"When, with the fall of Ottoman sovereignty at Constantinople, the Turk is driven out of Europe, there will arise once more the eternal question of the possession of Asia Minor. That land is the corridor between Europe and Asia, along which have passed most of the European conquerors—the Russians alone excepted—who have invaded Asia, and most of the Asiatic conquerors who have invaded Europe."
"When, with the fall of Ottoman sovereignty at Constantinople, the Turk is driven out of Europe, there will arise once more the eternal question of the possession of Asia Minor. That land is the corridor between Europe and Asia, along which have passed most of the European conquerors—the Russians alone excepted—who have invaded Asia, and most of the Asiatic conquerors who have invaded Europe."
The fall of the Turkish power in this Euphrates region will, in some manner, prepare the way for "the kings of the East" to come up to the final conflict.
The same spirit that has been stirring up the West in preparation for the contest has been working in the East also. Year after year observers have pointed out the great changes taking place in Asia. September, 1909, the LondonContemporary Reviewsaid:
"The whole of Asia is in the throes of rebirth. At last we may see these three—the yellow race, the Indian race, and the Arab-Persian Mohammedan race. And all that is making for the Armageddon."
"The whole of Asia is in the throes of rebirth. At last we may see these three—the yellow race, the Indian race, and the Arab-Persian Mohammedan race. And all that is making for the Armageddon."
A writer in the May, 1913, issue of the LondonNineteenth Century and After, reviewing the situation at the close of the Balkan War, said:
"A new spirit is abroad in the East. It arose on the shores of the Pacific when Japan proved that the great powers of Europe are not invulnerable. North and south and west it has spread, rousing China out of centuries of slumber, stirring India into ominous questioning, reviving memories of past glory in Persia, breeding discontent in Egypt, and luring Turkey onto the rocks."
"A new spirit is abroad in the East. It arose on the shores of the Pacific when Japan proved that the great powers of Europe are not invulnerable. North and south and west it has spread, rousing China out of centuries of slumber, stirring India into ominous questioning, reviving memories of past glory in Persia, breeding discontent in Egypt, and luring Turkey onto the rocks."
With all the nations stirred up by the spirit agencies of the god of this world, the prophet next saw the armies of earth gathering to the last great battle. The prophecy continues:
"And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." Rev. 16:16.
Armageddon means the hill, or mount, of Megiddo, which overlooks the plain of Esdraelon, the historic battle ground of northern Palestine. Carmack says of it:
"Megiddo was the military key of Syria; it commanded at once the highway northward to Phœnicia and Cœle-Syria and the road across Galilee to Damascus and the valley of the Euphrates. It was moreover the chief town in a district of great fertility, the contested possession of many races. The vale of Kishon and the region of Megiddo were inevitable battle fields. Through all history they retained that qualification; there many of the great contests of southwestern Asia have been decided. In the history of Israel it was the scene of frequent battles. From such association the district achieved a dark nobility; it was regarded as a pre-destined place of blood and strife; the poet of the Apocalypse has clothed it with awe as the ground of the final conflict between the powers of light and darkness."—"Pre-Biblical Syria and Palestine," p. 82.
"Megiddo was the military key of Syria; it commanded at once the highway northward to Phœnicia and Cœle-Syria and the road across Galilee to Damascus and the valley of the Euphrates. It was moreover the chief town in a district of great fertility, the contested possession of many races. The vale of Kishon and the region of Megiddo were inevitable battle fields. Through all history they retained that qualification; there many of the great contests of southwestern Asia have been decided. In the history of Israel it was the scene of frequent battles. From such association the district achieved a dark nobility; it was regarded as a pre-destined place of blood and strife; the poet of the Apocalypse has clothed it with awe as the ground of the final conflict between the powers of light and darkness."—"Pre-Biblical Syria and Palestine," p. 82.
Thus Armageddon, as the "military key of Syria," marks Palestine and the Near East as the great international storm center in the final conflict.
In vision, nearly two thousand years ago, the prophet saw the forces of the last days gathering around this pivotal region. Today observers recognize the eastern Mediterranean as indeed the pivotal point around which international interests involving East and West naturally revolve.
Some years ago, in discussing railway development in Asia and Africa, and the great highways of sea transportation, the LondonFortnightly Reviewsaid:
"Palestine is the great center, the meeting of the roads. Whoever holds Palestine, commands the great lines of communication, not only by land, but also by sea."
"Palestine is the great center, the meeting of the roads. Whoever holds Palestine, commands the great lines of communication, not only by land, but also by sea."
Again, the ManchesterGuardian, emphasizing the importance attaching to this strategic center, said during the great war:
"Egypt, as things are,—and the fact cannot be too often emphasized,—is the weak spot in our system of imperial defense by sea power. Not until Palestine is in our possession can Egypt be regarded as safe."—Quoted in Literary Digest, Feb. 12, 1916, p. 369.
"Egypt, as things are,—and the fact cannot be too often emphasized,—is the weak spot in our system of imperial defense by sea power. Not until Palestine is in our possession can Egypt be regarded as safe."—Quoted in Literary Digest, Feb. 12, 1916, p. 369.
Other nations have recognized the strategic value of a territory so situated. Thus political considerations make this region pointed out by the prophecy a center of conflicting interests. Hogarth, in his book, "The Near East," calls it "the time-honored storm center of the eastern Mediterranean."
To the conflict of political interests is added the rivalry of religious sentiment. Commenting on the religious associations of Palestine in relation to the international political situation, the LondonSpectatorsome years ago stated the matter thus:
"People often ask how it is that the future of Palestine presents such difficulties. The reason is simply that Jerusalem—you cannot separateJerusalem from Palestine—is the sacred city of so many creeds and warring faiths. Not only is it the holy place of all the Christian churches,—and two of them quarrel bitterly over it, the Greeks and the Latins,—but it is also one of the most sacred places in the Mohammedan world. Mecca and Medina are hardly more sacred than the Mosque of Omar. That is a fact which is often ignored by Europeans, who forget that to turn the Mohammedans out of the temple inclosure would disturb the whole Moslem world, from the Straits Settlements to Albania. We must never forget that Mohammedan pilgrims from India visit Jerusalem, just as Christian pilgrims visit it from Europe. Lastly, Jerusalem is profoundly sacred to the Jews, and the Jews are beginning to be locally numerous and important. Most certainly there are no elements of difficulty wanting in the problem of the future of Palestine."
"People often ask how it is that the future of Palestine presents such difficulties. The reason is simply that Jerusalem—you cannot separateJerusalem from Palestine—is the sacred city of so many creeds and warring faiths. Not only is it the holy place of all the Christian churches,—and two of them quarrel bitterly over it, the Greeks and the Latins,—but it is also one of the most sacred places in the Mohammedan world. Mecca and Medina are hardly more sacred than the Mosque of Omar. That is a fact which is often ignored by Europeans, who forget that to turn the Mohammedans out of the temple inclosure would disturb the whole Moslem world, from the Straits Settlements to Albania. We must never forget that Mohammedan pilgrims from India visit Jerusalem, just as Christian pilgrims visit it from Europe. Lastly, Jerusalem is profoundly sacred to the Jews, and the Jews are beginning to be locally numerous and important. Most certainly there are no elements of difficulty wanting in the problem of the future of Palestine."
History records the fact that rivalry over the care of the traditional holy places helped to precipitate one European war—that of the Crimea.
In the study of the Eastern Question, we have seen that the prophecy of Daniel 11 marks Jerusalem as still a storm center in the closing scenes. A British consul in Jerusalem, in the days following the Crimean War, set forth suggestively his view of one of the factors in the Eastern Question. He wrote:
"The very heart and kernel of the Eastern Question can only be reached in the Holy City, Jerusalem, where the Eastern and Western churches are still wrestling as of old for the mastery.... Now as heretofore, disguise the object as they may, they are striving for a prize which has not been destined by divine Providence for either; and this prize is no less than a virtual dominion over the Christian world, from a throne of government within the sanctuaries of the Holy City; and the possession of that throne would involve possession of the key to universal dominion."—"Stirring Times: Records from Jerusalem Consulate Chronicles," by James Finn, introductory note by editor, p. xxiii.
"The very heart and kernel of the Eastern Question can only be reached in the Holy City, Jerusalem, where the Eastern and Western churches are still wrestling as of old for the mastery.... Now as heretofore, disguise the object as they may, they are striving for a prize which has not been destined by divine Providence for either; and this prize is no less than a virtual dominion over the Christian world, from a throne of government within the sanctuaries of the Holy City; and the possession of that throne would involve possession of the key to universal dominion."—"Stirring Times: Records from Jerusalem Consulate Chronicles," by James Finn, introductory note by editor, p. xxiii.
By every consideration—political, racial, and religious—the Near East supplies all the elements for involving the whole world when once the sweeping displacements begin which the prophecy foretold, and for which statesmen in our day have sought to prepare.
Long ages ago the prophet of God, in vision on the Isle of Patmos, was shown the clash of interests and the gathering of the nations around this historic center. Before our eyes today we see events tending to give to this region the very character assigned to it by the prophecy. It was written in the sure word of prophecy in order that, as the events foretold are seen approaching, men may believe and turn to God, and find salvation from the things coming upon the earth.
Into the prophecy of this sixteenth chapter of Revelation, describing the gathering of forces to Armageddon, our Saviour interjects the warning and the appeal:
"Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." Verse 15.
The last earthly events that the prophecy is dealing with—the pouring out of the seven last plagues, and the clash of Armageddon—come after probation closes. The close of probation, the passing of the ministry of Christ in the heavenly temple, will come as a thief, unannounced. Our only safety is in yielding heart and life to him now for cleansing, and accepting from his hand the garments of his own righteousness, freely offered to every one.
Whatever ambitions or aims may be the impelling motives when the gathering to the great conflict comes, one thing is certain: Armageddon is to bring triumph and world dominion to no earthly power. As the nations gather, the Lord intervenes from heaven, and the history of the kingdoms of this world is closed at last. The prophet tells the sequel to Armageddon:
"He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; andthere was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great." Rev. 16:16-21.
The fall of the Turkish power is the prelude to the gathering of the nations to the battle of Armageddon. And Armageddon is the prelude to the end of the world and Christ's glorious coming as King of kings and Lord of lords. The armies gathered to battle for supremacy find themselves suddenly arrayed against the armies of heaven. Another prophecy describes the scene when Christ is revealed:
"The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" Rev. 6:15-17.
Again, as the great searchlight of divine prophecy lights up the way before us, we see by the course of present-day events that the end is drawing very near. By what sudden turn of affairs the last things to be done in history may be set in motion, none can foresee. The Saviour admonishes every soul, "Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." Matt. 24:44.
It is for this time of waiting, especially, that Christ spoke the parable of the ten virgins who waited for the bridegroom. All sincerely wanted to meet him; all expected to be ready. But when the cry was raised, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh;go ye out to meet him!" only five were ready. The others lacked the oil that was to give them light. We know what the oil represents—the genuine heart experience of the grace and love of Christ.
THE TEN VIRGINS "They that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut." Matt. 25:10.THE TEN VIRGINS"They that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut." Matt. 25:10.
Those overtaken unready, hastened away to get oil. "And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; andthey that were readywent in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut." Matt. 25:10. Those that were ready went in; those that were getting ready were too late. How came some to be ready?—They were ready all the time; they kept ready. This lesson is for us now. Our only safety is in being ready every day, keeping sins forgiven, the life surrendered to God.
THE MILLENNIUMTHE MILLENNIUM
The millennium is the closing period of God's great week of time—a great sabbath of rest to the earth and to the people of God.It follows the close of the gospel age, and precedes the setting up of the everlasting kingdom of God on earth.It comprehends what in the Scriptures is frequently spoken of as "the day of the Lord."It is bounded at each end by a resurrection.Its beginning is marked by the pouring out of the seven last plagues, the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the righteous dead, the binding of Satan, and the translation of the saints to heaven; and its close, by the descent of the New Jerusalem, with Christ and the saints, from heaven, the resurrection of the wicked dead, the loosing of Satan, and the final destruction of the wicked.During the one thousand years the earth lies desolate; Satan and his angels are confined here; and the saints, with Christ, sit in judgment on the wicked, preparatory to their final punishment.The wicked dead are then raised; Satan is loosed for a little season, and he and the host of the wicked encompass the camp of the saints and the holy city, when fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them. The earth is cleansed by the same fire that destroys the wicked, and, renewed, becomes the eternal abode of the saints.The millennium is one of "the ages to come." Its close will mark the beginning of the new earth state.
The millennium is the closing period of God's great week of time—a great sabbath of rest to the earth and to the people of God.
It follows the close of the gospel age, and precedes the setting up of the everlasting kingdom of God on earth.
It comprehends what in the Scriptures is frequently spoken of as "the day of the Lord."
It is bounded at each end by a resurrection.
Its beginning is marked by the pouring out of the seven last plagues, the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the righteous dead, the binding of Satan, and the translation of the saints to heaven; and its close, by the descent of the New Jerusalem, with Christ and the saints, from heaven, the resurrection of the wicked dead, the loosing of Satan, and the final destruction of the wicked.
During the one thousand years the earth lies desolate; Satan and his angels are confined here; and the saints, with Christ, sit in judgment on the wicked, preparatory to their final punishment.
The wicked dead are then raised; Satan is loosed for a little season, and he and the host of the wicked encompass the camp of the saints and the holy city, when fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them. The earth is cleansed by the same fire that destroys the wicked, and, renewed, becomes the eternal abode of the saints.
The millennium is one of "the ages to come." Its close will mark the beginning of the new earth state.
CHRIST COMING FOR HIS OWN "They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years," Rev. 20:4.CHRIST COMING FOR HIS OWN"They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years," Rev. 20:4.
The word "millennium" means "a thousand years." This definite period is referred to specifically in but one chapter of the Bible, the twentieth of Revelation; and in that chapter it is spoken of repeatedly. We find it to be:
The period during which the saints reign with Christ in judgment.
The period during which Satan is bound.
The measure of time between the two resurrections, that of the just and that of the unjust.
An examination of the scriptures bearing upon the millennium will show:
1. The events that mark its beginning.
2. The events that occur during the thousand years.
3. The events that come at the end of the period.
We shall find it clearly taught in these scriptures:
That the millennium begins at the second coming of Christ.
That the reign of the saints with Him in judgment is not on this earth, but in heaven.
That this earth, void of human inhabitants, is Satan's prison house during the thousand years.
That at the end of the thousand years the judgment determined is executed upon Satan and all the wicked.
That this earth, purified by the fires of the last judgment, and renewed, becomes the eternal home of the saved.
The key to the time is furnished by the declaration that the millennium begins with—
Speaking of the risen saints, the Scripture says:
"They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead [the wicked] 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." Rev. 20:4-6.
There are to be two resurrections. The apostle Paul said that this was the teaching of all Scripture: "There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust." Acts 24:15. The first resurrection, that of the just, marks the beginning of the thousand years.
When is this first resurrection, in the order of events in this "day of the Lord"? It is at the second advent of Christ. One scripture, out of many, will suffice to state it:
"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." 1 Thess. 4:16.
As the Saviour comes in glory, with all the holy angels, the graves are opened, and His voice awakens His children who sleep in the dust.
"He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." Matt. 24:31.
The time of Christ's second coming, therefore, is the beginning of the millennium.
The living righteous are translated, and, together with the risen saints, are taken to heaven, as the apostle says:
"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:17.
This was the Saviour's promise:
"In My Father's house are many mansions.... I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:2, 3.
At Christ's second coming the wicked are slain. The unbelieving left without shelter in that day, cannot endure the presence of such glory as will burst upon the world:
"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." 2 Thess. 1:7, 8.
With the saints in heaven, beyond the reach of Satan's wiles, and with the wicked dead, not to live again till the thousand years are finished, Satan is "bound"—confined by divine power to this earth, which becomes his prison house, there being neither saint nor sinner upon whom to ply his arts of deception. No prisoner was ever more effectually chained. The symbolical language of the prophet pictures the scene:
"I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. Andhe 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." Rev. 20:1-3.
These are the events that mark the beginning of the thousand years: Christ's second coming, the resurrection of the just, the ascent of all the redeemed to the city of God, the death of the wicked, and, in consequence, the binding of Satan.
Scene after scene of glory is spread before us in the visions the prophets were given of the redeemed in the city of God. The prophet John says:
"After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.... Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple." Rev. 7:9-15.
They "serve" in the temple of the Lord, the prophet says; while the poet sings:
"Whence came the armies of the sky,John saw in vision bright?Whence came their crowns, their robes, their palms,Too pure for mortal sight?"From desert waste, and cities full,From dungeons dark, they've come,And now they claim their mansion fair,They've found their long-sought home."
"Whence came the armies of the sky,John saw in vision bright?Whence came their crowns, their robes, their palms,Too pure for mortal sight?
"From desert waste, and cities full,From dungeons dark, they've come,And now they claim their mansion fair,They've found their long-sought home."
One service in which the saved have part during the thousand years is the work of judgment that still remains, preparatory to the final visitation of sin and the destruction of Satan and all his works. The prophet saw this work goingforward in the heavenly courts, the redeemed associated with Christ in the service:
"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 worshiped 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." Rev. 20:4.
It was to this work of judging the wicked and the evil angels, that the apostle Paul referred in the counsel to the Corinthians: "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?... Know ye not that we shall judge angels?" 1 Cor. 6:2, 3.
While in heaven above the saved are with Christ and the holy angels before the throne, and follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth, it is to be remembered that on earth all is desolation and emptiness. The wicked have been slain by the glory of Christ's coming. By the quaking of the earth the cities of the nations have fallen in ruin, islands have been removed, and mountains cast into the depths of the sea. The condition of the earth during this time of desolation is thus described by the prophet:
"I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger." Jer. 4:23-26.
"Without form, and void," said the prophet. This is the same phrase that is used in the opening verses of Genesis to describe the chaotic state of the earth in the beginning. At the beginning of creation week the earth was in a state ofemptiness and chaos—an "abyss," as it is called in the Greek translation of Genesis. Again, during this thousand-year period, the earth is an "abyss," or a desolate waste. "Abyss" is the meaning of the word translated "bottomless pit" in the text telling of the binding of Satan by the mighty angel of God:
"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." Rev. 20:2, 3. The Revised Version says, "And cast him into the abyss."
Confined to this pit or abyss of desolation, as a prisoner in a prison house, with none to tempt, the author of sin has a thousand years in which to view the ruin that sin has wrought in the earth that once left its Maker's hand beautiful and perfect, unmarred by any curse.
At the end of the millennium, this earth becomes the scene of events that close the great controversy between Christ and Satan.
The judgment work in heaven having been accomplished, the hour has come for the execution of the judgment upon sin and sinners. The holy city comes down out of heaven. The prophet saw its descent in vision:
"I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven." Rev. 21:2.
"When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations." Rev. 20:7, 8.
With all the wicked destroyed by the glory of Christ's second coming, Satan had been effectually bound; but now, as the city descends, the voice of Christ calls forth the wicked dead, and Satan is thus loosed, and assumes control again of those who have chosen him as their master.
It is the time of which the Scripture speaks: "The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." Verse 5. The prophet saw the hosts of the lost called forth. "The sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell [the "grave," margin] delivered up the dead which were in them." Verse 13.
Thus Satan's subjects come forth to the last judgment. The resurrection of the wicked of all the ages is the loosing of Satan. Here again is his kingdom, and again he plies his deceptions and takes up anew his fight against God. How very natural that Satan should persuade the wicked that he has raised them to life, that his word in the beginning was true, "Ye shall not surely die"! If they are immortal, why may they not yet prevail against God? Satan rallies his angels and the hosts of the wicked, in numbers "as the sand of the sea," to make an attack upon the city of God.
"How vast the concourse! not in number moreThe waves that break on the resounding shore,The leaves that tremble in the shady grove,The lamps that gild the spangled vaults above;Those overwhelming armies, whose commandSaid to one empire, Fall; another, Stand;Whose rear lay wrap't in night, while breaking dawnRous'd the broad front, and called the battle on;Great Xerxes' world in arms, proud Cannæ's field,Where Carthage taught victorious Rome to yield,Immortal Blenheim, fam'd Ramillia's host;—They all are here, and here they all are lost;Their millions swell, to be discerned in vain,Lost as a billow in th' unbounded main."—Edward Young's "Last Day."
"How vast the concourse! not in number moreThe waves that break on the resounding shore,The leaves that tremble in the shady grove,The lamps that gild the spangled vaults above;Those overwhelming armies, whose commandSaid to one empire, Fall; another, Stand;Whose rear lay wrap't in night, while breaking dawnRous'd the broad front, and called the battle on;Great Xerxes' world in arms, proud Cannæ's field,Where Carthage taught victorious Rome to yield,Immortal Blenheim, fam'd Ramillia's host;—They all are here, and here they all are lost;Their millions swell, to be discerned in vain,Lost as a billow in th' unbounded main."
—Edward Young's "Last Day."
"They went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city." Verse 9.
But as the hosts of evil compass the city, they are halted by the glory and majesty of the Redeemer's presence, enthroned as eternal victor over sin. Just here must apply the prophet's words:
"I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." Rev. 20:11, 12.
THE HOLY CITY DESCENDS "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men." Rev 21:3.THE HOLY CITY DESCENDS"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men." Rev 21:3.
During the thousand years the records in heaven have been reviewed, and the degrees of guilt established. Now the judgment is to be pronounced and executed. But first the record of the books and the eternal righteousness of God's holy law are flashed by divine power upon the consciences of all the lost—"their conscience also bearing witness" (Rom. 2:15) that they are without excuse.
Sin is now to be blotted from the universe of God; and those who have chosen to be identified with sin perish withit. All that Infinite Love can do has been done in the gift of Christ to save men from the transgression of the holy law of God. That salvation rejected, there is nothing remaining that heaven can offer. There is no further sacrifice that can be made. "There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." Heb. 10:26.
Then follows the last scene in the conflict with evil:
"They went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire.... And death and hell [the grave] were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." Rev. 20:9-14.
The second death ends sin and the author of sin, and death itself. The controversy is ended. Christ's death has purged sin from the universe of God.
The fires that consume the wicked melt the earth and purify it from all trace of the curse. It is the day of which Peter wrote:
"Wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat." But after this cleansing of every element of this sin-cursed earth, the promise of God will be fulfilled in the earth made new, as the eternal home of the saved. As Peter says, after telling of the day of burning, "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2 Peter 3:12, 13.
"O sweet and blessed country,The home of God's elect!O sweet and blessed country,That eager hearts expect!Jesus, in mercy bring usTo that dear land of rest;Who art, with God the Father,And Spirit, ever blest."
"O sweet and blessed country,The home of God's elect!O sweet and blessed country,That eager hearts expect!Jesus, in mercy bring usTo that dear land of rest;Who art, with God the Father,And Spirit, ever blest."
MOSES VIEWING THE PROMISED LAND "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." Matt. 5:5.MOSES VIEWING THE PROMISED LAND"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." Matt. 5:5.
THE SPIES' RETURN "The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land." Num. 14:7.THE SPIES' RETURN"The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land." Num. 14:7.
The Bible opens with a new heaven and a new earth, perfect from the Creator's hand; with man sinless and having access to the tree of life in the midst of the Eden paradise, out of which flowed a river that spread its life-giving waters through the earth.
The Bible closes with a new heaven and a new earth; with man upright and sinless, having right to the tree of life growing in the midst of Eden; with the river of life flowing out from the garden of God, clear as crystal.
Between the two scenes spreads out the panorama of six thousand years of conflict with sin. It is a story of the fall of man, of the loss of his Eden home, of the curse that marred the earth, of sin and sorrow and death overspreading all.
But from the hour when the shadow of sin fell upon the earth, there has been a light shining in the darkness. Amid the ruin that sin had wrought, there appeared the great Restorer.
The inspired record gives a word-picture of Jesus taking man's place to win back the lost dominion:
"Unto the angels hath He not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that Thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; Thou crownedst him with glory and honor, and didst set him over the works of Thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that He put all in subjection under Him, He left nothing that is not put under Him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus." Heb. 2:5-9.
Just where Adam fell and lost his dominion over the earth, we see Jesus, the second Adam, taking man's place and winning back the lost inheritance. That is why the picture of the new earth and man's sinless state depicted in the first two chapters of the Bible is repeated in the last two chapters with even greater fulness of glory. God's original plan and purpose will be carried out, and this earth, renewed, will be the eternal home of sinless men and women, redeemed by grace.
Sin will be found not to have frustrated, but only to have delayed, the purpose of God. And what is six thousand years in working out the divine plan? In our brief span we may divide human history into ancient, medieval, and modern; but in heaven's life a thousand years are but as "a watch in the night;" and these six watches are to heaven but as one night of grief and of loving ministry in rescuing the lost.
It has cost all that heaven had to give. But the infinite Gift was made, and all heaven has wrought at the work. Of the angels it is written, "Are they not all ministering spirits,sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" Heb. 1:14.
Of all the worlds that shine in the heavens, declaring the glory of God, this earth is the one that was lost. Its light went out in darkness. It wandered from the fold of God's perfect creation.
Then the divine Shepherd came to find it and bring it back. And the angels that rejoiced when they saw this earth created,—"when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy,"—will again rejoice as the Lord brings back His own,—this earth, redeemed from the curse, shining in the bright universe again with the perfection of the glory of God.
Christ not only redeems lost men, but He is to redeem this lost earth. "The Son of man," He said, "is come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10.
By sinning, man lost not only his righteousness and his life, but his dominion as well. Originally man had dominion "over all the earth." Gen. 1:26. As the psalmist says, "Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands." Ps. 8:6. He was prince and ruler of the earth. But when he yielded to Satan's temptation, he yielded up that dominion to the enemy, thus placing himself in the power of his foe. Satan thus became the "prince of this world," exercising the dominion wrested from man.
But through Christ, this dominion is to be restored. The prophet of old said:
"Thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem." Micah 4:8.
The promise of the gospel of salvation is the promise not only of life eternal through faith, but of an eternal inheritancein the earth made new, the fulfilment of the Creator's plan when He made this world to be the home of man. This was the star of hope that shone before Adam and Eve as they stepped forth from Eden into a dying world. It was the promise to Abraham, "the promise, that he should be the heir of the world." Rom. 4:13.
It was not the promise of the world in its present state. For the Lord gave Abraham "none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on." Acts 7:5. Abraham himself did not look for the promise to be fulfilled in this sinful earth, but in the earth made new, redeemed from sin. The Scripture says of his hope:
"By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country: ... for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Heb. 11:9, 10.
It was in the new earth and the New Jerusalem that Abraham, the father of the faithful, expected to receive the eternal inheritance promised to him and to his seed. And there all the faithful will find their inheritance.
"If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. 3:29.
The psalmist said, "The meek shall inherit the earth." Ps. 37:11. Christ repeated it: "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." Matt. 5:5.
Through the prophet Isaiah the Lord described the re-creation of this earth to be the home of the saved:
"Behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice forever 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." Isa. 65:17-19.
It is not of old Jerusalem that the prophet is speaking, but of the New Jerusalem, which John saw coming down, with the saints, from God out of heaven. He saw it descending upon the earth at the end of the thousand years, and saw the wicked come forth from their graves to judgment. Then he saw the fires of the last day falling upon the lost, consuming sin and sinners, and purifying the earth itself from every trace of the curse. It is the day of which Peter wrote, "Wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat." But he adds, "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2 Peter 3:12, 13.
Out from the dissolved elements of the earth and the atmospheric heavens the Creator's power again calls forth new heavens and a new earth, the old creation cleansed and renewed in the perfection of the original Eden paradise. It is coming; for John saw it in vision. "I saw," he says, "a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away." Rev. 21:1.
He saw the city which had come down from heaven—those mansions that Christ is now gone to prepare—the New Jerusalem, the holy capital of the eternal kingdom of the saints, where Christ's own throne is set.
"I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful." Rev. 21:3-5.
It passes comprehension; but it is true. And the life of the saved in their eternal inheritance will be just as real as is life upon this present earth.
THE SAINTS' ETERNAL HOME "I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away." Rev. 21:1.THE SAINTS' ETERNAL HOME"I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away." Rev. 21:1.
"They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them." "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 Lord." Isa. 65:21, 25.
The whole earth will be as the Eden paradise planted by God in the beginning. And from week to week and from month to month the saved will gather to worship before the glorious throne in the holy city.
"As the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before Me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. 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 the Lord." Isa. 66:22, 23.
As the first two chapters of the Bible tell of earth's original perfection, so the last two chapters constitute one psalm of ecstasy over the indescribable glories of the earth made new, with its city of light, the walls of jasper, the gates of pearl, the river of life flowing from the throne of the Lamb, clear as crystal, with the widespreading tree of life on either side of the river. And supreme above all, Jesus Himself, "the King in His beauty," without whom there would be no glory even in that city foursquare; "for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."