma by saying that while the tares are gathered into bundles for burning, this does not imply immediate judg-

ment, that the tares are set aside for burning but first the wheat is gathered into the barn (p. 1016). But surely this is an evasive explanation. A decisive answer to that is found in the words of Christ Himself in this same context: "The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and then that do iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matt. 13:41-43)— a division which we believe is made only at the end of the world, at the time of the final judgment.

The Parable of the Leaven and that of the Mustard Seed, which describe the Kingdom as beginning very small and growing until the whole lump is leavened, or until the little seed has become a tree (Matt. 13:31-33), teach quite clearly the expanding nature of the Kingdom. Amillennialism acknowledges that these parables teach that the Kingdom of God does make a great development in this world and that it exerts many and great uplifting influences. But it nullifies that to a considerable extent by its teaching that the kingdom of evil also makes a great development, that the two kingdoms have a parallel development, and that the relative strength between the two may remain approximately as it now is until the end. Nor is there any force in the premillennial objection that leaven always symbolizes evil and so cannot here have the meaning that we give it. For in this parable it is specifically said that the kingdom of heaven is like leaven. Concerning this general subject Dr. Snowden has well written:

"The leaven is especially suggestive of growth as it works its way from atom to atom through the meal until it pervades the whole mass. Because the parables of the Leaven and the Mustard Seed especially embarrass the premillenarian view that the kingdom of God is not to be gradually established as a growth by the spread of the gospel but is to be suddenly set up at the coming of Christ, some premillenarians hold that the leaven does not represent the kingdom, as the parable itself says it does, but the spirit of evil, as it does in some other Scripture passages; and that the birds in the mustard-tree are unclean birds of sin. But this interpretation is far-fetched and forced. Trench, who was a premillenarian, repudiates both of these perversions and points out that it is no more strange that leaven should in one passage of Scripture represent good and in another

evil than that a Hon should in one place (Rev. 5:5) represent Christ and in another (I Peter 5:8) the Devil (The Parables of Our Lord, p. 113). 'Leaven here/ affirms Dr. G. Campbell Morgan, 'as everywhere else in Scripture, is a type not of good but of evil; and if you will carefully search your Bible, you will find that in no single instance is there variation from this principle' (God's Methods With Man, pp. 56, 57). Well, we did 'carefully search' our Bible, evidently more carefully than Dr. Morgan searched his, and found two 'variations from this principle'; 'With cakes of leavened bread he shall offer his oblation with the sacrifice of his peace-offerings' (Lev. 7:13); 'Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave-loaves of two tenth parts of an ephah: they shall be of fine flour, they shall be baken of leaven, for first-fruits unto Jehovah' (Lev. 23:17). We may therefore dismiss the eccentric notion as unworthy of serious consideration. The point of all these four parables [he had earlier cited the parable of the Secret Growth of the Seed (Mark 4:26-29), and the parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:1-23)] is that the kingdom of heaven is a growth and not a cataclysm; it is an unfolding seed and not exploding dynamite" (The Coming of the Lord, pp. 73, 74).

Post- and Amillennialists agree that the final separation between the good and the bad comes at the end of the world. They further agree, in opposition to Premillennialists, that Christ's coming is in the most absolute sense a consummate coming, that all evangelistic effort then ceases, and that there is no place at all in the teaching of Scripture for a thousand year earthly Kingdom. They cite Romans 2:5-10, which declares that "in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God," Christ, to whom all judgment has been given (John 5:22,27), will, at His coming, "render to every man according to his works: to them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life: but unto them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, shall be wrath and indignation, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek; but glory and honor and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." That, they believe, describes the great crisis at the end of the world as a closely unified event

into which it is manifestly impossible to intrude an era of a thousand years between the coming of Christ and the final judgment.

A Scripture often quoted by both A- and Premillennialists against the postmillennial position is Matthew 24:37-39: "And as were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall be the coming of the Son of man." It is alleged that this verse teaches that when Christ returns the world is to be in a very bad state morally.

We would point out, however, that eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, are not things that in themselves are morally wrong, and there is no reason why they should be understood here in a bad sense. They are the perfectly normal pursuits of everyday life. This Scripture teaches that in Noah's day the warnings had been given, life was proceeding as usual, and then, suddenly, destruction took them unawares. Those words were a warning to the people to whom Christ spoke, as they are a warning to us. Our time, too, may come very unexpectedly. We are to be ready at all times. Verse 42 makes this clear: "Watch therefore; for ye know not on what day your Lord cometh." That warning is appropriate whether it is understood as applying to the coming of the Lord for the individual at death, or His return at the end of the age. Christians as well as non-Christians need to be admonished to watch. There is no necessary implication here that the world is to grow progressively worse.

Historical perspective and simple observation of world conditions should make it clear to everyone that the world is getting better. If we compare conditions today with those that existed at the time of Christ we see that there has been marvelous progress. When we look back to that period what a picture of spiritual darkness and desolation we behold! The ignorance and superstition that abounded, particularly the abominations and vices that were practiced in connection with the pagan festivals, stagger the imagination. Slavery, polygamy, the low position accorded women and children, political oppression and poverty were commonplace. All the nations except Israel lived in heathen

darkness, and even in Israel there was very limited spiritual knowledge, much oppression and wrong-doing and, compared with that which we enjoy, very primitive living conditions. Between that time and the present there has been great advance in every realm. Even in most of those nations where false religions still predominate, moral and social and economic conditions have been greatly improved through the indirect influence of Christianity. In practically every country a foundation has now been laid through economic contacts and an understanding of the language that should make possible a much greater extension of Christianity, an extension waiting only for the Church to claim those promises and resources that have been given to her for that purpose. Surely one must be very blind to progress and unappre-ciative of the benefits of Christian civilization to insist that life throughout the world today is not on an immeasurably higher plane than it was nineteen centuries ago.

While we hold that the world is becoming better, that does not mean that there is steady progress. Individual nations and the world at large have their periods of evangelical advance and recession. As in business and in economic development there are periods of prosperity and periods of depression. But over the long term there is progress. Look at a chart of our national income, for instance, or at a chart of the New York Stock Exchange covering the last fifty years. There are waves of advances, waves of declines, waves within waves, some sharp and pronounced, others small and of short duration. From the standpoint of the moment we cannot always judge accurately the direction of the economic trend. But over all there has been a great advance. And so it has been with the course of Christianity in the world. The Church made a great advance during the first three centuries of the Christian era, then followed a time of recession. Another great advance was made in Augustine's day, which in turn was followed by nearly a thousand years of stagnation known as the Dark Ages. Then came the glorious Protestant Reformation under Luther, Calvin, Zwingli and Knox, during which evangelical Christianity again came into its own and won whole nations. Later came the revival in England under Whitfield and Wesley, and in America a much greater advance in theological doctrine and in the relationship between Church and State. The world

over the pagan religions quite clearly have had their day and are disintegrating. No one of them can meet the open competition of Christianity. Nor can any one of them stand up under the glaring light of present day science and education. Christianity is clearly the religion of the future. Admittedly Christians have not taken their religion as seriously nor practiced it as consistently as they should have. But theirs is the system of truth, the only one that through the ages has had God's blessing upon it. We may rest assured that in time it will emerge triumphant and rule the world.

Pre- and Amillennialists sometimes make the claim that the course of recent world history, particularly the events of World Wars I and II, disprove the postmillennial claim that the world is getting better. Prof. Hamilton, for instance, writing in 1942 while World War II was in progress, said:

"The events of the past thirty years have revealed the fallacy of such reasoning. World War I shattered the hopes of the advocates of peace through international cooperation, in the Hague Peace Conference. The failure of the League of Nations and the breaking of World War II, have given the final death blow to any hopes of the ushering in of an era of universal peace and joy through the interplay of forces now in action in the world" (The Basis of Millennial Faith, p. 33).

This type of criticism is found more often in premillennial books. In the first place, however, true Postmillennialism does not depend on Peace Conferences or Leagues of Nations or any other merely humanitarian forces to bring about a better world, but upon the effective proclamation of the Gospel and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit to change individuals, which in turn does lead to higher moral and spiritual and social standards which are reflected throughout the whole range of life.

In the second place this type of criticism is based on too short a view of history. It seems largely blind to the progress that has been made in both Church and State. Moreover, it assumes that the end of the world will come in the comparatively near future, and that there is, therefore, but little time left in which the postmillennial system can come to fruition. But there is no substantial ground for assuming that the end is near. The world has continued for nearly 2,000 years since Christ came

the first time. It may, for all we know, continue another 2,000 or 200,000 years. One thing that the Bible makes clear is that we do not know even approximately when the end is to come. Let us remember that in every generation there have been those who thought they saw signs which indicated that the end was near, signs which to them were just as convincing as any that are seen today. But they have all been mistaken. If the end is to be in the very remote future there is nothing in the Bible to contradict that. God works on a scale that is beyond our comprehension, and we must not be too anxious to limit Him as to the time that yet remains for this world.

Furthermore, as we look back over the course of history there are numerous periods which must have looked far more discouraging to the people of those days than the present looks to even the most pessimistic among us. To mention only a few: the period of persecution under the Roman emperors, the pillaging of the Roman Empire and the fall of Rome, the Mohammedan invasions of both eastern and western Europe, the Thirty Years' War in Germany, St. Bartholomew's Massacre and the almost complete extermination of the Protestants in France, the Inquisition in Spain and Italy, the French Revolution with all its cruelties, the horrors of the Napoleonic wars, etc. In each instance there was much suffering and much destruction of life and property. But after each disaster the Church rallied and reached new heights. Repeatedly the prophets of doom were proved to have been in error. We do not understand how anyone can take a long range view of history and deny that across the centuries there has been and continues to be great progress, and that the trend is definitely toward a better world. Let us not be in too much of a hurry. The postmillennial idea of a Christianized world has not yet been disproved. We are convinced that Bible students in general have been inclined to take too short a view of history and too ready to conclude that we are in the final stages of the Church age.

"PREMILLENNIALISM is that view of the Last Things which holds that the second coming of Christ will be followed by a period of world-wide peace and righteousness, before the end of the world, called 'the Millennium' or 'the Kingdom of God', during which Christ will reign as King in person on this earth. (Premillennialists are divided into various groups by their different views of the order of events associated with the second coming of Christ, but they all agree in holding that there will be a millennium on earth after the second coming of Christ but before the end of the world)" (Dr. J. G. Vos, Blue Banner Faith and Life, Jan.-March, 1951).

We propose to discuss first those beliefs which belong to the essence of Premillennialism as that system has been held by various scholars throughout most of the Church age, and then to discuss those distinctive beliefs that in large measure have come to characterize present day American Premillennialism, which in general is known as Dispensationalism.

Unfortunately Premillennialism has never developed an official creed, either in former generations or in present day discussion. A movement that has enlisted such a large following and which purports to set forth the divine plan in such detail surely should have an authoritative statement, not only for its own use but also that others at least may know what it teaches and what it does not teach. If such a statement were available there would be much less occasion for Premillennialists to complain that their system is so often misrepresented. As it is, we are forced to rely primarily on the statements of so-called "representative" Premillennialists or Dispensationalists, although these differ endlessly and sometimes violently among themselves. No doubt it is because of this difference of opinion that they never have been

able to work out an authoritative statement. Consequently it is not always possible to set forth precisely what the system does teach. This lack of agreement proves that their detailed programs are after all not so certain and that they are in fact of rather doubtful value. In view of all the books and articles that have been written, the charts prepared, and the time spent in "prophetic conferences," it would seem that a fair degree of unity should have been achieved, and that some representative conference should have set these views down in authoritative statement.

The nearest thing approaching a creed is the set of Notes found in the Scofield Reference Bible. But this system differs considerably from Historic Premillennialism. It is known as "Dispensationalism" because it divides all history into seven dispensations or periods in which man is tested in regard to certain principles of obedience. It had its origin in the teachings of John N. Darby and some of his companions in the Plymouth Brethren group, in England, about 1830. It is, therefore, of comparatively recent date. The teachings of this school have long since ceased to have any important influence in England or on the continent of Europe, but they have been popularized in the United States by the writings of James H. Brookes, W. E. Blackstone, Arno C. Gaebelein, Lewis Sperry Chafer, and above all by the Scofield Reference Bible. These dispensational views have been just as vigorously opposed by other Premillennialists such as Alexander Reese, whom we take to be the best representative of Historic Premillennialism, and whose book, The Approaching Advent of Christ (1940), is a classic that should be read by everyone who wants to know the difference between Historic Premillennialism and Dispensationalism; also by Dean Alford, H. Grattan Guinness, Nathaniel West, Theodor Zahn, and more recently, George E. Ladd.

The chief passages in the New Testament to which Premillennialists appeal are: Matt. 24:3-44; Acts 3:19-21; I Cor. 15:20-28; I Thess. 4:13-18; and Rev. 20:1-10; and in the Old Testament: Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:1-11; 65:17-25; Ezekiel, chs. 40-48; Daniel 2:42-45; 7:23-25; 9:24-27; and Micah 4:1-8.

As regards the second coming of Christ the primary difference between Historic Premillennialism and Dispensationalism relates to the question whether or not the Church goes through

the Tribulation, that is, whether the Rapture occurs at the beginning or at the close of the Tribulation. Historic Premillennialism holds that the Christians who constitute the Church go through the Tribulation and are exposed to its afflictions, at the end of which Christ comes with great power and glory to raise the righteous dead and to rapture the saints who are caught up to meet Him in the air but who almost immediately return with Him as He comes to destroy the forces of Antichrist in the battle of Armageddon and establish His Kingdom. Dispensationalism, on the other hand, holds that the Rapture occurs before the Tribulation, that Christ may come at any moment without warning signs, that at His coming the righteous dead are raised and that they together with the living saints are caught away in a secret Rapture to meet the Lord in the air, where they remain for a period of seven years. During that time the Antichrist rules on the earth and the dreadful woes spoken of in the Book of Revelation, chapters 4 through 19, fall on the inhabitants of the earth. Notice, according to this view, nothing in Revelation chapters 4 through 19 has yet been fulfilled; all of it belongs to the future, and will not even begin to happen until after the Rapture. One chief advantage of Historic Premillennialism is that it does not find it necessary to crowd all of these events into the short space of seven years as does Dispensationalism. At the end of that period Christ and the saints return to earth, Antichrist and his forces, who are persecuting the Jews and have them shut up in Jerusalem, will be destroyed in the battle of Armageddon, and the millennial Kingdom will be set up on the earth. The Jews are to be converted at the mere sight of their Messiah and, as the Lord's "brethren," are to have a very prominent and favored place in the Kingdom.

A further distinctive doctrine of Dispensationalism is that when Christ was on earth at the time of the first advent He offered the Kingdom to the Jews but they rejected it; it was then withdrawn until the time of His second coming, and the Church, an institution altogether new and not foreseen nor predicted by the Old Testament prophets, was established instead as a temporary substitute for the Kingdom. Dispensationalists are thus double "Pre-s"—Pre-tribulation Pre-millennialists, with the added distinctive tenets regarding the Church and the Jews.

than either the post- or amillennial system and, consequently, it has also been attended with greater diversity of opinion among its advocates. But despite these differences it has been characteristic of both schools of Premillennialism to hold:

1. That the Kingdom of God is not now in the world, and that it will not be instituted until Christ returns.

2. That it is not the purpose of the present gospel age to convert the world to Christianity, but rather to preach the gospel as a witness to the nations and so to warn them of and make them justly subject to judgment; also to gather out of all nations God's elect, the Church saints.

3. That the world is growing worse and will continue to grow worse until Christ comes to establish His Kingdom.

4. That immediately preceding the return of Christ there is to be a period of general apostasy and wickedness.

5. That we are now in the latter stages of the Church age and that the return of Christ is near, probably to occur within the lifetime of the present generation.

6. That at Christ's coming the righteous dead of all ages are to be raised in the "first resurrection."

7. That the resurrected dead together with the transfigured living saints who are then on the earth are to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

8. That the judgment of all the righteous then takes place, which judgment consists primarily in the assignment of rewards.

9. That before and during the tribulation period the Jews are to be restored to the land of Palestine.

10. That at the mere sight of their Messiah the Jews are to turn to Him in a national conversion and true repentance.

11. That Christ at His coming destroys the Antichrist and all his forces in the battle of Armageddon.

12. That after the battle of Armageddon Christ establishes a world-wide Kingdom with Jerusalem as its capital, in which He and the resurrected and transfigured saints rule for a thousand years in righteousness, peace and prosperity.

13. That during this reign the city of Jerusalem and the temple are to be rebuilt, the feasts and fasts and the priesthood, ritual and sacrificial system reinstituted, though performed in a Christian spirit and by Christian worshippers.

14. That the golden age also is to be characterized by the removal of the curse from nature so that the desert shall blossom as the rose and the wild ferocious nature of the beasts shall be changed.

15. That during the Millennium great numbers of the Gentiles will turn to God and be incorporated into the Kingdom.

16. That while many remain unconverted and rebellious at heart they are not destroyed, but are held in check by the rod-of-iron rule of Christ.

17. That during the Millennium Satan is to be bound, cast into the abyss, and so shut away from the earth.

19. That the Millennium is to be followed by a short but violent outbreak of wickedness and rebellion headed by Satan which all but overwhelms the saints and the holy city of Jerusalem.

20. That the forces of wickedness are to be destroyed by fire which is cast down upon them from heaven.

21. That the wicked dead of all ages are then to be raised in the "second resurrection," judged, and with the Devil and the wicked angels cast into hell.

22. That heaven and hell are then introduced in their fullness, with the new heavens and the new earth as the future home of the redeemed, which will constitute the eternal state.

Historic Premillennialism holds that the coming of Christ will be preceded by certain recognizable signs, such as the preaching of the Gospel to all the nations, the apostasy, wars, famines, earthquakes, the appearance of the Antichrist or Man of Sin, and the Great Tribulation. Many think that they see some of these signs at the present time. Dispensationalists, on the other hand, hold that there will be no further signs, all the prophecies relating to events before the coming of Christ having now been fulfilled, and that the return of Christ therefore may occur literally at "any moment"—even for the righteous their heavenward movement being the first indication they have that Christ has come.

Dispensationalism thus sets forth a secret coming of Christ for His saints, which they term the Rapture, and a visible coming

of Christ seven years later with His saints, which they term the Revelation. It also holds that in addition to the judgment of individuals, which occurs in the sky following the Rapture, there is a judgment of nations, the "Sheep and Goats" judgment of Matthew 25:31-46, when Christ and the saints return to earth. The nations are then judged on the basis of the treatment they have accorded the Jews, the Lord's "brethren," during the Great Tribulation, the righteous nations entering the millennial Kingdom, while the evil nations are consigned to punishment.

The Jews are given a much more prominent place in the scheme of things in the dispensational system than in the historic premillennial system, some writers in the latter system treating the distinction between Jews and Gentiles as comparatively unimportant. Dispensationalism holds that the millennial Kingdom will be predominantly Jewish, with Christian Gentiles in a subordinate position, and the Gentile nations in effect vassals of the Jewish Kingdom in Palestine. Since the establishment of the nation of Israel in Palestine there is general agreement among dispensational writers that the Jews are to return to Palestine in unbelief and then be converted at the appearance of Christ. But in the past many have held that they would be converted and then return.

Historic Premillennialism holds that the entire New Testament is applicable to this age, while Dispensationalism holds that much of the Gospels, including particularly the Sermon on the Mount, was not designed for the Church age but is Israelitish or Kingdom truth and will find its primary application during the Kingdom age.

Within each group there are numerous further points of disagreement regarding details. There is, for instance, no agreement as to whether death befalls any of the believers during the Millennium, although it is agreed that it does befall unbelievers. There is no agreement as to the relationship that shall exist between the resurrected and transformed saints with glorified, resurrection bodies, and those who still are in the flesh, particularly those who are unbelievers. Many believe that the means to be used for the conversion of the world after the Rapture will be other than the preaching of the Gospel, e.g., the personal appearance of Christ, the great judgments that fall on the earth, etc.

It is not clear whether during the millennial reign the risen saints dwell on earth, or in heaven, or alternate between the two. There is also difference of opinion regarding the propagation of the race during the Millennium, the extent to which and the manner in which sin will be suppressed or controlled, whether the Jews only or the whole Church will reign with Christ during the Millennium, and many other points in this highly complicated theory.

As we attempt to understand the premillennial system, particularly as it is set forth in Dispensationalism, it is not without some misgivings that we grope our way through a bewildering maze of dispensations, covenants, second comings, resurrections, judgments, etc. Present day Dispensationalism, which is the popular form in the United States, sets forth seven dispensations; eight covenants (the Edenic covenant before the fall, and after the fall one each with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David), the Palestinian covenant (Deut. 30), and the New Covenant instituted by Christ (Scofield Bible, p. 6); two second comings (a coming of Christ for His people at the Rapture, and a coming with His people seven years later at the Revelation); at least three and perhaps four resurrections (the resurrection of the righteous dead at the Rapture, a resurrection of the martyrs who died during the Great Tribulation which occurs at the Revelation, a resurrection of the wicked dead at the end of the Millennium, and a resurrection of the righteous who die during the Millennium if such there be); and from four to seven judgments (the judgment of the righteous immediately following the Rapture, the "sheep and goats" judgment of the nations at the Revelation, the judgment of the wicked at the end of the millennium, and a judgment of angels,—presumably also a judgment of the righteous who live during the Millennium. Scofield adds a judgment of the believer's sins at the cross in the person of Christ, a judgment of self in the believer (conscience), and a judgment of Israel).

A second Rapture also will be needed for the righteous who are alive at the end of the Millennium, in order that their earthly bodies may be changed. Even this does not exhaust the possibilities of the system, for according to some there will be two eternally separate peoples of God, the Church permanently in heaven and Israel permanently on the earth. The Bible is written

in language that ordinary people can understand, but this intricate, complex, imaginative system presents an interpretation that surely never would have been thought of except in defense of a theory. How refreshing to turn back to the straightforward post-millennial system, which teaches one second coming, one Rapture, one general and universal resurrection, one general and universal judgment, and one unified people of God inhabiting the new heavens and the new earth!

In the study of Eschatology there are two extremes that we should try to avoid—on the one hand the uncritical, credulous type of mind that accepts these things without adequate evidence as to their truth or falsity; and on the other the rationalistic type of mind that rejects this or any other system which gives a prominent place to the supernatural. David Brown has analyzed this problem well in the following paragraphs. He says:

"There are certain types of mind which, either from constitutional temperament, or the peculiar school of theology to which they are attached, have tendencies in the direction of premillen-nialism so strong, that they are ready to embrace it almost immediately, with love, souls that burn with love for Christ—who with the mother of Sisera, cry through the lattice, 'Why is his chariot so long in coming? Why tarry the wheels of his chariot?'" These people he refers to as "honest and warm-hearted," sincerely looking for Christ's return.

"There are next," he says, "the curious and restless spirits who feed upon the future. They are in their very element when settling the order in which the events shall occur, separating the felicities of the kingdom into its terrestrial and celestial departments respectively, sorting the multiplied particulars relating to the Ezekiel and Apocalyptic cities—and such like studies. For such minds, whose appetite for the marvelous is the predominant feature of their mental character, and who live in a sort of unreal world—for these, the confused and shadowy grandeur of a kingdom of glory upon earth, with all that relates to its introduction, its establishment, its administration, and its connection with the final and unchanging state, opens up a subject of surpassing interest and reveling delight—the very good which their peculiar temperament craves and feeds on.

a constitutional tendency to materialize the objects of faith, and can scarcely conceive of them save as more or less implicated with this terrestrial platform. Such minds, it is superfluous to observe, will have a natural affinity with a system which brings the glory of the resurrection-state into immediate and active communion with sublunary affairs, and represents the reign of those who neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven, as consisting in a mysterious rule over men in the flesh, who eat and drink, buy and sell, plant and build, marry wives, and are given in marriage. To set about proving to persons of this cast of mind that Premillennialism will not stand the test of Scripture, is like attempting to rob them of a jewel, or to pluck the sun out of the heavens. To such minds, any other view of the subject is perfectly bald and repulsive, while theirs is enriched with a glory that excelleth. To them it carries the force of intuitive perception; they feel—they know it to be true." On the other hand Brown warns against an unreasonable, anti-premillennial tendency on the part of those who do not have the patience to make a careful exegetical investigation into the real meaning of the text, particularly the type that tends to tone down the supernatural element in the Scriptures. "Such minds," he says, "turn away from Premillennialism just as instinctively as the others are attracted to it. The bare statement of its principles carries to their minds its own refutation—not so much from its preconceived unscripturalness as from the absurdity which it seems to carry on the face of it. They have hardly patience to listen to it. It requires an effort to sit without a smile under a grave exposition and defense of it. If they undertake to refute it, it is a task the irksomeness of which they are unable to conceal, and their unfitness for which can scarcely fail to appear. Let us try to avoid both extremes, investigating reverently the mind of the Spirit" (The Second Advent, pp. 8, 9).

The above diagram, taken with slight modification from William E. Blackstone's b help to fix more clearly in mind the order of events according to the Dispensational sc course before Pentecost: Innocence, Conscience, Human Government, Promise, and L Age, Kingdom during the Millennium. A similar chart for Historic Premillennialism w would be included in the Church Age, there would be but one resurrection of the r Christ and the saints in the air would be followed almost immediately by the return millennial kingdom on earth.

Earlier in this work we have cited the definition of Dispensa-tionalism given by Dr. J. G. Vos, which is as follows:

"Dispensationalism is that false system of Bible interpretation represented by the writings of J. N. Darby and the Scofield Reference Bible, which divides the history of mankind into seven distinct periods or 'dispensations/ and affirms that in each period God deals with the human race on the basis of some one specific principle. (Dispensationalism denies the spiritual identity of Israel and the Church, and tends to set 'grace' and 'law' against each other as mutually exclusive principles.)"

Dr. Scofield says that, "A dispensation is a period of time during which man is tested in respect to obedience to some specific revelation of the will of God" (p. 5).

The dispensations are said to be seven in number. In each succeeding dispensation there is a radical change of character and governing principles so that God deals with man on a plan different from that of any preceding dispensation. Each is thus complete and sufficient in itself and is not to be confused with the principle operative in any preceding dispensation.

No Scripture proof is given for the number seven. Why the number should be set at seven is difficult to understand, unless it be that seven is the Biblical number often used to express the idea of perfection and completeness. We must say, however, that the number is wholly fanciful and arbitrary, and that one could argue just as plausibly for other dispensations, or combine some of these.

fined as the knowledge of right and wrong, and in this period it became man's guide. No Scripture proof is given to show why this period as contrasted with the others should be characterized as pre-eminently that of Conscience.

ham. Again no reason is given, nor is any apparent, for this designation. If this term had been applied to the time of Moses there would have been at least an apparent reason, for at that time much of the civil and religious life of Israel was placed under human administrators.

on Mount Sinai. Special promises were given at this time to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses; but these were essentially the same as the all-embracing promise of redemption given in Gen. 3:15 immediately after the Fall.

most of the public ministry of Christ. The Gospels are assigned primarily to the era of Law rather than that of Grace, despite the fact that Christ said, "The law and the prophets were until John," Luke 16:16; and John wrote, "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" (John 1:17).

until the Second Coming. This is the period of the Church. It is free from Law as a means of salvation, and lives exclusively in the realm of Grace.

It is interesting to compare with this the system worked out by Blackstone in Jesus Is Coming (chart p. 225). Briefly it is as follows:

the "Revelation," 1000 years, to be followed by the New Heavens and the New Earth.

It is significant that these systems, worked out by two of the leading advocates of Dispensationalism, differ in considerable detail. Not all Dispensationalists are agreed on the number of dispensations. Some list only four. Others list as many a eight. But due to the popularity of the Scofield Bible seven is the number most generally accepted. This difference of opinion regarding the number, and the difference in time as to when they begin and end, is good evidence that the system does not have solid Scriptural support, that it is in fact only a speculative theory.

This division of history into dispensations is felt by non-dispensationalists to be quite arbitrary and without Scriptural support. The titles are to be criticized as particularly inappropriate since five of the seven as outlined by Scofield—Conscience, Human Government, Promise, Law, and Grace—characterize every age of human history. Five of these are past, having had their fulfillment in the Old Testament period. We are now in the sixth, that of Grace. The seventh, Kingdom, is to follow during the Millennium. Extreme Dispensationalists say that the Sermon on the Mount and most of the Gospels belong to the Kingdom. The Book of Revelation after the third chapter also is said to belong to the future. Thus only part of the Gospels and the Pauline Epistles are said to be intended for the Christian of today.

The distinctive feature of this system is that each dispensation represents a different principle in God's dealings with men. The dispensations are regarded not as stages in one single organic development, but as distinct and mutually exclusive, or even as opposed to each other. In each there is a new revelation of God's will, and in each God tests man's obedience in a new and different way. God starts each dispensation out all right, and man is thus given repeated opportunities to solve his problems of sin and gov-

ernment. But in each dispensation he fails to meet the test, and each ends in moral bankruptcy and in a judgment. God intervenes only when man has proved himself unequal to the task.

To appeal to Augustine's words, "Distinguish the ages, and the Scriptures harmonize," to justify Dispensationalism, as Scofield does (p. iii), is entirely unwarranted, for the simple reason that Augustine knew nothing of such divisions as are set forth in this system. Nor was Augustine a Premillennialist in the first place. He was in fact strongly opposed to that system.

The importance which Dispensationalists attach to these divisions is set forth by George D. Beckwith when he says:

"To study the Bible dispensationally is all-important, if one would learn how to divide aright the Word of Truth. [Scofield also uses this expression]. God's plan of redemption in the Bible cannot be fully understood except through an understanding of these dispensations" (God's Prophetic Plan, p. 22).

"The slogan of Dispensationalists, 'rightly dividing the word of truth/ is itself a misinterpretation. This exhortation does not mean to divide up Scripture into dispensations and set each one at variance with the others, but so to interpret it that by a study of each and every part, the glorious unity and harmony of the whole shall be exhibited and the correctness of the exposition of the one part be established by its perfect agreement with every other part of Scripture as the God-inspired word" (The Evangelical Quarterly, London, Jan. 1936). And Dr. Murray says that dividing the plan of salvation into dispensations "Is not 'rightly dividing the word of truth/ but wrongly dividing the Word of God."

This practice of dividing the Bible into parts, and setting one part over against the others, means, for instance, that in the dispensation of law there was no grace, and that during the dispensation of grace there is no law. Dr. Scofield says that during the dispensation of promise, Abraham and his descendants were under a covenant of grace, but that "Israel rashly accepted the law ... At Sinai they exchanged grace for law" (Scofield Bible, p. 20). The inference is that under law they became righteous by doing righteously, while under grace we are declared to be righteous because of the righteousness of Christ imputed to us.

Scofield does not actually say that the Jews were saved by their own good works in obeying the law of God, but that is implied in the sharp contrast between the covenant of law and that of grace, and the exchange of the one for the other.

The plan of salvation as set forth in the Bible is one organic whole, revealing a marvelous and profound unity. It cannot be split up into contradictory parts, much less into seven mutually exclusive dispensations. Dr. William Masselink properly says: "There is but one mediator for the New Testament as for the Old. There is no other name given under heaven whereby we must be saved than the name of Jesus, and neither is there any other foundation laid. The way of the Cross leads home, in the Old Testament as well as in the New. This is told us in the sacrifices and symbols of the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament fulfillment" (Why Thousand Years? p. 67).

To say that the Mosaic dispensation was a dispensation under law from which grace was excluded is clearly erroneous. Rather, in the Mosaic dispensation the outward emphasis was upon law, but that was designed to serve a two-fold purpose, namely, that the law might serve as a guide and rule of life in showing the Israelites what was right, and that by showing them how utterly impossible it was for them to earn salvation by a perfect keeping of the law they should be convinced of the need of a Saviour. In other words, as Paul expresses it, the law was a tutor to bring them to Christ (Gal. 3:24). Ever since the first promise of salvation, the Protevangelium, given in Genesis 3:15, salvation has been by grace, not by works. The law in itself was a means of grace, designed to show how far short all human righteousness fell, and so to point the worshippers to One who would provide righteousness for them. Through the blood sacrifice, in which the life of an innocent and faultless victim was substituted for that of the sinner, it served as a means to educate them concerning the future atonement that would be provided for sins. Hence the Mosaic dispensation of law and the Gospel dispensation of grace are not mutually exclusive or contradictory, but supplementary, each a part of one unified system revealed throughout the Bible.

Dr. Berkhof points out that there are serious objections to the dispensational view and lists the following:

tural term (cf. Luke 16:2-4; I Cor. 9:17; Eph. 1:10; 3:2,9; Col. 1:25; I Tim. 1:4) is here used in an un-Scriptural sense. It denotes a stewardship, an arrangement, or an administration, but never a testing time or a time of probation.

"(b) The distinctions are clearly arbitrary. This is evident already from the fact that dispensationalists themselves sometimes speak of them as overlapping. The second dispensation is called the dispensation of conscience, but according to Paul conscience was still the monitor of the Gentiles in his day (Rom. 2:14,15). The third is known as the dispensation of human government, but the specific command in it which was disobeyed and therefore rendered man liable to judgment, was not the command to rule the world for God—of which there is no trace—but the command to replenish the earth. The fourth is designated the dispensation of promise and is supposed to terminate with the giving of the law, but Paul says that the law did not disannul the promise, and that this was still in effect in his own day (Rom. 4:13-17; Gal. 3:15-29). The so-called dispensation of the law is replete with glorious promises, and the so-called dispensation of grace did not abrogate the law as a rule of life . . .

"(c) According to the usual representation of this theory man is on probation right along. He failed in the first test and thus missed the reward of eternal life, but God was compassionate and in mercy gave him a new trial. Repeated failures led to repeated manifestations of the mercy of God in the introduction of new trials, which, however, kept man on probation all the time . . . This representation is contrary to Scripture, which does not represent fallen man as still on probation, but as an utter failure, totally unable to render obedience to God, and as absolutely dependent on the grace of God for salvation.

"(d) This theory is also divisive in tendency, dismembering the organism of Scripture with disastrous results. Those parts of Scripture that belong to any one of the dispensations are addressed to, and have normative significance for, the people of that dispensation, and for no one else . . . The Bible is divided into two books, the Book of the kingdom, comprising the Old Testament and part of the New, addressed to Israel; and the Book of the Church, consisting of the remainder of the New Testament, addressed to us. Since the dispensations do not intermingle, it fol-

lows that in the dispensation of the law there is no revelation of the grace of God, and in the dispensation of grace there is no revelation of the law as binding on the New Testament people of God. If space permitted, it would not be difficult to prove that this is an entirely untenable position" (Systematic Theology, pp. 290, 291).

Instead of setting forth God's dealings with man under seven dispensations, the Bible sets forth two covenants,—the Covenant of Works, and the Covenant of Grace. It then divides the Covenant of Grace into two dispensations or administrations, (1) that of the Old Testament, and (2) that of the New Testament.

In the Covenant of Works Adam, in the Garden of Eden, was placed under a test of pure obedience to God's command. If he had been obedient he would have gained eternal life for himself and for all his posterity since he acted in a representative capacity. This test, however, ended in disobedience and brought eternal death to him and his posterity except as God's grace intervened to provide redemption.

The Old Testament dispensation was the first stage of the process by which God proposed to redeem man from sin through a Saviour. This, all of it after the Fall in the Garden of Eden, belonged to the Covenant of Grace. It looked forward to a future atonement and was based largely on promises given to the patriarchs, the keeping of the law of Moses, and on rituals and sacrifices which had no real value in themselves but which foretold the coming of the Messiah. The law was a constant reminder of the demands of the Covenant of Works, which was perfect obedience, and was designed to teach man the hopelessness of trying to earn salvation by good works. Through this period salvation was limited to God's chosen race, the Israelites, and to individuals who were brought into this group. During the Old Testament dispensation the Covenant of Grace was revealed in four stages:

(1) The sentence on the serpent (Gen. 3:15): "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Here in the curse pronounced upon Satan there is found an indirect promise of redemption for man. There is no formal covenant, but God places Himself on the side of man in the

struggle with Satan. That redemption would be costly and painful, as was symbolized by the bruising of the heel of the woman's seed; but it would mean total defeat for Satan, as was symbolized by the crushing of the head of the serpent. This is generally recognized as the first Messianic prophecy. (2) The Covenant with Noah (Gen. 8:20-9:17). In Genesis 9:9 we read: "And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you . . ." In this covenant God promises that He will not again destroy the earth with a flood, and that the regular succession of seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease. (3) The Covenant with Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3). Here we read: "Now Jehovah said unto Abraham, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse: and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Abraham and his family are set aside as a definitely marked body of believers, with the promise that in him and his seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. This has been called by some "the beginning of an institutional Church." (4) The Sinaitic Covenant. This was a national covenant, made with all of the descendants of Jacob who had come out of Egypt. Church and State were so closely linked that they could not be separated. Membership in the one automatically meant membership in the other. An elaborate body of moral, civil and religious laws was given. As Berkhof says concerning this covenant: "A separate priesthood was instituted, and a continuous preaching of the gospel in symbols and types was introduced. These symbols and types appear under two different aspects: as the demands of God imposed on the people; and as a divine message of salvation to the people. The Jews lost sight of the latter aspect, and fixed their attention exclusively on the former. They regarded the covenant ever increasingly, but mistakenly, as a covenant of works, and saw in the symbols and types a mere appendage to this" (Systematic Theology, p. 298). While there were many legal aspects to this covenant, it was definitely not a "covenant of works" through which Israel might merit life by keeping the law. Scofield is in

error when, in accordance with his assignment of this period to the dispensation of Law, he speaks of this as a "conditional Mosaic covenant of works" (p. 95), in which the test was legal obedience as the condition of salvation. God's purpose, however, was not that Israel should merit salvation by keeping the law. That had become impossible since the fall. Rather it showed the Israelites their inability to keep the law as God had demanded.

The New Testament Covenant of Grace, or the New Testament Dispensation, is that in which we now are. The Messiah has now come, and through His suffering and death has paid the price for man's redemption so that God now deals with men on the basis of an accomplished atonement. All that remains now is to apply that atonement in the salvation of individual souls. The distinction between Jew and Gentile has been broken down, never to be re-established since the condition which prompted that distinction in the first place is never to be re-established. The dispensational idea of a Jewish remnant which does not accept Christ as Messiah but which during the Tribulation preaches another gospel, that of the "kingdom," is false and comes under Paul's condemnation in Galatians 1:8: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema." This dispensation continues until the second coming of Christ, which is followed immediately by the general resurrection and the general judgment and the introduction of the eternal state.

Thus in all ages God's dealings with men have been through a covenant relationship. The word "covenant" occurs many times in both the Old and the New Testament, and the religion of the Bible is better described as a covenant religion, not a religion of dispensations as set forth in present day Dispensationalism. Adam in the Garden of Eden was in covenant relationship with God, in a Covenant of Works, and was on test not merely for himself but as the federal head and representative of all his posterity, that is, for all humanity. But that covenant was speedily broken. It was followed by the Covenant of Grace. "Salvation by a covenant!" says Dr. Masselink, "The thought is charming for we were lost by a covenant. Father Adam represented the whole human race in the Covenant of Works. Had Adam kept the

covenant he and all his children would have been blessed. Alas, our foundation was too frail. Adam fell and the whole human race fell with him. Some have inquired, 'Is it just?' Do not raise the question for it is the only way of Redemption. The devils [evil spirits] when they fell, fell each one for himself, and so they could never rise again; but we fell by our representative. Here then was the way to restore us again. As we sinned representatively, it was also possible for us to satisfy the law by a representative. Here was the opening for the way of salvation! By a second covenant head man can be redeemed, and therefore Jesus Christ comes as the second Adam and God makes the covenant with Him. O, matchless mystery of Divine love and mercy!" (Why Thousand Years? p. 46).

It is important to keep in mind that Premillennialism and Dispensationalism are not synonymous terms. Premillennialism is the broader term, and includes all those who believe that Christ returns before the millennium and that He will rule personally on earth for a thousand years. Dispensationalism on the other hand includes only those Premillennialists who follow Darby and Scofield in dividing the divine plan into dispensations during each of which God deals with the human race on the basis of some specific principle. Thus all Dispensationalists are Premillennialists, but not all Premillennialists are Dispensationalists. At the present time, however, the great majority of Premillennialists, particularly in the United States, are Dispensationalists. Most of the Bible institutes, as well as the minority of theological seminaries that teach Premillennialism, are dis-pensational. There is a logical connection between Premillennialism and Dispensationalism. Most of those who take Premillennialism seriously and become enthusiastic about it go on to adopt Dispensationalism. But, conversely, we believe that most of those who become convinced of the errors of Dispensationalism proceed to throw Premillennialism overboard too.

The best definition of the Rapture that we have found is that given by Dr. Robert Strong, who says:

"By the Rapture is meant the sudden and possibly secret coming of Christ in the air to catch away from the earth the resurrected bodies of those who have died in the faith and with them the living saints" (The Presbyterian Guardian. Feb. 25, 1942).

The word "Rapture," like the word "Trinity," is not found in the Bible, but the idea that it expresses is clearly taught in two of Paul's epistles. In I Thessalonians 4:13-17 we read:

"But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that fall asleep; that ye sorrow not, even as the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall is no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. For 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 that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

"Behold, I tell you a mystery: we all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."

Here we are told that as regards the saints two great miracles are to occur at the Lord's coming,—first, that the dead in Christ

are to rise; and, second, that the living saints are to be changed, transformed, transfigured, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye," so that they do not go through the process of death; and then both groups together are to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Notice that it is not the Rapture, not the taking away of the saints, but the translation of the living saints that is to be accomplished suddenly,—"we all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye."

And how marvelously magnificent that change shall be! When Christ shall appear, we shall be like Him, remade in His heavenly image and His celestial likeness! "When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory" (Col. 3:4).

Thus one generation of believers is to be taken out of the world without dying. In all human history, so far as the record goes, only two persons have been taken out of the world in that manner. Concerning Enoch we read: "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him," Gen. 5:24; and in Heb. 11:5: "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God translated him." And regarding Elijah we read: "Behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, which parted them [Elijah and Elisha] both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven" (II Kings 2:11).

Historic Premillennialism holds that there is to be but one return of Christ, that is, but one "second coming," and that this occurs immediately before the establishment of the millennial Kingdom. It differs from Dispensationalism in that it holds that the Church is to go through the Tribulation, which it believes is foretold in Matthew 24. It holds that the return of Christ will be heralded by certain signs, such as wars and unrest among nations, an apostasy from the faith (some think that the present wave of Modernism in the Church fulfills that condition), the return of the Jews to Palestine, and the appearance of the Antichrist. It holds further that the Tribulation is to be of indeterminate, although of comparatively short, duration. At the end of that period the saints, both the living and the dead, are to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and almost immediately thereafter Christ and His people return to the earth for the mil-

lennial reign. This was standard premillennial doctrine until the rise of the Plymouth Brethren movement, in England, under the leadership of John N. Darby.

Post- and Amillennialists too believe that the Rapture comes at the end of the present world order, although Postmillennialists believe that it is preceded by the Millennium, while Amillennialists believe there is to be no Millennium in the usual sense of the term, some holding that the term relates to the entire Church age, while others hold that it relates to the intermediate state.

Dispensationalists, on the other hand, hold that the Rapture occurs before the Tribulation, that the Church therefore does not go through the Tribulation, that Christ's coming is without further signs and literally may occur "at any moment," and that following the Rapture Christ and His people are to be in the air for a period of seven years (the seventieth week of Daniel's prophecy) while the Tribulation is in progress on the earth. Dispensationalism further holds that while the saints are with Christ in the air during this period there occurs the judgment of the saints, which consists primarily in the assignment of rewards, and the marriage feast of the Lamb. At the end of this seven year period Christ and the saints return to the earth, and the millennial kingdom is instituted. Thus the first resurrection, the Rapture, and the first judgment take place more than a thousand years before the end of the world.

Dispensationalism splits the second coming of Christ into two parts, the Rapture, which is His coming for the saints, and the Revelation, which is His coming with the saints, this latter being also His coming for Israel and the world. It holds that no predicted event remains to be fulfilled before it occurs. Not even those to be raptured are to have any further sign or indication that the event is near. "Nothing is given us in Scripture so definite as to form a sign of or date for the Rapture," says Black-stone. And then he adds: "We are to be always watching and waiting for it, and expecting it at any moment" (Jesus Is Coming, p. 207).

According to the dispensational theory Christ comes only part way to the earth at this time, and so is not seen by unbelievers who are left. Rev. Jesse F. Silver, another dispensational writer, says: "Quickly and invisibly, unperceived by the world, the Lord

will come as a thief in the night and catch away His waiting saints" (The Lords Return, p. 260). Thus all will be silent, secret, mysterious. According to the Scofield Bible the saints of both the Old and New Testament are included (p. 1228).

However, there seems to be an inconsistency at this point in the dispensational theory, for while in most cases they are so careful to distinguish between Jews and Gentiles and to keep them separate, here they have the Old Testament saints, the great majority of whom are Jews, rising at the time of the Rapture with the Church saints, the large majority of whom are Gentiles. On the other hand, the Revelation, or Christ's coming at the end of the tribulation period, is said to be for the Jews, as well as for the Gentile nations. According to the Dispensationalists the Church did not even exist during Old Testament times. The question arises, therefore, How can those Jews, long after their death, be incorporated into the Church to which they never belonged?

Another inconsistency appears in connection with the removal of the Church at that particular time. In Revelation 21:9 the Church is declared to be "the bride, the wife of the Lamb." Dispensationalists say that the removal of the Church at the time of the Rapture is for the purpose of being united with Christ in the wedding of the Lamb. Yet they admit that the number of the saved will not be complete until the end of the Millennium. Hence the wedding occurs before the bride is complete. Some members of the Church evidently will miss their own wedding! Surely this is a strange inconsistency. It is also inconsistent with a further element of their theory which, as we shall see later, holds that in the eternal kingdom the Church saints are to constitute a heavenly people, while Israel constitutes an earthly people, the two to be kept permanently separate and distinct. Reese insists that the Dispensationalists wreck their system by placing the resurrection of the Old Testament saints at the time of the Rapture.

Three terms are used in Scripture with reference to Christ's return. They are: The Coming (Gr. <grc>parousia); the Appearing (<grc>epiphany); and the Revelation (<grc>apocalypse). See particularly: John 14:3; I Cor. 15:23; I Thess. 3:13; 4:13-17; Jude 14; Acts 1:11; Matt. 16:27; 24:30; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; II Thess. 1:7. We believe that these three terms are used interchangeably as suits

the convenience of the writers, and that they have essentially the same meaning. Historic Premillennialists, too, take these as synonymous or at least as closely related terms. Dispensational-ists, however, take the "Coming" as referring to the Rapture, which they place seven years before the "Appearing" or the "Revelation," and as being for the Church only. But it is hard to get these distinctions from the above references.

It is to be noted particularly concerning Paul's teaching in I Thessalonians 4:13-17, which is the primary passage cited by Dispensationalists as the basis for their doctrine, that:

(1) The term "rapture" is not a Scripture word at all, but rather is a term invented to express an idea that has become prominent in millennial discussions.

(2) The teaching concerning the Rapture of believers was not first given here by Paul as a new revelation, but by Christ Himself some twenty years earlier when He said, "I will come again, and will receive you unto myself; that where I am there ye may be also" (John 14:3).

(3) The new revelation given by Paul did not have to do directly with the Rapture at all, but was given to reassure those who had lost loved ones and who were afraid that those would not be able to share the glory of the Lord's return. It also informed them that the saints who survive until the Lord's coming will have no precedence or advantage whatever over the saints who have died. And,

(4) The real message of comfort to be found in Paul's words is not that there is to be a Rapture, but that at the Lord's coming all the saints whether living or dead will live together with the Lord and be forever with Him.

Dr. Allis, an acknowledged authority in the field of linguistics, has given the following analysis of the terms used in connection with the Lord's return, showing that the distinctions made by Dispensationalists are not tenable:

"(a) 'Coming' (parousia) is used by Paul 14 times, 8 of which refer to the coming of Christ. I Thessalonians 4:15, which speaks of the catching up of believers, clearly refers to the rapture; likewise II Thessalonians 2:1, which speaks of our 'gathering together with him.' On the other hand, I Thessalonians 3:13 speaks of the 'coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.' If 'saints'

means or includes the Church, as all Dispensationalists believe, this verse speaks quite as plainly of the appearing. In II Thessalonians 2:8, which clearly refers to the appearing, since it speaks of the slaying of Antichrist, the expression used is 'the manifestation' (or 'brightness,' <grc>epiphany) of His 'coming' (<grc>parousia). Consequently, we must recognize that Paul uses coming both of the rapture and of the appearing and even combines the two expressions in II Thessalonians 2:8 to describe what is apparently one and the same event.

"(b) 'Revelation' (<grc>apocalypse) is used 13 times by Paul. In I Corinthians 1:7 it is used of the rapture. It is what the Christian waits for. In II Thessalonians 1:7 the reference is as plainly to the appearing, the coming in glory."

"(c) 'Appearing' (<grc>epiphany). This word is used only by Paul. In I Timothy 6:14, the reference to the rapture seems unmistakable. In II Timothy 4:1,8 the allusions to judgment as in Titus 2:13 to glory favor the reference to the appearing . . .

"Paul uses all three words and he uses them ambiguously. Particularly clear is the fact that he uses <grc>parousia both of the rapture and of the appearing . . . How is this to be explained, if he had been told by the Lord that there was an important difference between these two events? . . .

"The question which confronts us is this. If the distinction between the rapture and the appearing is of as great moment as Dispensationalists assert, how are we to explain Paul's failure to distinguish clearly between them? And the failure of other writers, Peter, James, and John, to do the same? Paul was a logician. He was able to draw sharp distinctions. If he had wanted, or regarded it important, to distinguish between these events, he could have done so very easily. Why did he use language which Dispensationalists must admit to be confusing? Feinberg recently made the following surprising statement regarding the three words we have been discussing: 'We conclude, then, that from a study of the Greek words themselves the distinction between the coming of the Lord for His saints and with His saints is not to be gleaned' (Premillennialism or Amillennialism?, p. 207). Such an admission raises the question whether the distinction itself is valid. If the distinction is of importance, Paul's ambiguous language is, we may say it reverently, inexcusable.

If the distinction is negligible, accuracy of statement would be quite unnecessary. We conclude, therefore, that the language of the New Testament and especially of Paul not merely fails to prove the distinction insisted on by Dispensationalists but rather by its very ambiguity indicates clearly and unmistakably that no such distinction exists" (Prophecy and the Church, pp. 181-185).

If Christians are to be removed from the earth before the Epiphany, that is, before the Appearing or Revelation of Christ, then the Scriptures cannot anywhere state or imply that they are to remain on the earth until the Appearing or the Revelation. If so much as one passage can be pointed out which teaches that believers are to remain on the earth until the Epiphany, the whole argument for a secret Rapture is disproved, and the dispensa-tional system falls with it. That the Rapture and the Revelation are contemporaneous events, or nearly so, and that Christ at His coming will be visible to all people in all His power and glory, is indicated in numerous passages. Witness particularly the following:

I Timothy 6:13,14: "I charge thee . . . that thou keep the commandment, without spot, without reproach, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ." But how can Christians "keep the commandment . . . until the appearing" if they are raptured seven years before the appearing? The appearing of Christ is here set forth as the event which terminates the service of Christians on earth. Hence they cannot be raptured before that time.

II Timothy 4:8: "Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing." Here Paul sets his hope on the glorious appearing, not on a dispensational rapture which occurs seven years before the appearing of Christ, and that because of the reward that the righteous Judge shall give to him at that time. His teaching is the same as that of Christ, who said, "Thou shalt be recompensed in the resurrection of the just" (Luke 14:14). The glorious appearing of Christ, the resurrection of the saints, and the rewarding of the saints all occur at the same time.

Titus 2:13: "Looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Here

the blessed hope (which is the coming of Christ) and the appearing are the same. In the original Greek the two substantives hope and appearing are closely united with the common article. They are not two separate events, as if it read, 'looking for the blessed hope and the appearing," but simply, "looking for the blessed hope and appearing." The one explains the other. "The blessed hope" of Christians is "the glorious appearing" of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

I Peter 5:4: "And when the chief shepherd shall be manifested, ye shall receive the crown of glory that fadeth not away." Here Peter says that the crowning and rewarding of the saints takes place at the manifestation, which is the same as the coming, of Christ.

I Corinthians 1:7: "Waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye be unreprovable in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ." Here the event that Christians are encouraged to wait for is not the secret Rapture but the Revelation of Christ.

I Peter 1:13: "Wherefore girding up the loins of your mind, be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

I Peter 4:13: "Insomuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory also ye may rejoice with exceeding joy."

II Thessalonians 1:7-10: "And to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus: who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at in all them that believed." Here Christians are said to receive relief from suffering and tribulation at the time the Lord comes with His angels in flaming fire and for judgment on evildoers. Concerning this passage Rev. William J. Grier says:

"We may notice that when the Saviour comes for the deliverance of His troubled saints, he comes 'in flaming fire'—no secret rapture here! But it is even more important still to notice how the reward of the righteous and the punishment of the wicked

are interwoven with each other as to time, and made to follow, both of them, immediately on the coming of the Lord. Surely this passage should make perfectly clear that there is no secret rapture to be followed at an interval of seven years by an open revelation of the Lord and His glory to the world. Surely it is perfectly clear also that since the coming of the Lord brings upon the wicked 'eternal destruction away from the face of the Lord,' there are no wicked who will survive His coming to be ruled over in a millennium to follow. But there must be wicked people surviving, according to the premillennial scheme" (The Momentous Event, p. 55).

And in I Thessalonians 5:1-4, which follows immediately after the passage from which Dispensationalists think to derive their doctrine of a secret Rapture (4:16,17), Paul's words make it clear that he is not talking about a seven year Rapture at all, but rather the day of the Lord or Judgment Day. These verses read: "But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that aught be written you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. When they are saying, peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief." This passage shows that instead of the righteous being taken away before the Judgment Day, they are here right up until the time the wicked receive their punishment, at which time the righteous receive their reward.

Concerning this passage, Grier says: "Paul associates the second coming with the resurrection and the ensuing glory of the saints and the sudden destruction of the wicked. Without the shadow of a doubt, that day has its reference to both parties: —believers are to look for it (I Thess. 5:4-10), for then they shall obtain salvation in all its fullness (vs. 9), then they shall 'live together with him' (vs. 10); while that same day will bring the false security of unbelievers to an end in their 'sudden destruction'" (The Momentous Event, p. 54).

Surely Paul would not have written these words if he had been looking for a secret Rapture. There is nothing here to indicate that Christians are to be raptured away seven years before

the day of judgment. Rather, they are to receive relief from tribulation and suffering "at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel."

From these numerous references it should be clear to everyone that what is called the appearing or the revelation of Christ must coincide with His coming at the Resurrection. The Coming, the Appearing, and the Revelation of Christ are but different aspects of the same event. Hence we conclude that nowhere in Scripture does it teach a secret or pre-tribulation Rapture. Christ's coming for the saints and His coming with the saints are one and the same event and take place at the same time.

Once this is clearly seen the dispensational scheme falls away like a house of cards. For when their doctrine of a secret Rapture is shown to be contrary to Scripture, various other doctrines of their system are also left without support.

A further valuable contribution to our study of the use of words is made by H. C. Heffren. He says:

"Our quest for the answer to the events yet to be leads us back to the 24th chapter of Matthew. The question in verse 3 engages our attention. 'Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?' The word 'end' is translated from the Greek word <grc>'sunteleia,' meaning full end. According to Young's Analytical Concordance 'sunteleia' is only used six times in the New Testament. It always designates the Judgment Day, that is, the end of the world.

"Before His ascension Jesus gave His disciples the well known command, 'Go ye, therefore and teach all nations . . . and lo, I am with you always, even unto the 'sunteleia (full end) of the world' (Matt. 28:19,20). Jesus would not have commanded His Church to preach the Gospel until the Judgment Day (sunteleia) if a rapture preceded the event; nor if the final phase of evangelizing the world were to be given to the Jews before the final end. The fact is that Jesus did not provide any channel for disseminating the gospel other than the Church. When that task is done, the gospel preached to all the world, then the end comes. But the Church must be in the world till the full end of the age in

"Christ gives a detailed account of the sequence of events at the end of the age in Matthew 13:24-52. The passage is too long to quote in full, but it should be carefully studied. In Matthew 13:39 we read: The enemy that sowed them is the Devil; the harvest is the <grc>'sunteleia' (full end) of the world; and the reapers are the angels' (verse 40): 'As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the <grc>'sunteleia (full end) of the world; the angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just.' The use of the Greek word <grc>'sunteleia in each of these verses absolutely precludes the possibility of the righteous being taken out of the world before the full end of the age. Both the righteous and the wicked grow together until the end of the age" (The Sign of His Coming, p. 35).

We note that the Greek word apokalupsis, revelation, carries with it the idea of suddenness and unexpectedness, as though a curtain were withdrawn and the Lord stood revealed. But there would be nothing sudden or unexpected about it if a seven year warning of its approach had been given by such a tremendously startling event as the Rapture. Grier has well said: "There could be no such surprise about the second advent, if the premil-lenarian scheme were true, for once the 'day of Christ' (rapture) came, the seven-year period of Antichrist and the great tribulation would follow. The seven-year period, once begun, would revolve its course till its close, when 'the day of the Lord,' or 'the revelation' would follow. But the good Greek students tell us that the word 'revelation' (<grc>apokalupsis) has intimately associated with it the very idea of suddenness and unexpectedness; yet according to the ordinary premillennial scheme, it can neither be sudden nor unexpected" (The Momentous Event, p. 45).

The notion that the resurrection of the righteous is to occur a thousand years before the end of the world is contradicted by Jesus who, on four different occasions, said that He would raise up those who believe in Him at the last day (John 6:39,40,44,54). Clearly there can be no other days after the last day.

The parables of our Lord also teach that the final separation comes at the end of the world, not at a seven year rapture preceding the Millennium. In the parable of the Wheat and the Tares we are told that these grow together until the time of har-

vest, and that the lord of the harvest will then say to the reapers, "Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn" (Matt. 13:30). The dis-pensational doctrine, however, says that seven years before the time of harvest the wheat portion of the crop is first to be gathered out, leaving only the tares. Again, in the parable of the Drag-net, we are told that "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach; and they sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but the bad they cast away. So shall it be in the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the righteous, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 13:47-50).

In these parables the separation comes "in the end of the world," not a thousand years before the end, as all kinds of Premillennialism teach. And in so far as there is a difference in time, the wicked are taken out from among the righteous, not the righteous from among the wicked. If the dispensational theory were true, namely, that the Church is raptured out of the world, there would be left only the tares.

There is not a word in the Epistles of Paul to indicate that the coming of Christ shall be a secret affair. On the other hand he speaks of the coming as a "revelation": "Waiting for the reve-ation of our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Cor. 1:7). In writing to the Thessalonians he describes it as "the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus: who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believed" (II Thess. 1:7-10). Surely by no stretch of the imagination can this coming be secret. Rather it is described as occurring in flaming fire, abundantly visible to all the world, through which He renders vengeance to the wicked at the same time that He is glorified in His saints and marveled at by all them that believe.

And where is there anything to indicate that the Rapture is silent, or secret, or unseen? Paul says that His coming occurs "at

the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible ..." (I Cor. 15:52); and that "The Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God" (I Thess. 4:16). Surely there is nothing secret about a rapture that is heralded by a shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God, and which is seen by every eye! How could it be stated more clearly that all men everywhere are to see and hear that event? Surely this latter verse is a strange one on which to found a doctrine of a secret Rapture! It would seem rather to be just about the noisiest verse in the entire Bible! Nor does either of these verses say that the saints shall remain where they meet with the Lord in the sky for a period of seven years. That idea is without the slightest support anywhere in Scripture. Alexander Reese well says:

"The suggestion of Darby, backed by vigorous efforts of Kelly and others, to prove from this magnificent passage in I Thessalonians 4, that a secret coming, a resurrection and a secret rapture, are supported, followed by the rise and reign of Antichrist, is among the sorriest in the whole history of freak exegesis'' (The Approaching Advent of Christ, p. 146).

It may be pointed out further concerning the Second Coming, which Dispensationalists divide into two parts, that some attempt is made to preserve at least a semblance of unity by referring to these as two different phases of the same coming. But the fact remains that Dispensationalists really do set forth two different comings, separated in time by a period of seven years, each having its own concommitants, each serving a different purpose and bearing a different name, the first being known as the Rapture and relating to the Church saints only, while the second is known as the Revelation and has reference to the entire world. These comings clearly are not the same.

We are prompted to say that those who hold the Rapture to be the next event on the prophetic calendar, and to look for it to occur "at any moment," are in this regard like those Jews in Christ's day who, we are told, "supposed that the kingdom of God was immediately to appear" (Luke 19:11). To offset that view Christ gave the parable of the pounds, in which a certain nobleman "went into a far country, to receive for himself a king-

dom, and to return." By that parable He taught that His coming in glory was still some considerable distance in the future, perhaps even in the remote future.

We may point out further that the apostle Paul could not have looked for the Lord's return at any moment, for he had been assigned a great task that would in any event require much time, perhaps all of his natural life; for God had said to him, "I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles" (Acts 22:21). Nor could the apostle Peter have understood the command to watch for the Lord's coming to mean that he was to expect it momentarily; for the Lord had told him that he was to live to old age and die by martyrdom (John 21:18,19).

The doctrine of an any moment Rapture, and particularly that of a secret Rapture, lends itself to the dramatic and the sensational. In treating this subject, on which even its proponents can find but little revealed in Scripture, the human mind can give full reign to its imaginative powers. The event is supposed to occur in absolute secrecy. Consternation and confusion reign among those who are left behind when they wake up to discover that all the Christians have suddenly vanished. Bewildering and terrifying scenes follow as families are separated and all the best neighbors are gone. They search everywhere, but cannot find them. Industries and utilities are immobilized. Hearts are filled with fear and dread. One Dispensationalist describes it this way:

"One of these days, as sure as this is the Word of God, those who have pled with you, who have warned you, who have prayed for you, will be missing. The preacher will be gone, mother will be gone, wife will be gone, and baby's crib will be found empty. Oh, what an awakening that is going to be! Imagine getting up some morning and your wife is not there, and you call for her, but there is no answer. You go downstairs, but she is not there. You call upstairs to daughter asking where mother is, but no answer from daughter. Daughter too is gone. You ring the police, but the line is busy. Hundreds and thousands are calling up, jamming the telephone lines. You rush out of doors and bump into the pal of last night's wild party. He is white as a sheet. He is out of breath, and he stammers a few words, and bawls out, 'My wife is gone. My brother is gone, and I don't know where they are.' Down the street runs a woman shrieking at the top of her voice,

'Someone has kidnapped my baby!' and in a moment the streets are full of people, weeping, crying and howling over the disappearance of loved ones. What has happened? The Lord has come, like a thief in the night. He has quietly stolen away those who trusted him, like Enoch, and no one is left behind to warn you any more, to pray or show you the way" (Rev. Richard W. De-Haan, Radio Bible Class, November, 1954).

"When Christ comes the invisible Church will be caught up out of the midst of the visible. It will be a secret rapture—quiet, noiseless, sudden as the step of a thief in the night. All that the world will know will be that multitudes at once have gone. The extras will advertise in the streets, 'Universal Consternation—Remarkable Disappearances.' Such and such ministers are missing. Such and such business men are not to be found. Such and such women of high and low position have left their places vacant. The next Sunday the fashionable churches will show certain of their seats empty. In smaller, more devout churches, the majority will be gone—only a remnant left. For some days nothing else can be talked about. Excitement will be tremendous. Then reaction will set in. Philosophers and rationalistic ministers will begin to account for the phenomenon on scientific principles. The world will resume its occupations. Gradually the breaches in the churches will be closed up. Only a few here and there will wake up and say, It is too late! I am left out. My godly relatives have gone—the Spirit of God has departed. The reign of evil has begun. We have slept away our day of grace!" (Dr. George Sayles Bishop, The Doctrines of Grace, p. 341).

It is important that we realize how little emphasis is placed on the doctrine of the Rapture in Scripture. Paul makes but a passing reference to it in the two passages that we have quoted, with no mention at all of the 7-year feature which the Dispensa-tionalists stress so strongly and on which they base so much of their distinctive doctrine. Scripture presents the Rapture as but a fleeting event, in a sense only the mechanical means by which we are introduced into the blessed hope, and places the emphasis on the heavenly glory that shall follow. Certainly there is no proof that the Church will remain in the air above the earth for seven years, or for any other length of time. The words, "So shall we

ever be with the Lord," I Thessalonians 4:17, indicate that when the saints are caught up they enter immediately into the eternal heavenly state. Dispensationalists have made a fetish of that which is only an incident in the coming of Christ. Fortunately, many of them have abandoned the theory when they realized how destitute of Scriptural support it really was, and how prone to encourage other errors regarding the second coming.

In the writings of John N. Darby four passages are cited as teaching an "unequalled tribulation," through which he says the Jews, Gentiles, and the professing Church will pass, but from which the true Church will be exempt. These are:

Jeremiah 30:7, "Alas! for the day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it."

Daniel 12:1, "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book."

Matthew 24:21, "For then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be."

Mark 13:19, "For those days shall be tribulation, such as there hath not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never shall be."

In the King James Version of the Bible the word "tribulation" occurs 25 times. Twenty of these are found in the New Testament. Christ is recorded as having used the word on three different occasions (assuming that Matthew 24 and Mark 13 record the same event), and on two of these, Matthew 13:21 and John 16:33, it is clear that He is talking, not about a climactic period of destruction and suffering at the end of the age, but about the ordinary sufferings and trials which come to those who follow Him. The first of these (Matt. 13:21), has to do with the Parable of the Sower, in which He says that the one who is sown upon the rocky places "hath not root in himself, but endureth for a while; and when tribulation and persecution ariseth because of

the word, straightway he stumbleth." In the second passage (John 16:33), He says to the disciples, "In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." On the other occasions where Jesus spoke of "tribulation" (Matt. 24:21,29, and Mark 13:24-the American Standard Version uses the word also in Mark 13:19), the context makes it clear that He has reference to the events that would accompany the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem, events which occurred within the lifetime of that generation.

The apostle Paul uses the word 12 times. In ten of those he was speaking of the sufferings which come upon Christians in the ordinary course of life. These references are: Acts 14:22; Rom. 5:3 (here mentioned twice); 8:35; 12:12; II Cor. 1:4; 2:4; Eph. 3:13; I Thess. 3:4; and II Thess. 1:4. In the other two places (Rom. 2:9 and II Thess. 1:6), he is referring to the fate of the wicked, but in neither of these places is he speaking about a period of time. In one of these he is speaking of "the day of wrath," and in the other of "the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven."

In the Book of Revelation the word "tribulation" occurs five times. In three of these (Rev. 1:9; 2:9; and 2:10), the words are directed to Christians and refer to events in this life. The fourth instance has to do with people who "have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (7:14). And the fifth is an instance in which Christ says that He will cast "into great tribulation" certain ones in the church in Thyatira who commit great sins.

In the Old Testament the word is used four times. In Deuteronomy 4:30 Moses warns the Jews that if they are disobedient they shall "perish" and shall be "scattered among the nations," but adds that if when they are in "tribulation" they seek God He will not forsake them. In this case the word refers to the sufferings of the Jewish people. In Judges 10:14 the reference is to sufferings of Israel in the time of the Judges, sufferings from which they wanted to be delivered. In I Samuel 10:19 Samuel refers to past sufferings of the Jews, from which they had already been delivered. And in I Sam. 26:24 David refers to his own personal sufferings, from which he hopes for deliverance.

Hence our conclusion must be: Nowhere in the Bible is the word "tribulation" used in connection with a seven year period

at the end of the age, either while the Church is still on the earth, as Historic Premillennialism holds, or after the Church has been removed from the earth, as Dispensationalism holds. Instead, it is used to describe: (1) the sufferings of Christians during this present age; (2) the sufferings inflicted upon worldly rejectors of Christ; and (3) the sufferings especially prophesied for the Jewish nation at various times in its past history. The most general use is to describe the sufferings of Christians during this present age.

In regard to the four verses commonly cited by Premillennial-ists to prove this doctrine we make the following observations:

In Jeremiah 30:7, in which a day is referred to as "great" and is described as "the time of Jacob's trouble," the word "great" need not be understood in an intensive sense but can also be used in the sense of long duration, great in length, and this sense is indicated by the word "time" which follows. Old Testament scholars tell us that this prophecy was uttered before the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, which occurred in 587 B. C. It seems extremely improbable that Jeremiah at that time could have been referring to a brief period of three and one-half years which even yet is wholly future. What he refers to as the time of Jacob's trouble seems more naturally to refer to that long period of affliction that befell the Jewish people beginning with the destruction of their city Jerusalem and which indeed continues even through the present time. Following the fall of Jerusalem the Jews were in captivity in Babylon for 70 years; and then when they were given permission to return to Palestine only a small minority did so, and they never again had a truly free and prosperous nation. The destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A. D., and the dispersal of the Jewish people throughout the world through the past nineteen centuries has been but a continuation of "the time of Jacob's trouble."

That this is the correct interpretation is indicated by the fact that the name Jacob in verse 7 must be interpreted in harmony with the name David in verse 9, where we read: "But they shall serve Jehovah their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them." We do not understand this to mean that David in person is again to reign in Jerusalem as he did centuries ago, but rather in a higher and typical sense as referring to the Messiah, who was the true son of David and who would be the true

ruler, not of the Jewish people as such, but of His own people throughout the world. In harmony with this, a higher and typical meaning is also assigned to the word Jacob, and the time of Jacob's trouble may be thought of as paralleled by what Paul terms "the times of the Gentiles," which indeed is a time of trouble for Jacob. In this sense the day is "great," not so much in the intensity of its suffering but in the duration of its length.

Daniel 12:1, quoted above, is too obscure to justify its being used as a basis for a doctrine. It speaks of "a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time," and says that "at that time thy people shall be delivered." This verse has received various interpretations. The "wilful king" who is spoken of in 11:36, and who evidently figures in these experiences, has been designated by some as Antiochus Epiphanes, by others as Herod the Great, or as the Pope or the Papacy, and as a future Antichrist. There is at least no proof that a time of this kind is wholly future. The reference to "thy people," as seen from the Old Testament viewpoint, can be regarded as referring exclusively to Israel, although the New Testament often gives a larger meaning and scope to Old Testament prophecies which at first appearance seem to be restricted to Israel,—as witness the expansion of the "seed" of Abraham to include all true believers in Christ (Gal. 3:7,29), and in this immediate context in Daniel (12:2) the resurrection and the fullness of the new life in heaven is prefigured in the statement that "many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."

Matthew 24:21f., also quoted above, is cited by Pretribula-tionists as a proof-text, on the assumption that at this time the Church will have been raptured and will therefore not be on the earth during the tribulation. But if the "elect" referred to in the next verse, for whose sake these days shall be shortened, are the Church saints who are still on earth, as seems to be the clear meaning of the words, then this passage becomes one of the clearest of all proofs that the Church saints do pass through the tribulation. It is hard to see how "the elect" can refer to any others. It is expressly for their sake that those days will be shortened.

Mark 13:19f., describes the same event as does Matt. 24:21, and so does not need further discussion.

We may cite further Revelation 7:14, which reads: "These are they that come out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." This group which is described in verses 9-17, clearly represents those who have departed, the blessed dead, the Church Triumphant, for in verse 15 it is said, "Therefore are they before the throne of God; and they serve him day and night in his temple." This group, therefore, is seen in heaven, not on earth. Concerning the "great tribulation" through which they have passed, Dr. Allis says:

"Dispensationalists tell us that this great tribulation is a wholly future period, a brief period of only three and a half years but one of intense trial. But the New Testament represents tribulation as the lot of all true Christians. Since it is quite clear that the word rendered 'great' can be understood extensively as well as intensively, it is quite as arbitrary to insist that it must have reference to a period which is almost negligible in extent and which is entirely future, when we think of the terrible and extended persecutions which the Church has already been through, as it is to insist that this must be the meaning of Jeremiah 30:7. If it is to be the lot of Christians generally that through 'many tribulations' they are to enter into the kingdom, it is quite appropriate to refer to this entire period as 'the great tribulation.' And such an interpretation is favored by the language used to describe those who shall have passed through it. To restrict language which is perfectly applicable to believers, at least to many believers, of all ages, to a special group living in a restricted period is arbitrary. To say that the redeemed (or at least the martyrs) of nearly two millenniums, the Church saints, are not included among them seems so improbable that it would require to justify it far more conclusive evidence than any which Pretribulationists have been able to produce. The vision seems clearly to describe the heavenly felicity of all the redeemed of every age and of every race" (Prophecy and the Church, p. 215):

All classes of Premillennialists agree that there is to be a period of great tribulation at the end of the present age. The question on which they divide is: Will the Church go through

the Tribulation? Historic Premillennialists hold that the Church does go through the Tribulation, while Dispensationalists hold that it is raptured at the beginning of that period. Both agree that the world is growing progressively worse, and that this process is to be climaxed during the Tribulation by a seven year reign of a personal Antichrist. Those who hold to Historic Pre-millennialism point out that the Church has suffered tribulation throughout the ages and that it will continue to suffer until the coming of Christ, and that on principle there is no reason why the last generation of Christians should be spared what all previous generations have endured.

The question really comes down to this: Is the Tribulation the wrath of man, or is it the wrath of God? Historic Premillennialists say that the Antichrist is a man, and that the Church has no promise of deliverance from the wrath of man, but only a promise of grace to endure it. Dispensationalists hold on the other hand that the Tribulation is the wrath of God, poured out upon an apostate world, and that since there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ (Rom. 8:1), and since those who believe on Christ do not come into judgment but have passed out of death into life (John 5:24), the true Church is taken out of the world before the woes begin. They say that Christ comes for His saints at the beginning of the Tribulation, that all believers therefore are caught up and taken away, and that only unbelievers are left to go through the Tribulation. "What a fearful prospect it is," they say, "if the Church is to be in this Tribulation, as all the woes described in Revelation, chapters 4 through 19, are poured out upon the earth!" "How can we suppose it possible," they ask, "that God would permit any part of this terrible suffering to fall on His redeemed and believing people? Is it not more fitting, more in accord with His dealings in grace toward men, that they should be removed to be with Him before this trouble sets in?"

But where, we may ask, is there Scripture to support that view? Sufferings and trials are no strange lot for the people of God. They are, in fact, specifically set forth in Scripture as the disciplinary means in this world through which faith and patience are developed. "These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye may have peace. In the world ye have tribulation: but be of

good cheer; I have overcome the world," said Jesus to His disciples (John 16:33). At Lystra Paul, the greatest of the Lord's servants, was stoned and dragged out of the city for dead, but on regaining consciousness he went back into that same city and continued his work, making many disciples, "confirming the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews says: "My son, regard not lightly the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art reproved of him; for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. It is for chastening that ye endure; God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father chasteneth not? But if ye are without chastening, whereof all have been made partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much more be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed good to them; but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness. All chastening seemeth for the moment to be not joyous but grievous; but afterward it yieldeth peaceable fruit unto them that have been exercised thereby, even the fruit of righteousness" (12:5-11).

Christians are repeatedly warned that in this world theirs is not to be a life of luxury and ease, but rather one of trials and suffering. Paul wrote of the afflictions that Christians are to suffer before the coming of Christ (II Thess. l:4f). Peter wrote of the "fiery trials" which Christians undergo (I Peter 4:12). And John wrote of the "tribulation" which he shared with others (Rev. 1:9), and of "tribulation" in the church in Smyrna (Rev. 2:9,10). It is to be remembered that for the Christian this tribulation is not punishment but chastening, designed for his advancement and growth in grace. In proportion as the Church is zealous in proclaiming the Gospel, she is sure to suffer persecution at the hands of those who reject it. There is nothing in Scripture to indicate that the Christian, who through many tribulations is to enter into the kingdom of God, will be exempt from such suffering.

entire period is said to be of seven years duration—the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy (9:24-27). During the first part of this period the Jews return to Palestine, make a covenant with the Antichrist, rebuild the temple, reinstitute the sacrifices and rituals, and carry on a world-wide campaign of evangelism which results in the conversion of great numbers of people. In the middle of the week Antichrist breaks the covenant, reveals his true character as the Man of Sin, abolishes the sacrifice, sets up his own image in the temple and demands worship. This the Jews refuse to give him. Terrible persecutions then break out against the Jews (Rev. 13:14,15). The Tribulation proper thus occurs primarily during only the last three and a half years of the period. A place of refuge for the Jews is found in the wilderness countries beyond the Jordan, in Edom, Moab, and Ammon. William E. Blackstone, author of Jesus Is Coming, believed this so strongly that he had cases of Bibles hidden away in the caves of those regions, so that the Jews might find them in the time of their distress. This, they say, is "the time of Jacob's trouble," referred to in Jeremiah 30:7. During this time all of the woes foretold in Revelation chapters 4 through 19 are fulfilled. The Great Tribulation affects also, of course, all existing Gentile nations and the apostate church.

Scofield refers to the Great Tribulation as "a final catastrophe of civilization, everything poured into one awful maelstrom of destruction and suffering—the great tribulation" (Article, reprinted in Bibliotheca Sacra, Oct.-Dec, 1951, p. 486). Dr. John Walvoord, President of Dallas Theological Seminary, says concerning the Tribulation that, "The Book of Revelation describes it as an outpouring of the wrath of God upon an unbelieving world (Rev. 6:17), a time when apostasy and sin reach unprecedented blasphemy. It is a period which brings death to most of the world's population and destruction to civilization. Nothing like it has ever happened before" (Article in Christian Life, Feb. 1955). Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer refers to it as a "Protestant purgatory": "No one saved by Christ . . . will be left behind for a supposed Protestant purgatory" (Bibliotheca Sacra, Jan.-March, 1952).

At the end of the seven year period Christ returns with His saints, defeats and destroys the Antichrist and his armies in the

battle of Armageddon, thus ending "the times of the Gentiles," and sets up an earthly kingdom in Jerusalem, over which He rules personally for 1000 years.

If it be asked, Where in Scripture is there authority for a seven year period such as Dispensationalism sets forth as elapsing between the Rapture and the Revelation, the answer must be: There is none. It is a period of time imported by inference from Daniel's prophecy of the 70 weeks, it being assumed that each of these weeks is a period of 7 years, and being further assumed that the 70th week has not yet been fulfilled. According to this theory "prophetic time" ceased to run when the Jews rejected Christ as their King at His first Advent, and will not be counted again until He returns in the Rapture.

Since Dispensationalists hold the "any moment" theory of the Rapture, and yet must provide time for a number of predicted events which they say are to occur before the appearing of Christ —such as the apostasy, the appearance and reign of the Antichrist, the Great Tribulation, the return of the Jews to Palestine and their conversion—they find the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy a very convenient parenthesis of 7 years during which these events are to occur. They then divide the coming of Christ into two parts, the unseen coming at the beginning of this period for His saints, and His visible and public coming at the end of this period with His saints. According to this view the events predicted in the Book of Revelation, chapters 4 through 19, have not yet been fulfilled and will not begin to have their fulfillment until the Rapture, but then will be rushed through in jig-time and fulfilled during the seven year tribulation, and largely during the last three and one-half years in a veritable phantasmagoria of horrors.

The correct interpretation of Daniel's prophecy is, we believe, that the events of the 70th week were fulfilled during the public ministry of Christ in Palestine, including the completion and abolition of the Old Covenant. After a further period of grace, some 37 years later, the final break-up of the Jewish economy came with the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem and the final dispersion of the Jewish people.

It is interesting to notice that Dr. Scofield thought the First World War would result in the emergence of the ten kingdoms

in the region of the old Roman empire, allegedly foretold in Daniel, and that Antichrist and Armageddon soon would follow. Speaking before the annual Philadelphia (Prophetic) Bible Conference in 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the war, he said concerning the ten kingdoms:

"Very likely that may be the arrangement in which there will come a pause in the World War now going on. Certainly, at no distant period those who are at war now will come to a condition of exhaustion. . . If there comes a cessation and a readjustment of some sort in that ancient-battle-land, the Roman Empire, this is the form in which it will settle down for the moment. And then there will arise Daniel's little horn,' a man of base birth but of mighty genius, a greater Napoleon. He overcomes three of these ten kingdoms and becomes the federal head of all of them, a world emperor for a moment."

He continued: "Now, while the earth is in that condition and the Beast, the little horn of Daniel, the abomination of desolation, the man of sin, the beast of the sea, is grasping and holding this power, the great tribulation is running its course. In the meantime a comparatively large number of Jews have been permitted, encouraged even, to return to Jerusalem and set up again their temple worship as best they can. If it be objected that all this takes a long time, let it be remembered that right on the site of the temple of Solomon there is now a building, the mosque of Omar, that in its divisions, in its structural arrangement, could be turned in probably one week into a very fair temporary temple for the restoration of the Jewish worship." Imagine that, if you can—the Most Holy God of heaven and earth, who in Old Testament times was so extremely particular that no element of paganism should enter the temple worship, now accepting the full ritual of worship in a pagan temple! Scofield thought further that during the tribulation period the armies of the ten nations would come against the believing Jewish remnant in Jerusalem, ". . . of which," he said, "Scripture has so much to say. . . It is very plain here in the prophetic word." He spoke with much assurance and went into considerable detail describing the events that were to occur just before the battle of Armageddon and the "Revelation" of Christ. "The word is plain enough," he said, "if you will just let it say what it means and believe that it does say

We would add that the Word may be plain enough, but that it certainly did not mean what Dr. Scofield thought it meant, as has been proved by the course of events since that time. We can point to scores of such interpretations given by Premillen-nialists with great confidence during both the First and Second World War. Yet they still assure us that the world is now in its last stages, that the "signs" indicate that the end is near.

It is standard premillennial doctrine that as the Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost, at which time the Church was especially equipped for its work of world evangelism, so at the Rapture with the departure of the Church the Holy Spirit is withdrawn from the world. This is usually explained to mean not that the Holy Spirit is withdrawn altogether, but that He is present only in a very limited way, as He was before Pentecost. He dwells in the Church, and when the Church is removed He too is removed. Says Dr. Walvoord: "The Church indwelt by the Holy Spirit is removed from the earth, then, the man of sin is revealed; with his appearance the tribulation begins. While the Holy Spirit continues to be omnipotent, His work will be similar to the period before Pentecost, but with His restraint withheld" (Article in Christian Life, Feb., 1955). And the period before Pentecost, we remember, was a period in which all the nations of the world except Israel were under the reign of heathenism.

Another of the strange doctrines of Dispensationalism is that, despite the fact that the Holy Spirit is to be absent during the Tribulation, a Jewish remnant (some say the 144,000 of Revelation 7) turns to God and is sealed, and then goes through the world preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom minus the Cross. These are Jews who are looking for the Messiah, but who have only a partial understanding of the Gospel and who therefore cannot be regarded as Christians in the proper sense of the word. Strange as it may seem, however, their work proves far more effective than anything that the Church has been able to accomplish in all the nineteen centuries of its existence. This great success is achieved without the special regenerating and enlight-

ening power of the Holy Spirit as that power was manifested in the hearts of believers at Pentecost and afterward. Dr. David L. Cooper, President of the Biblical Research Society, says: "The greatest revival of all the ages will occur in the Tribulation-after the Church has been removed from the earth by the Rapture" (Pamphlet, God's Torchbearers, p. 34).

The Jews, so this theory holds, are to be converted at the mere sight of Christ their Messiah on the Mount of Olives, and through their testimony whole nations are to be converted. We must point out, however, that people were not converted at the mere sight of Jesus at the time of His first advent, and that it is the particular work of the Holy Spirit to regenerate the soul and give it new vision and so enable it to turn to Christ. The mere presence of Christ often had the effect of hardening His enemies rather than converting them. There is manifested here on the part of Dispensationalism a lack of understanding of the process of redemption. For in the system of redemption set forth in the Scriptures Christ's work is not to convert people, but to provide an objective atonement so that there shall be a basis on which the Holy Spirit can bring souls to faith and repentance and therefore a Gospel to preach. Man is not merely sick, but "dead" in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1), and before he can believe and turn to God he must be regenerated, or as the Scripture expresses it, "born anew," or from above (John 3:3). And that is the particular work of the Holy Spirit. Hence it is simply preposterous to believe that during the Tribulation un-Christian or anti-Christian Jews without the Pentecostal presence and power of the Holy Spirit can accomplish the evangelization of the world after the Church has been removed—or, as the Scofield Bible puts it, after "the Holy Spirit in the church" is "taken out of the way" (p. 1272). What a fearful blow that is to the Cross and at the Church which is founded upon it! It is simply unthinkable that the salvation of the world can be accomplished without the aid of the Holy Spirit. So important is His presence and His work that Christ said: "It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you" (John 16:7). Dispensationalism thus sets forth, among other things, the doctrine of a "second chance" or second opportunity for salvation in a later dispensation on the part of those who are living

at the time of the Rapture—which is generally regarded as a peculiar doctrine of Russellism. But the Bible teaches that "Now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (II Cor. 6:2). When the Holy Spirit is taken out of the world the only possible means of approach to God is severed. The fact of the matter is that the coming of Christ ushers in the day of judgment, and closes forever the door to any future repentance. Those who do not accept the present Gospel offer are lost forever.

Alexander Reese, a Premillennialist but not a Dispensational-ist, ridicules the notion of such "a prodigious tour of the world in 1,260 days, an army of half-converted Jews, still in their sins. Preachers without life," he says, "without forgiveness, and without the Holy Spirit in the soul, will do in 1,260 days what the whole Christian Church has been unable to do in 1,900 years-evangelize the world, and convert the 'overwhelming majority' of the inhabitants of the world to God. This declaration of Scofield's works out at about a million converts a day; and this at a time when, ex hypothesi, the Holy Spirit is in heaven, and the Antichrist is raging here below" (The Approaching Advent of Christ, p. 269).

And Hamilton, an Amillennialist, says: "How could they be regenerated if there were no Holy Spirit present to give them the New Birth? This whole theory is thoroughly unscriptural throughout, since it would by inference deny that man is dead in sins and thus contradict Ephesians 2:1" (The Basis of Millennial Faith, p. 77).

The New Testament passages bearing most fully and directly on the Great Tribulation are: Matt, 24:1-31; Mark 13:1-37; and Luke 19:41-44; 21:5-36. However, a very remarkable prophecy spoken by Moses and found in Deuteronomy 28 throws much light on this subject. It set forth on the one hand the great blessings that would attend Israel as a nation if they remained true to God and kept His covenant, and on the other the fearful consequences that would follow if they broke the covenant. Said Moses:

unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to observe to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that Jehovah thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth . . . Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shalt be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy beasts, and the increase of thy cattle, and the young of thy flock . . . Jehovah will cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thee: they shall come out against thee one way, and shall flee before thee seven ways . . . Jehovah will establish thee for a holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee: if thou shalt keep the commandments of Jehovah thy God, and walk in his ways. And all the peoples of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of Jehovah; and they shall be afraid of thee . . . And Jehovah will make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; . . . thou shalt not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them" (vss. 1-14).

Over against this promise of marvelous blessing if Israel remained true there was set forth the utterly terrible consequences of disobedience:

"But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee. Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field . . . Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, the increase of thy cattle, and the young of thy flock . . . Jehovah will cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies; thou shalt go out one way against them, and shalt flee seven ways before them: and thou shalt be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth . . . Jehovah will bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand . . . And they shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fortified walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, . . . And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, whom Jehovah thy God hath given thee,

in the siege and in the distress wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee. The man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children whom he hath remaining; so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat, because he hath nothing left him, in the siege and in the distress wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in all thy gates. The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, and toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children whom she shall bear; for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly, in the siege and in the distress wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee . . . And Jehovah will scatter thee among all peoples, from the one end of the earth unto the other end of the earth; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers, even wood and stone . . . And Jehovah will bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I said unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall sell yourselves unto your enemies for bondsmen and for bondswomen, and no man shall buy you" (vss. 15-68).

These words were spoken nearly fifteen centuries before the time of Christ. In Daniel 9:24-27 there is found another remarkable prophecy to the same effect:

". . . And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and even unto the end shall be war: desolations are determined. And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon the wing of abomination shall come one that maketh desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate."

Now let us compare with these prophecies of Moses and Daniel the words of Christ spoken to His disciples concerning the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the great tribulation

"And Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way; and his disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. But he answered and said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down . . . Then shall they deliver you up unto tribulation, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all the nations for my name's sake. And then shall many stumble, and shall deliver up one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall arise, and shall lead many astray. And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of the many shall wax cold. But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come. When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him that readeth understand), then let them that are in Judaea flee unto the mountains: let him that is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house: and let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak. But woe to them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days! And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on a sabbath: for then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: But for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened" (vss. 1,2,9-22).

The awful climax of suffering toward which the city and the nation were rapidly building was also reflected in the strong words of Jesus as He was being led out to be crucified, recorded in Luke 23:28-30.

"Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For behold the days are coming, in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the breasts that never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.

was then only a few years in the future, is made clear in the parallel passages (Matt. 24:1-34 and Luke 21:20-36). And that His words referred especially to that generation is placed beyond all doubt when in Matthew 24:34 and Luke 21:32 He said: "This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished." Those who picture a future tribulation of awful proportions should remember that Christ Himself said that the greatest tribulation of all time was to occur at the siege of Jerusalem.

That the "great tribulation" of which Christ spoke did not refer to an event at the end of the age is made clear by the fact that after saying that such suffering had not been known since the beginning of the world, He goes on to say, "No, nor ever shall be." It would have been pointless to have added that comment if it was to occur at the end of the age, for then of course no time would have been left for such an occurrence. This is also borne out by the fact that Jesus told the Christians to pray "that your flight be not in the winter, neither on a sabbath" (vs. 20). They were to pray that no natural causes might hinder their flight from the scene of horror, and that it would not happen on a sabbath when according to Jewish law they could travel only a short distance. These provisions indicate a local, not a world-wide, event. Nor can they apply to the Second Coming, for then true believers are to be taken directly to be with Christ. There will be no reason at all then for them to flee to the mountains.

Nor do the words, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come" (Matt. 24:14), mean that those events are to occur at the end of the age. This language is similar to that used to describe the events that occurred on the day of Pentecost, where we read: "Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven" (Acts 2:5)—and then the nations represented are named: Parthia, Media, Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, Egypt, Rome, Arabia, etc.— not the entire world, but the world as known to the Jews of that day. Mark, too, uses similar language when he says that after the ascension of Christ the disciples "went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed" (16:20). In writing to the Romans about

the year 58 A.D., Paul said, "I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world (1:8); "unto all the nations" (16:26); and in the letter to the Colossians he used the most expansive language concerning the preaching of the gospel that had already occurred (A.D. 63), ". . . the gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven" (1:23). Hence Christ referred not to a preaching of the gospel in our day, or near the end of the age, but to a preaching that was to occur before the destruction of Jerusalem in the year A.D. 70.

Likewise, the end referred to by Matthew—"and then shall the end come" (vs. 14)—refers not to the end of the world, but to the end of the Old Testament economy, with its temple and priesthood, its ritual and sacrifice, the final break-up of the Jewish nation and the dispersal of the people, which, as the events proved, was just at hand. It is hard for us at this distance to realize what a revolutionary change that was, as the old order which had been in existence for fifteen centuries and which had set the Jews apart from all of the surrounding nations, came to its final climax and was abolished. In Old Testament times the message of salvation was confined to the one little nation of Israel; but before the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 A.D., the distinction between Jew and Gentile had been abolished and a new era had dawned in which the gospel was being preached to all nations without distinction of race or color. For the Jews who had grown up under the old order it meant the end of a way of life as they had known it, and the launching out into a new way, in effect, a new world.

There has been much conjecture and much misunderstanding regarding what Matthew meant by "the abomination of desolation." Verses 15 and 16 read: "When therefore ye shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him that readeth understand), then let them that are in Judaea flee unto the mountains." Some, as Blackstone, have thought that this meant "an idol placed in the holy of holies of the temple during the reign of Antichrist" (Jesus Is Coming, p. 187). That, of course, is only a conjecture, a private opinion entirely without Scriptural support. An image in the holy of holies could not have been seen

by the people, for only the high priest was allowed to enter that sacred place, and then only once each year. Jesus spoke of some public event that the people could "see," something that the Christians could recognize as the appointed sign when they were to flee immediately to the mountains.

The explanation of the sign is to be found, we believe, in the difference in wording between Matthew's account and that given by Luke. Luke says: "And when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that her desolation is at hand. Then let them that are in Judaea flee unto the mountains . . ." (21:20,21). A foreign, pagan army on the sacred soil of Palestine would be an abomination; and the desolating work of invading armies is well known. Hence this is a reference to the soon coming invasion of Palestine by the Romans. It is generally assumed on the part of Bible scholars that the Gospel of Matthew was written primarily for the Jews, who were familiar with Old Testament prophecy and who therefore would recognize this expression as a reference to invading armies, but that the Gospel of Luke was written more particularly for Gentiles who were not acquainted with prophecy; hence Luke says plainly, "When ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies . . ." The cup of iniquity of the Jewish nation was just about full (Matt. 23:32). Upon the generation then living would come "all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the alter" (Matt. 23:35). This prophecy is repeated in Matthew 24:34, where Jesus says: "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished."

Concerning this last statement and the meaning of the word "generation," Dr. Murray says:

"The meaning of this sentence seems quite obvious, but it is difficult to see how 'all these things' were really fulfilled during the lifetime of that generation. Some interpreters have tried to overcome this obstacle by substituting the idea of race, nation, stock or family, for generation. They insist that what Jesus really meant was that the Jews, as a race, would not pass away until these things should be fulfilled. The Scofield Reference Bible states that the Greek word genea translated generation means

'race, kind, family, stock or breed' (p. 1034). To this Dr. Scofield adds parenthetically, 'so all lexicons.' It may be that some lexicons support this opinion, but certainly not 'all lexicons.' We have before us Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, a very able and reliable work in this field. On page 112 of this volume it is distinctly stated that the word <grc>genea translated generation in Matthew 23:36 and Matthew 24:34 means 'the Jewish race at one and the same period' or 'the whole multitude of men at the same time.' This interpretation seems both obvious and reasonable."

He continues: "It may be profitable and convincing to the reader to see how the word generation is used in other parts of Matthew's Gospel. In Matthew 1:17 we read, 'so all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations; and from David unto the carrying away to Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away to Babylon unto the Christ are fourteen generations.' Here one finds the same Greek word used, but no one would suggest that it be translated 'fourteen races, kinds, families, stocks or breeds.' In Matthew 11:16 Jesus said, 'But whereunto shall I liken this generation?' It is plain to anyone that He is speaking of the people then living and describing their attitude toward John the Baptist and Himself. Again in Matthew 12:39-43 Jesus speaks of an adulterous generation and says that the men of Nineveh and the queen of the south shall rise against it. The men of Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah, and a greater than Jonah preached to that generation. The queen of the south came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and a greater than Solomon was available to that generation. In each case Jesus Christ is using the word generation to describe His contemporaries, and we question seriously if in any of the four Gospels the word is used with any other meaning. This, then, should convince us beyond a doubt that our Lord is not speaking of a race, but that He is speaking of a people living at that time when He says: 'Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled' . . . We take the position that Matthew 24:34, in which our Lord speaks of the generation then living, is the time text of the chapter and that our Lord's predictions up to that point have to do with the destruction of

Jerusalem, which took place in the year 70 A. D. All His predictions concerning that notable event are clear and definite" (Millennial Studies, pp. 109, 110).

What, then, were the events that occurred during the siege of Jerusalem and the final break-up of the Jewish nation, the events concerning which Christ said, "For then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be"?

The climax came in the year 70 A. D., at Passover time with people from all over the nation gathered in Jerusalem, when in a spasm of maniacal fervor which undoubtedly was as sincere as it was hopelessly impossible of accomplishment the Jews decided to cast off the Roman yoke. The city was crowded with people from all parts of Palestine. Our primary source of information is the famous history written by Josephus, who as we have said was a Jew and an eye-witness of the destruction of Jerusalem. His works, The Antiquities of the Jews, and The Wars of the Jews, have been preserved. They are considered reliable by competent historians, and his account of the long and fiercely contested siege and fall of the city corresponds to such a time of tribulation as Christ said would befall the city. He was an educated Pharisee and had been appointed governor of Galilee. After a valiant defense against the Roman army in Galilee before the siege of Jerusalem began, he was forced to surrender. However, he succeeded in ingratiating himself with the Roman general Titus, who was impressed with his ability and his sincerity and who used him as a mediator between himself and the Jews during the latter part of the campaign. It was in this capacity that he was present at the siege of Jerusalem. He was later given his freedom, and went to Rome where his literary work was done. He was not a Christian, and so cannot be accused of having written with any idea of favoring the Christians.

Concerning his fellow-Jews Josephus said: "I shall therefore speak my mind here at once briefly: That neither did any other city ever suffer such miseries, nor did any age ever breed a generation more fruitful of wickedness than this was, from the beginning of the world." Wars of the Jews, Book V, Chapter 10:5. He

says that 1,100,000 people perished during the long and fiercely contested siege, and that 97,000 survivors were sold as slaves (VI, 9:3). The temple was destroyed and the city was razed to the ground. "Now this vast multitude," he says, "was indeed collected out of remote places, but the entire nation was now shut up by fate as in prison, and the Roman army encompassed the city when it was crowded with inhabitants. Accordingly the multitude of those that perished therein exceeded all the destructions that either man or God ever brought upon the world" (VI, 9:4).

It was by that event that the national existence of the Jews came to an end. Since that time the exiles have been scattered all over the world, with no national unity until very recent times when a small minority of them set up a new government in Palestine (1948). During all those years, however, they maintained their racial existence despite many hardships and much persecution. In long continued suffering their lot is unparalleled in the experience of any other people.

We take no pleasure in recording the terribleness of the siege, and we include such an account only with reluctance in order to show what actually did happen and how literally this fulfilled the prophecy that Christ made concerning the great tribulation. In order to understand what actually happened it is necessary to keep in mind that during the siege the greater part of the suffering and horror was caused by the Jews themselves. Their feeling that they were the chosen people and that they would be rescued by divine intervention, that indeed God would have to intervene in order to protect His temple, caused them to neglect to do those things which under normal conditions would have been considered good military tactics and sound judgment. When they were in such extremity and were daily expecting a mighty deliverance it became extremely easy for false prophets and false Christs to impose upon them, as Christ had said they would. As conditions grew steadily worse and it finally dawned upon them that no divine help was coming the sense of abandonment and despair led to such crimes against each other as otherwise never would have been perpetrated or tolerated. The besieged people broke into three vicious rival factions which fought each other, and robbed and tortured and

slaughtered those who refused to join their factions. Unmentionable crimes were committed, and the aged and women and children suffered so much from this internal war that they longed for the Romans to come and deliver them. Even the temple became a battleground in this internecine warfare and hundreds of dead bodies were strewn throughout its chambers. This caused Josephus to write: "O most wretched city, what misery so great as this didst thou suffer from the Romans, when they came to purify thee from thy intestine hatred! For thou couldst be no longer a place fit for God, nor couldst thou long continue in being, after thou hadst been a sepulchre for the bodies of thy own people, and hadst made the holy house itself a burying-place in this civil war of thine" (V, 1:3).

"The madness of the seditious did also increase together with the famine, and both these miseries were every day inflamed more and more . . . Many there were indeed, who sold what they had for one measure; it was of wheat, if they were of the richer sort; but of barley, if they were poorer. When these had so done, they shut themselves up in the inmost rooms of their houses, and ate the corn they had gotten . . . The famine was too hard for all other passions, and it is destructive to nothing so much as to modesty; for what was otherwise worthy of reverence was in this case despised; insomuch that children pulled the very morsels that their fathers were eating out of their mouths, and what was still more to be pitied, so did the mothers do as to their infants; and when those that were most dear were perishing under their hands, they were not ashamed to take from them the very last drops that might preserve their lives; and while they ate after this manner, yet were they not concealed in so doing; but the seditious everywhere came upon them immediately, and snatched away from them what they had gotten from others; for when they saw any house shut up, this was to them a signal that the people within had gotten some food; whereupon they broke down the doors, and ran in, and took of what they were eating, almost out of their very throats, and this by force; the old men, who held their food fast, were beaten; and if the women hid what they had within their hands, their hair was torn for so doing; nor was there any commiseration shown

either to the aged or to the infants, but they lifted up children from the ground as they hung upon the morsels they had gotten, and shook them down upon the floor. But still they were more barbarously cruel to those that had prevented their coming in, and had actually swallowed down what they were going to seize upon, as if they had been unjustly defrauded of their right. They also invented terrible methods of torture to discover where any food was . . ." (V, 10:2, 3).

"Now the seditious at first gave orders that the dead should be buried out of the public treasury, as not enduring the stench of their dead bodies. But afterward, when they could not do that, they had them cast down from the walls into the valley beneath. However, when Titus, in going his rounds among these valleys, saw them full of dead bodies, and the thick putrefaction, called God to witness that this was not his doing; and such was the sad case of the city itself."

Josephus records an event concerning a wealthy and cultured woman which will show that the language of Jesus was not too extravagant when He foretold the terrible tribulation that would befall the city. This woman at first had much food, but was robbed until she had nothing left. She cursed the villains who robbed her, but to no avail. Josephus continues: "She then attempted a most unnatural thing: and snatching up her son, who was a child sucking at her breast, she said, 'O thou miserable infant! for whom shall I preserve thee in this war, this famine, this sedition? As to the war with the Romans, if they preserve our lives, we must be slaves. This famine also will destroy us, even before that slavery comes upon us. Yet are these seditious rogues more terrible than both the other. Come on; be thou my food, and be thou a fury to these seditious varlets, and a by-word to the world, which is all that is now wanting to complete the calamities of the Jews.' And as soon as she had said this, she slew her son, and roasted him, and ate the one-half of him, and kept the other half by her concealed. Upon this the seditious came presently, and smelling the horrid scent of this food, they threatened her that they would cut her throat immediately if she did not show them what food she had gotten already. She replied that she had saved a very fine portion of it for them, and withal uncovered what was left of her son. Hereupon they were seized

with a horror and amazement of mind, and stood astonished at the sight, when she said to them, 'This is mine own son, and what hath been done was my own doing! Come, eat of this food; for I have eaten of it myself. Do you not pretend to be either more tender than a woman, or more compassionate than a mother; but if you be so scrupulous, and do abominate this my sacrifice, as I have eaten the one-half, let the rest be reserved for me.' After which those men went out trembling, being never so much affrighted at any thing as they were at this, and with some difficulty they left the rest of that meat to the mother" (VI, 3:4).

Josephus says that in the latter stages of the siege the Romans, angered at what they considered the unduly long and stubborn resistance of the city, crucified Jews until they could no longer find wood to make crosses. Concerning those who tried to escape from the city he says: "When they were going to be taken, they were forced to defend themselves, for fear of being punished; but after they had fought, they thought it too late to make any supplication for mercy; so they were first whipped, and tormented with all sorts of tortures before they died, and were then crucified before the walls of the city. This miserable procedure made Titus greatly to pity them, while they caught every day five hundred Jews; nay, some days they caught more; yet did it not appear to be safer for him to let those taken by force go their way; and to set a guard over so many, he saw would be to make such as guarded them useless to him ... So the soldiers, out of the wrath and hatred they bore the Jews, nailed those they caught, one after one way, and another after another, to the crosses, by way of jest; when their multitude was so great that room was wanting for the crosses, and crosses wanting for the bodies" (V, 11:1).

He continues: "Now the number of those that were carried captive during this whole war was collected to be ninety-seven thousand; as was the number of those that perished in the whole siege eleven hundred thousand, the greater part of whom were indeed of the same nation, but not belonging to the city itself; for they were come up from all the country to the feast of unleavened bread and were on a sudden shut up by an army" (VI, 9:3).

Some of those who tried to escape from the city swallowed pieces of gold before leaving, in order to take it with them. Says Josephus: "Yet did another plague seize upon those that were

thus preserved, for the deserters used to swallow pieces of gold. But when this contrivance was discovered in one instance the fame of it filled the several camps, that the deserters came to them full of gold, so the multitude of the Arabians with the Syrians, cut up those who came as supplicants, and searched their inwards. Nor does it seem to me that any misery befell the Jews that was more terrible than this, since in one night's time about two thousand of those deserters were thus massacred."

As the Romans fought their way into the city and the last pockets of resistance were overcome further horrors were inflicted on the people. The temple was burned and torn down, thus fulfilling the words of Jesus, "There shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down" (Matt. 24:2). As a final gesture of contempt the Romans even plowed the ground where the city stood. The entire surviving remnant of the people was sold into slavery.

Jesus had wept over the city because He foresaw the judgment that was coming upon it. It was His foreknowledge of that event, as He was led out of the city to be crucified, that caused Him to say to the women of Jerusalem: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children" (Luke 23:28).

In accordance with our view that Matthew 24 foretold the coming destruction of Jerusalem, and not a future tribulation of the end-time, the words of Jesus in verse 28 have special significance: "Wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together." The eagle was then the symbol of Roman power, as it is today the symbol of American power, and as the lion is of British power. It was carried by the different units of the Roman army. It was over the governor's palace. Wherever Roman authority was exercised there the eagle was in evidence. Hence the reference in the words of Jesus was readily understood. It found its fulfillment in that in the year 70 A. D., the Roman eagles gathered at the city of Jerusalem and devoured the carcass of apostate Judaism.

One of the most remarkable events in connection with the fall of Jerusalem was the escape of the Christians from the city before the siege began. Nearly forty years earlier Jesus had foretold this destruction and had made provision for the escape of His

people. He had given them a sign by which they were to know when to flee, and had said, "But when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that her desolation is at hand" (Luke 21:20); and again, "When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him that readeth understand), then let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains ... for then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be" (Matt. 24:15,21). History informs us that the Christians took the invasion of the Roman armies as the appointed sign and made their escape to Pella, a village east of the Jordan about 15 miles south of the Sea of Galilee, and that none of them perished. Thousands of Jews from the other parts of the country fled into Asia Minor, Egypt, and various parts of Europe. In the year 135 A. D., after another incipient revolt, the Emperor Hadrian completed the work of driving practically all Jews out of Palestine.

It is a far cry from Moses to Josephus. Yet that which God speaking through Moses said would come upon a disobedient people (Deut. 28), had its fulfillment in detail and was recorded by an historian who, without thought of what God had promised, simply reported what he saw with his own eyes. Truly that was "the time of Jacob's trouble" (Jer. 30:7), as it was also the Great Tribulation of Daniel's prophecy and of Matthew 24. It fulfilled our Lord's prophecy,—and the point that really proves the argument beyond all successful contradiction is the statement that "This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished" (Matt. 24:34). It was also clearly predicted that believers were to escape that great tribulation, not as the Dis-pensationalists tell us, by being raptured into the air, but by fleeing for their lives to the mountains, which they did. Premillennial-ists of both schools relate the prophecy concerning a Great Tribulation to a future period, holding that it occurs at the very end of the age, and so are blind to the fact that it already has been fulfilled literally in the year 70 A. D. It is significant that while the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, which were written before the destruction of Jerusalem, contain prophecies regarding the Great Tribulation, the Gospel of John, which was written in the year 95 A. D., or 25 years after that event, makes no mention of

it at all. Had the prophecy related to the end of the age John undoubtedly would have mentioned such an important event. The fact that he omitted any reference to it is a strong indication that he regarded it as fulfilled. Clearly the Great Tribulation of which Jesus spoke is a matter of history. Surely that tribulation was horrible enough, and surely we do not need to put the poor Jews or humanity at large through another and, if possible, even greater tribulation at the end of the age.

We call attention also to the completely disproportionate emphasis that the premillennial system places on the Book of Revelation. For according to that interpretation chapters 4 through 19, a total of 16 chapters, are used to describe the comparatively short seven year Tribulation, while only six verses in chapter 20 are used to describe the glorious one thousand year reign of Christ upon the earth, with all the great and mighty events that undoubtedly would happen during that time. Such a method of interpretation is absurd on the face of it. The order should at least be reversed.

There have been, of course, other periods of tribulation or suffering in which greater numbers of people were involved, and which continued for longer periods of time. But considering the physical, moral and religious aspects, suffering never reached a greater degree of awfulness and intensity than in the siege of Jerusalem. Nor have so many people ever perished in the fall of any other city. We think of the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima as causing the greatest mass horror of anything in modern times. Yet only about one-tenth as many people were killed in Hiroshima as in the fall of Jerusalem. Add to the slaughter of such a great number the bestiality of Jew to Jew and of Roman to Jew and the anguish of a people who knew they were forsaken of God, and we see the justification for Christ's words, "For then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be."

But while we reject the idea of a Great Tribulation at the end of the age, and hold that the one spoken of by Moses and Daniel and in the Gospels had its fulfillment in the destruction of Jerusalem, we nevertheless find that there are many tribulations, that

the life of a Christian in this present world is in a sense a continuing tribulation. We have cited Christ's words, "In the world ye have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33); and Paul's admonition that "through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). In the first chapter of the Revelation John addresses himself to his readers as follows: "I John, your brother and partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patience which are in Jesus . . ." (1:9). In other words, the tribulation was then in progress, and John and the Christians to whom he was writing were partakers in it—as also are we and all Christians who have lived and suffered for their faith since that time. Concerning the saints in the intermediate state John wrote: "These are they that come out of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (7:14). Philip Mauro has well said: "The 'tribulation saints' of the futurist system are altogether an imaginary company; and we, the Lord's people of this dispensation, are the true 'tribulation saints.'" The dispensational system, in teaching that believers are not to pass through the great tribulation but are to be raptured away from it, merely helps to close the eyes of the saints to the real meaning and importance of the tribulation through which they now are passing.

One reason that it is so difficult for some people to realize that the Great Tribulation had its fulfillment in the siege and fall of Jerusalem is that they do not fully appreciate what a tremendously important event and what a landmark in history the break-up and abolition of the Old Testament economy really was. For a period of 1500 years God had worked with and through the Jewish people exclusively in matters pertaining to salvation. This had set Israel off very sharply from all of the other nations. The law as given on Mount Sinai had rigidly regulated the form of their religion and thinking and conduct. They had been God's chosen people to the exclusion of all others, except as some few individuals came into the nation and accepted their religion. But with the advent of Messiah all of that was ended. The passing away of the old order was an event of such great significance that in speaking of it Jesus in Matthew 24

uses language which if read hurriedly or carelessly can be misunderstood as describing events at the end of the world.

It should be added that Amillennialists and some Postmillen-nialists also teach that there is to be a tribulation period immediately preceding the close of the present age, although they do not go to the extreme of the Dispensationahsts who assert that all of the Book of Revelation from chapter 4 to 19 inclusive is a description of that period. Dr. Berkhof, for instance, says that the passages in Matthew, Mark and Luke ". . . undoubtedly found a partial fulfillment in the days preceding the destruction of Jerusalem, but will evidently have a fulfillment in the future in a tribulation far surpassing anything that has ever been experienced (Matt. 24:21; Mark 13:19). Paul also speaks of the great apostasy in II Thessalonians 2:3; I Timothy 4:1; II Timothy 3:13. He already saw something of that spirit of apostasy in his own day, but clearly wants to impress upon his readers that it will assume much greater proportions in the last days" (Systematic Theology, p. 700).

Dr. Murray also looks for tribulation at the end, but not the Great Tribulation of the Dispensationahsts. He says:

"For the sake of better understanding, it might be plainly stated that we do not deny that there shall be great tribulation toward the end of the Gospel age. Those who have spiritual discernment can already hear the rumblings which betoken the loosening of an avalanche of apostasy. As it gains momentum, life will become increasingly difficult for those who remain steadfast in the faith, and loyal to Jesus Christ. Some of them are already paying a price for their devotion to Him."

"The present church," he continues, "is gradually, but surely, concentrating its endeavors on carnal organization which shall presumably embrace all of Christendom. The indications of ecclesiastical regimentation are everywhere in evidence. The question of questions is whether the world organization shall be under the direction of Christ, or of Antichrist. The history of ecclesiastical mergers does not justify the hope of world revival under a world church. The alternative is world-wide apostasy" (Millennial Studies, p. 130).

We have already given our reasons for believing that the references in Matthew, Mark and Luke relate to the destruction

of Jerusalem. We do not believe that any further events are needed for their completion. Similarly, Paul's references to "later times," in which "some shall fall away from the faith" (I Tim. 4:1), and his statement that "in the last days grievous times shall come" (II Tim. 3:1), applied primarily to problems of his own day, as is shown by his admonition to Timothy to "put the brethren in mind of these things" (I Tim. 4:6), and in his second epistle, after enumerating the things that he has in mind he admonishes Timothy, "From these also turn away" (3:5). And surely the sufferings that were endured by the Christians during the first centuries under the Roman emperors, by the Protestants during the Spanish and Italian inquisitions, and by the Huguenots in France, resulting as they did in the death of thousands and in the torture and exile of countless other thousands, make present day indications of any coming tribulation insignificant by comparison. And while it is to be admitted that today there is too much ecclesiastical regimentation, the moves that have been made toward establishing a world church do not indicate to us that we are heading into a tribulation period of the end-time. Surely the world church that existed at the time of the Reformation must have looked far more imposing and domineering and dangerous to Luther and Calvin and the other evangelicals of that day than does anything that we see now. Also the Established Church in the days of John Wesley, with its dead formalism and lack of spiritual life, must have looked the same way to Wesley and his followers. As regimentation develops in the established churches, invariably smaller groups break off and grow, and in time revival comes. We believe that the Great Tribulation is long since past. We also believe that the indications of spiritual growth throughout the Church today are much more promising than they have been in any previous period of history.

One of the distinguishing marks of Premillennialism is that its adherents all believe in the appearing of a personal Antichrist shortly before the coming of Christ. This character is thought to be a wicked secular or ecclesiastical ruler who is referred to by that name in the First and Second Epistles of John, who in the Book of Revelation is termed the Beast or the False Prophet, and who is the same as the Man of Sin described by Paul in II Thessalonians 2:3,4. It is said that he is to live in the very last days of the present dispensation, and that he will be exalting himself on the earth at the time Christ returns to set up His millennial kingdom.

Premillennialism usually holds too that the Roman empire is to be revived, and that the Antichrist is to be the king or dictator of this realm. His kingdom is said to include ten nations (Dan. 7:7,20) in central and southern Europe, western Asia, northern Africa, and England. He is not to be revealed as such until after the Rapture of the Church, although he may be the ruler in his kingdom before that time. He is to have more power than has ever before been exercised by any king or dictator. The unbelieving Jews in Palestine are to make a covenant with him, but after three and one-half years he breaks the covenant and institutes a fierce persecution against them. When the Jews are shut up in Jerusalem and are about to be overwhelmed, Christ returns, destroys the Antichrist and his armies in the battle of Armageddon, delivers the Jews, and sets up His millennial kingdom. Some say, however, that the Jews are first to be attacked by a king who invades Palestine from the north, usually said to be the king of Russia, that they appeal to the Roman dictator for help and enter into an agreement with him. According to this view the Roman dictator goes to the aid of the Jews. The armies are drawn up on the plains of Esdraelon, the scene of so many

past battles, and in the ensuing battle the Antichrist is victorious. This, however, leads on shortly afterward to a war against the Jews, which is climaxed by the battle of Armageddon. At that moment Christ returns, overthrows the Antichrist, delivers the Jewish people, and sets up His millennial kingdom. In either event the Antichrist still is in the future, and will not be manifested until the Church has been removed at the Rapture.

Many Post- and Amillennialists also believe that a personal Antichrist is to appear in the last days. Some hold that he will be a political ruler. Others identify him with the Pope or the line of popes. Such was the belief of the Reformers, and it continues to be held in the Lutheran Church even to the present day. All of these likewise believe that he will be destroyed at the coming of Christ.

In view of the rather elaborate programs that have been built up around the person and work of the Antichrist it may come somewhat as a surprise to find that there are but four verses in Scripture in which the word "antichrist" occurs. Other alleged references, such as the "man of sin" mentioned by Paul, the beast or the false prophet mentioned by John in Revelation, and the "little horn" mentioned in Daniel 7, are such only by inference. The verses that mention Antichrist are as follows:

I John 2:18: "Little children, it is the last hour: and as ye heard that antichrist cometh, even now have there arisen many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last hour."

I John 2:22, "Who is the liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, even he that denieth the Father and the Son."

I John 4:3, "And every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God: and this is the spirit of the antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it cometh: and now it is in the world already."

II John 7, "For many deceivers are gone forth into the world, even they that confess not that Jesus Christ cometh in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist."

In the first place we notice that the word "antichrist" as here used by John is applied to many persons existing in the first century. He says clearly that "even now have there arisen many antichrists." And concerning these he says: "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would

have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they all are not of us" (I John 2:19).

In other words, the antichrists of John's day were Christian apostates, those who had forsaken the Church and who were teaching false views concerning our Lord's person. The distinguishing mark of the antichrist, or an antichrist, says John, whether an individual or a class of individuals, is the denial of the essential deity of Christ. Those who so denied Him reduced Him to a mere man, perhaps a great and good man, but still only a man. The denial of His deity was especially heinous, because on that fact depended the entire fabric of man's salvation and of God's redemptive plan. To strike at the deity of Christ is to strike at the very heart of the Christian system. Hence such deniers are branded as liars, deceivers, false prophets, and antichrists. I John 2:19 makes it clear that they were men who had gone out from the disciples, that is, apostates and heretics who had deserted the Church and were opposing it.

In this same context John also contrasts "the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error" (I John 4:6), indicating that in some instances the spirit of antichrist is not necessarily personal. Briefly, we may say that anyone who opposes Christ and His kingdom, any opposition to the person and work of Christ, is antichrist and anti-Christian. This spirit is at work in the world today, and it was already at work in John's day. Notice, too, that the American Standard and King James versions do not capitalize the word "antichrist," indicating at least that in the opinion of the translators it was not the name of one particular individual.

In the main, however, the antichrists of whom John wrote were those who denied the true deity or the true humanity of Christ. The Scriptures teach clearly and repeatedly that Christ is truly God and that He is also truly man, One who had come from heaven, who lived a perfectly normal life among men for a period of thirty-three years, who really died, arose from the dead, ascended to heaven, and who will come again in His glorified resurrection body. There were, says John, many who denied that teaching in his day. He does not point them out as atheists, or infidels, or pagans, but as false prophets, liars, deceivers, those who had been within the Church but who now

were denying its doctrines. In John's day and in every generation since there have been "many antichrists." As John uses the term every person or thing that is opposed to Christ is antichrist. Certainly it is not confined, if indeed it has any reference at all, to one particular person who is to appear in aggravated form just before the coming of Christ. Too much is read into these verses when that meaning is placed upon them.

The fantastic lengths to which some Premillennialists go, however, and the detailed events which they believe they are able to foretell, are well illustrated in the following exposition by George W. Beckwith:

"The dictator will increase his activities rapidly during the tribulation period after he breaks the covenant with the Jews. He will carry his conquest into Egypt (Dan. 11:42,43). This will be the start of his last campaign . . .The king of the south will come against him, and the beast will conquer. He will conquer all of the Mediterranean countries except Edom, Moab, and Ammon (Dan. 11:41). These nations will be a place of refuge for the remnant of the Jews.

"The Northern Confederacy," he continues, "also is preparing for conquest while the beast of the Roman federation is conquering around the Mediterranean sea with his eye on Palestine. Russia and Germany, as well as all the other countries of the earth, also have their eyes on Palestine.

"The Northern Confederacy is described in Ezekiel 38:8,9. In the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee' . . .

"The antichrist will be troubled by tidings out of the East and out of the North. With his federation of ten nations, he will meet the Northern Confederacy, with Gog as their head, in the valley of Esdraelon. Both of these confederations will seek the wealth of Palestine. The antichrist will be the conqueror. He will become the head of the armies of all nations. This will lead him to the battle of Armageddon, to war against God's chosen

people, the Jews. This war therefore will be fought by the combined armies of the Gentile nations under the leadership of the antichrist against the Jews. Then will occur the Revelation of Jesus Christ as the Rider of the white horse from heaven. The result of Christ's coming on His white horse from heaven to battle against the antichrist will be that the hosts of the antichrist will be slaughtered in great numbers. The dead will be buried in the valley of Himmon-Gog. The house of Israel will be seven months burying the dead of the armies of the antichrist.

"Thus will end the power of the antichrist, the king of the Revived Roman Empire . . . Christ will come with all His hosts of heaven, at the time of His Revelation, to the Mount of Olives, to put a stop to the work of the antichrist, to judge the nations and to usher in His kingdom" (God's Prophetic Plan, pp. 104-106).

We have no need to enter into a detailed refutation of such an elaborate theory. It is a fundamental rule of exegesis that every passage must be understood in the light of its context. Yet not one single reference in Daniel or Ezekiel or Paul or the Book of Revelation which Premillennialists allege refers to the Antichrist is connected in any way with the verses in the epistles of John that mention antichrist. All is based on inference. Let the reader search for himself and see how far-fetched that connection is. We make bold to say that this picture of Antichrist as a world ruler who persecutes the Jews during an alleged tribulation period and then leads the armies of the Gentiles against the Jews in Palestine is pure fiction, without so much as one clear supporting verse in all Scripture.

Nor do we find any adequate support for the view generally accepted by Amillennialists and some Postmillennialists, that the Antichrist will emerge as a powerful political or religious leader shortly before the coming of Christ. That too impresses us as built largely on inference, and as in fact contrary to other Scripture which teaches the future glorious state of the Church and its victorious sweep before the end comes.

The verse most often cited as teaching that an Antichrist is to appear shortly before the end is II Thessalonians 2:3. This

verse speaks of a "man of sin" and of a "falling away¹ or apostasy, and with its context reads as follows:

"Now we beseech you, brethren, touching the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him; to the end that ye be not quickly shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by epistle as from us, as that the day of the Lord is just at hand; let no man beguile you in any wise: for it will not be, except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, he that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know that which restraineth, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season. For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only there is one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to naught by the manifestation of his coming; even he, whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they should be saved" (vss. 1-10).

There have been many attempts down through the ages to identify the Man of Sin or the Antichrist. The early Christians believed him to be the persecuting Roman emperor. It was noted by the Christians that the name Nero, Neron Kesar, written in Hebrew letters, had the numerical value of 666 (cf. Rev. 13:18). Mohammed, the false prophet, or his successors in the Caliphate, were thought by some to be the Antichrist. The Reformers believed that both of these prophecies, John's references to the Antichrist and Paul's references to the Man of Sin, were fulfilled in the Roman Pope, or in the succession of the popes, and that the "falling away" found its fulfillment in the corrupt condition of the medieval Church. Luther publicly burned the Pope's decree of excommunication, calling it "the execrable bull of Antichrist." The Reformers wrote this view into their commentaries and creeds. Strengthening this view was the fact that the Latin title of the Pope, Vicarius Filii Dei, Vicar of the Son of God, had the numerical value of 666.

V- 5

D- 500

I - 1

C - 100

L- 50 I - 1

I - 1

Total - 666

I - 1

U- 5

Intriguing though this scheme may be, we do not believe that the papacy is the specific agency intended by either John or Paul. We are told that the Man of Sin "opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God" (vs. 4). He therefore is not a religious figure at all. He is not only opposed to the true God, but to every form of true worship and even to the idea of God. He is notoriously anti-religious. This cannot be said of the Pope of Rome, or of the succession of the popes; for they very definitely have been religious figures.

There have been still other candidates for the title of Antichrist or Man of Sin. Napoleon, the "Tyrant," the scourge of Europe, was thought by some in his day to be the one spoken of. At the time of the First World War some leveled this charge against the Kaiser. Between the wars and during the first part of the Second World War Mussolini and his "restored Roman empire" was set forth by many as a likely candidate for this role. Numerous articles were written and sermons preached to that effect. Typical of those who advocated this view was Dr. John R. Rice, who in a book, World-Wide War and the Bible, published in 1940, in answer to the question, "Is Mussolini the Antichrist?" said:

"He may be. I know of no reason why he should not fit the description of this terrible Man of Sin. He is an Italian. He is evidently an atheist. He once debated for atheism. He has the ruthless disposition, the ruling genius. He has an obsession to restore the Roman Empire. Furthermore, he is already in power in Rome. If Christ called His saints today, and if every saved person should be taken out to meet Christ, then soon Mussolini might have a mandate over Palestine, make the promised treaty

with the Jews, and in three and one-half years attain world-wide power and then reign another three and one-half years, forty-two months, over the whole world. Mussolini is somewhat past fifty, neither too young nor too old for the brief but meteoric rule of the terrible Man of Sin. The Man of Sin must be a ruler in Rome, and Mussolini might be the man."

It was particularly this latter fact, that Mussolini was a Roman, that misled many Premillennialists, for they insist that the Antichrist when he comes will be a ruler in Rome. But since his sudden and ignominious fall we hear nothing more about Mussolini and his restored Roman empire.

It should also be clear that the Man of Sin is not Satan, for while Paul's description breathes a satanic atmosphere, it is said that his coming is "according to the working of Satan." That is, be is like Satan, but he is not Satan.

The usual amillennial view identifies the Man of Sin and the Antichrist, and holds further that the rise of the Antichrist and an apostasy immediately precede the return of Christ. Hamilton says concerning II Thessalonians 2:1-10:

"This declares that there will be a 'falling away,' that the man of sin will arise and that he will deceive the unbelievers before the coming of Christ to destroy him with the breath of His mouth. The world will not be converted before the coming of Christ, but on the contrary there will be a great apostasy before the coming of Christ" (The Basis of Millennial Faith, p. 105).

It should be clear, however, that Paul was not writing about a personage and event of the remote future, some abstract figure who would not manifest himself until nineteen or more centuries later and who therefore could not have been of any interest to the hard-pressed Christians in the early Church. Rather he way writing of a person and an event of his day, for he says, "The mystery of lawlessness doth already work" (vs. 7). In other words, the apostasy was happening then. Similarly, his statement that "he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God" (vs. 4), contemplates the temple as still standing, and therefore prior to its fall in 70 A. D.

The best opinion, we believe, identifies the Man of Sin with the Roman emperor, or the line of emperors of that time. The

apostasy or "falling away" (vs. 3) was then the Jewish apostasy, which would not reach its climax until the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersal of the Jewish people. The Jews had rejected their Messiah, they had crucified the Lord of Glory, and now they were persecuting His followers to the death. This view as regards the apostasy is confirmed by Paul himself in I Thes-salonians 2:15,16, where he says that the Jews "killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove out us, and please not God, and are contrary to all men; forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved; to fill up their sins always;" and then he adds, "But wrath is come upon them to the uttermost." In other words, Judaism was then, as it has been in every age since, bitterly anti-Christian. It is contrary to God's plan and purpose and so is subject to His wrath.

Probably the most accurate analysis of these expressions, the "Man of Sin" and the "falling away" or apostasy, is that given by Dr. Warfield. He says:

"We cannot fail to observe that in his description of the Man of Sin, the Apostle has a contemporary, or nearly contemporary, in mind. The withholding power is already present. Although the Man of Sin is not yet revealed, as a mystery his essential 'lawlessness' is already working—'only until the present restrainer is removed from the midst.' He expects him to sit in 'the temple of God,' which perhaps most naturally refers to the literal temple in Jerusalem . . . and if we compare the description which the Apostle gives of him with our Lord's address on the Mount of Olives (Matt. 24), to which Paul makes obvious allusion, it becomes at once in the highest degree probable that in the words, 'he that exalteth himself against all that is called God, or is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the sanctuary of God showing himself that he is God,' Paul can have nothing else in view than what our Lord described as 'the abomination of desolation which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place' (Matt. 24:15); and this our Lord connects immediately with the beleaguering of Jerusalem (cf. Luke 21:20). This obvious parallel, however, not only places the revelation of the Man of Sin in the near future, but goes far toward leading us to his exact identification. Our Lord's words not only connect him with the siege of Jerusalem, but place him distinctly among the

besiegers; and led by the implication of the original setting of the phrase (in Dan. 11:36) which Paul uses, we cannot go far wrong in identifying him with the Roman emperor.

"Whether a single emperor was thought of or the line of emperors, is a more diflBcult question. The latter hypothesis will best satisfy the conditions of the problem; and we believe that the line of emperors, considered as the embodiment of persecuting power, is the revelation of iniquity hidden under the name of the Man of Sin. With this is connected in the description certain other traits of Roman imperialism—more especially the rage for deification, which, in the person of Caligula, had already given a foretaste of what was to come. It was Nero, then, the first persecutor of the Church—and Vespasian the miracle-worker —and Titus, who introduced his divine-self and his idolatrous insignia into the Holy of Holies, perhaps with a direct anti-Christian intent—and Domitian—and the whole line of human monsters whom the world was worshipping as gods, on which, as a nerve-cord of evil, these hideous ganglia gathered—these and such as these it was that Paul had in mind when he penned this hideous description of the son of perdition, every item of which was fulfilled in the terrible story of the emperors of Rome.

"The restraining power, on this hypothesis, appears to be the Jewish state. For the continued existence of the Jewish state was both graciously and naturally a protection to Christianity, and hence a restraint on the revelation of the persecuting power. Graciously, it was God's plan to develop Christianity under the protection of Judaism for a short set time, with the double purpose of keeping the door of salvation open to the Jews until all of their elect of that generation should be gathered in and the apostasy of the nation should be rendered doubly and trebly without excuse, and of hiding the tender infancy of the Church within the canopy of a protecting sheath until it should grow strong enough to withstand all storms. Naturally, the effect of the continuance of Judaism was to conceal Christianity from notice through a confusion of it with Judaism—to save it thus from being declared an illicit religion—and to enable it to grow strong under the protection accorded Jewish worship. So soon as the Jewish apostasy was complete and Jerusalem given over to the Gentiles—God deserting the temple which was no longer His

temple to the fury of the enemies, of those who were now His enemies—the separation of Christianity from Judaism, which had already begun, became evident to every eye; the conflict between the new faith and heathenism culminating in and now alive almost only in the Emperor-worship, became intense; and the persecuting power of the empire was inevitably let loose. Thus the continued existence of Judaism was in the truest sense a restraint on the persecution of Christians, and its destruction gave the signal for the lawless one to be revealed in his time . . .

"Finally, in this interpretation, the apostasy is obviously the great apostasy of the Jews, gradually filling up all these years and hastening to its completion in their destruction. That the Apostle certainly had this rapidly completing apostasy in his mind in the severe arraignment that he makes of the Jews in I Thessalonians 2:14-16, which reached its climax in the declaration that they were continually filling up more and more full the measure of their sins, until already the measure of God's wrath was prematurely filled up against them and was hanging over them like some laden thunder-cloud ready to burst and overwhelm them—adds an additional reason for supposing his reference to be to this apostasy—above all others, 'the' apostasy—in this passage.

". . . As a matter of mere fact the growing apostasy of the Jews was completed—the abomination of desolation had been set up in the sanctuary—Jerusalem and the temple, and the whole Jewish state was in ruins—Christianity stood naked before her enemies—and the persecuting sword of Divus Caesar was unsheathed and Paul had himself felt it keenness: all the prophecy had been fulfilled before two decades had passed away" (Biblical and Theological Studies, pp. 472-475).

One further point needs to be cleared up. After saying that "the mystery of lawlessness doth already work; only there is one that restraineth now, until he is taken out of the way," Paul adds: "And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to naught by the manifestation of his coming" (Vs. 8). We believe that this refers not to Christ's final coming, as so many assume, but to His coming in judgment on the Roman emperor or on the line of emperors, in the same way that He came in judgment on Jeru-

salem and the nation of Israel. In the Old Testament God's judgment on Egypt was foretold in these words: "Behold Jehovah rideth upon a swift cloud, and cometh unto Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall tremble at his presence; and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it" (Is. 19:1); and His judgment on Samaria and Jerusalem was foretold in similar language: "For, behold, Jehovah cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth" (Micah 1:3). Paul was a student of the Old Testament and was quite familiar with its prophetic phraseology. Hence it should not be thought strange that he should sometimes express himself in their spirit and style, as present day speakers sometimes employ the spirit and style of the New Testament to express their messages. When he says that the Lord Jesus will "bring to naught" the lawless one "by the brightness of his coming," anyone who is well versed in Old Testament prophecy will not understand him as having reference to the Second Coming of Christ, but rather as predicting in figurative language the Lord's coming in judgment on the lawless person. The Old Testament has numerous such phrases in its prophetic portions.

Hence the present day premillennial interpretation, and to a lesser extent the amillennial interpretation, of John's references to "antichrist," and Paul's brief reference to a "man of sin," is a typical example of how an obscure reference can be blown up to fantastic proportions and given an interpretation that misses the writer's meaning completely. John's references to "antichrist," not always with clear indication as to whether he had in mind a personal or an impersonal agency, and his statement that "even now have there arisen many antichrists," shows how scanty is the Scriptural evidence for this alleged evil character of the end-time. We are convinced that nothing in any one of John's references requires the embodiment of this anti-Christian influence in a single individual, but rather that the term is applied to false teachers who denied the incarnation. Similarly, we are convinced that Paul's statement that "the mystery of lawlessness doth already work," indicates quite clearly that he was writing of something that related to the problems of his day, not about some mythical figure of the future, who after a lapse of nineteen centuries still has not appeared, and the mention of whose

appearance therefore could have had no conceivable value for the people to whom he was writing. The Christians in the early Church needed practical information and encouragement that would prepare them for the fiery trials and suffering that were just ahead. A careful reading of Paul's words should convince an open-minded Bible student that the Antichrist and the apostasy are long since past. Few seem to realize how frail is the foundation on which their doctrine of an Antichrist rests. This, incidentally, if it is the true interpretation as we believe it is, clears another important obstacle out of the way for the post-millennial doctrine that the world is to be converted to Christianity before the end comes, and that when Christ returns He comes to a world in which His cause has already been magnificently victorious.

We have said earlier that one of the distinctive doctrines of Dispensationalism as contrasted with Historic Premillennialism is that it holds that Christ at His first advent intended to establish an earthly Kingdom with Himself as King and with the Jews in favored positions, but that after He had preached "the gospel of the Kingdom" during most of His public ministry the Jews rejected the Kingdom as He had offered it to them and so made necessary its postponement until His Second Coming, and that in the meantime and as an interlude between the two phases of the Kingdom He established the Church. We also pointed out that according to this theory the Church was not foreseen nor predicted by the Old Testament prophets and that it was first revealed to the Apostle Paul.

It is an integral part of this theory that prophetic time (that is, time during which the Old Testament prophecies are being fulfilled) ceased to run with the rejection of the King. Says one writer, "The prophetic clock stopped at Calvary. Not one tick has been heard since." He adds further that "From the moment Christ bowed His head and yielded up His spirit to the Father, all the glories of the kingdom spoken of by Old Testament seers and prophets have been held in abeyance" (Dr. H. A. Ironside, for a number of years pastor Moody Memorial Church, Chicago; The Mysteries of God, p. 54). And Dr. Scofield says: "When Christ appeared to the Jewish people, the next thing, in the order of revelation as it then stood, should have been the setting up of the Davidic kingdom. In the knowledge of God, not yet disclosed, lay the rejection of the kingdom (and King), the long period of the mystery-form of the kingdom, the world-wide preaching of the cross, and the out-calling of the Church. But

this was as yet locked up in the secret counsels of God (Matt. 13:11,17; Eph. 3:3-10)" (p. 998). In another connection he says: "The kingdom of heaven, announced as 'at hand' by John the Baptist, by the King Himself, and by the twelve, and attested by mighty works, has been morally rejected. The rejected King now turns from the rejecting nation and offers, not the kingdom, but rest and service to such as are conscious of need" (p. 1011). And again: "The kingdom in its outward form as covenanted to David, and described to the prophets, had been rejected by the Jews; so that during this present age it would not come with observation but in the hearts of men. Meantime the kingdom was actually in the midst of the Pharisees in the person of the King and His disciples. Ultimately the Kingdom of heaven will come with outward show" (p. 1100).

We remember that Jesus said: "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation" (Luke 17:20). But here Scofield in effect says, "Ultimately it will come with observation."

The same teaching is put forth by Blackstone: "He (Jesus) would have set up the kingdom but they rejected and crucified Him." And again: "The kingdom did come 'nigh' when Christ came, and had they received Him, it would have been manifested, but now it is in abeyance, or waiting until He comes again" (Jesus Is Coming, pp. 87,88).

In opposition to all of this we shall undertake to prove that no earthly kingdom was offered to the Jews, that nothing in the Divine plan was postponed, and that the Christian Church is the fulfillment of that to which the Old Testament prophets, and indeed the entire Old Testament economy, looked forward.

In the first place, it is not the New Testament dispensation of Grace, but the Old Testament dispensation of Law, that actually was parenthetical and temporary. The promise made to Abraham, "In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 12:3), as well as the earlier promises to Adam and Noah, had a universalistic tendency. This was temporarily laid aside at Sinai, and the narrower form under which Israel was singled out for special favor came into being, and the universalistic tendency was not again manifested until the work of Christ broke down the middle wall of partition that separated Jew and Gentile. Ritualism and legalism came to an end with the

crucifixion of Christ, and salvation was made equally available for all nations and races. The New Testament age or Church age is therefore no parenthesis, no side issue, but the original divine purpose to which the Old Testament had led step by step.

The dispensational theory holds that "prophetic time" is not counted, (1) when Israel is out of the land, or (2) when Israel is in apostasy. Hence we have the view that the kingdom prophecies are not being fulfilled during the Church age when Israel either is out of the land, or is in apostasy, or both, and that the Church is only an interlude between a Jewish kingdom that is past and a Jewish kingdom that is future. The First Advent of Christ, according to this theory brought Israel up to the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy (9:24-27). With the Second Advent, that is, at the Rapture, prophetic time again will begin to run, and the seven years of the Great Tribulation will complete the seventieth week. That in turn will be followed by the establishment of the millennial kingdom on earth.

But there are no grounds either in reason or in Scripture for inserting a parenthesis of many centuries duration between the 69th and 70th week of Daniel's prophecy, a parenthesis which strangely has already extended nearly four times as long as the entire period of the 70 weeks themselves. In this prophecy it is quite evident that the weeks refer to years. The Jews had just completed 70 years captivity in Babylon—years that had run consecutively. Daniel understood from the prophecies that the time was at an end, and he besought God earnestly in prayer for their deliverance. It was revealed to him that 7 times 70 were determined to complete God's dealings with Israel as a nation— for their return to their own land, the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple, and until Messiah should come and accomplish His work of redemption. Certainly the natural inference is that in this prophecy time runs concurrently as it does in any other prophecy.

If in our present day social affairs or business contracts we attempted to insert hidden parentheses of days or months or years we would get into trouble immediately. Suppose that a traveling companion asks me how far it is from New York to Denver, and I inform him that it is 70 miles. We travel that dis-

tance, and beyond, but haven't reached Denver. So he says to me, "You said it was 70 miles from New York to Denver. But we have already traveled more than that and we still haven't come to Denver." Then I explained to him, "Oh, but there is a parenthesis in there of 2,000 miles that I didn't tell you about. You see, the speedometer is set so that it registers only the first 69 miles, which is country through which I enjoy traveling, then it doesn't register again until we enter the last mile going into Denver." Or suppose that when a note comes due at the bank I inform the banker that there is a five year parenthesis between the dates that hasn't yet run its course. Now if we attempted such chicanery what would be the result? Such trifling would, of course, be condemned as puerile and dishonest. In all of our dealings we assume that the 70th mile follows immediately after the 69th mile, and that the 70th week follows immediately after the 69th week. Nowhere in Scripture is a specified number of time-units, making up a described period of time, set forth as meaning anything but continuous and consecutive time. Likewise, the 70 weeks in Daniel's prophecy are 70 links in a chain, each holding to the others, a definite measure of the remaining time allotted to the nation of Israel before the coming of the Messiah.

In harmony with this, in another of Daniel's prophecies, that in which he interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream (2:31-45), he informed the king that the great image of diverse parts that he had seen represented four successive world kingdoms that were to follow in precise order, with a fifth kingdom of a diverse kind to be set up during the days of the kings that would then be reigning, a kingdom which would increase until it filled the whole earth and which would never be destroyed. The head of gold represented the Babylonian, which was then present; the arms of silver the Medo-Persian; the thighs of brass that of Greece, and the legs of iron and feet of iron mixed with clay the Roman. On this interpretation the dream was chronologically complete from the Babylonian to the Roman empire, and in the days of this last empire the God of heaven did set up a new kingdom different from all the others, which was the Church. That, historically, is exactly what happened. On the other hand, when the Church age is arbitrarily inserted between the 69th

and 70th week, the last political empire and the one that God sets up are separated by a long interval of time. In that case the events of the 70th week are left as still future, and a revived Roman empire is needed in order to make possible the fulfillment of the prophecy.

Concerning the idea that there can be such periods of time that are not counted Dr. Allis says:

"According to Dispensational principles, the Babylonian captivity was to an almost unique degree 'time out.' Israel was not in the land; Israel was not governed by God. Yet this period was definitely defined prophetically as 70 years (Jer. 25:11). The same is true of the Egyptian bondage which is described prophetically as 400 years (Gen. 15:13) and historically more precisely as 430 years (Ex. 12:40). If this theory were correct, these should be 'uncounted' intervals. It may also be noted that Dispensationalists who endeavor to explain the 480 years between the Exodus and the beginning of the work on the temple (I Kings 6:1) by reckoning the periods of bondage during the time of the Judges as 'time out,' do not treat the '40 years' of wanderings when Israel was both outside the land and rejected by God as also representing such an uncounted period. This is both inconsistent and arbitrary; and it shows the weakness of the 'Jewish time' theory" (Prophecy and the Church, p. 308).

Dispensationalists hold that it was the earthly Jewish kingdom to which John the Baptist and Jesus referred when they said, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand." That means, of course, that the coming of Christ from heaven was primarily a mission to the Jews. In fact Scofield says this in so many words: "The mission of Jesus was, primarily, to the Jews. He was 'made under the law' and was 'a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God'" (p. 989). Had the Jews accepted their Messiah, so the theory runs, the Kingdom would have been set up in Jerusalem at that time. And since the Kingdom is eternal, the cross would not have been necessary, and atonement for sin would have been made some other way—presumably through animal sacrifices, as during the Old Testament kingdom. According to this view Christ's atonement for the sins of the world became necessary only because His original plan miscarried.

cording to Dispensationalism, was to fulfill the glowing predictions of the prophets concerning the