(Preached at Dallas, July 2, 1924).

“THE MILLENNIUM AND THINGS TO COME.”

     THE MILLENNIUM.

For a thousand years, therefore, the Lord Jesus with His saints shall reign over the nations. That will be the time of the reign of the righteous King and also the time of the restoration of nature. Nature shall be restored to her primitive condition and all the wounds of the curse are going to be healed. “Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

“And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of Jehovah; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears; 4 but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins. 6. And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea. 10 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, that standeth for an ensign of the peoples, unto him shall the nations seek; and his resting-place shall be glorious.”

This “resting place” is the city He has chosen, the centre of government. Psa. 132:13, 14.

11. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, that shall remain, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 12 And he will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. (Isa. 11.)

In the 65th chapter of Isaiah, we read:

“There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days; for the child shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. 22 They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat; for as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth for calamity; for they are the seed of the blessed of Jehovah, and their offspring with them. 24 And it shall come to pass that, before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith Jehovah.

This affords a glimpse of some of the circumstances and conditions of that day. In the 72nd psalm we have a picture of the reign of the righteous King and of that glorious kingdom of the Messiah of Israel in the day of His undisturbed reign, when He has control of the world, when the kingdoms of this world shall have become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ. “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.”

       KINGS AND PRIESTS OF THE FIRST RESURRECTION.

Let us turn back to the 20th chapter of Revelation. Already I have exceeded my time a little, but we must finish the theme tonight, and it is worthwhile. In the 20th chapter of Revelation, we read, after they had bound Satan and put him in the abyss, “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.” Now “they” that sit upon the thrones represent in logical sequence the company that comes down with the Lord Jesus clad in white raiment. And it is not only they, for he says, “and I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus” (during the days of the great tribulation) “and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”

Now mark; the rest of the dead will not be raised until the thousand years are finished. Whoever was raised from the dead before the Millennium belongs to the first resurrection. John says, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection : over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” Now a priest was never appointed for his own sake, but as a go-between with God and someone else. So, there will be people here on the earth during the Millennium over whom Christ shall reign, and on behalf of that people those of the first resurrection will be priests. The Church has a wonderful destiny, for she shall share the throne and prerogatives of the Lord. “Know ye not that the saints shall judge the world?”

        AFTER THE THOUSAND YEARS.

Now comes the final act in the drama. During all this time these nations have enjoyed the most exceptional, wonderful opportunities and privileges. Satan has been chained, powerless to deceive them. They have had every opportunity to know right and truth. Mankind has lived in happiness and prosperity. It ends with a failure, like every other dispensation. At the close of this dispensation God sees fit that Satan shall be loosed for a little season. This people, who have enjoyed such advantages under the reign of the saints, this people must now have a chance to see and choose the other way, if they prefer. So, Satan is loosed and what does he accomplish? He goes about to deceive the nations, and with considerable success, because it says, “And they went up over the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city”—(evidently situated on the earth). The Lord deals with him in half a sentence : “and fire came down out of heaven, and devoured them.”

Then it says, “And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.” Someone asks if this means a renovation of the old heaven and earth. The language is very strong: it says, “heaven and earth fled away, and there was no place found for them.”

Now appear the rest of the dead that did not rise before the thousand years. “And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life”—

God’s records; they are perfect and complete—“and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire. And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.”

Now the last enemy is destroyed. The work is finished, the mediatorial and restorative work of the Lord Jesus is done, and He restores the Kingdom to His Father. He continues to reign, but in the new order. “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more. And I saw the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.” One of the angels said to John, “I want to show you the Bride, the Lamb’s wife. There she is, clad in all the glory of God.” And her light was wonderful, like as the light of a jasper stone. Her gates were of pearl and her streets of gold. In the midst of the street John sees on either side of the river the Tree of Life, no longer one tree but a growth, springing up on both sides, “and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” There are nations of resurrected people and redeemed upon that earth, never again to fall a prey to the work of sin.

         WISDOM AND LOVE.

Let me say this in conclusion. God is love. All of His judgments are in accordance with this fact. God is righteous because He is love. If He deals with a strong hand and with irrepressible justice against those who have sinned before Him, it is because it must be so. On the other hand, if He has made a way of salvation and sent His own Son into the world, if Jesus has gone to the Cross to bear in |His own body the burden of humanity and all our sins—that is evidence that God is love. We shall never see it or know it until with unclouded face in the light of the morning we shall behold the work of the Lord. Trust in the Lord—

 

“Deep in unfathomable mines of never-failing skill, He treasures up His bright designs and works His sovereign will.” And when the work is finished every soul will see the beauty and righteousness, and the redeemed will never cease to praise Him.

Don’t you want to have a share in it? Shall you be cast out from among the company of the redeemed? Shall you be refused in the presence of the Lord Jesus? Shall He have to say to you, “You were ashamed of Me and would not confess Me in this world! now I am going to be ashamed of you and turn you down.” Oh, my friends, you have to choose Him or reject Him. You will have to take the path that leads to everlasting darkness or the road that shines more and more to the perfect day. Won’t you ‘turn to Him for His salvation? Let Him forgive you and cleanse you tonight. Oh, let Him write your names in the book of life. Come to Him tonight, and may He help you to such a choice.

          QUESTIONS ANI) ANSWERS.

The positions set forth in these three sermons are not new. In their main outline they were held by the whole primitive church for three centuries. Nobody undertook to deny or change them until Origen, the spiritualizer and allegorizer, and first infant-baptism advocate. And after the “conversion” of the Roman emperor Constantine, and especially through the influence of Augustine, other ideas were substituted for the primitive hope, which have prevailed more or less ever since.

This teaching is not new. But so little real attention has been paid to these themes, and so different an outlook has been held up for many generations, that the old seems new and strange now. Some seem to regard it as a heresy lately sprung up. And naturally the teaching provokes questions. To ask questions is always easier than the answering. In connection with any familiar Bible doctrine questions can be asked which nobody can answer. So long as the preacher of the Word is asked what God has said, he should be able to answer clearly and fully. But when the question is How? and Why? perhaps he can answer; perhaps he cannot. So it is in regard to the teaching on the Lord’s second coming: to set forth just what the Lord has said is easy; but when one is asked to fit certain things together, and to explain how certain things can be, and why it will be just thus and so—we can hardly expect satisfactory answers to such questions. In fact, I am suspicious of the teacher who has woven out such a perfect doctrinal system that he has a complete answer to every difficulty. I have more confidence in the man who presents what God has said and lets the questions and difficulties stand as they may.

     Does not John 5:28, 29, teach that all the dead will be raised at one time, in the same hour?

Ans. If you* had only John 5:28, 29, such would be the natural impression; but when we have other scriptures distinguishing· between resurrections, it leads to a re-examination of the statement in John. A close reading shows that John does not say that both the wicked and the righteous will be raised together, at the same time. It does say that the hour will come when the dead—all the dead—shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and shall come forth, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and they who have done evil unto the resurrection of judgment. But the very words which would be required to make it a simultaneous resurrection are not found here. For both the righteous and the wicked, for each and all, will that hour come; but it will not necessarily be the same hour for all. That a distinction in resurrections does not contradict the Savior’s statement in John 5:28, 29 is evident from the fact that a limited resurrection of saints has already taken place (Matt. 27:52, 53), while the rest still await the resurrection. If John 5:28, 29 had meant that all the dead must necessarily be raised at one and the same time, the event of Matt. 27:52, 53 would have proved that false; but if that partial resurrection in Matthew near 2000 years ago did not clash with the statement in John, neither does the fact of a “first resurrection” at Christ’s return, and another a thousand years after.

 

Is not the book of Revelation a highly figurative book? How can we know that “the first resurrection” and the thousand years’ reign in Rev. 20:4-6 is not figurative?

Ans. If such is to be our attitude toward the book of Revelation, it would indeed mean anything, everything, or nothing to us—or just whatever the “interpreter” may wish to make of it. But the case is not so. In the book of Revelation, as in the other scriptures, we are not at liberty arbitrarily to assume that this or that is figurative or symbolical, and then proceed to fix it up to suit our ideas. There is much in Revelation that is simple literal truth; and even where a thing is shown to be figure we are not even then left to our imaginations to interpret it: there is law and reason even in that. Rev. 20 tells a rather plain story, and there is no reason or evidence that the “first resurrection,” and the thousand years’ reign are to be figuratively understood.

 

Here I would commend as noteworthy the comment of Alford, one of the greatest of English scholars and commentators, on this passage:

“I cannot consent to distort its words from their plain sense and chronological place in the prophecy on account of any considerations of difficulty, or any risk of abuses which the doctrine of the millennium may bring with it. Those who lived next to the apostles, and the whole church for 300 years, understood them in the plain literal sense; and it is a strange sight in these days to see expositors who are among the first in reverence of antiquity, complacently casting aside the most cogent instance of unanimity which primitive antiquity presents. As regards the text itself, no legitimate treatment of it will extort what is known as the spiritual interpretation now in fashion. If, in a passage where two resurrections are mentioned, where certain souls lived at the first, and the rest of the dead lived only at the end, of a specified period after that first,.—if in such a passage the first resurrection may be understood to mean spiritual rising with Christ, while the second means literal rising from the grave;—then there is an end of all significance in language, and scripture is wiped out as a definite testimony to anything. If the first resurrection is spiritual, then so is the second, which I suppose none will be hardy enough to maintain; but if the second is literal, then so is the first, which in common with the whole primitive church, and many of the best modern expositors, I do maintain and receive as an article of faith and hope.”—(Alford, “New Testament for English Headers,” on Rev. 20:4-6)

For strength and clearness on these points the following remarks of Daniel Sommer (Editor of Apostolic Review) do not leave much to be desired:

“What may we say to those who declare that Christ will not come again till at the end of the Millennium Age? We may say, ‘Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.’ All such, by implication, deny that the resurrection mentioned in 1 Cor. 15:12-54, and in 1 Thess. 4:13-17, means ‘the first resurrection,’ mentioned in Rev. 20:5, 6; this involves them in hopeless confusion, and fatal error. Neither in 1 Cor. 15th chapter, nor in 1 Thess. 4th chapter, do we find the sentence against the wicked set forth; but only the resurrection of the righteous dead, and the changing of the righteous living, do we find there mentioned. The same is true of Rev. 20:5, 6. Then when John declares, in contradistinction from the righteous dead, ‘But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished,’ the testimony on this subject is complete. Then when we read Rev. 20:12, 13, we should feel overwhelmed with testimony. Bible readers should always consider 1 Pet. 4:11, and never bend nor twist scripture to suit their theories. They ought not to have any religious theories.”— “Questions, Answers, and Remarks,” pp. 592, 593.

     On the Thousand-Years Reign, the same writer speaks as follows :

“The word ‘millennium’ is composed of two Latin words, which together mean—a thousand years. That God intends to introduce such a period is as plainly stated in this chapter as that he intended to bring a flood of waters on the earth is set forth in Genesis 6th chapter. Mankind will live on the earth then, even as they are now living, except that they will not be tempted by the devil. The worst enemy they will then have will be their human natures. Does someone inquire where the people will come from who will be on the earth during the Millennium? That is not our side of the question. Though God will take the righteous away, and destroy those who have worshipped the beast, or received his mark, yet we need not be in doubt. God knew how to overthrow Pharaoh and his army, yet spare a residue of the Egyptians who were not responsible for his sins. He knew how to overthrow the rebellious Israelites in the wilderness, yet save three million, or more, to enter the land of Canaan. He knew how to destroy Jerusalem, and the Jew as a nation, and yet save a remnant of that people. On the same principle, we may feel assured that he will know how to overthrow all his enemies among mankind in the last days of the Gospel Age, and, yet, will be able to save sufficient of mankind to people the world in the Millennial Age. Besides, from the time of the event mentioned in Rev. 11:13, God will have the Jews as his people, for the promise in Isa. 66:22 cannot fail. In view of all this we need not to be disturbed about God’s side of the question, nor of any other. He knows how to manage it, and will manage it to his honor and glory. All that we need to do is to believe and obey the Lord in the present, then believe and trust him with reference to the future.

“But will people then live on the earth as they do now, and how long will they live, and will everybody be righteous then? In the 8th and 9th verses we learn that when the time will come for the devil to be released from his ‘prison’ he will find multitudes ready to listen to him, and to be marshalled in his army. This settles the question in regard to the righteousness of some who will live in the end of the Millennial Age. How long they will live in that age, as well as the two kinds of characters that will then be cultivated, is implied in Isa. 65:20. But all this pertains to the Divine side of this great question, and our business does not extend that far.” “Questions, Answers, and Remarks,” pp. 592, 593.)

 

In 1 Cor. 15:23, 24 it says that at His coming Christ will “deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father.” How then can he reign on earth a thousand years?

 

Ans. Though He deliver up the kingdom to the Father, then or at any other time, He shall reign on for ever and ever, and His saints with Him. (Rev. 22:5). The Kingdom of the Lord Jesus, whether He holds supreme sovereignty, or reigns under the Father, is eternal (2 Pet. 1:11).

But 1 Cor. 15:23, 24 does not say what the questioner thinks it says. The word “then” is not the Greek word “tote” which means “at that time,” but, “eita,” which means “next” or “afterward,”—how long after must be gathered from the context. The order is: Christ first, then (next) they that are His at His coming. Then (next in order) the end when all is subdued, and the last enemy shall have been destroyed (which Rev. 20:7-14 shows to be after the 1000 years). He delivers up the Kingdom to the Father. (For a fuller note on this see book, “The Kingdom of God”).

*****

      Does not Matt. 25:31-46 show a general resurrection and judgment?

Ans. There is not a word about a resurrection in Matt. 25: 31-46. Nor, in the light of the particular point on which the judgment turns (their treatment of “these my brethren”) could this judgment apply to the nations of the long ago and of faraway lands. This is a judgment of living nations in regard to the attitude they assumed toward Christ during the Tribulation, as shown by their conduct toward His brethren.

*****

“If Jesus went to heaven, in the body of flesh and bones, which he had upon eating with his disciples after his resurrection, undergoing no change as he ascended, is he having to eat and drink now, to sustain that body of flesh and bones?”

“What about the language of 1 John 3:2 saying: ‘When he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

Ans. This questioner has evidently misconceived a few things. For example, that Jesus had to eat and drink to sustain that body of “flesh and bones” after His resurrection; and that the “flesh and bones” was just the common, natural, corruptible flesh and bones of our present bodies. And, laboring under such ideas, the gratuitous assumption that Jesus’ body, after His resurrection, underwent another change as He ascended. In the first place, when Jesus rose from the dead, it was indeed the very body that was laid in the tomb that was raised; but in new and glorious life and power, immortal, incorruptible, endued with qualities and properties of which we cannot conceive. He could be seen when He chose, or He could be invisible; He could be palpable to the touch—his very flesh and bones might be handled, and His wounds be seen and felt. (Luke 24:39, 40; John 20:20, 27), and, again, He could pass through solid walls; He could walk as other men (Luke 24:15), yet He did not have to walk; He was not bound to laws of space and gravitation; He could be here or there with the swiftness of thought. He could eat, and did so (Luke 24:41-43) in order to give His disciples convincing proof of His actual personal presence, and the reality of His body; yet He did not have to eat. His body was neither dependent on earthly life, nor on material sustenance; nor was it corruptible. He rose from the dead to die no more nor to return to corruption. (Rom. 6:9; Acts 13:34). There is not the remotest evidence-that He changed bodies again, or that His body was changed at His ascension. As He is so shall we be—endued with like powers, and with immortality and incorruption when He shall appear.

* * * *

“Does not the prophecy of the great tribulation in Matt. 24:21 refer to the destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70? Most commentators say so.”

Ans.—The commentators who say that Matt. 24:21 had reference to the destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70, are obliged to destroy the meaning of the word “immediately” in verse 29; for we read there that “immediately after the tribulation of those days,” the signs in sun and moon and stars should usher in the coming of the Son of man on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. According to Matt. 24, then, that great and unequalled tribulation immediately precedes the glorious appearing of the Lord. That settles that.

The destruction of Jerusalem in A. D. 70 was also foretold in the same discourse, and recorded by Luke (21:20-24). That has been literally fulfilled. The simple and perfect fulfilment of that prophecy is itself an instance showing how plainly the Lord speaks and how He meant just what He said. But Matt. 24:15- 31 has reference to another, similar, but a more far-reaching crisis concerning Israel and Jerusalem, which issues in deliverance by a direct intervention from above. (See the collateral prophecies in Jer. 30:4-10; Dan. 12:1, 2; also Zech. 14:1-9, Joel 3:9-17; Isa. 29:1-8). Then indeed they shall see Him and welcome their Christ with the glad acclaim, “Blessed is he that com- eth in the name of the Lord.” (Matt. 23 :39). In the present resettlement of Palestine by Jews, and their crowding back into the old Land and into the city things seem to be shaping themselves for the final event foretold by the Lord Jesus.

“Will anyone have opportunity to be saved during the Great Tribulation if Christ comes to take up His saints before the Great Tribulation?” .

Ans. Yes. When God’s severe judgments are on the earth the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. (Is. 26:9). It will be a terrible school, but great multitudes will come to their senses and “wash their robes.” (Rev. 7:14). During this time Israel also will nationally turn, and flee to God for refuge. They will suffer terribly and will be greatly reduced in number (Zech. 13:9) ; but the remnant that will come out of those fires will be pure gold. (Zeph. 3:13). This is not, however, a “second chance”—except as men may have a second chance, or a third and fourth, while yet living. None of this lends any support to any teaching of ft chance after death. Those who during the Great Tribulation turn to the Lord will have to face a far severer test of their faith and constancy than any of us today. There will be no occasion to envy them.

 

     “What is meant in Matt. 24:34, ‘This generation shall not pass away till these things be accomplished’ ?”

The word “generation” (Greek, gennea) means not only the people living on the earth at any one time, but quite as often means a stock, a race, a breed, a sort, a set, of people having common origin or traits. See for example, Deut. 32:5, 20 where disobedient Israel through all their past and future history are in view, and are spoken of as a “perverse and crooked generation,” “children in whom is no faithfulness;” or, Ps. 24:6, the faithful of Israel, “This is the generation of them that seek after him . . . . even Jacob.” Compare such expressions, “There is a generation that curse their father. . . . that are pure in their own eyes. … oh, how lofty are their eyes………….whose teeth are as swords, etc.” (Prov. 30:11-14). Here “generation” means a certain kind of people. In Matt. 24:34 the Lord certainly did not mean the generation then living on the earth; but the race of Israel, who have been so marvelously preserved, and will be preserved even until Jesus comes.

 

“Will Christ come to earth and live and reign here personally?”.

Ans. Most assuredly. When you say “live” here, you do not mean of course that He would have to have the necessities of common earth-life—shelter, food, clothing, chair, bed, table, room, etc. That would be too childish to think of or to require denial.

 

“If the Day mentioned in Zech. 14:1 has not been fulfilled, why should it be necessary for Christ at His coming to instruct the nations to go up to Jerusalem to worship from year to year?” (Zech. 14:16-18).

Ans. 1. As to whether that Day has ever yet come, read368 WORD AND WORK

verses 1-11 and see for yourself. It is a poor principle of interpretation to deny the plain meaning of what God says because we cannot make things fit.

2. As to the requirement to go up to Jerusalem to the feast of tabernacles, let that stand as it is. It will be a national requirement in the millennial earth. The three feasts of Israel had a typical meaning. The Passover typified the sacrifice of Christ, and was fulfilled at Calvary. Pentecost and the feast of the first- fruits, was antitypically fulfilled on Pentecost following Christ’s crucifixion, and is in process of fulfilment, while the “first fruits” are yet being gathered in from among all nations. But the third feast, the feast of Tabernacles, the great and joyful feast of “harvest home” is yet future, the age of the great ingathering, when the nations as such will turn to the Lord, and the knowledge of Jehovah shall cover the earth as waters cover the sea. That will come after Israel’s restoration. (Rom. 11:15). During that whole happy period the nations will be called upon to celebrate this feast in Jerusalem, in the light of its antitypical fulfilment.

 

“Will the Lord ever set His foot on the earth again?”

Ans. That question is hardly worth discussing. Does it matter whether the Lord Jesus actually touches the earth with His foot or not, so long as it is certain that He is coming back? Yet it does matter, because Zech. 14:4 says that “His feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives,” which is the place from whence He ascended. The event and circumstances described in Zech. 14, have reference to Christ’s return, and His reign after the final deliverance of Israel.—1 Thess. 4:17 states that we shall meet the Lord in the air, and thenceforth shall ever be with Him. It does not say we shall forever stay in the air.

 

     Is not the Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ the same thing as the end of the world? The third chapter of 2 Peter seems to teach that at the coming of Christ the wicked will be judged and the world burned up.

Ans. If we had only the third chapter of 2 Peter, we would naturally derive such a conclusion. But in the light of other scriptures, we see that Peter’s prophecy took in the whole wide scope of the “day of God” with all that in the end would be involved in it, including (though not making special mention of) the intervening reign of Christ on earth. This is not unusual, either in prophetic or other parts of scripture. Enoch, for example, before the Flood warned the evil-doers of the final coming of the Lord with His saints to execute judgment (Jude 14, 15), without taking cognizance of the intervening dispensations, Patriarchal, Jewish, and Christian. When in some scriptures we find salvation conditioned upon repentance alone, or faith, or faith and confession, (Rom. 10:9, 10) ; or calling upon the name of the Lord (Rom. 10:13), or faith and baptism (Mark 16:16), we are not slow to point out that the combined testimony of all scripture is needed. So, it is here. 2 Pet. 3 is not to be set in opposition to other prophecies, whether in Old or New Testament ; nor are we to form our conception of the last things from 2 Pet. 3 alone.

It should be noted that Peter speaks of certain latter-day scoffers of scientific sort (we have them now!) who base their objections to the doctrine of the Lord’s return on the stability of the present order of the universe, and the constancy of natural law. (2 Pet. 3:4). In reply Peter points out that the Lord, though He may delay beyond expectation, will come unexpectedly ; and that the present heaven and earth are destined to be burned up.