Lectures on the Millennium online

needy, and to slay such as be of upright
conversation. Their sword shall enter into
their own heart, and tlieir bow shall be
broken. — -But the wicked shall perish, and
the enemies of the Lird shall be as the fat
of lambs; they shall consume, into smoke
shall they consume away. — For such as be



56 State of the World

blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and
they that be cursed of him shall be cut off. — -
For the Lord loveth judgment, and for-
saketh not his saints; they are preserved
forever; but the seed of the wicked shall be
cu| ''oif — Wait on the Lord, and keep his
way, and he shall exalt thee to inlierit the
land: when the wicked are cut off thou shalt
see it." Ps. 92: 7. "When tije wicked spring
as the grass, and when all the workers of
iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall
be destroyed forever — For, lo, O Lord, for
lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the work-
ers of iniquity shall be scattered."

Many other passages declare, or imply,
not only that the wicked shall be cut off, but
that they shall be cut off by Christ, or for
the promotion of his glorious kingdom. Ps.
2:8,9,12. <«Ask of me, and I shall give thee
the heathen for thine inheritance, and the ut-
termost parts of the earth for a possession.
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron|
thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter^s
vessel — Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and
ye perish from the way, when his wrath is
kindled but a little," Is. 11:1,4. "Aii^l
there shall come forth a rod out of the stem
of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his
roots — x\nd he shall smite the earth with the
rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his
lips shall he slay the wicked." This is
iiianifestly introductory to the Millei'ni jm;
for the prophet immediately proceeds to de»



Burins: the Millemiium,



"a



scrilje the peaceful and blessed state of that
period. "The wolf sliall dwell with the
famh, and the leopard shall lie down with tlie
kid — for the earth shall be full of the knowl^
edge of the Lord, as the waters cover the
seas.'* Again^ Is. 60:12. "For the nation
and kingdom, that will not serve thee, shall
perish, yea those nations shall be utterly
wasted," In Is. 63: we have an account of
the slaughter, which Ohrist will execute upon
liis enemies, perhaps the most tremendous,
that is to be found in the Old Testament,
«^Who is he that cometh from Edom, with
dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is
g-Jorious in his apparel, travelling in the
greatness of his strength? I that speak in
righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore
art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments
like him that treadeth in the wine-fat? I have
trodden the w4ne-press alone; and of the
people there was none with me; for I will
tread them in mine anger, and trample them
in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled
inpon my garments, and I will stain all my
raiment. For the day of vengeance is in
mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is
come. And I looked, and there was none to
Itel]); and I wondered that there was none to
uphold; therefore mine own arm brought sal-
vation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me.
[And I will tread down the people in mine
janger, and make them drunk in my fury, and
|I will bring down their strength to the earth.



»)



58 State of the tVoM

Nearly as much, perhaps, is implied by
Ps. 46: '«God is our refuge and strength, a
very present help in trouble. Therefore vyiU
we not fear, tho the earth be removed, and
tho the mountains be carried into the midst
of the sea — ^The heathen raged, the king-
doms were moved; he uttered his voice; the
earth melted — Come behold the works of
the Lord, what desolations he hath made
in the earth. He maketh w ars to cease unto
the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow,
and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burnetii
the chariot in the fire. Be still and know
that I am God; 1 will be exalted among the
heathen. I will be exalted in the earth."

Thus it appears, that the peaceful and hap-
py state of the Millennium is predicted, and
promised, as being introduced by signal
desolations in the earth, by dreadful slaugh-
ter of the wicked. I have sometimes pre-
sumed to hope, that the greater part of thi^i
slaughter and desolation was past; but upon
more close consideration, I am induced to
tliink that they are principally, if not entire-
ly, future; and that the whirlwind of tho
Lord's anger will yet go forth in unexam^
pled fury, even a grievous whirlwind, and
that it will fall most grievously upon the
head of the wicked. In the latter day it
shall be perfectly considered.* It seems
that the desolations and slaughter, produced
by this whirlwind of divine wrath, shall ex-
cite more attention and consideration, than

*Jer, 33:19,20.



During the Millennium, 59

any other, that ever was commissioned to
chastise the children of men in the present
\vorld. Tho I trust the church has seen her
darkest days, yet 1 can by no means suppose,
that the wicked have felt the most signal and
tremendous judgments, allotted for their
portion in this world.

We are not to suppose however, that all are
to be thus cut off,wiio may be found opposed
to Christ and his kingdom. We cannot but
indulge the hope, that the Millennium will
not be introduced merely, nor principally,
hy the destruction of the wicked. Not-
withstanding the amazing slaugliter, that is
to take place, it is to be hoped, that the
greater part of the wicked will be converted,
to introduce the blessed and glorious day.
In Is. 66:7,8. We have a wonderful pas-
sage upon this subject. ^Before she travail-
ed, she brouglit forth; before her pain came,
she was delivered of a man-child. Who hath
leard such a thing? who hath seen such
things? Shall the earth te made to bring
forth in one day? or shall a nation be born
at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she
)rought forth her children." The nation,
;hat is to be born at once, may be the Jew-
ish nation, who will probafely be converted
m a very few years after any considerable
lumber of the stock of Israel are called in.
3ut the other expressions in the passage, do
indoubtedly imjdy, that vast myriads of the
jentilcs shall be couvertoiK nearly at i\\^
lime.



LECTURE IV.

M shall know the Lord — Knowledge will
be greatly increased.

PROPOSITION IX,

In the Millennium, all shall know and
serve the Lord.

To those who are sigliing and crying for
the abominations of the world — to those who
are waiting and panting for the consolation
of Israel, this proposition may be more in-
teresting, than any other. For this reason,
and also for another, that will afterwards ap-
pear, I shall say moi^e upon this proposition,
than would otherwise be deemed necessary.

Tho the perfections of God are inscribed
npon all things as with a sun-beam, and en-
graven as with the point of a diamond; yet
how small part of our race have known the
Lord. It has been a question with some,
whether ever any man was an atheist. And
when we consider the abundant evidence,
the glaring and overwhelming evidence, of
the divine existence, we may well wonder,
how it can be possible, that any man shonlc!
ever deny, or doubt, the being of Jehovah.
But, when we consider what is in man, the
amazing depravity of the human hea.t, that
it is deceitful aboTe all things and desperate-
ly wicked — when we consider the astonish-
ing influence of the heart upon the opera-



During the Millennknn, 61

tions and decisions of the understanding,
and that the fool hatli said in his lieart
«<There is no God" — when we consider these
things, we are not to think it impossible, we
are not to think it more strange, than any
thing else, that there have been atheists in
the world. Tho most men have professed
to believe in the existence of invisible be-
ings superior to themselves; and tho a very
great part of mankind have acknowledged
lords many andgods many; yet I have not
the least doubt, that there have been in the
world, and still are, millions and millions
of atlieists; nay that by far the greater part
of the human race, that have yet breathed
the breath of life, have been atheists — have
had no fixed belief, nor just conception of
the being and perfections of Him, whose
name alone is Jehovah. Have not the
majority of men lived without God in the
world? — have they not conducted as tho
tliey had no fixed belief in the supreme, eter-
nal, self-existent God? If actions speak
louder than words, must we not conclude;
that they had no such fixed belief? Only let
|it be reputable to be thought an atheist, and
no doubt thousands would soon be heard ex-
claiming with blasphemous exultation, that
ithey had never believed — that they had al-
ways despised the superstitious notion, that
there is any being superior to man. But
'atheism will not thus prevail in the Millen-
nium. Men will then not only believe, but
6



62 State of the World

know, there is a God; and not only believe,
and know, that God exists; but delight to
serve and adore him. In time past, but a
small proportion of those, who have known
God speculatively, have sincerely obeyed,
and worshipped him. It is said of ancient
heathen philosophers, <«When they knew
God, they glorified him not as God, neither
were thankful." This has doubtless been
the case with myriads of mankind. How
many have there been in the world, and how
many are there still, who have professed,
that they have known God, and yet in works
have constantly denied him. But in the
blessed period, that is approaching, there
will be no such denial of God. Neither the
theory nor the practice of atheism will have
place on earth.

Knowing the Lord, as the phrase is gen-
erally used in scripture, implies knowing
him with the understanding, with the heart,
and in the life. That all shall know the
Lord in these senses, is manifest from the
propositions, that have been already consid-
ered. If religion is to prevail much more,
than ever it has prevailed; if idolatry is to
cease; if the Jews are all" to become Chriji
tians; if Zion is to be delivered from all her
external enemies; if war is to cease; if the
saints are to rule and inherit the earth; and
especially if the wicked are all to cease from
the earth; then surely all that rem aiji upon
the earth must be righteous — must know and



I



Dunns the MilUnnmm. 63



*a



serve the Lord, from the least unto the
greatest.

Of the numerous passages of scripture, by
which this proposition may be establislied,
only a part will be adduced. In Gen. 12:3
God says to Abraham, ''^And I will bless
them that bless thee, and curse him that
curseth thee^ and in thee shall all the fami-
lies of the earth be blessed." The latter part
of this exceeding great and precious prom-
ise, was several times repeated to the father
of the faithful with very little variation in
expression. The way, in which the families
and kindreds of Uie earth shall be blessed in
Abraham, is by being blessed in his seed,
that is Christ. This promise has never been
fulfilled; it is hardly to be supposed, that
even some individuals of all nations have
been blessed in Christ; much less have all the
families of the earth at any age been blessed
in him. The promise then is far, very far
indeed, from having been accomplished. On-
ly a few of the first fruits have yet been
gathered in. The vast and glorious harvest
is yet future. And tho the promise does not
say, that every individual of the human fam-
ily shall be righteous, yet its extensive im-
port seems to amount very nearly to this.
In Ps. 2: the Father says to the Son, "Ask
of me, and I will give thee the heathen for
thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of
the earth for a possession." This passage
cannot be understood, as implying less, than



64 Slate of the World ^

that mankind generally, at some future period,
shall be cordially subjected to Christ. Ps,
£2:27. "All the ends of the earth shall re-
member, and turn unto the Lord; and all
the kindreds of the nations shall worship be-
fore thee." "For the kingdom is tlie Lord's;
and he is the governor among the nations.
All they that be fat upon the earth shall eat
and worship; all they that go down to the
dust shall bow before him. — A seed shall '
serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord
for a generation. They shall come, and
shall declare his righteousness to a people
that shall be born, that he hath done this."
Ps. 48:10. "According to thy name, O God,
is thy praise unto the ends of the earth."
Ps. 65:2,5. '«0 thou that hearest prayer,
unto thee shall all flesh come." This pas-
sage does not directly declare, tho it may
indeed imply, that it is the duty of all flesh
to come unto God; but it seems to be a sim-
ple prediction, that the time shall come, when
all flesh, all the inhabitants of theworld,shall
draw near to God in prayer. The fifth
verse seems to imply, that the day, when all
shall pray to God, will be introduced by
dreadful judgments; and that these judg-
ments may be considered in some sense as
in answer to prayer; and that then God
will become the confidence of all the inhabi-
tants of the earth, whether on the sea, or on
the land: <'By terrible things in righteous-
ness, thou wilt answer us, God of our saU



Burins: the Millennium o 65



"a



vation; who art the confidence of all the
ends of the earth, and of them that are afar
off upon the sea.'^ Ps. 66:1 — 4. "Make a
joyful noise unto God all ye lands; sing forth
the honor of his name; make his praise
glorious. Say unto God, How terribie art
thou in thy works! through the greatness of
thy power, shall thine enemies submit them-
selves unto thee. All the earth shall wor-
ship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they
shall sing to thy name." Ps.67:7. "God shall
bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall
fear him." In Ps. 72. it is said of the king,
of whom Solomon was a type, "The kings of
Tarshish and of the isles shall bring pres-
ents; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer
gifts; yea, all kings shall fall down before
him; all nations shall serve him — all nations
shall call him blessed.'* Ps. 82:8. "Arise,
O God, judge the earth; for thou shalt inherit
all nations." Ps. 86:9. "All nations, whom
thou hast made, shall come and worship be-
fore- thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy
iiame." Ps. 98:3,4. "He hath remembered
his mercy and his truth toward tlie house
of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of God. Make a joyful noise
unto the Lord, all the earth; make a loud
noise, and rejoice, and sing praise." Ps.
113:3. "I^roni the rising of the sun unto
the going down of the same, the Lord's
name is to be praised." Is. 11:9. "For
the earth shall be full of the knowledge ojT
#6



66 State of the World,

the Lord, as the waters cover the seas."
1b. 27:6. ''He shall cause them that come of
Jacoh to take root; Israel shall blossom, and
bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit."
Tho this may have an important reference
to the seed of Jacob according to the flesh;
yet no doubt it has a much more important
reference to his spiritual seed — .to those who
shall be Israelites indeed. Is. 45:22-— 25.
'^Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends
of the earth; for I am God, and there is none
else. I have sworn by myself, the word ivS
gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and
shall not return, That unto me every knee
shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely,
shall one say, in the Lord have I righteous-
ness and strength; even to him shall men
come; and all, that are incensed against
him, shall be ashamed. In the Lord shall
all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall
glory." Is. 52:9,10. "Break forth into joy,
sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem;
for the Lord hath comforted his people, and
hath redeemed Jerusalem, The Lord hath
made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the
nations; and all the ends of the earth shall
see the salvation of our God." Is. 54:4,5,
'<Fear not, for thou shalt not be ashamed;
neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt
not be put to shame; for thou shalt forget the
shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember
the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
For thy Maker is thine husbands the Lord



During the Millenniunu 67

of hosts is his namei and thy Redeemer, the
Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole
earth shall he be called." Is. 60:21. "Thy
people also shall he all righteous; they shall
inherit the land for ever, the branch of my
planting the work of my hands; that I may
be glorified," Is. 66:23, "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,
saiththe Lord." Jer. 3:17, '"'At that time,
tliey shall call Jerusalem the throne of the.
Lord, and all nations shall be gathered unto
it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem;
neither shall they walk any more after the
imagination of their evil heart," Hab. 2:14^
^'For the earth shall be filled with the knowl-
edge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters
cover the sea." Zee, 14:9, <' And the Lord
shall be King over all the earth; in that day
there shall be one Lord, and his name one."
Upon this passage Mr. Scott observes, near-
ly in the following words: "The Lord shall
become King over all the earth; not only in
right, but in fact, till neither idols, false re-
ligion, nor antichristian powers be left his
rivals; till all princes submit, and serve
him, and all the earth agree in one object
aud one way of worship, and unite in sub-
[uission and obedience to one Lord." Matt.
[3:33. <'Anotherparable spake he unto them,
^The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven,-
Yhich a womsvn took and hid in three meas-



68 State oj the World

«res of meal, till the whole was leavened/*
When the gospel of the kingdom has
spread, and prevailed to such a degree, as to
leaven the hearts and practices of all man-
kind, then all must know and serve the Lord.
In John 12; 32, the Savior declares, "And
I, if 1 be lifted up from the earth, will draw
all men unto me," To say, that some of all
nations shall be drawn to Christ is so far
from being an adequate exposition of this
passage, that it seems infinitelj unsatisfac-
tory. tJpon such a principle, the exceeding
great, and precious, and glorious, and stu-
pendous promises of God, may be interpret-
ed to mean almost nothings and heaven and
hell may be supposed to be very nearly
alike. Rev. 15:4. "Who shall not fear thee
O Lord and glorify thy name?"

But the passage, that in my mind, estab-
lishes the proposition under consideration
more decidedly, than any other, is Rev.
20:5. «^But the I'est of the dead lived not
again, until the thousand years were finish-
ed." The apostle is here speaking of the
wicked dead, who should not live, or rise, till
the end of the Millennium" To me it ap-
pears very clear, that this resurrection of the
wicked, at the end of the Millennium, is a
spiritual resurrection; that the wicked are
then to live in their successors, in the same
sense, as Elijah lived in John the Baptist;
and as the wicked are not to live, till the
end of the Millennium, there will be no wick-



ll



Burins; the Millennium. 69



"a



ed men upon earth; and consequently all
must be rigliteous,^ during that blessed pe-
riod. But as this point cannot be ob^dous to
those, who have not attended particularly to
this passage, and as some expositors have
thought differently, it seems proper, that I
should state the reasons of my opinion a lit-
tle more fully. To present a clear view of
the subject, it may be proper to quote two
or three verses in connexion. «'And I saw
thQ souls of them, which 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 re -
ceived his mark in 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 res-
urrection. Blessed and holy is lie, that hath
part in the first resurrection; on such the
second death hath no power; but they slia!!
be priests of God and of Christ, and shall
reign with him a thousand years. And when
the thousand years are expired, Satan shall
be loosed out of his prison." In the first
place it appears manifest that the first res-
urrection will be merely spiritual. As tlic
Revelation is in a great measure a book of
symbols, there is not tlie least diificulty in
supposing, that the first resurrection will be
merely spiritual. Indeed this seems most
agreeable to the general tenor of this mys-



70 State of the World

tical book. In remarking upon this passage
Mr. Scott observes: <<I cannot see that the
resurrection of souls can literally mean the
resurrection of bodies.'^ Paul represents
himself and his fellow martyrs and fellow
Christians, as rising at the last trump, at
the end of the world^ which cannot be true,
if they are to rise more than a thousand
years before. These reasons, if there were
no other, would be sufficient to convince me, i
beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the first
resurrection will be merely spiritual; that
the martyrs will not live upon earth during
the Millennium, except in their successors,
or in those possessed of the spirit and zeal
of martyrs (though they will not be called to
suffer martyrdom) as John the Baptist is
said to be Elias or Elijah; because he came
in the spirit and power of Elijah.

If the first resurrection is to be spiritual,
there is equal reason to believe, that the next
resurrection, or the resurrection of the re^t
of the dead, immediately after the Millenni-
um, will also be merely spiritual. Indeed^
I think, all must agree, that these two res-
iirrections will be either both spiritual, or.
both literal. This seems to have been the
grand argument of Mede,to prove that the
first resurrection is to be literal, when he
had taken it for granted, that the next would
be literal — the argument that had the prin-
cipal influence in silencing Faber, without
convincing him. Indeed, as Faber holds.



During the Millennium. 71



that whole nations will remain in idolatry
through the whole Millennial period, and
therefore, that millions of the wicked dead
will be spiritually alive during that time, it
is plain, that a man of his candor must feel^
that he ought to be silenced by the argument
of Mede. The argument is equally sti'ong
to p''ove, that the resurrection of the wicked
immediately after the Millennium will be a
spiritual resurrection, from the consi€lera°
tion, that the first resurrection at the be-
ginning of the Millennium will be spiritual.
That the resurrection at the end of the
Millennium will be merely spiritual, is still
more evident from another consideration.
The literal resurrection will not take place,
till the end of the world, when the last trump
shall sound. But a season will intervene be-
tween the end of the Millennium and the last
trump; a season of sufficient length for Satan
to "go out to deceive the nations, which are
in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and
Magog, to gather them together to battlei
the number of whom is as the sand
of the sea." And tho this is called a
little season, it will probably consist of sev-
eral hundred years. Several hundred years
may be considered a little season, compar-
ed with the hundreds of thousands of years,
of which, I suppose the Millennium will con-
sist. I cannot think, that a period short of
several hundred years will be sufficient for
Satan to perform the work allotted for him



72 State of the Wjrll

to do, between the Millennium and the end
of the world. The argument under consid-
eration, however, does not depend upun the
supposition, that the little season will be sev-
eral hundred years. Even if it should be
supposed mucli shorter, it will be sufficient
to shew, that the resurrection of the wicked,
at the beginning of the little season^ will be
dilferent from the general resurrection at
the end of it. Tliere is reason to believe,
therefore, that the resurrection of the wick-
ed, at the beginning of the little season, will
be a spiritual resurrection — that the wick-
ed will live in their successors, as Elijah
lived in the person of John the Baptist. Mul-
titudes will be deceived, and led away by Sa-
tan and will be so engaged in working wick-
edness, that it will seem, as tho the workers
of iniquity, who had spread such darkness,
and terror, and misery in the land of the liv-