CHAPTER XXIV
THE NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH OF THE ETERNAL KINGDOM OF GOD.
"I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the
first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw
the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared
as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven
saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with
them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them,
and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and
there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall
there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And He
that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new. And He said
unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful." - #Rev 21:1-5.
A NEW heaven and a new earth! Yes! The world wants renovation. Nature,
physical and moral, is in a disordered state. The earth is full of sin
and pain and death; man’s moral nature has been marred by transgression;
the fountain of existence has been embittered by the spirit of pride,
hatred, selfishness, injustice, and cruelty. The human frame has been
invaded by disease; its beauty fades as a leaf; its comeliness turns to
corruption; the earth has become a great cemetery, and life a procession
to the tomb. The whole creation groans and travails in pain together;
the sky is darkened by clouds and shaken by tempests; there is the heaving
of earthquake, the outburst of the volcano, the flash of lightning, the
roll of thunder. The sea is tossed by storm and lashed by the fury of
the tempest; its shores are strewn with wrecks, and in its depths are
shrouded innumerable dead. The reign of evil in the world, physical and
moral, is an obvious and undeniable fact, and no power of man is of any
avail to bring it to an end. No philosophy, no march of civilization,
no discoveries of science, no changes in government, can abolish sin and
pain and death. Innovation is wanted; man’s moral and physical nature,
and the very framework of the surrounding terrestrial scene, all need
complete and thorough renovation; and to effect this nothing short of
the exercise of Almighty power can suffice.
No feature is more prominent, precious, and glorious in the Scriptures
than that they are the unveiling from first to last of a great remedial
system, involving in its operation the restoration of the soul and body
of man, and of the very framework of terrestrial nature. The Bible reveals
a twofold work of God, that of creation and redemption, the work of the
constitution and restitution of the world, or of "the instauration
and restoration" of all things. The entire history of the world,
as told in the pages of inspiration, is a history of redemption; it is
the marvellous story of the recovery of a ruined world, and its creation
anew in the perfection which is to endure for ever.
Neither the first creation nor the second is accomplished by a single
Divine act, but by a succession of such acts, or by steps and stages.
The open page of the Bible sets forth the chief stages in the first of
these great works, and the light of geology reveals in that record a far-reaching
meaning, and shows it to be the story of a long-continued operation, which
moved forward through slow rolling ages to the appearance of man upon
the scene. History exhibits, on the other hand, the analogous progress
of the new creation through a long succession of Divine acts, still in
process of accomplishment; while the light of prophecy unveils the glorious
consummation of the work and shows its completion in the "new heavens
and earth," wherein there shall be life without death, light without
darkness, pleasure without pain; where there shall be righteousness without
sin, peace without warfare, love without hatred, joy without sadness,
smiles without tears, songs without sighing; a paradise without a tempter,
an inheritance without a stain; where heaven and earth shall be re-united,
where life and light and love shall be triumphant for ever, and God be
all in all.
Even in the first, or natural creation, there are certain types and shadows
of the new; unmistakable analogies with that better order of things unveiled
to us in the blessed pages of inspiration. If death is written in nature,
so also is resurrection. The seeds of innumerable plants fall into the
ground and die, and lie buried in oblivion, and then spring again from
the cold, dark bosom of the earth, in fresh forms of life and loveliness.
Winter draws its mantle of darkness and death over the world; but spring
time follows, and nature smiles again, dressed in renovated beauty. Looked
at in the light of redemption, it is evident that even the first Adam
and Eve and paradise, the tree of life, the river which flowed through
Eden, and the sabbatic peace of that primeval scene-considered as the
termination of a work which had embraced the creation of the beasts of
the forest and monsters of the deep, and whose earliest stages began by
the movings of the Divine Spirit, in a scene unvisited by light and life-was
typical of that better and nobler order of things in God’s redeeming
work which culminates in the restored paradise and sabbatic peace of the
"new heavens and earth," wherein shall dwell righteousness.
Grouping together the statements of Scripture as to the glorious process
of renovation which God is carrying on in the world, we find that it consists
of four great consecutive stages:
1. The preparatory stage.
2. The Messianic stage.
3. The millennial stage.
4. The eternal kingdom.
1. THE PREPARATORY STAGE.-The period from the fall to the first advent
may be regarded as a preparatory stage in the work of the world’s
redemption; and here, without staying to examine the various steps by
which the providence of God prepared the way for the advent of the Redeemer,
and the better order of things, we are struck by the fact that there was
a double prefiguration of the work of redemption in the two dispensations
into which that preparatory age was divided: the patriarchal dispensation
and the Jewish. In the first there was the story of two worlds, an old
and a new, the passing away of the first order of things, and the introduction
of a second and better by the operation of judgment and mercy. The world
that then was, overflowed with water, perished; but from its grave arose
another world, and a new humanity was made to rejoice in the protection
and the smile of Heaven in a renovated earth. And so, similarly, in the
second or Jewish stage of the preparatory work. A new people, so to speak,
was called into existence; a law was given, a revelation was granted;
light and life sprang up; there was a land of promise, and a temple built
to the Divine name, and filled with the glory of God’s presence;
while Jerusalem shone in its beauty as the city of the great king, and
Solomon reigned in peace and prosperity. Moreover, from age to age throughout
that preparatory period there was a slow unveiling, in promise, type,
and prophecy, of one glorious, far-reaching plan, embracing the advent
of the second Adam, a renovation of the Gentile world, the restoration
of Israel and even the renewal of the earth itself and "restitution
of all things."
2. THE MESSIANIC STAGE.-The Messianic stage of God’s restoring work
includes two principal sections: first, the advent and glorification of
Christ, the second Adam; and, secondly, the story of the spiritual renewal
of His people, or the history of the Church.
The first of these has both a spiritual and a physical aspect. A new spiritual
Man has appeared upon the scene, a perfect human being, a sinless moral
character, the archetype of a renovated humanity. Tested by temptation,
schooled by suffering, the blameless purity and absolute righteousness
of His character and life were demonstrated and developed to the uttermost;
in Him was fulfilled all righteousness, and He finished the work which
His Father had given Him to do by becoming "obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross," that He might redeem His people and
be their righteousness and life for ever. Then came the second stage,
that of His physical glorification, when he was "declared to be the
Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead," and clad
in that resplendent form in which He appeared to John in Patmos, when
with countenance shining as the sun in its strength, and voice of power
mixed with tenderness, He said, "Fear not; I am the first and the
last: I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore."
In His glorified humanity the work of the new creation is already consummated;
man shines forth in the Divine likeness, spirit, soul, and body made perfect,
and "filled with all the fulness of God."
The interval from the ascension of Christ to the present day has been
occupied by a work of spiritual renovation, carried on by the influence
of the word and Spirit of Christ in the world. The work of renewing all
things is in ceaseless progress; every true conversion is a regeneration:
"if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (or new creation);
old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new." Every
genuine disciple of Christ has "put off the old man," and "put
on the new"; we are renewed in the spirit of our minds, renewed in
the image of Him who created us, and created in righteousness and true
holiness. This blessed process of spiritual renovation is going forward
without cessation all the world over, and those renewed are still further
"changed into the image of the Lord from glory to glory," as
with unveiled heart they gaze upon the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ. Though more or less evident by its fruits and effects, the work
is in itself one invisible to human eyes, but it is none the less real;
the living stones are being ceaselessly built up into a holy temple of
the Lord, to be "the habitation of God through the Spirit."
3. THE MILLENNIAL STAGE.-The second and more manifest glorious stage of
this renewing work is yet to come; as it was with our Lord, so it is with
His people, the moral and spiritual manifestation of the new man comes
first, and the physical glorification afterwards. "If the Spirit
of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised
up Jesus from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit
that dwelleth in you"; "as we have borne the image of the earthy,
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly." When we see Christ
"we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." But though
the first resurrection will manifest, as nothing else has ever done, the
power, grace, and glory of Jesus Christ, it will not complete the work
of renovation, for it leaves the nations of the earth still in a state
of probation. This co-existence of man in the flesh on earth, with glorified
humanity in the Church, is a stumbling-block to many, and hinders their
receiving the doctrine of the first resurrection. But why should it be
thought a thing incredible with us? Does not this very state of things
exist even now? Is not Christ risen from the dead and become "the
first fruits of them that slept"? and yet are not His people on earth
still in the flesh? and more, are not the bodies of the great majority
of them slumbering in the dust? Does not 1 Corinthians xv. clearly show
that resurrection takes place in three distinct stages? "Christ the
first fruits, afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming; then
cometh the end," when the rest of the dead that rise not in the first
resurrection rise to stand before the great white throne.
Coincident with the physical restoration of "the Church of the first
born" is the spiritual resurrection or conversion of the natural
Israel, just as coincident with the Lord’s own resurrection was the
spiritual regeneration of the Gentile Church; and consequent on the conversion
of Israel is the millennial blessing of the wide world, according as it
is written, "In thee, and in thy seed, shall all the nations of the
earth be blessed." The receiving back of Israel to the favour of
God is as "life from the dead" to the world; it is also marked
by a beginning of renewal to the earth itself. As the entry of sin at
the fall destroyed first the spiritual and then the physical nature of
man, and then the earth, which was his habitation, so the redeeming work
of God first re-creates man spiritually, then physically, and then restores
the earth, which is his dwelling-place. At the first resurrection this
takes place partially, but not fully; it is a great stage in the work
of renewal, but not the final one, which does not come till -
4. THE ETERNAL KINGDOM.-This is the last stage of the re-creating process,
the great final result of the work of redemption, when Christ will in
the fullest sense "see of the travail of His soul, and be satisfied";
when God will once more see everything that He has created and made, the
result of everything that He has done, and, behold, it will all be, not
good simply, but "very good." This stage includes the full and
final introduction of the new heaven and the new earth; but here some
caution is necessary, lest confusion arise.
There are in Scripture three principal passages which speak of the new
heavens and the new earth: the double one in the close of Isaiah, that
in the last chapter of the Second Epistle of Peter, and the glorious passage
which we are now considering in the two closing chapters of the Apocalypse.
Taking these in order, it is evident that the first, in #Isa 65:17, is
distinctly millennial in character, and cannot describe the eternal state,
for it speaks of a continuance of death as occasional, at any rate, though
wonderful longevity will be the rule; for "he that dieth a hundred
years old shall be considered only as a child, and the sinner that dies
at a hundred years old shall be reckoned as one accursed." On the
other hand, the second passage, in #Isa 66:22, as plainly includes the
eternal state:
"As the new heavens and the earth which I make shall remain before
Me, so shall your seed and your name remain. This promise cannot of course
refer to the earth that is said in the Apocalypse to pass away, or describe
merely the temporary and transitional millennial state. Hence the expression,
"new heavens and earth," is plainly applied both to the condition
of things during the millennial stage of the great work of renewal, and
to the eternal state which succeeds; it is used alike of the introductory
and of the permanent stage of the coming kingdom of Christ and of God.
The reason will be evident on a moment’s reflection. The expression
is to a certain extent a symbolic one, and it is also a relative one.
In the literal sense there will of course never be "new heavens and
a new earth"; the globe of this planet and the sidereal heavens are
not to pass away. As Alford says, "the expression does not necessarily
suppose the annihilation of the old creation, but only its passing away
as to its outward and recognisable form, and its renewal to a fresh and
more glorious one. The fleeing away of heaven and earth described in #Rev
20 is described in Peter as their consumption by fire. Both descriptions
include the passing away of their present corruptible state, and change
to a state glorious and incorruptible."[Alford: "Greek Testament,"
in loco.]
That this is the case is clear from a careful study of the passage in
the Second Epistle of Peter. The apostle speaks here of three worlds.
First: "The heavens were made of old by the word of God, and the
earth also, which standeth out of the water and in the water; which things
being so, the world that then was, being overflowed with water, was destroyed."
What was destroyed? Not the globe or the sidereal heavens, but the world
that then was, the wicked antediluvian society; the then existing state
of things passed away, but the globe, the solar system, and the sidereal
heavens remained of course as they were. Secondly, to "the world
that then was" he compares "the heavens and the earth which
are now," or as Alford renders it, the new heavens and earth; that
is, the post-diluvian visible world; and of these he says that at the
parousia, or appearing of the day of God, the thousand years of the millennium
which is as one day with God, it is destined to be similarly purified,
not with water, but with fire; and he adds thirdly, that "we according
to God’s promise (alluding evidently to Isaiah) look for a new heavens
and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." Alford says of
this last statement: "Of annihilation there is here no trace; the
flood did not annihilate the earth, but changed it, and as the new earth
was the consequence of the flood, so the final new heavens and earth shall
be of the fire." [Alford: "Greek Testament," in loco.]
Hence it is evident that the expression is a relative one, and that in
the case of the earth, just as in the case of the human race, there are
several stages in the work of renewal. The present state of things is
"a new heavens and new earth," as compared with the antediluvian
world; the millennial condition is called such in comparison with the
present state of things. The eternal state is emphatically and in the
fullest sense, even compared with that millennial condition, "new
heavens and a new earth."
[A difficulty has been raised in connexion with the passage in Peter with
reference to the coming of the Lord. It is said that it is evident from
this passage that His coming will bring, not an earthly millennium, but
the end of all things and the dawn of the eternal day, since the heavens
are to be dissolved, and the elements to melt with fervent heat, and the
earth and the works that are therein are to be burnt up. The answer is
that "the day of the Lord," as intimated in the passage itself,
lasts for the whole thousand years of the millennium. It is both introduced
and closed by fiery judgments, and its course is also characterized by
judgment, though not in its destructive sense. It is emphatically the
day of award, the day of distinguishing between the righteous and the
wicked. The " day of salvation," has already extended over nearly
two thousand years; the coming "day of the Lord" is to extend
over a thousand. The pre-millennial judgments mark the morning of the
day, and the post-millennial mark its evening. Peter presents it as a
whole, while the Apocalypse, according to the principle of progressive
revelation, distinguishes its parts; the earlier must be read in the light
of the later, and not the reverse.] The third great passage on this subject
is the one we are considering in Revelation 21 and 22; here the "new
heavens and new earth" follow the passing away of the old at the
close of the millennial age. "I saw a great white throne, and Him
that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And
I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first
earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. . . . The former things
are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make
all things new." That these are the last, the final and eternal "new
heavens and earth," and not the millennial, is clear, though it has
sometimes been questioned. The passing away of "the first heavens
and earth" is synchronous with the judgment of the dead, who rise
not "till the thousand years are ended." The state of things
in which there is "no more sea" must be subsequent to that in
which "the sea gave up the dead that were in it." Moreover the
fact that death and sorrow and crying and pain are never again to intrude
on the scene proves that the state of things here portrayed must be subsequent
to the "little season" of the loosing of Satan and the post-millennial
apostasy and judgment. Here then at last there breaks upon us the vision
of the everlasting kingdom of God on earth-the glorious goal of redemption,
"the end of the Lord" in all His providential dealings with
His fallen creature man. Here we reach the perfected results of the saving
work wrought on Calvary- that good, as regards the world, in view of which
infinite wisdom saw well to permit the entrance of evil, and its continuance
for long ages.
Well may we meditate on the beautiful picture presented in this closing
vision, and seek to learn all that may be learnt from its exquisite imagery!
The revealing Spirit has to stoop to human incapacity to comprehend the
truth, and to picture the inconceivable in symbols which shall convey
at least some glimmering perceptions of the blessed, eternal future of
the Church, of the race, and of the earth. But the very symbols say, We
cannot utter it, and remain themselves to some degree inconceivable! Like
the mysterious and glittering Alpine peaks, that appear at times above
the clouds that shadow our lower world, bathed in a far-away roseate glow,
these closing visions of the heavenly Jerusalem shine with so much of
celestial light, that they seem as if they scarcely could belong to earth.
Yet we know their base is terrestrial, else why a new heavens and a new
earth preparatory to the manifestation of the heavenly Jerusalem? Let
us glance at their glories ; though we may not linger to expatiate on
them now, it will be ours to rejoice in them to all eternity, for "the
vision shall surely come, it shall not tarry." It is evident that
this eternal kingdom differs from the millennial in some respects, and
resembles it in others; we must consider both the analogies and the contrasts.
1. It differs as David’s reign differed from Solomon’s; the
former was a time of bringing into subjection, and, especially at its
commencement and close, of putting down enemies. It was a glorious reign,
but a warlike one; a time of conflict with Saul and with Amalek, the Philistines
and Moabites, with foreign foes and domestic traitors, until "the
day when the Lord delivered David out of the hand of all his enemies,
and out of the hand of Saul," and he sang his triumphant song, "Thou
hast lifted me up on high above all that rose up against me." Recalling
his father’s career after his death, his son Solomon spoke of the
"wars which were about him on every side," until the Lord put
his enemies "under the soles of his feet." As to himself, Solomon
added," The Lord my God hath given me rest on every side, so that
there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent" (#1Ki 5:3, 4).
It is thus with the greater than David. When the Son and Lord of David
first returns to inaugurate His millennial reign He is represented as
a crowned warrior on a white horse; and, in harmony with this attitude
of Christ, His saints in the same vision appear as a white-robed army,
similarly mounted on white horses. They who, both before and after the
millennial reign, are spoken of as "the bride, the Lamb’s wife,"
are seen under this strangely contrasted symbol of martial hosts just
prior to the commencement of the millennium, and they are seen as enthroned
judges, reigning rulers, priestly kings on their thrones during its course.
Why this contrast? Because of the different work to be done at the different
periods, In the eternal state we are now considering, the subjugation
of enemies being over, the Solomon kingdom of perfect peace having come,
there being no longer any enemy or evil occurrent, the symbol representing
Christ and His saints is changed and becomes altogether different. Unto
the new earth there descends a glorious celestial city, a heavenly Jerusalem,
a city which is also a bride, a city which forms the tabernacle of God
among men.
2. The final kingdom differs again from the millennial in its duration.
We no longer read as to the saints of the celestial city that "they
lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years," but "they shall
reign for ever and ever."
3. There is a contrast also in the aspect which the righteous rule of
Christ and His saints bears in the later section of the kingdom. In the
millennium we read of "ruling with a rod of iron," "breaking
in pieces as a potter’s vessel," "smiting the earth with
the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips," "slaying
the wicked," etc. There are no such statements in connexion with
the eternal state; the righteous rule remains, but as there is no longer
any evil on earth to be repressed, it bears a wholly different and purely
beneficent aspect. "For rulers are not a terror to good works, but
to the evil," and have nothing but praise for those who do well.
But the resemblances between the two stages of the kingdom are, as might
be expected, far greater than the differences, for the kingdom is, as
it is presented in Daniel, one. Never after His second advent in glory
does Christ vacate the throne of this world, or allow a usurper to occupy
it as at present. The post-millennial rebellion is but a passing incident
in the story of the establishment of the kingdom, and the destruction
of death; the last enemy, only marks its transition from its introductory
to its permanent form. Its main characteristics remain unchanged; the
throne becomes "the throne of God and of the Lamb," instead
of being, as in the millennium, distinctively that of Christ the Redeemer;
but the heavenly saints still reign as "the bride, the Lamb’s
wife." They are still kings in respect to the nations of the earth,
though servants as to God; "His servants shall serve Him," on
the one hand, and "reign for ever and ever," on the other. Israel
similarly still retains her supremacy on earth, as we learn from many
passages in the Old Testament which reveal the perpetuity of her distinctive
blessings. "If ye can break My covenant of the day, and My covenant
of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season
; then may also My covenant be broken with David My servant, . . . then
will I cast away the seed of Jacob," and not till then. "For
as the new heavens and the new earth which I shall make shall remain before
Me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain". And
further, the ransomed and renewed human race will occupy the new earth,
for " among the mysteries of this new heaven and new earth this is
set forth to us: that besides the glorified Church, there shall still
be dwelling on the renewed earth nations organized under kings (#Rev 21:24),
and saved by means of the influences of the heavenly city." [Alford:
"Greek Testament," in loco.]
This fact, that millennial distinctions reappear in the new heaven and
the new earth of the eternal kingdom of God, is one of profound significance
and interest; it illustrates the doctrine of Scripture that "the
gifts and calling of God are without repentance." His original purpose
and act in the creation of man was to place pure and happy human beings
in an earthly paradise, to have dominion over the works of His hands.
That purpose is here, in the last vision of the last prophecy of Scripture,
seen to be realized, and realized notwithstanding all Satan’s efforts
to frustrate it. It is a vision of paradise restored. In the call of Abraham,
and in the gift to him and to his seed of peculiar covenant blessings,
the purpose of God was to have a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a peculiar people among the nations of the earth; and in
the coming kingdom this purpose also will be fully realized. [#Isa 66:19,21.]
In calling sinners saved to be sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty,
His purpose was "that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding
riches of His grace in His kindness towards us through Christ Jesus,"
that there may be to Him "glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout
all ages, world without end." And this purpose will be triumphantly
realized by the position and character of the heavenly saints, the celestial
city throughout eternity.
It is undeniable that the closing prophecy of Scripture, the fullest revelation
we have as to the eternal kingdom of God, teaches that it has a double
character, that it has both earthly and heavenly aspects; there are the
nations of the new earth, and there is the celestial city. There is a
degree of spiritual heavenly radiance about the latter which is absolutely
dazzling, bewildering, inexpressible, in its manifold loveliness and priceless
glory. It comes down out of heaven from God; it is the very tabernacle
of God; angels watch at its gates; it needs no created light, for the
glory of God lightens it, and the Lamb is the light thereof; the river
of life flows through its golden streets, and its purity and beauty are
as those of "a bride adorned for her husband." Yet utterly unearthly
as this New Jerusalem bride is, she has plainly a close connexion with
the earth. She is twice over said to descend "out of heaven from
God," to or towards the new earth. John beholds her from the summit
of an earthly mountain; and we read that "the nations walk in the
light of it," and that their "kings bring their honour and glory
into it." The blessed inhabitants of the new earth regard this heavenly
city as, in a sense, their metropolis, and bring to it the tribute of
their honour and greatness. They are to have free access to it, for its
gates are never shut at all by day, and there is no night there. The water
of the river of life, and the leaves of the trees that grow by its banks,
are alike freely given for their benefit. To him that is athirst I will
give the water of life freely, and "the leaves of the tree are for
the healing of the nations." [Or "for medicine," not necessarily
involving the idea of sickness: may be preventive as well as curative.
In a very similar passage in Ezekiel we read, " The fruit thereof
shall be meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine."]
These nations must be distinct from the celestial bride, though brought
themselves into close and blessed relationship to her. They are some of
the subjects over whom the saints reign for ever and ever. Hence we may
unhesitatingly affirm that the last and fullest testimony of Scripture
on the subject reveals to us that the eternal kingdom of God will be something
widely different from the vague heaven of popular theology; that it is
to be a kingdom distinctly connected with the globe on which we live,
a kingdom in which the subjects will be "nations" of men under
their "kings" on the earth, though the rulers will be Christ
and His heavenly saints. The "tabernacle of God" will be "with
men," and he will dwell with them. Here is heaven indeed, for what
can be more heavenly than the very sanctuary of God Himself, the holiest
of all, the immediate sanctuary of the Divine glory? But it is a heaven
related to the earth; for this "tabernacle of God" is to be
"with men," and in it He is to dwell among them, revealed in
the risen Christ and His risen saints, who are to form an eternal link
between a ransomed humanity and God.
Now this teaching seems to negative an impression which has long prevailed,
and prevails widely in the Church still, and which is somewhat rashly
assumed to be founded on the clear teaching of Scripture. It is taken
for granted, apart from any distinct revelation on the subject, that the
issue of the saving work of Christ is to be the salvation of a heavenly
Church, and that the resurrection and translation of this Church at the
second advent is to be the sole and final result of the redemption of
mankind, wrought out by the Son of God on Calvary. As regards this view,
it is well to observe, first, that it cannot of course be entertained
by any who hold the scriptural doctrine of the pre-millennial advent;
that doctrine recognises that the " Church of the firstborn"
is translated at the coming of Christ in the first resurrection, and that
the conversion of Israel and of the nations of the millennial earth takes
place subsequently. No pre-millennialist therefore can hold that the Church
of this dispensation, which is to be glorified at the second advent, is
inclusive of the whole number of the redeemed, or that no others are to
share in the glories of the future. Pre-millennialists have learned to
interpret earlier and less detailed predictions in the light of the latest
and fullest, and thus to recognise, both as to resurrection and judgment,
that what at a distance appeared to be single proves on nearer inspection
to be double. This principle must be applied equally to the question of
the kingdom of God which we are now considering.
It is perfectly clear that the twentieth chapter of Revelation presents
us with three distinct parties co-existing during the continuance of the
millennial age.
1. The risen and enthroned saints, who are "priests of God and of
Christ," and "reign with Him" (#Rev 20:6).
2. The "camp of the saints," or "the beloved city"
(#Rev 20:9), which is evidently the earthly Jerusalem, "not the New
Jerusalem, but the earthly city of that name, which is destined yet to
play so glorious a part in the latter days." [Alford.] This is evident
from the fact that the city is compassed about, and attacked; it is unreasonable
to suppose that men would or could attack the heavenly Jerusalem of #Rev
21.
3. The "nations" of the earth, who are delivered from satanic
deceptions during the millennium, and afresh deceived at its close, and
who fall into the final apostasy. This shows that the threefold distinction
at present existing continues through the millennial age at least.
A similar distinction evidently exists also in #Rev 21, though Israel
does not there appear clearly distinguished from the nations of the earth;
but the difference between the earthly and heavenly saints-the celestial
New Jerusalem, and the new earth with its nations and kings- appears as
broadly as ever. The expression "the nations" (the ethne) occurs
twenty-two times in the Apocalypse, in connexion, first, with pre-millennial
times; secondly, with millennial; and thirdly, with post- millennial times.
In the first class are such passages as "the nations were angry,
and Thy wrath is come," and "the cities of the nations fell,"
etc.; in the second, the millennial, the word occurs in #Rev 20:3, "that
he should deceive the nations no more," and in #Rev 20:8, "he
shall go out to deceive the nations"; and then in chapter xxi. we
read of the post-millennial earth, "the nations shall walk in the
light" [see new version] of the heavenly city, that "the nations
bring their honour and glory into it," and that "the leaves
of the tree were for the healing of the nations." These nations present
the earthly side of the eternal kingdom, and the New Jerusalem presents
the heavenly side.
That the detailed vision of the New Jerusalem (#Rev 21:9 - 22:5) is a
description of the post-millennial condition seems evident, first, from
the absolute identity of the expressions used in vv. 2 and 10, the same
words, in the same order, being employed to describe (?????????????????????????????????????????),
"descending out of heaven from God"; secondly, from the statement
that there shall be "no more curse" (#Rev 22:3), which the context
links with "the nations" of the earth, as well as with the city,
and which it is impossible to apply to the millennial condition; and thirdly,
from the statement of #Rev 5, "that they shall reign for ever and
ever," compared with the contrasted statement about reigning "for
a thousand years." The twofold condition of the millennial reign
continues therefore into the eternal kingdom.
Now here there arises a deeply interesting and most important question.
Does the fact of the foretold existence of post-millennial nations upon
earth, in addition to the glorified Church of the first-born symbolized
as the New Jerusalem, involve an endless succession of generations of
the human race on the earth ? Does it imply that what was apparently the
original purpose of God in the creation of man in Eden is still to be
realized in the endless future, and that thus there is to be a perpetual
increase of the government of Christ in relation to the human race? Or
does it confirm the popular view, that the continuance of the human race
as such upon this earth is to be brought to a sudden and complete termination
at the final judgment?
We will not venture to answer this question with any dogmatic certainty,
remembering that "now we know in part, and prophesy in part,"
and that not till "that which is perfect is come" shall "that
which is in part" be "done away." "For now we see
through a glass darkly," and where the clear light of revelation
is lacking, the greatest caution befits us in dealing with these sacred
subjects. But this much is evident, that there are found in Scripture
two classes of passages which seem to bear on this subject.
1. There are a considerable number of texts and teachings, prophecies
and parables, which seem at first sight to teach the latter view-the simultaneousness
of resurrection and judgment, and the entire cessation of terrestrial
existence at the day of judgment. As regards the greater part of these
passages, we may recall the fact just mentioned, that pre-millennialists
have learned to distinguish between the apparent and the real, and to
recognise that while they do not teach the doctrine of two stages of resurrection
and judgment, yet that they do not contradict it; and the same is true
of the entire class as regards this further point. None of them distinctly
teach the continuance of the human race in the eternal kingdom upon the
earth, but none of them deny it. They can all be harmonized with such
a view, should the light of later revelations require it, without any
distortion of their statements. #2Pet 3 is a type of this class of passages;
and we have shown above that it admits, and even seems to require, the
survival of a portion of the human race after the judgment, seeing that
it refers to the flood as to a parallel case.
2. The second class of passages, which certainly ought to be allowed their
due weight in the formation of any opinion on this great subject, is the
very numerous one in which Scripture seems to unfold the prospect of successive
generations of redeemed men throughout the ages to come upon the earth,
in the same way as the passage which we are considering does.
No limit is either expressed or implied in the original constitution of
man: "Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue
it." The nature of man, unlike that of angels, contains a provision
for an ever-multiplying number of objects of Divine beneficence. Limit
is distinctly denied in the covenant with Noah, the second father of the
human race. "And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,
And I, behold, I establish My covenant with you. . . . This is the token
of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature
that is with you, for perpetual generations. The bow shall be in the cloud;
and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant
between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth."
The Noaic covenant is here declared to be everlasting and "for perpetual
generations"; and this covenant is employed in Isaiah as a sample
of an enduring promise. The subsequent covenant with Abraham again introduced
no limit. "Thou shalt call his name Isaac; and I will establish My
covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after
him." I will establish My covenant between Me and thee, and thy seed
after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God
unto thee, and to thy seed. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed
after thee all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession."
In referring to this covenant, the psalmist says, in #Psa 105:8: "He
bath remembered His covenant for ever, the word which He commanded to
a thousand generations. Which covenant He made with Abraham, and His oath
unto Isaac; and confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel
for an everlasting covenant." This expression of "a thousand
generations" is several times repeated. It is found in #Deut 7:9:
"Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God
which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love Him and keep His
commandments to a thousand generations." And again in #1Chron 16:15
: "Be ye mindful always of His covenant; the Word which he commandeth
to a "thousand generations." Now since the ward of God speaks
several times over of a thousand generations, and in other passages of
perpetual generations, during which man is to be upon the earth; and as
the promises of blessing to Israel are continually said to be everlasting,-it
becomes a very grave question whether we have any right to restrict promises
which seem to be stamped with eternity within the limits of two or three
hundred generations, which is all that there is chronological room for
between the creation of Adam and the end of the seventh millenary of human
history, the millennial sabbath.
[A generation is generally reckoned about thirty-three years, and 33 x
212 = 6,996. So that there are only about 212 generations in 7,000 years-the
great week of time.] The duration of the covenant relation granted to
Israel, as revealed in these Scriptures ("a thousand generations
"), is four times as long as the whole course of human generations
up to the close of the millennium; so that it would seem to point forward
to successive generations of the new earth in the ages to come. "I
will make a covenant of peace with them. . . . I will set My sanctuary
in the midst of them for evermore." "And they shall dwell therein,
they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever
: and My servant David shall be their prince for ever." [#Ezek 37:26,
25.]
Or as the prophet Micah puts it, "The Lord shall reign over them
in Mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever." [#Micah 4:7.] In this
and a hundred other passages which might be adduced a blessed and endless
futurity on earth seems distinctly promised to Israel, the course of their
generations being spoken of as co- extensive with the enduring of the
sun and moon. The Jews themselves always held, and still hold, that Messiah’s
kingdom is to be a perpetual one of peace and happiness on earth, and
they certainly can quote abundance of Scripture in confirmation of the
doctrine. One of the strongest passages in their prophets on the subject
is that in #Isa 9, the description of Messiah’s titles and sway,
in which it is distinctly stated that "of the increase of His government
there shall be no end upon the throne of David"; not merely that
there shall be no end to His earthly government, but no end of the "increase"
of it, i.e. of His subjects.
When again we turn to the New Testament, we find nothing absolutely to
contradict, but much to confirm the impression derived from all these
Old Testament passages.
The elect Church is Christ’s "body" and "bride,"
[#Eph 5:25-33.] and would seem therefore to have a definite completeness
of its own. The glorified saints "neither marry nor are given in
marriage, but are as the angels of God." The living temple the "habitation
of God through the Spirit,"[#Eph 2:22] has also, as the very figure
implies, a definite completeness; but that temple is destined to be, as
we see from the final vision of Scripture, the glory of a new earth full
of redeemed nations.
There is a remarkable expression in #Eph 3, which we have already quoted,
in which praise is ascribed to God in the very striking words, "Unto
Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus unto all the generations of
the age of ages"; or, as the Revised Version has it, "unto all
generations for ever and ever," giving the other as an alternative
reading in the margin. No stronger expression could be used to convey
the idea of eternity, nor a clearer association of successive generations
with eternity; in fact, it would seem as if the force of this expression
could be understood only in the light of the last revelation on this subject.
It has to be reduced and distorted to make it harmonize at all with the
popular view. The same conclusion seems to be implied in the expression
to which we have before alluded, "a kind of first fruits of His creatures,"
and "the Church of the first-born." Both phrases would seem
to suggest further and wider accessions to the family of the redeemed;
for harvest follows first fruits, and the first-born derives his title
from the fact that there are other members in the same family.
That there are difficulties in the way of the reception of this doctrine
it were folly to deny. The question, for instance, naturally occurs, If
the fountain of humanity is to flow for ever, how can there be room for
all its waters? Our planet would, of course, soon overflow. This is no
real difficulty, but one resting solely on our present ignorance of the
further plans and purposes of God. This globe is not the universe; the
Father’s house does not consist of one dwelling-place; the myriad
stars of the midnight sky are suns of other systems, and our own stellar
universe is all but infinite, to say nothing of the distant nebulae. Is
it a thing impossible for God to translate His saints to other scenes?
Have we not already had ample indications of His power in this direction?
Do we not all expect to be translated ourselves? Do not even men know
how to found colonies, and people new and distant lands with the overflow
of older ones? Shall we conceive of God as more destitute of resources
than His creature man? Would not this same difficulty apparently have
arisen had sin never entered paradise? Must not the all-wise Creator have
provided against it from the beginning? We need to remember that if we
could perfectly understand and map out the whole procedure of the ages
to come, the scheme would clearly be human and not Divine! Let us pause
where Revelation pauses, nor seek to be wise above what is written; but
let us search the Scriptures to see what they do reveal as to the future
of humanity, and let our faith rest not on the traditions of men, but
on the word of God. It is important for many reasons that our views as
to the future of our race should be as clear and definite as Scripture
warrants.
Whether we accept this view as to successive generations of mankind in
the new earth or not, we cannot in any case escape the conclusion that,
just as Scripture distinguishes between the saved and the lost, and between
different classes of the one and of the other, so it also distinguishes
between the future portion of the Church of Christ, that of the Jewish
people, and that of the nations of the earth.
[The servant that knew his lord’s will, and did it not, is to be
beaten with many stripes, but he that knew not with few stripes; and "one
star differeth from another star in glory." There are to be rulers
over ten cities, and rulers over five.] Too many in their thoughts of
the future leave out this last the destiny of the Church of this dispensation
figures so largely in their anticipations, that they seem almost to forget
that "the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world,"
and to lose sight of the blessed prospect that, not only is the present
Church to be saved out of the ruined world, to become the Eve of the second
Adam, but that the ruined earth itself is yet to be renewed, and to become
the happy home of saved nations, who participate in the results of redemption.
The narrowness which sees nothing but the salvation of the Church of this
dispensation is born of human selfishness, and not of Divine love; it
is founded not on the teaching of Scripture, but on tradition and prejudice.
The Bible in this, its last revelation on the subject, plainly teaches
that while the peculiar glories of the Church are hers, and hers alone,
that while the special privileges of the natural seed of Abraham belong
to Israel, and to Israel only, that there is also a blessed future awaiting
mankind under the gracious government of Immanuel; that one of the effects
of the completed work of Christ will be to place the saved nations of
the eternal kingdom in a restored paradise, completely delivered from
the tempter, and so established in righteousness that the Holy One can
take up His abode among them for ever. "He will dwell with them,
and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and
be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there
shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there
be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
The salvation of the Church of this dispensation is not the whole result
of the death of Christ. There is to be in addition the establishment for
ever of a kingdom of God, in which His will shall be as fully done by
men on earth as it is now done by angels in heaven. The consummation,
for which we daily pray, is destined to come at last; and holy and happy
service, without a flaw and without an interruption, is yet to be rendered
to God, not merely by the glorified saints of the new Jerusalem, but by
redeemed nations on the earth, who walk for ever in the light of the celestial
city.
Such is the sublime vista of the future of our race, and of our earth
in the eternal ages, with which Scripture closes.
____________________________________________________________________________________
"THE NEW HEAVENS AND THE NEW EARTH."
And I beheld new heavens and earth, All radiant as the morning sun, Rejoicing
on their day of birth; For the first heaven and earth were gone. And Eden
spread o’er hill and lea Its peace; and there was no more sea.
And I beheld afar in air, Descending out of heaven from God, As a chaste
bride adorned and fair, A city mortal never trod, Shining with many a
peerless gem,- The pure, the new Jerusalem.
And a great voice from heaven I heard Which said, "Behold, the dwelling-place
Of God, the house His hands have reared; That in His glory and His grace
He may with men for ever dwell, As God with us, Immanuel.
"For His own hand from every eye Shall wipe away the tears of grief;
And none shall languish, none shall die, And perish like the autumn leaf;
And pain be at an end for aye, For former things are passed away."
And He that sat upon the throne Spake thus: "Lo, all things I renew
!" And bid me write in joyful tone, For faithful are the words and
true; And said unto me: "It is done! The First, the Last, am I alone.
"To him that is athirst I give The fountain infinite and free, The
flowing spring whose waters live; And his for ever shall it be. Who overcomes
hath all things won; I am his God, and he My son.
"But unbelievers, the unclean, The murderer, and man of lust, Unsuited
for that holy scene,- The foul, the false, and the unjust,- Are sentenced
to that lake of flame Which heaven ‘the second death’ doth name.
And, lo! an angel, of the seven Whose holy hands the vials bare Of the
last judgment acts of heaven, Drew near, and talking with me there, "Come
hither," said he, "to my side, And I will show thee the Lamb’s
bride."
And he upbore me to the brow Of a majestic mountain high, Whence, while
the world lay far below, He turned my glances to the sky, And made me
see a city fair Descending in the ambient air.
She had the glory of her God, Her light was crystalline and clear As shining
jasper; round her stood A wall with gates, and angels near Guarded those
glistening gates full well, Named from the tribes of Israel.
Three several gates on every side, On east and north, and south and west
Her wall had twelve foundations wide, With names inscribed for ever blest;
On each foundation was the name Of an apostle of the Lamb.
A golden reed the angel bare To measure the celestial frame; The city
formed a mighty square, Its length and breadth and height the same; Twelve
thousand furlongs every way The bright and beauteous city lay.
And twelve times twelve he measured more, The stature of the jasper wall;
The measure of the reed he bore Was human, yet angelical; The city was
of worth untold, All crystal and transparent gold.
How rich were its foundations fair! Chalcedony and chrysolite, And jasper,
sapphire, sardius there, And topaz, each with different light, And amethyst,
and many a gem Shone in the new Jerusalem.
Its gates were twelve, of lustre white, A single pearl was every gate;
Its street was golden, crystal bright; No temple rose in sculptured state;
For God Himself, the great I AM, Is all its temple, and the Lamb.
Its light was not the summer sun, The waning moon, the starry sky; The
glory of Jehovah shone And streamed through its transparency; His presence
made eternal day, The Lamb enlightened it for aye.
The nations of the ransomed earth Shall walk in its transcendent light;
And kings shall bring to it their worth, The tribute of their treasures
bright; Its gates, for ever open wide, Shall welcome the rejoicing tide.
No falling night or fleeting shade Shall o’er its beauty ever come;
Nought that defiles or could degrade Shall enter that celestial home;
But those who, like the Lamb’s true wife, Are written in the book
of life.
He showed me then a river clear, Untroubled by a warring wave; As crystal
did its depths appear, A living flood whose waters lave The city, flowing
from the throne Of God and of the Lamb alone.
And by its bank on either side The wondrous tree of life did grow, All
central in the city wide, And yielded fruit on every bough; And every
month its branches bore Of fruit a different sort and store.
And of the tree of life the leaves Were for the healing of mankind; And
not a sin or curse which grieves The earth shall then remain behind: For
there the throne of the I AM Shall ever be, and of the Lamb.
And Him in love and liberty They then shall serve, and see His face; His
name upon their brows shall be In living characters of grace; His presence
there shall banish night; And they shall reign in endless light.
Index Preface 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Appendix A Appendix B
