We continue with the subject of,

The Millennium and the End of Sin

The Resurrection of Condemnation

We continue with what we were looking at in our last post on the Millennium and the Judgement to come.

RESTITUTION REQUIRES TIME

The restoration and restitution work of the world during the millennium will require that time and effort on their part be expended, and thus throughout all their judgment-trial time they will be required to overcome the weaknesses and imperfections until they have attained the end of the millennial age. The Scriptures refer to this day of judgment in a very different way than that which most people today regard it. The proper thought is that God is going to offer to the world eternal life, if when they come to a knowledge of Him, they choose to render obedience to Him. Knowledge is the first prerequisite; for no man shall be saved in ignorance.

When the individual comes to the knowledge of the truth, and is obedient to it, in that proportion he may have divine favor. This principle is applicable even now, to all who hear and obey, and will be in operation upon the world when they shall come to know God as He really is, to know that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, to realize God’s mercy, and I believe it will reach many of their hearts, and when they rightly divide between truth and error, light and darkness, the majority of people will want to choose the right!

Nothing in the Scriptures tells us what will be the proportion of those who will finally reject and how many will finally accept, but we do know that “The gift of God is eternal life” only for those who love and serve and obey Him, and those who will not have this King to reign over them shall eventually die the second death, from which there is no recovery. That was the case in the Parable of the Minas (Luke 19:11-27). After the nobleman had dealt with his servants he turned to his enemies: “Bring hither mine enemies, and slay them.”

There will be hundreds and thousands of millions, nearly the whole world, in this attitude of opposition toward God, for comparatively few, a little flock, are the Lord’s servants. And when they are brought up in the millennial age, they will be given the opportunity to decide whether they are enemies of Him or not. Then we shall find the sword of the Lord, the word of truth, shall slay them; it shall discover the secret springs of their hearts and those who realize Him as their Master and accept Him as such, will be permitted to attain the full measure of favor the Lord has promised; and those who reject and resist the opportunities will be cut off, as the prophet has declared: “A sinner that is a hundred years shall be cut off.”

THE PROPHECY OF DAVID

David prophesied of the judgment day in 1 Chronicles 16: 31-34. Notice how David was glad there was a judgment day.

“Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; And let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.” Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; Let the field rejoice, and all that is in it. Then the trees of the woods shall rejoice before the Lord, For He is coming to judge the earth.”

They did not have the thought that judgment would mean the damnation of nearly everybody; they longed for the judgment time, because it signified a time of deliverance and blessing. In the olden time they had their judges, who came amongst them for deliverance and blessing, and now God has proposed to raise up the great antitypical judge, the Lord Jesus and the church His body, that this great judge shall bless all the people with the wise government that is necessary for their uplift.

So, we read again that “God hath appointed a day“— a future day — “in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained” — and the word righteousness here signifies equitable, just, in accord with the foundation principles of God’s character, which guarantees that the ransom through Jesus Christ will be made fully applicable to every member of the race of mankind. The world needs this great trial, to see whether they will have life everlasting or choose death. If they want life, they must choose it by obedience. If they choose disobedience they will choose the penalty, and “the wages of sin is death.”

Revelation gives a picture in the twentieth chapter of the millennial kingdom — five different pictures of the same kingdom.

It begins with the binding of Satan which prevents him from deceiving the world during its judgement or testing period. Next comes the appointment of the judges, “I beheld thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them” — to the saints, the church, (along with their Lord), who are especially chosen for the uplift and recovery of the world. Then the statement is made that the “dead world shall not LIVE until the thousand years are finished,” (which we discussed in the last post).

It will require the full thousand years to build up the proper character necessary to bring these “dead” ones to life.

Continued with next post.