Continuing with the subject of,

The Millennium and the End of Sin

In our previous post we were addressing the issue of where Adventist say believers will be during the millennium. Now before we address the issue of what they will be doing we need first to address issue number 2,

Where do they believe the rest of humanity are during this time?

According to our Adventist friends, paraphrasing what they have said:

At the beginning of the millennium following all the righteous having been taken to heaven the rest of humanity (i.e., the wicked, the heathen, all non-believers) still alive at the time will be destroyed at the appearing of our Lord in the purifying fire (the great time of trouble), and there they will join the rest of the wicked already in their graves under judgement (?).

So now the millennium begins all the wicked are dead and “the earth stands for a time without human inhabitants”.

While this takes place what will the believers in heaven be doing at the time?

They say:

“We will stay in heaven with Jesus for 1000 years (the Millennium) while the rest of humanity goes through the judgment and Satan and his army of followers and angels are destroyed once and for all.

According to Revelation 20:4, 5, we will spend 1,000 years there alongside Jesus Christ—a millennium. God is going to give the redeemed 1,000 years in heaven to learn about what’s behind His judgement of humanity.

As you can imagine, we will have many questions! Why did this happen? Why did this person choose this path? Why is this person in heaven and not that person?

This millennium is a privilege from God. He invites us to ask our questions and invites us to share in His knowledge of everything that happened on earth.

Before the earth was created, sin had its origins in the angel Lucifer’s heart. He became jealous of God’s sovereignty and he questioned God’s judgement. He even started a war in heaven (Revelation 12) when he indulged the thought that he could be better than God. Lucifer, now called Satan, started the Great Controversy—a spiritual war of good versus evil.

This makes the millennium particularly meaningful for those in heaven with Jesus, as they will be shown how God’s judgment was fair and just. Satan’s accusations will be ultimately disproved.”

Our Adventist friends appear to have a completely different idea of what the coming judgement consists of as in comparisons with how the scriptures describe it. (The same can be said for most of orthodoxy). Nevertheless, nothing of what is stated here is scriptural it is merely conjecture. The fact is they have erred on multiple levels here.

They seem to imagine that believers taken to heaven will simply spend the millennium standing around reviewing mankind’s past lives (each individual) contemplating the reasons why they wounded up in either heaven or in hell (Sheol: the grave or pit), and of course the inedible fate of the latter even though this will most likely include many of their former friends, neighbors and yes even their very loved ones.

Here we must question, where’s the compassion as we see exhibited in our Lord for these poor souls not accepted, who for all their lives have been held in bondage to ignorance and sin, and this through no fault of their own?

For it is written:

“The creature was subject to frailty [moral weakness, liability to yield to temptation, i.e., the curse], (NOT BY ITS OWN WILL, but for his sake who subjected it,) in hope, that even the creature itself shall be made free from the bondage of corruption, and introduced into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” (Rom 8:20, 21 Anderson’s New Testament, likewise see the Diaglott)

“In Col 1:19 the Apostle Paul tells us that it was the good pleasure of this same individual (God) who subjected all creation in the hope of an ultimate deliverance, that “all fullness” should dwell in Christ. By this we understand that it was God’s pleasure that Christ should possess the fullness of His character, and that as His agent Christ should execute every feature of His Plan, even to the reconciling of sinners and the reclaiming of a corrupted creation.”

In support of mankind’s being subjected to corruption, i.e., sin, not of their own volition we read:

“The fathers (Adam) have eaten a sour grape (sinned), and the children’s (all mankind, all of Adam’s children) teeth are set on edge (The nature of the fathers, being polluted by sin, is transmitted to the children, who come under the death sentence for having the same nature or disposition as the fathers).” Jer 31:29 That is to say, a corrupted steam cannot bring forth pure water.

“Therefore, as by the offense (the transgression, sin) of one (man, Adam) judgment (sentence) came upon ALL men (extensively) to condemnation (death)…” (Rom 5:18)

So, if all were condemned even before they were born and had no say in the matter how is it just that only a few lucky one’s should reap the benefit of our Lord’s great sacrifice?

What was the purpose of this sacrifice if it only benefited a few believers while the vast majority of mankind are eternally lost?

Is salvation through Christ meant only for the few? For those fortunate enough to get a small glimpse of this truth during the Gospel age while the rest of mankind remain in darkness, once again through no fault of their own, the God of this world having blinded them to the truth?

Have our Adventist friends so soon forgotten what the whole purpose for God sending his son into the world was for?

“God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:17)

Our Lord did not come merely to save a few, the Church only, but the whole world even as it is written.

“He is a propitiation [satisfaction] for our [the Church’s] sins, and NOT FOR OURS ONLY, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2)

What could be plainer than this?

If the price for the sins of the whole world have been paid to Justice, we may rest well assured that Justice will furnish opportunity through the Redeemer whereby all these whose sins were atoned for may come to a knowledge of Christ, and to an opportunity of accepting divine grace through him.

“For the favor of God bringing salvation for all men hath shown forth” (Titus 2:11 Rotherham edition) Note specifically that this statement DOES NOT state that all men have come to a knowledge of this favor yet, but it assures us that all will “in due time”.

“FOR GOD WILL HAVE all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4-6)

We will continue with our review of what our Adventist friends have to say here in our next post.