MILLENNIUM, VIEWS ON THE, CON TRASTED.
Two contrasted articles are herein given on the Pre-Millennium and Post-Millennium beliefs.
1. Pre-Millennial View. Millenarian doctrine, known in former years as Chiliasm, has since the foundation of the Church, been the Chris tian's blessed hope. Throughout her variable history, even when she was seemingly eclipsed, the Church of God never lost sight of this bril liant star in her eschatological sky.
In comparatively recent years, Whitbyism as sumed that the millennial era would constitute the period of Christ's spiritual reign, as opposed to literal, and therefore predicated, universal sal vation in this age. Accordingly, a conquered world, and an enthroned church, were to be the har bingers of our Lord's return. • Pre-millennialists consider Whitby's mode of interpretation akin to Origen's fanciful method of exegesis, and there fore unreliable.
Pre-millennialism is a term of comparative new ness. It was not needed in theological discussion for centuries. Post-millennialism having become popularized, it must needs be employed, in order to define the view held by the primitive church, that Christ will literally return from the heavens in order to effect the restitution foretold by the holy prophets (Acts iii :19-21). The re-genesis of nature and restoration of nations included in the promised restitution will occupy one thousand years, the duration of Earth's antitypical Sabbath, including the resurrection of all believers, the imprisonment of Satan, with the destruction of the Antichrist. This hope, as ever imminent, was the strong consolation of early believers, while martyrs in their sufferings were sustained through its constant expectation.
Pre-millennialism has a notable history. Dur ing dark days, oft-recurring, when superstition and superficial views of religious life prevailed; when worldliness came in like a flood, and idola trous practices abounded, this polestar of the church grew dim to the point of evanishment. But yet again its brightness grew apace, until now, when its intensified light shines afar. Dur
ing the century just ended it was brought into prominent recognition. The highest Biblical scholarship has emphatically indorsed pre-mil lennialism as an integral part of the gospel scheme. and its profound literature has taken rank among essential theological disquisitions. Many of its living advocates are foremost in Biblical research, are identified with aggressive. world-wide evangelism, and also intensely loyal to orthodox evangelicalism and to inerrant Bib lical inspiration.
Pre-millennialism does not base its claims on any single proof-text, or series of texts, but rather on the whole trend of Scripture revelation. The much controverted passage in the Apocalypse (ch. xx :1-6) they explain in the glowing light of multiplied predictions. The learned Alford declared that the whole church for three hundred years understood the above verses in a plain, lit eral sense. John Albert Bengel, first of exegetes, gave unequivocal testimony to the view that Christ would come before the millennium, and in this hope John Wesley, who was taught it by Bengel, exulted. Prof. Hackett, interpreting Acts iii:19 2I, voiced the conviction of many Christian schol ars, that the Coming of Christ "was the great consummation on which the strongest desires of their souls (the first believers) were fixed . . . . they lived in expectation of it ; they labored to be prepared for it." Pre-millennialism protests against the applica tion of those parables and discourses of our Lord which clearly point to a new kingdom, introduced and established on his return, to natural phe nomena, such as death, war, national colon-fides and natural convulsions. These frequently re curring events are too superficial as adequate ful fillment of divine prophecy.
Pre-millennialists believe that those Old Testa ment predictions of the sufferings and glories of Messiah bound the present age. They are as mountain peaks between which lie the Church, and beyond the Millennial Kingdom.