IN the previous chapter we set forth with pertinent comments the main Old Testament testimonies concerning the Millennium, the period in which Jesus and the Church, as the Kingdom of God, will reign over and bless all the families of the earth. The New Testament also contains many important testimonies on this subject. We will now set forth some of these, with pertinent comments in each case. 

We read in Matt. 6:10: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." The fact that we continue to pray for the kingdom is a proof that it has not yet come; and certainly nobody would say that now, among the human family, God's will is being done in earth as it is in heaven. On the contrary, great sins are committed upon all hands: evil institutions prosper; Satan's empire is still largely in control of conditions; and this we see on all hands in the oppressive, predatory and evil combinations that are on the earth, which Satan uses as much as he can; and when they prove no longer amenable to him, he most ruthlessly sets them aside and destroys them and puts in their place those that he can use for his purpose. This accounts for much of the trouble, many of the disappointments and many of the heartaches that befall the children of men. But when the kingdom comes and has had its full operation in the earth, then God's will be done in earth even as it is done in heaven, perfectly by mankind, as the holy angels now do the will of God in heaven. 

In Matt. 19:28 we find another New Testament testimony concerning the Millennium: "And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you [Jesus here gives a promise and makes it very solemn, for He uses the word verily, amen in the Greek], That ye [the Apostles] which have followed me, in the regeneration 

The Millennium. 

360 

[i.e., when the human race shall be regenerated from their present condition of sin, error, selfishness and worldliness into the image of God, which will be accomplished by the kingdom work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ] when the Son of man [our Lord Jesus] shall sit in the throne of his glory [He shall reign then as King of kings and Lord of lords], ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones [the twelve Apostles will each have a separate throne], judging the twelve tribes of Israel [i.e., they will be giving the judgment process to the twelve tribes of the Israel of God in the Millennial Age; i.e., in that judgment process they will first teach the people, then they will test them, then they will stripe them for reformation, and then they will finally pass sentence upon them, according to the way they stood the judgment process, and that as arranged for by Jesus]. 

Matt. 25:32, is another passage to the point. "And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats." Our Lord Jesus in His Second Advent, during the Millennial Age, will gather all nations before Him and put them on trial for life; and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats, i.e., during those thousand years, those who obey will be separated more and more to the right hand of His favor; while those who will not use the Millennial opportunities properly—for doing good—viz., those who die at the age of a hundred years as accursed sinners, and those who will not fill their years with good during those thousand years, will be separated more and more to His left hand, the place of disfavor, as symbolic goats. Particularly those at the end of the Millennial Age are the ones that are here represented as divided: the sheep, which will be the faithful restitutionists, from the goats, which will be those who have not filled their thousand years with good deeds; for, as the rest of Matt. 25 shows, they will commit sins of omission. They will therefore be judged according to 

New Testament Testimonies. 

361 

how they responded to the kingdom arrangements; and those who prove to be goats will, with Satan, at the end of that Age be annihilated; while those who prove to be sheep will hear the Lord Jesus' words inviting them to everlasting life and giving it to them on the earth, which will then be their paradisiac home. 

MILLENNIAL PASSAGES FROM LUKE'S GOSPEL 

In Luke 2:10 we read: "And the angel said unto them [the shepherds on the plains of Bethlehem], Fear not [do not be alarmed because of this unusual sight; I have come, not to do you harm, but good]: for, behold, I bring you good tidings [the word here translated good tidings is elsewhere, and indeed generally, rendered gospel] of great joy, which shall be to all people [we know that all people have not yet obtained this great joy; in fact, the great majority have died without even hearing of the good tidings; hence they must receive these blessings in the future; in the Millennial Age the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and of the Divine Plan of salvation through Him shall reach all mankind—both living and dead—and will give them great joy]." 

In Luke 2:14 we have a kind of Hallelujah chorus or angelic response to, and reiteration of, the message of the angel (v. 10). A heavenly host sang "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." But we do not see this glorious condition achieved as yet. The proper glory to God is not yet rendered on earth as it is in heaven, nor has peace on earth yet come. It will not be fully realized by mankind until the Millennial reign of Christ will bring full deliverance from sin and death. All will then join in saying, "Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever" (Rev. 5:13)! 

In Luke 2:31, 32 we have a Millennial testimony by the aged Simeon: "Which [salvation] thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people 

The Millennium. 

362 

Israel." Our Lord Jesus, in whom God had vested His salvation for the whole world, though then an infant presented in the temple the fortieth day after His birth, was prophetically set forth by the aged Simeon as the Savior that God had prepared in the interest of all people; and as such He would be a light, a teacher, that would enlighten the nations, the Gentiles, and would prove to be the glory of God's people Israel, especially when He would advance them to the glorious place that God had arranged for them to have. The apostate Jews will be counted, at that time, among the Gentiles, and not among Israel, who during the Millennial Age, acting as the great missionaries of that time, will by God's grace render glory to God in the highest and on earth promote peace and good will to men; they will glorify our Lord Jesus by their acting faithfully as His great missionaries, that will convert the Gentiles to the kingdom and will also be the elevators, the exhorters, of the children of men, giving them also the glorious New Covenant promises that God has arranged for the faithful Israel of God to receive during the Millennium. 

Note also Luke 2:34: "Simeon blessed them [i.e., Joseph and Mary], and said unto Mary his [Jesus'] mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against." Here Simeon, while making a prophecy to Mary respecting our Lord Jesus, said that He would be an occasion of stumbling to Israel, that many would fall, but that they would (in the Millennial Age) be raised up again by Him, who will be their Savior and their Lord and give them the Millennial earth for a home. All through the Gospel Age He was a sign spoken against by the Jews, for they rejected Him, seeing no beauty in Him that they should desire Him. 

Luke 22:29, 30 is another pertinent testimony: "And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; That ye may eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." The kingdom that God appointed 

New Testament Testimonies. 

363 

unto Jesus was the kingdom over the whole world—the Millennial kingdom, as well as the rulership in all the Ages of the eternity ahead of us. This is His kingdom because in it He will be God's Vicegerent, representing Him and doing whatever God desires Him to do, throughout all of the universes; for, having been found worthy ("Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing"), He has been exalted to the Father's right hand, according to God's promise to Him, bound by the oath of the Abrahamic Covenant. He then tells who will be His companions at that time. The kingdom has been appointed to the twelve Apostles, Paul taking the place of Judas. They will eat and drink in that kingdom, i.e., they will appropriate the good things that will belong to that kingdom and take of the solid foods and the liquid foods of that kingdom, i.e., the greater and more difficult things, as well as the easier things, at His table in His kingdom. In that glorious time, as His joint-heirs, as the heirs of God and the joint-heirs with Christ, having fulfilled the conditions, suffering with Him, they will be glorified with Him, not only for the thousand years, but for all of the eternity that is ahead of them. They will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. These twelve tribes of Israel are Millennial Israel, which will consist of Jews and Gentiles who will come into harmony with the New Covenant arrangements and obey them and prove loyal to them. The Church will sit and will judge the twelve tribes of Israel and give them the opportunities of gaining everlasting life. The Gentiles will all be given this chance, on condition of their becoming of the Millennial Israel of God. Thus they also will be incorporated into the tribes of Millennial Israel, in which, obeying under the New Covenant, they will forever be in eternal life in the paradise of God that He will make out of this earth. 

MILLENNIAL PASSAGES IN JOHN'S GOSPEL 

John 1:9: "That was the true Light [our Lord 

The Millennium. 

364 

(vs. 1-8; 12:46), as the One who pre-eminently shows forth God, His Truth and His righteousness], which lighteth every man that cometh into the world [in this life mankind in general has not been enlightened (Is. 60:2; John 3:19-21; 2 Cor. 4:4); only the righteous are now enlightened (Ps. 97:11); hence John 1:9 is a prophecy which will be fulfilled finally in the Millennium, when the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His beams (Mal. 4:2) and enlighten every creature as to the Plan of God]." 

John 1:29: "Behold the Lamb of God [Rev. 5:6-13] which taketh away the sin of the world." Here Christ is directly spoken of as the One who will remove Adamic sin, taking away the death sentence from the human race. It is evident, however, that He has not yet done this, though by His death He has provided the merit therefore by grace Divine. It will be accomplished in the Millennium. 

John 5:25-29 proves that all of the non-elect, both those in the Adamic dying process and those in the Adamic death state, will be given an opportunity to gain life during the Millennium. We quote from the A.R.V.: "The hour cometh [the Millennial Age here is meant by the coming hour, even as the hour that now is is the Gospel Age (1 John 2:18; here the word for hour—the Gospel Age is the last hour or Age of the second World—is mistranslated time in the A.V.)], and now is [the Gospel Age], when the dead [not the dead in the Adamic death state, who are treated of in vs. 28, 29; but the dead who are in the Adamic dying process (Matt. 8:22; 2 Cor. 5:14); Rev. 20:13, in the expression, Death (the Adamic dying process) and hell (hades, the Adamic death state) delivered up the dead which were in them, is a clear case in which the word dead is used in both senses, as the word death is used sometimes in one, sometimes in the other, and sometimes in both of these senses in the Bible] shall hear [understand (Mark 4:9)] the voice [the teachings] of the Son of God; and they that hear [obey; certainly here the word hear

New Testament Testimonies. 

365 

does not mean to take in with the external ear, nor does it even in this place mean to understand, for by neither of these kinds of hearing alone is life gained] shall live [come to perfection, now reckonedly, in the Millennium actually]. 

"For as the Father hath life in himself [immortality, a death-proof existence], even so gave [in promise] he to the Son also to have [as a reward of His obedience unto death] life in himself [immortality, a quality inherent in the Divine nature, but absent from every other nature. Hence the Son, being Divine since His resurrection, no more has or needs His human nature for His own existence, and thus He has it and its right to life and its life-rights as an asset for the purchase of Adam and his race]: and he [the Father] gave [in His offer of the opportunity to Jesus to give Himself as the corresponding price] him [the Son] authority to execute judgment [to act as God's Executive in administering to the elect and the non-elect a trial for life], because he is the son of man [the preeminent Son of Adam, who as such became the ransom price, and thus gained the right to administer a trial of life for all (1 Tim. 2:5, 6)]." 

In v. 25 Jesus points out how in the Gospel and Millennial Ages He is the Executor as to a trial for life for those who never entered the Adamic death state. In vs. 28, 29 He shows what He will do during the Millennium for those who have entered the death state—both the just and the unjust. "Marvel not at this [that during the Gospel and Millennial Ages He by virtue of His ransom gives a trial for life to the dead who never entered the Adamic death state]: for the hour cometh [He does not add 'and now is'; hence the Millennial Age alone is here meant], in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice [will by Him be called out of the death state—awakened from the dead] and shall come forth [from this death state]; they that have done good [the righteous—the elect—of this life shall in the coming hour, the Millennial Age, come back], unto the resurrection of life [their restanding 

The Millennium. 

366 

out of imperfection to perfection will bring them into a condition that will last forever (John 11:25, 26)]; and they that have done evil [the non-elect shall in the Millennial Age, the coming hour, according to this and the preceding verse, i.e., in the same Age as the elect will come back from the death state, be called back from the Adamic death state into conscious existence again], unto [for the purpose of] the resurrection [restanding from imperfection to perfection by a process] of judgment [a trial for life]." 

Thus John 5:25-29 clearly teaches the return of the dead from the dying process and the tomb during the Millennium. It shows that because Christ became the Son of Man, which He became that He might in the ransom-sacrifice taste death for every man (Heb. 2:9), He was offered the Divine nature and the Administratorship of life to the dead race; that such a ministry of life from Him now reaches the elect—the dead (not those in the death state, but in the dying process) that now obey His Word—and that in the next Age those of the non-elect dead who will not have entered the Adamic death state, but who will be in the dying process, will first be reached with an opportunity to obey His Word, which, obeyed, will bring life from its Administrator; furthermore, that this life Administrator will in the Millennium call all of the elect who have entered the death state back from the tomb unto the perfection of everlasting life, and in that same Age will call all of the non-elect who have entered the Adamic death state back from the tomb in order to their gaining perfection by a judgment process. 

John 12:32, 33 is another Millennial passage. By its reference to the ransom it implies, not only that, as a result of our Lord's death and exaltation, all will be delivered from the Adamic sentence, but additionally, through certain restitution blessings guaranteed by the Oath-bound Covenant for all and offered to all during the Millennium, that all will be so impressed as to be favorably influenced toward Christ: "I, if I be lifted up from the earth [as v. 33 teaches, this includes 

New Testament Testimonies. 

367 

His death on the cross (John 3:15, 16)], will draw [favorably influence by My teachings and works of blessing] all men unto me." But favorably to influence all toward Him is far different from their living faithfully during the thousand years and standing the final tests during the Little Season. As not a few who by the Father (John 6:44) were drawn to Christ (favorably influenced toward Christ) have failed to maintain their steadfastness during their trial for the elective salvation (Heb. 6:4-6; 10:26-29; 2 Pet. 2:1, 12, 20-22; 1 John 5:16), so, according to the Scriptures (Is. 26:9-11), many who will experience these favorable influences will later prove refractory and perish eternally in the Second Death (Rev. 20:15; 21:8). 

JESUS' PRAYER FOR HIS DISCIPLES 

In John 17:20-23, our next Millennial testimony, our dear Lord tells us that all the Gospel-Age Elect, as those taught by the twelve Apostles, are being prepared to bring the world in the Millennium to the Divine knowledge and faith. His language on this subject occurs in His special prayer for His disciples: "Neither pray I for these alone [the Twelve, St. Paul taking Judas' place], but for them also which shall believe on [into] me [this implies a consecrating faith on the part of those who exercise it] through their word [some of these have believed through the spoken word of the Apostles, but later brethren have believed through their written word; in these words our Lord sets forth the Twelve as exercising their office throughout the Gospel Age and ministering to every one of the Body members; please note how in v. 21 the Lord shows for what He was asking the Father on behalf of all the members of His Body]; that they all may be one [the word for one here is neuter gender, hence some neuter noun must be supplied; the Greek word for body, soma, is neuter and may well be supplied, or the Greek word for spirit, pneuma, which is also neuter, may be supplied; but in the end they amount to the same thing, since each implies the other (1 Cor. 12:12, 13); for 

The Millennium. 

368 

as this passage shows, the Christ class were to be brought into the Christ Body by the one Spirit and partake of that one Spirit because of being in and of the one Body; the immediately following parts of this verse prove that the one Body is here meant]; as thou, Father, art in me [God was, and is, in Jesus in the sense that God's Sprit in fulness dwells in Him (Col. 1:19; 2:9); and hence Jesus is, as it were, God's figurative Body operating under God's Headship (1 Cor. 11:3; Col. 2:9)], and I in thee [Jesus was in God in the sense that, having surrendered His will to God (having figuratively beheaded Himself), He accepted God's will as His, and hence accepted God as His Head (1 Cor. 11:3)], that they also may be one in us [all the faithful are in the Father and in the Son in the same sense as the Son is in the Father, i.e., by giving up their wills (thus figuratively beheading themselves—Rev. 20:4), and by accepting God's and Christ's will as theirs. Thus they have accepted God and Christ as their Head, hence are their Body. And Jesus here prays for them as such, and prays that they may remain such. He tells us in the following clause the purpose of their being and remaining the one Body; and this purpose proves that God has from Pentecost on, when this class began to believe through the Apostolic Word, throughout the entire Age been preparing the Elect now that they might in the next Age bring the world to a saving knowledge and faith]: that the world [the non-elect (1 John 2:2)] may believe that thou hast sent me [evidently the world does not in this Age believe that the Lord Jesus is the Sent of God; for this is the Age in which those who believe, the Elect, do so through the Apostolic Word; and these are the ones for whose completion as His Body He is here praying, as separate and distinct from the world. Evidently it is in the Millennium, after the Elect's completion and full glorification as the one Body in God and Christ, that the world will believe]. 

"And the glory [the high calling to the Divine nature, office and honor (Heb. 1:3-5; Phil. 2:9-11)] 

New Testament Testimonies. 

369 

which thou gavest me [in promise, later to be given in realization; those for whom He here prays are, according to this verse, to have the same kind of a nature, office and honor as Jesus received in His resurrection and glorification] I have given them [in the First Resurrection]; that they may be one [Body], even as we are one [Body; for God is the Head of Jesus, who is, figuratively speaking, God's Body (the purpose of giving the Church the high calling was that she might become Christ's glorified Body after having remained faithful as the Body of His humiliation)]: I in them ['Christ in you, the hope of glory'], and thou in me [by the fullness of Thy Spirit], that they may be made perfect [each member in his place] in [into] one [Body, forever complete and flawless]; and that the world [all the non-elect] may [savingly] know [in the Millennium] that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them [the Elect], as [not with the same degree, but with the same kind of love] thou hast loved me [O, beloved, elect brethren, how marvelous that the Father loves us with the same kind of love as that which He gave His Son while in the flesh; this, 'the great love wherewith he hath loved us,' is the reason He has honored us with His favors, now to lay down our lives, that in the Millennium we may assist in dispensing the blessings to the non-elect world]." 

In John 18:36 we have still another Millennial testimony: "Jesus answered [to Pilate], My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence." Pilate had heard the Jews accuse Jesus of claiming to be a king, so he asked Him if He were a king. Jesus answered, Do you say this of yourself, or have others told you? Pilate thought to justify himself, saying, Your own nation has delivered you to me and has charged you with claiming to be a king. Jesus, seeing that the thing was misrepresented, said that His kingdom is not of this world; it will not exist in this present order of affairs; for

The Millennium. 

370 

Satan is the god of this present evil world and during the time when his kingdom is over the whole human family, Jesus will not be reigning over the world. "If my kingdom were of this world [this present order of affairs], then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence." Therefore, Pilate, you must not consider that my kingdom is now in operation; it will not be in operation until the future Age, when it will be administered according to God's holy arrangements. 

MILLENNIAL PASSAGES IN THE BOOK OF ACTS 

Continuing our New Testament testimonies on the Millennium, we desire to quote Acts 1:6, 7: "When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power." The disciples, just before our Lord's ascension, were gathered together to Him, and they asked of him whether at that particular time, the time before His ascension, He was to restore the kingdom to Israel. They thus showed that they still had more or less of the Jewish thought in mind, looking for a temporal kingdom in which there would be temporal rulers. Jesus, who before had told them that He did not know the day nor the hour of His second presence, told them: "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power." Apparently up to this time, the Father had still kept secret the time of our Lord's return, not yet revealing it to Jesus. It was not until after our Lord had ascended into heaven that He was given to know the time when the kingdom would be established, both the times and the seasons (Rev. 1:1). 

Note that our Lord, while telling the disciples that it was not for them to know the times and seasons, did not tell them that they were wrong in expecting the kingdom to be restored to Israel. No, this was definitely promised in the Scriptures, and would be 

New Testament Testimonies. 

371 

fulfilled in due course of time, in the Millennium, though they were not then given to know the time of its fulfillment (comp. Matt. 24:42; Mark 13:32, 33, 37; Luke 21:36). Nevertheless, they were told to watch. In due time God's people were to know the times and seasons, so that the day of the Lord would not overtake them unawares (1 Thes. 5:1-5). 

Acts 3:19-25: "Repent ye [change your dispositions] therefore, and be converted [into conformity with God's image, as all once were, in unfallen Adam. These two things are the life-long work of the true Christian (Col. 3:9, 10; Eph. 4:22-24); the Apostle gives the result of following these two exhortations in the following words:], that your sins [the same holds true of the sins of all those called during the Gospel Age] may be blotted out [in this life our sins are not blotted out, otherwise we would in this life be perfect and sinless in our humanity; now our sins are merely covered with Christ's righteousness, i.e., forgiven through Christ's merit (Rom. 4:6-8; 10:4, etc.); our sins will be blotted out when we shall have put on a sinless nature in the resurrection; in the following clauses of this text the Apostle gives two purposes for our following the two exhortations, obedience to which makes our calling and election sure (2 Pet. 1:5-11):], when [so that; this shows the first purpose of the selection of the Elect] the times of refreshing [the original word is the one used to describe how the mown and dead grass is by copious supplies of rain refreshed and made to spring up in life again; this fact is figuratively used with reference to the race cut down and dead, due to the curse (Ps. 90:5, 6), and revived by the restitution processes unto life in the Millennium through copious rains of God's Word and grace (Ps. 72:6, 7; comp. 1-5, 8-19); these times of refreshing are the Millennium; hence the thought is that the Elect are now selected for future exaltation in order to bless the non-elect, dead and living, with opportunities of restitution] shall come from the presence [face, i.e., favor] of the Lord [now God's back is turned to the 

The Millennium. 

372 

race in disfavor; then His face beaming with favor will through the ransom merit be turned toward the race; the second reason for selecting the Gospel-Age Elect is given in the following clause:]; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which was before preached unto you [that Christ's Millennial presence may set in first for the deliverance of the Elect, then with the Elect's co-operation for the restitution of the world, as the following shows]; whom the heaven must receive [keep in] until the times [Millennium] of restitution [a return to the original estate—restoration to human perfection to be wrought during the Millennium in all the obedient non-elect, dead and living; some claim that this refers to a restoration of the kingdom to Israel, but this is not in harmony with the statement coming later, that the Lord promised this restitution by the mouth of all His prophets "from the Age," which must be the Patriarchal Age; for first from then onward He began to make the promises here referred to: Noah, in prophesying the blessing of Japheth in the tents of Shem, i.e., the non-elect blessed by the Elect, beginning them, Abraham continuing them (Gen. 20:7) and Jacob completing them for that Age (Gen. 49:10); but in that Age there was no kingdom of Israel, and the promise of a restitution, a restoration, implies that the thing to be restored had been lost previous to the promise; hence, here the restoration is not that of the kingdom to Israel, but that of the image and likeness of God, lost by Adam, centuries before the promises were given; it is true that the kingdom will be restored to Israel in the sense that great David's greater Son will reign over Israel, but for the reason above given and one immediately to follow, this cannot be the restitution here referred to and promised by God through the holy prophets; for some of them, e.g., the three just named and others, never mentioned this particular item] of all things [not all persons, but all things, i.e., every feature of the image and likeness of God, which were the all things], which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began 

New Testament Testimonies. 

373 

[literally, from an Age—the Patriarchal Age, when God's prophets first began to prophesy restitution, Enoch also, as Melchizedek, in the structure of the Pyramid (Is. 19:19, 20) first giving his prophecy in that Age (Jude 14, 15)]." 

Thus, we see that vs. 20 and 21 show that the Gospel-Age selection of the Church is for the purpose of their deliverance at Christ's return and for the establishment of restitution in the Millennium for the obedient non-elect. From v. 22 onward St. Peter quotes some of the prophetic promises of restitution, the first of which is the promise of the multitudinous Prophet-Mediator, as Moses' antitype, giving in the Millennium life eternal to the obedient and death eternal to the disobedient, who "shall be [utterly] destroyed from among the people." And, after referring to all the prophets following Moses, he goes back (v. 25) into the Patriarchal Age and quotes the greatest of all restitution prophecies, one of the three promises of the Oath-bound Covenant, spoken directly to Abraham and by him, as a prophet, delivered to others: "And in thy seed [the Elect (Gal. 3:16, 29)] shall all the kindreds [families] of the earth be blessed." Addressing certain Gospel-Age elect ones, St. Peter calls them the children of the Oath-bound Covenant, who will administer this blessing to the non-elect (v. 25; Gal. 3:8, 16, 28, 29). Hence the teaching of Acts 3:19-25 is that the purpose of the Gospel-Age call is to win the Elect, to the end that during Christ's Second Presence, in the Millennium, they, with Him, might be used to bless on condition of obedience all the families of the earth—the non-elect, dead and living—with restitution blessings, all of them getting unconditionally such blessings as will offer restitution to them, the obedient alone realizing the full restitution blessings. It will be noticed that this passage directly says that St. Peter's responsive hearers were of the Seed that will do this, and that all who will not during the Millennium obey the Prophet-Mediator will be utterly destroyed—eternally annihilated.

The Millennium. 

374 

ELECT TO BLESS NON-ELECT IN MILLENNIUM 

Acts 15:14-17. This passage teaches that during the whole of the Gospel Age from Caesarea onward, God has been selecting from among the Gentiles such of the Elect as Israel failed to furnish and that their election is for the purpose of their being used as God's agents during the Millennium to help all the non-elect, living and dead, to turn to the Lord. 

Some Jews objected strenuously to St. Peter's attempting to win Gentiles as such to be of the Seed of Abraham (Gen. 22:16-18) as new creatures. Nor did St. Peter in his defense of the act give any hint that he sought to win Gentiles as proselytes, but defended his action as a new thing in God's Plan and specially commanded by God as a new thing. St. Peter, to whom were given the keys of power to open an entrance into the Kingdom class of new creatures for Jews and Gentiles, used the first of these keys at Pentecost for the Jews as such, and the second of these at Caesarea for the Gentiles as such. We quote: 

"Simeon [in Peter's address to the conference at Jerusalem (vs. 7-11), wherein he told of God's sending him to Caesarea to preach to and win Gentiles to the high calling] hath declared how God at the first [all along He had been drawing Jewish proselytes to the Little Flock; some of these were won at Pentecost and some shortly afterward (Acts 2:10, 11; 6:5, 6), as also the Ethiopian eunuch was, as a proselyte, won before Cornelius (Acts 8:27-38); hence God's "first" visiting the Gentiles as such was at Caesarea and was a new departure altogether; the Bible does not recognize any Gentile as a proselyte unless he became circumcised and submitted to the Law; Cornelius was a Gentile and nothing else in God's eyes, as the whole account of Acts 10 and James' statement "first did visit"—here prove] did visit the Gentiles [Greek, nations; at Caesarea, therefore, the first attempt to do an elective work among Gentiles was made, as the following italicized words prove:], to take out of them a people for his name [they, with the Jewish elect, as 

New Testament Testimonies. 

375 

children of God, were to bear the honored name of God, as well as supremely to honor God, their Father; many of the Jewish brethren, not seeing dearly that a new dispensation began with Jordan, Pentecost and Caesarea, with a distinctive phase beginning at each of these times, were not expecting anything more than a Jewish harvest, at whose close they expected the Kingdom to be established; these, of course, could not see anything but a contradiction between their expectations and a dispensational elective work among Gentiles; St. James argued that the work of selecting a people from among the Gentiles was not ended at Caesarea, but that it "first" began there, that it was to continue until the establishment of the Kingdom; and hence only after the former's completion would the Kingdom be established; this explanation, he argued, harmonized the Scriptural expectation as to the establishment of the Kingdom with such a dispensational elective gathering from among the Gentiles]. 

"And to this [elective work among Gentiles] agree the words of the prophets [Mark well! He does not say that that elective work was prophesied in the passages that he was about to quote, for it was not; his argument, rather, was that there was no contradiction between such an elective work and the establishment of the Kingdom; for the latter was to follow the former]; as it is written, After this [after visiting the Gentiles and completing the Gentile elect] I will return [My favor to mankind; the return is an act of God who is here speaking] and [to exercise this favor toward its subjects] will build again the tabernacle of David [erect again the family of David to royalty in the Messiah as King], which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof [Israel has been in ruins as a kingdom since losing its royal family as rulers in the days of Zedekiah; but in Messiah's Millennial reign the kingdom will be restored to them], and I will set it up [as the ruling house over the world. Why is the Millennial Kingdom to be established? The following gives the reason]: That the residue of 

The Millennium. 

376 

men [those left when the others—the Elect—have been taken out, i.e., the non-elect] might seek after the Lord [may try to attain to saving relations with God], and [Greek, even] all the Gentiles [Greek, nations; all non-elect people], upon whom my name is called [God's name is called upon these by virtue of the ransom, which makes them His property; these are not the "people for his name" of v. 14; for the latter are the Elect, while the former are the non-elect; the difference in their relation to the name, indicated by the two expressions, "a people for his name" and "all the nations upon whom my name is called," is this: The former carry His name as their family appellation and because they will forever have it as their mission to bring God glory in the highest, while the latter have His name written on them, even as the owner of a piece of property has his name upon that piece of property]." 

Some seek to evade the teaching of this passage, particularly v. 17, by substituting for a part of this verse the reading of the first clause of Amos 9:12, "that they may possess the remnant of Edom." It is true that James here quotes Amos 9:11, 12; and it is true also that the present Hebrew text of the first clause of Amos 9:12 reads, in proper translation, "that they may possess the remnant of Edom"; but it is evident that the text did not read that way in James' time, because his whole argument-an inspired one—hinges upon the reading that he gives. We, therefore, consider the present reading of this clause in the Hebrew to be corrupt. Nor is this unreasonable, because, among other reasons, in St. James' day they did not have vowels in the Hebrew; and if the vowels in the word Edom are omitted, the word becomes the same as the word for man; hence, "the rest of men," would then be the reading. But even if the present Hebrew reading were genuine, such evaders are not helped by it, for the first part of Acts 15:1417 shows that the calling of such elect as Cornelius and the other Jewish Harvest Gentile elect were, would be the dispensational work until the Millennium. 

New Testament Testimonies. 

377 

Moreover, if their substituting the clause under discussion in Amos 9:12 for the corresponding clause in Acts 15:17 were allowed, all other nations with Edom would, nevertheless, come under the terms of the Acts passage; for if in Amos 9:12 "the remnant of Edom" were the right reading, we would not be able to translate the following words by, "even all the nations, etc.," but by, "and all the nations, etc.," so that this Amos passage would, after all, include all the non-elect in its part corresponding to the part of Acts 15:17 under discussion. Hence this evasion is proven to be entirely futile in this matter. But, for the reason above given, we believe a corruption of the Hebrew has taken place in the first clause of Amos 9:12. When we remember that there were no vowels used in Hebrew writing in St. James' day, and when we further remember that the oldest Hebrew MS. of this text that we have is of the tenth century A. D., we can readily see that in the 900 years following St. James' day the Hebrew text could have been corrupted here, as we know it has been in other places. We, therefore, conclude that Acts 15:14-17 proves that throughout the Gospel Age, from Jordan, Pentecost and Caesarea onward to the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom, but one kind of election has been going on and that for the purpose of giving all the non-elect (those left non-elect while the election was going on) the opportunity of gaining salvation in the Millennium. 

THE WORLD'S MILLENNIAL JUDGMENT DAY 

Acts 17:31 testifies that during the Millennium God through Jesus will judge the world—the non-elect, living and dead. It is not God's purpose to perpetuate the race in sin, in their present dying condition, but on the contrary, to deliver them both from sin and from its legitimate penalty—death. While the legal right to do this was under God's arrangement secured through Christ's death, the process of its accomplishment will require considerable time. It is written that for this purpose God "hath appointed a day [the Millennial Day], in the which he will judge the world [not the Church, 

The Millennium. 

378 

for its judgment Day is during the Gospel Age—1 Pet. 4:17] in righteousness [Is. 32:1] by that man whom he hath ordained [Jesus Christ]; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." This day appointed for the world's judgment under Christ, the great Prophet, Priest and King, is to be the Millennium, the thousand years of Christ's reign for the deliverance and restitution of mankind, during which Abraham's Seed will bless all the families of the earth. In the sense of sentencing merely, a judgment would be utterly useless, and certainly in no sense a blessing. But in the full sense of the term judgment, which as a process includes instruction, testing, chastisement for correctional purposes and a final sentence (as we have explained in Chapter VII on, "The Judgment Day"), we see that a great work is to be accomplished during the thousand years of Christ's reign, a work of awakening from death, and then of teaching, reforming, testing and disciplining the race until they are actually justified, made right, acceptable to God and worthy of everlasting life. This great work of Christ will be accomplished during the thousand years of His righteous reign, after which, in the final testing of the Little Season, the sentence will be pronounced, some being rewarded with eternal life in the "new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness," and the rest—the "goats"—being cut off in the Second Death. 

TESTIMONIES FROM THE BOOK OF ROMANS 

Rom. 5:15-19. The thought running through this passage is that by God's grace Jesus, as the ransom-sacrifice, secures the cancellation of the Adamic sentence and Adam's sin and its resultant sins (vs. 15, 16), so that during the Gospel Age, as against the Adamic sentence and its reign of death, by faithfulness in justification and consecration privileges, the Elect may gain the privilege, by their reign over the Millennial world, of dispensing life through our Lord's ransom (v. 17), and so that during the Millennial Age the non-elect world may have, through the ransom's canceling effects on the Adamic sentence and sins, the opportunity of 

New Testament Testimonies. 

379 

gaining the right to live forever (vs. 18, 19). This passage teaches one, and but one, opportunity for all by Christ's merit to gain salvation, showing that through the ransom, to a certain class, the Elect, such an opportunity is given during the Gospel Age (v. 17) and that through the ransom such an opportunity will be given to all the rest when the Elect reign, i.e., during the Millennium (vs. 17-19). Thus this section teaches the opportunity of gaining salvation for all, and precedingly the cancellation of the Adamic sin, sins and sentence from all, Christ's ransom-sacrifice being the ground for it. Note that this passage does not have one word to say on the thought that some, e.g., Universalists, read into it, viz., that Adam stood trial for all and in his failure all failed in a representative trial for life, and that Christ stood trial for all and by His success all succeeded in a representative trial for life and hence must be saved eternally. While not in any way teaching such a gross error, this passage and vs. 12-14 very clearly teach that the human family by heredity gets Adam's sin and sentence, which Christ's death as a substitute for Adam and the race in his loins will offset for all of them in due time. 

We will quote Rom. 5:15-19 from the A.R.V.: "But not as the trespass [of Adam], so also is the free gift [from the last clause of this verse we see that the free gift is the ransom—the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ; the following part of this verse explains and proves what the comparative contrast of this verse is]. For if by the trespass of the one [Adam] the many [all generated by and from Adam; this excludes Jesus, who was not generated by or from Adam] died [came legally under the death sentence; that this does not mean that all come into the Adamic death state is evident from two things: (1) the fact that the aorist (past) tense (died) refers to a non-continued past action, and (2) the fact that those who will not have entered the death state by the time the ransom is applied in the Millennium for and to them, never will enter the Adamic death state], much more

The Millennium. 

380 

did the grace of God [His unmerited kindness that gave the Son of His bosom to become a ransom for all men (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8; 8:32; Heb. 2:9)], and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ [who graciously as a gift gave Himself up as the corresponding price on behalf of all men (Eph. 5:25; Matt. 20:28; 1 Tim. 2:5, 6)], abound [the aorist (past) tense proves that the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, here referred to, had already been exercised, when St. Paul wrote these words; they were completed when Jesus died on the cross; thus the ransom-price furnished by God and Christ was the free gift that did abound] unto [for] the many [the very ones, no more and no less, who are covered by the expression, 'the many died.' This teaches that the ransom was laid down for as many as the Adamic sentence reached, even as the citations just given prove. This verse, therefore, teaches that God and Christ graciously had already furnished the ransom for as many as the Adamic death sentence reached]. 

"And not as through [the] one that sinned [Adam], so is [was] the gift: for [on the one hand] the judgment [the sentence] came of [from] one [trespass] unto condemnation [Adam's one sin brought the death sentence on all], but [on the other hand] the free gift [the ransom] came [was given in order that it might avail for deliverance] of [from] many trespasses [Adam's sin and all Adamic sins resulting from it] unto justification [for cancellation of the Adamic death sentence, sin and sins; this passage teaches that the ransom was given for the purpose of actually freeing all from the Adamic sentence on Adam's sin and its resultant sins; it has actually been doing this, during the Gospel Age, for the Elect at the time it has been by our Lord imputed on behalf of each one of them at his consecration; and it will do this, in the Millennial Age, for all the non-elect when the second appearance of antitypical Aaron shall take place in the presence of God with the antitypical blood; this passage, therefore, teaches universal salvation from the Adamic sentence,

New Testament Testimonies. 

381 

but not universal eternal salvation; therefore Universalists by eisegesis read universalism into this passage; the difference between vs. 15 and 16, on the one hand, and vs. 17-19, on the other, is this: whereas vs. 15 and 16 show the general contrasted relation between the Adamic sin, sins and sentence, on the one hand, and the ransom, on the other hand, the latter to cancel the former, v. 17 shows the ransom's delivering power for the Elect from the Adamic sentence and its life-giving power in justification for their calling during the Gospel Age, and its life-giving power exercised by the Elect during the Millennial Age; and vs. 18 and 19 show the Millennial delivering power of the ransom from the Adamic sin and sentence for the non-elect for the purpose of giving them an opportunity of gaining life. In brief, vs. 17-19 show the use to which the ransom in its delivering power will be put at two different times of salvation for the purpose of giving all an opportunity for salvation]. 

"For if, by the trespass of the one [Adam], death [the dying process by the sentence] reigned [as a tyrant, oppressing the race] through the one [Adam]; much more shall they that receive the abundance of grace [the high calling to its overflowing into Divine glory, which only the 'more than conquerors' of the Gospel Age receive] and of the gift of righteousness [justification by faith, which only those have fully received who have consecrated; we thus see that salvation is conditional] reign [as kings in the Millennium] in life [in dispensing life in the Millennium to the obedient of the non-elect world] through the one, even Jesus Christ [His ransom-merit, by canceling the Adamic sin, sins and sentence from the Elect and giving them reckoned perfection in this life, makes it possible for them to make their calling and election sure to the Kingdom, and in the Kingdom will make it possible for them to minister life; here again is taught the ransom's power to deliver the Church from the Adamic sentence and to reckon the Church perfect while they make their calling and election sure to a place wherein they will

The Millennium. 

382 

reign in dispensing life through the ransom given by our Lord Jesus]. So then as through one trespass the judgment came [St. Paul is here giving with some elaboration the thought of the first contrasted members of v. 16] unto all men to condemnation [the Adamic sentence condemnatorily came to all in Adam]; even so through one act of righteousness [the ransom-sacrificial death of our Lord] the free gift [the ransom-merit; here St. Paul is drawing out the application of the thought of the second contrasted members of v. 16, this time to the world, as in v. 17 he did it to the Church] came [shall come; the future tense of v. 19, which gives the reason for this statement, proves that the future tense must here be supplied, as also does the fact that St. Paul is describing the non-elect's time of blessing] unto all men [thus the ransom will in the Millennium come to all in the sense of canceling their Adamic sin and sentence] to [for the purpose of offering them the opportunity of gaining] justification of life [which they will get, if and as they "eat" the ransom, as the bread of life, by faith and obedience; John 6:31-58]." 

This verse proves that the ransom will cancel the Adamic sin and sentence of all the non-elect and will do this for the purpose of enabling them all to gain the right to live forever, which right they will gain on condition of obedience, but not otherwise. For one can gain life only by partaking of Christ as the bread of life, i.e., of His perfect humanity and its right to life and its life-rights; but if the condition of eating this bread will not be fulfilled, the non-fulfiller will not gain life (John 6:50, 51, 53-58). Here again no universal salvation to eternal life is taught; but this verse does teach that all will be saved from the Adamic sin and sentence, in order that they may have the opportunity to gain the right to live forever. That the universal salvation of this passage is not that to eternal life, but that from the Adamic sin and sentence, the Apostle expressly teaches in v. 19, where he gives in the following words the proof for his statement that the free gift—the ransom-merit—will come to all men for the purpose of 

New Testament Testimonies. 

383 

giving them the chance to gain eternal life: "For as through the one man's [Adam's] disobedience the many [all in Adam] were made sinners [partakers by heredity in Adam's sin], even so through the obedience [whereby the ransom was laid down] of the one [Jesus] shall the many [all in Adam] be made righteous [as to Adam's sin, through the application of the ransom-merit, when it as the free gift shall come to all men]." Here Adam's sin, in its making all sinners through their partaking in it by heredity, is shown to be removed from all by Christ's ransom. The particle "for," connecting v. 19 with the last clause of v. 18, proves that v. 19 gives the reason for saying, "the free gift came [shall come] unto all men to justification of life"; for it is because Christ's ransom will cancel the Adamic sin (v. 19) that it will cancel the Adamic sentence (v. 18) in order to justification of life. In this verse there is not any thought of eternal universal salvation. It proves the forgiveness of the Adamic sin on behalf of Adam and all the non-elect through Christ, whence comes salvation for all of them from the Adamic sentence. 

In the section, Rom. 5:15, 16, 18, 19, in its application to the non-elect, not one word is said as to the ultimate outcome of God's plan as respects their attaining to eternal life. As respects these it teaches nothing more than that all of them by virtue of the ransom will be delivered from the Adamic sin, Adamic sins and the Adamic sentence, in order that they might get the chance to gain the right to life. It does not say whether none, some, many, a majority, or all of them will gain and ultimately retain that right. Other Scriptures prove that some will not gain that right and that some others will not retain it. This Scripture, like others, teaches that the ransom will cancel the Adamic sin and sentence from all in Adam. It teaches that these are of two classes: (1) the Elect, who are saved during the Gospel Age; and (2) the rest of mankind—the non-elect from—whom the Elect will, through the ransom, work the cancellation of the Adamic sin and sentence during the Millennium, and will do this to give the non-elect

The Millennium. 

384 

an opportunity to gain life from the ransom by obedience to the conditions of receiving it as the bread of life. Hence this passage not only refutes the idea of universalism, but is one of the most powerful passages of the Bible in proof of the Truth on the ransom, the high calling, restitution, the Millennium and the offer to all of eternal life, which, as other Scriptures teach, will be obtained by the obedient and withheld from the disobedient. 

MANKIND AWAITING MILLENNIAL DELIVERANCE 

Rom. 8:17-23. St. Paul here points out the two classes—the Elect and the non-elect—showing that both are awaiting deliverance, and that the world will get its long-awaited deliverance when Christ and the Church as God's Sons, revealed in the glory of the Millennial Kingdom, will reign over the race for its deliverance from the curse. We quote from the A.R.V., with bracketed comments: "If children [of God], then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs [not as equal, but as associate heirs] with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him [the Church during the Gospel Age shares with her Head in the Sin-offering sufferings, in order to share with Him in the Millennium the privilege of dispensing its blessings], that we may be also glorified [together] with him [the Church was not to suffer as much as her Lord suffered, nor to have as much glory as He has]. 

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [the sufferings of the Christ are confined to the Gospel Age, in which alone it has been possible to undergo the Sin-offering sufferings] are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward [when fully glorified with Christ as His Body in the antitypical High-priestly garments of glory and beauty, their earthly sufferings will seem small indeed to be so highly rewarded; yet nothing short of such sufferings could qualify the Body members in character fitness for administering their office in glory; in the following verse the reason for such office glory is given]. For the earnest expectation [for a coming Age of blessing] of 

New Testament Testimonies. 

385 

the [not the brute and inanimate, but the human] creation waiteth [hopes (Heb. 9:28), a thing that neither the brute nor the inanimate creation can do, but a thing that the human family can and in a bewildered manner does do; for it longs for a better time—the Golden Age, the Millennium, as a time of relief from its woes, though not perceiving the heights and depths, the lengths and breadths of God's plan for such relief] for the revealing of the sons of God [Christ and the Church, whose manifestation as Kings and Priests the world unconsciously longs for as that of the ones who will bring in the Golden Age; thus seen, vs. 17-19 show us that the Gospel Age is the suffering time for the chosen class, after which they are to be revealed for the blessing of the race, which is longing indefinitely for what the manifestation of God's sons in glory will actually bring them; the Apostle proceeds to explain in vs. 20-22 the coming of the curse upon the race, its multiplied sufferings and the deliverance therefrom in God's good time, in the Millennial Age]. 

"For the [human] creation was subjected to vanity [the curse is indeed vanity when contrasted with the blessed condition of mankind in Adam and Eve before sin entered the world; but when sin came, the sentence with its resultant experience with evil came upon all who proceeded from Adam's loins (Rom. 5:12-19; 1 Cor. 15:21, 22), and this subjected the human creation to vanity], not of its own will [it would be folly to apply such language to the brute or inanimate creation, but it completely fits the human creation, for certainly none of Adam's descendants were asked whether they wanted the curse; without consulting their will, God sentenced them all indirectly, in Adam, to the curse, and they cannot by any effort of their own free themselves therefrom; nor do they willingly undergo the rigors of the curse—on the contrary, the reason for the sentence was in God, who pronounced it and put the race under conditions that would inflict it], but by reason of him [God] who subjected it, in hope [God did not surrender it to the curse in and for utter 

The Millennium. 

386 

disaster; He gave a hope to Adam and Eve in threatening Satan with punishment through the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15); and this hope has been handed down from the beginning as the basis of expecting a coming Golden Age; thus the race was not left to hopeless despair when put under the curse; for God had a triple reason in putting the race under the curse: (1) that by a sad experience with evil they might learn the terrible nature and effects of sin as the cause of evil, to the end that they might finally, as the burnt child dreads the fire, learn to hate and avoid sin; (2) that through the sufferings and reign of the Christ class they might have a happy experience with good through which they might learn the blessed nature and effects of righteousness as the cause of good, to the end that they might finally learn to love and practice righteousness; and (3) that through the lessons learned in these two contrasted experiences they might finally be enabled of free will to decide favorably under a final trial whether or not they will obey God, those so doing gaining thereby eternal life on this paradisiac earth, and those not so doing receiving eternal annihilation (Ps. 37:22, 34; 76:10; Rom. 5:17-19; 11:31, 32); these are the reasons why God subjected the race to the curse; in this verse and in v. 22 the experience of evil is especially described]. 

"Because [margin] the [human] creation itself also shall be delivered [through their purchase by the ransom paid over for them in the Millennium] from the bondage of corruption [the sentence of death, which Christ's ransom cancels; the sentence fetters the race to death (corruption), hence it is here called the bondage of corruption, nor can the race free itself therefrom (Ps. 49:7, 8); only the ransom can effect this freedom, and that only when it is applied for them, which will be when the Christ, Head and Body, together in glory, shall make the second sprinkling on the antitypical mercy seat] into [unto, for the purpose of the race through obedience gaining] the liberty [freedom from every vestige of the Adamic death] of the glory of the children

New Testament Testimonies. 

387 

of God, [this expression may properly be taken in two senses, both of which are in harmony with the Lord's Word; it may mean that the Christ class in glory will work perfect freedom from every vestige of the curse on behalf of the obedient during the Millennium, or it may mean that the faithful obedient, becoming like Adam as the image and glory of God, will be, like Adam (Luke 3:38), sons of God, the glory of whom will be perfect freedom from all the effects of the curse; and that they will be freed from the sentence to the intent that they may attain such a glorious freedom; if the latter thought should be preferred, it implies the preceding one; for they can attain such a freedom only through the ministry of the glorified Christ class on their behalf in the Millennium]. For we know that the whole [human] creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now [this verse teaches that it is a matter of general knowledge that the entire human family is now under the sentence undergoing an experience with evil that gives it multiplied sorrows and sufferings; those under the curse are not suffering in silence, but cries, tears and groans are ever present as audible and visible evidences of suffering]. 

"And not only so [it is not only true that the non-elect race in general has been groaning and travailing in pain from the time of God's imposing sentence upon Adam and Eve until the present time], but ourselves [the Elect, gathered from Jews and Gentiles] also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit [1 Cor. 15:20, 23; Jesus, from Jordan on, and the Church from Pentecost on to the end of the Gospel Age have the firstfruit of the Spirit; there is therefore an afterfruit of the Spirit, even as Joel 2:28, 29 tells of these two fruits of the Spirit, saying: "Upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days (the Gospel Age) will I pour out my spirit," and "it shall come to pass afterward (in the Millennium, which follows the Gospel Age), that I will pour out my spirit upon (for.) all flesh"], even we ourselves [as well as the non-elect] groan within ourselves [the non-elect are loud and clamorous with their groans; 

The Millennium. 

388 

the Elect suppress the outward groan and keep it Within, seeing that the sorrows of the present will result in good to the new creature], waiting [in v. 19 the non-elect world is spoken of as awaiting the revelation of Christ and the Church, and their own deliverance, of which v. 21 treats; but they are not the only ones who are awaiting deliverance; the Elect also, according to this verse, await deliverance, which is quite a different one from that which the non-elect await] for our adoption [full making of sons], to wit, the redemption [deliverance] of our body [not bodies, but body, the Body of Christ]." 

This entire section clearly distinguishes between the Elect and the non-elect, their times and kinds of deliverance, their kinds of sufferings and the objects of both. It also shows that the non-elect must wait for the deliverance of the Church before their deliverance can come, that the Elect will deliver the non-elect and that one of the reasons that makes the Church's glory outweigh their earthly sufferings is their future ministry of deliverance for the world, made possible through their suffering with Christ. It, therefore, proves that the Elect from Jordan, Pentecost and Caesarea on, are now being gathered out of all nations—Jews and Gentiles—in preparation for their delivering the non-elect in the Millennium, when the Sons of God will be manifested. It will be noted that in this section St. Paul says that the whole human family will get its deliverance during the manifestation time (the Millennium) of the Sons of God. 

FLESHLY ISRAEL'S MILLENNIAL BLESSINGS 

In Rom. 11, especially vs. 25-33, the Apostle Paul shows that during the Gospel Age Fleshly Israel was to be in a condition of partial blindness, while the Gentiles were to be recipients of God's favor, and that this condition was to continue until enough Gentiles would be won probationarily to make up, together with those Jews who were Israelites indeed, the full number of the Elect. After this, in the Millennial Age, Fleshly Israel was to be saved from their partial blindness and sins

New Testament Testimonies. 

389 

by the great Deliverer (the Messiah), and was to be restored to God's favor under the terms of their New Covenant. It is very appropriate, therefore, that we consider Rom. 11 in this connection. Before beginning to study the details, we make a few general remarks. 

God first offered Israel as a nation on condition of obedience to His covenant (Ex. 19:5, 6) the privilege of being the Elect, the kingdom of Priests that would in due time make reconciliation between God and the world. Had Israel been faithful, they alone would have received this privilege; but their unfaithfulness as a nation was manifest time and again, especially in their rejection of God's messengers. E.g., we find the prophet Elijah in prayer stating, "The children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away" (1 Kings 19:10, 14; comp. Rom. 11:2, 3). Their unfaithfulness as a nation was particularly manifested in their rejection of their Messiah (John 1:11). Hence God took this great privilege away from them as a nation and gave it to Spiritual Israel (Matt. 21:43), the Head of which is Jesus, who actually fulfilled the condition of Ex. 19:5, 6 and thereby gained its conditional offer; and the rest of which consists, first, of those who have been Israelites indeed since the Gospel Age began (John 1:12, 13), who, though unable to keep the Law perfectly, were in spirit loyal to it, Christ's righteousness supplying their lacks (Rom. 8:1-4), and, second, of responsive Gentiles since Cornelius' day. Accordingly, the first offer of the privilege of becoming the kingdom class was (after Jesus) made to those Jews who were Israelites indeed, the "remnant according to the election of grace" (Rom. 11:5). And had there been enough Israelites indeed to supply the full elect number, no Gentiles as such (i.e., such as were not proselytes) would have been offered the privilege of becoming members of the kingdom class. But there were not enough Israelites indeed to furnish the full elect number; and to supply this deficiency God visited the Gentile nations 

The Millennium. 

390 

(Acts 15:14), to complete from among them the full elect number. 

ISRAEL'S BLESSING PRECEDES WORLD'S BLESSING 

We now will quote Rom. 11:7-12, 15, with some bracketed comments: "What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for [the chief place in Divine favor and service, because they sought it not by faith, but by works]; but the election [the Elect, made up of Israelites indeed and Gentiles] hath obtained it, and the rest [all the Jews except the Israelites indeed] were blinded (according as it is written [comp. Is. 29:10; 6:9, 10], God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. And David saith [Ps. 69:22, 23], Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling block, and a recompense unto them: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back always. I say then, Have they stumbled [over the Messiah, "the stone of stumbling" and "rock of offence," Is. 8:14], that they should fall [away from God's favor forever]? God forbid ["God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew," v. 2]: but rather through their fall [their failure to become members of the Elect] salvation [the elective salvation] is come unto the Gentiles [beginning with Cornelius], for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them [the selection of only a remnant of them to be of the Elect] the riches [proportionate enrichment] of the Gentiles; how much more their fullness [their recovery at the beginning of the Millennium is the signal for blessings upon the whole world of mankind to begin]? … For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them [back to Divine favor] be [imply], but life from the dead [by a resurrection]?" 

THE OLIVE TREE ILLUSTRATION 

In vs. 16-24 the Apostle illustrates the matter of the elect nation by a tame olive tree. The root is the Oathbound Covenant (Gen. 22:16-18); the fatness, the

New Testament Testimonies. 

391 

blessings that it gives; the tree, Israel as an elect nation to whom the promises were given (Rom. 9:4); the branches, Israelites as individuals; the broken-off branches, the unfaithful Israelites of the Jewish Harvest; the remaining natural branches, Israelites indeed of that time; the wild olive tree, the Gentile world; the grafted branches, Gentile elect ones as joint branches of a joint tree and joint partakers of the root and fatness of the symbolic tame olive tree with the symbolic natural branches. After the breaking off of the symbolic unfruitful branches there were not enough of the symbolic fruitful branches on the tree properly to fill it out. Hence God went to the symbolic wild olive tree and selected from it enough suitable branches needed to fill out the lacking number of branches on the symbolic tame olive tree and grafted them into this tree. This work has been going on throughout the Gospel Age since Cornelius' day, supplemented by a regrafting of some of the broken-off branches into their own tree (vs. 23, 24). There is room here for but one tree-one elect nation, becoming Spiritual Israel through the root during the Gospel Age giving spiritual fatness instead of the natural fatness that it gave previously—having branches derived from two sources, Jewish and Gentile, all, whether Jews or Gentiles, enjoying the same kind of a call, election, promises and blessings. 

ALL ISRAEL TO BE DELIVERED 

We now come to vs. 25-33: "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery [Divine secret then intended for the understanding of the Elect only], lest ye should be wise in your own conceits [lest ye become puffed up; rather, I wish you to understand it, so that it may help you to be clothed with humility]; that blindness [or hardening of head and heart] in part [it was a partial blindness, or hardening, in two senses: (1) it affected part—the major part—of Israel; and (2) it did not affect the whole head and heart; for in some things of head and heart they were not blinded, or hardened, since they retained some features of Scriptural Truth and some good features of 

The Millennium. 

392 

character] is happened to Israel [in its unbelieving part], until [the blindness, or hardening, is limited in duration-Ezek. 36:26] the fullness of the Gentiles [nations; the full number of the Gentiles] be come in [literally, shall have come in, i.e., be gathered out from the world into the Body of Christ]. 

"And so [through the completed and glorified Elect class (Rom. 8:17-23), the majority of whom are Gentiles] all Israel [the dead as well as the living at that time (Luke 2:34)] shall be saved [not eternally, but (1) from their blinded or hardened condition and (2) from the Adamic sentence (Rom. 5:17-19; 1 Tim. 2:4-6; 4:10; John 3:16, 17; Titus 2:11; 1 John 2:2); in all the references just cited the universality of the salvation that they teach is shown to be from the Adamic sentence and not to eternal life; for in every case the ransom is stated or implied as the reason, because the ransom for all merits the deliverance of all from that sentence; in another connection we have discussed these passages, showing that they do not teach universalism; the connection of the words, "all Israel shall be saved," shows that the salvation here referred to is from Israel's Gospel-Age blindness or hardening (vs. 25, 26) and from their Adamic sins (vs. 26, 27); hence our remarks above on the salvation that all of them will enjoy are proven by the context and parallel passages]: as it is written [the Apostle in the following words does not quote from any one passage, but summarizes the teachings of a number of Scriptures], There shall come out of Zion [both out of nominal fleshly Zion, from which Jesus and the Jewish section of the Christ class have come out, and out of nominal spiritual Zion, from which the great majority of the Gentile section of the Christ class have come out, only a comparatively few coming directly from the world into the Elect class; this part of the verse shows whence the Elect were won; it does not refer, as some think, to Messiah's Advent; for in His Advent He comes not from, but to, Zion, in several senses of that word] the Deliverer [Head and Body], and shall 

New Testament Testimonies. 

393 

turn away ungodliness from Jacob [these words refer to His saving the Jews from the blindness or hardness that came upon them during the Gospel Age, mentioned in v. 25]: For this is my covenant unto them [the New Covenant will write God's laws in their hearts and minds; and this long before its completion will heal them of the blindness or hardening here described (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:26)], when I shall take away their sins [which will be by the sealing of that covenant Godward through sprinkling the antitypical book with the blood of the Christ. The sprinkling of the book by Moses (Ex. 24:8; Heb. 9:19) types the satisfaction of Divine justice, which will be accomplished by the ransom-merit. Thus we see that by the expression, 'shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob,' the saving of all Israel from its Gospel-Age blindness or hardening is meant, and by the expression, 'when I shall take away their sins,' the application of the ransom-merit is meant, whereby they will be saved from the Adamic sentence. Thus in these two senses, and not in the sense of everlasting salvation, all Israel shall be saved]." 

Having proved that all Israel will be saved in these two senses of the word, the Apostle proceeds to reason on the way that God has arranged to accomplish this; and we will find that his reasoning is one of the strongest presentations in the Bible proving that God during the Gospel Age has been gathering the Elect (Jews and Gentiles) out of the world in order to use them as His agents during the Millennium to bless the non-elect (Jews and Gentiles), dead and alive: "As concerning the gospel [the high calling feature of it], they are enemies [to the blinded or hardened Israelites the truth that the Messiah is an anointed company consisting of elect Jews and Gentiles, during the Gospel Age manifested to suffer for sin and later to be manifested to reconcile God and the race, is indeed the rock of offense (Is. 8:14), turning them unto hostility] for your sakes [it has turned out for the good of such Gentiles as responded to the high calling]: but as touching the election [of the Old Testament people of God], 

The Millennium. 

394 

they are beloved [still by God] for the fathers' sakes [through their relation to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, they are the heirs to certain blessings that will become theirs in the Millennium]. For the gifts [as gifts God promised them especially four things: (1) the chief place among Millennial nations, (2) the first opportunity to be Millennially blessed, (3) the privilege of the New Covenant and (4) the privilege of the land of Palestine] and calling [the office of being the Millennial missionaries, converting the whole Gentile world to the Kingdom] of God are without repentance [not to be repented of; these gifts and this calling being theirs unconditionally because of their relation to the fathers, God makes them theirs inalienably. Hence they are sure of these in the Millennium, which proves that God has not cast off Israel forever]." 

Please note how in vs. 30-32 the Elect are spoken of as gathered out for the very purpose of blessing non-elect Israelites and Gentiles: "For as ye [the Gentile Elect throughout the Gospel Age are here addressed] in times past [before your selection from among the nations] have not believed God [they were unbelieving and disobedient when they walked as other heathen], yet have now [during the time of the elective call] obtained mercy [the high calling] through their unbelief [Israel's unbelief resulted in there not being enough Israelites qualified to fill up the Gospel-Age election; hence by their unbelief the opportunity was opened to the Gentiles to furnish the lacking number of the Elect, and thus by Israel's unbelief the mercy of the high calling of the Gospel Age fell to the lot of certain Gentiles—"ye"]: Even so have these [the blinded, or hardened Israelites] also now [throughout the Gospel Age] not believed [manifested especially in their rejection of Christ throughout this Age], that through your mercy [the high calling will exalt the faithful Elect to the Divine nature and joint-heirship with Christ, and this is the special mercy shown the Elect, here referred to. The exercise of this mercy of the high calling is, in the Millennium, for the purpose 

New Testament Testimonies. 

395 

of blessing blinded or hardened Israel, as the following words show:] they also may obtain mercy [which the Elect will show in the next Age]. 

"For God hath [because of their unbelief—v. 20] concluded [by making it impossible for such to understand His Word, and this occasioned their going more and more the way of wrong] them all [the non-elect] in unbelief [why did He shut them up to unbelief and that to such unbelief as lasted until the death of these blinded or hardened ones throughout the Gospel Age? St. Paul explains:], that he might have mercy upon all [if this life ended all probation for them, God would have defeated His very purpose for shutting them up unto unbelief until death, which purpose was the giving of mercy to all of them; for in such a case death would effectually preclude mercy coming to them. We may be certain that God would not so arrange His plan as to defeat His purpose in His plan. The confusion on this subject arises from the error that this life ends probation for all. It does, indeed, do so for those given the opportunity of gaining the present, the elective, salvation; but not so for those shut off from such an opportunity. These, as this verse teaches, have been shut up unto unbelief and kept in that condition until death for the very purpose of God's giving them mercy. Hence this mercy comes to them after their awakening from the dead. When will this be? Vs. 25-27 say that it will be after the Elect are completed, and will be through the operation of the New Covenant (Jer. 31:29-34), which is the Millennial Covenant. Hence it will be during the Millennium that the blinded or hardened Jews (in fact all the non-elect) will be awakened and be saved, through the mercy that the Elect will extend to them, from blindness or hardness and Adamic sins, as vs. 26, 27 teach]." 

WHY SOME ARE BLINDED 

But why does God shut up the non-elect Jews and Gentiles now to unbelief in order in the Millennium to deliver them for an opportunity of gaining salvation? Why does He not give them this opportunity now? We 

The Millennium. 

396 

reply, God adapted His plan to meet the needs of all. Some are so constituted that by a faithful use of God's grace they can gain the elective salvation, and others are so constituted that they cannot now make a faithful use of God's grace and thus cannot gain the elective salvation. Why this difference? The Scriptures explain that this difference is due to the relation of mankind to faith, in view of Jesus' ransom securing one favorable opportunity of salvation for everyone. All do not have faith (2 Thes. 3:2). This is a faith dispensation; and only those who have the faith that will trust where they cannot trace God can in this faith-testing dispensation gain salvation. God gives these the opportunity to gain the elective salvation, and if they prove faithful they will get it; but if they make shipwreck, as Judas did, they will be irretrievably lost (2 Pet. 2:12). 

If the unbelief class were given an opportunity to gain the elective salvation, lacking the requisite faith they would inevitably be lost. Hence, to prevent this, God puts the Truth and His ways in such forms as to blind or harden them against these, and this shuts them up unto unbelief. His purpose therein is (1) to prevent their being lost forever and (2) to reserve them for their trial for life until the Millennium, when, amid conditions not taxing to faith, a favorable opportunity to gain life will be given to those lacking faith; for God hath concluded all of such into unbelief that He might have mercy upon all. No wonder that the Apostle, at such a display of wisdom, justice, love and power, rising to the heights of adoration and praise, cries out (in Rom. 11:33): "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable [to the fleshly mind] are his judgments, and his ways past finding out [God reveals them only to the spiritually minded—1 Cor. 2:7-14]." 

LORD OF DEAD AND LIVING 

Rom. 14:9, compared with Rev. 19:16 and Heb. 1:6, is another passage that proves that our Lord will during the Millennium exercise His gracious rulership over all the non-elect (those in the dying process and

New Testament Testimonies. 

397 

those in the death state, as well as over new creatures and the penitent fallen and the unfallen angels), this being one of the main purposes of His ransom-sacrifice and His resultant exaltation. We quote from the A.R.V.: "For to this end [purpose] Christ died [laid down the ransom-price] and lived again [attained, as a result of His ransom-sacrificial death, exaltation to the Divine nature and Vicegerency for God and Executorship of all His plans and purposes (Phil. 2:8, 9; Heb. 1:3-5)], that He might be Lord [literally, act as Lord; at His ascension He became this to the good angels and the Church, but not then to Adam's non-elect children and the penitent fallen angels; Rev. 19:16 and Heb. 1:6 show us that He becomes Lord of these during His Second Advent; these two citations prove that during His Second Advent Jesus becomes Lord to the non-elect and the penitent fallen angels] of both the dead [Adam's non-elect, death-sentenced children, regardless of whether they are in the dying process or in the death state (Matt. 8:22; 2 Cor. 5:14; Rev. 20:13); Rev. 19:16 shows this to be during His Second Presence; hence the non-elect in the death state will be brought back from the tomb during the Millennium, that then He might be their Lord] and the living [those never under the death sentence, i.e., new creatures as such, and the penitent fallen and the unfallen angels; to the new creatures and the unfallen angels He became Lord from His ascension and Pentecost onward; and to the penitent fallen angels He becomes such during His Second Advent (Heb. 1:6; 1 Cor. 6:3; Eph. 1:10; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6)]." 

Another important Millennial testimony is found in 1 Cor. 15:21-26; however, since we have treated of it on pp. 124, 125, 176, 177, we will not repeat here. 

ST. PAUL'S TESTIMONY IN GAL. 3 

Gal. 3:8, 9, 13-16, 29 indicates clearly that the Elect are gathered during the Gospel Age from among Jews and Gentiles and that they will be used in the Millennium to bless all the non-elect. We quote again from the A.R.V.: And the scripture, foreseeing that God 

The Millennium. 

398 

would justify the Gentiles [the nations] by faith, preached the gospel beforehand unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all the nations be blessed. So then they that are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham [with the privilege of blessing the nations, even as the promises prove (Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18; Acts 3:25)] … Christ redeemed [bought] us [the Elect] from the curse of the law [by], having become a curse [as our substitute] for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree [Deut. 21:23; the extreme curse of the Law was hanging on a tree; hence Christ had to die on the tree to redeem the Jews from the extreme curse of the Law; for the Gentiles, as such, our Lord would not have needed to die on a tree; another kind of death would have been sufficient for them; but not for the Jews, whose extreme death penalty He would have to undergo to satisfy the Law for them as Jews; the Apostle then states two purposes of our Lord's death, the first mentioned being its Millennial purpose and the second mentioned being its Gospel-Age purpose]: that upon the Gentiles [the nations; the whole non-elect world] might come the blessing of Abraham [the blessing which God promised that Abraham would bring to all nations (Gen. 12:3; 18:18); this blessing will come to them in the Millennium, as we have already shown] in [by] Christ Jesus [who through His ransom-sacrifice will make possible the blessing of the nations promised in the Abrahamic Covenant; the second purpose of Christ's substitutionary death is shown in the following]; that we [the faith class] might receive the promise of the Spirit [whereby we are made a part of the Spiritual Seed that will bless all nations in the Millennium] through faith [here St. Paul distinctly shows the two salvations, one for the Seed and the other for the world, and grounds both of them on the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ, wherefore the Abrahamic promises can and surely will operate]. 

"Brethren, I speak after the manner of men [I use a human way of putting matters]: Though it be but 

New Testament Testimonies. 

399 

a man's covenant, yet when it hath been confirmed [made valid or ratified], no one [who is honest] maketh it void [sets it aside], or addeth [anything] thereto [among honest human beings a validated covenant binds its maker as it is]. Now to Abraham were the promises spoken [those contained in the Abrahamic and the Oath-bound Covenants], and to his seed [those of the Oath-bound Covenant]. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one [one, not in the sense of an individual, but in the sense that a husband and wife are one—one body; he does not here mean one person; for that would make v. 29 contradict this statement, since v. 29 calls the Church with Jesus the Seed of Abraham], And to thy seed, which is Christ [1 Cor. 12:12, 13; Jesus, the Head, and the Church, the Body] … And if ye are Christ's [belong to Him as His spouse, as His Body], then are ye [together with Jesus] Abraham's seed [the one Seed or Body, consisting of many members—1 Cor. 12:14], heirs according to promise [which by God's oath guarantees that the Seed when glorified will bless all the families, kindreds and nations of the earth with the opportunities of gaining the restitution blessings—those of the Millennial Age]." Here, again, we have proof that the Elect, the Seed of Abraham, are being developed during the Gospel Age in order during the Millennium to bless all the non-elect. 

GOD AGAIN WILL BE HEAD—EPH. 1:3-12 

Eph. 1:3-12 is a passage proving that the Lord has during the Gospel Age been selecting the Elect to use them in the Millennium to give the non-elect humans—dead and living—and the fallen angels an opportunity of becoming again subject to God as their Head. In vs. 3-8 the Apostle shows how before the foundation of the world God predestinated the Elect class, and how He during the Gospel Age has been favoring them individually with elective blessings. We will quote and explain vs. 8-12 according to the A.R.V.: "Which [favor of elective blessings] he [Jehovah] made to abound [He graciously gave them, not stintingly, but 

The Millennium. 

400 

overflowingly] toward us in all wisdom and prudence [using the best of judgment and tact in their bestowal, after] making known unto us the mystery [the secret, unknowable and ununderstandable, except by a special act of Divine illumination] of his will [Plan of the Ages with reference to the Church, the world and the fallen angels], according to his good pleasure [Jehovah delights to work out so beneficent a plan] which he [Jehovah] purposed in him [Christ; God's Plan and good pleasure are Christo-centric] unto a dispensation [for an administration] of the fullness of the times [or seasons; the Millennium, as the Age of the Ages, the most important Age in the Plan of the Ages, is the fullness of the times or seasons into which God's Plan is divided. That the Millennium is meant by the expression, fullness of the times (seasons), is evident from the fact that it is the Age in which (a) the non-elect humans and (b) the fallen angels will be given their opportunity to become subject to God in the Christ,—(a) Ps. 22:27-29; Is. 25:6-9; 45:22, 23; John 5:25-29; Rom. 14:9; 2 Tim. 4:1; Phil. 2:8-11; 1 Cor. 15:21-28, etc.; (b) Heb. 1:6; 1 Cor. 6:3; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6], to sum up [again to make Himself Head as respects] all things in [the] Christ, the things in the heavens [the saved fallen angels], and the things upon the earth [the saved non-elect humans]." The fallen angels, and also the human family in Adam and Eve in Paradise, once heartily accepted God's headship over them, i.e., before they fell into sin; but by sin they repudiated His headship; God's purpose is to restore His headship for all who will Millennially enter and remain in the Christ. 

"In him [the Christ], I say, in whom also we were made a heritage [inheritance; the Christ is God's special inheritance], having been foreordained [as a class] according to the purpose of him [God] who worketh all things [connected with His Plan] after the counsel of his will [the Plan that in the exercise of His wisdom, justice, love and power He deliberately formed]; to the end that we should be unto the praise of his glory, 

New Testament Testimonies. 

401 

we who have before [first] hoped [the Church's hoping was to be during the Gospel Age, prior to the world, which will do its hoping in the Millennial Age] in Christ [in the Christ Body, the Elect were to have their hope—"Christ in you, the hope of glory"—during the Gospel Age; the obedient world will in the next Age come into the Christ, not as parts of the Body, but as children of the Christ, and this will be their hope-a later hope than that of the Church—for life eternal]." 

Here is a wonderful section of God's Word. In the Christ it shows two times of hoping: the Gospel Age and the Millennial Age, the former being the time for the Christ class, before the world, to exercise its hope, and the latter being the time for the obedient world to exercise its hope. The passage further shows that the elective blessings are given the Christ class to fit them to administer the Millennial affairs to the end that they might bring the obedient non-elect humans and the obedient fallen angels into and keep them in the Christ, in whom to all such, and to such only, God will again make Himself Head. 

EVERY KNEE TO BOW—PHIL. 2:8-11 

Phil. 2:8-11, compared with Is. 45:22, 23 and Gen. 22:16-18, shows that Jesus' ransom-sacrifice guarantees that all the non-elect and the fallen angels will in the Millennium bow the knee to Jesus and confess His Lordship. The oath referred to in Is. 45:23 is that which is made in the Oath-bound Covenant of Gen. 22:16-18. This proves that the blessings of which Is. 45:22, 23 treats are included in those described in the Oathbound Covenant. In Phil. 2:10, 11, St. Paul quotes and explains parts of the statements in Is. 45:23. We will quote Phil. 2:8-11 from the Improved Version, with bracketed comments: "After becoming obedient [by His consecration He accepted God's will in all things as His] He [from then on] humbled Himself unto death, yea, the death of the cross [here His laying down the ransom (Heb. 2:9) is shown; the next verses show what God does for Him because of such self-abasement in laying down the corresponding price]. 

The Millennium. 

402 

"Therefore God also super-exalted Him and graciously [even our Lord's sacrifice of His humanity did not merit the Divine nature, office and honor, since humanity and its rights are not as valuable as Divinity and its rights] gave Him a name [Divine nature (Rev. 3:12; Heb. 1:3-5), office (John 14:13, 14; Matt. 28:18) and honor (John 5:23)], the one above every name [the Father's alone excepted (1 Cor. 15:28)], so that by the name [nature, office and honor in their exercise] of Jesus [working as Savior] every knee should bow [to bow the knee does not imply salvation, but implies subjection, which may be either a constrained thing or from the heart; the Apostle, after quoting these words from Is. 45:23, adds, as explanatory of whose knees are meant, the following]: of heavenly ones [the fallen and unfallen angels—the unfallen angels have been doing this from the heart ever since His ascension, the repentant fallen angels have been bowing the knee from the heart during the Gospel Age and will do it ever afterward, and the impenitent fallen angels will of constraint do this when Satan's empire will have gone down (2 Tim. 4:1; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6); this is typed by Pharaoh's (type of Satan) noblemen (type of the impenitent angels; Ex. 11:8; 12:30-32) bowing down and appealing to Moses (type of Christ) to leave them and take with them God's people; Egypt types the present evil world (Rev. 11:8), whose ruler is Satan (John 16:11); Pharaoh and his noblemen perishing in the Red Sea represents the eternal annihilation of Satan and the impenitent angels at the end of the Little Season; thus the bowing of the knees of all heavenly ones does not teach the eternal salvation of all angels], of terranean [earthly] ones [some human beings, the Elect, do this bowing in this Age; the non-elect will do this bowing in the Millennium] and of subterranean [under the earth] ones [the non-elect who have, as such, entered the death state and are thus under the earth; these will do such bowing during the Millennium, when all the non-elect will have their opportunity to gain everlasting life under very favorable conditions; there

New Testament Testimonies. 

403 

is nothing in this passage that implies that all will get eternal life, as Universalists teach; however, parallel passages, typical and literal, show that the penitent fallen angels and the non-elect humans get their trial for life during the Millennium, though many will perish in the Second Death], and [so that] every tongue [of heavenly ones, terranean ones and subterranean ones] shall confess [acknowledge] that Jesus Christ is Lord [that such acknowledgment does not always imply eternal salvation is manifest from the fact that it sometimes does (1 Cor. 1:2) and sometimes does not come from the heart (Matt. 7:21-23)], unto the glory of God, the Father [God, who will bring credit to Himself through these things by His Son; those who acknowledge Christ's Lordship from the heart will glorify God in His wisdom, justice, love and power; while those who do it from constraint or selfishly will glorify God especially in His power; this Scripture teaches just what we hold it to teach—an opportunity offered to all humans and angels to render submission to Christ and to acknowledge His Lordship, and that all will do these two things; but far more than these two things are required in order to obtain eternal life]." 

2 THESSALONIANS 1:7-10 EXAMINED 

"The Lord Jesus shall be revealed [manifested] from heaven [in His Second Advent] with his mighty angels [literally, angels or messengers of His power; such agencies as His power uses for the overthrow of Satan's empire in the Great Tribulation, such as the World War, the World Revolution, the World Anarchy and their accompanying famines and pestilences, together with the instrumentalities by which they are effected], in flaming fire [fierce destructiveness] taking vengeance [exacting retribution] on them that know not God [those Spirit-begotten ones in the nominal church who sin the sin unto death, but who never come into the Truth and thus never really come to know God, and those who will die at the age of 100 years in the Millennium—Is. 65:20], and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ [those Spirit-begotten 

The Millennium. 

404 

ones in the Truth who sin the sin unto death—they obey not the Truth which enabled them really to know God, and those who will die at the end of the Millennium (Rev. 20:9) as symbolic goats (Matt. 25:33, 41)]. 

"Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction [the Second Death; not preservation in torment, but utter and complete annihilation] from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come [in His Second Advent] to be glorified in his saints [in the First Resurrection], and to be admired [worshiped] in all them [all not saints; referring here particularly to the non-elect] that believe … in that day [the Millennial day]." 

"A RANSOM FOR ALL"—1 Tim. 2:3-6 

1 Tim. 2:3-6 is perhaps the clearest of all Bible passages proving that every individual of Adam's race who has ever lived will have one full and complete opportunity for attaining to everlasting life. The bulk of the human family, the non-elect, get their opportunity during the Millennium. 

We quote: "This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; who will [literally, willeth to, is determined to] have all men [italics ours; not the elect only, as some claim, but the elect first, then the dead and living non-elect, all of whom together constitute "all men"] to be saved [not everlastingly in eternal life, as Universalists claim, but everlastingly from the Adamic sentence], and [additionally] to come unto the [accurate] knowledge of the truth [after being freed from the Adamic sentence; for these two blessings the next two verses give three reasons]. 

"For [the first reason for the two blessings of v. 4] there is one God [the one God is the wise, just, loving and powerful Jehovah, whose unity finds its most emphatic expression in the perfection of His character, wherein perfect wisdom, power, justice and love blend in harmony with one another, and in such harmony dominate His other attributes of character, as well as His plans and works; such a unity, especially such a 

New Testament Testimonies. 

405 

character unity, is the first guarantee for the two blessings mentioned in v. 4, since God has sworn to work these two blessings: (1) to free all from the Adamic curse; (2) and to give the Truth to all (Gen. 22:18)], and one mediator between God and men [please note that in treating of the Mediator St. Paul does not say Jesus is Mediator of all men mentioned in v. 4, but only a Mediator of men, not of those who are New Creatures; because Jesus is not the Mediator for the Church; the word men in the phrase, 'between God and men,' means all non-elect men, dead and living, when the New Covenant operates, i.e., in the Millennium; the New Covenant is intended not for the Church, but for all the non-elect, regardless of whether they happen to be living or dead at the inauguration of the New Covenant], the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom [a corresponding price for Adam's debt, and thus He is empowered to free all from the Adamic sentence and to give the Truth to all] for all [this, then, the ransom for all men, is the second reason here given why God wills all men to be saved everlastingly from the Adamic sentence and additionally to come unto an exact knowledge of the Truth; this phrase, 'a ransom for all,' again proves that the word men in the phrase, 'between God and men,' not all men, in v. 5, means only the whole non-elect world, dead as well as living, those with whom the New Covenant will deal in the Millennium], the testimony to be borne in its own times [see A.R.V.; this is the third reason for the two blessings of v. 4; please note the word times, plural, not time, singular; the Gospel Age is the due time or season to give the testimony of the ransom for all men, in order to deliver the Elect from the Adamic sentence, and in order to bring them into an accurate knowledge of the Truth; this has been done on their behalf, that they might have a chance to gain the elective salvation; the Millennium is the due time or season to give the testimony of the ransom for all men, in order to deliver the non-elect, dead and living, from the Adamic sentence, and in

The Millennium. 

406 

order to bring them into an accurate knowledge of the Truth, whereby they may be put on trial for life everlasting under the New Covenant arrangements]." 

GOD THE SAVIOR OF ALL MEN—1 Tim. 4:10 

1 Tim. 4:10 shows that God will save all men from the Adamic condemnation, but not eternally: "We trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men [from the Adamic death sentence, but not eternally; after this sentence is removed from each one, he is given an individual trial for life; and only those who prove worthy in, their trial gain everlasting life], specially [He is the Savior to the uttermost only] of those that believe [the faithful elect now and the faithful non-elect in the Millennium]." 

A TESTIMONY FROM THE EPISTLE TO TITUS 

Titus 2:11-13 (A.R.V.): "For the grace [favor, love] of God hath appeared [in His gift of Jesus for man's salvation, and in the Gospel message], bringing salvation to all men [this ransom grace is salutary for all men, saving all now or in the Millennium from the Adamic sentence, and also, as the bread of life (John 6:33-58), offering eternal life to all who will partake of it on the Divinely-arranged conditions, and withholding it from all who will not], instructing us [especially God's people], to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world; looking for the blessed hope [of seeing and being with and like our Lord] and appearing [epiphaneia, bright shining] of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." 

It is not the bright shining of a literal light that is meant here, but rather the brightness of God's and Christ's characters, shining resplendent in perfect wisdom, justice, love and power, in connection with the entire 1000 years' stay of our Lord in His Second Advent. This bright shining continues until the entire earth is filled with God's glory (Num. 14:21; Ps. 72:19; Is. 6:3; Rev. 5:13). Antichrist is to be destroyed by this bright shining [epiphaneia] of our Lord's parousia or Second Presence (2 Thes. 2:8), which will

New Testament Testimonies. 

407 

bring more and more brightly to light the corrupt persons, principles and things of the papacy. This will result shortly in the masses arising against it and annihilating it in the revolution stage of the Great Tribulation. This Great Tribulation was begun by the World War (Phase I) in 1914. God's faithful people love the appearing (epiphaneia, bright shining) of our Lord (2 Tim. 4:8), for it will effect not only the overthrow of Satan's empire in the Great Tribulation, but also will fill the earth with the glory of God during the Millennium, in the eternal overthrow of all evil persons, principles and things and the eternal triumph of all good persons, principles and things. 

JESUS DIED FOR EVERY MAN HEB. 2:6-9 

Heb. 2:6-9 shows that Adam and all his posterity will benefit from Jesus' death. Some of them receive this benefit before the Millennium; but the great majority, the non-elect, will receive it during the Millennium. We quote: "What is man, that thou art [wert] mindful of him? or [even] the son of man [Adam in the Hebrew], that thou visitest [visitedst, hadst fellowship with] him [the query here is for a definition of the man Adam—not his descendants; what is man, even a son—Adam (so the Hebrew of Ps. 8:4)]? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels [here we have a definition of the first man, Adam; he was made a little lower than the angels, since human nature is a little lower than angelic nature]: thou crownedst him with glory [the image of God] and honour [the likeness of God], 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 [was] not put under him [Adam in his perfection of faculty and disposition was created in the image of God; and just as God is ruler over the universe, Adam was made ruler over the earth, in God's likeness as Ruler over the universe (Gen. 1:26, 27, 31); thus Adam had these rights given to him: the right to be a perfect man, the right to life and its life-rights]. But now we see not yet all things put under him [though Adam had earth's 

The Millennium. 

408 

dominion in Eden, he lost it for himself and his posterity by his disobedience; hence man does not have it now, though there is an implication here that he will ultimately regain it].

"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels [a perfect human being, with perfect life, right to life and life-rights, just like Adam was before his fall] for the suffering of death [the reason for His being made lower than the angels], crowned with glory and honour [Jesus was given the same perfection and rights that Adam had]; that [in order that] he by the grace of God should taste death for every man [Jesus was made exactly like Adam—a perfect human being (with a perfect race in his loins), with the right to life and its life-rights—in order that He might take Adam's place and undo through His death—the ransom-price laid down—what Adam had done for himself and the race in his loins when he sinned; through giving the ransom—a corresponding price (1 Tim. 2:6)—for Adam and the race in his loins, Jesus is now in position to eventually restore Adam and his race to the image and likeness of God and to the full dominion of earth—the redemption fully offsetting the curse, and giving all one full and complete opportunity to gain eternal life. Some get this opportunity in this life; but the vast majority, the non-elect, get it during the Millennium, the 'times of restitution of all things' (Acts 3:21)]." 

Heb. 9:28: "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of [the—so the Greek] many ['every man']; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin [a sin-offering] unto salvation." The thought here is doubtless based on the picture of the Israelites waiting for the typical high priest to come out of the tabernacle and bless them, at the conclusion of the typical sacrifices (Lev. 9:22), after which the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people, "which when the people saw, they shouted, and fell upon their faces" (Lev. 9:23, 24). In the antitype, the Christ (Head and Body), the great antitypical World's High Priest, is manifested in the beginning of the Millennium, after

New Testament Testimonies. 

409 

the conclusion of the Gospel-Age sacrifices, for the blessing of the entire waiting creation (Rom. 8:19-22), after which "the glory of the LORD [His glorious character] shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together" (Is. 40:5). When the world of mankind in the Millennium comes to see the great wisdom, justice, love and power of God, they will bow down in love and adoration. 

A TESTIMONY FROM THE APOSTLE JAMES 

Jas. 2:5: "Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world [comp. 1 Cor. 1:26-29] rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?" This text describes the character of those who are to inherit the kingdom and reign on earth during the Millennium. Obviously the Little Flock is primarily meant here. Amid the evil conditions of this present evil world they have manifested a supreme love for God, with all their heart, mind, soul and strength, thus showing that they are qualified to be able assistants to God and Jesus, His Vicegerent, in the work of helping the world of mankind to come up the highway of holiness in the Millennium. 

A NEW HEAVENS AND EARTH—2 PET. 3:6-13 

Another Millennial testimony, which incidentally identifies the judgment Day with the Millennium, is found in 2 Pet. 3:6-13: "Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished [not the literal world (the earth), nor the human family perished, but the symbolic world, the order of affairs which then existed, was destroyed by the flood]: but the heavens and the earth, which are now ['this present evil world' (Gal. 1:4), the order of affairs now existing: its heavens being its religious systems and teachers and its earth being its organized society], by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire [a symbol of destruction—Mal. 3:2, 3; 4:1, 3; Matt. 3:11, 12; 1 Cor. 3:12-15; Rev. 17:16; all the symbolic earth will be devoured by the fire of God's jealousy—Zeph. 3:8] 

The Millennium. 

410 

against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 

"But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing [do not forget], that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day [this identifies the day of judgment of v. 7 as a 1000-year day]. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness [God's time seems slow to the natural man]; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord [the 1000-year judgment Day] will come as a thief in the night [comp. 1 Thes. 5:1-5]; in the which the heavens [not the literal heavens, but Satan's false religious systems—comp. Heb. 12:26, 27] shall pass away with a great noise [uproar and confusion], and the elements shall melt with fervent heat [the various component elements of the present symbolic heavens and earth will disintegrate], the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up [Satan's selfish, unjust and corrupt social arrangements shall be destroyed; but the literal earth is to remain, just as it remained after the flood—'the earth abideth for ever' (Eccl. 1:4)]. 

"Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God [the 1000-year judgment Day], wherein the heavens being on fire [a symbol of destruction] shall be dissolved, and the elements [the political, financial, religious, etc., elements] shall melt with fervent heat [of human passion and wrath]? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens [Jesus and His faithful followers, the Millennial religious ruling powers] and a new earth [human society organized on the basis of truth, righteousness and love, as against the erroneous, unjust and selfish arrangements of the present evil earth], wherein dwelleth righteousness." 

A MILLENNIAL TESTIMONY FROM ST. JOHN 

1 John 2:2 shows that Christ is the Satisfier of Divine Justice for Adamic sins, on behalf of the elect

New Testament Testimonies. 

411 

during the Gospel Age, and the non-elect during the Millennial Age: "He is the propitiation [satisfaction] for our sins [the Church's sins of Adamic source]: and not for ours only [who now accept Christ as our Substitute or Redeemer], but also for the sins of the whole world [the non-elect's sins of Adamic source, for which satisfaction is effected during the Millennium]." 

MILLENNIAL PASSAGES IN REVELATION 

We now consider some passages from the book of Revelation, which describe, e.g., Jesus and the Little Flock as Millennial rulers, their 1000-year reign, etc. 

Rev. 1:5, 6 (A.R.V.): "And from Jesus Christ [in addition to coming from God, the greeting to the seven churches (v. 4) is here shown to come also from Jesus], who is the faithful witness [He allowed neither fear nor favor, nor scourging, nor crucifying, to cause Him to deviate one particle from giving testimony to the Word of God, the Truth that God had committed to Him], the firstborn of the dead [the Greek word prototokos means either first-begotten or first-born, depending upon the connection; here it evidently means first-born, for the connection shows that it does not refer to Jesus' begettal of the Spirit at Jordan, but rather to His birth as a New Creature at His resurrection (comp. Col. 1:18), He being raised as the firstfruits of them that slept (1 Cor. 15:20)], and the ruler of the kings of the earth [not the present kings, the kings of Satan's empire, for they do not recognize Jesus as their ruler; rather, it refers, first, to the Church as the kings that will rule over the world in the Millennium, and, secondly, to the whole saved human family, who, like Adam, will be the kings of the earth (Rev. 21:24). Jesus will be the ruler over the Church as kings (1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 19:16), as well as over the whole saved human family]. Unto him that loveth us, and loosed [washed] us from our sins by his blood; and he made us to be a kingdom [the Greek word basileia is here properly rendered kingdom, and not kings as in the A.V.], to be priests unto his God and Father [the Church class is this royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9) which Jesus presents to God,

The Millennium. 

412 

even His Father, to serve Him forever and ever, particularly for the Millennial Age]; to him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen." 

Rev. 2:26, 27: "He that overcometh [by conquering the world, the flesh and the devil], and keepeth my works [the works Jesus gave him to do] unto the end [faithfully unto death, in spite of all kinds of persecution, miseries and discomfort], to him will I give power over the nations [Jesus gives the glorified Church, seated with Him in His throne, the power to destroy the nations of this present evil world, which are not governed by God's rule]: and he shall rule them [until His righteous order is accepted by a general submission] with a rod of iron [with power and might unbreakable]; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father [just as a potter with a rod of iron breaks to pieces the clay vessels he desires to destroy, so the Christ, Head and Body, as God's Vicegerent, through His power breaks in pieces the nations of Satan's empire, in the symbolic wind, earthquake and fire—the war, revolution and anarchy of the great Time of Trouble; this will continue until all open opposition will be thoroughly crushed, so that further use of this power and rod of iron will usually be unnecessary, even though both of these will remain throughout the Millennium; and after the nations have thus been dashed to pieces in the great Time of Trouble, the people (Zeph. 3:8, 9) will be brought to the knowledge of the Truth and during the Millennium will be given the opportunity of obtaining restitution (Acts 3:19-21)]." 

Rev. 3:21: "To him that overcometh [by conquering the world, the flesh and the devil] will I grant to sit with me in my throne [Jesus gives the Little Flock, His Bride and Body, joint-heirship with Him in His throne, as well as immortality and incorruptibility], even as I also overcame [Jesus overcame the world, the flesh and the devil, even amid all of the malice and persecution that wicked men in envy poured out upon Him, such as the terrible scourging, mockery and cruel crucifixion], and am set down with my Father in his throne [as a 

New Testament Testimonies. 

413 

reward for His faithfulness unto death, our Lord was given the position as the Father's Vicegerent and Representative, to be exercised, not only during the Gospel Age, but also throughout the Millennial Age and all eternity; with Him in this office will be His Bride]." 

Rev. 5:9, 10 (A.R.V.): "Worthy art thou [Jesus; 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain'!] to take the book [to become the Interpreter and Executor of the Divine Plan, a symbolic book; God gave Jesus this office because of His faithfulness unto death], and to open the seals thereof [to expound, make clear, the hidden things of God's Plan, which Jesus has been doing, as due, for God's consecrated people]: for thou wast slain [Jesus, the Lamb of God, died a cruel death on the cross (Is. 53:7; John 1:29)], and didst purchase unto God with thy blood [laid-down human nature and life] men [out] of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation [individuals from among all these groups have been purchased by Jesus during the Gospel Age to become Little Flock members; the rest will not be purchased until the Millennium, though the Ransom was laid down for all at Calvary], and madest them to be unto our God a kingdom [first, in the Spirit-begotten, or embryonic, suffering condition (Rom. 8:17) of their earthly lifetime; secondly, in the Spirit-born, glorified, or reigning condition, by raising them in the first, or chief, resurrection, as joint-heirs with Christ] and priests [comp. 1 Pet. 2:9; first, in the sacrificing, Gospel-Age condition with their Head and High Priest (Heb. 3:1), as typed in Aaron in his linen garments; secondly, in their glorified, Millennial, condition with their High Priest in glory, as typed in Aaron in his garments of glory and beauty and in Melchizedek 'a priest upon his throne' (Zech. 6:13; Ps. 110:4; Heb. 5:6, 10; 7:1-3, 11, 20, 21)]; and they [shall] reign upon the earth [to destroy from among men every evil thing and influence, and to introduce among them every good thing and influence, in order to restore the race to perfection. Thus the reign of this kingdom and priesthood during the Millennium will be conducive to the 

The Millennium. 

414 

operation of the blessing of restitution from the curse. Though they begin their reign on earth, it will not cease there, but will go on from planet to planet throughout the eternity that is in the future]." 

THE HALLELUJAH CHORUS 

Rev. 5:12, 13: "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." Christ at the time of His ascension is set forth here, as He then became the Inheritor of all things (Heb. 1:2). God is the Owner of all the universes with all they contain, which makes Him wealthy to the utmost. All of the universes' solar systems, numbering in the billions, each one carrying along as their parts many planets, belong to God. Also, all the spirit beings present and future and all the other things that now are or yet will be, belong to God. These universes in the Ages of Glory in their planets and in their suns will be perfected and their planets will be inhabited by perfect beings, which the wisdom of God will plan, and which Christ, as God's Chief Agent, will bring into being unto perfection. God has made Christ His Heir; for the Lamb has been found worthy of inheriting all things, including these riches of God, as well as His power, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessing. 

"And every creature which is in heaven [the Little Flock, the Great Company, the Ancient and Youthful Worthies and the repentant and restored, as well as the unfallen, angels], and on the earth, and under the earth [those who had been in the death state; comp. Phil. 2:10], and [even] such as are [had been] in the sea [the sin-rebellious race—restless like the sea], and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." By the time the Millennium and its subsequent "little season" (Rev. 20:3) will have fully ended, God through the Christ (Head and Body), the Seed of Abraham (Gal. 3:8, 16, 29), will have blessed all the willing and obedient of mankind with restitution, and they will have

New Testament Testimonies. 

415 

stood faithful in the testings in the Little Season, whereas Satan and his evil angels, and every soul among men that will not have obeyed that great Prophet (the Christ) will have been destroyed in the Second Death—in utter and complete annihilation (Heb. 2:14; Rev. 20:9, 10; 21:8; Acts 3:23). Then, as set forth in this text, all the redeemed in heaven and the redeemed and perfected human race on earth will join in a universal Hallelujah Chorus. In triumphal spirit they will declare Jehovah's mighty delivering works for the righteous and His mighty destructive works for the wicked. Perfect creatures with perfect bodies, perfect minds, perfect hearts, and perfect planets and worlds, will all reflect credit upon God and Christ as the perfectly created expressions of Their glorious persons, holy characters, wondrous plans and great works. Some are privileged beforehand to see the glorious consummation of all Jehovah's purposes and plans; therefore they begin to sing this song beforehand, and bow before, adore, worship and praise God and the Lamb, who are worthy of all praise, worship, adoration, devotion, honor, appreciation and thanksgiving forever and ever! 

Rev. 11:15, 18 (A.R.V.): "The kingdom of the world [which Satan, 'the god of this world' (2 Cor. 4:4), has usurped during the period from the Flood to the establishment of Christ's Millennial kingdom on earth] is become the kingdom of our Lord [Jehovah; He 'shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one' (Zech. 14:9)], and of His Christ [primarily the Head and secondarily the Body; comp. Dan. 7:13, 14, 27]: and he shall reign for ever and ever [beginning that reign in the Millennium and then continuing it thereafter throughout all the future ages of eternity, they will continue to forward Jehovah's purposes and plans, and thus manifest His judgment and power]. And the nations were wroth [at our Lord's Return to establish His kingdom the nations are unconverted and in rebellion against God] and thy wrath came [God's displeasure in the Time of Trouble], and the time of the dead [the non-elect] to

The Millennium. 

416 

be judged [in the Millennium—the great judgment Day; see, e.g., Acts 17:31; 2 Tim. 4:1; 2 Pet. 3:6-13], and the time to give their reward to thy servants the prophets [the Ancient Worthies], and to the saints [the Little Flock], and to them that fear thy name, the small and the great [the other Gospel-Age elect]; and to destroy [in the Second Death—utter and complete annihilation] them that destroy [corrupt] the earth." 

Rev. 15:3, 4 (A.R.V.): "And they sing [declare] the song of Moses the servant of God [the message of the non-elective salvation, the main, but not exclusive theme of the Old Testament; its main features are the teachings on man's original perfection, his fall into sin and death, the curse, his experience with evil, his redemption from the curse and his restitution to all that was lost in Adam], and the song of the Lamb [the message of the elective salvation, the main, but not exclusive theme of the New Testament; it is epitomized in the Oath-bound Covenant (Gen. 22:16-18)], saying, Great and marvelous are thy works [in truth, wisdom, justice, love and power], O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are thy ways [in harmony with His wisdom, justice, love and power], thou King of the nations [margin]. Who shall not fear [reverence], O Lord, and glorify thy name [for a while all mankind in the Millennium will do this, but some will fail under their test—Is. 65:20]? for thou only art holy; for all the nations shall come and worship before thee [comp. Zech. 14:16-19]; for thy righteous acts have been made manifest [this will be true in the Millennial Age as it never has been before]." 

SATAN BOUND FOR A THOUSAND YEARS 

Rev. 20:1-6: "And I saw an angel [the Christ class in glory, primarily Jesus the Head, and secondarily the Church which is His Body] come down from heaven, having the key [the power to lock or unlock, to open or close] of the bottomless pit [the condition of error, which has no real foundation, no bottom] and a great chain in his hand [powerful secular and religious truth 

New Testament Testimonies. 

417 

that the glorified Christ class has been spreading among mankind since 1874]. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him [restrained him by such truth; by 1914 this had progressed to the point where he could no longer deceive and lead the race at his will, by his kingdom's three foundation errors—the Divine right of Kings, Clergy and Aristocracy—and by its three supporting errors—the consciousness of the dead, the transubstantiation of humans into spirit beings at death, and their bliss or torment while dead; this restraint by the Truth will gradually continue unto a completion against these, and other deceptive errors of Satan] a thousand years [the Millennium], 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 [Satan, the head, and the impenitent fallen angels, the body of the Satan system, will probably be removed so far away from the earth that they will know nothing of what is going on here during the Millennium, being kept (1) in the darkness of the errors and speculations of Satan's own making, (2) from learning any further truth, and (3) from tempting mankind into sin and error]: and after that he must be loosed a little season [during a short period after the Millennium Satan will be brought back into touch with the race and will find out the exact truth on Millennial teachings and conditions]. 

"And I saw thrones [great national powers, political organizations, financial institutions (e.g., corporations, trusts, mergers), religious associations, etc., which have oppressed and taken advantage of mankind; Satan has given them their rulership and has used them to forward his purposes during this present evil world; and he has immediately disowned any he could no longer use] and they [political, financial and ecclesiastical rulers] sat upon them, and judgment [Greek, krima, sentence] was given unto them [was passed against them: they were to be deposed and overthrown by our Lord, never again to rise]: and I saw the souls of them

The Millennium. 

418 

that were beheaded [symbolically; they gave up their natural hearts, minds and wills, took Jesus as their Head, and became members of His Body] for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped [served] the beast [papacy], neither his image [federated sectarian Protestantism], neither had received his mark [creeds and faith] upon their foreheads [in their intellects], or in their hands [services]; and they [the Little Flock] lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years [here the period of the reign of the Christ, Head and Body, is clearly stated]. 

"But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed [because of enjoying eternally the blessings of joint-heirship with Jesus] and holy [entirely separated from self, the world, the flesh, the devil and all things earthly, and entirely devoted to God] is he that hath part in the first [both in time and importance] resurrection: on such the second death [utter, complete and eternal annihilation] hath no power [because they will be immortal, deathproof, and hence also incorruptible, decayproof] but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign [as kings] with him a thousand years." 

THE DISPUTED CLAUSE OF REV. 20:5 

There is good reason for believing that the first clause of Rev. 20:5, "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished," is an interpolation, and therefore not genuine Scripture 

(1) The testimony of the best MSS. is against its genuineness. No MS. earlier than the fifth century contains it, e.g., the Sinaitic, the oldest of the New Testament Greek MSS., lacks it, and the oldest translation, the Syriac, does not have it. 

(2) As the clause stands it makes the next words, "This is the first resurrection," tell a falsehood; for they teach that this clause treats of the first resurrection, whereas if genuine it refers to the world's resurrection, not to that of the Church, whose is the first resurrection. 

New Testament Testimonies. 

419 

(3) The demonstrative pronoun haute (this) in the Greek text of the clause, "This is the first resurrection," makes it refer to the immediately preceding clause, "the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished"; for as in English the demonstrative this refers to the nearer thing and the demonstrative that to the farther thing, so in Greek the same rule applies to haute (feminine form of the masculine hautos, this) and ekeine (feminine form of the masculine ekeinos, that). If the disputed clause were genuine and the demonstrative pronoun in the Greek text of the clause, "This is the first resurrection," were used to refer to the clause, "They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years," then that demonstrative pronoun would have had to be ekeine, that, as pointing to the clause farther away than the immediately preceding one, and not haute, this, which would refer to the nearer (the immediately preceding) clause, "The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." 

(4) Biblical Numerics indicates that the disputed clause does not belong in the text of Rev. 20:5. This science demonstrates that the whole Bible is constructed on an elaborate mathematical design (proving God's authorship and the verbal inspiration of the Bible) and that it contains within itself an infallible means for deciding between disputed readings of its text in the original languages. Biblical Numerics is described more in detail, e.g., in E Vol. 12, The Bible, pp. 603-634, where, among other things, it is shown that not only is the number 7 present on the Bible's surface, but also that it permeates the Bible through and through, in all of its sentences, paragraphs, sections, books and in its entirety. The letters of the Greek and Hebrew, in addition to serving as the alphabet, serve also as numerals, e.g., the word haute, used in the clause immediately following the disputed clause, is not only a word spelled by its letters, but is also a numeric sum of the value of its numbers, i.e., a = 1, u = 400, t = 300 and e = 8 (the aspirate h has no numerical value, as in

The Millennium. 

420 

Greek it is not a letter, but merely a sign of exhalation). Hence this word, consisting of four Greek numerals, stands for the number 709. The disputed clause has the numeric value of 5819, which is not evenly divisible by seven. The Greek clause with which the pertinent sentence begins, "They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years," has the numeric value of 4997. The Greek clause with which the sentence ends, "This is the first resurrection," has the numeric value of 2976; and the total of the numeric value of these two clauses is 7973, a multiple of seven, for it is the product of 1139 x 7. But if we add to their sum, 7973, the numeric value of the disputed clause, 5819, the sum will be 13,792, which, divided by 7, gives us a quotient of 1970 2/7, a number with a fraction remaining, and therefore not evenly divisible by seven. Hence the addition of the numeric value of the disputed clause to the numeric value of the rest of the sentence spoils the Biblical numerics of the sentence. 

(5) Many passages already examined in this treatise prove that the dead will be awakened during, not after the Millennial reign, e.g., Ps. 22:27-29; Is. 25:6-9, comp. 1 Cor. 15:54-57; Is. 45:22, 23, comp. Gen. 22:16-18 and Phil. 2:9-11; John 5:25, 28, 29; Acts 3:21; Rom. 14:9, comp. Rev. 19:16 and Heb. 1:6; 2 Tim. 4:1; 1 Cor. 15:21-26. 

Thus we find that there are good reasons for believing (1) that the disputed clause is spurious and (2) that only that belongs to the sentence in Greek which, when translated into English, reads as follows: "They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years; this is the first resurrection." These reasons would favor our deleting from our Bibles the disputed clause, as something which has been added to it, all additions to, and subtractions from the Bible being Divinely forbidden things (Rev. 22:18, 19). 

If the first clause of Rev. 20:5 is spurious, it was added to the Bible sometime between 325 A.D., when the Sinaitic MS. was made, and 450 A.D., when the Alexandrian MS., the first one containing the disputed 

New Testament Testimonies. 

421 

clause, was made, perhaps in the following way: During that time some reader of his copy of the book of Revelation wrote these words in the margin of his copy as his comment on the passage; and sometime later, another copyist of manuscripts, transcribing from the annotated copy of Revelation, inserted this marginal reading into the text; and so it came into most Greek MSS. of Rev. 20:5. 

If the first clause of Rev. 20:5 is genuine, we would have to keep in mind the following: 

(1) We would have to consider it as a parenthesis in order to prevent it from contradicting its second clause, "This is the first resurrection," for if the first clause is not considered to be a parenthesis, to prevent a contradiction the second clause would have to read, "This is the second resurrection." 

(2) The word "dead" in the disputed clause would have to be considered as applying, not to those in the death state, but to those in the imperfection of the dying process, as it does in most of the uses in Rev. 20 (vs. 12, 13), and as it does also elsewhere in the Scriptures (Rev. 3:1; 11:18; Matt. 8:22; John 5:24, 25; 2 Cor. 5:14). 

(3) The statement that "the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished" would have to be considered as meaning, not that the dead were awakened merely, though still under the Adamic dying process, as they will be during the thousand years, but that they did not regain the fullness of perfect human life which Adam lost, that they were not fully lifted up out of the imperfection of the Adamic dying process, until the thousand years were finished. Not to interpret the expression "lived not again" in this way would make it contradict numerous Scriptures, e.g., those cited above, which prove that all in the Adamic death state will be resuscitated during Christ's Millennial reign. Parallel passages, therefore, compel us to give the expressions "dead" and "lived not again" in Rev. 20:5 the meanings above attached to them, if we assume the genuineness of its disputed clause. This

The Millennium. 

422 

verse, therefore, does not, as many think, prove that the world will not be awakened from the death state until the thousand years shall have been finished, but it means that it will not be until the end of the thousand years that the last vestiges of the Adamic curse will have given way to the all-conquering sway of the life-giving reign of Christ and the Church for the world. 

The removal of this curse is the theme of Rev. 20, 21, and 22. And in these chapters seven pictures of its gradual undoing during Christ's Second Presence are set before us. One of these pictures is the thousand years' kingdom figure; and that figure is used in the section to which the first clause of Rev. 20:5, if genuine, belongs. This would account for the fact that the gradual wiping out of the Adamic death during the thousand years is described by the use of similar words and with the same thought, in this verse and in 1 Cor. 15:22-26, where the kingdom figure is also used, and this is what we should expect of passages that describe the same phase of Christ's Second Presence on earth. Accordingly, the first clause of Rev. 20:5, if genuine and interpreted in harmony with other pertinent Scriptures, implies that all in the Adamic death state will be awakened long before the Millennium ends, that they will be put under the life-giving conditions of that Age and that as they obey the Life-Giver, they will gradually be lifted up out of the imperfections of the Adamic death and at the end of the thousand years will find themselves perfect-"made alive." 

SATAN'S POST-MILLENNIAL LOOSING AND 

DESTRUCTION 

Rev. 20:7-10: "And when the thousand years are expired [after the Millennium and its work are finished], Satan shall be loosed out of his prison [the bottomless pit—the condition of error; he will have been in utter ignorance of what transpired on earth during the Millennium, but will soon find out the exact truth on Millennial teachings and conditions], and shall go out to deceive the nations [he will make a careful study of the situation, so as to get a thorough grasp of 

New Testament Testimonies. 

423 

it, as the basis of a plan to seize control of the human race again; Satan's intention will be to deceive them and again bring them under his control, as they were in this life, in the hope that he may for ages rule over them again; however, God will allow him to attempt to gain control of the race again only as a means of, and to the extent of, testing the hearts' attitude of the perfected race for the manifestation of those who will be fully loyal to right principle under heart-searching tests and those who under such tests will not be loyal to right principle; for God is determined to let no person after having had a favorable opportunity for life exist after the Little Season, if he will not maintain loyalty to righteousness] which are in the four quarters of the earth [society as then organized, in four classes: the Ancient Worthies, the Youthful Worthies, the Jews and the Gentiles], Gog and Magog [the chief and subordinate ones among those whom Satan brings under his control—the old men that will not have filled their days with good—Is. 65:20], to gather them together to battle [Satan will do this by very deceptive appeals to selfish motives; he will at that same time fight the greatest battle of his career, against the Christ, Head and Body, who at that time will be God's mighty Vicegerent, and against the Christ's earthly representatives]: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea [great numbers will be involved in this battle on Satan's side; the "goat" class of Matt. 25:33, 41]. 

And they went up on the breadth of the earth [they will make a most thorough and universal effort to bring all the others of mankind to their side], and compassed the camp of the saints about [the Youthful Worthies, in their capacity of warring on behalf of truth and righteousness, as the representatives of the Christ], and the beloved city [the Ancient Worthies, the special representatives of the invisible Beloved City, the Christ—the glorified Church cannot be meant here, for human beings could not attack an unseen force of spirit beings; a city is superior to a camp, because it represents a higher form of living— 

The Millennium. 

424 

thus the superiority of the Ancient Worthies to the Youthful Worthies seems to be indicated here]: and fire [destruction] came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them [comp. Matt. 25:41]. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone [destroyed in the Second Death (comp. v. 14; Rev. 21:8)—utter, complete and eternal annihilation; comp. Is. 30:33; Ezek. 28:19; Heb. 2:14], where the beast [papacy] and the false prophet [federated sectarian Protestantism] are, and shall be tormented [examined; the Greek word here is basanizo, which has three meanings: (1) to test, or to examine; (2) to test by torture, or to examine with torture, and (3) to torture; the A.V. has taken the third meaning, whereas the first meaning of the word fits here] day and night for ever and ever [throughout eternity perfect men will examine the history, theories, effects, etc., of Satan, papacy and federated sectarian Protestantism, and as a result of that examination will always conclude that these are worthily in eternal annihilation; the thought is more literally expressed in Is. 14:15-20]." 

THE GREAT WHITE THRONE 

Rev. 20:11-15: "And I saw [a separate vision or picture pertaining to the Millennium; the things seen in it do not follow Satan's post-Millennial annihilation, mentioned in the preceding verse] a great white throne [a world-wide dominion of purity, holiness, righteousness, justice and truth; comp. Matt. 19:28; 25:31; Luke 22:29, 30, which show it applies to the Millennial reign of Christ and the Church], and him that sat on it [the Christ (Rev. 3:21)], from whose face [the Truth—God's Word (Rev. 1:16; 2 Cor. 4:6) in its brightness] the earth [Satan's selfish, unjust and corrupt social arrangements] and the heaven [his false religious systems] fled away; and there was found no place for them [comp. Heb. 12:26-28]. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God [before His judicial throne]; and the books [the 66 books of the Bible—the words of Jesus, His Apostles and the

New Testament Testimonies. 

425 

prophets of old] were opened [expounded, made clear (Is. 29:18, 24; Luke 24:27, 32)]: and another book was opened [the Millennial revelations, the New Covenant revelations, the laws and teachings of Jesus as Lawgiver, as Prince of Peace, and as King of Kings, will be made clear; according to Joel 2:28, He will give and expound these Millennial revelations through the Worthies, the Ancient Worthies (the old men) giving the deeper, more important revelations and the Youthful Worthies (the young men) giving the less deep representations, clarifying and elaborating the teachings for the people], which is the book of life [it will help them to gain life]: and the dead were judged [as we have already learned (see "The Judgment Day"), the Millennial judgment includes instruction or indoctrination with the Truth, testing according to the instruction given, chastisement for reformatory purposes, and, finally, the passing of sentence] out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." 

"And the sea [the restless condition of fallen mankind in rebellion against God] gave up the dead ["dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1)] which were in it; and death [the Adamic dying process] and hell [the first hell, the Adamic death state] delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death [the Adamic dying process] and hell [the Adamic death state] were cast into the lake of fire [symbolizing utter, complete and eternal annihilation; the Adamic death state will gradually be destroyed by the awakening of the dead; and when the Adamic dying process ceases, it also will have been destroyed]. This is [represents] the second death [a death from which no resurrection or recovery is indicated in the Scriptures]. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life [whoever will not have conformed his character to the New Covenant regulations during the Millennium] was cast into the lake of fire [utter, complete and eternal annihilation; comp. Rev. 21:8]." 

The Millennium. 

426 

"A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH" 

Rev. 21:1-5: "And I saw a new heaven [Christ and His faithful Church as the new powers of spiritual control (Dan. 12:3; Matt. 13:43), in the Millennium] and a new earth [the new society they will develop in the Millennium, based upon truth, righteousness and love (2 Pet. 3:13; Is. 65:17:-25; 66:22-24)]: for the first [former] heaven [Satan's false religious systems] and the first [former] earth [Satan's selfish, unjust and corrupt social arrangements] were passed away; and there was no more sea [the restless condition of mankind in rebellion against God]. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem [the Bride of Christ, the Millennial religious government], coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [the Christ, Head and Body, as God's residence, and His place of meeting with and blessing the world] is with men, and he will dwell with them [fellowship will be restored between God and the race just as it existed between Adam and God before Adam's fall], and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God [they will be in covenant relationship with Him as Adam was before he sinned]. 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 [all the effects of the curse] are passed away [this text refers to post-Millennial conditions for those found worthy of life; during the Millennial Age, God by the operation and blessings of the kingdom in connection with the New Covenant will destroy all the effects of the curse]. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new [the obedient of mankind will be restored to every good thing Adam lost for them]." 

"THERE SHALL BE NO MORE CURSE" 

Rev. 22:1-5: "And he shewed me a pure river of water of life [God's pure Word], clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb 

New Testament Testimonies. 

427 

[God's royal authority exercised by Jesus and the Church]. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life [the Christ, whose virtue is in the ransom-price], which bare twelve manner of fruits [the twelve chief graces of the Christian character], and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse [the Adamic death state and dying process will have been destroyed]: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: and they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there [after the Little Season's night has ended there will be eternal day]; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun [the Bible]; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever." 

"TAKE THE WATER OF LIFE FREELY" 

Rev. 22:17: "And the Spirit and the bride [the Lamb's wife, the 144,000 (Rev. 14:1; 21:9); during the Gospel Age she is not yet Christ's Bride, but His espoused (2 Cor. 11:2); she becomes His Bride at His Second Advent (Rev. 19:7-9), to reign with Him over the earth] say, Come [during the Millennium the Bride—the newly married wife—will invite everybody to partake of the favors of God]. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely [in the Millennium there will be no purchase price for the Truth; God is determined that all will then come to a knowledge of the Truth, regardless of their heart's condition or desires (Is. 11:9; 1 Tim. 2:4; John 1:9), or whether they then use that knowledge of the Truth as a means of helping them to gain everlasting life or not; but the Truth, as symbolic water, is not gained "freely" in the Gospel Age—while it is true that money does not buy it, the price that must now be paid for it is repentance, faith, consecration, humility, meekness, reverence, hunger and thirst after righteousness, honesty and holiness of heart and mind

The Millennium. 

428 

(Prov. 23:23; Is. 55:1-3; Ps. 25:8, 9, 14; Matt. 5:6; Luke 8:15)]." 

We have now studied Millennial testimonies all the way from Genesis up to and including the last chapter of Revelation: from the time, after the curse of sin and death came upon the human family through Adam's sin, that God promised Abraham that through him and his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed, until the time that the great Seed of Abraham, the Christ, Head and Body, developed during the Gospel Age, will have reigned over the earth as kings and priests for a thousand years and blessed all the families of the earth, living and dead, with the opportunity of obtaining everlasting life on a perfected earth; until the Adamic death state and the Adamic dying process (1 Cor. 15:26) will have been destroyed, and there will be no more curse; until Satan (Ezek. 28:19; Heb. 2:14), the unrepentant fallen angels (Matt. 25:41) and the "goat" class—all the wicked (Ps. 145:20)—will have been utterly, completely and eternally annihilated in the Second Death, symbolized by the lake of fire—"they shall be as though they had not been" (Obad. 16). Then "the righteous shall see it and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth" (Ps. 107:42). Sin shall never rise again. God will be glorified forever and ever by perfect creatures, both in heaven and on earth. "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." In view of this glorious prospect we say: 

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; 

Praise Him, all creatures here below; 

Praise Him aloud with heart and voice, 

And always in His Son rejoice. 

Amen, Amen, Amen, forever and ever to our God and unto Christ, Amen!