The golden age of the world...

Preface

For many years I have been much interested in the subject of the Millennium; or the "Golden Age of the World." I have read numbers of books on both Post- and Premillennialism ; but there seemed to be so much to be said in favour of each theory, that I could come to no definite conclusion on the matter

One day, however, it was deeply impressed on my mind that I should go to the Word of God, and search it thoroughly to ascertain what was the mind of God on the subject; and I had the conviction that if I did so, I would get light. I at once made it a matter of earnest prayer, pleading such promises as, — "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." "When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth." "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God." I then laid down my plan of study; first making a list of the various subjects bearing upon the Millennium : after which I read very carefully all those portions of the Bible that would be likely to afford any light on the subject; viz: Deuteronomy, Psalms, all the Prophets, and the whole of the New Testament ; carefully noting every passage that bore in any way upon the subjects before me. I then examined each passage separately, and compared Scripture with Scripture; and as I did so, the darkness disappeared; my very soul seemed illumined with the light of God's Word; and I felt I must commit to writing what I had so learned.

I need scarcely say that I claim no literary merit for the book, for I am not a literary man ; but, having obtained such abundant satisfaction and profit to my own soul in the study of this delightful subject, I am conscious that others should obtain the same : and to this end, I have let the Word speak for itself as far as possible; and instead of referring the reader to the various passages, to be looked up in the Bible, I have given them in full: this has necessitated a somewhat larger book than would otherwise have been required, but this is more than compensated for by the advantage of having the text at hand, without the trouble and loss of time in turning it up.

And now I commend to the reader this humble effort to spread abroad what I believe to be the Teaching of God's Word on these great events, which must shortly come to pass : praying God's blessing to accompany the work.

JOHN S. AUSTIN.

Contents

I. The Golden Age oe the World 7

II. The Kingdom 18

III. The Day oE the Lord 39

CHAPTER I. The Golden Age of the World

"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and after that he must be loosed a little season.

"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them ; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands ; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

"But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." Revelation 20:1-6.

The above is the great passage upon which the doctrine of a Millennium of earthly blessedness, after Christ's Second Advent, is built. But there are numerous other passages in the Word of God which speak of a time of universal peace; a time of earth's regeneration; a Sabbath rest for God's people; etc., etc. And in the above passage these prophecies are summed up ; and the time they are to last is determined.

Both Post- and Premillennialists teach, that there will be a time of universal peace and righteousness for this world ;

the former say it will be brought about by the preaching of the Gospel, and the influence of the Holy Spirit, during the present dispensation ; while the latter say it will be brought about by the Second Advent, and the Personal reign of Christ. As to which of these two theories is correct, I must leave the reader to judge, when he has heard the evidence". My appeal is to the Word of God. First, however, let us consider some of those passages to which I have referred; which teach that there shall come a time of universal blessedness.

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, 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 the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people : and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks : nation shall not lift up swords against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Isaiah 2 12-4.

Here we have a beautiful prophecy of the glorious times of which I write; and that these words are to be taken literally, is evident, from the first verse of the chapter.

"The words that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem."

And what was it that he saw? The temple once more established on Mount Zion, and all nations flocking unto it : Jerusalem once more the seat of authority and power; the Lord himself being the ruler of the nations ; and under his beneficent reign there was universal peace.

A little further on the prophet has another beautiful vision of universal peace ; so far as the animal creation is concerned.

"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid ; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together ; and a little child shall lead them.

"And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together ; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain : for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Is. n :6-g.

And this also is brought about by the reign of the "Branch of Jesse." I know there are those who say that is figurative language, except the last clause; and that it simply means peace among men of different temperaments, etc. But where is the proof? There is none forthcoming: so I prefer to take the Word of God as it stands ; especially so, as it is confirmed by the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Romans. Here is what he says : —

"For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to-wit, the redemption of our body." Rom. 8:19-23.

From these passages it is evident that the lower animal creation will share in the blessings of the "Golden Age"

that is yet to come ; and the Apostle tells us when that shall be, viz : at the redemption of our bodies, for which we also groan and wait: so that, unless we are prepared to believe that the lower animals will be admitted into the new Jerusalem, we must accept the plain statement of the prophet that, in the regeneration or Millennium, when Christ and his saints shall rule over the earth; the animals will be restored to their primeval state of peace and happiness, as well as the sons of men.

In chapter 65 of the same prophet, we have a still further description of the coming age.

"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 the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor 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 an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, 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 bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the IyOrd." Is. 65:18-25.

It seems to me that it is impossible to get away from a literal interpretation of these words : to spiritualize them, as some attempt to do, is to make nonsense of them. How shall we interpret in a spiritual sense these words : —

"And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them," etc. Verses 21-22.

Then again, we cannot apply them to the new earth, for although in the 17th verse, God says : —

"Behold I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind."

He breaks off there, and goes on to speak of the earthly Jerusalem, and the glorious time coming for his elect people, the children of Israel; and, as shown by other Scriptures, for all mankind. In this passage a number of great blessings are promised in connection with this coming time. First, Longevity. It is evident that man's days upon earth will be lengthened out wonderfully; probably to what they were before the flood; for, if anyone dying at 100 years will be considered a child, then a man of full age would be seven or eight hundred, or even 1,000 years old ; so that it would be quite possible for some who entered the Millennium to see its close. Then again, there will be no more poverty, for the land shall yield her increase : and sorrow and tears shall to a large extent be done away ; for men shall live as brethren, and all oppression, robbery, and violence shall cease under the rule of the Prince of Peace. Of course, I do not mean that this glorious age will be perfect; we must wait for the new earth to get perfection : but it will be glorious beyond description, compared with the present state of things. There will doubtless be death as indicated in the words, — "The child shall die an hundred years old;" but death will be a very rare occurrence; while sickness will be almost unknown. And while sin will not be entirely abolished, every outward manifestation of it will be instantly suppressed; for, ''He shall rule them with a rod of iron," and, "Righteousness shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the mighty deep." In the last verse we have another statement concerning the change that will come over the animal creation ; still further confirming what I have said on that point.

There are a number of other Old Testament Scriptures bearing on this subject, but, as we shall have to refer to them in succeeding chapters we leave them for the present. There is one New Testament passage, however, to which I must draw attention ; viz : Hebrews 4 :g. "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." In the margin it reads, — "A keeping of a Sabbath," while in the Revised Version it is, — "A Sabbath rest." This passage is generally supposed to refer to the rest of heaven ; and I must confess that I have several times preached from the text, and given it that meaning; but when in my consecutive reading I came to this chapter, new light came to me, and I doubted if this were the correct interpretation; for I thought I saw in it a promise of a Millennium of rest for the world, after 6,000 years of strife and discord. Of course, I may possibly be wrong on this point, and will not, therefore, speak definitely on it ; but simply give my reasons for thinking as I do, and leave the reader to judge if they are sufficient. In the third chapter of Hebrews, the Apostle speaks of the rest of Canaan, promised to the Israelites when they came out of Egypt; into which, however, they did not enter because of unbelief; and he quotes an exhortation of David taken from the 95th Psalm, where he says : —

"To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness : when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest."

He then proceeds to exhort the Hebrew Christians to steadfastness, lest they also should fail of attaining unto rest; and repeats once more the words of the Psalmist: —

"To day if ye will hear his voice," etc.

In the opening of the 4th chapter he speaks of a rest being promised to them, —

"Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel (good tidings) preached as well as unto them ; but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest." v. 1-3.

The Apostle has no doubt whatever that believers will have a rest; hence he puts it in the most definite form, as is already accomplished ; and in fact the rest that comes to the human soul through faith in Jesus, is a blessed foretaste of the future. Having thus definitely spoken of the believers' rest, he goes on to shew that this rest was not the rest of the seventh day, established at the creation; neither was it the rest that Joshua gave to the children of the unbelievers when they entered the promised land; because David speaks of another day. The conclusion he comes to is, — "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." And he goes on to say that just as God rested from his works, so Christ had entered into his rest, and believers, if faithful, should enter into theirs.

It may be noticed, perhaps, that in the Psalm referred to above, the Psalmist does not really mention a rest, except the rest of Canaan ; so that the Apostle reads more into his words than appears on the surface ; for he says in verse 8 : —

"If Jesus had given them rest, then would he (the Psalmist) not afterward have spoken of another day."

i. e., another day of rest.

And his reference to the rest of Canaan would have no point if it were not so, and the Apostle takes it for granted that this is understood. But now comes the question, — What did David mean? and what did the Apostle mean by this rest? The word used by the Apostle in the 9th verse, and here translated "rest," means a Sabbath rest, as I have before mentioned, and is so translated in the Revised Version ; and the same word is not used in any other place in the New Testament. It is evident, therefore, that the Apostle must have had some special reason for using that particular word : and if, as many of the fathers believed, the world would after 6,000 years, have its Millennium of rest, in which the risen saints will be united with Christ in the rule of the world ; we cannot imagine a more suitable word to express the rest "that remaineth to the people of God." And this idea is supported by the Apostle's reference to God resting on the seventh day after the six days' work, and Christ's entering into his rest ; and we know that Christ finished his work on the sixth day of the week, and rested on the seventh : and so, for the saints also, "there remaineth a Sabbath rest." But is it not possible that we may get some further light from the Psalm to which reference has been made, and the five which follow? For in reading these Psalms I could not help noticing the very intimate connection that exists between them: and as I re-read them, I was convinced that they contained glorious prophecies of the reign of Christ over the earth during the Millennium; and that this was the rest indicated in the first of the series.

It would occupy too much space to quote the whole of these Psalms, or to attempt a full exposition of them ; so I must depart from my usual order, and ask the reader to read them from his Bible. The following, however, is a brief outline of their contents. First, let me say that there can be little doubt that David is the author of them all. The Apostle ascribes Psalm 95 to him, and the others are evidently written by the same hand. I was interested to find, some time after I had written the above, that the Rev. Charles Spurgeon in his Commentary on the Psalms, has this quotation from one of the old Divines, — "These six Psalms 95 to 100, form, if I mistake not, one entire prophetic poem." That this is the case I think will be seen by any one who will take the trouble to read them carefully. Psalm 95 opens with an exhortation to worship and serve the Lord, because of his greatness, and his wonderful works ; and then the Psalmist warns them not to harden their hearts as their fathers did in the wilderness : thereby losing their rest ; and intimating that there was a rest yet in the future. Psalm 96 opens also with an exhortation to praise the Lord, and give glory to him ; also to tell the glorious news to the heathen, that the Lord reigneth. The Psalmist then calls upon all nature to rejoice because of the coming of the Lord, to be the ruler and judge of the earth. In the next Psalm he starts with the declaration "The Lord reigneth." He sees him by prophetic vision seated on his throne; and describes the effect of his coming, using one figure especially that is frequently used in connection with Christ's second coming; viz, fire: "A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about, His lightnings enlightened the world, the earth saw and trembled."

He then describes the joy of Zion and the righteous generally. The 98th opens with an exhortation to praise the Lord with a new song, because of his great victory, and states that he has remembered his mercy and truth toward Israel ; and that "all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of God." And at the thought of this wonderful time, he bursts forth into another exhortation to all men, and all nature to praise the Lord ; and closes that portion of the poem in almost the same words as he closes the second Psalm of the series, declaring that the Lord will "judge the world in righteousness, and the people with equity." He then starts afresh with the declaration, — "The Lord reigneth," adding now, — "He sitteth between the cherubim," i. e., the most holy place of the temple; adding still further, — "The Lord is great in Zion ; and he is high above all the people." And then his rule or judgment of the earth is again referred to, especially in connection with Jacob or Israel. This is followed by another brief exhortation to, — "Exalt the Lord, and worship at his footstool ; because he is holy." Some of the Old Testament saints then appear on the scene ; "Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that call upon his name." And this is only natural because of their old relationship to God and his sanctuary. The 100th Psalm may well be called, — "A Psalm of Thanksgiving." It is the grand finale, and must be quoted in full : —

"Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness : come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves ; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise : be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations."

To sum up then, we believe "the rest that remaineth for the people of God/' is first of all the seventh Millennium of the world's history ; the thousand years during which Christ and his saints will rule the world; every knee bowing to him, and every tongue confessing that he is the Christ to the glory of God the Father. After which this "Sabbath rest" will merge into the everlasting rest in the new heaven and the new earth.

And now in conclusion, we go back to the great passage that we quoted at the beginning of this chapter, Rev. 20:1-6, and it seems to me that whatever uncertainty might exist in the mind of any one on this subject, should be removed by the plain statement of what John saw in the vision : for I have no hesitation in saying that all the efforts to spiritualize these words, and rob them of their plain meaning, so far as the thousand years of peace and righteousness is concerned, have utterly failed; and this blessed time comes after the resurrection of the saints, and Christ's second coming.

CHAPTER II. The: Kingdom

The next subject that claims our attention is "The Kingdom." In the Word of God we read of "The Kingdom," "The Kingdom of God," "The Kingdom of heaven," and "Christ's Kingdom." It is all important for us to understand to what these terms refer. That some of them are used interchangeably is evident, and sometimes it is difficult to understand their meaning; i. e., the term may refer to the rule of God in the heart; the spiritual rule of Chirst over his Church ; the Millennial Kingdom ; or God's final Kingdom.

Generally, however, the meaning is fairly plain. I shall omit all reference to those passages that concern the Kingdom in man's heart, except one or two; as they have no connection with my subject.

The same to some extent may be said of those referring to the Church on earth at the present time ; but as some of these have formed subjects of contention between Post- and Premillennialists for many years, I must take some notice of them. The passages I refer to are those parables in which Christ has set forth the things concerning his Church. But I will only deal with those contained in the 13th of Matthew. Here we have a set of seven parables, in which different phases of Christ's spiritual Kingdom are set forth. None of these parables have to do with the world as a whole ; they are parables of the Church. True in Nos. 1 and 2, the field is spoken of as the world; but the parable deals with those who are taken out of the world; those who hear the teachings of Christ, and become at least, professors of Christ's religion. The parable of the Sower needs no explanation seeing that Christ has given us his own interpretation ; but we need to notice this important fact, that many of those who, to a certain extent espouse Christ's cause, prove failures ; thus confirming the statement ; "Many are called but few chosen." In the parable of the Tares also, Christ has given us his own interpretation and I need only to add, that the end of the world here spoken of is, literally, the end of the age.

The parables of the Mustard Seed, and the Leaven, have given rise to a great deal of controversy: the Postmillennialists contending that in the parable of the Mustard Seed we have set forth the great growth, and world wide extent of the true Church of Christ ; and in the parable of the Leaven is shewn the means by which this will be accomplished ; viz : the leavening of the whole world by the Gospel. Here is a brief extract from Dr. David Brown's work on "The Second Advent:" "Similar is the import of the parable of the Mustard Seed, and of the Leaven, — holding forth the truth as it is in Jesus, in its progressive advancement, till, like a tree, springing from the least of seeds, it ultimately overshadows the world; and like leaven, working its way through the mass of human society, it at length leavens it all." Premillennialists teach, that although the parable of the Mustard Seed represents the Church in the smallness and insignificance of its beginning; the abnormal development of it into a great tree, in whose branches the birds lodge; indicates its departure from its true character into a world wide corrupt Church; and that the birds represent evil influences and principles, etc., while the parable of the Leaven teaches how the Church will be corrupted; viz: by being leavened with evil doctrines, etc. Here are one or two brief extracts from Premillennial writers. Henry Varley in, — "Christ's Coming Kingdom," says : "Well did our Lord say, — 'The Kingdom of heaven' (the condition during his absence) is like unto a grain of mustard seed," etc. Has not this corrupt growth been seen? Have we not here clearly revealed the figure of a wide and far spreading nominal Christianity — a kind of nationally baptized heathenism ? * * * * * We do not hesitate to affirm that the birds lodging in the branches, comprehend the world, the flesh, and the devil, in fairly comfortable quarters in Christendom, and satisfied with their position. ***** The parable of the Leaven gives the mystery of the working of an insiduous and subtle agent. ****** Here is pure meal — the real and true doctrine of Christ. Our Lord represents a woman hiding leaven in this pure meal. ***** 5J le stealthily introduces an active and corrupting element into the meal. She did not intend to preserve its purity. Her object was to effect its deterioration and corruption." He then goes on to shew that this is just what has been done in the Church ; and that it is getting worse; which may be true to some extent; but that this is the meaning of the parable I do not believe.

The Rev. T. Waugh, an English Wesleyan Evangelist, in his book, — "When Jesus Comes," says : "The third parable tells us of the mustard seed which became a great tree. As a tree in Scripture is spoken of as a symbol of power, our Lord here teaches that Christendom will become a great force in the world. According to verses 4 and 19, the 'fowls of the air,' are emblems of evil, and representatives of the devil. I believe them to be the principles of the world, the flesh, and the devil, finding themselves only too comfortable and too much at home in degenerate Christendom. * * * * No picture could more vividly portray the corruption and secularization of the visible Church since the close of the third century." He then goes on to speak of the parable of the Leaven, and sums up in these words, — "The meal is the Kingdom in the world, gradually leavened and corrupted by false doctrine, hypocrisy, and worldly principles." Several other writers give the same meaning to these parables ; but I confess I have never been able so to understand them, and yet, on the other hand, I cannot agree with the Postmillennialists, that these parables represent a world-wide Kingdom of Christ ; the figures used, especially the first, are too insignificant to warrant such an interpretation ; but they are eminently suited for the purpose that Christ intended. Before speaking of that, however, let me say that the statements of some writers about the abnormal growth of the mustard tree are not correct. There is nothing of the kind mentioned in the parable ; here it is : —