Here is the fundamental error of the post-millennial view of the Lord’s
coming: _it is a mixture of works and grace_.
God’s plan for establishing righteousness in the universe is exactly
the same as his plan for establishing righteousness in the human
heart. It is all of grace, not of works. The pre-millennial view means
the Kingdom age by grace, as the Victorious Life means the Kingdom
principles in the individual heart by grace.
Let each Christian earnestly face these two tests of his attitude
toward the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Make the Blessed Hope a Vital Power!
If his hope of the coming of the Lord is not an incentive of vital and
present power in his life, there is something wrong with his theory. If
a Christian believes that it is not possible for the Lord to come for
at least a thousand years, or until the period during which Satan is
bound has run its course (whether a thousand literal years or not), can
he honestly say that the blessed hope of the personal appearing of his
Lord is a vital power in the life?
The second test of our view of his coming can apply also to every part
of our salvation. Have we the blessed assurance of eternal salvation
through the blood that gives us eagerness and power to lead others into
the same assurance? Are we rejoicing in all the blessed “present tenses
of salvation,” victory by grace through faith? Are we surrounded by his
own light in these dark days because we know that the world’s problem
is to be solved by grace, by God himself, so that we live “soberly,
righteously, and godly in this present age; looking for that blessed
hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ”?