say, other revelations are to be made for the salvation of men. Any theory which thus disparages the gospel of the grace of God must be false. Christ's commission to his Church was to preach the Gospel to every creature under heaven ; Paul says, the Gos- pel is the power of God unto salvation ; that, though a stumbling- block to the Jew and foolishness to the Greek, it is the wisdom of God and the power of God ; that it has pleased God by the fool- ishness of preaching to save them that believe ; and he plainly teaches (Rom. x. 11-15) that there is no other means of salva- tion. Wrath, judgments, displays of visible glory, and miracles are not designed for the conversion of souls, nor are they adapted to that end.
8. Another objection to the pre-millennial theory is the want of consistency in its advocates and the conflicting conclusions to which they come. They profess to adopt the principle of literal interpretation. They interpret literally the prophecies relating to the return of the Jews to their own land ; which promise to them as a nation dominion over all the other nations of the earth, the rebuilding of the Temple and the restoration of the Temple- service, the greatest worldly prosperity, and even the everlasting perpetuity of their nation in the highest state of blessedness here on earth and "in the flesh." Yet they are forced to abandon their literalism when they come to the interpretation of the prophecies which predict that all the nations of the earth are to go up to Jerusalem every month, and even on every Sabbath. And more than this, they go to the extreme of figurative or spiritual interpretation in explaining the prophecies which refer to the end of the world. The Apostle Peter says in express terms : " The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." This they deny. They say that it is only certain nations who are to be destroyed ; that the earth is not to be depopulated ; that the final conflagra- tion will produce less change or injury than the deluge did.1
The utmost confusion also prevails in the views of pre-millenna- rians as to the nature of the kingdom of Christ. According to one view Christ and his risen and glorified saints are to dwell visibly on the earth and reign for a thousand years ; according to another, the risen saints are to be in heaven, and not on earth any more than the angels now are ; nevertheless the subjects of the first resurrection, although dwelling in heaven, are to govern
i The Last Times, J. A. Seiss, D. D., p. 74. vol. in. 55
866 PART IV. Ch. IV. — THE SECOND ADVENT.
the earth ; according to another it is the converted Jewish nation restored to their own land, who are to be the governors of the world ; according to another, the Bible divides men into three classes : the Gentiles, the Jews, and the Church of God. The prophecies relating to the millennium are understood to refer to the relative condition of the Jews and Gentiles in this world, and not to the risen and glorified believers. Another view seems to be, that this earth, changed no more by the fires of the last day than it was by the waters of the deluge, is to be the only heaven of the redeemed. Dr. Cumming and Dr. Seiss say they wish no better heaven than this earth free from the curse and from sin. The latter says : * M My faith is, that these very hills and valleys shall yet be made glad with the songs of a finished redemption, and this earth yet become the bright, blessed, and everlasting homestead of men made glorious and immortal in body and in soul." Still another view is that there are two heavens, one here and one above; two Jerusalems, both to continue forever, the one on earth and the other in heaven ; the one made with hands, the other without hands; both glorious and blessed, but the earthly far inferior to the heavenly ; they are like concentric cir- cles, one within the other ; both endless. Men will continue for- ever, on earth, living and dying ; happy but not perfect, needing regeneration and sanctification ; and, when they die, will be trans- lated to the kingdom which is above.
It seems therefore that the torch of the literalist is an " ignis fatuus," leading those who follow it, they know not whither. Is it not better to abide by the plain doctrinal teaching of the Bible, rather than to trust to the uncertain expositions of unfulfilled prophecies ? What almost all Christians believe is : (1.) That all nations shall be converted unto God. Jesus shall reign from the rising to the setting of the sun. (2.) That the Jews shall be reingrafted into their own olive-tree and acknowledge our Lord to be their God and Saviour. (3.) That all Antichristian powers shall be destroyed. (4.) That Christ shall come again in person and with great glory ; the dead shall be raised, those who have done good unto the resurrection of life, those who have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation ; and, (5.) That the righteous clothed in their glorified bodies shall then inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world ; and the wicked be consigned to their final doom.
i The Last Times, p. 72.