“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some
shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and
doctrines of devils.” 1 Tim. 4:1.
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters,
proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers,
incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors,
heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from
such turn away.” 2 Tim. 3:1‐5.
“But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving,
and being deceived.” Verse 13.
In very many scriptures it is plainly declared that when Christ comes, he
comes not only to reward and save his people but also to punish his
enemies. Looking upon the last days he exclaims, “Nevertheless when the
Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8. The idea
of a thousand years of peace and righteousness before Christ comes might
be dismissed as utterly out of the question. But space will be given to
one or two passages supposed to teach it, which will represent the whole
class. The first and chief is found in Isa. 2:2‐4:—
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of
the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains,
and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow
unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go
up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob;
and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths:
for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord
from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall
rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into
ploughshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not
lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any
more.”
Almost the same language is used in Micah 4:1‐3. It is enough to call
attention to the authorship of the propositions contained in the text.
They come from the people. “Many people shall go and say, Come ye,” etc.
Inspiration asserts that in the last days the mountain or power of the
Lord’s house or church shall be established in the tops of the mountains,
or civil power. Undoubtedly it will. Everything is tending to the union of
Church and State and the professed church of Christ is riding on a high
tide to civil power in all lands. But farewell to godliness and spiritual
power. When this is accomplished, in a general chorus all will proclaim
the dawning millennium.
How the Lord regards the people who are saying these things is shown in
the succeeding verses:—
“Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob,
because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers
like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children
of strangers. Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither
is there any end of their treasures; their land also is full of
horses, neither is there any end of their chariots: their land
also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands,
that which their own fingers have made.” Isa. 2:6‐8.
Now let us see what God says on the same point and concerning the same
time:—
“Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; prepare war, wake up the
mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into
spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and
come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about:
thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the
heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for
there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in
the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the
press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of
the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon
shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The
Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from
Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord
will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children
of Israel.” Joel 3:9‐16.
Mark, this is not what the people say, but what the Lord says of the very
same time when the people are preaching a good time coming.
Another verse referred to, and representing quite a numerous class of
similar ones, is found in Num. 14:21.
“But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the
glory of the Lord.”
There is no occasion to modify or limit the meaning of those words; for
their utmost significance will be realized. But when?—When sin and the
curse are wiped away. After the purifying fires of the day of the Lord
have burned up the last work and relic of rebellion, and the earth made
new in Edenic glory comes again from the hand of its Maker, as beautiful,
yea, more beautiful, if possible, than at first. It would not be within
the limits of this pamphlet to follow out this subject, but the reader is
referred to the following scriptures: Isa. 65:17‐22; 2 Peter 3:13;
Revelation 21 and 22, and to published works.
In that state this and all kindred scriptures will meet a fulfillment that
is ample and complete. But for such a condition of things this side of the
coming of Christ neither the Bible nor the trend of events give any
promise whatever.
Judging of the probability of the conversion of the world from the facts,
it would seem to be far from striking. The following table gives a
comparatively accurate showing of the present religious status of the
world:—
Jews and Parsees 15,470,000
Greek Catholics 84,136,000
Protestants 114,815,500
Brahminical Hindoos 120,000,000
Mohammedans 122,400,000
Roman Catholics 255,000,000
Pagans 227,000,000
Buddhists 482,000,000
Unclassified 51,050,000
Concerning the very small proportion of this number classed in the list of
Christians, Bishop Foster has very aptly said:—
“There are some who too fondly anticipate a millennium. There is a
lack of information on the progress of Christianity. The facts are
misstated daily in pulpits all over the country. Ministers
hesitate to present the worst side for fear of causing
discouragement, and they create hopes that are never realized. We
are not at the dawn of a millennium. Compared with the work to be
done, the past is nothing. Our children’s children for ten
generations to come must labor harder than we are doing, to
accomplish the conversion of the world. The world’s population is
1,500,000,000. Of these, Christians number less than a third; and
half of that third belongs to the Roman Catholic Church. The
Protestants number 114,000,000. They are divided into 500 sects.
And this number of their strength includes, also, all the thieves,
ex‐convicts, the debased, besotted, and the speckled and streaked
in Christendom.”—_Northwestern Christian Advocate of Dec. 2,
1885._