Premillennialists believe there will be a definite, extended period of time in which, under Christ, righteousness will flourish universally and evil will be suppressed. "Millennium" means "a thousand years", and this period is referred to six times in Rev. 20:1-7. The contention that here only is the Millennium mentioned is baseless; it is often introduced under different terms as: "the regeneration" (Matt. 19:28), "times of refreshing" (Acts 3:19), "times of the restitution of all things" (Acts 3:21), "dispensation of the fullness of times" (Eph. 1:10), "the Kingdom" (Jer. 23:5, Dan. 7:14, Rev. 11:15, etc.).

      At His second advent, Christ will first catch away (Greek, HARPAZO) His redeemed people to Himself (the "Rapture"), this involving the resurrection of the saved dead (Rom. 8:11, 23; Phil. 3:20, 21) and the translation, without death, of living saints (1 Thess. 4:13-18, 1 Cor. 15:51-57). Most premillennialists believe there will fellow a period of approximately seven years in which divine judgments chastise a guilty world, this being particularly for the Jews, "the time of Jacob's trouble" (Jer. 30:5-7, Dan. 12:1, Matt. 24:21-22, Rev. 3:10, etc. etc.). This is the last "week" (seven years) of Daniel's "seventy weeks" prophecy (Dan. 9:24-27) during which Anti-Christ dominates the world scene (2 Thess. 2:3-10 etc.). The tribulation closes with the return of Christ, accompanied by saints and angels (Matt. 24:29-31, 25:31), to the earth, the deliverance of the Jewish nation (Zech. 12, 14), and the overthrow of the world-empire of Anti-Christ at Armageddon (Ps. 2, Ps. 110, Dan. 7:7-28, 2 Thess. 2:8-10, Rev. 16:13-16, 19:11-21). A judgment of the nations follows (Matt. 25:31-46) and the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom. The Jewish nation, repenting of its age-old sin of Christ-rejection, is restored to divine favour (Dan. 9:24, Hosea 3:4-5, Isa. 60ff., Amos 9:11-15, Zech. 12:10-13:1). Christ institutes universal justice and peace (Ps. 22:27-28, Isa. 2:4, 11:9, Jer. 23:5, Zech. 9:10, 14:9, Micah 4:3-4, Habakkuk 2:14, etc. etc.).

      Satan is bound in the Abyss (Rev. 20:1-3) and evil, though still existing in the hearts of unregenerate men, is suppressed (Ps. 18:43-45 margin, 66:3 margin, Isa. 65:20). Satan is released at the close of the thousand years, and the nations are again deceived by him; their revolt is immediately crushed; the final judgment begins; the lost are committed to the Lake of Fire. (Rev. 20:7-15).

ADVANTAGES OF PREMILLENNIALISM:

      1. This, in general, was believed by Christians in immediate post-apostolic times. Erich Sauer names Papias (c. 140 A.D.), Justin from Sichem (150), Irenaeus and Tertullian as holding premillennialism. Later, spiritualising plain Bible statements largely robbed the Church of this truth held by the earliest Christians.

      2. Premillennialism avoids reckless spiritualising necessary to other schools of thought. Premillennialists employ the sane principle: "When the plain sense of Scripture makes commonsense, seek no other sense." By contrast, notice the absurd vacillations between literal and spiritualised interpretations in the man-made chapter headings of some Bibles; example: Isa. 54:1, "The CHURCH comforted with

gracious promises of enlargement"; Isa. 59:1, "The JEWS' enormous sins the cause of their calamities!" Blessings are bestowed on the church; curses are consigned to the Jews!

      3. Premillennialism harmonises Scripture. As expected, the O.T. largely displays Israel's future, the N.T. shows especially the Church's history and future glory with Christ. The last book, the Revelation, gathers up all threads of prophetic truth and reveals the ultimate fulfilment.

      4. Premillennialism sensibly interprets prophecy. Historicists sometimes candidly admit the difficulty of relating, on their scheme, some prophecies to history; example: Dummelow on Dan. 11:40-45. Or Adam Clarke's Commentary, "Introduction to Revelation." An Historicist, he yet frankly says, "I do not understand it", and that at first he resolved "not to meddle with this book!" Premillennialism is not involved in such difficulties.

      5. Amillennial assertions that Rev. 20 means that Satan is now bound for the Christian, but still loosed for the world are the exact opposite of what John wrote! He taught that Satan was to be made unable to deceive the nations! Premillennialism teaches what John said; Amillennialism reverses it!

      6. True, many non-premillennialists are evangelical in belief, yet only Premillennialism excludes the possibility of modernistic unbelief; no premillennialist could be a modernist.

      7. Some passages are practically inexplicable save to Premillennialism, as Zech. 8:23, 10:6, Zech. 12-14, Ezek. 38, 39.

      8. Present-day developments in world and church affairs confirm expectations based on Premillennial expositions of Scripture. Examples: Ezek. 38, 39 and Russian aggression; restoration of Israel nation; resurgence and aggressiveness of once-insignificant peoples; Ecumenical developments; resurgence of Papal influence; changed attitude of Protestantism to Rome. Note the silence of other schools of thought, for example, regarding establishment of Israeli nation. Only Premillennialism has a Bible explanation for all these developments.

      To summarise, I believe that only Premillennialism offers a reasonable and satisfying approach to the Scriptures, to history and to the developments of our day.

      Excepting some Old Testament references all the reliable information concerning the second coming of Jesus, is contained in the writings of those who recorded His acts and sayings, and which are preserved for us in the pages of the New Testament.

      If we accept their statement that Jesus said He would come again, we should also be prepared to believe what they have stated regarding both the manner and the time of His return.

      That this return was to be within the life span of some at least of

His contemporaries, becomes evident after an open-minded study of the New Testament scriptures.

      In Matt. 24 Jesus, in answer to the disciples' enquiry "what shall be the sign of Thy taming . . .?" lists various signs, draws a simple illustration from nature, v. 32, and concludes with these words "Even so YE also when YE see all these things, know YE that he is nigh even at the doors." And to put the time beyond any possible doubt adds, "I tell you in solemn truth hat the present generation will certainly not pass away without all these things having first taken place." (Weymouth).

      If the signs were of any value at all it is reasonable to suppose that they would be most readily discernible by those who received them first hand, and if, as has been stated, they were to become apparent within the period of that generation, we should find evidence of their fulfilment in the latter books of the New Testament and/or current history.

      The following extracts show the influence of current events in the writings of those times--

      "and, this, KNOWING THE SEASON, that now it is high time for you to awake out of sleep: for now is salvation nearer to us than when we first believed. The night is far spent, and the day is at hand . . . " Rom. 13:11-12.

      "But this I say, brethren, the time is SHORTENED . . ." 1 Cor. 7:29-31.

      "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together . . . and so much the more, AS YE SEE THE DAY DRAWING NIGH" Heb. 10:25.

      "Little children, it is the LAST HOUR . . . whereby we know it is the last hour." 1 John 2:18 and also 28.

      These and many similar passages, such as 1 Peter 4:7, and James 5:7, surely show that the early disciples looked for the return of their Lord in their time and not at some remote period of the world's history.

      In Luke 19:12 Jesus likened Himself to a nobleman who went into a far country to receive a kingdom and return. At the conclusion of an important discourse recorded in Matt. 16 He makes this solemn statement "Verily I say unto you, There be some of them that stand here, which shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom." It is written of the church of Thessalonica that they had turned unto God from idols and were waiting for His Son from heaven. 1 Thess. 1:9. Because some Thessalonians had fallen asleep ("tasted of death") Paul wrote to re-assure the remainder in the words of 1 Thess. 4:13-18. This passage indicates the MANNER of His coming and if the use of the first personal pronoun WE means anything it also shows that Paul expected to be among those caught up. See also 1 Cor. 15:51-52. Webster's dictionary has this definition: "Historical Sense; that meaning of a passage which is deduced from the circumstances of time, place etc., under which it was written." Let us study the New Testament with this rule in mind and avoid the mistake of a general application of Scriptures which, because of the style of the language used can only apply to the people and times in which they were written.

      Exponents of Revelation submit pre-millennium or post-millennium theories based on the substance of vv. 4-6 in Chap. 20. Some also state that the message to the seven churches, represent seven periods of church history, the present being the Laodicean, and this without the support of Scripture. They seem not to consider the introductory and closing words of the book which state in the plainest terms that it contained a preview of events "shortly to come to pass"--a reference to times "that were at hand."

      The lack of historical support is the chief objection advanced against accepting what I have written. But the silence of history does not disprove scripture and could be used as an argument in favour rather than against, for of the two classes of people vitally concerned in the second advent, one group was to enter into rest and the other suffer eternal destruction, see 2 Thess. 1:7-9. However Josephus records events which were to precede the second coming, a time of trouble, a judgment on that generation without parallel in history when vengeance was taken for all the righteous blood shed since the time of Abel and when all that was written by the prophets was to be fulfilled (Matthew 23:35, Luke 21:20-28).

      This marked the consummation of the age, the End so often referred to in the New Testament; when that which was shaken was taken away and replaced by the Kingdom that would break in pieces all other kingdoms and stand for ever, see Heb. 12:18-29, a passage written just prior to the destruction of Jerusalem.

      To the Bible student who is not trammelled by a theory that he must needs uphold at all cost, I commend what I have written as being worthy of careful study, for it accepts the plain statements of the New Testament writers, and requires no evading of the passages in Matt. 10:23, 16:28, and 24:34 which contain a time-limit set by Jesus for His Second Advent.

      Arthur Leonard Griffith, present minister of the City Temple, London, states, "Whoever reads the New Testament knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that the early Christians lived in constant and daily expectation of their Lord's return . . . They were not deluded, because Christ Himself had spoken repeatedly of His return . . ." He then asserts, "Only the second coming of Christ can entirely justify His first coming. Unless Christ Himself intends to consummate the Kingdom which He inaugurated with His resurrection, then all the agony and striving of the centuries has been a mistake, all the blood of the martyrs has been shed in vain, our struggles and labours have been for nothing, and history is bereft of meaning."

      The certainty of the coming of Christ is not questioned. Millions believe that He is to come again, for this event is definitely promised in Scripture. He said He would come again, John 14:3. The angels said He would, Acts 1:11, and John likewise stated it in Rev. 1:7.

      While there may be agreement among believers in Christ concerning the fact of His coming again, there is a wide difference in the understanding of men concerning certain aspects of the return. Often the waters of thought have been ruffled at this point, and sometimes a storm has blown upon sections of the church. Differing ideas cannot all be right--surely truth does not contradict itself--can it be that sincerity on the part of differing groups is open to question? The passage of time has seen

changes in opinions and theories, and within theories, groups gathering around a theory have split within themselves with recriminations and often unkindly criticisms. All this does is to belittle the glorious hope of the church, that the Lord is coming again. It is useless to start with a theory and seek to apply the Word of God to it, not only so, it is not honest. A clear study of the Scripture, looking at what God says, and not who; we think He says or what we think His word ought to mean, is the only possible way to come to a conclusion. We adopt that process in all other matters relative to the facts of salvation, the ordinances, the church, well, why not to the matter of the Lord's return?

      The clear statements of Scripture, free from theory or speculation, indicate that when Jesus Christ comes again certain matters will be determined. The things to happen before, in the unfolding of history, are in the main, matters of speculation, and thus unreliable.

      We see first:--

      1. The resurrection of all. All nations, both good and bad, shall be gathered before Him. Hear Jesus, in Matthew 25:31, 32. "But when the Son of Man shall come in His glory, arid all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them from one another as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats."

      Both the good and evil shall rise from the grave in the same hour at the sound of His voice. "Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth: they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment" John 5:28, 29.

      Everyone shall see Him--He will not be visible to some and invisible to others: "Behold, he cometh with the clouds: and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him: and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him" Rev. 1:7.

      2. The judgment of all shall take place. He shall separate the sheep from the goats. "And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left" Matt. 25:33.

      He will take vengeance on the wicked and disobedient: "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 o: the Lord and from the glory of his might" 2 Thess. 1:7-9.

      The small and great--that is, all men--will be judged according to their deeds: "And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works." Rev. 20:12.

      3. Separation--the evil sent away. With the records examined and sentence passed, the evil are sent away forever. "Then shall he say to them on the left hand, 'Depart from me, ye cursed, into eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels."' Matt. 25:41.

      "And these shall go away into eternal punishment" Matt. 25:46.

      "And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire" Rev. 20:15.

      4. The gathering and glorification of the saints. Christ shall come in glory, and the gathering will be made: "And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.

And then shall he send forth the angels, and shall gather his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven" Mark 13:26, 27.

      "For our citizenship is in heaven; whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working whereby he is able even to subject all things unto himself." Phil. 3:20, 21.

      "When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory" Col. 3:4.

      5. Destruction of the world. The following Scripture shows conclusively that God will be finished with the earth and it shall pass away when Jesus comes again: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" Matt. 24:35.

      "Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, 'Yet once more will I make to tremble not the earth only, but also the heaven! And this word, 'Yet once more,' signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that have been made, and those things which are not shaken may remain." Hebrews 12:26, 27.

      "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away: and there was found no place for them" Rev. 20:11.

      "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up" 2 Peter 3:10.

      In all this the writer has sought to present the simple statement of the Scripture without any attempt to belittle or answer either of the three theories and their attendant theories. Christ is Coming is plain Scripture--theories attached to this fact are not so plain. And the fact that schools of thought wrangle over it, and often almost dis-fellowship one another through lack of agreement at once places either the theories or their champions under some suspicion.

      Possibly no one book written on the subject is worthier of thought than "Christ's Second Coming" by Dr. David Brown, one time Professor of Divinity at Free Church College, Aberdeen. He sets out 9 propositions which we might well consider. They are:--

      1. The church will be absolutely complete at Christ's coming. This is abundantly clear from 1 Cor. 15:23, Eph. 5:25-27, 2 Thess. 1:10, Jude 24, Col. 1:21, 22, 1 Thess. 3:13. These Scriptures establish the completeness of the church at His coming.

      2. Christ's second coming will exhaust the object of the Scriptures. Regarding the saints see Luke 19:13, James 5:7, 1 Peter 1:13, 2 Tim. 4:8, Phil. 3:20. Regarding sinners see 2 Thess. 1:7-10, 2 Peter 3:10. Luke 12:39, 40, Luke 17:26, 27, 30.

      3. The sealing ordinances will disappear at Christ's second coming. Regarding Baptism see Matt. 28:18-20 and the Lord's Supper, 1 Cor. 11:26.

      4. The intercession of Christ, and the work of the Spirit, for saving purposes, will cease at the second advent. See Heb. 9:12, 24-28 and Heb. 7:25.

      5. Christ's proper kingdom is already in existence, commencing formally on His ascension to the right hand of Gad, and continuing unchanged both in character and form, till the final judgment. See Acts 2:29-36 (this captures the mind of Zech. 6:12, 13), Rev. 3:7, 8, 12, Isa. 9:7, Acts 3:19-21, Heb. 10:12, 13, 1 Cor. 15:24-26.

      6. When Christ comes, the whole church of God will be made alive at once--the dead by resurrection, and the living, immediately thereafter, by transformation; their "mortality being swallowed up of life:" See 1 Cor. 15:20, 21, 23, John 6:39, 40; John 17:9, 24.

      7. All the wicked will rise from the dead, or be "made alive", at the coming of Christ. See John 5:28, 29 and couple it with Dan. 12:2, Rev. 20:11-15.

      8. The righteous and the wicked will be judged together, and both at the coming of Jesus. See Matt. 10:32, 33, Mark 8:38, Rev. 21:7, 8, Rev. 22:12-15, Matt. 16:24-27, Matt. 8:21-23, Matt. 25:10, 31-46, Matt. 13:30, 38-43, Acts 17:31, 2 Cor. 5:9-11, 1 Cor. 4:5, 2 Thess. 1:6-10 and many more.

      9. At Christ's second appearing, "the heavens and earth that now cry," being dissolved by fire, shall hive place to "new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" without any mixture of sin. See 2 Peter 3:7, 10-13, Rev. 20:11, Rev. 21:1.

      A prayerful study of Scripture stated will surely assure us that the Lord is coming, and that our task is not to seek to impose our theories upon His Word, but to preach the Gospel, to ensure to men that the redemption of the First Coming is accepted, so that when we stand before Him He shall confess all before His Father.

      The fact of the Second Coming must never be a test of fellowship at the point where one theory is accepted as against another. The tags which fall so easily from some lips against those who do not abide by one theory or another must forever be thrown aside. The promise of the Lord's Table, "Until He comes" should bind all Christians together in the common hope that when the Lord will, and how, we shall be with Him forever.

1. The Doctrine and its Meaning.

      The doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ presents a message of hope to the mid-20th century just as surely as it did in the first century. "Men turned to God from idols . . . to wait for His Son from heaven" 1 Thess. 1:9-10. This hope was clearly expressed by the early church in her proclamation of the good news, as well as in her worship around the Lord's Table, "you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" 1 Cor. 11:26. In the resurrection of Christ men found confidence for the future and the grounds for the hope of the Second Coming or Parousia. For a world that is fearful of the possibilities of nuclear warfare, this truth asserts that God is Lord of History and that history cannot redeem itself. It is necessary for God to do something a second time to bring all things to a triumphant culmination.

2. The Dilemma of Interpretation.

      I have been asked to present the biblical evidence for the doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ. This request implies that it is possible to set down the scriptural

evidence without presenting a theory. It is possible to produce evidence from the N.T. that Christ promised to come again and that the N.T. Church believed in this promise. But immediately I begin to show how He will come and state when He will come and describe what will happen at His coming, I am forced to make an individual interpretation of the Scriptures. This, of course, is not a bad thing in itself, although it does create different opinions.

      The Post-millennialist and the Pre-millennialist and the Non-millennialist are all involved in the same dilemma of interpreting the Scriptures. This is what we must do with all the phenomenon of our conscious experience, whether it is an event we see or a conversation in which we share or an account of an event we read about in a book. We always interpret in the light of our past experience and in the light of the experience of others. We assess the truthfulness or reasonableness of our findings by the test of coherence and consistency.

      If we are to handle rightly the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:16) in order that we may be approved of God and maintain our intellectual integrity, we must interpret the Scriptures in the light of contemporary Christian scholarship which seeks sincerely to use the positive and constructive values of the past research of the Christian church in the field of biblical studies. We do not have the space to work out a full eschatology (the science of last thing), but we do have space to set down a basis for appreciating the O.T. concepts and their development and the type of literature with which we are dealing. Then we will be in a better position to interpret the N.T. evidence.

3. The Determining Factors,

a) THE BIBLICAL VIEW OF HISTORY.

      i) God is Lord of History.

      The Bible records the fact that God came down and met man where he was in the events of his life's experience. He revealed Himself to man for the purpose of bringing man back into a right relationship with Himself. In the Bible we have a historical revelation. Certain historical events are interpreted by the faith and insight of the prophets and apostles under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. The Bible is a history not only of revelation but of salvation. God is presented as the LORD OF HISTORY as this is the area of His revelation and activity. He takes the initiative in establishing a close relationship between Himself and His people.

      ii) History is moving to a Divine Goal.

      History is not cyclical, that is events do not simply follow the same pattern continually recurring like the seasons of the year without any progress beyond itself. History is teleological. God has a purpose in history and event s are moving to a divine goal to a point of culmination and fulfilment.

b) THE NATURE OF PROPHECY.

      i) Usually the prophet spoke to his generation or to some individual, a divine commentary on current events which can only be understood in the light of the history of the times in which they were uttered.

      ii) The note of judgment and the note of consolation are both sounded by most of the prophets as they point out the consequences of two possible lines of action--continuation of present evil ways will bring disaster; repentance will restore the favour of the Lord. This type of prophecy is predictive but it is also conditional and so may not be fulfilled.

      iii) The prophets also made predictions about "the last days" and "the Day of the Lord." Their teleological view of history led them to teach of a great time of

final reckoning in which all nations would be judged in righteousness and God's honour would be finally vindicated.

      iv) Prophecies like that of Isaiah about the Suffering Servant of the LORD and like that of Daniel's vision of the Son of Man find their full meaning only with the coming of Christ.

      v) Often the oracles were given in poetic form using rich imagery and strange symbolism which were not meant to be interpreted literally. Apocalyptic writing presented the central theme of the coming of the Kingdom of God and the divine consummation of history.

c) THE FULFILMENT OF HISTORY AND PROPHECY.

      "The O.T. as a whole displays the pattern of the divine salvation, a pattern which typologically anticipates the salvation which was accomplished through the coming of God's Messiah, of whom the prophets had spoken" P. 190-1, Alan Richardson, "Christian Apologetics." The N.T. writers saw the events of Israel's history as having an eternal significance which can be discerned only in the light of Christ's life and death and resurrection.

      R. V. G. Tasker in "The O.T. in the N.T.", p. 12, writes, "To them (the N.T. writers) the whole story of the people of Israel, their divine call, their redemption from Egypt, the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, the triumphant establishment of the worship of YHWH in the Holy Land, the building of the temple, the tragedy of the exile, and the subsequent resurrection and return of the remnant to Zion--are all foreshadowings of the greater and final salvation given in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, apart from which they have in themselves no abiding significance and are not fully comprehensible. And the same may be said with reference to the attitude of Jesus Himself."

d) SOME OBSERVATIONS OF THE N.T. TREATMENT OF THE DOCTRINE.

      With the coming of Jesus Christ, men saw the coming of the kingdom of God as a present reality to them. With the birth of the church at Pentecost, the Kingdom of God came with power, but the full consummation of that Kingdom will come only when Jesus returns in His second coming to consummate it.

      The N.T. writers do not give a detailed account of the coming of Christ, but by means of O.T. symbolism and thought forms assert the fact of the coming of Christ as certain and unexpectedly. This is true of 1 Thess. 4:13-5:11 for example. Paul urged his converts to live with the constant expectation of their Lord's return.

      Paul sees the true Israel is the Church, "The Israel of God." Gal. 5:16; Rom. 11:23-32. The Jew who would be saved must acknowledge Jesus Christ as Saviour.

      The Book of Revelation is written as a tract of hope in time of persecution and crisis, and teaches the final triumph of good and of God and that God will intervene to bring all things to a triumphant culmination. The writer has drawn heavily on Jewish apocalytical language.

      We are wise beyond the Scriptures when we read the signs of our times and can give a detailed chronological programme of events of the Age to come, which is timeless.

      We distort the Scriptures when we can find reference to modern Russia and the Roman church and space ships in the Bible. The Scriptures do not satisfy our curiosity about the future. We are called to walk by faith in the Risen Christ and not by sight and with a real expectation that the best is always yet to be, in Christ.