Recently, in giving a forecast of some of the things which we anticipated giving our readers through these columns, we mentioned that we planned to prepare a series of articles on the second coming of Christ. We are impressed that the time is ripe for us to begin that series of articles. Therefore, we are now offering the first one.

In offering these articles we do not profess to have any special or superior knowledge. But we have tried to make a close study of the subject and have come to have some more or less definite convictions concerning it. And our design is to merely give our reasons for these convictions, and to commend them to others for their prayerful comparison with Scripture. In the first article we shall attempt to establish the fact that Christ’s coming is to be premillennial. But before entering upon a consideration of that matter we desire, by way of introduction, to give—

1. Some scriptural reasons for preaching and writing on Christ’s second coming.

Some would have us believe that a study of this subject is idle theorizing, or that preaching and writing on it makes one a sensationalist. Others would insist that we should devote all our time to what they consider the more practical things. But the Scripture gives us abundant justification for preaching and writing on our blessed Lord’s return to this earth. It is not in the realm of idle theorizing to seek to discover what the Scripture teaches on any subject. And the Scripture shows that some very practical and wholesome results will flow from a consideration of the Redeemer’s return. Let us note four scriptural reasons for preaching and writing on this subject:

 We should preach and write on it because the Scripture deals with it, and all Scripture is both inspired and profitable. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (II Tim. 3:16). This fully settles the question of whether we ought to preach and write on this subject. Had the Holy Spirit not desired us to study it, and had it not been a profitable subject for study, he would not have spoken favorably concerning it. Those who disparage an inquiry into this subject, say, by their attitude toward it, that they think there is some Scripture that is not profitable. No man is preaching the whole counsel of God if he is not preaching on Christ’s second advent to this earth. And, let it be said with emphasis, that it is not enough to merely affirm that Christ is coming again. The Scripture teaches more than that. It gives many of the antecedent and subsequent details of his coming. It is both obligatory and profitable for us to know all the Scripture says on any subject, including even that which it says by implication.

We should preach and write on it because of the large place given to it in the Scripture. The Scripture not only deals with Christ’s return to the earth, but it gives a large place to it. The Scripture probably has more to say about the second coming of Christ and related events than it has to say on any other one subject. It has more to say about his second advent than it has to say, by way of prophecy, about his first. And it has many times as much to say about Christ’s second advent as it has to say about baptism or the Lord’s supper. Thus, the Holy Spirit has emphasized the importance of this subject.

We should preach and write on it because that is necessary in order to refute and counteract the false teachings that are current. The second coming of Christ is a subject that rightly holds a peculiar interest for believers. Just as many a sweetheart looked and longed for the return of her lover from the late World War, so, with an infinitely higher affection, the bride of Christ should look and long for his return. And those who are truly looking and longing for his return will not be content with the mere fact that he is coming again; they will delight to learn everything they can concerning his coming. Thus this subject has become a favorite tool of false teachers, such as the Russellites and Adventists. And can we expect anything else other than that our people will be misled by these false teachers, unless we teach them the truth on the subject? They are rightfully interested in it, and if we do not give them the truth, many of them are going to imbibe error. And surely it is not needful to argue that religious error always has its derogatory and blighting influence.

We should preach and write on it because a consideration of it is an incentive to endurance, patience, faithfulness, and holy living. Here we will merely let the Scriptures speak without any comment. Attention is called to the following passages: “Be ye also patient, stablish your hearts; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh” ( James 5:8). “Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord” (Jas. 5:7). “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom” (II Tim. 4:1). “...The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:11-13). “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness” (II Pet. 3:10-11). “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (I John 3 :2-3). We turn now to consider—

2. Six proofs that Christ’s coming is to be premillennial.

Bible students are divided into two main groups on the question of our Lord’s return to this earth. There are those who believe that the millennium (the word means a thousand years— see Rev. 20 :1-7) will be brought in by the preaching of the gospel, and that Christ will not make his personal return to this earth until after the millennium. These are called postmillennialists. There are others who believe the Bible clearly reveals that the millennium will be ushered in by the personal return of our Lord; at which time He will judge the world (II Thess. 1:7-10; Matt. 25:31-46) and will reign personally over the earth a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-6). These are called premillennialists. And in each of these two main groups there are several shades of teaching. Therefore, later we shall go more into detail concerning our position; but here we will attempt to establish only the mere truth that Christ will make his personal return to this earth before the millennium. We offer the following proofs for this:

Present-day conditions indicate that it will require the personal return of our Lord to bring in the millennium. Postmillennialists believe that the end of this age will be marked by a well-nigh universal acceptance of the gospel. They think that the saints will be so proportionately numerous that all rule and all authority will be in their hands, and that thus the kingdom of this world is to become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ (Rev. 11:15). But do presentday conditions encourage such expectations? Most emphatically they do not. Instead of the saints becoming proportionately more numerous, just the reverse is true. And instead of all rule and all authority being placed in their hands, it is being taken out of their hands. From a worldly standpoint, the world is better civilized today than it was centuries ago; but it is not more godly. Under the veneer of civilization runs the same vein of selfishness and sin that has always marked the depravity of man. Professed Christians are becoming more worldly as a whole. Rebellion against the whole truth of God is on the increase. And it is becoming more and more manifest that the majority of the members of even Baptist churches are not bringing forth fruits meet for repentance. We are living in a godless, selfish, pleasure-mad age. But perhaps some will say, like Senex of the Western Recorder, that, although the world is going to the devil, they hope something will take place to turn the tide back to God. But we ask, “Where is there any Scriptural ground for such a hope?” Instead of giving ground for such a hope, the Scriptures reveal that “…evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (II Tim. 3:13), and that “…in the last days perilous times shall come” (II Tim. 3:1); accompanied with a falling away (II Thess. 2 :3), and a refusal to endure sound doctrine (II Tim. 4:3).

The parables present to us the opposite of what postmillennialists expect. Consider first the parable of the sower. In this parable four classes of people are described, and only one of them, the last one, represents truly saved people. Matthew 13:1-8 “The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.” And its conclusion in Matthew 13:19-23 “When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

Take next the parable of the wheat and the tares. Here we have it revealed that the children of the devil will never be even approximately removed from this world by conversion, but that they are to be finally and fully removed only in the end of the age by the angels. “Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn” (Matt. 13:24-30). And its conclusion in Matthew 13:37- 43 “He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; -- The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” This certainly refers to the judgment of this world. And the judgment of this world is to take place at the coming of Christ (Matt. 25:31, 32). But someone may ask if the parable of the mustard seed, and that of the leaven, do not favor the postmillennial view. We answer that they do not. To see that they do not, we have only to note that, from the parable of the tares and that of the net in this chapter (Matthew 13:47-52 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.”), it is evident that the kingdom of heaven includes all professed Christians whether they are truly saved or not. So, although the kingdom of heaven should encompass the whole of the human race living at any given time, yet that would not necessarily indicate such a condition as would be required before the millennium could be ushered in. In I Tim. 3:1-13 Paul gives a picture of the majority group of the kingdom of heaven in the last days. Today, nearly all of our politicians are professed Christians, and therefore members of the kingdom of heaven; but is there much to indicate that their rule is the rule of Christ? Some of the worst crimes and atrocious deeds are being committed by those who are professed Christians, and, therefore, members of the kingdom of heaven. As cases in point, we call attention to Hickman, who butchered the little Parker girl in California; and to Carnes, the Home Mission Board thief. Both of these were professed Christians, and even church workers; and, therefore, members of the kingdom of heaven. We have no doubt that the man of sin (II Thess. 2:3-4), whom we take to be identical with the beast of Revelation (Rev. 13), will be a member of the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, even when we take these parables in the light in which they are viewed by postmillennialists themselves, they cannot be made to prove the postmillennial contention. (We are not ignorant of the fact that leaven is thought by some to refer to error and evil that will permeate the kingdom of heaven. This view has in its favor the fact that everywhere else leaven represents evil, and the fact that we find the kingdom of heaven today permeated with error and evil. But we have thought best to meet postmillennialists on their own grounds.)

The man of sin is to be revealed in this age, and he is to be destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming; therefore, Christ is coming before the millennium. “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (II Thess. 2:1-4). There could be no universal reign of peace and righteousness, such as the Scriptures teach there will be during the millennium (For further study see Rev. 20:1-5; II Pet. 3:10-13; Isa. 65:17-25; 11:6-9; Zech. 14:16-21), if the man of sin were on the earth; therefore, the man of sin is not to be revealed during the millennium. And certainly, Paul was not writing to the Thessalonians about something that should come to pass after the millennium. If he had been, doubtless he would have said something like this: Brethren, you need not fear that the day of Christ is at hand. That day shall not come until the man of sin be revealed, and that will not come to pass until after the millennium. It is plainly evident that Paul was writing to these saints about something that would come to pass in this age. And, as stated above, with the man of sin here, there could be no such condition on the earth as shall prevail during the millennium; therefore, he must be destroyed before the millennium. And since he is to be destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming, Christ’s coming must take place before the millennium.

Also we believe it is plain that the beast of Revelation is identical with the man of sin, and the beast is to be destroyed before the millennium (Rev. 19:17; 20:6). From I Thess. 4:14-18 we learn that the resurrection of the righteous is to take place at the coming of Christ, and Rev. 20:1-6 shows that this resurrection is to take place before the millennium; therefore, Christ is coming before the millennium. Rev. 20 :1-6 makes it plain that there are two resurrections, and that the first one is of those that shall reign with Christ. These then are the righteous. And this resurrection is plainly that which is described in I Thess. 4:14-18, which is to be at Christ’s second coming. The judgment of Matt. 25:31-46 is to be in connection with Christ’s coming, and is to be before the millennium; therefore, Christ’s coming is to be premillennial. We have here two propositions to be established. The first one is that the judgment spoken of is to be in connection with Christ’s coming. Verse 31 settles that. The second proposition to be established is that this judgment is to take place before the millennium. This is shown by the fact that while there is to be a judgment after the millennium (Rev. 20:11-15), yet it is manifestly a different Judgment from the one we are now considering. In the judgment of Matt. 25 nothing is said about any of the dead being present; in the judgment of Rev. 20 nothing is said about any except the dead. In the judgment of Matt. 25 both lost and saved are present; in the judgment of Rev. 20 only the lost are mentioned. Also let it be noted that in the judgment of Matt. 25 the righteous are to inherit the kingdom (vs. 34). This is evidently the millennial kingdom, for it cannot be established that heaven is ever particularly called a kingdom.

The Scriptures teach that Christ is to reign personally on the earth during the millennium, therefore, his coming to this earth is to be premillennial. Concerning Jesus, the angel announced to Mary: “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:32-33). Old Testament prophecy foretold that Christ would sit on the throne of David. (For more please see Isa. 9:6-7.) Christ is not now sitting on the throne of David. We challenge any man to produce one word of Scripture to show that He is. Christ is now sitting with the Father in the Father’s throne, but later he is to sit on His own throne; and His saints will sit with Him (Rev. 3:21). This latter throne is the throne of David. He will sit on that during the millennium. And the burden of proof is on postmillennialists when they assert that Christ’s reign is to be spiritual instead of literal and personal. In Psa. 132:11, we have the record of God’s oath to David guaranteeing David a successor fruit the fruit of his own body. This was fulfilled literally in Solomon. Why then should we take it that a prophecy quite similar to this oath, but referring to a later and more illustrious descendent of David, must be taken in a figurative or spiritual sense only? When the apostles asked Jesus about the restoring of the kingdom to Israel, he did not deny that the kingdom would be restored to Israel; but instead, implied that it would. 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.” In Matt. 19:28, “And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel”, we have the record of Christ’s promise to the apostles that in the regeneration they should sit upon the twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Is that to be on the earth? It most certainly is to be on the earth. For this passage referred to specifies that it is to be fulfilled when Christ sits upon the throne of his glory, and that is to take place on the earth after his coming “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory” (Matt. 25:31). Matt. 19:28 will be literally fulfilled in the millennium, along with Luke 1:32-33; Matt. 5:5; I Cor. 6:2; Rev. 2:26-27; 3:21; and 20:1-4.

(This article was taken from The Baptist Examiner Vol 1, No 3 from May 1, 1931)